Being "lost" isn't necessarily always a problem of Geography. For some of us, "lost" isn't a problem at all... it's a solution.
After work, on vacation or on the weekends... somewhere, I am hopefully lost. Lost in thought, lost in an idea, lost in a new place... Being lost doesn't always have to be a bad thing. My favorite way to get "lost" is in the outdoors, exploring something new... perhaps well inside my comfort zone, and occasionally a little (or a lot) outside of it.
With a young son, my motorcycle adventure days are on hold for now. It seemed that the next best thing and best way to share with him the experiences that my father shared with me was Overland Travel. I've been fascinated with it for years, doing it on adventure bikes in a very novice capacity. But I've always wanted to build an overland Jeep or 4Runner.
There was this old Toyota accessories catalog in my childhood home... full of part names and numbers that I couldn't decipher. But the pictures... Black and white dot-matrix printed pictures. Trucks and 4Runners and Land Cruisers on the most amazing journeys, places that looked like Mars or the Rockies or the Australian outback. Later lusting over videos and photos of the Dakar Rally and her competitors, the support trucks. The insane imagery of a Camel Trophy Land Rover crossing an impassable gap on nothing more than some fallen trees. These things, I think, was the spark - at least on the vehicle end. Frequent trips in a 1985 Chevy conversion van to Colorado with my parents... Dad will never know how much I appreciate those trips now, even if I didn't seem appreciate them then. An obsession with dual-sport and adventure bikes and trips in my late twenties and beyond carried on these passions, for which I could not define or describe to others. A passion that combines travel, customized 4x4's, camping, hiking, photography. A passion that I'm not very good at, but definitely enjoy doing it poorly. A passion that has evolved into the lucrative Overland industry, but no less worthy of my lust.
After a run of sporty-ish cars and autocross in my early twenties, I saw my first JK up close in 2008 as I was about to cruise a Mazda3 rental sedan up Old Falls River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park while on a family vacation. The freedom tops off, looking far more refined than the 2001 Wrangler I test drove some years prior. It sticks in my mind to this day. Three years later, I purchased a used / low-mileage 2007 JKU Sahara in Jeep Green Metallic... the first of three JKU's to date. Some time later, I discovered the Main Line Overland JKU build here on Expedition portal... and I fell in love with an idea. A white JKU Rubicon, built for overland, with white wheels. It became an inspiration... and eventually, a goal. But how to get there...
Fast forward to March 2019, a random autotrader search reveals a clean, low mileage 2015 Rubicon as a used trade-in at a Toyota dealership in central Ohio. For $3,000 below book. One owner, clean carfax. But what caught my eye was the roof rack, one I have lusted after for a long time. This used 2015 Rubi came already equipped with a Gobi Stealth roof rack. I brought it home the following day, trading in my 2016 JKU Sport.
While slowly, I was finally going to build my dream Jeep and overland rig. But the cost of everything I wanted to do seemed overwhelming, as did the time investment, so I decided to take it slow and in small bites. I started scanning for some of the very expensive bits online, searching forums and elsewhere just in case I could save a little coin on take-offs. My first few additions were found with random Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace searches... I just had to be willing to drive a little bit. A gently used ARB Deluxe Combo bumper from a nice couple in Charleston, WV was sourced for $500. And a new, unused Smittybilt Overlander roof-top tent from a really nice guy just south of Dayton, OH for only $600. The Smittybilt awning was purchased new from Amazon for $205, it was transferred from my previous JKU to the new-to-me Rubicon and Gobi Stealth rack. The winch is an old Warn XD9000i in good working condition but a bit rough around the edges, given to me by a friend and fellow Overlander on the condition that it would be put to good use.
Trip planning with my son began for a 10-day introduction to Colorado's National Parks and a few of the more touristy destinations. With my new craigslist bumper and tent, we departed west for some great adventures.
With all the driving, I had a lot of time to think. Ponder future adventures. Building my dream jeep. What worked on this trip, what didn't. Building the best possible Overland vehicle with quality parts for as little money as possible. Not cheap, but used and less expensive would be okay... and do it bit by bit so I don't break the bank. The idea was planted...
And so the obsessive search began... Quality parts, take-offs, used but in good condition. This is how my dream rig evolved over the next year and continues to do so. With mostly used parts. And lots of adventures, meeting new people and stories were made along the way. Here we go...
