Has overlanding become elitist ?

[bmwguru]

Let me start off by saying, being on disability I may be biased, but still no need to rip me a new one. I watch many, many overlanding videos from all kinds of overlanding Youtube channels, and I have yet to see one, except "iamjake" that doesn't have $10,000 or close to it (usually more) worth of gear on their rigs. Now I'm not talking about people that live in their rigs full time, but rather those that go for a few days at a time or less. Now I know it's very difficult to not pay a premium to get out there. I mean even good tires can be $1,000 or more a set. Just seems to me that overlanding has gone the same way SUV's, Harleys, trucks, and other things have gone. They got popular by people with pretty good size budgets, then parts costs skyrocket because a lot of people can afford it, and the little guys like me get left out. Now I can and do go out there as far as I can for now but I'll bet my gear costs less than $300. You work hard I know, I don't begrudge you that, you earned it GREAT. Just sucks to not see people more like me out there too.

Core principal here, it doesn't matter you drive. With that being said it also doesn't matter what you have or do not have attached to or inside said vehicle either. What does matter and has been said several times already is that you get out and drive whatever you have on hand.

 

[TM Overland]

My answer is, no. Overlanding has not become elitist. No matter what gear you have, what rig you have, what "latest and greatest" you have, or what old used vehicle you have, you're still getting out in the mud and dirt, exploring and seeing things you haven't seen before. I suppose some individuals are elitist, but, hey, they'd be elitist whether it is Overlanding or anything else.

I'm sure that everyone has their own story - couldn't afford anything but a used backpack and boots from the Goodwill. Or camped everywhere in an old Toyota Corolla station wagon (me...). I've worked my butt off and can now afford more stuff. I like the toys - they bring another aspect to the fun. But It doesn't alter the basic purpose of getting out there, seeing and doing things.

I guess you'd have to answer for yourself what is the "Ideal" Overlander? Everyone I've met, whether geared up to the gills or stock off the used car lot all do it for the love and fun of it.

 

[John D.]

Thank you all for your input. Nice to see so many still believe it's about getting out there regardless of how expensive and built your rig is. I used to live in Vegas and always went out in my stock '79 chevy luv and '72 ford van after that. Never once got stuck. Thinking I need to take out my back seat n turn the back into a bed/storage area.

 

[John D.]

Guess I need to stop watching so much Youtube. I guess your average ovrlander isn't out there filming Youtube videos.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I traveled all over the U.S.A. around 1982 in a '73 Ford Maverick.

Good times...

 

[Anak]

Let me start off by saying, being on disability I may be biased, but still no need to rip me a new one. I watch many, many overlanding videos from all kinds of overlanding Youtube channels, and I have yet to see one, except "iamjake" that doesn't have $10,000 or close to it (usually more) worth of gear on their rigs. Now I'm not talking about people that live in their rigs full time, but rather those that go for a few days at a time or less. Now I know it's very difficult to not pay a premium to get out there. I mean even good tires can be $1,000 or more a set. Just seems to me that overlanding has gone the same way SUV's, Harleys, trucks, and other things have gone. They got popular by people with pretty good size budgets, then parts costs skyrocket because a lot of people can afford it, and the little guys like me get left out. Now I can and do go out there as far as I can for now but I'll bet my gear costs less than $300. You work hard I know, I don't begrudge you that, you earned it GREAT. Just sucks to not see people more like me out there too.

You just need to shift your perspective a bit.

All these folks dropping serious coin on fancy toys is going to mean a great supply of lightly used gear available for pennies on the dollar once the fashionistas move on to their next fad. And they will.

It just happens that right now this is the cool thing. It is rare that anything in my life coincides with cool, so I have no doubt this will pass.

Don't bother trying to play "Keep up with the Joneses". There is no point in spending money you don't have to buy things you don't need to impress people you don't even know. The natural world you want to enjoy has not changed just because everyone else ran out and bought a RTT and put 35s on their rig. It is the same world it was ten years ago. Continue to enjoy it your way.

 

[flyfisher117]

What you are describing isnt necessarily elitist IMHO.

