If you asked me to name the best bike brand, it would be impossible. Dozens of brands make top-shelf bikes that are an absolute pleasure to ride and full of creative technologies. However, naming the best bike rack brand is easy: 1UP. Several other brands make totally competent racks, but none are as unique, well made, thoroughly designed, or beautiful as what 1UP constantly pumps out.

Case in point is 1UP’s new Super Duty bike rack. I’ve been testing it for the past several months on the back of my 2024 Toyota Tundra and there is not one thing I can find wrong with the design.

1UP racks have long had a cult-like following because they’re the best rack out there for safely transporting your expensive bike. Their design uses two arms that secure your wheels by reaching over them and putting downward pressure on your tires to keep the bike locked in place on a metal tray. By locking on the tires, the arms never touch your frame and therefore won’t rub the paint or damage the bike, while still keeping it completely planted and safe.

This design also has the added benefit of a super clean aesthetic. The two arms sit nicely on the wheels, creating a symmetrical design, and everything is made from polished or simple black aluminum. When folded up and not in use, all the 1UP bike racks tuck against the back of your car more cleanly and efficiently than any other rack out there, almost blending into the car or the tailgate.

Testing the 1UP Super Duty

The version I tested is an upgrade over the standard 1UP rack in several important ways. The biggest talking point is that each tray can now hold up to 100 pounds (compared to 50 pounds per tray on their standard rack), and each tray and lock-down arm is wider so you can now safely carry the heaviest e-bikes or even a wide-tired electric dirt bike like those made by Super 73.

The electric dirt bike capability is a big deal because lots of overlanders are buying these adventure bikes as add-ons for their rigs. They’ll find a remote camping spot, set up their truck with all its accessories, and then jump on their Super 73 to explore, or even run back into town for groceries. Without something like the 1UP rack, overlanders have had to stuff their adventure bikes into vans and truck beds, or build custom racks.

Additionally, the Super Duty is compatible with what 1UP calls a wheel chock, a v-shaped device that slots into the tray and holds the front wheel of your bike as a third point of contact. I loved this because during my testing I carried expensive carbon bikes up a series of gnarly, off-grid roads that had my truck bouncing around to the point where my family threatened to get out and walk. The normal arms kept my bikes in place, but the wheel chock was a nice piece of insurance. I like knowing that no matter how much time I spend bouncing on a dirt road, it’s almost impossible for my bike to fall off.

Another smaller but important update is the one-handed arm adjustment feature. Other 1UP racks require two hands to open the arms on the tray, but the Super Duty allows you to open the arms one handed so you can keep your other hand on your bike.

Like all 1UP bike racks, the Super Duty was effortless to install. It slid into my two-inch hitch, I decided how far I wanted it to sit from my tailgate, and I tightened it down with a couple of twists of the included wrench. Over several thousand miles of driving, including several hundred miles of dirt roads, the hitch is still as secure as when I installed it and there isn’t a milliliter of wobble. I’ve tested many other bike racks from big-name brands, and all of them have eventually come loose, so it’s an absolute pleasure to not ever have to worry about the 1UP.

As you might guess, the Super Duty is not cheap. My double trays cost a hearty $900, and the single comes in at $600. But the saying “buy once, cry once” is as true as it comes here because this will be the last bike rack you’ll need for years, if not decades, and will only become obsolete if bikes change in some crazy way. Knowing how good the Super Duty is at protecting your bike also takes the pain away as you drive around confident that your $4,000—or $14,000—whip is totally locked down and safe.

The post 1UP’s Super Duty Bike Rack Is a Marvel of EngineeringÌę appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Next time you drive anywhere—to work, school, your local ski area—check the tires on the vehicles around you and more than likely you’ll see a set of BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrains (ATs) rolling by. Long loved for their performance and looks, the KO2 is the most ubiquitous all-terrain tire on the market, and for good reason.

Made to perform well in all conditions the KO2 has helped thousands of drivers plow through snow, mud, and sand on the way to their next adventures. Here at șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű we’ve hammered home many times that a quality tire is the most important upgrade you can make for off-road performance, and we’ve always rated the KO2 as a good investment.

After 10 years of KO2 popularity, BFG , which moves the tire forward in several ways. I’ve been testing the tires for months on my 2024 Tundra in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and also had the chance to drive them during an off-road adventure in Alaska. I’ve been impressed with the performance over thousands of miles of pavement and every off-road condition imaginable. Whether tearing up muddy roads, crawling up high-clearance 4×4 routes, trying to park my car in deep snow banks, or cruising freeways at 75 mph, the KO3 has always felt like a good choice.

To learn how the BFG engineers took an already top-performing tire like the KO2 and made it even better, I sat down with two people who were instrumental in the design and launch of the BFGoodrich KO3—Brandon Sturgis, BFG’s global product manager, and Jon Jewell, one of the company’s product design and industrialization engineers. Sturgis and Jewell started the conversation by listing all the spots where they wanted to see improvement: wear, road noise, and performance on gravel, snow, mud, and wet spots.

Improved Durability

Better wear was a key focus for two reasons. First, the BFGoodrich KO3s are expensive so buyers want their investment to last. Second, KO3 buyers use the tires hard and don’t want them to fail because of uneven or fast wear. BFG made the KO3 15 percent more durable than the KO2 by using a new rubber compound and packing the lugs closer together to create a denser contact patch where they meet the road. The rubber compound is formulated for supposed to be better at absorbing the contact from the road, which creates less wear, and the denser contact patch reduces the stress on the individual lugs.

The KO3 comes with the same 50,000-mile warranty as the KO2, but thanks to the more durable build, the KO3 is rated for today’s increasingly powerful trucks and SUVs that put extra wear on tires—like my Tundra.

With the explosion of overlanding in the U.S. and across the world, BFG saw that the KO2s were spending increased time on rough dirt roads. For the KO3s they wanted to cut down on what’s called “chip and tear,” where parts of the lugs get sliced by the gravel and eventually tear away, reducing the tire’s effectiveness and longevity. BFG’s new KO3 rubber compound allows for increased elastic deformation in the lugs so that they can conform to gravel in the road instead of getting shredded. The lug pattern is also designed so that no one individual lug takes a particular beating—all the grouped lugs on each section of the tire work together to absorb the impact.

Sidewall durability is important on an all-terrain tire because sidewall punctures are pretty much impossible to repair. To ensure drivers don’t get stranded with the KO3, BFG built an extra-burly sidewall into the tire that uses technology from their Baja T/A KR line of tires that are used on high-powered, off-road race vehicles.

