Overlanding season is here! Whether you’re heading to the mountains or going on a road trip, making sure you have the essentials for your outdoor journey is ideal. For those of you that aren’t familiar with overlanding, it is a cross between off-roading and camping and focuses on the adventure of vacation rather than the destination. For Coloradoans, outdoor adventures are part of everyday life with tons of 4×4 trails to ride and beautiful places to camp in the open space. As you plan to do so, you will want to make sure you have the right gear to embark on your outlanding trip. For all you adventurers out there, we have compiled a list of must haves for your vehicle to get you prepared.
Racks and cargo management
Overland racks or bed racks are a must for trucks for a place to set your tent. RCI Off Road sells a variety of racks for Jeeps and trucks to hold your overlanding tent, recovery boards, portable gasoline tanks, and more. Treck by Road Armorhas an extensible, modular platform that can be customized to fit your vehicle or the situation you are using it for. This bedrail system can hold tent and your spare tire and other accessories as you venture out into the unknown.
Tents/ awnings and sleeping
An overlanding must have is a tent! But not just any tent, one for the roof your car. There are many options when choosing the right tent for your vehicle. Roofnest offers an easy setup that attaches to your roof rack and pops up within seconds. They come with a built-in foam mattress and attached hardtop to enclose and keep you and your tent protected from the elements. Tepui offers soft shell and hard-shell tents in a variety of styles to fit your vehicle. Overland Vehicle Systems offers options for larger tents for the roof and side of your car for more coverage. Extended rooftop tents that fit three people with sky lights and storage compartments gives you the ultimate overlanding camping experience.
Camping essentials
There are many items to bring with you for camping including a grill, campfire equipment, a camp shower and more. Most importantly, Bullhide 4×4 recommends having a first aid kit. You never know when an accident could happen, and you will want to be prepared. A generator is another item to have on hand to help power lights, charge batteries and phones, and more. Finally, we recommend having a YETI cooler and or fridge freezer on hand to keep water and food cold and stored. YETI offers hard and soft coolers, a variety of drinkware, bags and other camping accessories to enhance your outdoor experience.
Vehicle upgrades and accessories
If you decide you want to climb and crawl with your vehicle on your outlanding trip, Bullhide 4×4 recommends some vehicle upgrades to not only make your vehicle look good but to help it be successful on its quest. An AEV lift kit will raise your suspension to assist with ground clearance when driving over tough terrain. Black Rhino hard alloy wheels and a set of off-road tires will help you tackle any terrain and get you to your destination. We recommend Smittybilt XRC Armor rock sliders and skid plates to assist your vehicle over large rocks and landscape when rock crawling.
Vehicle recovery
If you’re going on an off-road adventure and plan to drive trails, you will want to make sure that you are equipped with the essentials for vehicle recovery. Rotopax sells products for water and fuel storage. Their 2-gallon water container will help make sure that you and your adventure buddies stay hydrated. They also offer a slim 1.5-gallon portable gasoline holder that will allow you to transport gas easier by storing it on your roll bar or on a flat surface. If you are out riding trails and your vehicle gets stuck, we recommend having a Hi-Lift Jack, winch with recovery equipment, and/or TRED recovery boards. The Hi-Lift Jack is a versatile and rugged jack that is designed to help in all situations. A winch recovery rig such as, WARN, will you help you to get out of tricky situations. Their accessory kits come with shackles, a recovery strap, a tree trunk protector, snatch block and gloves to help you get your vehicle out. Recovery boards are another option to help your stuck vehicle get moving. TRED recovery boards by ARB are designed with hex grip nodules, strong ramp entry teeth, and wear resistant properties to help your vehicle out of sand, snow, or other situations where your tires can’t get traction.
Bullhide 4×4 can get you geared up and ready with any of these products for your outlanding journey. If you have any questions about outlanding or would like more information on the highlighted items, please give us a call at 970.224.2288, email us at info@bullhide4x4.com or visit us at 5817 S. College Ave. in Fort Collins, Colorado.