Tag: adventurist

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SEMA 2019

The SEMA Show.  For a week in November, the automotive industry as a whole congregates in Las Vegas to completely fill the Las Vegas Convention Center to show off absolutely anything that relates to the automotive industry.  From aftermarket parts, to tools, to chemicals, to safety, to raw materials, to OEMS, you won’t find a more comprehensive selection of auto-related stuff to check out.

The Overland Industry is continuing to expand it’s footprint at SEMA, and this year was the first year to feature the “Overland Experience.” In this area, Overland industry professionals gave presentations, and there were a number of rigs on hand for show attendees to check out.  Throughout the rest of the show, there were more and more Overland style builds in booths, and more brands that serve the Overland market were on hand to show off their wares.

From companies just getting off the ground with new products fueled by passion to well known companies coming out with more and more SKUs to serve even more needs, there was plenty of awesome to check out – and of course it wouldn’t be SEMA without the… well… interesting products.  You’ll know ’em when you see them.

ANTISHANTY

Antishanty has figured out how to take the best parts of so many different types of trailers and fuse them into one awesome trailer that is poised to stand head and shoulders above the other overland trailers that simply carry a roof tent, or are a glorified teardrop, or that weigh more than your tow vehicle.

Check out these Antishanty features:  Timbren independent suspension, aluminum construction (no wood), light weight, insulated, a toy hauler style rear door, a pop top, plenty of sleeping space, and a heater and a cook stove.  If you need a trailer to haul your gear, be your base camp, and do just about everything else a trailer can do – you need to check out Antishanty.

WARN

Warn had a pile of new stuff on display.  For the Jeep JT and JL, Warn has new bumpers, sliders, and door kits.  They’ve expanded their line of semi-hidden bumpers with fitments for the Subaru Crosstrek and many other platforms.  Their lines of winch accessories and bags are also becoming more robust as well, notably with soft shackles and new winchlines that feature a reflective braid.

Icon Vehicle Dynamics and Icon Alloys

Icon was on hand to show off what they’ve been up to, and I’m happy to report that they’re making some cool new improvements to their existing products as well as continuing to develop new, award winning products.

For their 2.5 inch series shocks, Icon is switching to an aluminum shock body which will provide better heat dissipation performance as well as better resistance to the elements.  Features like gold CDCV knobs and finned reservoirs will also be spec’d on certain fitments.  Icon’s 2.5-inch JL system won an award at the show this year, and the new Vector 6 wheel by Icon Alloys looks great!

Dometic

Dometic has a new generation of electric fridges that feature innovative new features, and they’ve updated their CFX app to help you better understand how your 12v fridge is using power.  With the app you can now plot power consumption versus temperature through a bluetooth connection to your cooler (the old version used wifi) and Dometic has also made the process of adding a dedicated circuit to your vehicle much easier with an everything you need kit.

The new CFX Gen 3 coolers have a new design, beefier cast aluminum handles, and control interfaces that are much easier to use than the older versions.  The new CFX 55 even has an ice maker to help take your wilderness mixology to the next level.

Milwaukee

Milwaukee Tools was new to SEMA this year, and I have to say it was awesome to finally get to see every red tool all in one place.  Milwaukee is getting into hand tools, and I have to give them a nod for adding a meaningful feature to their new line of sockets – square tops which prevent the socket from rolling away from you when you set them on the ground.  Ever watch a 10mm socket roll into oblivion? No more with Milwaukie tools. They had a really cool booth with lots of cut-a-way tools, and of note were the M12 & M18 Red Lithium batteries where you could see the genuine Samsung cells inside.

American Expedition Vehicles

AEV always brings something cool when they’re going to a show, and this year was no exception.  On display was their new recovery gear, as well as several platforms with all kinds of new goodies.  The RAM Prospector XL gets a completely new bumper, which is sporting a brush guard and AEV’s own 7″ lights.  Out back AEV is spec’ing a 41″ spare tire carrier, 5th gen bed rack, and a new rear bumper.

The Jeep JL Wrangler and JT Gladiator are also getting the full AEV treatment with a few bits on display, and a whole bunch of other products in the pipeline.  AEV has also been working on the Chevy Bison platform, and the new version will be able to clear 35s.

Yakima

Yakima continues to come up with more cool products for carrying your toys and tools on your vehicle, and their new bike racks, fishing rod carriers, tool holders, and platform racks look great.  Of note are their tool holders which won’t stretch out like other products, and their platform racks which are a welcome place to mount all of the existing Yakima gear you may have or just about anything else.

