Official Overland Expo 2011 thread: Videos, Pictures and Updates

[DzlToy]

^^ This is not "overlanding". It's a product/vendor showcase, car show, camping trip, meet and greet, vacation, etc. Not a 'round the world journey or Kodiak to TDF, and its only 2-3 days long. I think the weather and geography can be taken into account for that period of time.

Besides its an easy fix. I would venture to say that not one person here "enjoys" dust/heat/wind. Is it part of being outdoors, sure it is (I've been camping and doing all things outdoors for 35 years, so Im no sissy newbie). But just like there would not be an EXPO in Alaska in winter or in the Sahara in summer with the argument that bad weather is part of it, the organisers SHOULD want to make the event as pleasant, enjoyable and enticing as possible for everyone involved. If they want it to be for the hardcore adventurist, world traveller guy or overlanding expert, then so be it. But the show is not going to grow much or be a huge success as there are only a limited number of those people around.

This show will never be CES or SEMA or CEDIA, and Im glad, but I bet the organisers might like to see 3000 people instead of 2000 or 400 vendors instead of 200. Its a business, plain and simple. Sure its something they enjoy, but the bottom line is that its a for profit venture and they should consider ideas to improve their product or service. If they dont, the free market will make a bigger, better, cleaner or more enjoyable show somewhere else and they will be left behind...

Finally, the 10k they are planning to spend on grass and sprinklers could be much better used somewhere else. So we can take a hot dry dusty landscape and add grass and sprinklers to make it more comfortable and less like a desert or we can move the event to somewhere that has better conditions. Nah, lets spend the 10k and change the desert that we all profess to love so much..... :shrug:

 

[The Swiss]

DzlToy, I think you are absolutely correct with (most) of your assessments.

Reading the last couple pages of this thread, there is a vivid discussion on how to make next years event more "pleasant, enjoyable and enticing for everyone involved", to use your words and it appears that Jonathan and his crew are soaking up many different ideas. I'm positive Amado offers the possibility for further improvements; this venue is pretty much ideal for this kind of event. Would there be other possible locations in the big wide US of A. Sure! But this event happened to be originated in AZ, no reason to move it from there. (The big trade shows like SEMA also take place every year at the same location ).

 

[roamingaz]

For me the weather wasn't that big of deal, sure I got sunburned and had 2 inches of dust inside my tent but I live here in the desert and I am used to it. The expo itself was good and I had a great time meeting people and looking at the stuff on display I just got bored after my second walk around. I think there should be more available for day pass folks, for $20 per day entry fee I was disapointed that the vendors really had very little to offer and no discounts ( except Overland Gourmet, Oztent and Goal0, they had some awesome expo deals!) maybe vendors could bring a sample of items for sale and offers special pricing if ordered during the expo. A central fire pit as Tacodoc mentioned would be really cool, someplace the folks camping could meet and greet without feeling like a intruder in someones campsite.
As for relocating the venue being difficult I am sure Overland Expo would have more then enough volunteers to help move and set up because we all enjoy helping out when needed, I volunteered last year as onsite EMT and would again, or rent a tractor trailer semi to haul everything in one load and I would drive it for free as I am a truck driver too.
So how about some more pictures of the fun time I did have.....

Snowpeak booth, lots of stuff to drool over

Snowpeak and Goal 0 should put these two on payroll:sombrero: (Tacodoc, Suntinez)

My kids thought is was fun for a while but would like to have seen more kids in the camping area.

 

[T.Low]

Do I see a Volvo c303?

Any more pics of the Westy? It looks like it has some nice farkles on it.

 

[The Swiss]

Do I see a Volvo c303?

If you are referring to the vehicle on the right on this pic, then nope, it's not a Volvo but a Pinzgauer 710k, which is like a 710m except that it has the radio body.

 

[Fireman78]

turtle expeditions unlimited. turtle V

great truck!

I cant believe it! 17 pages and only one pic of the powerwagon build! WANSN'T ANYONE PAYING ATTENTION!!!

I spent three days drooling over this tuck. I allreadyput a deposit down on a front bumper set up for mine with Aluminess.

 

[Christian P.]

I spent three days drooling over this tuck. I allreadyput a deposit down on a front bumper set up for mine with Aluminess.

More images of the Powerwagon can be found here:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/adv...s/249-playing-in-the-snow-prescott-style.html

 

[James86004]

Finally, the 10k they are planning to spend on grass and sprinklers could be much better used somewhere else. So we can take a hot dry dusty landscape and add grass and sprinklers to make it more comfortable and less like a desert or we can move the event to somewhere that has better conditions. Nah, lets spend the 10k and change the desert that we all profess to love so much..... :shrug:

Actually, the land the site is on has been disturbed so much over the last few centuries that planting grass on it is probably a more of a restoration than a change.

And the weather this time of year is almost always perfect. Like today, for instance, it is 11am and the temperature is 70F and there is sun and no wind. It was pretty bad luck that we got record highs and wind two weeks ago.

 

[r3run33]

Hey michael any info on that xterra? Really interested in that roof rack with light cage? Thanks

 

[Colorado David]

Hey michael any info on that xterra? Really interested in that roof rack with light cage? Thanks

That's a Baja Rack with the accessory light guard. Excellent stuff by the way. I have one of the non-vehicle specific Baja racks and as soon as I recover from tax time I'll buy the LR Disco rack and ladder from Baja.

