My experience with Overlanding vs Off-Roading: Is the barrier to entry for Overlanding LOWER?

[Mr_Mnml_Engnr]

I just finished up a trip to a Labor Day weekend event at a nearby off-road park, and after some reflection, I've found that there is a significant difference between what a lot of folks mean when they say "off-roading" and "wheeling," and what I have found to enjoy and what I consider to be overlanding. I find myself drawn more to overlanding over off-roading because the level of equipment that I find I need to continue doing what I did this weekend is far more elaborate, and expensive than that of if I went for an overland build.
Context
Last year I did Canaan Valley Loop in West Virginia, and absolutely loved the trip. The trail was the perfect balance of leisure travel, and a few obstacles to challenge us and make us intentional about vehicle placement. Here is the video that inspired me to check it out.
After that trip, I was encouraged to start building a set of equipment that would allow me to independently go on more trips like that. Things like a camp stove, sleeping setups, and vehicle storage organization like a roof rack or bed rack.
Then this year, I went to this off-road park, and the experience was completely different. I'd never been to this park before, and everyone said how "a Subaru or sedan can do most trails, and there are turnoffs for bigger challenges." I went in looking for a mostly leisurely cruise across the park's discovery trail, and maybe do a couple of obstacles if they looked easy enough. Boy was I wrong. I'd gotten stuck multiple times, and at one point almost rolled my vehicle over on an obstacle that every other member of my group tackled with little issue! Turns out, that since my group had mostly Jeeps, their wheelbase gave them a better ability to crawl up the vast rocks on these trails. Pretty much everyone also had 35 inch tires or greater, while I showed up with my OEM 31 inch tires, which led to me having less of an ability to grapple up large rocks. At the end of the day, members of my group were impressed my truck did as well as it did, but I kept thinking "man I was punching above my weight class today." Everyone was compelling me to come back with at least 35" tires (which would require extensive suspension modification), armor (skid plates), and a winch. And while some of that I had already had long-term plans for, I left this adventure feeling like some of those things were REQUIRED if I didn't want to risk serious damage to my rig.

My takeaways
I left today thinking that a build to be confident in the kind of rock crawling I was doing this weekend at the Off-Road Park would look completely different than one for a long-range overland traveler. And my experience at Canaan last year was far better than the one at the park, and truly could have been done with almost any vehicle with even AWD (instead of specifically 4WD).
At the end of the day, I am grateful for the adventure and the learning experience at the ORP this weekend, but I definitely don't find I want to do it again. I'd rather focus my energy seeking out roads in beautiful national parks, camp in the woods, and have time around a camp fire with friends and family. But for the veteran overlanders on this thread, I guess my question is: am I just being a baby? Do I need to accept that there are simply going to be days where I might completely destroy my vehicle because "that's part of the game," or is there truly a difference between the two (overlanding, and off roading)?

 

[Grantnr]

Haha, good question and something I actually fought with for the longest. Here is some backstory, I had the jeep, and yes it is point and shoot at just about anything you can throw it's way. I wanted to use it to bounce around on rocks one weekend, and take getaway trips on another. After a little trial and error I figured this nugget of wisdom out, get a second rig. "Wheeling" is a completely separate animal in my opinion. Down here we use the term to describe rock, technical off-camber, and generally speaking, a minimum of a 35in tire lol. Would I drive my jeep 3 states away, spend a few days bumping around on general use trails, and drive home? Sure thing, it could manage it quite easily. Could I do so comfortably? Hell no. Now the 4runner on the other hand could make that drive fairly comfortably, carry all the gear to make quite a schnazzy base camp, and even carry in some firewood if I wanted. Will I take the runner on rocks? Sure, just not to the capacity of the jeep. So I guess to sum it up, these are 2 different builds with completely different uses. They can both do each others jobs, just admittedly not as well. If you are staying with a single vehicle just pick a path, and stick with it. Dont try to mix and match. Trust me, you will spend 3x the amount and be re-doing work constantly. If you have a decent suspension under you, there is nothing wrong with hitting the bunny slopes at the off road park but then doing general purpose as the majority. Don't bite off more than you can comfortably chew and you will find pleasure in whatever route you take.