Factor 55

Factor 55 is known for making some of the best recovery gear out there that’s engineered, built, and tested to destruction in the USA using only American made materials.  They had a pile of new kit on display at the show, like their Rope Retention Pulley (RRP) which adds a brilliant feature to the recovery ring in the from flexible fingers that will keep your rope from dropping out of your ring should you slack your recovery system out.  They’re also starting to package all of their top shelf recovery gear into complete recovery kits.

Leitner Designs

I spied the new Leitner Design FORGED ACS rack on a couple of rigs at the show.  The new forged version of the ACS takes the years of learning from the original ACS and harnesses that into a lighter and stronger system.  Check out this custom unit on a Jeep Gladiator with a Traeger grill.

sPOD

sPOD had a new baby Bantam on display at the show, which is designed to fit into modern builds which have less and less space for extra stuff under the hood.  This Source LT has all of the great sPOD features you would expect, but in a six circuit system.  HD and switch panels will be available for control, and everything they offer is made right here in the USA.

Hi-Lift

Hi Lift had a signature edition Jack and number of new vehicle mounts on display at the show, like this floor mount for the Jeep Gladiator.

RAM-Mounts

On display in the RAM Mounts booth were new magnet bases, new phone holders and the tough wedge, which allows you to place a RAM ball anywhere you can wedge this product and inflate it using the attached pump to inflate the wedge, securing it in place.

Red Arc

Red Arc had a new Brake Controller and Battery Management system on display.  Their brake controller is notable for taking the “knee-knocker” and installing that elsewhere in the vehicle, so you’re only having to deal with a small knob that allows you to adjust things like gain and mode.

James Baroud

Portuguese tent-makers James Baroud had their new tunnel system on display, which allows you to connect your tent to a specially made awning, providing a covered place to enter and exit your tent when the weather isn’t playing nice.

Scheel-Mann

Scheel-Mann makes some ridiculously comfortable and supportive seats, which were a big hit with folks who were in search of a place to get off of their feet for a second.  After test driving one myself, I have to say that I would love to have them in my rigs.

MSA 4×4

MSA 4×4 had their new tow mirrors on display at SEMA.  These mirror arms telescope, and the actual mirror pivots at the end of the arm, providing several modes of adjustment to get your mirrors set to work with your trailer. I really wish they had brought their custom 6×6 200 Series that was on the banner at the back of the booth to show off the mirror (and the rest of the vehicle) too.

Ford

The Ford booth always has cool stuff on display, like this well built Ranger and the stunning Bronco.  Ford also came up with a pretty nutty E-Mustang, but I couldn’t get a good shot through the crowd of people gawking at it.

Lincoln Electric

What’s awesome about SEMA is that tool manufactures come to the show too, so not only can you find cool parts for your rigs, but you can find cool tools to work on your rigs with.  These new multiprocess welders from Lincoln use large displays to help make it easy for folks to learn to weld.  Select what you want to weld, and the machine helps you select the right gun, gas, wire and rollers to let you use the right process for the job.

Baja Designs

Baja Designs always has cool stuff on display, and this year they were showing off their new LP4, and the new S1 series lights, which are essentially a quarter of their proven XL 80.  They also packed one of their super-cool laser chips in an S1.  We’ll have a test on Baja Designs’ laser lighting soon.

Go Fast Campers

Parked in the Mobil 1 booth was the GFC Tacoma, sporting a sharp looking camper with a red colorway.  But the really cool stuff was hidden in back, where GFC had their new modular flight deck platform and a really slick twist and lock style tie down.  GFC makes some killer gear, and I can’t wait to see more on these new protos.

Traxxas

Let us indulge our inner kid here for a second.  Traxxas is making some seriously cool RC cars these days.  Check out this 6×6 G wagon, complete with LED lighting and portal hubs.  This scale crawler has fully functioning tracks… which is a great segue into what I saw next…

PPE / Howe and Howe

Hopefully, this thing needs no introduction, but just in case – meet the RipSaw E3 . Everyone wants one of these!

ARB

ARB is a major player in the Overland scene, and they are going BIG with the Ranger, this blue truck was decked out with the full compliment of ARB goodies.  They’re also working on making complete build kits for select FCA platforms like Jeeps.  Simply pick your use, from crawler, overland, or off-road, and ARB has a parts kits tailored to that use.

Of note on the Ranger bumper in the second photo, ARB is now a Tier 1 supplier to Ford, so that bumper meets all of Ford’s requirements for crash and cooling, etc.

The Overland Experience

Overlanding has officially gone mainstream, and the last few photos here are from the Overland Experience area.  There were some cool rigs here like the 73-series Cruiser and the crossovers.  Check out that tent-only version of the AT Overland Habitat on the VW Atlas.

