Written to inspire and inform, the Travel the Planet Overland Field Manual is the second edition of the exceedingly popular book first published by Graeme and Luisa Bell in 2016, with 70% new content! A decade lived full time on the road, across five continents, has taught the Bell family how to thrive and survive the overland lifestyle. The manual includes comprehensive topics ranging from choosing and building your own vehicle to making money on the road, staying healthy, raising and educating children, dealing with border crossings, living in the great outdoors, and everything in between. The Bell’s share their hard-earned knowledge and wisdom with the reader.
‘What I love about this book is how Graeme and Luisa’s love of life and travel really shine through in its text, while providing practical information and a healthy dose of their tongue-in-cheek South African humour. This is not a dry, scientific expeditioner’s guide to travelling the world. This is the antithesis. A book that can keep your attention while providing good information based on common, real world experiences. It not only gives the reader the Bells’ viewpoint but also from other adventurers’. Scott Brown 4xOverland
Building a life: Chris and Jillian McLean of McLean Metalworks have been working to build a life they don’t want to escape from since they first found each other 10 years ago. When they met while working at an aerospace company in 2011, they would structure their off-hours around exploring the Pacific Northwest- offroading, hiking, paddleboarding, and of course, seeking out the best breweries and casual food spots in town. The McLeans were always looking for the next vehicle supported adventure to escape the day-to-day grind. Back then, they usually took Chris’ 1988 Toyota Pickup, a cooler, a two-man tent, and headed out to the Cascades. They loved the ability to get to a remote spot where they wouldn’t have cell service or see other humans the whole time they were out there. Hitting the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route (WABDR), playing on the Naches trails, and camping along Salmon La Sac outside Cle Elum remain some of their favorite experiences.
Whenever they weren’t out and exploring, Chris could often be found tinkering away on trucks, projects, and well…hammock stands. A hitch-mounted hammock stand was an idea he came up with years earlier as a part of a college manufacturing project and Chris spent hours after work and on the weekends iterating on his prototypes. After a few more years, Chris finally found an iteration he was ready to take to market. He was never sold on the corporate life, so the decision to quit his job and start McLean Metalworks full-time was one they both knew would be a fulfilling one and certainly a life change.
Chris founded McLean Metalworks in his and Jillian’s garage in Shoreline, WA. The first hammock mount was released in Spring of 2017 and they were so caught off-guard with the interest the product was receiving that they had to bribe some of their friends with beer to get help packing up the first batch of orders. The McLeans started attending local trade shows as vendors for the first time, and through growing their network and appreciation of the adventure industry, began to evolve their own adventure setup as well. Chris and Jillian picked up a vintage Lance cab-over that was older than them both, and a whole new level of truck camping was opened up to them. Within a couple months of purchasing the camper, they embarked on a several-week road trip down the western coast to see the sites and visit their families for the holidays. While the comfort of their setup had improved greatly, their ability to get off-the-grid had deprecated. Chris lovingly refers to the “sail-like” feeling of driving that setup in wind to this day.
Over the years, Chris has grown McLean Metalworks from a one-man operation in the garage to an independent business that occupies a growing commercial space and employs a handful of hardworking enthusiasts. While she has maintained her corporate career, Jillian jokes that she gets to do marketing, finances and product testing for McLean Metalworks on her nights and weekends. Together, they have scaled the company year over year since it’s inception. As the company has evolved, so has the McLeans’ adventure setup. They had been eying the Four Wheel Camper setup since getting to tour them at their very first Northwest Overland Rallyas attendees in 2015. Many tours and hours of research (on Chris’ part) later, they finally placed their order for a slide-in Hawk in Fall of 2019.
The timing couldn’t be better as they picked up their new camper in January of 2020, before the world and life changed as we knew it. The first few months of the pandemic were slow for business, as the world grappled with the uncertainty that came with COVID-19. Chris, never excelling at the ability to slow down, took advantage of this time to build out a custom utility bed for the Hawk.
The utility bed started out as a concept with the goal of maximizing all of the dead space between the camper and outside of the truck. While the Four Wheel Camper really does maximize the space for a typical truck bed even utilizing space above the wheel wells and including access panels for the outside space in front of the wheel wells, they knew there was more opportunity. The goal was not only for more storage, but also improved functionality. This led Chris to develop his design around 2 prefabricated storage boxed (heavily modified) and leave the rest of the space open to the elements. This design allowed the McLeans to have a large, single door to close out this space while functioning as a table for an outdoor kitchen or anything else. The setup for an outdoor kitchen was a requirement neither Chris or Jillian was willing to compromise on. The steel framed bed was then coated and skinned with aluminum and ABS plastic depending on the surface requirements to create an overall aesthetic.