Yes I do believe "over landing" has become elitist because so many judge based on what you drive or what gear you have. I dont have lockers in my truck but I do have a light bar. My old truck isnt going to be doing enough offroading to need lockers. But light bars have paid off tremendously working on the farm. I also run cheap $30 lights so meh. Theres so many people spending thousands and thousands on gear to only go drive down fire roads or go to Moab. They are sometimes the ones with the most vocal opinions.

Not all people with nice gear are snobs. But all snobs have nice gear. I dont care anymore I weekenderland for the enjoyment of getting out and seeing things that most people will never see. I started with my $30 coleman tent, it didnt work for me in the long run so I did get a RTT. I wanted a small tear drop trailer but an $800 RTT was cheaper.

 

[Tray]

I haven’t seen elitism, yet. I’m still new to this community. Elitism is an attitude or behavior that for whatever reason (maybe this case may be what they drive or the gear they have) they are better than you.

I went to the Ozark rally in my old, pretty much stock f-150, i felt like everyone was welcoming and extremely helpful....and my son and I had a blast. Split a sidewall, and limped back to TX without overdrive, but the people and atmosphere helped to make it all worth it. The transmission rebuild are a big chunk of my gear budget, but we’ll still be hitting the trails again soon.

If we are ever at the same event, and I have the space (family probably won’t be with me every time) you are more than welcome to take your Buick as far as she can and hop in my bucket, we’ll make it at least another 10 or 20 feet from where you parked! LOL

 

[Boostpowered]

Depends on how many likes you are trying to get on instagram. Or if you want to fit in with a certain group. The ole keeping up with the joneses effect. The majority of rigs like that i see are located in the major metro areas with everything and a kitchen sink on it, you will likely see them gathering in a parking lot somewhere showing off their gear to their buddies just like the tuner cars, classic muscle cars, bro trucks etc. It human nature to want things you dont exactly need.

 

[David C Gibbs]

I don't want to put words into Michael's Overland Bound group, but the reason he built this site was to prevent snobbery, improve communications, leave the lands better than we found it, etc. With that said. The term "Overlanding" is pretentious, similar to the word Orvis. The Mrs and I got kidded and mocked for buying an 88 62 series LandCruiser. We ignored them and traveled on. It has 312K original owner miles on it. It's been driven hard, heavily off-roaded, and still gets us home.

 

[Tray]

Depends on how many likes you are trying to get on instagram. Or if you want to fit in with a certain group. The ole keeping up with the joneses effect. The majority of rigs like that i see are located in the major metro areas with everything and a kitchen sink on it, you will likely see them gathering in a parking lot somewhere showing off their gear to their buddies just like the tuner cars, classic muscle cars, bro trucks etc. It human nature to want things you dont exactly need.

I know a guy, brand new Sierra, 6” lift on 35s, drawer system in the bed, huge Offroad sticker on the back glass who won’t even park it on the gravel parking lot. I would love to put that rig to work on a trail somewhere.

 

[Boostpowered]

I know a guy, brand new Sierra, 6” lift on 35s, drawer system in the bed, huge Offroad sticker on the back glass who won’t even park it on the gravel parking lot. I would love to put that rig to work on a trail somewhere.

He probably wont take it off road because he knows his driveshafts are at an angle at which they would snap if he tried. Bro truck pitfall. I see folks with cowboy boots and the whole western garb who have never even touched a horse in their life they live in the suburbs yet they still think they are john wayne

 

[old_man]

This thread pretty much sums up my view on offroading. I have been doing what everybody calls overlanding for 50 years. I have done it in everything from a 62 Ford farm truck to a 73 Chevy Van I put a fiberglass top on and built the insides for camping. My wife and I covered the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada, traveling to a location and backpacking to take photos professionally. After the kids came along, the long trips cut back and the wife bought me a 85 Jeep Cherokee which I proceeded to turn into a rock crawler. I did virtually every trail in Colorado over the next 30 years. Most times I left the city girl wife home and just slept in the back of the Jeep. I never had much money and designed and built virtually everything on my rig myself. I found I enjoyed building almost as much as exploring.

