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Last week, I flew to Austin, Texas, and spent two days driving the new Ford Bronco, on-road and off. To call it impressive would be an understatement. The Bronco听is going to change the way drivers think about 4x4s, and probably enable a whole lot of people to get further into the outdoors than they鈥檇 ever considered possible.

Off-road capability is pretty easy to quantify. Locking diffs (or advanced modern traction aids) provide traction. Big tires roll over bigger obstacles while lifting the body out of the way. Suspension keeps tires in contact with the ground, even over crazy obstacles, and at high speeds. Low-range gears multiply torque, getting the vehicle up, down, and over steep slopes. More of that stuff makes a more capable vehicle, which is why we already knew the Bronco was going to outperform the Jeep Wrangler鈥攖he rival Ford is specifically targeting.

But听those off-road advantages听have always caused two problems: more off-road capability compromised safety, handling, and live-ability听on pavement; and the more capable a truck became, the more intimidating it was to access that performance.

Where past vehicles have upped the ante in the 4×4 world by fitting bigger tires or adding more power or more suspension to existing platforms, Ford flipped that approach on its head with a clean-sheet design that built those high-performance parts from the beginning, without all the compromises inherent to modifications.

Smart Design for Real Offroad Use

Take the Bronco鈥檚 optional winch, for instance. I鈥檝e installed similar devices (also made by the same Oregon-based company, Warn), on all three of my trucks. It didn鈥檛 matter if it was the old 4Runner, the new Ranger, or the fancy Land Cruiser; getting a winch on them also required an aftermarket bumper. Even using really high-quality components,meant I was combining parts made by three different companies into one complicated structure mounted right to the front of my vehicles. Mounted right there on the front of the truck, that big, heavy winch-bumper combo is going to be the first thing to connect with another car in an accident. What鈥檚 that do for the outright ability of any of those vehicles to save the lives of their occupants in a big crash? I don鈥檛 know. And that鈥檚 a huge question.

But it won鈥檛 be a question for Bronco owners. Ford took the time to develop its own steel bumper, specifically designed to carry that Warn winch. Then it crash-tested it, and with that data, developed a specific algorithm for the airbag computers that enables them to compensate for the difference in forces created by the winch and bumper being shoved into the Bronco鈥檚 frame. Mount that winch and bumper to your Bronco, and Ford will upload that program to your truck, allowing you to run those important off-road upgrades without compromising your on-road safety. It鈥檚 the first time any carmaker has been that thorough.

Rugged and Safe

The same goes for side impacts. There鈥檚 in American crash safety regulations that allows vehicles with removable doors, like the Bronco, to forego some side-impact crash tests. But Ford ran the Bronco through those crash tests anyway, making sure its side curtain airbags and frame will continue to provide full protection for the occupants, even if the doors are stored in the back at the time of the accident. It鈥檚 also the first time any carmaker has been that thorough for those types of impacts on this type of vehicle.

Ford did not cut any corners developing the Bronco. Where other carmakers will attempt to compete with its off-road capability by jacking up the suspension on their existing vehicles in order to fit larger tires, Ford designed this thing around 35-inch rubber from the beginning. And you feel that on the road. Where other trucks听modified to fit a tire that big听must compromise their handling, performance, and fuel economy, the Bronco rides on 35s like a brand new, totally stock vehicle that just rolled off a showroom floor. Because it is. It doesn鈥檛 feel like it鈥檚 constantly on the verge of tipping over. It doesn鈥檛 ride like a bulldozer. It feels friendly, fun, and un-intimidating. If you have a driver鈥檚 license, you鈥檒l be as confident in a Bronco on 35s as you will be in any passenger car.

You鈥檒l be able to say the same off-road, too. I drove the Bronco alongside a bunch of car writers and YouTubers, as part of Ford鈥檚 media launch. A decade ago, I worked for car enthusiast publications too, so it鈥檚 with experience and humility that I tell you most car journalists get into the business because they鈥檙e passionate about and experienced with sports cars, not 4x4s. I watched one guy, who didn鈥檛 appear to have driven off-road before, try and fail to engage the rear differential locker while hung up on an obstacle. It took him a good ten minutes (and some friendly help) to figure out how to push the right button. But once he did, he went on to complete one of the most challenging, dangerous off-road courses I鈥檝e ever seen, without putting a single dent or scrape on the truck.

Engineered For Legit Offroad Use

How does the Bronco make its unprecedented capability so accessible? Again, it鈥檚 the thorough execution of a clean-sheet design. By starting with the knowledge that they needed this big of a tire, this much suspension articulation, these angles, and this wheelbase, Ford was able to locate major mechanical components, like the engine and transmission as low as possible, to facilitate an incredible level of stability. It was able to mount the suspension exactly where it needed to be听to maximize travel. And it was able to plan for the way the big tires would need to move up inside the bodywork from the very beginning.

Unlike other 4x4s, taking this approach with the Bronco means that all the off-road performance you could ever want is available in showrooms. You won鈥檛 need to buy one, bring it home, then spend the next year or two upgrading it, as has been standard practice in the past. All the lockers and protection parts you could ever want, and even triple-bypass, remote reservoir suspension, can come standard on this thing, depending on how much money you want to spend. Not only does that mean buyers will be able to roll the cost of those upgrades into their finance payments, but it also means those parts have been designed into the vehicle from the very beginning. Where my trucks are very much a case of a relatively uninformed person (me), taking a try-it-and-see-if-it-works approach, the Bronco offers a level of capability previously only accessible in the aftermarket.

In addition the truck itself, Ford is also creating , so that new customers will be able to learn how to get the most from their vehicles in a safe environment. The media launch was held at the first of those facilities, outside of Austin, Texas, and there鈥檚 already another one in Moab, Utah. Additional schools are planned in the Northeast听and Las Vegas, Nevada.

In short, an entirely new audience will be able to access an entirely new level of off-road capability. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e someone who commutes in a city, whether听you鈥檙e a new driver, or if you have never been off-road before. You will be able to fit a Bronco into your life, and you will be able to safely use it on-road or off with total confidence.

Everyone who recreates outdoors at some point must use a car or truck to facilitate that. The more capable and confidence-inspiring听that vehicle is, the more areas you鈥檒l be able to explore, the more far-away places you鈥檒l be able to see, and the more exciting your life outdoors is going to be. The new Bronco is going to open America鈥檚 incredible system of public lands to more people than ever before, and make using those lands something anyone will be able to feel confident doing.

