Chelsea and Blake, Overland Bound Ambassadors

Power Bank

Storage Solutions

Roof top storage allows for easy access.

A Well-Stocked First Aid Kit

Taking long journeys through remote destinations, we had to prepare for unforeseen incidents, minor and life-threatening. A well-stocked first aid kit
can be invaluable for insect bites, scratches, and minor to major emergencies.

Our first-aid kit contains some of the following items:

● Tourniquet
● Gauze roll
● Medical tape
● Scissors
● Different sizes of adhesive bandages
● Antiseptic ointment/cream
● Cotton balls
● Sterile wipes
● Antibiotic ointment
● Allergy medicines, Benadryl/Epi-pen ● Duct tape
● Sunscreen
● ORS Oral Rehydration Solutions

Layers of Clothing

During our overland adventures we need to be ready for changes in temperature. Despite learning weather patterns and staying up to date on the forecast, we could never guarantee Mother Nature moods.

Traveling thru the desert has huge temperature swings, it would be beautiful and sunny during the day, and as soon as the sun went down behind the mountains it would be blistering cold. Layering with Vertx clothing that is sweat resistant helped us prepare for moments like this out on the trail.

TIP: Having drenched feet is never fun! Changing our socks was a huge morale booster. And look for moisture wicking fabrics.

Head Lamps

We are always getting to camp after dark! Using head lamps allows us to use our hands while setting up camp, prepping dinner, etc. Using a red light helped keep the bugs away.

What we don’t bring Overlanding

This overland checklist is for those planning, or starting, an off-the-beaten path adventure. It was created with the assumption that some people might not be able to live full time on the road, but are working to create a lifestyle that will support that dream.

For those who only have 3 days here and there to give, we got you.

Here are some ways to help you get started.

 Note: We have not received compenstation for any of the products listed in this article. 

A few items to consider before you start:

1. This overland checklist is to help prepare you for longer adventures. This list will give you a great starting point for the supplies you need to consider for your journey.

2. This basic supply list assumes you have a capable rig for what you want to do.

3. Know before you go! Do your research on the terrain/weather of your destination. You’ll need to adjust your equipment and provision amounts depending on the duration of your trip, but with this setup you are good for many days.

4. Bring a journal to help fine tune your overland checklist! Each time you go out make a note of:

The things I had that I don’t need
The things I needed and I didn’t have

By doing this, your list gets better and more refined every time you go out.

The Foundation: Three Cases Method

Your list will naturally consolidate and improve over time, and for us, the pack list consolidated to three prepacked cases. The advantage of a prepacked case method is that you can get out of town and into the great outdoors in 20 minutes!

The overland checklist three categories are:

1. Dry goods
2. Kitchen and camp utilities
3. Comfort

This configuration packs tight. And remember… Organization will keep you sane.

The Starter Overland Checklist

First things first. Let’s go over the basics needed.

Water (1-2 gal. per person per day depending on environment)
Cooler/Fridge (cold foods according to your meal plan)
First Aid
Tent/Sleeping Shelter
Map/GPS/Tablet or Satellite Comms
Clothes
Bedding (pads, sleeping bags, pillows)
Camp Kitchen
Table
Chairs
A tool kit for your vehicle
Recovery Gear (winch, straps, traction boards)

Once you have the basics covered you can drill down into the case method.

Case 1: Dry Goods

The dry goods case is our pantry. This list is the easiest to change up and make appropriate for you. Our shopping trip before heading out of town is for fresh items like fruits, pastry treats for a ‘special’ breakfast for kids, vegetables of all sorts, cheese, proteins, etc.

Canned Soup
Canned Black Beans
Canned Kidney Beans
Canned Tuna
Canned Chili/Hearty Stew
Canned Whole Tomatoes
Canned Tomato Paste

Dry Pasta
Spaghetti Sauce

Spices: Salt, pepper, steak rub, garlic salt
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Steak Sauce
Sriracha Chili Sauce
Cholula Hot Sauce

Coffee

Cereal
Instant Oatmeal
Almond/Soy Milk
Dried Fruit
Energy Bars
Nuts

Peanut/Almond Butter
Small jar of jelly
Hot Chocolate
Hersey Bars
Marshmallows
Graham Crackers

Tortillas
Chips
Salsa

This list is the framework we shop from when we take inventory of our “pantry”. We always try to pack things that will pair well with fresh vegetables and protein.

Case 2: Hardware

This is the ‘nuts and bolts’ of a base camp set up case, plus your cooking supplies. Consider how compact and packable you can make these items.