More Versatile Performance

Those of us who love to ski, or just enjoy exploring in winter, will be happy to hear that the KO3 improves snow traction thanks to a new sipe design. Sipes are the slits in the lugs that open as the tire makes contact with the ground, allowing the lug to bite into the snow. The sipes on the KO3 go the full depth of the lug, creating a large bite. Inside the sipe there’s an egg carton-like structure that keeps the two sides of the lug from deforming when it hits the road, enabling a better bite and more even wear that allows the lugs to last longer.

“We wanted to make sure we created a tire that performed just as well in the Texas summer as it does in the Canadian winter,” Jewell said.

BFG makes a tire called the KM3 that’s designed specifically to excel in mud, but the multiple-use KO3 does amazingly well—something I saw as we powered through puddles in Alaska. That’s thanks to a more aggressive lug pattern on the side of the tire and mud-phobic bars between the lugs that help release the suction that builds up when mud gets pushed in between the lugs so that it can fall out and the lugs can go back to biting into new mud down the road.

To ensure the KO3s stay planted on wet pavement, the lug pattern was designed to push water out of the way when the rubber meets the road. The new rubber compound, along with the sipes, also help create grip so that you can cruise down the freeway safely, rain or shine.

Reduced Road Noise

Since most drivers spend the majority of their time on pavement and don’t want to listen to a constant hum, BFG engineers created a pattern where not all the lugs hit at the same time, designed lugs that give off variable pitches, which creates a less ferocious noise, and tuned some lugs to cancel each other’s noise out. In my testing, I found the tires are louder than a regular street tire, but not by much.

All of this engineering takes time, of course, and Sturgis said BFG first started developing the KO3 back in 2015. The KO03 also builds on the 10-year run of the KO2, and the 15 year run of the original KO before that.

BFG tested the KO3 for years before launching. The ultimate test comes when they sling their tires on buggies and trucks running the Score Baja 500 and the Baja 1000—two of the world’s most famous off-road races. They’ve had a lot of success: Over the years BFG-equipped vehicles have won 35 Baja 500s and 343 Baja 1000s. The KO3s were used on the Baja Challenge 1000-winning buggies that won the 2022 San Felipe 250 and the 2023 Baja 1000. 2021, 2022, and 2023 Baja 1000 races.

I didn’t get to ask Jewell and Sturgis about when BFG plans to launch the KO4, or whatever iteration of the all-terrain tire they have up their sleeves next. They both, however, hinted that, as product people, they’re always watching how the current product is performing, then weighing that with the development of vehicles and how people want to adventure.

“I can tell you that ideation never stops, and at BFG we think there is no reason to not apply what we’ve learned as soon as we can,” Jewell said.

The post The Most Popular All-Terrain Tire Just Got Better appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

A very cold and wet camping experience a few weeks ago reminded me of the importance of a good heater in your rig. Upon arriving at camp, I discovered that one of my water jugs had leaked about two gallons of water onto the truck bed’s . Shortly after that, it started raining, which turned to snow a few hours later. The precipitation didn’t let up for two days. It was the first winter storm of the season, and the humidity and cold temperatures made it impossible to dry out the moisture in the BedRug, not to mention all my wet clothing and gear. Like an idiot, I’d left my portable diesel heater at home, thinking it wouldn’t be cold enough over the weekend to need it. I was seriously mistaken.

In my view, the whole point of a built-out adventure rig of any kind—be it a van, travel trailer, or truck camper—is to keep you more comfortable than a simple ground tent would. A huge part of that is providing a warm and dry space to be during inclement weather, which is where heat comes into play.

Sure, a good sleeping bag is really all you need to stay warm and survive cold nights, but we aren’t talking about survival here. We’re talking about thriving, and extending your camping season well past what you’d likely suffer through in a tent. I’ve been testing various budget-friendly heaters in my truck camper over the last year in an attempt to find a safe, reliable solution that’ll keep me warm all winter long.

There are a few main types of heaters: electric, propane, and diesel or gasoline. (You can read more about the pros and cons of each one below, if you’re interested.) To determine the best options, I tried four of the most popular models on the market. The electric heater—a small Honeywell-brand space heater called the Heat Bud—isn’t reviewed here because it simply didn’t heat my camper effectively. It also pulled too many watts from my to make the meager heat worth it. All in all, I wouldn’t recommend a small electric heater for your van or truck camper. The propane and diesel heaters I tested, however, are certainly worth considering. Here’s how the rest of the test shook out.

The ResultsÌę

• Best Value: ($65)
• Best Propane: ($360)
• Best Diesel: ($116)
• Types of Heaters
• A Note on Safety
• Takeaways

Mr. Heater Little Buddy

Ìę

People have been using Mr. Heater’s Little Buddy (and its more common, bigger brother, the ) portable heater to heat tents, campers and more for decades. They run on one-pound propane cylinders, are simple to use, and put out a good amount of heat for their size. The Little Buddy puts out 3800 BTUs. (For comparison’s sake, the electric heater I tested—the —puts out just 853 BTUs.) It can run for 5.6 hours on a one-pound propane cylinder and heats up to 95 square feet. The larger Buddy puts out up to 9000 BTUs—more than twice as much heat—and will heat up to 225 square feet. The Buddy chews through fuel, though: it will burn for just 2.4 hours on a one-pound cylinder of propane when running on high.

While Mr. Heater says these are safe for indoor use, I personally have never felt comfortable running them overnight. Such propane heaters don’t have any way to vent exhaust, so all the byproducts of combustion, including carbon monoxide (CO), fill up the space they’re heating. That means you have to open windows to ensure your rig is properly ventilated—not ideal if it’s frigid outside and you’re trying to keep heat in. These heaters have built-in Oxygen Depletion Sensors, so in theory they’re supposed to shut off if there’s not enough oxygen in the space. They also have an exposed flame, so you have to be careful to make sure there are no flammable materials nearby (although they do have built-in tip-over protection that shuts down the heater if it tips over).

In my experience, the Little Buddy did not put out enough heat to warm the camper sufficiently in temperatures below 40 degrees, and was better suited to keeping me warm while I was sitting around before hopping into bed. The Buddy’s 9000-BTU output was a better match for the Tune M1’s size, but the safety concerns and the 2.4-hour runtime meant I only ever used it while putting clothes on in the morning or just before bed. To me, that’s not sufficient, especially if you’ll spend hours inside your camper, either riding out bad weather or just killing time before bed. Winter nights are long, after all. I also found that these heaters do, in fact, add a lot of moisture to the air; I wound up with condensation on the walls of the camper after using both.

CAMCO Olympian Wave-3 Catalytic Safety Heater

Ìę

The Wave-3 sounded like a nice compromise between the Heat Bud and Buddy heater: it ran on propane, but could allegedly be run safely for long periods of time. While this heater is not a forced-air furnace with an exhaust vent, it’s supposed to be much safer to use indoors than say, a Buddy (although it does still require ventilation in the space). That’s thanks to a chemical coating on the heating element that supposedly retains harmful gasses. It’s particularly interesting because it can be hard-mounted in a camper or used as a portable heater with the .