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Starting at $19,995, the all-new Ford Maverick will be听the most affordable pickup听you can buy, and听the most efficient,听returning 40 miles per gallon in the city, thanks to its standard hybrid powertrain. It’ll also be Ford’s smallest and most practical truck, including听a 4.5-foot bed in a four-door, five-seat vehicle small enough that you鈥檒l have no problem fitting it into听a normal garage听or a parallel parking spot on a city street.

Compared to other unibody crossovers, the Maverick will also offer more traction off-road, or in winter weather, thanks to the availability of a true four-wheel drive powertrain. It even offers more payload capacity (1,500 pounds) than popular body-on-frame trucks like the Toyota Tacoma. And it bests the Tacoma in one other important metric too: it can carry full size sheets of plywood in its bed.

Does all of this sounds too good to be true? Until now it was. There is nothing else like the Maverick available to American drivers. Heck, nothing else even comes close to the value and utility this truck听will offer. When it goes on sale this fall, I think it鈥檚 going to seriously disrupt the car industry.

The Maverick is the听culmination of major trends that have influenced the car industry in recent years, and the antithesis to much of the excess those trends have created.

Since 2009, the number of sedans and hatchbacks sold in the U.S.听has decreased 59 percent. At the same time, truck and SUV (including crossover) sales have increased 73 percent. In 2009, the average price of a new car was . Today, it鈥檚 .

In that same time, interest in more environmentally friendly trucks has boomed. No fully-electric pickup has reached consumers yet, but the cheapest of those future vehicles鈥攖he Ford F-150 Lightning鈥攊s still projected to start at $41,669, and at that price will offer a 230-mile range.

How does the Maverick stack up? While the rest of the car market is getting bigger, the Maverick will be the smallest pickup sold in this country in over a decade. And rather than being priced above sedans and hatchbacks, it鈥檒l actually be less expensive than most of them. Ford projects that you鈥檒l be able to finance the purchase of a Maverick for less than $230 a month. Despite being at that sub-$20,000 starting price, it鈥檚 not stuck with an outdated, underpowered engine, but rather an all-new gasoline-electric hybrid. At less than half the price of the electric F-150, it听offers more than twice the range鈥攖he Maverick can travel up to 500 miles on a single tank.

One of the reasons the Maverick is able to offer so much utility at such a low price is that it shares its basic platform with the Ford Escape听and Bronco Sport. The other reason is that Ford plans to sell an awful lot of them. that Ford told suppliers to prepare for an annual volume of 110,000 vehicles.

The base $19,995 Maverick will be equipped with front-wheel drive听and a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder, Atkinson-cycle gas engine paired with a 94 kiloWatt electric motor. Its towing capacity is 2,000 pounds, a figure Ford says the vehicle can pull at highway speeds, even on steep grades. Four-wheel drive, and a more powerful, but non-hybrid 2.0-liter four-cylinder, turbocharged motor mated to an eight-speed transmission will be available at higher trim levels. That model can be optioned with a 4,000-pound tow capacity. Ford is not yet talking acceleration numbers for any Maverick听or prices for the options.

The optional four-wheel drive system is identical to that used by lower-spec Bronco Sports. The vehicle will nominally operate in front-wheel drive to return the highest possible fuel economy, but when four-wheel drive is engaged, torque can be split evenly between the front and rear axles, doubling traction. The Maverick will not be available with the locking rear differential present on the highest trim level of the Bronco Sport (the Badlands). Still, if you refer to my explanation of how four-wheel drive differs from all-wheel drive, you鈥檒l see that the Maverick will offer more traction than most other crossovers.

While the Maverick鈥檚 4.5-foot bed may sound听small, Ford has packed it full of useful features. A 110-volt power outlet听and a 12-volt port for connecting bed lights will both be standard.听Molded docks designed to accept standard 2×4 lumber will also be included. Ford hopes owners will be able to slot in those cheap pieces of wood to create a variety of bed storage solutions. While optional bike racks and tie-down channels will be offered as accessories, Ford is also offering suggestions for ways owners can use those 2x4s to make their own bike racks听or to build their own tie-down tracks using common hardware store parts. The company says owners will be able to put together either for just $45.

Want to carry full size, four by eight-foot sheets of plywood? That鈥檚 become sort of a standardized metric by which a pickup bed can be judged truly practical. The Maverick鈥檚 tailgate can be adjusted to a half-open position that matches the height of the wheel arches, and it can support 400 pounds. That鈥檚 enough to carry 18 sheets of plywood back there. Ford also added tie-down hooks to the sides of that tailgate, making it easier to secure longer loads, like a kayak. Those tie downs double as bottle openers.

Should you buy one? If you have significant towing and hauling needs, a full-size truck like the F-150 will still offer substantially higher payload and tow rating numbers, along with much larger bed sizes. If you go farther off-road than simple dirt roads, a mid-size truck like the Ford Ranger听or the upcoming Bronco will still offer more articulation, better angles, and more traction. But if you鈥檙e a normal car buyer who values fuel efficiency, utility, and value, I don鈥檛 see a reason to consider anything other than the new Maverick.

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All of a sudden, it seems like everyone wants to go overlanding. Curious about it yourself? Here鈥檚 everything you need to know about the gear you鈥檒l need, where to go, and smart tips that鈥檒l make your first trip successful.

What鈥檚 Overlanding?

We鈥檝e previously defined it as听鈥�backpacking out of a vehicle.鈥� That is to say:听you鈥檒l be going on an adventure through remote places and听relying on the gear you carry with you. Only, with a truck, motorcycle, or car, you鈥檒l be able to travel much farther, and it鈥檒l be a lot easier to bring items听like good food, quality booze, and a comfortable sleep system and shelter along.

What makes overlanding different from simply听going off-road, or taking a car-camping trip, is the emphasis听on travel over exploring the technical limits of your vehicle. An ideal听overlanding trip should involve exploring new places.

Does the definition of overlanding seem a little vague听and open-ended? That鈥檚 on purpose. What鈥檚 new and exciting for you will be different from听what鈥檚 new and exciting, or even possible, for others. The key here is to get out听of your comfort zone听and test yourself within the realm of your other interests, your tolerance for risk or discomfort, your level of experience, and the capabilities of your vehicle and other gear.

What Vehicle Do I Need?

Scroll through Instagram听and it鈥檚 easy to get the idea that you can鈥檛 go overlanding without a totally customized truck that has听a bunch of tents, shovels, and fuel canisters bolted all over it. The opposite is actually true. You鈥檒l probably have a better time鈥攁nd save an awful lot of money鈥攊f you听start out with whatever vehicle you currently drive.

