OVERLANDING GEAR

This comprehensive overlanding gear list includes all the overland gear, mods, and equipment added to the truck, so far, to ensure it is capable and reliable as a long-term overland vehicle for our family.

 

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Overlanding Recovery Gear

A good recovery kit is essential to have if you’ll be off-roading or exploring more remote locations. Take the time to get familiar with this recovery equipment, and learn how to use it in a safe and effective manner. It can save your backside (along with others!) if you get stuck or into a precarious situation off-road. And be sure to check out our in-depth guide to Overland and Off Road Recovery Gear for a more detailed overview of overlanding gear options that you can incorporate into your own overlanding rig as needed.

Off Road Winching Equipment

Here are the upgrades we added to our winch system:

  • Warn Spydura Synthetic Winch Rope* - by upgrading the standard M8000 with synthetic rope (as opposed to getting the M8000-S model that’s already equipped for synthetic line), you can keep the wire rope and roller fairlead as back-up.

  • Factor55 Pully* (x2) - this lighter-weight alternative to the old mechanical snatch block is specifically designed for use with synthetic winch rope and uses an ingenious series of rope retention nubbins to keep the winch line in place while rigging and before tension is applied

  • Warn Epic 1.5” Fairlead* - a thicker fairlead places less stress on synthetic winch line during angular pulls

  • Factor55 FastFID* - for field repairs on synthetic winch rope

  • Factor55 Hitchlink 2.0* - provides a light-weight, safe, and easy rear recovery point for the truck when needed  

Overland Vehicle Recovery Gear

Off-Road Lighting

If you’re traveling off road at night, a quality set of auxiliary off road driving lights are worth their weight in gold. We’ve used Baja Designs LP Pro series lights on all of our overland adventures and they’ve never let us down, for a deep dive on off road lighting solutions check out our Buyer’s Guide to Off Road Lights

  • Baja Designs LP9 Pro* - these lights are waterproof, submersible, and at a total of 12,000 lumens they supply more than enough visibility for our purposes of night driving while overlanding (note that a cardinal rule of overland travel is to “never travel at night,” with that said, it happens and it’s good to be prepared for it).

  • Ditch Lights - on our prior overland truck we utilized some Baja Designs S1 Wide Cornering Lights* on A-pillar mounts positioned to illuminate the peripheral edges of the road or trail, which also makes them great for scoping out potential campsites after dark. For our current truck, we’re still deciding what, if any, ditch lights we’ll use.

OVERLAND VEHICLE Bumpers, Skid Plates, Rock Sliders

Also known as Body Armor, these items are permanent or semi permanent modifications to the vehicle to protect the vehicle’s body and undercarriage from damage while overlanding.

  • Off Road Bumpers - while we opted to forgo off-road bumpers for the time being on our Toyota Tacoma Overland Build in favor of a hidden winch mount behind the stock bumper, the ARB Bullbar Bumper* is what we used on our previous overland truck and it will be our goto choice when we decide to upgrade

  • Skid Plates - Bud Built 3-piece Stainless Steel skid plate set protects the sensitive undercarriage components of the truck while off roading

  • Rock Sliders - Trail Gear rock sliders* protect the rocker panels from body damage on obstacles while driving off road, and also provide a step to access rooftop storage and gear.

Off-Road Snorkel For Overlanding

For a detailed look at off road snorkels (or raised air intakes as they're otherwise known) be sure to check out our guide for Everything You Need to Know About Off Road 4x4 Snorkels. For our truck, we opted to go with the combo below:

  • ARB Safari Snorkel* - a classic, time-tested, industry standard in the raised air intake and off road snorkel

  • Sy-Klone 9001 Pre-Cleaner - helps prevent moisture (snow & rain) from getting into the snorkel in inclement weather and helps keep debris from clogging your air filter when trailing others in dusty or silty road conditions

Overland Vehicle Suspension System

The suspension system you select, is largely dependent on your specific overland vehicle’s characteristics. For our Tacoma, we went with the following:

Overlanding Battery Setup

Over the years we’ve tried various dual battery setups, solar generators, and other camping power supplies, each with their own advantages and limitations. So in our latest family overland truck build we opted for a simple 12v lithium Overlanding Battery Setup that provides all of our power, both on the trail and and camp, while saving weight and space too! It consists of:

  • Dakota Lithium 135ah Lithium Deep Cycle/Starting Battery

  • Victron Energy 1000A SmartShunt* (for monitoring battery charge/discharge)

  • Balmar APM* - protects alternator from surge and load-dump if battery disconnects

On-board Air Compressor System

While there are a variety of ways to Air Down Tires for Off-Road Driving and Overlanding this is the setup we’ve used in both of our overland vehicles:

Overlanding Safety Equipment

  • - First Aid Kit* & Tourniquet* - these are a great starting point, but we highly recommend taking a wilderness first aid course and spending time to add to your first aid kit as needed for your adventures 

  • - Fire Extinguishers* - these light-weight compact ELEMENT fire extinguishers are easy to store in your overland vehicle and with 50 seconds of discharge they offer 4x the firefighting potential of a traditional 5lb fire extinguisher

  • - A Roadside Assistance Plan - major mechanical breakdowns happen, and for those instances where you’re not capable of making a repair, having a good roadside assistance plan is excellent piece-of-mind. We’ve used Good Sam Roadside Assistance for years, and feel it offers a great value as it covers both autos and towable campers.

Overlanding RadioS & Comms Equipment

Being able to reach out for help in remote areas is invaluable while overlanding or traveling off road, check out our guide to Overlanding Off Road Radios and Emergency Communication Devices for a more indepth look at emergency comms devices. Here’s what we use while overlanding:

Overlanding Tool Kit

Every overland vehicle is different, and your overland tool kit should be custom built to fit your needs. Our guide on How to Pack a Traveling Tool Kit for Overlanding and Off Roading can help get you started and provides some suggestions for some basic tools to include. In addition to these mechanical tools we also carry: 

  • ARB Tire repair kit* & a full-size spare tire

  • NOCO Boost+ Jumper Pack*

  • Disposable shop towels*

  • Pre-Trip Maintenance - it's easier to repair/replace worn components at home, than out in the middle-of-nowhere. Plus, it’s good insurance to do a standard once over of your vehicle prior to leaving including:

    • check all automotive fluids

    • oil change & filter

    • air filter cleaning/replacement

    • valve check/adjustment

    • grease the drive-line and steering components as applicable

    • check tires for wear, puncture, and adequate inflation for the terrain

    • check torque on wheel lug nuts and steering fasteners

    • inspect brakes/rotors, ball joints, and wheel bearings for wear

Overlanding Jacks for Off Roading

Lifting your overland vehicle for maintenance, recovery, or clearance cannot be done safely without the right off road jack setup. We cover all the options in our Complete Guide to Off Road Jacks so you can select one that’s right for your needs, but we personally carry:

  • A Perimeter Beam Jack - specifically The Tauler Jack (by Brennan’s Garage) - for high-lift applications mostly in vehicle recovery and trail maintenance

  • A Mechanical Bottle Jack - the Toyota factory bottle jack from a 100 series landcruiser or GX460 provides 19” of lift height and can be used for a variety of off road maintenance, repairs, or clearancing smaller obstacles with the jack-and-tip technique

  • An Off Road Jack Base -  we use a DIY off road jack base (made from a thick HDPE cutting board*) that helps to stabilize the jacks in soft terrain conditions such as sand, snow, or mud 

Overland Awning

An awning provides a protected exterior space to hang out beneath in inclement weather, as well as provides shade and protection from the sun. For help selecting an overland awning that fits your specific needs and budget, check out our guide on How to Choose the Best Overland Awning. We personally use the:

Kinsmen Hardware 270 Degree Awning - you check out our in-depth overview to see why we think this is The Best 4x4 Awning for Your Off Road Adventures.