It puts out up to 3000 BTUs, is rated to heat up to 130 square feet, has a safety shut-off valve, doesn’t require electricity since there’s no fan, and uses very little propane. I loved that it was totally silent, and I was also able to hook it up to a rather than rely on the disposable one-pound bottles. Doing that, I was able to run the heater on high for around 30 hours before running out of fuel.

I still never felt totally comfortable leaving it running overnight while I slept since the exhaust isn’t vented to the outside, but I have run it for six hours while riding out a storm in the camper. I found that it can create condensation on the walls of the camper, but it was less noticeable than with the Buddy.

The biggest downside to the Wave-3 is that because it is a radiant heater rather than a forced-air furnace with a fan, it warms the surfaces (or people) it’s pointed at rather than heating the air itself. While that might sound great, I found that in practice it doesn’t always work—you can feel the warmth from the heater when sitting next to it or getting dressed, but climb up into bed away from where the heater is pointed and it’ll be quite chilly. If you just want to use a heater to take the edge off while hanging out inside your camper, the Wave-3 (or larger , depending on how big your rig is) is a great choice, and hard to beat from a price, efficiency, and size perspective. If, however, you want to heat the entire space in your rig and be able to hang out inside without a jacket on, keep reading.

Vevor 12V 5KW Integrated Diesel Heater

Diesel heaters have become tremendously popular for winter camping over the last five years or so. Brands like Webasto and Espar have been popular in van builds for some time, and I first used a to heat a teardrop trailer I owned several years ago. I had great luck with that heater, and it was a little too powerful—it could cook us out of the tiny teardrop.

Chinese-made versions of Espar- and Planar-style heaters available on Amazon used to be riddled with problems, and people complained about them breaking all the time. However, they’ve gotten significantly better over the last few years and you can find them for much cheaper than the name brands. I decided to try a Vevor 5KW model, which seems to be the most well-regarded one of the bunch.

The Vevor is an integrated heater, meaning the fuel tank, heater, and all the components are housed together in a box. It came mostly assembled, and all I had to do was crimp two wires to , connect an exhaust and an air intake hose to the unit, fill it with diesel, and turn it on.

The beauty of this being a portable unit is that you don’t have to do a complicated installation inside your rig—just plug it into your 12v power source, set it outside the camper, run the hose in and you’ve got heat. That’s particularly nice because you don’t have to worry about exhaust leaking inside the camper, or the noise of the fuel pump or fan.

I first used this heater on a late-season Barbary Sheep hunt last January. Temps were in the teens overnight, and a buddy and I stayed warm in the Tune despite having to jerry-rig an entry port for the heat hose to enter and not having the camper’s insulation pack (basically an insulated cover that helps seal in heat)Ìęinstalled at that time. From that first use, I’ve been sold. I’ve found that when running on high, it’ll easily keep the Tune 40 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature. On a recent night that dropped into the 30’s here in Santa Fe, I let the heater run all night on high and it kept the inside above 80 degrees. None of the other heaters I tested could come close to maintaining those temperatures.

The Vevor packs enough punch for the coldest nights I’ve camped in. It’s also incredibly efficient. It uses about a gallon of fuel per night, and only pulls 40 amps once it’s running, so my Goal Zero Yeti 1500x can power it for about 40 hours. That leaves plenty of battery left to run other things in the camper like lights, the fridge, and a vent fan.

The biggest downside to a diesel heater is the fact that, unless you drive a diesel rig, you need to carry an additional fuel source with you. I don’t mind, and the dry heat this thing puts out is worth the extra hassle there—I haven’t experienced any condensation inside the camper when using this heater. One thing you have to watch out for is the cap on the fuel tank—it’s vented, so if you fill the tank and then the heater is rocking around in the back of your truck, some fuel will spill out. I typically fix the issue by putting a piece of tape over the hole or a latex glove under the cap until it’s time to run.

I haven’t had any issues with the Vevor heater over the six months I’ve been using it. Some folks claim Vevors need to be cleaned more frequently than the more expensive units, and that some of the parts like small gaskets and fuel lines aren’t particularly durable. At $116, though, you could buy 12 of these units for the price of , so I’ll take my chances.

Types of Heaters

First, a quick primer on heaters. The types most commonly found in campers and RVs run off one of three fuel sources: propane, diesel or gasoline, and electricity.

Propane

Propane furnaces have been a mainstay in the RV industry for years. Recently, however, propane-fueled heat has gotten a bad reputation for producing a lot of condensation, but that’s only true of non-vented propane heaters (more on that below). Most quality propane furnaces installed in travel trailers or vans have an exhaust pipe that vents all the byproducts of combustion—including moisture (and carbon monoxide)—away from the living space. All that to say, a quality, vented propane furnace like a Propex or Truma does not produce “wet heat,” and is a great solution for anyone who already uses propane for other camping needs, like cooking. I’ve also found that they work well at high elevations, which can’t always be said for diesel heaters.

Diesel

Diesel heaters have become incredibly popular in recent years due to their size, low cost, ease of use, and in some cases, portability. They’re known for being incredibly efficient, and for producing a ton of “dry heat.” Gasoline-powered versions of these heaters also exist, which mean you can tap into your vehicle’s fuel tank whether you drive a vehicle with a gas or diesel-powered engine. If you don’t drive a diesel-powered vehicle, choosing a diesel heater means you’ll need an auxiliary fuel tank and will be forced to carry around an additional fuel with you. Some diesel heaters also struggle at high altitudes.

Electric

Electric heaters, like space heaters you’d use in your home or office, or heating modes found on many RV AC units, are common. I’ve found these only work for taking the chill off of a cold morning, and don’t provide enough heat to stay comfortable in really cold conditions. Unsurprisingly, they also require a lot of electricity to run, which means you have to be connected to shore power, run a generator, or have a massive, expensive battery bank in your rig.

A Note on Safety

First, it should be noted that each of these solutions could work for your rig depending on how well insulated it is. I’ve been testing these in my Tune M1, which has very little insulation, but if you’ve got a composite camper with a crazy high R-Value, you could likely get away with a less powerful heater.

It should also be noted that anytime you’re using a heater of any kind in a camper, you should have a working carbon monoxide (CO) detector—and a propane detector if you’re using a propane heater—as well as a fire extinguisher. Both these detectors will alert you if gas levels get too high inside your rig, and could save your life if something goes wrong. You can’t be too careful with this stuff.

Anytime I’m winter camping, I also always bring a zero-degree sleeping bag as a backup in case the heater fails.

Takeaways

If you plan to use your rig to chase snow this winter, have a late-season hunt coming up, or just want to extend your camping season, you’re going to want a good heater. If you’ve got a power source and don’t mind bringing along some diesel fuel with you, I highly recommend the . If you want something totally silent that doesn’t require power and are ok with the additional ventilation requirements, the is a big step up over a Buddy-style ceramic heater and, in my view, worth the extra money.

