Why Overlanders Make Great Preppers - The Link Between Overlanding and Preparedness

In this week's episode, I wanted to talk a bit about how I'm falling down the rabbit hole of "prepping" and also why it works really well with overlanding.
If you aren't aware of what prepping is or think it's just about the nuclear apocalypse, there's a lot of positivity that comes from being prepared in the event of getting stuck offroad or while remote and a lot of the gear from overlanding carries over to prepping as well.
So, check out the full episode to hear why overlanding and prepping go hand in hand and how I'm repurposing some of my old overlanding gear to get more prepared for something like getting stuck or breaking down while overlanding.
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[@kyleseaverson5178]

You're in my zone, Fletch! It's interesting to see an overlander starting to explore prepping, where I started prepping and got into overlanding. I was building a bug-out vehicle to use as a basecamp and it led me to overlanding to put things into practice. Fast-forward and I'm now more set up to bug-in at my new house so overlanding is now just for fun. I have been circling the idea of an entire channel dedicated to this prepping/overlanding crossover, because you're right they complement each other. I'm more of a "60 days without power" kind of prepper because the longer you plan for, the differently and exponentially harder it becomes.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Right, I'm starting light because I've definitely been stuck a few times and even lost a time or two in super remote places and realizing that even having an "overlanding rig" with some gear on it, doesn't really prepare you if you have to leave your vehicle was kind of eye opening for me.

[@kyleseaverson5178]

@AllThingsOverlanding The good thing is something like satellite communications (like zoleo) and you can overcome alot. You can decide between calling SOS or simply contacting a loved one to start a recovery plan. You can have a "survival bag" with that, a handheld radio, battery backup, and supplies and that can probably cover most problems you'll have.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

@@kyleseaverson5178 Good points!

[@NHydeWI]

Part-time prepper / risk mitigator here :D Both of these topics jive really well

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Thanks, :D.

[@pm_davidjones]

I like the crossover! It does not take a national or global doomsday scenario for the need to be prepared to be relevant to you. It can be your own personal doomsday event. Fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, mudslide, gas leak, evacuation order, etc., anything that can make your home suddenly uninhabitable, even temporarily. Really take a good assessment of your needs in case if you just can't go home for a while. Do you have a plan for where you will go? Will you be able to get there? Do you or any of your family members have medical requirements that require special attention? Cpap, medications, mobility concerns, cognitive issues, etc. What about pets? Even if all you have is a backpack with an extra set of seasonally appropriate clothes, shoes and a toothbrush hanging by the door it is better then nothing. My suggestion would to make your emergency response kit scalable. It starts with a simple grab-and-go backpack (which I like to call mine the Oh S**t Kit) If the fire alarm goes off at 3am and you have to bail RIGHT NOW, grab your bag and go. If your neighborhood gets rocked by a tornado, do you have basic camping supplies to spend a few nights in the back yard while you dig through the rubble and begin recovery? Something rarely mentioned... are you financially prepared? Do you have enough stash to spend a couple weeks in a hotel? What if you can't go to work for a while? Can you buy the items you need while you wait 5 to 7 business months for the insurance company to finally cut a check? What about your data? Do you have off-site backups of all your important files? External hard drives are cheap. Regularly take backups and put the drive in your safe deposit box at the bank with all your other critical paperwork. Having backups in your desk drawer isn't going to be much use if the house burns down.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

These are all great things to think about. I hadn't even thought of a few of them, so thanks for giving me direction!

[@mountfamilyadventures]

I started off backpacking and bushcrafting, then injured my back so we have a Jeep and trailer we use to overland/camp . We live in hurricane alley so we've always somewhat prepared for the worst and prayed for the best. Our trailer stayed ready to go ( just add food) hook and go. We also have a 18 gallon storage tote full of mountain house that go too. I still keep a backpack with shelter and food and a way to collect water and purifier just in case i have to walk out of the woods. I also have sleep apnea so we keep 2 battery banks and 300w of solar panels with us at all times as well.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Nice! Sounds like you're super prepared!

