With nearly a century of tradition in helping America explore the planet (and beyond the planet, as it built the Apollo Mission quarantine capsule), Airstream got into the overlanding game a while back. Its latest offering takes the flexible, 19-foot-long 19X Class B RV and turns it into an even more off-road-ready machine, with protective body cladding and a sun’s worth of LED auxiliary lighting.
Airstream
The 19X LE Outland is based on a Mercedes Sprinter van and comes with some really interesting features, including a loft bed (pictured at top) that slides out the rear so you can stargaze at night. There’s a powered cooler, an induction cooking surface, an onboard bathroom, and yes, the proverbial kitchen sink. If that’s not enough, it’ll also tow 5000 pounds of your favorite off-road toys.
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Goose Gear is a well-respected name in the overlanding community, known for its well-constructed storage solutions. Sliding racks, drawers, and modules let you organize all your gear to make the most of available storage space. Need to get a piece of little-used equipment out without unpacking your whole trunk? Just slide out the lower drawer, and it’s all there.
Goose Gear
Rear-seat delete and other storage expansion offerings already existed for the Toyota Tacoma, a popular overlanding base rig, but at Mountain West, Goose Gear debuted its solution packages for the Land Cruiser 250. With an onboard camp kitchen, sliding fridge, or even a stowaway cutting board, Toyota’s latest 4×4 model will be a better adventure companion than ever.
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Part of the fun of creating an overlanding rig isn’t buying something off the shelf, but tailoring a layout to fit your needs (and budget). Yet even overlanders are partial to a road map or two, and thus a demonstration build can show just what’s possible, providing inspiration.
Officially debuting at an earlier expo but shown off at Mountain West this year was the Ultimate Overland Build, a project based on a 2023 GMC AT4X with all the goodies thrown at it. Given the AT4X’s already potent offroad chops, upgrades amounted to a small lift to clear 35” BFGoodrich tires, full underbelly armor, a bed rack, winch, extra lighting, and a roof-mounted tent. Onboard amenities include a fridge, solar panels, a retractable awning for shade, satellite communicator, and even a shower.
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If you’d like to get into overlanding in a turnkey package, this fully equipped GMX is headed to Bring a Trailer for auction in October. All proceeds from this auction go toward the Overlanding Expo foundation, a charity which does trips for veterans and outdoor cleanup projects along with other efforts.
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Many overlanding builds can stretch the budget, especially for those who can only find time to get away for a few weeks a year, but one great solution is a durable travel trailer. Bean Trailers, based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, showed off their latest prototype off-road trailer at the Expo, a larger, family-oriented offering called the Bean Squared.
Bean
Built on the company’s most rugged platform, the built-in-the-USA Squared is designed to take a kicking. It features 20 inches of ground clearance with Fox dampers and 30-inch off-road tires, with a powder-coated steel skeleton and a full composite body to resist the elements. Pop the top and it’s got an eight-foot ceiling, and is set up for both indoor and outdoor cooking. Despite a small footprint, it can sleep four adults. Bean is currently taking orders for 2025 production.
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Being off the grid means you need to rely on powering yourself. For Ember, a RV trailer manufacturer out of Indiana, that means the option of ticking the box for the Max Solar package.For $6494, you get some 800W of roof-mounted solar panels, with a 270aH lithium-ion battery, upgraded inverter, and a DC direct battery charger.
Ember
With so much charge onboard, you’ll be able to run your fridge, A/C, and any other power-drawing conveniences for proper comfort despite being out in the middle of nowhere. Sure beats a canvas tent and an air mattress.
Brendan McAleer
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
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