The post The 3 Best Propane and Diesel Heaters for Your Rig appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Check out the above photo of a rental car stuck in sand.ÌęI did that. I did that during a trip to Baja, Mexico. Normally I would have driven my fully-equipped truck—but we had guests and needed rear seats. We had planned a casual outing to a new restaurant that was accessed by a dirt road, and I beached the rental. And, because I was totally unprepared, I ended up relying on the old frayed and knotted orange cargo strap in the bottom of the photo, which I tied to a fragile suspension arm, in order to get out. My equipment was inadequate and unsafe, and the situation could have gone from bad to worse, very quickly.

I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when navigating unpaved roads. That’s why I have painstakingly assembled a kit of survival tools for anyone who like to drive when the pavement ends.

One of those people is my brother-in-law, Ian. He drives to the cabin our family shares in northern Montana, and travels around the Mountain West in his stock Ford Ranger pickup truck. The biggest challenge he regularly tackles is the drive to Bridger Bowl to go snowboarding. And while he doesn’t deliberately bite off as much risk as my wife and I do, that doesn’t mean he should be unprepared. So, I loaded his truck up with the exact supplies I’ve listed below, and showed him how to use them. No matter where you live, or how you drive, you can benefit from the same stuff. Let me show you how:

Traction Boards

Unlike improvised solutions—kitty litter, floor mats, etc—traction boards are designed to work both quickly and reliably. Just shove them under your driven wheels, and they’ll dig into even the slipperiest of surfaces while locking into the lugs on your tiresÌęto facilitate perfect traction between the two. Then you can just drive out of any obstacle.

The teeth on ARB’s Tred Pro boards have been specifically designed to prevent wheelspin that can quickly melt and deform even quality nylon traction boards. Wheelspin will cost you money, and if you’re on a long trip, it will also break your tools, thus eliminating the ones you may needÌęto use the next time you get stuck. Since preventing it makes them beginner-proof, they’re the right choice for most normal drivers.

I last used mine down in Mexico, to dig my truck out of a sand pit on a remote beach when dropping tire pressures and excavating with a shovel proved inadequate. Ian hasn’t used his yet, but with winter approaching, carrying a set will give him peace of mind while navigating icy access roads to the ski hill, or even driving through unplowed side streets after a heavy snow. Heck, I used them to extract a college kid and his Subaru from the street in front of my house last winter.

Recovery Strap or Rope and Shackles (With Appropriate Recovery Points)

If Ian ever slides off the road into a snow-filled ditch, or if he comes across another driver who who has and needs help, those traction boards might not be enough. In this case, he will need another vehicle to pull himself out.

This requires a device to connect two cars together in a way that’s safe and won’t cause damage (two heavy vehicles pulling on each other creates extreme tension.ÌęThe solution is an elastic recovery strap or rope, paired with two shackles. The stretch reduces momentary load spikes that may damage vehicles, and, once you begin towing, will also help pull the stuck car free as the strap contracts back to its original length.

There’s a big caveat here: you can only connect the shackles to recovery points on a vehicle designed to support these forces. You can’t use the little screw-in tow eyelets provided on economy cars; they can shatter or pull free, producing potentially lethal shrapnel. Any quality 4×4 will include at least front recovery points. On Ian’s Ranger, and most other stock vehicles, you’re left using the two-inch tow receiver. Inserting a shackle mount into that will prevent the pin from bending under high forces.

ARB’s Weekender Kit includes that strap and two quality Crosby 3/4-inch shackles, all appropriately rated for the weight of most common vehicles, and houses all that in a convenient sheath. One of these is easy to throw in the back of any vehicle.

A Quality Air Compressor and Tire Repair Kit

Driving up to the family cabin involves a couple hundred miles of lonely two-lane roads through the rolling prairie. Should Ian get a flat, he could simply swap on his full-sized spare. But what if a board full of nails or an unexpected pothole, causes two flats at once? Roadside assistance can take hours to arrive. And that’d be time wasted, because repairing your own punctures takes mere minutes if you’re armed with the right tools—specifically an air compressor.

is a good compromise between inflation speed and price. One of these should last you a lifetime, and can easily be moved between different vehicles as you buy a new car, or go camping with friends.

I like the Boulder Tools Tire Repair Kit over the ARB one it mimics. Not only is it a bit more affordable, but it includes stuff like a pair of needle-nose pliers, extra valve cores, and a valve tool, so you have everything you need to fix a flat tire inside one box.

Additionally, an air compressor can help you reduce your tire pressure, which is key to tackling both deep snow and tricky off-road obstacles. Driving on these surfaces requires roughly half the pressure of what’s required to safely drive on pavement.ÌęThe problem there is easy to spot: you’ll have to reinflate your tires back to the correct pressure when you return to asphalt. Compared to cheap emergency air compressors, a good one will reduce the time it takes to perform that chore, and won’t burn out under the stress.

A Quality Flashlight or Headlamp

Doing any of the above after dark can get both tricky and dangerous. Wearing a headlamp won’t just give you the ability to see what you’re doing, but can also indicate your presence to any passing drivers.

I’ve been using nothing but the Biolite Headlamp 330 for years now. It’s affordable, light, comfortable, and provides all the light anyone could ever need for tasks both near and far, along with several nights of life on a fully-charged battery.

Paper Maps

I know this can seem redundant in the age of smartphones, but a nationwide road atlas costs less than $30 and can save a lot of time and hassle. Stick one under your seat, and forget it’s there until you find yourself in an area without cell reception, or a power outage or natural disaster knocks out cell networks.

A few summers ago, we warned one of Ian’s friends (an engineer who worked on Google Maps) that they wouldn’t have cell signal for a large portion of the drive up to the cabin. They brushed us off in disbelief, but felt pretty bashful when they finally showed up to the cabin several hours behind schedule. A simple paper map could have prevented that entirely.

A Fire Extinguisher

Fires happen unexpectedly, and quickly grow out of control. Keeping an affordable marine fire extinguisher in your vehicle will give you the ability to fight both flammable liquid and electrical fires at once, so you’ll be ready if a fire occurs in a vehicle, home, or anywhere else.

Spare Clothing and Footwear

I like to keep a full set of spare outdoor clothing in my vehicles at all times. That includes everything from a warm hat and rain shell to long underwear, merino socks, and a pair of comfortable hiking boots. While I’m unlikely to need a full outfit change unexpectedly, keeping every item of a complete layering system in my trunk means I’ll have whatever it is I need, whether it be a clean pair of undies or a warm puffy jacket. And that prepares me for small emergencies like an upset stomach, on up to spending the night in the back seat during a blizzard.