I explored the features that give cars and trucks off-road capability in this article.听Even if you drive a Toyota Prius or a Subaru Outback, there are plenty of remote places you can visit. Besides,听cars like those will make the highway miles go by much easier听than any 4×4 ever will. As听long as you鈥檙e on good tires听and the weather conditions aren鈥檛 extreme, exploring听smoother听Forest Service roads听or听paved ones听through the middle of nowhere will still turn up plenty of awesome views听and neat spots to camp.

That said, adding vehicular capability, either by purchasing a 4×4听or even making modifications to one, can open up significant new travel possibilities, add a margin for safety, and give you more confidence in variable听weather. A simple dirt road that presents no obstacle whatsoever in dry conditions can become impassible to all but the most capable, expertly听driven 4×4鈥檚 when听heavy rain turns听firm dirt into deep, slippery mud. And that can happen overnight, when听you鈥檙e already miles from a听paved roadway. Always keep an eye on the weather.

How can you find routes appropriate for your vehicle听and experience level? I use an听app called OnX Offroad, which allows you to filter trails听by their level of difficulty. Routes it categorizes as Overland听should be accessible to any carefully operated vehicle with听good tires; those classified as听High Clearance 4×4听trails should only be attempted with a true four-wheel-drive听truck or听SUV.

Where Should I Go?

Leaving well-trodden paths behind is the name of the game here. But that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean you need to drive a Jeep up a vertical rock wall to find a spot to camp. Not only do our country鈥檚 985 million acres of public lands offer ample travel routes, but rural roads through private land听(and even foreign countries)听combine to provide nearly limitless possibilities for the adventurous traveler.

In the Northeast: Maine

Just hours from the Northeast鈥檚听conurbation, Maine offers 210,000 acres of federally听managed public land, 600,000 acres of state-managed public land, and, uniquely, 10,000 miles of dirt logging roads that mostly run听through private property. The dramatic beauty of the Atlantic coast, the quaint, welcoming nature of the villages,听and the seemingly endless stretches of forest听make听this state an obvious go-to for overlanders seeking听a destination worth exploring in this region.

Know Before You Go: I strongly encourage you to check out Maine鈥檚 vast network of听logging roads. Understand that you鈥檒l be traveling through a confusing maze of both public lands (where you can camp)听and private areas (where you can鈥檛). A mapping app like OnX Offroad will make discerning听the difference between the two a sure thing.

Gear You鈥檒l Need: If there鈥檚 one thing you鈥檙e sure to find in Maine, it鈥檚 bugs. You already know you need to bring a deet-based bug spray听and a Thermacell repellent听but since you鈥檙e visiting in your car, there鈥檚 no reason you can鈥檛 bring a bug-proof shelter, too. Throw a ($250)听over your picnic table, and you鈥檒l听create a respite from mosquitos and black flies, as well as听passing rain showers.

In the Northwest: British Columbia

The Canadian border has yet to reopen听( that it will remain closed until at least June 21), but听when it does, you should absolutely travel through British Columbia. Ninety-two percent of the roads in this 365,000-square-mile province are unpaved. And that鈥檚 saying something, since Vancouver is home to听a world-class city听and other small towns, like Victoria,听offer听real culture.

Know Before You Go: Want to see whales, bears, and the northern lights? The easiest way is to travel by ferry. The听 follows as beautiful a route as any cruise ship, for a fraction of the price. Bring a sleeping pad听and bed down听on the deck听for the full experience鈥攊t鈥檚 a 20-hour ride.

Gear You鈥檒l Need: When you disembark that听ferry, you鈥檒l听be in about as remote a spot in North America as you can find. I鈥檇 plot routes between gas stations carefully听and bring enough tire-repair gear to be entirely self-sufficient.

In the Southeast: The Outer Banks

No, you鈥檙e not going to be doing a thousand miles of continuous off-roading on North Carolina鈥檚 eastern shore, but you can find remote beaches that are legal to drive out onto听and camp on鈥攁nd听have to yourself. Catch some waves, cast into the surf, and relax. Best of all, you鈥檙e听within a couple hours鈥� drive from cities like Virginia Beach, Virginia, or Charlotte, North Carolina.

Know Before You Go: Pretty much any vehicle can get out onto a sandy beach without getting stuck. The trick is to lower your tire pressure听to 15 pounds per square inch (psi) or less. Doing so lengthens the contact patch of your tires, enabling them to float on top of the sand. Just make sure you air back up to safe street pressures (you鈥檒l find those listed on a table inside the听driver鈥檚-side doorjamb of your car) before returning to pavement听or you鈥檒l experience a blowout.听

Gear You鈥檒l Need: Camping on a beach? Not only are you going to want shade, but you鈥檒l need a听shade structure that鈥檚听stable. Consult my deep dive into vehicle-mounted awnings for advice.

In the Southwest: Baja, Mexico

Do yourself a favor听and skip Utah鈥檚 crowds in favor of Baja鈥檚 beaches. South of the border, you鈥檒l听find delicious, fresh food and听a 900-mile-long peninsula full of shorelines where听you can drive your truck right out听to camp. I鈥檝e detailed听what it takes to visit this overland nirvana before.

Know Before You Go: Mexico hasn鈥檛 been as fortunate with its vaccine rollout as we have. But听masks have not been politicized there. Be sure to听respect the safety of locals: pack听masks听and plan to wear them in any and all public spaces.

Gear You鈥檒l Need: I鈥檝e explained my Baja loadout. Beyond that, bring a good attitude. This is a friendly place full of nice people. The vibes you put out will dictate the experience you take away.

Something More Specific: Backcountry Discovery Routes

You鈥檒l note that none of the above suggestions include听specific destinations or routes. I don鈥檛 leave those out听to keep certain areas secret; I do it to encourage you to find your own adventure. Need something a little more specific? Check out .

Originally created for adventure motorcyclists, the free GPS tracks include information like bridge widths (important if you鈥檙e driving a big truck)听and the location of gas stations, hotels, campsites, and other amenities. Load one of these into your favorite navigation app听and you鈥檒l be good to go. The turnkey nature of Backcountry Discovery听maps makes using them almost absurdly easy. You鈥檒l have access to听photos, food recommendations, even video run-throughs. Just prepare appropriately for the terrain and forecasted听weather conditions, and you鈥檙e assured a good trip.

What Should I Pack?

Depending on your level of experience, you may already have some or all of this gear, or none at all. That鈥檚 OK! Here鈥檚 a complete list of everything you鈥檒l need.