The bed was just the beginning of the truck evolution from street queen to adventure machine. With the utility bed complete and Hawk acquired, the McLeans had their mobile home and plenty of storage space, but still wanted the parts that would help them get further, quicker. So, the next modifications included adding a set of 35” Nitto Ridge Grapplerson KMC wheels, Fox Shocks (custom tuned by Accutune), a Trail Ready front bumper, and a custom rear bumper with swing out tire/bike carrier. Finally, the whole setup was wrapped with a custom design for a unique and eye-catching look. After years of hard work and planning, The McLeans had finally built their dream bug out rig.
Now, McLean Metalworks isn’t producing these beds commercially…but who’s to say that they won’t change their minds with enough peer pressure?
Beyond creating the time for the utility bed development, the pandemic also provided Chris and Jillian an opportunity to make yet another major move towards their dream life. With Jillian proving that she could hold her corporate role virtually, the couple realized they could live anywhere they wanted as long as they could bring the business with them. They had always dreamed of retiring in Bend, OR, but now could pull that dream up to the present! Many road trips down later, the McLeans had moved their family and their business to this small town in Central Oregon.
The adventure lifestyle and access to the outdoors couldn’t be better than they are experiencing in Bend – Chris and Jillian love having epic dispersed camping just waiting to be found in under an hour’s drive, and can’t believe breathtaking sites like Crater Lake and the Painted Hillsare now an easy day trip. They are still using their bug out setup regularly, whether it’s for a day trip to the river where they can cook breakfast outside, or a last-minute camping trip in any direction. If you were to ask them what their favorite feature on their build is, the answer changes with every trip. Most recently, Jillian was extra grateful for the external shower feature they got on the Hawk as their golden retriever had found some poop in the woods and needed an emergency shower at camp!
Now, with every day life being in Bend, you can still find the McLeans building a life they never have to escape from – whether that’s at their favorite brewery’s locals night on a Tuesday, out in the forest on a Saturday, or just on the road in their adventure mobile.
The Toyota Hilux Chinook popup camper is an Adventure Rig icon of the past! So, why not showcase a new concept version, a Tacoma-based “Tacozilla” at the Las Vegas SEMA trade show next month.
“The build we’re doing right now freaks me out.” – Marty Schwerter, the team manager for Toyota’s new “Tacozilla” project.
We capped off with a fantastic drive home to Oregon via the Alaska Highway, Icefields Parkway, Banff-Windermere Parkway, and Yahk–Kingsgate Highway, crossing the border at Kingsgate before ultimately ending our trip in Oregon. We did the drive in ten days, driving about 200 miles on our shortest day and about 450 miles on our longest day. Our key impressions from the drive are listed below, followed by some of our favorite stops along the way.
Gnar Wagon in Northern Rockies Provincial Park
We drove the van to Alaska earlier in the summer, taking the Stewart-Cassiar Highway to the Alaska Highway. This route is supposedly a few hours faster according to Google Maps. However, much of the road quality on the Stewart-Cassiar was so poor we drove at twenty- to thirty-miles-per-hour, leading us to believe the routes are close in travel time.
Driving between the northwestern United States and Alaska is much more reasonable than expected. Before our summer trip, we thought we’d only ever drive to and from Alaska once. At first glance, the route looked long with big sections with limited destinations. However, we’d happily drive the route many more times given all we found to do and the beautiful scenery.
While fuel stations were limited on sections of the drive to Alaska, our route home had many more services and we didn’t have to be as careful about running out of fuel. It was also easier to find fuel stations with ultra-low sulfur diesel on the way home, which our van requires.
We spent about a week driving from the Alaska/Canada border to the Idaho/Canada border and wouldn’t suggest doing it any quicker. Our drive truly felt like a road trip, with lots of time to explore and linger at spots we especially enjoyed. It didn’t feel like we had driven 1,900 miles between border crossings when we arrived in the United States, which is the true testament to a good road trip!
Tops Spots between Alaska and the Lower 48, from North to South
Kluane Lake: Kluane Lake is located about 140 miles from the Alaska/Canada border and is the largest lake in the Yukon. The views from the Alaska Highway across the lake are spectacular so you don’t even have to leave the road to enjoy Kluane Lake. However, if you want to stop awhile there are a lot of hikes near the lake. The weather was cool and rainy when we stopped at the lake, so we opted for the short hike to Soldier’s Summit. While we saw a lot of camping spots along the river, we weren’t confident on land ownership so opted to camp a little east of the lake.
