How to Start Overlanding (A Comprehensive Guide)

To start overlanding, begin with the vehicle you already have. Make sure it is mechanically sound, pack basic recovery gear, water and a way to call for help without cell service, and take a short first trip on maintained dirt roads on public land, ideally with a second vehicle. Then build up distance and difficulty as your skills grow. You do not need a purpose-built rig to begin.

Overlanding means travelling by vehicle to remote places and camping along the way, relying on what you carry. That self-reliance is the point, and it is also the risk. The National Park Service tells visitors to one remote monument that they must be able to rescue themselves. This guide covers the basics in the order you will need them: vehicle, recovery gear, navigation, supplies, communication, company, and how to leave the land as you found it.

Start With the Vehicle You Have

Match the route to the vehicle, not the other way round. Road difficulty varies widely, so read what the land manager says about a road before you go. For Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, the Park Service recommends a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle with off-pavement tires and says cars, minivans, crossover SUVs and RVs are not the right vehicles there.

Tires matter as much as four-wheel drive. The Park Service notes that street tires often fail on rocky roads and that rental four-wheel-drive trucks and SUVs often come with street tires. At Mojave National Preserve, it suggests checking the sidewall for the words "All-Terrain". If you rent, read the agreement: Death Valley National Park warns that most rental agreements limit use to paved roads.

For a classic account of an early long-distance overland drive, First Overland: London-Singapore by Land Rover by Tim Slessor is worth reading. It tells the story of the 1955 to 1956 Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition, in which six students drove two Land Rover Series I vehicles from London to Singapore in a little over six months. The current Signal Books edition carries a foreword by David Attenborough.

Get the Vehicle Ready

Before any remote trip, work through a simple checklist. These items come from the Park Service's guidance for Death Valley and Mojave, and from BFGoodrich's off-road preparation guide.

1. Have the vehicle serviced, and carry basic spare parts such as belts, hoses and fuses, as BFGoodrich suggests.
2. Carry at least one inflated spare tire, and preferably two. The Park Service explains that a sharp rock can cut a front tire and then a rear tire on the same obstacle.
3. Pack a tire plug kit, a 12-volt air compressor, a lug wrench and a working jack, plus a base for the jack on sand or rocky ground.
4. Fill the fuel tank before you leave pavement.
5. Practise using all of this at home. Death Valley's guidance is to know how to use your equipment before you set out.

If you need a compressor for airing tires back up, our guide to portable air compressors compares options.

Carry Basic Recovery Gear

Getting stuck is normal. Getting hurt while getting unstuck is what you want to avoid. A basic kit, drawn from Park Service and BFGoodrich lists, looks like this:

1. A shovel, which both Death Valley and Mojave list as essential. See our guide to overland shovels.
2. Traction boards, which BFGoodrich includes in its must-pack list. Our traction tracks review covers how they work.
3. A recovery strap, rated shackles and a damper, from the same list.
4. A tire pressure gauge. For soft sand, Cape Lookout National Seashore suggests lowering pressure to 20 to 25 psi, and says to reinflate as soon as you are back on pavement because low pressure hurts handling and braking.

Follow the recovery gear maker's safety rules. ARB warns never to use a tow ball or tie-down point as a recovery point, because tow balls can fail and become dangerous projectiles. Use recovery points rated for the job.

ARB also says to keep bystanders at least one and a half times the strap's length away and to the side, to fit a damper over the middle of the strap, and to choose a strap with a minimum breaking strength of two to three times your vehicle's gross weight.

Tread Lightly encourages taking a skills class before heading out, and a recovery or off-road driving course is worth considering early.

Plan Your Route and Navigation

If your route crosses public land, check the managing agency's rules for vehicles. On national forests, the Forest Service publishes a Motor Vehicle Use Map for each forest. Routes that are not shown on it are closed to public motor vehicles, and it is your responsibility to check. The Bureau of Land Management designates areas as open, limited or closed to vehicles, asks visitors to follow posted signs, and offers an interactive map of motorized recreation areas.

Do not rely on a phone alone. The Park Service warns that GPS apps often fail in Mojave National Preserve and that cell coverage is unreliable, so carry paper maps as a backup. Death Valley recommends detailed printed maps rather than GPS.