 

[Mr_Mnml_Engnr]

Haha, good question and something I actually fought with for the longest. Here is some backstory, I had the jeep, and yes it is point and shoot at just about anything you can throw it's way. I wanted to use it to bounce around on rocks one weekend, and take getaway trips on another. After a little trial and error I figured this nugget of wisdom out, get a second rig. "Wheeling" is a completely separate animal in my opinion. Down here we use the term to describe rock, technical off-camber, and generally speaking, a minimum of a 35in tire lol. Would I drive my jeep 3 states away, spend a few days bumping around on general use trails, and drive home? Sure thing, it could manage it quite easily. Could I do so comfortably? Hell no. Now the 4runner on the other hand could make that drive fairly comfortably, carry all the gear to make quite a schnazzy base camp, and even carry in some firewood if I wanted. Will I take the runner on rocks? Sure, just not to the capacity of the jeep. So I guess to sum it up, these are 2 different builds with completely different uses. They can both do each others jobs, just admittedly not as well. If you are staying with a single vehicle just pick a path, and stick with it. Dont try to mix and match. Trust me, you will spend 3x the amount and be re-doing work constantly. If you have a decent suspension under you, there is nothing wrong with hitting the bunny slopes at the off road park but then doing general purpose as the majority. Don't bite off more than you can comfortably chew and you will find pleasure in whatever route you take.

I appreciate the feedback. It's nice to know that I'm not just being a pansy and a tough weekend wheeling isn't the "norm" for overland adventure travel.
I looked up Canaan Valley Loop on the OB1 app and it shows the trail as a Level 1 in terms of difficulty. I asked my buddy who came with me to the ORP this weekend what he thought the trails we did were. He answered "7 or 8 for sure." I guess at the end of the day, I need to own the fact that I didn't know anything about this place, got into a position past my comfort zone, (admittedly) did okay, and learned that it's not really for me.

I think for now, in the life stage I'm at, I prefer to stick to the "overland" path that focuses on long-range travel with occasional "challenges." I'd much rather make memories in nature with those I care for instead of seeking the biggest rock to climb (literally). But I'm grateful to have learned that lesson with minimal damage and the ability to drive home at the end of the event. I could've been a lot worse.

 

[Grantnr]

Offroad in general is what you make it. It's not always about the biggest rocks, the toughest trail, or the bounty hole you make it through. At the end of the day, kicking around a fire, a few brews (put a wrap or two of duct tape around each can, trust me on this one) and joking about the days adventures and mishaps is what makes these sports so enjoyable. Recovery gear (winch, tree hugger, shovel and winch extension), some decent tires, a tent, a cooler and ALWAYS a second rig (share the memories) will get you out there even in a factory level vehicle in terms of overlanding/general purpose. Rocks require all of the above plus suspension, armor on the underside, so on and so on just to get started. Overlanding is "cheap" IMHO. Now on the last note, it can get expensive as all sports can, but in my old runner with factory suspension, tires, and a winch I was all in at 14k (including price of vehicle). For my jeeps? You can just cut all the bottoms of your pockets out because money wont be sitting in there anyhow lol.

 

[MMc]

Great wright up! I wheeled a Datsun first, then a Toyota, before that I drove a sedan all over Baja both on and off pavement. Wheeling is great fun but expensive, those spontaneous body mods and broken parts get expensive. I also prefer to hike, surf, kayak, fish, mtn. bike over driving all day. A mix of both is more my style these days, my rig of choice these days is a long bed truck fixed up a bit that can haul my toys. I a planing to do the Pan American over a few years, a mix of sightseeing driving and playing. 90% of my trips are solo and to Baja witch adds to my more conservative ways I love your conclusions and support them! Go have fun.

