Hey, I'm wondering what you all feel about traction mats (example: https://www.amazon.com/Goodyear-GY3029-Traction-MATS-30X8-5/dp/B0CFDBQ3R6) vs. your typical traction boards. The mats fold up small and take up less space in a vehicle. Are they as good or better than a board?

My off-roading adventures usually aren't too gnarly, but I'm often alone and being able to get myself unstuck is super important.

Hey All - I'm looking for some feedback on a few key pieces of my plan:

I WFH and am planning a large Road Trip across the country to primarily explore via overlanding and backpacking with my 1yr old puppy. I have 14 days of PTO I'm eligible to split into half-days as I see fit.

The intent of this trip is multifaceted: I'd like to push the limits of my new '23 DCLB Taco, as well as explore some of the most famous & remote parks for me in the contiguous US. Trying to hit Glacier & Hot Springs in the same swing.

For more context, I'm aware this is a large trip, a few years ago, I drove out to Yosemite, down to Death Valley and back to Washington DC in two weeks, so I have a feeling I'm relatively aware of what I'm getting into.

The feedback I'd like to gather is in several parts:

1. Trip Planning Software - Are there better/more intuitive tools than Furkot or GMaps/Sheets to plan a road trip with advanced parameters?
2. Time in Parks - Are there Parks or regions that I'm blindly undervaluing in this? I'd say the three non-negotiables are starting in SC at Memorial Day, seeing Glacier, and hitting TR NP, VNP & IR NP on the way back. More negotiable, I'd like to hit OKC, but not as much of a requirement as the others.
3. Extending the trip at the expense of WFH for full days in campsites? I'm sure I'm going to run into issues that I can't plan out and staying on the road for longer makes me worry I won't be able to get parts in the time I need due to other parameters: timed entry passes, etc.
4. I'd like to build up my truck over the next few months with mods that cost too much, but what products would I seriously need to consider lead time on if I don't start procuring soon?

Thanks to anyone that actually spent time reading this, and thank you to anyone else who felt encouraged to give some feedback!

My Small Munsterlander & my Truck!

The Road Trip in question

I'm building a Chevy Express Extended 3500 and I'm looking for something like the Trax-Table as shown below. This is from an Australian company built for a troopy. I don't need to carry the Trax, I'm looking more to use as a self/table on the side of the van. Does anyone know anyone that makes something like this in the USA?

https://preview.redd.it/i8n7piwudfge1.jpg?width=1306&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=068abf911953d09c85b10d7a0df9e293a24b9cf9

I’m a newbie and about to sell my wrangler and buy a gladiator. I’ve had some great suggestions like GFC, Alu, and overland Atlas. I was ready to buy the gladiator/setup when I thought all gladiators had nearly a 1,700 lb payload capacity. What I’ve found is it depends on the yr/trim/installed equipment and many only seem to have a 1,100-1,200 payload capacity.

So, my question for all of you is how do you make the math work and have a small buffer with such a low payload capacity?

GFC Pro V2 - 275 lbs Family of 4 - 465 lbs All other items - 300 lbs? (Based on AI guess)

• AI approximation for 3 days *

• Total 1,040

Because I’ve never done it I don’t even know if AI was close on the all other weight. Am I over thinking this or missing something? It seems there’s not even a good source for gladiator payload capacity and that you have to subtract the GVWR and curb weight (which I can’t find).

Thanks for the insight

I posted on here a while ago in search of a manufacture of "chopped" ambulance overlanders. This is the closest thing I've seen to it, since seeing a fleet of them driving north out of Moab a while back. Someone manufactures and overland off of a very similar platform. I don't think they were dually, but I could have been mistake. The ones I saw were also blacked out and kitted more for off road use. There is a small badge on the box that said "North Star" on this particular vehicle, but I couldn't find anything with a quick google. Any ideas??

What all do you carry when beach camping? We have added the gazalle screenroom for when the bug gets bad at night or early morning but its also a great campsite placeholder while we explore the beach. Was wondering what everybody else brings?

Hey all, I am looking for a new car! I'm a big outdoors person and would love to be able to make it a little further off the beaten path. I go on lots of ski trips, car camping and road trips to visit family.

My conundrum is that I also happen to live in Los Angeles and have a 20 mile commute (each way) to my job, leaving most of my driving in dense stop and go city traffic. (Each way taking ~1 hour).

I have been in a deep struggle to find any modern vehicle that will let me camp, light offroad and commute in city traffic... looking for advice!

Requirements:
-Budget: 60k
-Year: EDIT: ~2020 ~2023 or newer
-Good mpg in the city for commuting, dont really care about highway mpg (plug in hybrids welcome)
-Not fully eletric (I own one now, charging SUCKS)
-More than willing mod a little to get it more offroady if required
-Carplay & non tinny screen (or the ability to install one)

FWIW: I love the Land Crusers, Tacomas, 4 Runners, Seqoia (I'm a Toyota hoe), I just hate their mpg..

