The Right Gear Makes the Hard Miles Possible
As I am nursing my Defender across the US, repairing and upgrading her as we go, I often have time to think about the reality of our Overlander lifestyle and the lessons we have learned. Being a world traveler is a dream for many, but being an international overland traveler is a dream that can sometimes be too natural, too raw, and too challenging. Flying into remote areas and exploring without the commitment of a home on your back (and maybe a family in tow) has the benefit of allowing a traveler to suffer the daily inconveniences of an adventure safe in the knowledge that there is a home waiting for them, a soft bed, and all the comfort of everyday life. They can leave at the drop of a hat should the adventure turn into a nightmare. For an overlander, that is not always the case, and reaching a remote destination in the developing world can take months of hard work, planning, and travel over difficult roads and through potentially dangerous areas. And once you are there, you have to deal with whatever life throws at you; abandoning the vehicle is not a practical option. How do I know? Well, I have traveled the planet in an old Land Rover Defender with my family for close to 15 years, full-time.
To be honest, long-term travel over difficult terrain can be incredibly stressful, especially when you are relying on a vehicle that has done hundreds of thousands of tough miles. The fear of a breakdown is quite reasonable when you have experienced it many times in the past and have suffered the lengthy and expensive process of bringing a vehicle back to health.
Mechanical repairs are often done under a tree in “the field,” and there is no room for error - a repair must be done right the first time, as the test drive is often a long drive in a foreign country. For this reason, we have learned that the wisest investment is not in camp or comfort gear but rather in tools, high-quality spare and replacement parts, high-quality lubricants, and tires that will never let you down. The “walk around” is another essential component of a successful day on the road, and every morning before setting out, we will not only check the lubricants and coolant but also inspect wheel nuts, latches, lights, fuel cap, roof rack load, and other bolt-on's while checking the ground for leaks. Finding a problem in camp is much better than suffering a failure on the road.
Driving down a long, hot road, my senses are always piqued, and I monitor the vehicle as we drive and memorize the terrain and infrastructure that we pass in anticipation of a complication. Does all of this sound a bit paranoid to you? That is my nature and, perhaps, the reason that I have been able to travel the world while maintaining and repairing my vehicle, despite having minimal mechanical experience before becoming a long-distance, full-time overlander.
One absolutely crucial element of the vehicle that does not cause me any stress is my tires. We have run the General Tires almost exclusively on a number of vehicles for the last five years and a hundred thousand miles. We explored with our Defender across West, Southern, and East Africa and North America with the X3, drove up and across the US in an old Range Rover with the ATX, before driving a full-size pickup with camper to Central America equipped with the X’s3 and up to the Arctic ocean, in winter, with the Arctic LT winter tires. We have put our General Tire tires to the test across the most brutal and varied terrain on the planet, and they have never let us down, not even once. (In fact, the only puncture we have ever suffered was caused by a large, sharp railway spike in Baja, California, and that was fixed by a roadside tire guy in half an hour).
My advice to any overlanders who are anxious about taking on a grand adventure is to invest in the vehicle and fit the correct tires, as a penny saved now could cost a fortune later.