I don’t think Ian is going to listen to me on this one, but luckily we’re close enough to the same size that he can borrow my stuff when we’re traveling together.

The post I Never Leave Home Without These Survival Tools in My Car. Neither Should You. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

If you’re reading this, you likely already drive a truck, or you’re in the market for a heavy-duty vehicle to support your adventures. Chances are also good that you’re familiar with terms like “payload” and “gross vehicle weight rating,” and maybe even refer to the latter as “” in casual conversation. Well, I’d like to introduce you to a term you may not be as familiar with: “payload police.”

Payload police is something of an internet phenomenon. The concept seems to have stemmed from a place of genuine concern for the safety of folks overloading their rigs—and for other drivers sharing the road with those vehicles. But, as with most things on the internet, it’s morphed into a strange subculture of shaming others for not building an adventure rig “correctly.”

These days, if someone posts an Instagram photo of a heavily modified pickup—or even just a simple truck with a camper in the back—some of the first comments will most assuredly be “How far over GVWR are you?” or “What’s it weigh?” Spend a little time , and you’ll no doubt start thinking your truck is too small for the job. Spend a lot of time on these threads, and you’ll probably become convinced you need a three-quarter-ton truck no matter what you plan on using it for. It doesn’t stop there, either. Hop in a three-quarter-ton forum, and you’ll find everyone thinks they need a one-ton.

The dirty truth is that all truck owners think they need a bigger truck. (I know there’s a joke here to be made about bigger not always being better, but I’ll resist the urge.) And while some folks would actually benefit from a one-ton vehicle, not everyone needs to go so far. So, what’s the answer? How big of a truck do you actually need?

Step One: Get Off the Internet

If you’re worried about overloading your rig, you have two options. If you don’t yet have the rig, do a lot of research before you buy and purchase the right truck for the job. And if you already have a truck, modify the one you have accordingly, and resign yourself to the fact that your rig might end up weighing a little more than the GVWR listed on the sticker. Most of all, quit spending so much time in the forums and on Instagram screaming about payload, and go use your truck.

At this point you might be gasping in your chair: Go over the GVWR?! Egads—won’t something terrible happen if I do that? For some context, I called up , who’s been a fixture in the overland industry for years and now runs one of the best overland and off-road shops in the country, Basil’s Garage. In addition to working on rigs of all shapes and sizes, Lynch has also owned his fair share—ranging from an F250 with a home-built flatbed camper, to a first-gen Tundra built for high-speed desert romps. In fact, a of his is what inspired this piece.

 

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“Yes the Tacoma is technically overweight even with very minimal stuff in the back of it,” Lynch says, “but you also see them loaded up all day, every day, and very rarely do people have problems with them.”

Lynch and his team take a nuanced approach to building rigs. They start by considering a truck’s GVWR and payload capacity, and they try to make sure their customers are using the right vehicle at the beginning of a build. Lynch often sees customers purchase the wrong truck—either a vehicle that’s way too overpowered for their intended use, or one that just doesn’t have the payload capacity to handle build they want. If you’re building out a rig, Lynch says, consider consulting with your shop or vehicle outfitter before purchasing a truck. That way, a professional can help guide you in the purchase.

But, at the end of the day, Basil’s Garage will help build just about anything.

“We build a lot of campers on the backs of larger, three-quarter-ton and one-ton trucks and everyone’s like ‘Ah, it’s still over payload.’ But then you also see a contractor’s truck that’s twice as much over payload and has 150,000 miles on it going down the street just fine,” Lynch says. “There are a lot of overweight vehicles out there, and you don’t see them snapped in half on the side of the highway.”

Step Two: Think Carefully Before You Modify

Legality is a funny thing. While you can’t legally increase a truck’s payload in the U.S., you can do it in other places around the world. Take Australia, for example, a country known for having lots of cool rigs, and also a lot more regulations on 4x4s and off-road vehicles than we do over here. For instance, in Australia, you’re typically not allowed to lift a vehicle more than about two inches and your tires can’t stick out past the wheel wells. You can also get ticketed for driving a vehicle that weighs more than its gross vehicle mass (GVM) rating. And yet, unlike Americans, Australians are allowed to increase their vehicle’s GVM. Down Under, you can purchase a kit that consists largely of new suspension components like springs and shocks. Some upgrades also call for new tires with a higher load rating.

Companies like ARB and (which also make suspension kits for U.S. vehicles) invest in serious engineering and get their kits certified with Australia’s Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport. So, once you add a kit to your rig, you can legally get your vehicle re-registered with a higher GVM.

In Australia, a GVM Upgrade kit can legally double the payload capacity of a 200-series Land Cruiser from 1,422 pounds to 2,888 pounds. Each kit is vehicle-specific, and not all provide gains at that magnitude, but many are still significant.

 

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The bad news is that there is no legal way to increase the payload capacity of your vehicle in the U.S. However, the physics don’t change just because we live across an ocean.

“Legally, if you’re overweight in the U.S., there’s no way around that,” Lynch says. “But, there are lots of amazing products out there that you can combine together to make a truck safely carry a decent chunk of weight over what it’s legally supposed to carry.”

So, if you plan to add a lot of weight to your rig by bolting on accessories or carrying a camper in the bed, make sure to budget for any potential modifications. Updating your suspension setup, regearing the axles to run larger tires, and getting a brake upgrade can easily cost more than $10,000. Then, of course, there’s the matter of legality. Be sure to weigh the costs of those modifications against the hassle of trading in your current truck for something bigger.

Step Three: Consider a WorkaroundÌę

If you make the appropriate modifications to your rig and you’re still worried about it weighing more than the magic number printed on the door jamb, here may be some workarounds available. In some states, you can . Another option is to remove weight from the vehicle. Doing so will reduce your curb weight, technically giving you more payload. My friend Richard Giordano, an experienced overlander who travels full time out of his truck camper, recently with his Toyota Tundra. He removed the rear seats and opted for a lightweight aluminum bumper and aluminum skid plates rather than heavy steel versions.

“A lot of the time, simpler is better. Keeping lift heights low and tire sizes small is a really good way to keep [your vehicle] drivable even with the extra weight of a rig,” Lynch says.

I’d also encourage you to use one last tool: common sense. Does your truck’s rear suspension look perky, or is it sagging under all the weight in the bed? Does it feel easy to tow your travel trailer, or do you feel like you’re taking your life in your hands every time you hitch up? Consider what you’re hauling, and how often. Don’t put a 3,000-pound camper in the back of a Tacoma and expect your truck to handle well. By the same token, don’t buy an F350 and expect it to handle like a Tacoma. And, no matter what you do, don’t fall victim to the constant, unsolicited shaming of the payload police. This is your rig. You get to choose how you haul with it.

