Vehicles
Vehicle guides
Overlanding is defined by the desire to explore, not by the price of the vehicle. Pick your platform.
The manufacturer’s numbers, and what they mean once the vehicle is loaded.
Payload, clearance and towing figures come from the maker, for the model year named beside them. The rest is what a platform does well, what it asks of you, and the order in which to spend money on it.
Vans
- 01 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The van most camper builders start from, read through the maker’s own numbers: what it carries, what it asks of you, and the order in which owners spend money on it.
- 02 Ford Transit America’s most-converted full-size van, read through Ford’s published numbers: what each series carries, what the gas drivetrain asks of you, and what to fix first.
Four-wheel drive
- 03 Toyota Land Cruiser A working guide to the Land Cruiser as a travel platform: the figures Toyota publishes, the weight ceiling behind them, and what to do first.
- 04 Toyota 4Runner A working guide to the 4Runner as a travel platform: what Toyota publishes for the current model, the weight ceiling behind it, and the order to build in.
- 05 Toyota Tacoma A working guide to the Tacoma as a travel platform: the figures Toyota publishes for the current truck, the two different payload numbers, and where to start.
- 06 Lexus GX A working guide to the Lexus GX as a travel platform: what Lexus publishes for the current GX 550, what the owner’s manual allows, and where to start.
- 07 Land Rover Defender An independently sprung, permanently driven 4x4 that raises itself to clear obstacles. Here is what Land Rover publishes for the current US Defender 110, and how to plan a trip around it.
- 08 INEOS Grenadier A box-section ladder frame, solid beam axles and a two-speed transfer case, sold new. Here is what INEOS publishes for the US car, and what the owner’s manual asks of you.
- 09 Rivian R1T and R1S What Rivian publishes about the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, and what that means for travel where the charger is two hundred miles behind you.
Expedition
- 10 Expedition trucks A category guide to purpose-built expedition vehicles and chassis-cab campers: what the weight ratings mean, who certifies the finished truck, and what licence the weight may require.
- 11 Truck campers Slide-in and pop-up campers, and the single calculation that decides whether a combination is safe: the camper’s loaded weight against the truck’s cargo weight rating and tire load.
- 12 Off-road trailers What decides whether a trailer tows well behind your vehicle: tongue weight, the ratings on both labels, brakes, the coupler, and tires that match the axle underneath.