The Other Stuff at SEMA

When I said that the SEMA show caters to the entire automotive industry, I wasn’t kidding.  There’s stuff at SEMA that’s well… I’ll let you decide what to call it, but I thought it was a fancy axle truss…

I know for a fact that I missed cool stuff.  That’s the problem with only having a day to do SEMA – there’s just too much awesome to see, even if you’re on the move for the entire duration of the show day.  Next year, I’ll make sure to take more time so that we can share more cool stuff with you.  Thanks for reading!

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10 Years Gone: Overland Expo, Then and Now

Enjoy the ride as we look back at TEN YEARS of Overland Expo! Lodestone Events has entered the game, and 2019 is shaping up to be even bigger than previous years so please stop by and say hi at the American Adventurist booth at site PS1. We’ll have a cold beer ready for you courtesy of Wanderlust Brewing in Flagstaff, bring your cup!

In 2009 at the Yavapai Fairgrounds in Prescott, Arizona, an ambitious group of like minded travelers gathered for something new. Something called Overland Expo.

Before 2009, roof top tents, 4WD vans, off-road campers, Glamping, Overlanding, all of it was virtually unknown in North America. Yes, some of the gear was around, and car camping was hardly a new thing, but Yakima didn’t sell awnings yet, and Walmart wasn’t dabbling in 12 volt fridge/freezers. It was more of a “you need to know a guy” to get a roof top tent or 12 volt fridge back then.

Overland style gear and builds were quite rare in the mid to late 2000’s, and gathering them all in one place was unheard of. Even more exotic were the tales some of these people told, with many miles traveled by 4WD in Africa, Australia and other distant lands.

Legend says that around 900 people attended that first event along with a handful of pioneering companies: Equipt, Adventure Trailers (AT Overland), Land Rover, Baja Designs, ARB, Viking Offroad, Four Wheel Campers, Ursa Minor, KC Hilites, Autohome USA, Sportsmobile, Overland Journal, Aluminess, and Global Expedition Vehicles. These are the Plank Owners of Overlanding in America as we know it.

Organized and led by Jonathan and Roseann Hanson, that first Overland Expo was the catalyst for the Overland mania that is now mainstream. Today, this event draws top automakers, hundreds of outstanding companies, and tens of thousands of eager enthusiasts.  Few dared to imagine back then that it would have grown to be the largest event of it’s kind in the Western Hemisphere, fueling a global, multi-million dollar Overland Industry.

Mark Twain said ““Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” I think if Mark Twain were here today he would be proud of the community that grew up around Overland Expo.

Photo by Chris Collard.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I still remember their second Overland Expo in 2010 at the Amado Territory Ranch in Arizona like it was yesterday. The entire Overland thing was still in it’s infancy and it was there that I met Jerry from Tembo Tusk, before anyone ever heard of a skottle. It was in Amado that I contracted the Snow Peak virus, a mishap that cost me more than a few dollars in “must have” glamping equipment over the next decade.

I shared midnight tequila with the late Al Walter and company in Amado, remembering favorite Baja trips while Al regaled us with his vast knowledge of obscure places and desert history. It was at Overland Expo that I got to hang out with people like Chris Marzonie, the Baja Taco himself. I had a beer with Scott Brady from Expedition Portal, and partied with the likes of Mario Donovan from Adventure Trailers and Paul May from Equipt before they were Overland Rock Stars.

All the coolest people were there, and it was there that I realized I wasn’t that weird, and I found many others just like me, eager to follow the paths less traveled while exploring the most remote places in the world.[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108123-abc7103f-1d6e-3″ include=”9042,9036,9034″][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text]Overland Expo was also my first look at many, many exotic 4WD’s and top-shelf vehicle builds. As a career military guy, “vehicle dependent expeditions” were nothing new to me but this new Overland thing was very, very different. I learned that I could eat well in the field, have hot coffee and cold beer, and above all I didn’t have to sleep on the ground unless I chose to. It was even possible to have a hot shower in camp.

So many things that I loved were blending together in one place: travel, 4WD’s, camping, cooking, training, gear, motorcycles, and the stories these activities produced. The Expo was blurring all the lines and I was all in.[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108130-aa9ac40c-8be1-1″ include=”9098,9097,9095,9062,9094,9096,9054,9056,9092,9068,9067,9065,9066,9064,9063,9061,9046,9041,9045″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]More than just a trade show, the Hanson’s brought in concepts like education, hands-on training, environmental responsibility, community service, and film festivals making the event greater than the sum of it’s parts. Above all, I was fascinated by the quality of people that I met at the Expo, and I left that event personally inspired to become better educated and better traveled. This all came at a time in my life when I was suffering from some combat related survivor’s guilt as well as recovering from my own deployment injuries and really needed “something” to focus my own surplus energy on.