Camping Gear

• Here鈥檚 my up-to-date list of the best possible car-camping gear currently available.
• This is my own solar-powered fridge-freezer setup, which is capable of running constantly, even without turning your truck on. You don鈥檛 need this unless you are extremely serious about eating really nice food weeks away from civilization.
• This is my personal camp-kitchen setup. With it听I鈥檓 able to cook in the wilderness as well as I do in my fancy kitchen at home.
• Don鈥檛 like sleeping on the ground? If you drive a crossover, a wagon, or an SUV, I recommend the Go Fast Campers SuperLite rooftop tent ($1,200). If you want something even more ridiculous, the Go Fast Campers Platform ($8,000) will transform any pickup into your personal camping cabana.

Repair Gear and Car Advice

• Driving a late-model听or brand-new vehicle is the best option for people who don鈥檛 consider themselves amateur mechanics. An affordable new car is a better option for most听than a fancier听but older vehicle.
• Choose a vehicle that鈥檚 often听found in the areas you plan to travel to. One of the reasons I drive a Ford Ranger is that I use it to visit Mexico, a country where that vehicle has been widely sold since 2011. Similarly, I modified my wife鈥檚 Toyota Land Cruiser to use more common suspension components from a Toyota Tundra, increasing our ability to find parts in remote areas.
• Consult a knowledgeable mechanic, owner鈥檚 forum, or similar resources, and create a list of parts mostly likely to fail on your rig. If those parts are not widely available, order spares and take them with you.
• Replace your vehicle鈥檚 fluids, filters, and other wear items before traveling.
• Buy , like those sold by Harbor Freight, and carry it with you.
• , , and (or a similar liquid metal) can fix virtually anything鈥攖emporarily.
• Find and download for your vehicle. Make sure it鈥檚 stored and accessible on your phone.
• Even if your skills are听lacking, carrying the right parts, tools, or shop manual will enable a Good Samaritan听or local mechanic听to help you out.
• Bring more than anyone could ever possibly need.
• I showed you how to use tire-repair gear and an air compressor听here. It鈥檚 a good idea to practice changing听an old tire at home before traveling.
• A听听will allow you to restart a car with a dead battery, even in the absence of outside help.

Recovery Gear

• Absolutely everyone driving any sort of vehicle in a remote area should go armed with a set of .
• The same goes for a kinetic recovery strap and three-quarter-inch shackles. The听 has all you need.
• If your car does not provide appropriate, strength-rated recovery points, you鈥檒l either need to add some听or carry enough gear to make a recovery safe. For most passenger cars, like Subarus, this means 听and so that a bridle can be created between the two eyelets on the front of your car. If your vehicle lacks an appropriate rear recovery point, you should 听and have a two-inch hitch receiver fitted. Carry to use with that, in addition to all of the above.

Emergency Gear

• Carry a satellite communicator like . If you get into trouble you cannot fix, stay with your vehicle and use your device听to call for help.
• Purchase, learn how to use, and customize a real first aid kit to your own needs. Account for any allergies or other medical conditions.
• Invest in an听.
• Bring still more flashlights.
• Plan to pack听at听least one gallon of water per person, per day. Account听for delays.
• Carry cash鈥攁s much as you feel comfortable鈥攄ivided between multiple hiding places in your vehicle.
• Always stash a spare key, either secured externally in a lockbox or carried on the person of another traveler at all times.

What Rules Do I Need to Follow?

The goal for anyone recreating outdoors should be to leave any place they visit better than how they found it. The simple set of guidelines is called . I won鈥檛 detail all of that here, but it鈥檚 worth going over the information specific to vehicle-based travel.

• Drive only on established trails. Any action that creates new tire tracks incrementally harms the environment. Scale that across millions of people, and that quickly becomes less incremental. Any U-turns, pullouts, or听camping spots should only be made on or听across established tracks.
• Source firewood locally. Especially on the West Coast, invasive insects are wreaking havoc on tree health. Buy firewood at the last town before hitting dirt, and you won鈥檛 spread 鈥檈m.
• Pack it out. This goes for trash, toilet tissue, dog waste, and, in many places, even your own poop.
• Camp where others have camped before. The least impactful campsites are those that already exist. Look for established parking areas, tent sites, and fire rings, and use them.
• Camp at least a mile from any trailhead or campground, within 100 feet of听a听trail, and 200 feet away from any water.
• Be aware of local fire regulations, and听if you are able to have a fire, make sure it鈥檚 completely听out both before going to sleep听or leaving camp.
• Know your land. Use a mapping app like OnX to ensure you鈥檙e legally camping on appropriate public land. Or that you have written permission from the right landowner.

How Do I Stay Safe?

Overlanding听lets you听travel farther than most other kinds听of backcountry recreation. That鈥檚 incredible, but it also means you鈥檒l potentially find yourself far from help听should something go wrong.

The foundation to safely recreating outdoors, in any activity, is to carefully evaluate any risks, then take steps either to avoid them or reduce the odds of those risks occurring as much as possible鈥攚hile also preparing for that stuff happening. Let鈥檚 extrapolate that beyond camping听and into off-road听or remote-road travel.

First, learn the limits of your vehicle听and the equipment it uses. This is the most important, but also most difficult, step. Automaker marketing suggests that virtually any vehicle on sale today is able to tackle challenging off-road trails. We should all understand that marketing claims do not represent reality. All-wheel-drive crossovers should not be driven on anything more challenging than a simple dirt road in good weather. And even then, the economy tires they come with should first be replaced with a set of quality all-terrains.听And听even that simple dirt road can involve obstacles that a crossover may be unable to handle.

If you plan to take a non-purpose-built vehicle on a trip through a remote area, first take the time to visit a low-consequence area to learn what the car听is听and isn鈥檛 comfortable on. Make sure that area is close to home听and听covered by cell reception, and consider taking a friend in another vehicle along, just in case you get stuck. Anyone who has never used recovery straps, Maxtrax, and other recovery gear听should also practice with that equipment ahead of time.

That鈥檚 not to say that equipping yourself with a real 4×4 is going to make your experience easy. Four-wheel-drive vehicles鈥攅specially modified ones鈥攐ften feature capabilities and systems that can prove dangerous in inexperienced hands. Anyone who hopes to make full use of a four-wheel-drive truck or听SUV should seek out professional training before attempting to exploit those capabilities.

