How We Build an Overlanding Vehicle for Travel | Expedition Overland 'Proven' Gear & Tactics

Step 1 put 40K of niche gear into a 50K vehicle. Step 2 drive it around town

Have you swap for a 4bt motor, or would suggest it to anyone who is wanting to swap.

Do your Tacomas have stock gearing?

So during this video you say to not add any mods to the drivetrain to help with reliability. I am starting my build on my 21 Taco and I've used a few tunes. Landed on one tune. that works very well for this application I think. Do you have experience with anything like this that you would recommend because the shifting is atrocious in these trucks.

Also I am a HUGE HUGE fan and would love to check out the trucks when I am in BOZ. I am up there a lot.

Have you ever modified one of the new Volvo XC90? I was thinking about what a lifted suv would look like with overland capabilities

WHY 98% OF OVERLANDERS OWNS A DOG AND TAKE THEM WITH?

Diggin' the series. Thanks for sharing. Any idea if you will cover weapons for any of your expeditions, specifically mounting ideas... considering your relationship with Magpul? And if you hadn't thought of doing it, and are now considering it, I wear a 3XL t-shirt! Keep up the good work.

Thanks for sharing all your experience. It's great to have a lot of detailed information in a short video.
I appriciate it!

Great information! I’m new to the overland community and every advice helps. My first mods will be suspension, tires and gears. Is that a good start?

I think for most people this is going to look like as follows;
-Getting your vehicle's stock suspension in good working order(repair/replace bad ball joints, tie rod ends, etc)., maybe throw some Bilstein shocks on there
-all terrain tires
-winch
-recovery gear
-food storage

Beyond that is probably tough for most people's budget

This should be called how to TALK about About building an overlaid vehicle. 😏

You guys do a great job and are very throughly explain. Thank You

The main point from this video is SPEND TOP DOLLAR ON EVERYTHING. basically.

I have a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 crew cab 4wd wt that I’m putting a go fast camper on. I’d like to build the truck out so it’s overland capable with an onboard water tank, as I’m looking at the things I’d like to add and considering the weight it will add once bed storage and gear is added the truck will be close to its 7100lb payload capacity. I’m a novice to this kind of things so I am wondering what suspension parts and components would you recommend using for my Silverado build? I’d appreciate any helpful advice.

Are there places that actually sells and installs all these?

There is a lot of great advice in this video, however... "Buy once cry once" comes up at every category, and I don't think that (especially in your first overlander), it applies everywhere. You don't need to spend top-dollar on every piece of gear, and you don't need the best quality from everything, unless you have an unlimited or huge budget, especially since you don't even know what kind of gear will work for you.

it's like building a workshop: when you have a complete shop, you start buying more expensive tools to increase quality, but do you need to blow half your budget on a welder and skip on buying, let's say a vice? No. Lights, for example, are a very good place to save some money in overlanding: you need them, but the type of lights you need varies greatly based on the terrain you want to tackle. You don't need epic spotlights for narrow and winding forest service roads, for example.

If you don't plan on doing serious off-roading, but want to have a backup plan for getting stuck, you don't need the highest quality winch. It's best to buy adequate quality gear, the go out, get as much experience as you can and pay attention to what works and what doesn't, you you know where to pay top dollar when you want to upgrade.

perfectly described. You have said a lot of things all the others don't. your thought out aproach works well. Exactly what I do.

Very easy. Money and lots of it.

Dr. Malcom lives lol

First mistake, building what you already have.;( plan, then purchase

How do i find people that do Overlanding? I've got a halfway decent build on my f150 and would like to do some adventuring but would like to do it with a group rather than alone. any tips on how to find some fellow overlanders?

Hi Clay and Team - Not getting any younger and have worked very hard for decades. Not much time to be fully involved (wrenching full time) with a build. Stumbled on your show a month or so ago and especially: How We Build an Overlanding Vehicle: Expedition Overland 'Proven' Gear & Tactics.

Can you direct me to a firm in USA (Western States) to build out my 2011 Sequoia Platinum before I get to far into it. Or is this something you can consult and spec out equipment, shocks, power management front end and rear etc?

Thank you Kindly,

Pete

Watching that guy stand beside the winch line while doing a recovery had me cringing

Are you guys still using ICON suspensions? I heard you were having problems with them on IH8MUD. I have a stage 6 ICON 3.0 setup on my ‘19 200 30k with zero issues “so far”. They are absolutely amazing on and off road, probably the plushest I’ve used on previous 200’s. I keep hearing that King 2.5s or BP-51 is the more reliable way to go. Thoughts?

Just throw a bunch of money at it!

Don't you think shocks are better to do once barwork trays/canopies are on ?
You guys are pro and have this build stuff down to a fine art but an amateurs build is not perfect and not always ends up exactly how the original plan was going to be.

As I continue my research into my future "up-fitting" of a pickup/SUV, I watch a lot of these kinds of videos. This one I think is particularly well-scripted and well-presented by this Clay guy... he lends a boatload of credibility to the quality of work that his customers can expect. Expedition Overland is now on my shortlist!

How did you guys sort the freezing fuel tank issue.

I have a 2014 Toyota Tundra would like to build a overland truck too . Do you know how much money do I have to spend? Thank you

Really like those kinds of videos. Thanks for making them. What is your opinion on Portal Axles? Are you considering those and what are your reasons to or not to install them? Would you recommend installing diff lockers, at what point and what system would you go for, air or electric? Thanks so far. Greetings from Austria.

Where can I contact your team about starting a build on my Nissan?

This video is just what I needed to hear. It's what every soon to be overlander, and even seasoned overlanders should watch. A healthy reminder never hurt. You just might even learn something. Keep the tips and advice coming!! Thanks Clay!! 👍

Noooooooooo..

Try to watch it . It just to boring!!

I'd say super charger is ok. Just make sure you have more power and a clean air source. Helps gass milage if you drive that way and can have more power when needed. But gears would be best.

I want a diesel Tacoma so I'm going to put a 1980s 4bt maybe a 6BT it fits in a Tacoma

😎

Have a 2011 Tacoma TRD sport with 135K miles (highway). Is she still worth building on or is mileage too high?

Wow we just saw your 3 seasons on Amazon and watched them in two days
I wish we were in our 30’s or 40’s again
Really nice , especially the end of episode 3 , great job

I'm just curious why you use Toyota Trucks and SUVs vs Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator. I know you have one Jeep Gladiator build, but you obviously prefer Toyota. Is there a reliability or performance benefit?

I know how u just need a lot of money!

That was GREAT! Doing a full build for a vehicle I am going to be buying. I have been thinking I was going crazy. " obsessing " So I feel a bit vindicated watching this, Knowing my Crazy Mapping out is truly the correct thing to do.....THANK YOU!

Great video. After watching some of your video series on your adventures, Whats your opinion on the IFS set up (like on the Toyota) vs a solid axle set up? Im starting to look at options to start building a overlanding rig out of a S Series Blazer, and haven't whether I would keep the IFS setup or converting it to a solid axle from a reliability standpoint.

Great job! I have a question. I'm about to buy a pickup as an overlanding vehicle. Why is everyone using the Toyota and not the Ford f150 4x4? I really like the Ford but realizing that everybody uses the Tacoma makes me wonder why.

Thank you so much for the thorough information. Quite inspiring. Wondering if it's possible for me to drive my 2011 Volvo XC70 from Toronto to Yukon......

super informative, thanks so much.

most builds are overbuilds - treat your overland vehicle like a backpack. Take light things and only what you need. Don't be a sheep and do what everyone else does. For overlanding, for me, lights are the most important thing. Lose all the other heavy garbage most sheep install on their rig