[@jamesjustus6568]

Never really considered labeling myself a prepper per se, but life lessons I suppose has made it so. We transferred to Guam in April of 1976, and a month later Typhoon Pamela came and rearranged anything not nailed down and a lot of things that were. No power or water for 10 days and I think it was two weeks before fresh food was available. Lots of Hobo Dinners on a hibachi. The saving grace was they got an ice plant in Agana running fairly quickly so whatever was in our fridges could last a little longer. My folks grew up on farmsteads in the latter part of The Depression and WW2, so canning and longevity items in the pantry was just a part of life as I was growing up; something we do still. Enough to last awhile. We live where there’s the possibility of having to bug out in the fire season. We had upwards of 20 sled dogs for years, so our basic evacuation plans were for 3 people: shelter, food and water for three days off grid. 20 dogs: food for 5-7 days, water for 24 hrs. (I had/have a large alcohol stove like setup involving a 5 gal. metal paint can and stock pot fired by yellow HEAT that was used for melting snow/ice, or boiling water. The dog water would be replenished from whatever running water source was near, then boiled). We had to evacuate a few times over the years. It wasn’t the end times, so the reality was you moved from a place of hazard to a place of safety and available amenities and the whole being self sufficient versus just being self contained was never truly put to the test. Now that we don’t have a large kennel anymore and the kid has flown the nest, it’s just my wife and I, plus two dogs. The overlanding gear is the bug out gear. We don’t really have separate gear that we would take bugging out that we wouldn’t take overlanding. Not including important files/photos and all the 2A items, and we’d clear out the pantry. Essentially we have two lists, one for what goes in the rigs overlanding/base camping and one for evacuation. Takes the guesswork out when the cinders are falling on you, LOL. We do each carry in our rigs a bag with some basic shelter and survival items all the time, enough dehydrated meals for 2 days. Also as a last resort we each have a vacuum pack of pemmican, hardtack, dried split pea soup, instant oatmeal, water a small folding stove and fuel. None of this is because we expect the apocalypse, only because of lessons learned from unexpected breakdowns sightseeing in backcountry, being stuck on the wrong side of a mountain pass when it closes and traveling in winter. I guess you could label all that as prepping, I just see it as being somewhat prudent.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Wow, lots of experience there! Love the idea of the lists ready to go so you could go from unpacked to packed super quickly without wasting or abandoning resources.

[@Wandering_Buffalo_Adventures]

Indeed, there is huge rabbit hole there... some of the holes go pretty far out there and can suck you in... hahaha But as you mentioned; there is a very close link between overlanding and prepping. Most of us share that same mindset of self-reliance and being capable of off-grid survival that apply to both overlanding and prepping. For us, being from the south and having to prepare for hurricanes, realistically, bridged the gap of overland vehicle and prepping. I had to make sure that my family and I could survive for up to a month at a time without utilities or grocery stores. Just as important is that overland vehicle that is capable of off-road travel; which allows us to get to family or friends who may be in need or "bug out" if necessary. I look forward to your videos about this.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Yep, hours and hours of watching stuff so far, with more to come, :D.

[@johnniejohnson73]

I enjoy crossover content. I completely agree that overlanding and prepping intersect. It's interesting to me that having one hobby can expose you to other fields that naturally fit. I don't overland but I do have an RV, so there's an intersection with prepping there too. Medical topics. Self defense topics. Financial topics. Off grid topics. There's shared space and overlap with all of these interests, and many more. You mentioned Marine X. I also enjoy his channel.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Yeah, he's great. So many ways to spend money I don't have, lol.

[@diverblc]

I agree 100! My Gladiator is a gas guzzler, but it will get me almost anywhere!

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Right, those things are super capable!

[@SimplyMustGo]

I think there’s a lot of crossover. And I’m in the same boat. I’m finding myself getting things that work well for both my Overlanding adventures and just in case scenarios like you talked about it’s always better to be extra prepared.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Totally agree! It's a fun rabbit hole for sure, :D.

[@HomesteadReliance]

Great topic! I have a preparedness channel with a little overlanding in it. They do go hand in hand.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Nice! And agree!