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On an epic overlanding journey through Baja, Andrew Muse decided to take the notorious North Road to a magical surf break. The route required fail-safe navigation, superb driving skills, and tires with excellent traction and durability.

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If you’ve read or watched any of my other work for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, you know I’m a huge fan of pickups for adventure rigs. They’re capable, comfortable, and supremely versatile.

You can leave a truck bed open and empty for hauling dirty stuff regularly, or build out the back with an entire custom camping setup. I’ve done both of those things, and my current truck, a 2018 Toyota Tundra, has served as a revolving door of various bed setups since I bought it in 2022. I’ve tried a tonneau cover, a , a Leitner bed rack, a Frontrunner bed rack, and a traditional fiberglass camper shell. I’ve also hauled two different full-sized truck campers, and had a lightweight shell-style camper on the back with various storage solutions inside.

I ran Decked Drawers for years in the Tundra and my two previous trucks, and loved them. I’ve written about the older model several times, but to recap, they’re a great way to organize all the crap in the bed of your truck, and keep your gear out of the elements if you have an open bed. They’re bombproof, have an incredibly high payload rating, and you can purchase a variety of accessories like boxes, bags and dividers that help make organization even easier. So, if they’re so great, why did I pull them out of my Tundra last year? I got a Tune M1 camper on the truck and needed more room—I was too tall to stand up straight inside the camper when the drawers were installed. That’s part of the reasoning, but frankly I also wanted to test out some different options and see if another system might suit my adventure rig needs better.

No. 3: Keep it Simple

Dometic GO Hard Storage 50L

The first system I tried wasn’t really a system—I went back to using storage bins. Drawers are handy and a very cool thing to have in the back of your truck, but there are some downsides: they’re heavy, they take up a ton of space, and, as the old saying goes, if they’re there, you’ll find a way to fill them. I often found myself leaving things in the drawers that didn’t need to be there all the time (think camping gear, an excessive amount of tools, extraneous recovery gear, etc.) just because I had the space. All that stuff adds up, and you can easily find yourself with an additional 200-plus pounds worth of crap living in your rig, which affects gas mileage, wear and tear on the truck, and more.

The funniest part is that I found myself constantly taking things out of the drawers and putting them away in (wait for it) bins in my garage. I have a lot of gear-intensive hobbies, like mountain biking, hunting, skiing, and fly fishing, and after a while I got tired of constantly moving gear from one bin to another in the back of the truck. So, I thought, why not just move the same bin to the truck and then to the shelf when I’m done? Because I (and the overland industry) had convinced myself that drawers were a necessity, that’s why.

In making my transition, I tested several different storage containers in an attempt to find the perfect bin: it needed to be durable but lightweight, large enough to fit all sorts of bulky gear, and reasonably priced. I tested options from , , , , and more, but my favorite is the . It’s a simple, dust-proof and waterproof aluminum storage bin with built-in handles and tie down points, and durable, easy to use rubber latches. You can lock them shut, they’re stackable, and they’re durable enough to use as a step or seat around camp.

The best part is they only weigh about nine pounds on their own, and cost $150, which is a bargain compared to some of the marketed toward more “hardcore” overlanders. I’ve found the Dometic GO 50-liter bin to be extremely durable, and just the right size to pack whatever I need. It’ll easily hold a camp stove like a , plus enough cookware and cups for four people, or a tent and a couple sleeping bags.

No. 2: The Splurge

TruckVault Base Camp 3 Storage System

Though I’d found my perfect bin, I kept wanting to try a stacked drawer setup that would let me have some built-in storage while retaining bed space and standing height in the camper. So, I decided to try another, built-in storage system I’d been eyeing for a long time: system. TruckVault is known for its bombproof, custom drawer setups for trucks and SUVs, and for its security-oriented storage solutions for military and first responders. If you’re concerned about gear getting stolen, TruckVault is who you want to talk to.

Recently, the brand introduced its line, marketed toward overlanders and outdoor enthusiasts. I went with the Base Camp 3 because it has stacked drawers on one side, and a removable sleeping platform in the middle that allows me to simply slide it out of the way to fully stand up and walk around in the camper without hitting my head. Like the rest of TruckVault’s products, the drawers are also lockable, which is great for securing expensive gear. With my truck’s tailgate locked and the drawers locked inside, I never worry about things getting stolen from the back.

Each system is built specifically for your exact truck, and once you select the drawers and options you want, the resulting system is shipped pre-built. That meant installation was incredibly simple. You just have to drill a few holes in the bed and install rivnuts, and then bolt the drawers down. Everything fits like a glove, and the fit and finish, as well as function of the drawers, is second to none. Overall, the installation was far easier and less time-consuming than installing a , which I’ve done three times now. The TruckVault drawers are also easy to remove with two people, since it just involves removing a few bolts.

What’s cool about TruckVault is that in addition to the base models they offer, you can customize everything. In my case, I opted to put the stacked drawer on the passenger side of the truck bed, and rather than one long sliding drawer on top, I had them divide it between a shorter drawer and two “cubbies” that I could access from inside the camper. That has worked great for me because it allows me to easily grab gear from the drawers while I’m outside of the truck, but I can also keep things I need quick access to at night in the cubbies. That means that, unlike with the Decked system, I don’t have to get out of the truck and open the drawers to grab my headlamp or earplugs in the middle of the night.

Since my camper has a bed above the cab, I don’t often use the lower sleeping platform as a bed. But I do love the fact that I can use it for guests if I need to, or store things like my bow case underneath it, away from prying eyes. It would be an incredible camping solution under a regular camper shell, and I’ve found that the platform—in combination with the cubbies underneath—to be a much more effective use of space than drawers alone. While I’m a huge fan of the setup, there are downsides: my system came in at 343 pounds, and it ran me $4,660 shipped.

That’s a lot of weight and money, but what you get is a very high quality, bombproof storage setup that’s easy to install and can be customized to your exact needs. If you’ve got the dough and the payload capacity, there’s no better setup than the Base Camp line.

No 1: The Goldilocks Setup

BamBeds Lengthwise Bed PlatformÌę

In my quest to find the perfect storage solution, I also tested a truck bed platform system from a new company called . BamBeds systems are sort of the antithesis to the TruckVault setup I tested, and are great for very different reasons. The company makes wooden platforms for the back of pickups that allow folks to sleep on top and store gear underneath. It’s a simple concept that DIY truck campers have been doing for decades now, but BamBeds is the perfect solution for anyone with a truck who doesn’t have the time, tools, or skills to build a platform themselves. A runs just $500, and consists of three birch panels custom-made to slide into the truck bed above the wheel well and rest on the stock ledge. The brand makes a host of accessories like , and it caters to the DIY crowd by offering a for other additions, like foldable mattresses or bins that are just the right size to fit the system.