Kluane Lake
Whitehorse and Miles Canyon: Whitehorse is the only city in Yukon and home to lots of restaurants, breweries, grocery stores, hiking and biking trails, and outdoor activities galore. When we drove up to Alaska Whitehorse was closed to visitors and we hadn’t realized the city had reopened, so we hadn’t planned on stopping on our drive home. Therefore, we didn’t spend much time in Whitehorse on this drive, but certainly plan to in the future. We did stop at Miles Canyon just south of Whitehorse for a quick walk and view of the impressive canyon. The area is rich with mountain bike trails and somewhere we could easily spend a full week.
Miles Canyon
Carcross: We opted to take a small detour to see Carcross and visit the Carcross Desert. A few years ago, we saw the short documentary SHIFT about the indigenous youth working to make Carcross a mountain biking destination, so Carcross has been on our radar for a while. Again, this is somewhere we’d like to revisit when we have bikes and a little more time. Carcross Desert is an amazing little spot, an unexpected patch of sand among snowy mountains. While many articles cite it as the world’s smallest desert, it is our understanding that it isn’t technically a desert, but sand dunes left over from a glacial lake. Regardless of its classification, we enjoyed walking around the dunes and marveling at the juxtaposition of snow and mountains.
Carcross Desert
Watson Lake and the Sign Post Forest:We spent an afternoon in Watson Lake, including a workout and shower at the Watson Lake Recreation Centre, an impressive facility shared with the Visitor Information Centre. Watson Lake is a good spot to stock up on groceries and fuel. However, the highlight of the town is the huge Sign Post Forest. According to the website for the Sign Post Forest, it includes more than 80,000 signs and was started in 1942 when a US Army Engineer added a sign to a post which stated “Danville, Illinois, 2835 miles.” The huge collection of eclectic signs reminded me of the gum wall in Seattle or the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris with padlocks bearing personal messages, but taken to another level. We started out reading every sign, but quickly realized that approach was impossible and settled for wandering around and occasionally stopping to read a few. While we weren’t nearly as prepared as other visitors, we did manage to piece together our own small sign to leave behind!
Signpost Forest
Liard River Hot Springs:We read that Liard River Hot Springs is the most visited location along the Alaska Highway, and for good reason! This hot spring is the perfect blend of a natural setting with some modern amenities, including a boardwalk to the pools, changing rooms, and pit toilets. There is a campground within walking distance to the Hot Springs which we’d choose to stay at in the future. We arrived at the springs in the morning, so we decided to stop just for a couple hours before continuing our drive. We were surprised to learn that the US Army built the first boardwalk to the pools in 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway.
Lizard River Hot Springs
Jasper and Banff:While we spent about a week in Jasper and Banff a few summers ago, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for another stop, especially since the most direct route takes you through the Parks. We revisited a few of our favorite hikes, including Parker Ridge and Little Beehive at Lake Louise, and stopped for another hot springs experience at Radium Hot Springs. The fall colors were incredible, especially paired with a light snowfall on the mountain peaks. From our experiences, we think October is the best time to visit Jasper and Banff, given the lower crowds, fall colors, and typically dry weather.
Jasper National Park
Banff National Park
Cranbrook Community Forest: Our last stop in Canada before reaching the border was Cranbrook for a nature walk in the Cranbrook Community Forest, which offers a large network of hiking and biking trails. Cranbrook was recommended to us on a past trip through Canada and is also on our list of places to further explore. As we crossed the border back into the United States, we were already thinking about the next trip to Alaska and the places we’d like to stop along the way.
Cranbrook Community Forest
For Part 1 and 2 of Gnar Wagon’s Summer in Alaska check HERE
Full Featured Field Pant in Soft-Shell and Tailored Fit
Prometheus Design Werx introduces their best-selling Raider Field Pant in their cool weather weight, 9 oz Expedition Cloth soft-shell fabric and new tailored fit. Built as a fall/winter weight, rugged field pant, this style is a non-cargo design in a clean utility appearance with a trimmer fit. Designed for the outdoors and today’s active EDC user in mind. A total of 11 pockets to stash and organize as little or as many EDC items as needed. PDW’s Expedition Cloth is a technical, 2-layer soft-shell fabric with a wind blocking smooth face, brushed interior, DWR finish, and 4-way stretch. Dedicated EDC Tool Pockets, dual no-twist custom made delta rings for keychain-carabineer clip points, 4 welt pockets and double layer articulated reinforced knees round out these pant’s features. Produced with industrial grade triple needle stitching on all major seams. Built to last in California, USA.