 

[MazeVX]

Well you might have found the separation between both segments that gets filled with rocklanders meanwhile...

So there's nothing wrong with you or your vehicle as long as it gets you where YOU want to go.

We just had a weekend with OB members at a local offroad park, one came for the camping and sitting at the fire but ended up doing some little obstacles while I found myself doing quite a bit of the available trails and obstacles with my full camping stuff in the vehicle. Just to educate myself and learn how to do it to be able to assess a risk on the trails you need to know your and your vehicles limits. So it's kind of perspective thing how you look at some things. I intentionally left some obstacles because I knew I never going to do that with my vehicle in it's condition.
I learned again that my jeep can do more than I ask when on the road (which was the single purpose to buy a wrangler)

So you aren't babying or something, you act absolutely reasonable and adult.

 

[pluton]

It's the difference between using a vehicle for entertainment and using a vehicle for transportation. I like to spend some time in remote places, and need at least a light-duty 4WD vehicle to get to these places. If I had Musk Money, I'd hire a helicopter to fly me and the camping gear in and avoid having to spend hours sitting in a chair on the highway.

 

[MOAK]

To answer your question- yes, there is a huge difference between going Wheelin, for a day or two, and overlanding for a week or more. There are only a small handful of vehicles, world wide, that can accomplish both with slight modifications. Built rock crawlers are not good overlanding vehicles at all. Their flexy suspensions are not capable of supporting the extra weight that an overland vehicle must support. Overland vehicle builds are all about carrying weight for long distances. As previously stated, there are a few exceptions whereas an overlanding built suspension is quite capable of traversing a rock garden. However, a specific built truck for rock crawling, never makes a good overlanding rig. The other thing that is vastly different is the mentality of the person behind the wheel. People that “ wheel “ are enjoying the conquering of the trail. Overlanders are simply traveling somewhere, that may or may not have technical trails to overcome, not to conquer, but to be at one with nature. I have been to a couple of extraordinary off road parks. Walking my vehicle through obstacles along with highly modified vehicles taught me the capability of my truck and I haven’t been back since. I cannot see beating the crap out of an overland truck just to prove to the overbuilt guys that my build can do that too and that was 10 years ago. 20 years ago I did that with my 04 Rubicon , then spent 10 years attempting to make it an overlanding truck, to no avail. I learnt that there are very good reasons, GVWR being the primary reason, that Jeeps are not the ideal overlanding truck. Hopefully they got it right with the Gladiator, only time will tell. Interestingly, I was surprised that I did not see a single jeep on our Dempster trip until we were back in the US. Good luck with your build!

 

[Vickycc_3ef47a]

Great wright up! I wheeled a Datsun first, then a Toyota, before that I drove a sedan all over Baja both on and off pavement. Wheeling is great fun but expensive, those spontaneous body mods and broken parts get expensive. I also prefer to hike, surf, kayak, fish, mtn. bike over driving all day. A mix of both is more my style these days, my rig of choice these days is a long bed truck fixed up a bit that can haul my toys. I a planing to do the Pan American over a few years, a mix of sightseeing driving and playing. 90% of my trips are solo and to Baja witch adds to my more conservative ways I love your conclusions and support them! Go have fun.

nice

 

[Kevin108]

Off-road parks are like playgrounds. Overlanding is just playing outside. In certain parts of the world, you may come across obstacles on a trail like those in an off-road park, but typically the parks are crafted for challenge.

 

[reaver]

As others have said, "wheeling" and overlanding have very different requirements. It is possible to build an overland rig that is very good at "wheeling", but it will never be as good as a dedicated rock crawler due to the weight requirements.

I enjoy going wheeling in my vehicle. But, I do it to challenge myself, and learn it's limitations. I don't have a huge lift, huge tires, or lots of horsepower. As a matter of fact, I have 32.7in tires, a mild lift, and 190hp, but my rig has taken me to some amazing places.