The works a bit differently due to the nature of the bed, and it consists of three modular sections of plywood that run lengthwise, plus support legs underneath. You can remove the center panels for more standing room if you need it. The platform itself supports up to 1,500 pounds, and everything installs quickly without any tools, thanks to the ingenious rotating locks they designed for the legs.

The whole thing also only weighs about 100 pounds, so it’s a heck of a lot lighter than a dedicated drawer setup and far easier to remove. I’m a big fan of the sleep platform as a no-nonsense storage solution, and I actually think it’s a better option than dedicated drawers for most people.

The only downside to the system I’ve been testing is that, since it requires support legs, anything you put underneath the platform has to fit between the legs. That gives you less flexibility than having the unencumbered width of your truck bed like you would with a Tacoma-sized BamBed. Overall, though, I think BamBeds are a simple, lightweight and affordable storage solution for anyone with a truck, and you’d be hard pressed to DIY something as high quality without some serious woodworking skills.

The Bottom Line

So, what did I end up running long term? I have yet to answer that question. The is damn near perfect for my needs, but it does add a lot of weight to the truck and suffers from the “if you have the space, you’ll find a way to fill it,” issue that all drawer systems seem to enable. The is a simple, versatile platform, and if I drove a Tacoma or a newer Tundra, I would definitely run it because the design allows for more unencumbered storage. For most users, this is likely the way to go. Long term, though, I may end up running just the one driver-side drawer from the Base Camp 3 and leaving the other out, or perhaps building a custom galley or storage cabinet out of 80/20 aluminum. For now, though, it’ll be some combination of the above—and, of course, a few for good measure.

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We caught up with Andrew Muse and Kicker at Ìęon two different occasions this year. The annual gathering, held in four locations from spring to fall, offers a full immersion in overlanding gear and culture. At Overland Expo Mountain West, in Colorado this August, Muse shared his favorite gear— tires—and canvassed the crowd to learn about other attendees’ favorite overlanding products, from a rooftop tent to an espresso maker.

Learn More: 5 Ways to Get Equipped for Off-Road șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű

Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee,ÌęÌęmarkets and distributes a complete line of high-performance passenger tires, light truck and SUV tires, and medium truck and bus tires. Hankook Tire America is a subsidiary of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd., headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

The post Check Out Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Awnings can be a great addition to an adventure rig. They can effectively double your covered living space and provide a nice shelter from the sun or rain—but they don’t come without their downsides. After testing many different awnings throughout the years, I’ve come to conclude that a permanently affixed awning is just more trouble than it’s worth

I’ve owned several different rigs that had awnings bolted to their roof racks—including a teardrop trailer that had both a and a legless 360-degree awning mounted to it at different times—plus multiple truck campers and travel trailers with awnings. Every single one of them had issues. They were heavy and added considerable wind resistance to the rig. Legs snapped in high winds. And set-up and break-down were never easy. Most took a long time to pitch, and most were a pain to pack back into their infuriatingly small cases. Permanently affixed awnings are also very expensive, often —or more.

Once, I foolishly left my campsite with my trailer’s fancy, seemingly bombproof permanent awning deployed, and a huge storm cropped up while I was away. There wasn’t anything on the radar when I left, but I came back to a taco’d awning and a scratched-up trailer. Hell, I bought a used Airstream a few years ago that was missing its awning completely and had some scratches on one side. When I brought it to a shop for some other work, the shop owner immediately recognized the scratches as “awning damage,” meaning the awning had likely been left deployed and ripped off by wind, and told me that was one of the most common issues they see.

Needless to say, I’d pretty much given up on mounting an awning on my rig and generally thought they were more trouble than they’re worth. Lately, though, I’ve seen several new, more modular products at trade shows that had me take a second look. (Plus, I do still recognize that it’s nice to sit outside in the shade sometimes.) Finally I decided to cave. Here are two of the best new “alternative awning” solutions I’ve tried.

Moon MoonShade

First up, the . This product isn’t brand-new—in fact, I’ve been testing and using one for a couple years now. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a portable awning that sets up easily and attaches to pretty much any rig imaginable. The Original MoonShade provides seven-by-nine feet of coverage, and the upcoming MoonShade XL will provide twelve-by-nine feet, which works well for larger rigs like vans and is big enough to set up a serious outdoor kitchen underneath. The original MoonShade I’ve been using weighs about eight pounds once it’s all packed up, and can be quickly attached to a vehicle’s roof rack, the side of a van or camper, or literally anywhere else thanks to a whole host of , like the included suction cups, or optional magnets and more. It detaches and packs down just as easily.

The structure of the MoonShade consists of two cross poles, which clip into a pitched sheet of 420-denier ripstop polyester, similar to the way you might set up a tent fly. There’s also another support pole that can be used for “narrow base mounting,” meaning you can set it up against something narrow, like the trunk of a vehicle, plus two telescoping support legs. Setup is fast and intuitive, and you can basically have shade anywhere within a couple of minutes. I’ve found that it holds up well in the wind if it’s properly staked out, and the fabric sheds rain easily. As a tall person, I also love the domed shape of the MoonShade—it provides way more headroom underneath than a traditional awning, and the reflective fabric on the underside creates a nice ambiance if you string up a lantern at night.

The two best things about the MoonShade, though, are the price and the versatility. At $395, it costs significantly less than most permanently attached awnings, and since it’s not permanently affixed, it solves a lot of the problems I mentioned above, like excess weight on the rig. That also means you can easily move it from one rig to another, which is handy if you want to use it for a day at the beach but don’t need to take your overbuilt truck with you.

Dometic HUB 2 REDUX

If you want more versatility and an even simpler setup—and don’t mind paying a premium to get it—the might be your shelter. I saw the HUB 2 REDUX for the first time at Overland Expo West in 2023, and was immediately intrigued. It’s an inflatable shade structure that Dometic calls an “Outdoor Activity Shelter,” which is actually a pretty good descriptor. It’s a 7.5-by-7.5-foot, freestanding unit that’s similar in shape to one of those shade tents you might see at a kid’s soccer game or an outdoor trade show. The difference? There are no metal poles—the legs and roof section are made from inflatable tubes.

The Airpoles, as Dometic calls them, look and feel a lot like the baffles in a high-end packraft or inflatable kayak. The material is made from recycled plastic bottles, feels very durable, and is totally weatherproof. In truth, I was apprehensive the first time I took it out of the bag and set it up, assuming it would take a good amount of fiddling to get right. Surprisingly, it’s incredibly easy—you just stake out the bottom of the structure, and then hook up the included hand pump to one of the corners. Within about 30 seconds, you’ve got a very sturdy shade structure. Frankly, I was blown away by how fast and easy the whole process was.