 

[shogun]

That's an interesting perspective, and one I have not heard before. We had more vendors this year than last, and several of them told me they sold more by Saturday morning this year than they did all weekend last year. I certainly saw a lot of products offered, and a lot of smiling people loading large bunches of it into their vehicles, so I wonder why you and your friends went home empty-handed. Didn't find what you wanted? Or was there some other aspect at work?

"some other aspect", don't know what you mean with this, its hard to be subtle and effective with this medium.

I've let this sit for a few days and others have chimed in with similar viewpoints, so maybe I'm not the lone voice.

No need to engage in detailed (although constructive) criticism in a public venue. I like the event, and the site is fine/workable; I would like to see it flourish and grow in a professional manner. If you're interested in my comments/suggestions, lets go PM (or lunch at Pocos), if not, no worries, its your show.

 

[washington taco]

I did not go to OX11, but did go in 2010. That being said the close proximity to the freeway and the very way south location not very user friendly. This is why they are having the Overland Rallies! Amando is ok not IDEAL and out of the way for most including the venders! For being out of the way shouldn't you need to drive down a gravel road, expect some dust and dirt and solitude. I would hate to see Overlanding get dumb down so ALL americans can participate. We all should have some skill, training and confidence. I will attend OX12 or 13 if in Amondo or not.. why, because its about the journey not the DESTINATION. Besides would you want to come to say Washington state in April? It is currently 47 and raining. Killer spring skiing though!

 

[T.Low]

I Besides would you want to come to say Washington state in April? It is currently 47 and raining. Killer spring skiing though!

Mike, I saw the sun yesterday after about 4pm, and we actually had a sunset!:Wow1:

Of course, I woke up to rain this morning.


And we could kick this dead horse al day long, but the fact of the matter is as posted in previous replies: the normal temp for that time of year is 70ish. My neighbors that winter in Palm Springs said they had the heat wave too that weekend; it was over 100 there also, so it's not exclusive to Amado.

Still, I would suggest sending someone to scout Pena Blanca. It's in the same area (about 20 minutes off the freeway down a beautiful swoopy two lane chip seal road)but has some trees and a lake and cliffs, and a decent parking area 100yards from the water. I can't remember the specifics about camping as we always poached camping on our motorcycles. It was over 25 years ago...

I want to thank all the people that provided photographs for this thread, as well as those that provided the venue for the photographs to be taken in the first place, and of course those that provided the subjects of those photos. I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out this thread. Hopefully next year we can time our travels to coincide with Expo's Expo.:sombrero:

 

[bunduguy]

Howling Moon and Bundu Gear at the OX2011!!

Thought you would all like to see some of the pictures we got, and share in our 2nd participation at the great event.

The drive from Santa Fe to Amado! This pic was taken by my good buddy Greg at 75mph! The wheel was on a big rig towing another big rig.

Our booth this year was much larger, including our XT140 trailer, trailer tent, the Bundu Mobile LC100 with RTT and awnings, as well as a 10ft x10ft Safari Dome.

After the hard work of setting up a very large campsite!

Our very well received and much praised trailer tent on the XT140.

Our Safari Dome, which all the ladies seemed to enjoy. We had it decked out with cots, bedding and a cocktail set!

The Bundu Mobile! I can't tell you how much I am loving all the Bumpit Offroad goodies we put on her; custom bumper, sliders and rear bumper with dual swingout. She is also mounted with a 1.4m deluxe RTT and a 2.5m Safari Awn.

Our hanging cutlery and utensil sets were a pleasure to use during the show.

Our newly unveiled Wheelie Bin; rear wheel trash bag.

This year it was great to see some very cool people using our gear.

The very cool dudes at Baja Rack with a 1.6m Stargazer on their Disco.

Paul and Helen Crittendon from the UK (www.goingoverland.com) have used their tent for 10months so far of their RTW trip, apparently using the tent exclusively for 7 months!

The GoingOverland Defender! Very cool piece of kit. They had an unfortunate running in with a horse in Kazakhstan IIRC. The horse did not make it, but the Defender did, after a little work. Very lucky outcome. Great people with some cool stories.

Nathan Hindman's Disco II from Pangaea Expeditions.

Have to love a 50mm lens at f1.4!

Driving home into the sunset! I still don't think we have all the dust out yet.

 

[bunduguy]

Some randoms

Our very well attended RTT clinic.

The very cool dudes at ASFIR4x4 had a cool JKU tilted up with mirrors underneath, to see the aluminum under armor. Not to be outdone, we had to do the same to our RC LR3. This is the same LR3 that we used to lure passers by into our booth! We also picked a fight with the RC from AOE! Theirs is way cooler, but we made up for it in tenacity.

The very cool troopy of cweight with an older Howling Moon rtt. Such a functional build.

The boerewors we were cooking all weekend. It's a traditional South African sausage in a length and coiled. It's made of bacon, pork and beef, with the main herb being coriander. I made 20lbs of the stuff the week before Expo, and cooked about 15lbs during the show. If you did not get any, stop by next year!