What it can do, is carry a ton of weight a very long ways, comfortably, and support my family of 3 for 11 days without any issue.

What you need to remember is that everything is a compromise. Every vehicle and every modification has its strength and weaknesses.

 

[BCMoto]

My Silverado is pleanty capable as it sits, it has a small lift 35s and gets me out to camp far out but now I flat tow my jeep TJ behind my truck so that I can go crawling in my jeep. I do have a friend in the group who has a AWD older CRV and hes on 31s I believe and he pushes it when he come out to camp and hes made most trails but sometimes he just needs a little tug over the big stuff. Certainly makes it a fun trip because we talk about how it was coming in for him vs others.

 

[chrisbeast]

Excellent writing! I originally drove a Datsun, then a Toyota; before that, I traveled all around Baja in a sedan, on and off the road. Wheeling is a lot of fun, but it may be costly due to unforeseen body modifications and broken parts. In addition, I would rather climb, surf, kayak, fish, or mountain bike than drive all day. These days, a hybrid of the two is more my style. My go-to vehicle is an extended bed truck that has been somewhat modified so it can haul my toys. I have several years to complete the Pan American, combining sightseeing, driving, and entertainment. 90% of my travels are by myself to Baja, which adds to my more traditional behavior. I appreciate your support and conclusions.

 

[PCO6]

I've never wheeled in the traditional sense but I did a lot of off-roading long before getting into overlanding / off road camping. I raced off road cars back in the 70s. We never wanted to break down of course but it's surprising the amount of abuse you're willing to inflict upon a vehicle knowing that you will be trailering it home and also not driving it to work on Monday.

Today I'm happy getting off road to see what I can see and do things like camp, fish, kayak, hike, bike, etc. I know things can break and maybe that's why I stay away from wheeling. Not always but I think wheeling usually involves a group. I like to get out on my own and thinking twice about what I do ... is what I do.

Here's a program cover from 1973 ... 50 years ago! I was at a "younger" friend's shop earlier this week. Our cars were primitive compared to what they build and race now. Same thinking though ... they're built for high speed abuse.

 

[John and Mandi]

They are two different worlds competing for the same title. Coming from the long term travel side, you can imagine the issues when we were on panels at Expo telling people they do not need long travel to drive the Americas. Those coming from the 4x4 side told us we were idiots, I simply replied that when you are in a remote region of another country you will not take the same risks you would 100 miles from home. When multi-country overlanding, the wise choice is to always go around. There will be times you cannot and you would need to make sure you and your rig are up to the challenge and any fallout if things were to go wrong. That also applies to overlanding in your daily driver...everyone has a risk vs reward metric. When I was young we'd all go out in a beater truck to wheel and we would all get together to fix it when we broke it, that was a big part of the fun. Now, the fun is the drive through remote areas to pristine nature without the need to be wrenching on something.

Here's a video from Dirt Sunrise that captures the exact moment of mental transition, in our opinion anyway. The couple, Tim and Kelsey, are offroad experts but in the video (after banging up their rig a little) Kelsey says "this is not a toy, this is our home". That, is the difference. You can replace home with daily driver or whatever else but the point remains, most of us depend on our rigs for regular life. When full-timing even more so since there's no comfy house and 2nd vehicle to fall back to. If anyone is interested, their channel is great and one of the best for the Pan-Am. While they mostly stayed away from touring cities and towns it is a wonderful example of some of the things one can see, there is a lot more but everyone's trip is different. When they traveled Europe in a Maltec, hubba hubba, they did more of a mix between towns and remote...the way we traveled the Americas but we spent a lot more time then they did.

 

[Speric]

... it's surprising the amount of abuse you're willing to inflict upon a vehicle knowing that you will be trailering it home and also not driving it to work on Monday.