After work, on vacation or on the weekends... somewhere, I am hopefully lost. Lost in thought, lost in an idea, lost in a new place... Being lost doesn't always have to be a bad thing. My favorite way to get "lost" is in the outdoors, exploring something new... perhaps well inside my comfort zone, and occasionally a little (or a lot) outside of it.
With a young son, my motorcycle adventure days are on hold for now. It seemed that the next best thing and best way to share with him the experiences that my father shared with me was Overland Travel. I've been fascinated with it for years, doing it on adventure bikes in a very novice capacity. But I've always wanted to build an overland Jeep or 4Runner.
There was this old Toyota accessories catalog in my childhood home... full of part names and numbers that I couldn't decipher. But the pictures... Black and white dot-matrix printed pictures. Trucks and 4Runners and Land Cruisers on the most amazing journeys, places that looked like Mars or the Rockies or the Australian outback. Later lusting over videos and photos of the Dakar Rally and her competitors, the support trucks. The insane imagery of a Camel Trophy Land Rover crossing an impassable gap on nothing more than some fallen trees. These things, I think, was the spark - at least on the vehicle end. Frequent trips in a 1985 Chevy conversion van to Colorado with my parents... Dad will never know how much I appreciate those trips now, even if I didn't seem appreciate them then. An obsession with dual-sport and adventure bikes and trips in my late twenties and beyond carried on these passions, for which I could not define or describe to others. A passion that combines travel, customized 4x4's, camping, hiking, photography. A passion that I'm not very good at, but definitely enjoy doing it poorly. A passion that has evolved into the lucrative Overland industry, but no less worthy of my lust.
After a run of sporty-ish cars and autocross in my early twenties, I saw my first JK up close in 2008 as I was about to cruise a Mazda3 rental sedan up Old Falls River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park while on a family vacation. The freedom tops off, looking far more refined than the 2001 Wrangler I test drove some years prior. It sticks in my mind to this day. Three years later, I purchased a used / low-mileage 2007 JKU Sahara in Jeep Green Metallic... the first of three JKU's to date. Some time later, I discovered the Main Line Overland JKU build here on Expedition portal... and I fell in love with an idea. A white JKU Rubicon, built for overland, with white wheels. It became an inspiration... and eventually, a goal. But how to get there...
Fast forward to March 2019, a random autotrader search reveals a clean, low mileage 2015 Rubicon as a used trade-in at a Toyota dealership in central Ohio. For $3,000 below book. One owner, clean carfax. But what caught my eye was the roof rack, one I have lusted after for a long time. This used 2015 Rubi came already equipped with a Gobi Stealth roof rack. I brought it home the following day, trading in my 2016 JKU Sport.
While slowly, I was finally going to build my dream Jeep and overland rig. But the cost of everything I wanted to do seemed overwhelming, as did the time investment, so I decided to take it slow and in small bites. I started scanning for some of the very expensive bits online, searching forums and elsewhere just in case I could save a little coin on take-offs. My first few additions were found with random Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace searches... I just had to be willing to drive a little bit. A gently used ARB Deluxe Combo bumper from a nice couple in Charleston, WV was sourced for $500. And a new, unused Smittybilt Overlander roof-top tent from a really nice guy just south of Dayton, OH for only $600. The Smittybilt awning was purchased new from Amazon for $205, it was transferred from my previous JKU to the new-to-me Rubicon and Gobi Stealth rack. The winch is an old Warn XD9000i in good working condition but a bit rough around the edges, given to me by a friend and fellow Overlander on the condition that it would be put to good use.
Trip planning with my son began for a 10-day introduction to Colorado's National Parks and a few of the more touristy destinations. With my new craigslist bumper and tent, we departed west for some great adventures.
With all the driving, I had a lot of time to think. Ponder future adventures. Building my dream jeep. What worked on this trip, what didn't. Building the best possible Overland vehicle with quality parts for as little money as possible. Not cheap, but used and less expensive would be okay... and do it bit by bit so I don't break the bank. The idea was planted...
And so the obsessive search began... Quality parts, take-offs, used but in good condition. This is how my dream rig evolved over the next year and continues to do so. With mostly used parts. And lots of adventures, meeting new people and stories were made along the way. Here we go...
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