The Raider Field Pant EC T-Fit will be available in All Terrain Brown, and Universal Field Gray.
The Design and R&D Team at PDW states:
“We took our bestselling pant, tuned it for fall/winter wear and are introducing a new tailored, trimmer fit. For those looking for fully capable field pant in a modern contemporary cut, these are for you. The Expedition Cloth is of a durable, heavier 9 oz weight and all the best technical properties of a soft-shell. Our Raider Pant has been worn on just about every continent, by all types of users, on the trail, off the trail, down range, overland, on the job and off the grid. One of the best and few, great American made, everyday field and utility pant“.
It’s obviously been a while since the Overland “Tribe” gathered in force and the excitement was palpable at Overland Expo West this year! Gone are the days of a few souls braving the elements to chat about their weird pastime. Today, Overlanding has come of age and the “Tribe” is significant with an insatiable desire to learn of new gear and a fervor to get outside and live life without a ceiling.
**** Editor’s note: Let’s make sure we all do it responsibly and Tread Lightly****
Here’s a quick photographic overview of some things, big and small that caught our eye!
The Aterra XL camper is an innovative lightweight fiber reinforced thermoplastic honeycomb composite camper design. Engineered by Tern Overland and collaboratively built with AT Overland Equipment, it combines the best available materials and technology with expert craftsmanship that yields an exquisitely comfortable and practical camper.
The ultimate in adventure travel vehicles, the TOURIG XDV is the pinnacle in self-contained, fully habitable, 4-season, off-grid and off the beaten path transportation. These rigs are for the most discerning adventure seeker planning for extended stays in the most remote areas of North America and beyond. Extra capacity, extra capable and extra rugged.
The LOKI Basecamp Falcon Series is a combination of modern engineering and top tier craftsmanship. Each unit is carefully hand built, from the aluminum frame to the interior finishes. Customers can select from a long list of options to configure their build. Options include : exterior colors / finishes, interior materials, interior components & interior / exterior accessories. Each LOKI Basecamp is unique and tailored to the end-users specific needs.
The CAMP-X is a lightweight composite slide in pop up camper designed specifically for the full size 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck with either a 5.5 foot or 6.5 foot bed. These campers are designed using our proprietary composite panel and aluminum extrusion system to keep weight extremely light, extremely tough, and extremely warm (or cool!).
The revolutionary design of the American Safari JXL™ allows for all of the convenient uses of everyday amenities including a complete Toilet, Sink, and Shower System. Explore in a true off road vehicle without losing comfort and convenience.
“The Drifter” and the “Nomad”. The all aluminum construction and lightweight campers built for whatever you can throw at them! They’re proportioned perfectly for mid-sized and full-sized trucks, providing space and comfort without compromising weight or drivability.
Mule Expedition Outfitters isn’t your typical overland vehicle outfitter. Mule has assembled a team with a combined 250+ years of off-roading and overlanding experience. With this kind of experiential knowledge, rest assured, product, and vehicle-outfitting will be recommended based on quality product and hands-on experience.
Escapodwas born out of necessity. A need to escape the daily grind at a moment’s notice, to be unbounded by terrain, free to roam. Every Escapod teardrop trailer is built with an obsessive focus on quality and manufactured right here in the USA. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a full-time vagabond, there is an Escapod for you.
The Redtail RTCis available in two sizes – the RT 90 and the RT 110, and three trim levels – the Basecamp, Ascent and Summit. Choose your trim level below, then select your RTC size and any additional options at checkout. Our lead time for the next available RTC can fluctuate but is generally around 10 months at this time.
With more than 20 years of experience in off-road racing, suspension design, fabrication, and tuning, Agile Off-Road offers custom van suspension tuning “Ride Improvement Packages” and long travel 4×4 conversions.
With endlessly adjustable features to fit any cooking style, the Disco Series cooking system has you and your crew covered whether you’re relaxing in the backyard or exploring in the backcountry.
The Disco Series comes complete with the Disco Skillet, Disco Tripod, Disco Stove, and Disco Table.
With its wide and concave design, the Disco Skillet is the perfect companion for everything from scrambling eggs to sizzling steaks.
And to anchor this look at Overland Expo West (pun intended), let’s finish with the gear from Deadman Off-Road. They are a testament to a great idea, hard work and tenacity, that truly symbolize our world of Overlanding. Their yellow booth also brightened a rainy last day!
