Accessories That Make Overlanding More Fun!

Let’s take a break from organizing home spaces and talk about something that takes family fun to a whole new level, OVERLANDING! This is something that I hadn’t heard of until a few years ago, and had not even tried until this year but WOW! my family is ready to add this new way of “wheeling” to it’s list of fun activities!

So the gist of overlanding is that you pack your four wheeling rig with everything that you’ll need to head out into the wilderness for a night or two and set out! It sounded simple when I first heard of it but it actually took a bit more planning, than I first thought it would, to make sure we would survive the trip. Now that sounds a bit dramatic I know, but the closer we got to the trip I started worrying

about what could go wrong and if we had everything packed that we would need. I thought I’d share some of the things we learned and add some links to items that we found helpful or learned of as we did this with some more experienced guides. (Note: as an Amazon associate there are links in this post and I do get compensated for qualifying purchases.)

1. Weight – The first thing to remember is that you don’t really want to pack so much that your rig is too heavy to have fun with on the trail, so, keep it light!
2. Tools – You’ll need tools in case the vehicle breaks down out in the middle of the wilderness. This seems like an obvious addition but I’m embarrassed to say we have not always been prepared in this area when we’ve had a break down. My husband is an amazing mechanic and has done all the building of our rigs himself, but for some
3. reason we get out on the trail without proper tools. Think of flat tires, possibly a broken tie rod end or just over heating and some extra coolant needed.
4. Shelter – There are a variety of excellent options in this department. Of course you can stay out under the stars if you wish, and I’ve seen some pictures of amazing setups with hammocks, but there are also a variety of tent options. We weren’t prepared to spring for a roof top tent before our first overlanding trip, though those are really cool! We looked into options that kind of wrap the back of the vehicle so that you can set up right behind your rig and get into it without coming out of the tent and liked them for the fact that you don’t have to climb a ladder to get to bed. This time we ended up taking our trusty camping tent and just camped next to our vehicle but I’m still quite interested in the roof top variety of tents. One reason I like them is because they stow away nicely and are out of the way until you need them. We had the opportunity to see a couple of these in action this summer and I really like that option best! A down side to them is that they apparently don’t have room to store your sleeping bag and pillow in them. You still have to store those in the rig.
5. Food – It goes without saying that every time we go on a trip we need something to eat. Things you’ll need to think of on the overlanding trip are refrigeration and cooking. There are quite a few options for heating water on the trail from wood fired and propane stoves to other gas operated units. With keeping it light in mind we took a very small stove that attaches to the top of a small propane canister. This has room for one small kettle and is able to heat enough water for a package of Raman noodles or some other camping food that just needs warm water to re-hydrate. There are multiple options for refrigeration as well. Of course you could just not take anything that needs to be kept cold but you could go simple with food cooling and use a small cold chest with ice. There are also small refrigerators that plug into your lighter plug. We opted for the ice and cold chest this time.
6. Bedding – Staying warm at night is of utmost importance when you are camping in the northwestern United States as we are. Be sure that your sleeping bag is rated for a low enough temperature! There’s nothing more miserable than cold nights camping when you aren’t able to warm up your body! There are also hand and foot warmers that make the process of warming up cold hands and feet faster. I recommend having some of those along even if your sleeping bag is rated for sub zero temps.
7. Organization – I know, I seem to be obsessed with this idea but it helps to have everything organized in your four wheeling rig as well. My husband has found the Milwaukee Packout Boxes and loves them! They come in a variety of sizes and they stack and attach to each other with a bracket for the bottom ones that screws to the vehicle so that they won’t be bouncing around in the back of the rig while you’re climbing over rocks. They even have a cooler that fits and interlocks with them if you want to go that route to keep food cold.
8. Trash – Don’t forget the rules of the wilderness, pack it in pack it out! I’ve observed several four wheeling and overlanding rigs with bags that attach to the back of the spare tire on the rig for collecting trash in. I’ve decided this is the way I want to go with our rig and have included a link to my favorite bag in this article.

This past spring and summer we took four wheeling trips in our 1973 Toyota Landcruiser to St. George Utah and the mountains of central Washington State. We’ve taken the old Iron Pig to Moab Utah as well and have plans to head to the Rubicon and some trails in western Oregon in the near future. When you’re headed out on the trail the items you need will depend on your plans, whether it’s a day trip and you’re coming back to camp every night or whether you’re planning to make camp along the trail.

So, whether you’re overlanding in a Toyota like we are, a Jeep or some

other fun vehicle that you’ve built to take off the beaten path, remember to plan ahead and your trip will be so much more fun, safe and of course, more organized!