Lantern/Lights
Compact Stove – We highly recommend Fore Winds single burner stoves
Trash Bags
Propane
Insect Repellent
Eating Utensil Sets – Cliff Set is our go to
Wet Ones
GSI Pinnacle Camper Kit (pots, pans, plates, cups)
Thin Plastic Cutting Board
Coffee Filters & Pour Over Kit
Water Purification kit
Fire Bag (lots of ways to start a fire – wet, dry, strike, lighter, fuel, gels, etc.)
Cooking utensils
Knife X 2
Paper Towels
Boo Boo First Aid Kit
Bottle/Can Opener
Aluminum Foil
Napkins
Kleenex
Paper Plates
Toilet Paper (Mountain Money)

Case 3: Camp Comfort

This is our case for all the things that make campfires memorable.

Folding Chairs
Stuff sack blankets
Extra beanies and gloves
Pocket warmers

A general reminder: Pull from the resources you have and make sure the resources you pack are right for your needs. Meaning, you don’t have to go out and buy this entire list. Many of these items can be found around the house. You’ll be surprised at what you do and do NOT need.

Additional Inspriation

And for those really looking for a starting point, here’s how we typically plan meals assuming a three day excursion.

Day 1

Dinner

Chips & Salsa
Easy to heat up canned chili/stew
Saltine Crackers
Carrots/veggie with hummus

Day 2

Breakfast

Cold Cereal w/ Almond Milk
Apples w/ Almond Butter
Coffee

Lunch

Flour Tortilla rolled with lunch meat, cheese, veggies & Cholula (or PB&J!)
Chips & Salsa
Trail Mix
Apples w/ Almond Butter

Dinner

Hunk of meat
Red Potatoes in Foil/with canned tomatoes, can of beans, veggies and seasoning
Broccoli w/ garlic salt and pepper

Day 3

Breakfast

Fruit
Instant Oatmeal
Pastries

Lunch (on the road)

Create Your Own Kit

We have used Plano cases in the past, and are a great solution for our pack three cases method. They offer an incredible value. You can get them here.

Any advice based on your experience? Let us know in the comments.

Updated October 24, 2022

Hey all, if you are interested in the drawer system plans, Get them below!

If you are interested in buying parts for this system (the fancy widgets and gizmos) go here: Buy Parts

We hope it is useful to plan something of your own!

Drawer System Plans:

• Adobe PDF – Box Frame and Platform which also includes material suppliers list.
• Fusion 360 – contains the 3D design for use with Autodesk Fusion 360: Download for free    This file is parametrically driven, meaning, you can change the dimensions to suit your vehicle, and the drawing will automatically update other dimensions.
• 3D Step file  – a 3D exchange for mat for compatibility.

We found skillet nirvana in the Sonoran Desert. It’s salty and a tad spicy with a dash of smoke. We’re obsessed with these specialty ingredients and recipes to fire up your campfire cooking game.

Words by Overland Bound Staff

Ah the campfire. That glorious pit of flickering, culinary possibilities. If the hearth is the heart of the home, then the campfire is most certainly the centerpiece of the camp. Have skillet, will travel.

Nothing beats a meal on the trail. Even if it’s less than extraordinary by fancy restaurant standards, every campfire meal is deeply satisfying on an almost cellular level. If you’ve planned it right, you have exactly what you need (not too much and not too little) to prepare something hearty for your family and campmates. You’re surviving, and loving every bite.

Now. Let’s talk about breakfast. Don’t get us wrong, every part of morning in the woods is special, but breakfast…well breakfast is an especially magical time.

We’re early risers on the trail. We wake up (usually) rejuvenated and almost immediately, our stomachs politely inform us that they are both empty and expect nothing less than greatness. Fair.

So we begin to create something up to their standards. Folks, we’re happy to say that we’ve recently discovered an ingredient that takes our breakfast, and every meal on the trail, to summit levels.

We stumbled upon Desert Provisions a few months ago. On a whim, we took their Camp Salt Collection on a trip to spice up our skillet game. Mission accomplished and then some. The founders of Desert Provisions started their company with the goal of sharing the unique flavor of the desert. We especially appreciated and identified with this mission.

Every place has a spirit and once you find a landscape that feels extra right to you, there’s an instinctual desire to share it with the overlanding community. (Note that I didn’t say “divulge the coordinates of a favorite campsite.” Let’s be real.)

Desert Provisions makes a variety of specialty salts and spices sourced from the Sonoran Desert in the American Southwest. Most of their flavors specifically celebrate Hatch, New Mexico. The Camp Salt Collection that we use for everything now (at home and at camp) contains 3 salt blends: Hatch Green Chile Salt, Hatch Red Chile Salt, and Sonoran Sea Salt. If you’re new to Desert Provisions, start with this collection. It gives you the best introduction to what these flavors are all about. Points for packaging as well.

We’ve also got favorite breakfast recipes! I know, we never go on with such gusto about food like this. Desert Provisions is just that good. We recommend the Camp Breakfast Skillet and the Camp Breakfast Tostadas. By recommend, we mean do this immediately.