Without exception, every single road-legal vehicle ever sold includes a gross-vehicle-weight-rating number that you鈥檒l find in the owner鈥檚 manual听or inside the driver鈥檚 doorjamb. GVWR is the maximum weight a vehicle can support, including its own weight, plus that of humans, cargo, fuel, and anything else in or on it. Exceeding that number doesn鈥檛 just squish the suspension, it will also overtax essential stuff like the cooling system and transmission, potentially causing a crash, rollover, or breakdown. Your vehicle鈥檚 GVWR is probably a lot lower than you think. Take that number into account when performing modifications. And听even if you鈥檙e just loading up your wagon to go camping, take the time to visit a vehicle scale听and get a real number for how much weight you鈥檙e carrying before you actually head out. Exceeding the听GVWR could also expose you to legal liability should you be involved in a crash.

Can I Book a听Guide?

If any of this sounds intimidating, or if you simply want to speed your entry into the overlanding world, booking a guided trip might be for you. Local clubs may also prove to be a less intimidating way of听learning skills听and finding new destinations.

The Curated Experience: Wilderness Collective

Short on time and high on expectations? The California-based organizes high-end motorcycle, UTV, and snowmobile trips to bucket-list destinations, complete with restaurant-quality food and drink听and professional filmmakers. From about $3,000, the trips aren鈥檛 cheap, but they include absolutely everything you need. Just show up and have fun.

BIPOC-Led 国产吃瓜黑料s: Camp Yoshi

Ron and Rashad Frazier grew up camping听and want to . The idea with their trips isn鈥檛 only to provide a welcoming environment听but also to educate guests on the skills it takes to venture out on their own afterward. Starting at听$2,500, the food鈥檚 good, the company is better, and the gear and vehicles are top-notch鈥攂ecause I helped them make sure they鈥檙e the best available.

Straightforward Training: Barlow 国产吃瓜黑料s

Want to focus on advancing your off-road skills while also enjoying an epic experience? From $300 per day, will rent you a Jeep and show you how to get the most out of it in epic destinations ranging from Moab, Utah, to the Rubicon Trail听in California. Nena Barlow and her guides are the best four-wheel-drive trainers in the business.

Before you jump in your car, to put the leading maps for overlanding on your vehicle’s dashboard screen.

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The Ford F-150 is the bestselling vehicle in the U.S., which is why the new electric F-150 Lightning that debuted Wednesday night is so significant. Not only will it help normal American drivers transition to zero-emissions transportation, but in the event of a Texas-style infrastructure collapse, the Lightning can power a home for up to ten days.

And I do mean normal听American. Ford鈥檚 F-150 has been the most popular听vehicle in the U.S. for the past 44 years. Equipped with a crew cab, a 5.5-foot-long听bed, and four-wheel drive, the internal-combustion F-150 starts at $42,500. The electric Lightning will only come听in that body style, with 4WD. It starts at $41,669. This听figure includes the mandatory $1,695 destination charge听but not any federal or state electric-vehicle incentives.

Ford representatives refer听to that base model as 鈥渃ommercial oriented,鈥� indicating that it鈥檒l be targeted at contractors and operators of large-vehicle fleets, but individuals will still be able to purchase it. The truck will have听one electric motor on each axle, making for a total of 426 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque. According to Ford,听it should have a range of 230 miles听in real-world conditions.

Most drivers who buy this truck for themselves will opt for the plusher XLT trim level, which will bring the Lightning鈥檚 price up to $54,669, about $8,500 more than a comparable internal-combustion F-150. Again, that鈥檚 with destination听but without any federal or state tax incentives.

Right now, electric vehicles听sold by automakers that have produced听200,000 or fewer EVs qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit. The Biden administration is in its American Jobs Plan, as part of a $174 billion investment designed听鈥渢o win the EV market.鈥� Ford has not yet sold 200,000 electric vehicles, so that tax credit will apply to initial sales of the F-150 Lightning, whether or not Biden鈥檚 plan is signed into law. It will bring the cost听of the commercial-grade Lightning down to $34,169听and the XLT model to $47,169.

President Biden visited the Ford factory in Dearborn, Michigan, that will produce the Lightning on Tuesday听to promote his jobs plan. After taking the electric truck for a spin, he exclaimed, 鈥淭his sucker鈥檚 quick鈥� to news cameras.

The Lightning will also be available with an extended-range听battery,听good for 300 miles in normal driving conditions. Extended-range trucks will also feature more powerful motors, resulting in a total of 563 horsepower. All Lightning trucks will have the same 775 pound-feet of torque鈥攖he most ever packed into an F-150.

Extended-range Lightnings will also be the quickest F-150鈥檚 made, accelerating听from zero to 60 miles per hour听in just 4.4 seconds. In comparison, the less powerful F-150 Raptor takes 5.2 seconds to reach that speed.

Plugged into a home charger, the Lightning will听automatically detect if your house loses electric power听and begin providing electricity to your appliances. Assuming an average consumption of 30 kilowatt-hours per day, the extended-range model will be able to fully power your home for three days. Ford says that number can be increased to up to ten听days if you ration power to only essential items, like your refrigerator.

Day to day, the F-150 Lightning will also help you reduce your home energy prices. Plugged into that home charger, it can function as a big home battery, charging itself overnight (when energy prices are lowest), then providing power to your house听throughout the day听during peak hours (when energy is more expensive). The Lightning is capable of providing up to 9.6 kilowatts of electricity.

Other novel features on the electric truck include independent rear suspension. In combination with the under-floor听battery pack, which lowers the truck鈥檚 center of gravity, that suspension will improve ride and handling. The听battery pack is waterproof听and heavily armored.听There鈥檚 also a large storage area under the truck鈥檚 hood听fitted with multiple waterproof power outlets听and a drain plug. This lockable 鈥渇runk鈥� can handle up to 400 pounds of cargo, extending the Lightning鈥檚 utility.

The Lightning will also come with听a scale on听each axle, measuring the amount of weight you鈥檙e towing or hauling. The truck will factor those numbers into its range calculations听and help you plot a route between charging stations accordingly. Ford鈥檚 charging-station network is the largest available, currently counting 63,000 plugs nationwide, a number that will continue to grow.

At 6,500 pounds, the Lightning weighs about 1,000 pounds more than equivalent internal-combustion F-150鈥檚. This does take a bite out of how much weight you can tow or haul. Maximum payload shrinks from 2,238 pounds on the gas truck听down to 2,000 pounds on the Lightning. Towing capacity is decreased from an optional 11,300 pounds on the regular F-150听to 10,000 pounds on all extended-range Lightnings. The Lightning will introduce a new autonomous hitch-connecting mode to the F-150 range鈥攖he truck will automatically reverse into alignment with the trailer. All you鈥檒l need to do is hop out听and connect the ball and receiver, chains, and wiring harness.