[@Dalik1000]

I suppose I'm a prepper/overlander but I'm focused around my SUV to live out even during this economy, never know when I could lose a job and a place to stay so as a backup plan I would just live out of my SUV and perma camp. I've decided to start with base layer 1 that I need to survive, this started with backpack with critical gear (first layer). After that, I've built up my SUV to transport more stuff and be shelter, such as a fridge, portable solar, medical, dry food, recovery gear (second layer). Next would to have land, maybe a cabin or shed. I would have a bigger setup for water collection, farming (3rd layer). If I have to leave my land, I got layer 1 and 2 with me. If I have to ditch my SUV, I will have layer 1. Layer 0 would technically just be a small pack with absolute basics. My SUV is setup to "camp" for 2 weeks at a time, go into town resupply. But if I'm in SHTF mode, I would last much longer. I'm in the city but close enough that I could be in the hills in 30min, woods in an hour and from there I could take trails and back roads to get to other remote area's or wait and see what happens away from the crowd. I figured if something is fishy, I have to decide to leave early to get ahead of the traffic or stay at home and hope for the best. Since I'm in the city, I would have to deal with gangs, criminals, police and the military. I would take my chances away and in the woods even though this isn't a good idea, I do think it might be better for me. I do have my HAM license and should be getting radio setup my in SUV. Besides that, training to survive as best I can. Security training as well and medical training are all important.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Love this! I'm still diving in and researching, but totally agree with your layers and have been thinking about those too. I'd love to find some remote land somewhere to have just to camp on and have as option for a place to go if I ever needed to.

[@ahoward2kable]

I'd say there's about a 90-95%overlap between a week equipped overlanding rig and a well equipped bugout rig. As far as channels to watch, I recommend sensible prepper here in KZbin

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

I've seen some of his stuff. He's good! Thanks!

[@WildcatPhoto]

I think about it some, but I don't know where I'd keep a lot more stuff. I need more solar panels for long term, especially in winter. And more food. Could probably dip water out of the creek and boil it. My log house is too big to keep warm. I do stay pretty far ahead on dog food!

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Right. I'm more looking for ways to use what I've already got hopefully so I'm not just piling more gear on top of my large pile.

[@ivantheterrible9689]

Asymmetrical Preparedness went from a prepper channel to overlanding

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Sweet. They're definitely interconnected.

[@EvergreenOG]

😊 your thinking smart- contingency plans.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

You can't be too prepared!

[@tommysimmons5266]

Any place east of the Mississippi River is to over population. Check out Amtrak map twice a day, rail traffic. Check out monkey werx and southern prepper, pinball preparedness

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Thanks!

[@hunterkurdziel2843]

Rebel Outdoors

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Had to post it twice, huh? :D

[@Tstine]

Check out Sensible Prepper

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

I've watched some of his stuff. It's great! Thanks!

[@Penny_Pincher_Outdoors]

Get medical training, at the minimum take a First Aid/CPR/AED class, add a Stop the Bleed or another traumatic bleed control class, and also Wilderness First Aid. All the cool gadgets in the world are useless of you get an arterial bleed in the back country and don't know how to stop it. I teach all the above, one evening my wife started choking on her food at the dinner table and thank God I was there to dislodge it. It happened again a month or so later, twice the training was automatic and it saved her life. You never know..............

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Wow, glad you were there. And great tips! There are some expos with some good training and people should prioritize taking those if they can. Thanks for the info!

[@jamesonpace726]

I'm old & don't care, but starving to death sounds like no fun at all & I have a kid, soooo, hmm....

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Agreed, haha

[@dickinaroundoutdoors8609]

Great topic and one that certainly has value. I do find that, given my years of camping, I have commented to Camera Lady a time or two that, if power went out for a week, it would really not impact us at all-other than the fridge freezer stuff, because we have canned and dehydrated/freeze dried foot on hand, water and water filters etc. I guess I would call that being prepared, not really being a prepper (as you say that carries certain connotations). I do think that medical, food, water, and comms/navigation are the important stuff (and of course proper gear if you are in cold or wet weather etc). I would not really be concerned about keeping a fridge running etc as that, for me, is a luxury. One thing I am thinking on this is that you are correct in that after a while it seems we become hoarders. Is looking at prep items going to simply replace looking at overland items and all of a sudden a person now has to have the next shiny EDC knife, or the proper tactical packs and the etc.etc. I go about it a bit differently-go to Goodwill and find items that your grandmother used in her day-99% requires no electricity-ya your grandma might not have been borne when mine was so maybe great grandma in some cases (tons of kitchen items for example, blankets instead of diesel heaters) and learn to use that stuff. Have some extra fuel around for the stoves and get a wood burner.

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

Great ideas for finding older gear that isn't as reliant on current tech! Agreed that being prepared is important regardless of the reason you're getting prepared, :D.

[@hunterkurdziel2843]

Rebel Outdoors

[@AllThingsOverlanding]

I know that guy.