Both recipes take less than 20 minutes to prepare and feature fresh vegetables with either eggs or Green Chile Smashed Beans (!) as the protein. (Hey carnivores, throw your chicken in there, no problem). There are corn or flour tortillas involved but they’re optional if you’re doing Whole 30 or gluten free. Of course, make sure that your Camp Salt Collection is nearby because they’re the stars of the show.

Camp Breakfast Skillet

Recipe courtesy of our friends at Desert Provisions

Takes: 10 minutes to prep, 20 minutes to cook
Serves 2-4

4 eggs

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb small yellow potatoes, quartered

1 yellow onion, diced

2 yellow squash, diced

3 cups baby spinach

Pinches of Desert Provisions CAMP SALT Hatch Red Chile Salt

Using a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, cook potatoes over medium heat in 1 tbsp of olive oil until crispy and 90% done, about 12-15 minutes. Add 2 pinches of CAMP SALT Hatch Red Chile Salt. Add remaining tbsp of olive oil to skillet. Add onions and squash to potatoes and sauté, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and gently toss to combine using a wooden spoon or tongs.

Crack eggs directly into skillet and cover with a lid for 5-7 minutes or until eggs are cooked to desired consistency. Top with generous pinches of CAMP SALT Hatch Red Chile Salt.

Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the view.

Camp Breakfast Tostadas

Recipe courtesy of our friends at Desert Provisions

Takes: 15 minutes
Serves 4 (TWO TOSTADAS)

8 taco-sized flour or corn tortillas (or store-bought tostadas)

8 eggs

Green Chile Smashed Beans

½ cup salsa (any kind, pico de gallo, tomatillo)

¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped

½ cup onion, finely chopped

2 tsp olive oil, divided

1 lime, halved

1 cup shredded cabbage (optional)

Pinch of of Desert Provisions Hatch Green Chile Salt

Start by warming your Green Chile Smashed Beans over low to medium-low heat. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Combine cilantro and onion and mix together with a pinch of Desert Provisions Hatch Green Chile Salt, 1 tsp olive oil and squeeze of half lime.

While your beans are warming, heat your cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp of olive oil. Once warm, heat each tortilla (both sides) until they are slightly blackened and crispy. This will serve as the base of your tostada. Alternatively, you can purchase tostadas in advance of your trip to make things even easier.

Fry eggs 2-3 at a time in the same cast iron skillet (or other non-stick pan) or as many as your pan allows. Use additional olive oil or spray if needed.

Assemble tostadas: tortilla, beans, egg, top with cilantro/onion mixture, cabbage, salsa, and top with additional pinches of Hatch Green Chile Salt to taste. Sit back, enjoy your camp coffee before you hit the trail.

Cook’s notes

This recipe works best while camping if you make the Green Chile Smashed Beans in advance of your trip – make up to 5 days in advance. You can easily store these in a sealed container or plastic bag and quickly reheat on a camp stove. Likewise, we also recommend preparing any other things in advance (cilantro/onion mix) to make your cooking experience (and cleaning) super easy.

Our camp kitchen essentials include a cast iron skillet. This is obviously not ideal for backpacking or if you need to pack in your gear, but perfect for a car-camping or vanlife camp kitchen.

Feel free to use corn tortillas to make this a gluten free option or I recently discovered jicama taco shells (hello, genius) if you are going fully no carb or doing a keto, Whole30 or paleo diet. If you opt for the corn tortillas make sure to use enough oil to fry them up a bit to make them extra crispy.

Article and photos by Mercedes Lilienthal

The world of overlanding or off-road adventure is exciting, but it can also be daunting for people just getting into it. Along with outfitting your rig and planning the perfect Holiday trip, assembling a vehicle recovery kit is just as important—no matter if you’re doing 100% tarmac travel, spending time in the sand dunes, or rock crawling in the mountains. I sat down with a few industry experts to talk about recovery kit basics for the winter travel season.

Andy Lilienthal*, Strategic Communications Manager for WARN Industries, has been in the off-road industry for nearly 13 years. He’s well versed in recovery equipment, appropriate recovery techniques, and winching instruction. Over the last several years, we’ve traveled together to numerous off-road and overlanding events, hosted several yearly winching technique and recovery courses, and together own three customized 4×4 rigs.

Paul Cooper, Lead Instructor of Canada’s Overlanding BC is also a seasoned professional when it comes to vehicular recovery. He’s taught classes all over the United States and Canada, and in a variety of settings. Both Andy and Paul agree that it’s key to invest in a good basic recovery kit. Your kit should have high quality items that are appropriate for the recovery points on your vehicle and have consideration for the type of terrain and environment(s) you will be traveling. 

Here are some basic items you should have in your kit.

