The lightweight truck camper market has exploded in popularity in recent years, and with new manufacturers popping up (pun intended) constantly it can be difficult to choose one that’s right for your pickup. In this guide, we’ll cover all the factors to consider when selecting a small truck camper and highlight the 25 best models currently on the market, ordered by cost and weight, so you can choose a small truck camper that’s right for your budget and adventures. What is a Lightweight Small Truck Camper The average payload capacity of a mid-size truck in the United ..read more

     What is Overlanding? Overlanding has exploded in popularity over the last decade, and while it’s origins stretch back to the cattle-drivers crossing the early 20th century Australian outback, the term overlanding has evolved to encompass a wide array of mechanized off-road and on-road travel - predicated by the fact that the experience of the journey matters more than the destination. While some go so far as to argue that to truly consider your travel “overlanding,” you must cross the border(s) of other countries, the reality is that as overlanding has been brought in ..read more

     For years we’ve struggled with the camping table options on the market. They’ve always been a compromise between form, function, and cost. While there are literally thousands of camp tables out there to choose from, none of them have seemed like the right fit for our family truck camping and overlanding setup.  While it’s not perfect, the Tire Table solves a lot of the shortcomings the other camping tables we’ve used have suffered from, so in this post we’ll outline everything you need to know about the Tire Table to decide if it’s the right camp table for your o ..read more

     An off road jack is an absolutely essential piece of overlanding gear for your 4WD vehicle. Often the best solution, if you intend to travel off road in a variety of terrain conditions, is to carry a combination of off road jacks in your overland vehicle.  So in this post we’ll cover the five main categories of off road 4x4 jacks, the pros and cons of each, and we’ll help you choose the best off road jacks for whatever your adventure may throw at you. What to Consider When Choosing an Off Road Jack There are several factors to consider when selecting the right off r ..read more

     After years of using a basic 4x4 awning on our truck camping setup, we recently upgraded the awning on our 4WD Toyota Tacoma Overland Build to a free-standing 270 degree 4x4 awning made by Kinsmen Hardware, and it’s a total gamechanger! In this post we’ll cover the benefits of using a 270 degree 4WD awning for off road camping and overlanding, and why we think the Kinsmen 270 awning stands above the competition in the 4x4 awning space.  We also recognize that it isn’t right for everyone’s budget (we personally saved for years to get ours), so be sure to check ou ..read more

     An overland awning is one of the easiest ways to drastically improve your overland vehicle’s livability while camping and traveling. The right awning will provide a sheltered exterior space that offers protection from the sun’s scorching rays, as well as keep your camp more comfortable when the rain or snow rolls in. After squirreling away funds and searching for years, reviewing what felt like hundreds of overland awning options, we finally upgraded the awning on our personal overland vehicle setup - and it’s been a total gamechanger!  So we decided to put toge ..read more

     Skottle grills have grown recently in popularity, but are they right for you and your camping or overland cooking needs?  In this post we dive into the topic of skottle grills, including their pros and cons versus traditional camping cookware, as well as how to select one that’s right for you. What is a Skottle? The skottle - also known as the skottle grill or skottle braai - began as a byproduct of South African farmers’ ingenuity; it was a way to reuse old harrow discs for outdoor cooking and an alternative to the traditional braai. The skottle has now grown i ..read more

     A quality off road shovel is an essential piece of gear to keep in your overland vehicle. So in this guide we’re digging into what makes a great overlanding shovel, why you need one while camping and traveling off road, how to choose the best one for your needs, as well as how to mount your off road shovel to your overland vehicle. Why You Need an Off Road Shovel for Overlanding There are two primary reasons to carry an off road shovel while overlanding: Vehicle Recovery Like other Overlanding and Off Road Recovery Gear, an off road shovel’s primary purpose is to hel ..read more

     This overview of our Toyota Tacoma overland truck build is a bit of a departure from our typical posts and, while everyone’s personal overland vehicle build process looks different depending on their needs, it’s our hope that this record of our trucks evolution - from a completely stock Tacoma to fully kitted overland travel rig - can serve as a reference for others who are curious about what goes into building an overland truck. Why We Needed to Build a New Overland Truck With the addition of our second child on the horizon, Lindsey and I had to come to terms with th ..read more

     What is an Off Road Snorkel? An off road 4x4 snorkel, or raised air intake, elevates the location that your car, truck, or SUV drafts air into the engine where it is then mixed with fuel for combustion in the cylinders.  Factory air intakes are typically placed in an area of the vehicle’s engine bay or fender well that is relatively low. This can lead to excessive dust, debris, or water being sucked into the intake, causing premature failure of the air filter or (in the case of water) potentially catastrophic engine damage. Installing a raised air intake is ..read more