Overland Expo

[Aquaphile]

[font='YouTube Noto', Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Have any of you attended past Overland Expos by Flagstaff? I'm curious if it is helpful for a person like me that is interested in getting a 2-wheel drive van and traveling around North America. It seems that a lot of it is for hard core 4-wheel driving types.[/font]

 

[highdesertranger]

you can get a lot of good ideas from them. however remember most of them are weekend warriors. also a lot of them like to show their bling, they spend some outrageous money on gear. highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

Overlanding seems to be about how much expensive expedition gear they can bolt to SUVs. Some overlanders actually do go on expeditions, but a lot seem to just gather in the boonies on weekends to check out each other's rigs.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

And if you look at some of the websites, even though the definition of "Overlanding" would include many of the activities of 2wd vandwellers, we're more of a curiosity and that you have to have 4wd to be considered a real "overlander"

Two websites are "Expedition Portal" and a kinder, smaller, more inclusive forum, "Overland Bound".

I like that here at CRVL, we're not all full of ourselves.

 

[KathyC]

We are attending this coming weekend -- it's a first for us. We will be camping with our little teardrop trailer that will intimidate nobody!

I'm sure there are a lot of people with a lot of money to burn, but there might also be people who just love to hit the back country and be close to nature.

I'll post a follow-up next week.

 

[VanForNow]

I will be there, too. Heading to Grand Canyon afterwards.

 

[highdesertranger]

report back with your impressions, any good products/ideas. highdesertranger

 

[KathyC]

report back with your impressions,  any good products/ideas.  highdesertranger

First, let me preface this by saying I didn't spend any time on the test tracks or attend lectures -- we just ran out of time and wanted to see the vendors!

My take:

250 exhibitors.  In one place (one big place).

Four Wheel Camper was the top sponsor of event —  they were extremely popular as everyone wanted to go through them.  Including us.  Wonderful quality, nice vendor reps.

Dometic was a major sponsor with a huge display area — We bit the bullet on a CFX40 fridge (a planned purchase) and got the last one -- and that was on the first full day of the event (Dyers was the seller).  They were selling all models like mad.  It was $20 lower than their website and they gave buyers the insulated cover, so that was nice.  They also gave out bottled water and swag...The fridge is the newer black/grey color scheme, which we like.

Overall, there was of course the crazy, high-end stuff ($400K+ rigs and fancy $1K camp kitchens, etc.) but mostly those were just for fun.  I sensed there were far more rooftop tents and 4 wheel recovery gear than Unimogs.  I think there is a tent for just about any vehicle.  Sweet!

Nearly everyone had solar…campers and exhibitors.  Our trust Renogy suitcase did its job, as always.

The guy from Aluminess Products was so nice!  We asked him if they manufactured a hitch step (so those of us above a certain age could get in and out of truck campers easily).  He laughed and showed us the $25 one from Harbor Freight that he uses.  He said he couldn’t compete with that (with a grin!)

Got a free day pass for an Arizona State Park, offroad maps, stickers galore and on Sunday vendors were serving breakfast goodies at most booths — bring your own plate and they gave you part of your meal, including coffee…yay.  Most vendors had show discounts, too.

Loved looking at the restored Land Cruisers…gorgeous work by FJ Company with prices (gulp) to match.

Goal zero was there.  I know their stuff is "nice", but good grief.  13 watt foldable panel for $150?  seriously?  Try Monoprice.

I was intrigued by the “Larry Alert” which may have a place in the nomadic life for some.  It’s a wireless security alarm that is tied to a smartphone app.  You mount it near your "stuff" then activate it (you select how large an area to 'secure’).  If anyone breaks the invisible “shield” around your stuff, it sounds a loud alarm and sends you sequential photos.  Seems intriguing.

Kicking horse coffee (from BC) was pouring outstanding organic coffee.  Free.  Thanks - we needed that!

P3 Solar had a 200 watt rollable, rugged solar panel with MPPT controller that was pretty impressive…weighs only 7 pounds and rolls up in a tube.  The price tag was equally impressive at $1,100.  This was a nice piece of expensive solar equipment, though.

Quite a few teardrop sellers on hand…saw some fancy off-road (pseudo-military) versions, but one vendor said they sell 10:1 standard to offroad.  I get the distinct impression that smaller, more nimble camping products are "in".  I wouldn't say "stealth", but not as much *obvious* excess.

I also noticed lots of "Made in America" products.  High quality stuff.  Yes, the prices were generally higher than many mass-produced items we get from Amazon/eBay (some of which are quite good, imo), but there was something refreshing about seeing really high quality USA goods.

Also saw a couple of van conversion kits (Wayfarer Vans and Adventure Wagon).  The former sells a kit to outfit a Promaster with flooring, camper boxes, panels and a table…with shipping it would run a staggering $4,800.  Good grief.  Cleverly done and precision-made to be sure, but heavens!). The latter had an interesting modular system using L-tracks to attach everything -- including soft-sided gear bags from the ceiling.  Would love to find a use for L-tracks someday...I just love those...

As for the many hundreds of campers, we saw everything from expensive Sporstmobiles and tricked out trucks with matching trailers to rental RVs, teardrops, pup tents, car campers, old vans...blue tarps...there was nothing snobby about it.  Extremely quiet and respectful campers one and all.
  
Lastly, my mini lithium-ion battery jump starter came in handy when a nearby camper had drained her battery.  It was charged months ago and forgotten about -- yet worked like a charm.  I was happy to find you *can* actually start a car with one of those.  Amazing.

If you have read this far, you should get yourself to the next Expo!

KC

 

[highdesertranger]

nice review Kathy. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Pictures available here:

https://americanadventurist.com/overland-expo-west-2017/

 

[westriver]

you can get a lot of good ideas from them.  however remember most of them are weekend warriors.  also a lot of them like to show their bling,  they spend some outrageous money on gear.  highdesertranger

I met a guy who was patiently camped out north of Denver, while working a deal on an expedition vehicle. The seller was one of the weekend warriors, apparently a very wealthy trust funder. He had a custom built rig ready to circle the globe.  It sat on a Mitsubishi  4WD  cab over, medium duty truck. It was 6-7 years old, and only had a few thousand miles on it. The buyer was getting close to the $65K mark he wanted to spend. That number was roughly 1/5th of the original purchase price........................... Outrageous is a good choice of words here. The buyer was originally in the area because he was going to order a new Earthroamer for 1/4 million.