Attending that Overland Expo in Amado inspired me to found American Adventurist, and I started organizing my own Desert and Mountain Rendezvous events that same year.

Thank you Jonathan and Roseann for inspiring us.

[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108155-db63c481-078e-1″ include=”9075,9076,9077″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108159-9512a648-87f3-10″ include=”9044,9057″][vc_media_grid element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108162-9b88b2d2-e723-3″ include=”9040,9052″][vc_column_text]Fast forward a bit as Overland Expo grew. And grew. The American Adventurist crew attended every year in Mormon Lake and then at Fort Tuthill. When they added Overland Expo East at Taylor Ranch, we expanded too with our first Appalachian Rendezvous in North Carolina. We attended Overland Expo East at the Biltmore and then at the Reeb Ranch. We met thousands of amazing people and became involved in land stewardship and access issues.

I am unaware of any other events that have inspired such a fast growing, diverse, and dedicated following as Overland Expo.[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108165-918ed293-5e06-0″ include=”9091,9086,9090″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Looking back now on 10 years of events we have nothing but good memories – Underwater Expo, Snowverland Expo and Mudderland Expo included. For those of you who were there well… if you know, you know!

Challenging weather, the tyrannies of time and distance to travel to these events, in our experience it was all worth it to attend these grand family reunions. The one family reunion that you don’t have to dread going to each year. Where else in the world can you learn so much, see so much, and do so much in one weekend?[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108168-f602e6c7-a740-6″ include=”9058,6362,9069,7070,9060,9050,9051,9070,9049,9052,9059,9055,9043,9054,9085,6597,6578,6589,6566,6560,6562,6559,6543,6508,6492,6479,3790,3762,3767,1679,1676,1677,1650,1699,1688,1638,3855,3854,3840,3838,3848,3835,3825,3817″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]So what did we learn along the way at Overland Expo? Too much to list really, but here’s a few salient points that may be of help to anyone attending for their first time:

  1. The 7P’s aka Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Always be prepared for the wind, the wet, and the cold. Or blazing heat. Or monsoons and mud. There are no guarantees when it comes to weather, and there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear.
  2. Site Selection. Just in case weather happens, select a camp site that provides for good, rapid water runoff and wind-blocking protection if at all possible. Tent and vehicle placement to take advantage of prevailing wind conditions is critical to maintain a stable structure. Arrive early for best results.
  3. Meal Planning. Plan your meals carefully in advance to save time and preparation, you’re going to be on your feet a lot at an Expo and being prepared with easy meal plans pays off.
  4. Be prepared to have FUN. We’ve made so many great friends at Overland Expo, and every year brings a wild bazaar of the latest goods and services sprinkled with happy hours with friends old and new. Bucket list trips and new business partnerships take root here every year.
  5. Bring some walking around money. You don’t know it yet, but there’s something shiny there that you need that you’ve never seen before. Trust us when we say shiny squirrels abound.

[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108218-de3af5f0-cee8-9″ include=”7347,7399,7343″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid element_width=”3″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1557774108223-77a3125c-8be6-8″ include=”7440,7439,7437,7433,7428,7429,7423,7418,7420,7397,7391,7372,7353,7349,7340,7335,7345,7997,7954,7580,7456,7333,7426,7443,7377″][vc_column_text]Today, the Hanson’s have handed over the keys, and Overland Expo West 2019 marks the first year with Lodestone Events at the helm. We’re confident that it’s in good hands, and we look forward to seeing what they do to take it to the next level. With well over 10,000 like-minded enthusiasts headed to Overland Expo West, it’s guaranteed to be a show for the record books. Again.

So stop by and have a beer with us at Overland Expo West 2019 courtesy of Wanderlust Brewing in Flagstaff. Grab some swag from us, trade some patches, grab a raffle ticket to win a set of Falken Wildpeak tires at 3pm on Saturday, we’d love to hear your story and how this community of interest impacts YOU.

See you out there!

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Event photos used with the express permission of Overland Expo and Exploring Overland.
Additional photo credits and thank you to: Chris Collard, Chad de Alva, Richard Soohoo, Chris Griggers, Bryon Dorr, Chazz Layne, David Croyle, Bosque Bill, Adventure Trio, Mike Petrucci and Gary Haynes.

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