The Overland Expo is one of the most exciting events of the year, a chance to reconnect with friends, listen to stories of adventure, and explore the newest products for overlanding. While the west show has been huge in recent years, the east event is also growing, and now changing venues to Arrington, Virginia and…
Expedition Portal Classifieds: 1986 4×4 Pathfinder 54K Original Miles
In a day and age where people don’t even blink at a van that costs $150,000, I find it refreshing to return to the movement’s roots. Back to the dream of a cheap van, the open road, and the freedom of a life not tied down by massive car payments or rent. Maybe that’s why…
E-Series Revival: Sportsmobile’s Rebirth of the Econoline
I don’t think the Ford Econoline gets nearly the credit it deserves. While most of us look at the GT and the Mustang as the blue oval’s heritage cars, I feel the E-Series is equally deserving, perhaps more so. I mean, sure, the GT won a lot of titles. And the Mustang inspired generations of…
Patriot’s Desert Ops LC79 Is A SuperTourer With Retro Flare
When Patriot Campers brought their first SuperTourer to the United States, a lot of off-road and overland enthusiasts lost their minds. Some loved it, others hated it, but almost everyone agreed that Patriot’s all-out approach to the build was as unique as it was well executed. Now, Patriot has unveiled a new LC79 Super-Tourer called…
The First Ever Rocky Mountain Overland Rally
The bonfire had died down to a glowing mound of coals, but with good-natured prodding from the hundreds gathered around it, Teepee Dave, the resident pyrotechnic, hauled more pallets over from the stacks ringing the pit and stoked the flames back to life. Ray Hyland, one of the event organizers and the ring leader of…
The Desert Ops Patriot X1-N :: Overland News
When the best* Australian trailer gets better. . . and more affordable. Australian backcountry roads are brutal, and they manage to rip apart nearly any trailer sent down their corrugations. Because of that, Aussie designs and engineering focuses on durability- serious durability. And that was when I first encountered a Patriot Camper, watching one survive…
Expedition Portal Classifieds: Basil Lynch’s 7.3L F250
Over the last few years, Basil Lynch has turned his F-250 and custom camper into a one-of-a-kind overland dream rig. Many of us followed the build, as well as the numerous adventures which followed, but now he’s planning his biggest trip yet, a journey down to Central and South America. Unfortunately, it seems Bruce, his…
Will the new 2020 AWD Ford Transit Dethrone the Sprinter?
For the last five years, the Mercedes Sprinter has quite literally revolutionized the backcountry RV market, upending longtime offerings like the Ford E350. The popularity of the Sprinter was so extreme that inventory backlogs extended into the next model year, and industry leaders like Sportsmobile were ordering 100 units at a time (the most that…
The Raddest Rides of Adventure Van Expo
Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, step right up for your chance to see the latest and greatest in adventurous rides. On display today are delectable Delicas, superb Sprinters, excellent E-350s, and a smattering of nearly every other van and four-wheel drive in between. Are you looking to drop a few hundred thousand on a…
Do Not Start Overlanding
“Begin er niet aan, dit is verslaavend (Do not start, it is addictive).” –taken from a sticker given to me by a Dutch overlander Recently I wrote a short letter to my friend Dr. Rosselli seeking clarification. Dr. Rosselli is an internationally renowned Colombian neurologist, and himself an overlander who primarily travels unknown and dangerous…
Video Of The Week: Appetite for Altitude
We all have that one big camping trip we look forward to each year. The destination could be halfway across the world or just around the corner. The means of travel could range from bush planes to backpacking, and the timeline might vary from days to weeks. But what each trip shares are a sense…
Rain, Snow, and Sprinters On The RoamBuilt Adventure
We were near the front of the pack now, the lead vehicle in a caravan of 11 dust-strewn vans. I looked to my left and found my gaze dropping straight down the immense weather-worn walls of the Grand Canyon. There was no escaping its magnitude this close. Even as we carefully navigated along its outer…
Expedition Portal Classifieds: HZJ77 Pop-Top Land Cruiser
Today’s classified is something pretty special. Not only are you looking at one of the few HZJ77s here in the states, but this one is freshly completed with a pop-top and custom camper interior. The seller states that this specific truck was being outfitted for rental service here in the USA, and as you’d expect…
The Off-Road Wedge Camper Shootout
We put five of the market’s most popular shell campers in a head-to-head test to determine which one might be best for you.
This Van Is For Sale, And It Comes With A Matching Sauna Trailer
We’ve seen a lot of crazy builds over the years, from Land Rover Discovery II’s turned into custom RVs to enormous 8×8 campers, but this Sportsmobile might take the cake. While reading through some infrared sauna reviews – I realized that it’s not the van itself which is so unusual, but rather the fact that…
The Newest Overland Gear At Outdoor Retailer 2019
If you caught Scott Brady’s recent article, you’d know that overlanding is officially in at Outdoor Retailer. It’s hip, it’s hot, and it was happening across every corner of the show. From Series Land Rovers to Earth Cruisers, vehicles of every kind were being embraced by brands to showcase their products in a new and…
Outdoor Retailer Show Adopts Overlanding
Expedition Portal and Overland Journal first attended the Outdoor Retailer show in 2006, over 13 years ago. Initially, we were met with reserved curiosity, the outdoor industry unsure about its relationship with vehicle-based adventuring. However, in the subsequent years, we have received more and more attention and adoption from the community, and the outdoor industry…
How The Vanlife App Could Change Life on The Road Forever
The open road, a tank full of fuel, and no deadline for a return home; that’s a dream many travelers share. We imagine ourselves roaming the world from the crests of cascading sand dunes to the shores of remote mountain lakes, fulfilled by the vast riches our Earth has to offer and the memories we’re…
Featured Vehicle: Overlanding Brute
There are fundamental elements of a good overland vehicle: the combination of serviceability (or ultimate reliability), capacity (payload and cargo volume), capability for when the terrain gets technical, and enough comfort to keep driver fatigue at bay. For the last 15 years, American Expedition Vehicles has been trying to pull the Jeep Wrangler into the…
Adventure Van Expo: The Free Overland and Van Event You Need To See
Thanks to social media and a new generation of travelers, both overlanding and vanlife are flourishing here in North America. The negative connotations of living out of your truck or sleeping in a van down by the river are deteriorating, leading many people to ditch their sedentary lives for a path of adventure. But learning…