Off-road, the Lightning should have no trouble keeping up with internal-combustion trucks. All-terrain tires and a locking rear differential will be available, and all versions of the Lightning will include four-wheel drive. It鈥檚 currently unclear how power will be apportioned between the front and rear motors, or how electronic traction-management solutions will function. But听Ford pioneered electronic off-road-traction technology on internal-combustion vehicles, so there鈥檚 no reason to expect the Lightning won鈥檛 continue that innovation.

Lightning sales will begin听in May 2022, and Ford is now accepting $100 deposits for the new vehicle. The F-150 Lightning鈥檚 price significantly undercuts that of the $112,500 GMC Hummer EV, which will enter production this fall. The Ford鈥檚 price is comparable to the claimed听$40,000 starting price of the Tesla Cybertruck, which Elon Musk says will enter production by the end of this year. The Lightning听will also be significantly cheaper than the Rivian R1T, which the company says will start at around $70,000听and could reach the first customers as early as next month.

Compared to those other upcoming electric pickups, the Lightning offers one more unique feature: aside from smoother aerodynamics and some fancy LED headlights, it looks just like a听normal F-150, which is to say a normal pickup truck. And that鈥檚 significant, because this will be the product that makes electric vehicles a normal part of American life.

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Following a on a pipeline that provides 45 percent of the gasoline sold on the eastern seaboard, people have begun panic buying fuel. This has lead to , , and even an from the Consumer Product Safety Commission urging people not to pour gasoline over an open flame.

This unprecedented spike in demand鈥斺�攊s even leading some stations to run out of gas. At the time of writing,听 reports that 68 percent of gas stations in North Carolina are experiencing fuel shortages. In Georgia, that number is 49 percent, and in Virginia, it鈥檚 54 percent.

Most worryingly, panicked buyers are to store and transport extra fuel, or attempting to transport those containers in an unsafe manner. There are even reports of people , and , and loading those containers into their cars while they鈥檙e full of a flammable, noxious liquid.

At a briefing, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to 鈥渉oarding toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic鈥� and says there鈥檚 no need for drivers to worry. The Colonial Pipeline resumed operation on Wednesday evening, and gasoline supplies are expected to return to normal over the next week or so.

This is听a teachable moment. There are circumstances in which carrying extra fuel or storing it at home is necessary. But you鈥檝e got to make sure you鈥檙e doing it safely. Let鈥檚 start with some basic guidelines, then move onto products that will enable you to follow them.

How to Safely Use Portable Gas Cans

鈥淚t is really important that we use extreme caution when filling portable gasoline cans from a pump,鈥� , a fire chief with the National Park Service.听鈥淕asoline is an extremely volatile refined product. It can catch fire, explode, and burn rapidly.鈥�

Only Use Approved Containers

A can or container designed for gasoline will feature a prominent stamp of approval from either the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Gasoline can melt some plastics and similar materials. Even if this doesn鈥檛 cause a leak, residue from these materials can destroy your vehicle鈥檚 fuel system or engine. And unapproved materials or caps can lead to dangerous vapor leaks.

Never Carry a Portable Gas Can Inside a Vehicle鈥檚 Passenger Compartment听or Store It听Inside Your Home

To maintain safe internal pressures, approved fuel containers are designed to vent fuel vapor in high ambient temperatures. This can lead to fire hazards鈥攁 garden shed in England a few years ago due to leaking fuel can vapors鈥攁nd a dangerous buildup of poisonous fumes inside enclosed spaces. Gasoline vapor , which can cause light headedness and nausea even after very short periods of exposure, and can lead to brain damage or death over longer periods. Gas cans can leak vapor even while empty.

Only Fill Gas Cans to 95 Percent

Fuel expands as temperatures increase. Leaving an air gap will help avoid spillage.

Place Gas Cans on the Ground Before Filling

Yes, this prevents spilling fuel inside your truck bed or all over your vehicle鈥檚 exterior. But听more importantly, it decreases the chances of static discharge creating a spark and听igniting the gas you鈥檙e putting in the can. Many pickup beds are lined with plastic or a similar non-conductive spray-in material, which stops the can from achieving a ground connection, and .

Wipe the Can Clean

When you鈥檙e done filling, wipe any spilled fuel off the can before loading it into or onto your vehicle. Again, even a small amount of gasoline vapor can be ignited, and any vapors you inhale are .

Secure the Can

In a 35 mph crash, a full five-gallon fuel tank will become a projectile flying forwards with 1,872 pounds of force. That鈥檚 enough to easily kill someone. Whether you鈥檙e carrying a fuel can in the bed of a pickup听or on your roof rack, it must be securely fastened.

Use the Gas

Gasoline has a shelf life of three to six months. After that time, it becomes less combustible, and components of it can separate, reducing its octane value. Your engine will struggle to run on stale gasoline; it could shut off at idle, will make less power, and may cut in and out as you accelerate. All that adds up to expensive engine damage.

Better Solutions

Attempting to transport fuel in the kind of cheap plastic fuel containers all of us use to fill up our lawn mowers may be enough to get you home from the gas station. If you鈥檙e driving off-road, at high speeds, or for long distances, you need a more robust container, and one that can be safely secured to your vehicle.

Jerry Cans ($45)

鈥淛erry鈥� was the nickname American troops gave to German soldiers in WWII, and this five-gallon design was developed by that country鈥檚 military before that war. The name stuck, and Jerrys are now the universal solution for transporting extra fuel. Stamped from steel, these things are robust and impermeable. They鈥檙e also incredibly common, meaning there鈥檚 a vast ecosystem of mounts and accessories available. I buy my Jerry cans from Harbor Freight. They鈥檙e of equivalent quality to anything else I鈥檝e found, but are around half the price.

AT Overland Jerry Can Holder ($135)

A good Jerry can mount allows you to carry all that extra fuel on your roof, in your bed, or on your tailgate in a package that鈥檚 secure on the move and from theft, but which remains easily accessible. AT Overland鈥檚 solution is the best I鈥檝e found. Just drill holes through it to match the mounting points of whatever rack or solution you鈥檙e using, then secure the top strap with a padlock. Jerry cans can be carried either standing up vertically, or on their back, so long as the angled fuel spout remains on top, and this holder allows for either orientation.