As we got older the wife demanded more creature comforts. We went to a tent, and then I started looking for a project. I am an engineer and fabricator so I decided to design a offroad trailer for what we needed. The wife demanded a comfortable place to sleep, off the ground and heated. That got me thinking about a modified teardrop design for extreme offroad situations. I never dipped into our budget, always doing odd jobs, buying/selling, and horsetrading to cover the expenses as I went. My tow vehicle became my rockcrawler. I spent 20 years slowly building it and it is way overkill for what is needed, but built on a very tight budget. The trailer was designed and fabricated from scratch over a 4 year period when I was mostly working 2000 miles away from home and my shop. I would plan, and made it a game to find the absolute best way to do everything, putting a ton of thought into every item, then being patient and shopping for the parts as funds became available. I did not scrimp on quality, only on cost. I designed it with the mind that someday I might want to manufacture them, so I optimized everything. Even at that, with all the features and capabilities, I calculated I have almost $5000 in materials. I even fabricated the leveling jacks on all 4 corners and the airbag suspension. Pretty much the only off the shelf items I bought were the doors. They cost almost $400 each, but they were worth it.

I say all of this because I didn't just go out and drop $25k on an offroad teardrop with half the capability and a $60k Jeep. I took years of experience in the outback and slowly upgraded when I found a need or a better way to do things. My wife keeps hounding me to buy a new vehicle but I say why. I have exactly the vehicle I want, exactly the way I want it. I like it to look nice, but that is for me, not for the guy in the mall parking lot next to me. Where I go there is rarely anybody around to see and that is the way I like it.

 

[MidOH]

Well, there's wear and tear from doing cool stuff, and then there's wear and tear from parking in a gravel lot and some newb with a ''pedal commander'' showering your truck with rocks.

I'm cool with the scars I've earned, but the stupid scars, like letting my awning fly away into the side of my truck.....not so much.

At this point, I've pin striped 3 trucks and completely destroyed a Jeep. I think I'll stick to wide open spaces and dirt roads for a while, with the new ride.

 

[Tray]

Well, there's wear and tear from doing cool stuff, and then there's wear and tear from parking in a gravel lot and some newb with a ''pedal commander'' showering your truck with rocks.

I'm cool with the scars I've earned, but the stupid scars, like letting my awning fly away into the side of my truck.....not so much.

At this point, I've pin striped 3 trucks and completely destroyed a Jeep. I think I'll stick to wide open spaces and dirt roads for a while, with the new ride.

Nothing wrong with that, the guy I’m referring to won’t even do that...I tried to convince him a couple times, he was not taking it off pavement.

 

[MidOH]

Yeah, the brodozers make us look bad.

 

[Tray]

Nothing wrong with that, the guy I’m referring to won’t even do that...I tried to convince him a couple times, he was not taking it off pavement.

But totally his prerogative, it’s not for everyone, it’s just kinda funny

 

[EricGagne]

I don't think overlanding has become elitist but I do think some overlanders are elitists and think they are better overlanders than those with less capable rigs that do not have all that "cool" expensive stuff. I also think many gear manufacturers try to make it elitist so they can keep the prices up, just see how expensive ARB products has become compared to a few years ago.

This should not have a deterent effect on those who want to overland. You just have to choose who you do it with. My advice:

• Be conscious of the limitations of your rig and gear and make sure you don't get yourself in trouble by trying to get more out of it than what it can do. I think this is good advice whether one drives a Ford Pinto or a 60k dollars expedition rig.
• Ride with people who own rigs with similar capacities than yours so you won't be left behind. If you all have the same capabilities, you will all turn around when you get to terrain that is too rough for you.
• Choose the people you go out with, stick with people who will care more about having fun with you than about what you own.
• Don't pay attention to what a few snobs might think or say.
• Go out there, enjoy the great outdoors and have fun, you own the world as much as anybody else !!!!

 

[Boostpowered]

Remember the late 90s early 2000s when everyone was putting the cone air filters on their intake and swearing it was cold air intake when in reality they were sucking hot air in from the engine bay. That was funny and the same cold air intakes are still being sold to people who are getting into wanting a fast car.

 

[MidOH]

My new favorites are the ''pedal commander'' boxes, that just step on the pedal harder for you. "'Wow, my truck feels way more powerful!''

It's usually followed by wheelspin complaints exactly 6 months later.