Traveling overland is a unique style of exploring the world and therefor full of extraordinary people and their vehicles. I’ve met some of them on the road and others only online. In this article we’ll discuss what is an overlanding vehicle and what makes a great one.
What Is An Overlanding Vehicle? An overlanding vehicle is any form of transportation that gets your from A to B. From bicycles and motorcycles to 4x4 cars and expedition trucks. What it takes for a vehicle to qualify as an overlanding vehicle is up to the driver to decide.
Now that you know what the rough definition of an overlanding vehicle is, let’s look at some examples to get an idea and the considerations you should take into account when getting you own.
I’ve tried to link each photo in this post to a detailed blog post by the owner about their vehicle, so you can find out more about the machine if you see one that you are interested in.
Every traveler has his or her own unique style of traveling
They say a dog looks like its owner, I think the same applies for overlanding vehicles. The vehicle a person travels in says something about their character. I’ve met many overlanders over the years but I have never seen two exactly the same vehicles. I’ve seen plenty of Landcruisers and KTM’s but never have they been a copy, small adjustments made by their owners made the vehicles uniquely customised to suit them.
When I was traveling through Central Asia, I heard about a guy traveling on his unicycle. As a Dutchie I can understand the attraction of traveling by bicycle (a push bike some of you might call it), but a unicycle. A bicycle with only one wheel? That just seemed absurd to me due to its impracticalities. Three years later I bump into the guy on the internet and it turns out he circumnavigated the globe on that thing. That is bloody incredible! Whatever rocks your boat when it comes to overlanding, do it your way.
Consider your budget
Now before you start dreaming about the biggest and baddest expedition truck you can think of, take a hard and honest look at your budget. You don’t want to spend all of your budget on your vehicle leaving nothing for actually traveling. And overlanding is all about getting out there. It is not about the destination, overlanding is about the journey.
What does an overlanding vehicle cost?
Consider your travel style
A unicycle is not for me and probably neither your cup of tea. Have you travelled overland before? Do you know what your style is? Browsing the internet you will quickly find loads of articles claiming that this is the best overlanding vehicle on the planet. But always ask yourself when reading these kinds of posts: Is this for me? Not everyone is able of climb up and down a ladder every night to go to sleep in their rooftop tent.
With the amount fo wheels going up from 1 to 6 or 8 the level of comfort also goes up. A bicyclist has to be a minimalist when it comes to packing and comfort, because not a lot fits on his or her vehicle. A car has more space and will therefor be more comfortable. What is your comfort level like?
Another important question that greatly influences the type of vehicle you can choose is; “How many people are you traveling with and are they able and willing to drive their own?” I’m talking about children off course. Overlanding with children is absolutely possible, but you are likely not going on motorcycles. But you don’t have to jump to the conclusion and spend all of your savings on an expedition truck.
The legendary Zapp family started traveling as a couple in an 1928 Graham Page Automobile leaving their home in Argentina behind. Along the way their 4 kids were born while traveling around the world. The car is not designed for overlanding nor as a family camper. Yet they are still on the road exploring the world, what an incredible way to grow up. It goes to show that the perfect one for all overlanding vehicle does not exist.
Consider your goals
What do you want to achieve with this trip? I’m not talking about setting a new world record, but about what is going to make this a good one in your books. Maybe it is to visit a specific place in the world, a sight you always wanted to see? Maybe you want to meet as many local people as possible or maybe you want to ride as many unpaved roads and get as wild as you possibly can. Do you want to go camping or do you hate it? Each vehicle that fits one of these goals looks different.
4 wheel drive cars
4x4 cars, trucks or 4wheelers. The names for this type of vehicle are endless and often the first thing people thing about when starting their overland journey. And for a good reason, they are fit for any kind of adventure.
Remote or not, you can take this kind of machine everywhere. It feels at home in the Sahara desert driving endless piste through the deep sand where you park for the night in your million star hotel.
When you get to the capitol of the country you can fit and park everywhere. No need to triple check the height of a gate before arriving anywhere. Drive to the hotel and stay without any hassle.
Weight limits are not your thing and you also don't have to pay ridiculous amounts of toll or get a special drivers licence for your car.
It is the type of vehicle that doesn't require a lot of preparation other then the ones that you want to make. They are made for this.
Popular models include the Landrover Defender, Toyota Landcruiser and Jeeps.
Motorcycles
Overland Expedition Trucks
Bicycles
Cars
7 unique overlanding vehicles you never thought to take
You are doing what? It is a question of utter disbelief. Strangers confronted with the act of overlanding are often surprised by the fact you drove there. Thousands of kilometres away from home. Imagine the reactions when looking at the vehicles these people chose to do their trips with. That gives me the same reaction, you are overlanding with this?