I have been searching for a camper to buy. I am used to tent camping, but wanted something sturdy for our road tripping adventures. My kids and I like to go to national parks and find dispersed camping. I had been looking at pop ups, but am concerned that maybe they arent rugged enough for some of the gravel/dirt roads that you sometimes have to travel down to get to the sites. Can anyone provide me with any input? What I'm looking for is something small that can fit 4 people, preferably adults and can handle mild offroading. I don't necessarily need an indoor kitchen, but a fridge and sink would be nice, but even the sink, I guess wouldn't really be necessary. Any advice would be helpful, I'm entirely new to this.

Hello everyone, I currently own an Anker Solix C1000 power station and would like to extend the battery capacity by hooking up a Vatrer 12v 200ah battery to it. I know that I can use the solar input to connect the two, but I would like to use a converter to increase the input from 12v to 48v. Does anyone have any recommendations for a converter or have any advice?

I would like to hit the maximum 600w of solar input, but am not sure how to proceed. The power station accepts inputs 10A from 11-32v and 12.5A from 32-60v. Would something like this step up converter work? If so, how would I set it up? Thanks in advance!

I am doing research into RV lenders for my overloading rig and am wondering if anyone has had any good experiences with their RV lender? Or any that I should stay away from? Thanks!

I got way too invested into this haha. But it was a fun little project. I'm really pleased with how they turned out (aside from my attempt at a red coating turning neon pink).

Anyone have a good recommendation of lights I can mount on my rack that have wiring for 2 separate light colors? Able to point down or made already pointing down but depending on which power switch I hit will change its color from either white to amber and so on. Looking to be able to turn on amber at the camp sight so I don’t have a blinding white but able to use blinding white if I need it.

I recently saw a truck with an otr antenna mounted on the bed cab rail with a bracket that hinged down, so one could lock it in an upright position or lay it down for travel or something like going through a carwash. It was in a costco parking lot and I waited a while for the person to come out so I could ask where they got it but had to leave, I messaged weboost but they said they didn't sell anything like that.

Any ideas where to find one?

Has anyone ever taken Ironman coilovers apart? What I mean is compressing the spring and removing the strut mount. I'm looking to do this to replace their stock atrut mount studs with longer ones because the stock are abismally short. I spoke to Ironman and was told not to take them apart because supposedly the nut on top breaks (?) and some other weird stuff. I've taken factory shocks apart before without any issues, and as far as I can tell the Ironman struts don't look any different.

Car: Subaru Crosstrek

I’ve watched Expedition Overland on Prime Video but recently been checking out long-form YouTube videos about overlanding.

My favorite YT channel is Lifestyle Overlanding: https://youtube.com/@lifestyleoverland

Please chime in with more overlanding movies, series, or creators suggestions!

I want to integrate route planning into my app. But, I'm not much of a route planner myself. I have planned some basic routes but I know some of you are hard core Gaia using, waypoint setting masters.

What are practical details of how it's done? Are you panning around the map, setting waypoints here and there and building the route between those waypoints? If so, how far apart are the waypoints and how do you determine where to set them?

Or, are there tools built into the mapping app you use that build the route for you (my app does this at a basic level).

I’m trying to decide between the 2. Both 2015, CVT, just over 100,000 miles. I plan on lifting and getting skid plates and better tires. I don’t do any heavy off roading. Just forest service roads, dunes, and dirt roads or in the desert. I don’t need to sleep in the vehicle, but it would be nice to have the option. Any input would be appreciated.

My wife was talking about getting for me and I just don’t think a bigger one is gonna be fully necessary for what I do. Is there anything I’m not thinking about?

Hey folks

I've been offroading and overloading for a number of years, preferring to head places you can't go to with a Subaru. Used to live out west for a while, where offroading felt more organized, and I kinda miss it. We have a good chunk of National Forest close by, and more available if we're willing to drive a bit. I do trails to challenge me and my vehicle, see stuff, take photographs, and to get to campsites. I don't do trails to go playing in mud pits (never understood the appeal tbh). Mud on the trail is one thing. Intentionally getting mud in every nook and cranny of your vehicle just for shits and giggles just sounds like a lot of work to clean up afterward 😀. Also not into rock crawling just for the sake of it either.

Anyhow, I'm looking for no-drama folks to go hit some trails with, camp, etc. To give fair warning, I hate politics with a passion that burns brighter than the sun, and am not a religionist at all, and don't want to talk about either topic on the trail or in camp. I want to be on the trail just to be on the trail, and talk about being on the trail, talking about memories of other trails and adventures we've been on. Just revel in being out there doing trail things. I don't care what your gender or sexual orientation is, or what your hair color is: I just want to be human with other humans.

I'm self employed and can also do trails on weekdays with enough notice. Also planning a trip back to northern NM in the fall. It's a long old drive but it's beautiful out there. We did a chunk of the southern NM BDR last fall but didn't get as far as planned because of mechanical issues, so want to go back and finish what we started.

Currently crossing Bolivia into Chila via the Lagunas Route. It is a multi day off road route about 400 kilometers through one of the highest and dryest deserts in the world.

Looking to get some ideas from the more experienced overlanders here. What is an unassuming item you keep in your kitchen/cooking tote or kit that you think is underrated for how useful or helpful it is for you?