Tree Trunk Straps

“A tree trunk protector strap should be in every recovery kit. Chains and wire ropes can damage trees during vehicle recovery. A tree protector strap allows you to make use of these natural anchors without destroying them,” says Andy. “Use a tree trunk protector as a rigging strap in combination with a screw pin shackle to secure winch rope or straps to anchor points and objects.” 

Tree trunk straps, which are non-flexible or stretchable, should only be used via winching recoveries and not via a vehicle-to-vehicle recovery (as they do not allow for kinetic energy build-up, otherwise known as the “rubber band effect”). Andy also says to be sure to check the tree for rot or anything else that might not make it sufficient as an anchor point. This includes being too small or rotted out. Always place the tree strap low on the tree’s trunk, too.

Recovery Strap

A recovery strap is also important to have. A recovery strap may also be known as a kinetic energy or snatch strap—meaning the nylon webbing absorbs the shock of heavy pulls while elastic rebound energy aids in vehicle to vehicle recoveries. These types of straps “pop” a stuck vehicle out of whatever they’re stuck in. They’re incredibly effective if used correctly. 

“These can save the day or can easily cause massive and serious damage to machines and people. Be sure to get some training (or at the very least online research) before you use them. Go easy and try the ‘least amount of force’ the first few attempts while recovering a stuck vehicle,” Paul mentions. These straps should never be used for winching.

Chains and Shackles

“Chains can also be very useful when on the trail (they work well when winching with a Hi-Lift jack),” Paul exclaims. “They are also great for moving unexpected obstacles off the road, like fallen trees, boulders etc. I pack a high quality 10 ft. ‘choker chain.’ The hoods are designed to positively engage the chain links. I would never use the chain for vehicle to vehicle recovery.”

A minimum of two to three screw pin shackles should be included. “These shackles get their name as they’re a bow-shaped piece of metal secured with a clevis pin or bolt across the opening, usually threaded in from one direction,” says Andy. “They are also known as bow shackles or even D-shackles although technically they aren’t D rings.” 

These shackles are useful as they allow for different rigging configurations to be connected or disconnected quickly. Great for connecting winch lines or recovery straps to a stuck vehicle. “Screw pin shackles should be forged and not cast. Although cast metal is often cheaper, recovery equipment that is cast may have air pockets and bubbles within them that can compromise the product’s strength,” says Andy. 

Forged items are more stable, durable, and are solid. Cast items are heated above their melting temperature and poured into a mold where they solidify. Forged items are physically forced into shape while remaining in a solid state, hence alleviating air pockets and bubbles. Paul likes WARN or Crosby shackles. 

Another option, Paul states, is to have soft shackles on hand. Soft shackles are made from synthetic rope and are lightweight and easy to handle, but can be more prone to abrasion. A snatch block is an integral accessory to possess if you own a winch. Andy states that snatch blocks allow you to change the angle of your winch pull or can effectively double your winch’s pulling capacity if you were to double-line to a stuck vehicle and back to yourself. This tool creates double the pulling capacity but at half the speed.

Snatch Blocks

Snatch blocks are basically a pulley with a side that swings open. Because the side opens up, you don’t have to thread your winch cable through the opening; instead, you open the side plate, align the cable over the pulley, and then close the side plate. A snatch block has two primary functions in recovery winching. One is to change the direction of your winch cable when the anchor point is offset. The second is to increase the pulling power of your winch and cable.

Patch Kit

We don’t travel without a good tire patch kit. No matter if you’re pounding thousands of miles of pavement or adventuring in the mountains, having a good kit (that includes replacement valve accessories, tire patch materials, a good tire gauge, etc.) can mean the difference between quickly and successfully repairing an issue or waiting hours for AAA or a tow truck if you don’t have a good spare.

A good patch kit should include all the components necessary to repair tubeless radial or bias ply tires, without removing the tire from the vehicle or rim. Winching gloves (or any kind of heavy duty gloves) are beneficial when doing recovery. Not only do they save your hands from rope burn or burrs, they allow for added grip when handling recovery accessories.

Recovery products can be both bulky and heavy. Getting a heavyweight carrying bag is key. Whether you decide upon a tote bag like a Watershed waterproof duffle bag or backpack style bag like the WARN Epic Recovery kit backpack, using a durable bag is important. “A great bag to keep all of your wares together is key, so it’s all there when you need it,” says Paul.

Med Kit

Having a basic medical kit is critical. We keep two kits on hand, a customized medium-sized one we compiled whose contents are kept in a generic fishing tackle box. (Chris Solis, Overland Bound Medical Ambassador, has prepared a list with his full kit here) Adding other items to your med kit can also be beneficial.

*Editor’s Note: Andy Lilienthal is a subject matter expert and the author’s husband. No compensation was granted to any of the contributors or companies represented in product recommendations for this article; however, we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the Amazon links on this page.