This. ^^^

I have a gladiator on 35"s but with a pop-up camper. I've done a bit of "wheelin" and "crawlin" in it but it's not really my jam. It's fun for a bit, at least until my back starts hurting. But really, it's just tooo slow. But I learn my truck's, and my driving ability's, limitations. But really, I need this vehicle to get me back home which might be hours away, and back to work on Monday, then again on Tuesday, etc.

 

[tjZ06]

I have been trying to build my WJ to do both... which limits it at the extreme edge of either. My SAS'ed and locked D'max with Four Wheel Camper is surely the better Overlander, particularly for extended trips; be that miles to cover, days away from supplies/support or both. However, my WJ still drives down the freeway wonderfully at 80 MPH yet is more than capable of doing some pretty serious off roading. It can fit a week's worth of gear/food/water... or one night the way I usually pack. I wouldn't hesitate to take the WJ on the Rubicon (and hopefully will in the spring if I ever finish my motor swap), which a lot of people consider the bar where you cross over from soft-roading, to off-roading. That said, there are trails (like parts of Fordyce) that I wouldn't take the WJ on because it's "too nice" to destroy, and I want it to remain intact for freeway use. It can't have doors/windows so mangled they don't shut/seal right, it has to have a good alignment, etc. which means I can't beat the ever-loving-tar out of it, and I don't want "tons and 40s" which limits it as an off roader. Yet it is pretty flexy and softly sprung, so I can't load it down too much as @MOAK mentioned which limits it as an extended-range Overlander. I hope when I get it alllll done and dialed (yeah right, a Jeep is NEVER done) it splits the difference about as good as any rig can. Still, for pure Overland type use my D'max/FWC will be the go-to, and maybe the XJ I picked up recently will become the pure off road beater... leaving the WJ as... IDK... show Jeep?

-TJ

 

[Ethan N]

Great post OP, I also love Canaan Loop. Beautiful cliffside view on the West side of the trail.

Of many jobs, I was a Master Driving Instructor in the Army. I fell in love with "wheeling" in HMMWVs and overseas in epic 6x6 MRAPs. My wife had a Jeep, but I didn't really get into it until I finally bought my own. I originally built it up for off-road parks / crawling etc. And it was great for a while, but after realizing where my heart was I adapted and now use my rig for overlanding. Or more accurately, to haul my camping and kayaking equipment around. However you want to go with your build is perfectly acceptable. Get out there and enjoy it!

When I swapped out my MT tires for ATRs it felt bittersweet. Sure they don't look as cool, but they're what I need - because let's face it. 90% of my travel is on the highway.

 

[Mr_Mnml_Engnr]

... it's surprising the amount of abuse you're willing to inflict upon a vehicle knowing that you will be trailering it home and also not driving it to work on Monday.

This. ^^^

I have a gladiator on 35"s but with a pop-up camper. I've done a bit of "wheelin" and "crawlin" in it but it's not really my jam. It's fun for a bit, at least until my back starts hurting. But really, it's just tooo slow. But I learn my truck's, and my driving ability's, limitations. But really, I need this vehicle to get me back home which might be hours away, and back to work on Monday, then again on Tuesday, etc.

After talking to a few more folks, I think the crawl toy not being the daily is key. I’m not in that stage of life yet, so my truck is my daily and that drives me to be much more cautious. But again, I think Overlanding is much more accessible in that respect. Not that it can’t get dangerous. But I feel like you miss out on less most of the time if you need to make it home.

 

[Outdoordog]

While I love offroading, my rig was more customized for camping, but in areas most trucks/4x4 won't make it. I like to camp in solitude, no one nearby.
I got 37" tires, giving me a lot of options in locations I can choose. I've found some cool spots even stock wranglers can't go.
Lately the overpanding scene is getting embarrassing. People putting way too much stuff on their rig, making it less capable. Seems more fashion IMO, having gear on 24/7 365.
I only load my gear when camping. Roofrack is bare.