RotoPax (from $77)

I used one of those AT Overland holders听to carry a Jerry can all the way from Montana, down to Baja Sur, and back on my Ford Ranger. And it rattled every minute of every mile鈥攆or 6,000 miles. I always wondered why RotoPax were so expensive, and found out the hard way. As soon as I got home from that trip, I pulled off that Jerry can, and bolted a couple two-gallon RotoPaxs in its place. Despite their name, each carries about 2.5 gallons, so together, both give me equivalent fuel capacity. The unique selling point of RotoPax isn鈥檛 the containers themselves, but rather the unique screw-action mount, which means you can bolt them听onto virtually any听vehicular听surface with complete security. They鈥檙e available in a variety of sizes and shapes, allowing you to transport several on anything from a motorcycle to an airplane.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=K8Z7YUCwP8g%3Fstart%3D146

Long Range Fuel Tanks (From $1,900)

Want to talk about real preparedness? An auxiliary fuel tank can add 40 gallons or more of fuel capacity to your truck, tripling your range.听And it will do that in a safe, convenient package that guarantees you won鈥檛 have to worry about spills, fires, or vapors. I fitted a 12.5-gallon unit from Long Range America to my wife鈥檚 Land Cruiser. That鈥檚 two-and-a-half Jerry cans worth of extra gas, all in a package that鈥檚 filled from the vehicle鈥檚 normal gas cap, and which operates invisibly to the vehicle鈥檚 systems. When the stock fuel tank gets low, all you do is push a button on the dash, and that 12.5 gallons pumps in, filling the truck back up as you drive.

Twelve-and-a-half gallons is enough to extend the range of our Land Cruiser from 300 to 450 miles; something we use to facilitate camping trips in remote areas. But听keeping it full day-to-day means we鈥檙e prepared to respond to events like the East Coast fuel crisis any time they may happen. The tank mounts up high听and between the frame rails, taking up otherwise unused space. Had we chosen to relocate the spare to a dedicated carrier on the rear of the truck, we could have fitted a 40-gallon auxiliary tank. That would take the vehicle鈥檚 range in excess of 800 miles.

I can only imagine that people equipped with such a setup are watching the long lines for fuel听right now, from the comfort of their couch, content in the knowledge that the best way to avoid a crisis is to prepare for one ahead of time.

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The seats in your car probably aren鈥檛 as strong as you think. And if you own a large dog,听those seats will听not be able to restrain them in a crash. Fortunately,听I found a solution.

The Problem

In the U.S., the regulation governing the strength of automotive seats is . It requires that the seats in your car听be capable of withstanding a force applied forwards or backwards that鈥檚 equivalent to 20 times the weight of the seat itself, but allows for 40 degrees of seat deflection under that strain.听That鈥檚 a problem because that听force is static, not dynamic (equivalent to slowly pushing or pulling on the seat really hard), which fails to account for the incredibly rapid acceleration objects inside a vehicle experience听in a crash. It’s also just not strong enough.

Three years ago, I wrote an article about dog safety restraints, explaining how ineffective and problematic most of them are. In it, I identified the main problem all of us dog owners face: in a 35-mile-per-hour crash, an unrestrained 60-pound dog becomes a projectile flying forwards with 2,700 pounds of force. Cars are designed for human, not canine occupants, so restraining a听four-legged projectile is听difficult.

Let鈥檚 say a seat weighs 50 pounds. To be sold in听a car in the U.S., it must be capable of standing up to 1,000 pounds of force. Put a 60-pound dog behind it, run into something immovable at 35 mph, and听your pup will generate nearly three times that much force as it flies forward. The seat will not be capable of stopping the dog鈥檚 movement, and that could kill it, or any human passengers sitting in front of it.

All of this obviously applies beyond dogs.听If hit from behind, a vehicle鈥檚 front seats can fail to restrain humans sitting in them from flying rearwards, injuring and . And simple cargo like luggage or tools听quickly become lethal projectiles. It鈥檚 a scandal that pops up ever few years and听is present on听even the latest, otherwise very safe cars. Safety advocates听refer to the construction of car seats as being equivalent to 鈥�.鈥�

鈥淔MVSS 207 is just a really old standard,鈥� says George Hetzer III, a former seating engineer for TS Tech Americas, a major automotive seat supplier. 鈥淭he industry has made significant progress on seat safety in subsequent decades, but without market demand, it鈥檚 just not a huge priority.鈥� The standard was .

Hetzer says that in the absence of a modern seat strength standard from the American government, most manufactures now benchmark the slightly more stringent European standard, . But ECE-R17 only mandates a test in which two 34 pound blocks are placed behind, but in contact with the rear seats, and a crash with an accelerative force of 20 to 28g is simulated. All cars decelerate at different rates due to variances in their energy absorbing structures (crumple zones), but those forces are created in crashes of only 20 to 30 mph.听Seats made to the European standard are also incapable of stopping a 60 pound dog traveling at 35 mph.

created by the European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation says there are听鈥渟hortcomings in current legislation鈥� and calls for a more realistic test: four 50-pound suitcases accelerated at rates equivalent to a 30 mph crash. The results, from tests conducted on seats made to the current standard, are illuminating.

鈥淭he central seat back hinges released and allowed the luggage to enter the passenger compartment where it could threaten the front seat occupants, as well as those in the rear,鈥� says听the paper. It鈥檚 written in very dry engineering language, but the report鈥檚 assessment of the impact of that flying luggage on the test dummies is clear:听it says the forces they experienced, 鈥渓eaves the safe plane.鈥�

Personally, I don鈥檛 use my vehicles to transport four 50-pound suitcases;听I use them to carry three large dogs, the heaviest of which, Teddy, weighs 115 pounds. In a 35 mph car accident, Teddy would turn into a projectile with a force equivalent to about 5,300 pounds. And, as I identified in that听article on pet restraints, there is no effective way to tether a dog that large inside a vehicle in a way that won鈥檛 injure or kill them in a crash.

The Solution

But I love my dogs, so I had to figure this out.听My search led to听MIM, a Swedish range of products built and in crashes of around 30 mph. MIM produces ($1,160 to $2,000) that protect and retain the dog from the front, sides, and rear. That鈥檚 a lot of safety, but installing one rules out being able to use a car鈥檚 cargo area for purposes beyond transporting dogs. MIM also produces a ($285-$380) tested to the same standard, but it only covers the portion of the car above the height of the rear seats. If a dog impacts the unprotected portion of the seat back, that barrier would do nothing.

I wanted to be able听to occasionally carry normal cargo in the back of my family鈥檚 Land Cruiser, and maybe to even store essentials back there in some organized fashion. I was familiar with Australian 4×4 accessory maker ARB鈥檚 range of storage drawers and cargo barriers from my time crossing the Simpson Desert in vintage off-roaders, but the drawers were too tall to leave enough room for my big dogs. And the matching cargo barriers only work in combination with the drawers. Frustrated, I complained to the company. My timing on that was right, because a representative responded with good news: they were just about to release a new, lower height system targeted at dog owners.