I’ve had good luck setting up the HUB 2 REDUX near the tailgate of my truck and on the side, and using the truck itself as an anchor point. The cool thing about the HUB 2 REDUX is that you can add several different accessories, like to the sides, a , or even an annex for an SUV that turns the whole thing into a giant tent connected to your rig. You can also easily use the HUB 2 REDUX on its own, say at a soccer game or tailgate, and you’ll never have to worry about poles breaking in the wind, or damaging your rig. It packs down to the size of a backpack and weighs about 19 pounds—not bad for a structure this beefy. At $750, I’d call it a pretty good value, too.

So, if you’re in the market for an awning for your adventure rig, I’d recommend you take a hard look at either the MoonShade or the HUB 2 REDUX before you bolt an expensive, heavy, damage-prone awning to the side of your ride. It may not look as cool, but you’ll thank me later.

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It’s no surprise that overlanding is booming—when it comes to outdoor adventure, there’s nothing more accessible. With a few key pieces of gear, you can explore the backcountry and camp in comfort in the most remote places. But that doesn’t mean you should just hop in your vehicle and leave the pavement behind. You can avoid a lot of trial and error by learning from someone who has years of experience.

That’s why we enlisted for some expert advice. The adventure videographer started overlanding more than a decade ago as a way to save money while exploring the wilds of North America. He loved it so much that he never stopped. From Baja to Alaska, Muse and his dog, , have enjoyed adventures that will last a lifetime. And they’re not slowing down. “Now it’s just a way of life,” says Muse. After thousands of miles, he says the most important thing is having the right vehicle with the . Case in point: On an epic overlanding journey through Baja, Muse decided to take the notorious North Road to a magical surf break. The route required fail-safe navigation, superb driving skills, and tires with excellent traction and durability.

We caught up with Muse and Kicker at on two different occasions this year. The annual gathering, held in four locations from spring to fall, offers a full immersion in overlanding gear and culture. At Overland Expo Mountain West, in Colorado this August, Muse shared his favorite gear— tires—and canvassed the crowd to learn about other attendees’ favorite overlanding products, from a rooftop tent to an espresso maker.

At Overland Expo West, in Arizona last May, Muse checked in with and all the top makers of vehicles, gadgets, and camping products. “My favorite part of Overland Expo is the community,” says Muse. “Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a hardcore full-timer, the people here are just excited to share knowledge and stories.”

Muse is the same. He loves to learn from others and share some of his hard-won tips. Besides tires, which provide that all-important contact between your vehicle and the ground, he says there are four more key categories you should get right. Call them basic needs for comfort and safety: sleeping, eating, maintaining power, and getting clean. Here’s what Muse found at Overland Expo West to get outfitted on all fronts.

Sleep System

Muse drives a Ford Bronco, which means using a tent or trailer of some type for sleeping. Unless you’re in a larger vehicle with internal quarters, you’ll have to balance setup/takedown convenience with comfort, protection, and stability. “I use a Thule rooftop tent that turns my Bronco into an instant backcountry hotel,” says Muse. At Overland Expo West, he stopped by the Thule booth to see what the brand’s engineers have been working on and discovered a new option for rigs like his. The , a hitch-mounted tent, offers many of the same advantages of a rooftop model, but it’s closer to the ground for easier access and is less exposed to wind. Muse hasn’t slept in it yet, but Kicker gave it a quick “hop-in test” at the Expo and gave it a paw’s up.

All-Conditions Tires

A good overlanding rig starts with high clearance and four-wheel drive, but it definitely doesn’t end there. Tires are the single most important upgrade you can make when prepping to leave the pavement. Superior traction and puncture resistance are critical on dirt, mud, and rocks, and nothing will serve you better than tires. “In the world of overlanding, tires are the foundation of every great adventure. The Dynapro family of tires has the traction and reliability you need to explore with confidence,” says Robert Nasca, product and marketing training manager at . The Dynapro family of tires is designed specifically for light trucks and SUVs, with an emphasis on all-terrain performance and durability. The Dynapro off-road models—the AT2 Xtreme, MT2, and XT—are fine-tuned to fit the needs of overlanding, with different attributes to suit your type of driving.

“With my current Bronco build, my focus is exploring hard-to-access places,” Muse says. “Having good tires is super important for that. I want a tire that has great off-road traction but also isn’t too loud during long days on the highway. That’s why I’m running the . Of course, I’m prepared to deal with a flat—everyone should be—but I would much rather have reliable tires and leave the repair gear packed away. I’ve been in a few situations with low-quality tires, and I will never make that mistake again.”

To make the best use of your tires, you’ll want a deflation device and portable air compressor. Lowering tire pressure increases the tire’s footprint, which improves traction on soft surfaces like sand and snow. Be sure to reinflate your tires to the recommended pressure when returning to pavement.

Food Storage

Whether you’re out for a weekend, a month, or a year, eating well is priority number one. First, it’s just plain satisfying to make and eat delicious meals in the backcountry. But it’s also important to eat fresh, nutritious ingredients that will keep you energized and healthy when you’re out for extended periods. For a long time, Muse made do with a conventional cooler. But on longer trips, coolers have obvious drawbacks—namely replenishing ice and dealing with soggy items. “Kicker and I love to be on the road for months at a time,” Muse says. “That’s a lot of ice—if you can find it.” Fortunately, the technology for portable electric refrigerators has exploded in recent years, and when Muse stopped by the booth, he was impressed with the brand’s latest fridge, which runs on both AC and DC power, requires less juice than a 60-watt lightbulb, and has 45 cubic feet of space.

Solar Power

You’ll need power for that fridge and all your other devices. Muse also needs power for cameras, phone, laptop, and more. Solar panels (a 100-to-200-watt range is a good target) are the answer for off-the-grid living, but like any electronics, panels are vulnerable to backcountry mishaps. “You want to be as self-sufficient as possible when overlanding,” says Muse. “And that means caring for your gear and always choosing durable options.” Solar panels don’t get more durable than the ones from , which can withstand direct blows from a baseball bat. Literally. Muse hit the flexible panel as hard as he could, multiple times, and it didn’t break. The panels are also efficient: just plug them into the cigarette lighter or truck-bed plug while you’re driving and into a power station when you’re not, and you’ll never be without juice.

Portable Shower

Play hard, get dirty, and clean up. “A shower at the end of a long day can make the difference between a good trip and a great trip,” says Muse. “But on overlanding journeys, water is almost always a precious commodity, so you need to be able to clean off without wasting a drop.” That’s why he was thrilled to discover , a portable shower that’s so efficient you can get clean with less than one gallon of water. Pair it with a stove and you can even have a hot shower in less than five minutes. It’s also great for cleaning dishes, gear, and pets, and it’s super compact, so it’s compatible with any rig.

Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, markets and distributes a complete line of high-performance passenger tires, light truck and SUV tires, and medium truck and bus tires. Hankook Tire America is a subsidiary of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd., headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

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