r/overlanding

Hi everyone,

I’m planning a 12–18 month road trip around Australia starting in June 2027. I want to explore as much nature as possible, including national parks, the Outback, remote areas, beaches and unsealed roads, while doing a lot of free or low-cost camping.

My maximum budget is $25,000 AUD, ideally including a basic camper setup that is already installed. I’ll most likely be travelling solo and I’m looking for a reliable 4WD with roughly the following minimum setup:

• Rooftop tent
• Fridge
• Dual battery / 12V system
• Storage or drawers
• Basic cooking setup
• Water storage
• Ideally an awning and basic recovery gear

At the moment, I’m looking at vehicles such as the Toyota Prado 120/150, Mitsubishi Pajero, Pajero Sport, Isuzu MU-X or Toyota Hilux, but I’m open to other recommendations.

My questions are:

• Which vehicle would you recommend for my plans?
• Where would you look: Facebook Marketplace, Carsales, Gumtree or other platforms?
• What should I pay particular attention to when buying an already modified 4WD?
• What mileage is still acceptable?
• Are there any models, engines or years I should avoid?
• Is a rooftop tent actually practical for 12–18 months?

I’d especially appreciate advice from people who have done a Big Lap or longer Outback trips themselves.

Thanks!

So I have a 1974 FJ40 that’s stock other than a RTT on a rack I made, and I swapped in FJ60 gears and brakes. I wanted something else to add to my little fleet, that I can beat up off-road. After some trading around I ended up with a 1986 Toyota pickup, 5.3 gen 3 LS, SM465, NP205, solid axle swapped, LSD/locker. Great frame, cab was pretty rough, glass smashed (even sunroof), doors and B-pillars caved, fenders crunched, even sunroof smashed, driveshaft ruined, bunch of ecu codes, keys and wipers non functional, etc... I pulled the windshield and realized the windshield frame was rusted and the cowl was rotten on both sides.

A ton of work later: welding in lots of new metal, ripping out old wiring, cleaning out all the mice, bullets and random junk, installing parts, new and used body panels, body work, swapping glass, fixing engine, learning to wrap… Finally I’m ready to start the actual build. I want to do a partial enclosure to keep some camping and recovery gear dry. I need a spare and a fridge. It’ll be a weekend warrior, I work full time and have a kiddo. I still have the 40 series. I’ve done maybe 300 miles on it and other than needing a double cardan driveshaft and a tune it seems to do pretty good. It drives like a 300hp tractor.

I got one of the “Arctic Wonder” Hard shell roof top tents, they come with a 216w solar panel but need a battery added in to work. It is beyond confusing.
- What battery to get for weekend warrior usage, little bit of charging and a led strip.
- Where in the world do you put a battery for this
- Is there a way to just have the battery in the tent?
- Do i need to use the pulse charger thing or are there batteries with it built in? this tent has an anderson connector as well.

Please treat me as an idiot and dumb this down for me because i genuinely don’t get it.

I am a VERY tall man. I’ve been wanting to get into overlanding/car camping for a while now. After I got out of the military, and back to the mainland USA, I bought this 4Runner. Now that I am settled in one spot, I can start building it out and figuring out equipment. This trip was my trial run, as a tall guy, to see if I can even fit/be comfortable, and it was AMAZING! It is so cool to not be tied down anywhere, and pick up and move whenever you want. Thank you for reading, and any recommendations are welcome!

I didn’t know there’s so much fakes now I’m overthinking if I got a fake one. Seller sold it to me at a price of 2nd hand original one.

Hi happy campers!

To get the family into camping, I purchased a 3rd-party crossbars and rails for my car, and also got a 2nd hand roof box (CCM brand).

The roof box comes with clamps which attach to the crossbars.

Unfortunately, the crossbars are a TINY bit too close together. If I clamp the front set, I can't get the back clamps on. Or if I clamp the back set, the front won't fit. It seems like I'm missing 2-3 inches more of space (on either end) to actually make the clamp go through its designated "gap" and hug the crossbar.

Images w/ description for each pic here: https://imgur.com/a/L9XQIVN

You can see in one pic, that all I need is a couple of inches to get the clamp through the gap at the bottom of the box. So what's the best course of action?

1. Cut a bit more of the plastic "gaps" + the metal bracket to make them longer so the clamps might be able to go through?
2. Use a different kind of clamp? Like a universal U-clamp (Like this or similar)
3. Find a new box that fits?

Things to consider:

• I can't move the crossbars - they are fixed in place and there are no other holes in the side rails that I can use (and I'm not sure I can drill the side rails to make new holes)
• And I'm not going to buy a new crossbars/rails set.
• The box it 2nd hand so I can't return in to the store for a new one

I appreciate all the feedback and ideas + jokes about me needing the extra inches, but mostly the ideas :)

I am on a solo expedition across the Americas with my Tesla Model X, which I have equipped with 300 watts of solar on my hood. Hypermiling to the extreme to make the impossible distance possible…

The solar panels allow me to also Overland for extended periods of time and not use the HV, powering my fridge, starlink, and kitchen….

Currently in Argentina, questions, comments, concerns all welcome!

All the best, Sandro & Beluga

First time on the trail. The Northern half of the trail is where all the fun is!

Found a place to carry a jack stand under the truck. It shakes the whole truck. No holes drilled just found a couple holes to put a rachet strap and a shackle

Being less than a month from this year’s trip, figured I would post some pics from last year. No particular order. As a North Carolinian, I cannot get enough of the West. It’s just insane how much this country has to explore ✌️

I'm loving Central Asia more and more each day.

Turkmenistan was one hell of an adventure.