Overlanding 101
What is overlanding?
Overlanding, is derived from the adverb, overland, is defined as travel by, on, or across land. Historically, “overlanding” is an Australian term used to describe the process of driving livestock over very long distances to new pastures or to move them to market. In modern terms and according to Wikipedia, “Overlanding” is self-reliant travel to remote destinations where the journey is the principal goal. Typically, but not exclusively, it is accomplished with motorized off-road capable transport where the principal form of lodging is camping, often lasting for extended lengths of time.
Who is an overlander?
An overlander is someone who travels overland to their desired location. In a broad sense, we are all overlanders. However, if you are reading this blog you are probably interested in a more specific description of an overlander. Most individuals who consider themselves to be overlanders have equipped their vehicle with camping gear to support their basic needs while they travel to and from remote locations for multiple days. At bare minimum an overlander must have enough food, water, shelter, and fuel on board their vehicle to support them through their entire journey.
How do I begin overlanding?
While some believe you need a fully equipped Unimog capable of traveling through the harshest climates and over the most challenging terrains, all you really need to begin overlanding is a sense of adventure and the desire to get out and explore. If you want to test the water and see if overlanding is for you, just about any form of transportation and basic camping gear is all you need to get started. Once you give it a try and you find out overlanding is something you want to do more of, you may want to fine tune your transportation and gear to fit your desired adventures. While some overlanding purists may argue that you need to be gone for days and travel to the most remote locations to be an“overlander”, we will argue all you need to do is get out and adventure. Your first trip may be a weekend trip to a yellow-post site in your local mountains, or for an overnight trip to a primitive campground in the desert. It is amazing what you will find and do when you get out and start exploring.
What’s the difference between overlanding and camping?
When you break it down, there really isn’t that much of a difference. We could tell you that you need to travel more than 500 miles from home with most of those miles being driven off the paved roads and your trip must last more than 5 days to call it an overlanding trip, but some long time “campers” may call that a remote camping trip. Others may tell you that an overlanding trip needs to cross over multiple borders (states or countries), but that could also be a camping trip…. We’re not here to debate who qualifies as an overlander, we’re just here to encourage adventure!
Who we are:
We are OpenRoad4Two, a husband-and-wife adventure team, dedicated to hitting the OPN RD. and exploring this beautiful land we live in. We encourage you to follow along with us on our journeys on YouTube and Instagram. We are dedicated to supporting and assisting our fellow adventurers along the way. We love hearing from you, so please connect with us! Send us a question, a suggestion, a tip, or just a simple hello! Until then, we’ll see you on the OPEN ROAD!!