1. Choose a route well within your vehicle's and your own ability.
2. Get the official map from the land manager and a paper road map.
3. Check road and weather conditions before you go. The Park Service advises against travel when rain is forecast on the Parashant's dirt roads.
4. Plan where you will turn around. The Parashant's guidance is to assume the road will get worse ahead, and to turn back if it becomes too rough.

A weekend trip close to home is a good first test. It shows you what you forgot to pack without leaving you days from help.

Pack Enough Water, Food and Fuel

Water is the supply you cannot run short of. Death Valley National Park advises at least one gallon per person per day in hot weather, plus a five-gallon emergency container for the vehicle, because natural sources may be dry or contaminated. In Mojave National Preserve, the Park Service lists only three places with drinking water, which shows how far apart reliable sources can be.

The Park Service's desert lists also include food and water for several days, any medications you need, clothing for both heat and cold, and a headlamp or flashlight. Because those lists call for several days of supplies, pack for a delay, not just for the plan.

For the rest of your camp kit, from shelter to cooking, work through our must-have camping gear checklist.

Plan How You Will Call for Help

In much of the backcountry, your phone will not work. Death Valley says cell reception is non-existent in most of the park, and the Park Service states there is no cell service at Grand Canyon-Parashant. For Parashant and Mojave, it recommends a satellite phone or satellite messenger.

1. Leave a written trip plan with someone reliable who will follow up if you do not return. BFGoodrich suggests including your exact route and return time.
2. Carry a satellite messenger or satellite phone, and learn how to send an SOS before you need it.
3. If you break down, stay with the vehicle. The Park Service calls this the most important thing to do in an emergency at Mojave, where people have died after trying to walk out.

Rescue is also expensive. Death Valley notes that towing charges are high and that AAA often does not cover tows on dirt roads.

Travel With Others

A second vehicle is the simplest safety upgrade. BFGoodrich puts it plainly: another vehicle turns most recovery situations from serious into routine, and it advises against going alone on challenging terrain. If you must go solo, it says to tell someone your exact route and return time and to carry communication that works without cell service.

Travelling in a group also means sharing the trail well. Tread Lightly asks drivers to respect other visitors and landowners, to leave gates as they found them, and to yield to traffic coming uphill. Leave No Trace suggests visiting in small groups. A local four-wheel-drive club or overland meetup is a good way to find trip partners and learn recovery skills from people who have done it before.

Leave No Trace

Overlanders use the same land as everyone else, and access depends on how it is treated. Tread Lightly's principles for vehicle travel are a good starting point.

1. Stay on designated roads and trails, and do not create new tracks.
2. Cross streams only at established fords, and avoid mud where you can.
3. Keep out of sensitive areas such as wetlands and meadows, and leave historic and archaeological sites untouched.

At camp, the Leave No Trace principles apply. Camp at least 200 feet from lakes and streams, pack out all trash, and bury human waste in catholes 6 to 8 inches deep and at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails, packing out toilet paper. Use a stove rather than a fire where you can. If fires are allowed, use an existing fire ring, and never feed wildlife.

On BLM land, dispersed camping is generally limited to 14 days in any 28-day period, though rules vary by area. The BLM asks campers to use sites that are already disturbed, stay within 150 feet of designated routes, check current fire restrictions before they go, and take all trash with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to start overlanding?

Not for every route, but check before you go. For rough backcountry roads, the Park Service recommends a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle with off-pavement tires. Choose routes that fit the vehicle you have, and check conditions with the land manager first.

How much water should I carry?

Death Valley National Park advises at least one gallon per person per day in hot weather, plus a five-gallon emergency container for the vehicle. Carry enough for a delay of several days, not just the planned trip. Do not count on finding natural water.

Is it safe to go overlanding alone?

It is riskier. BFGoodrich advises against going alone on challenging terrain because a second vehicle makes most recoveries routine. If you go solo, stay on easy routes, leave a trip plan, and carry a satellite messenger.

Where can I camp for free?

Most BLM land allows dispersed camping unless it is posted closed, usually for up to 14 days in a 28-day period. Some national forests allow driving a short distance off designated roads to reach dispersed sites, but not all, so check the Motor Vehicle Use Map before you drive to a campsite.

Your First Trip

Keep it short, close and simple. Pick an easy route on public land, check the official map and conditions, pack water, recovery gear and a satellite messenger, leave a trip plan, and bring a friend in a second vehicle. Every trip after that will teach you what to add and what to leave at home.