Installed, ($1,500) still allows for storage space that measures inside the drawers鈥攅nough for a large recovery strap听or an automotive fire extinguisher lying on its side. Side panels box out the wheel arches to square off the main cargo area, and provide some storage for bulkier items, like heavy-duty bottle jacks. The best part, though, is that the total height of the drawer portion is just 7.5 inches. Barely any space for dogs is lost.

The drawers bolt to the vehicle鈥檚 frame rails, underneath the floor of the rear cargo compartment. And ($730) attaches at the same points on the bottom, then replaces the rear grab handles with 听that allows some controlled movement of the barrier, slowing a dog鈥檚 deceleration rate on impact.听The barrier is built to Australia and New Zealand鈥檚 , meaning it鈥檚 been tested to withstand the听impact of a听120 pound object听in a 30 mph crash, and that it remains compliant with the rear curtain airbags of the vehicle it鈥檚 designed for. It completely encloses the rear cargo area, from the top of the drawers听to the ceiling, which also means it鈥檒l be backed up by whatever strength the seats are able to add. The barrier听is designed for easy removal without tools, and stores behind the front seats鈥攃onvenient should we need to fold the second row to transport a large object.

ARB鈥檚 drawer systems and cargo barriers are available across multiple vehicle platforms. Consult to find out if they make systems that fit yours.听Because the barrier shares the points where the drawer system bolts to the frame, it’s only available with those drawers.

Do you need to spend thousands of dollars on a barrier to keep your dogs safe?听If you have a small or medium-size dog, the answer is likely no. 听($80) remains the best way to secure those animals inside your car. But, if you have a large dog, then safety needs to be a real priority. You paid a lot more than $2,200 to make sure you鈥檙e driving a safe, modern car. Failing to account for the presence of your dog in that vehicle undermines every seatbelt, airbag, and crumple zone you just rolled into a monthly payment.

The European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation has for anyone carrying anything in the back of their vehicle. During testing, they found that latching all available seatbelts across empty seats added a considerable (but undefined) amount of load resistance. So听you should keep all your seatbelts buckled anytime a seat is unoccupied. It also noted that the amount of force a seat could tolerate near its base was greater than near its headrest, since seats typically pivot around a point near their bottom. Carrying loads as low as possible, and up against the seat back to prevent acceleration is an effective safety strategy. The association also recommends tying down any loads. Many of the tips are impossible for large dogs, but are good advice for smaller animals.

If nothing else, this is a good reminder to drive safely. We all probably drive faster than the rated limits of the safety equipment in our vehicles every day.

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Scout Truck Campers Olympic ($21,750 and up)

Most hard-sided truck campers are too large and ungainly to venture anywhere more rugged than a paved campground loop. Scout Truck Campers has changed the game, with options that fit short-bed Tacomas and Ram 2500鈥檚 alike. Instead of wood structural panels, the brand went with fiberglass-fortified high-density polyurethane foam, which is strong and light enough for off-roading, won鈥檛 rot, and will protect against the elements all year. Our favorite in its lineup is the 6.9-foot-wide, 1,161-pound Olympic. It sleeps four to six people and comes with amenities like a Goal Zero Yeti 1500X lithium power station, a 175-watt solar panel, LED ceiling lights, a stainless-steel sink, and a 4.9-gallon Lifesaver portable jerrican filter. It鈥檚 the perfect four-season rig for truck owners.

Super Pacific Switchback X1 ($9,495 and up)

Another option for pickups: wedge campers that combine a shell and a rooftop tent. We like the versatile Super Pacific Switchback X1, which offers fitments for most trucks. The bottom half functions like a regular topper, with side doors to access gear. Enter the pop-up tent from inside your truck bed through the movable floor panels (or from outside by adding your own ladder).

GoBe Nomad ($21,900 and up)

If you like the idea of a small teardrop trailer but want inside standing room, the GoBe Nomad is your match. Even a Subaru Outback can tow this 1,850-pound fiberglass camper. Still, six feet of interior height, sleeping room for two, a sink, underbed storage, and plentiful cabinets make it extremely livable. We also love the off-road tires and 12.5 inches of ground clearance, which allow the Nomad to make light work of even the gnarliest roads.

Airstream Basecamp 20x ($48,900)

For adventurous families, the latest addition to Airstream鈥檚 Basecamp line is close to perfect. Inside the 20x you鈥檒l find a kitchen, a full bathroom, and two seating areas that convert to beds. A rear hatch door makes it easy to haul unwieldy gear like kayaks or bikes, while a three-inch lift and rock protection allow you to navigate farther into the backcountry. Opt for the base-model 20 ($45,900) if you want to skip the lift and rock guard.

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There are two tricks to camping more often: comfort and speed. Knowing that听you can cook and hang out in a protected area听lets you enjoy camping in less certain conditions. Being able to assemble a protected area quickly鈥攅ven in the dark鈥攎eans you can arrive at camp late听or set up a pop-up base camp during a pit stop. Enter the 270 awning. Add one of these to your car or truck, and I guarantee your next camping trip will be a lot easier.

Vehicle-mounted awnings have a couple key advantages over their freestanding counterparts. They鈥檙e faster to set up, have more stability听and resistance听to high winds, and don鈥檛 take up room inside your vehicle.

Unfortunately, vehicle-mounted awnings also come with some downsides. They tend to be expensive听and heavy, adding weight to the worst spot on your truck. If you don鈥檛 have a fancy roof rack, they can be challenging to mount. They can add noise听from both the wind听and rattles and squeaks. And听they鈥檙e exposed to the weather, so if your awning isn鈥檛 made well, it鈥檒l wear out awfully fast.

In other words,听it鈥檚 really important to find the right one. When I set out to build a Ford Ranger for our wedding trip to southern Baja and back last year, a听dream awning was high on my list of must-haves. It took me a while to find one that鈥檚 nearly perfect, and I learned a lot along the way.

Compared to a straight awning, which simply unfolds to form a rectangle covering one side听or the rear of your vehicle, a 270 awning听wraps around听the side and rear of your vehicle, providing听continuous coverage. Two hundred and seventy degrees may not sound听like a huge step up from 180, but having such a large area of unified coverage from sun and rain gives you way more space to unpack, cook, and hang out.听Think of it as your very own portable camping cabana.

Creating such a structure that also folds flat enough to carry it on the side of your vehicle gets complicated really fast. There are听multiple arms and hinges, a ton of fabric, poles, guylines, a storage bag, and a zipper. In other words: there are听multiple points of potential failure.

And that was the problem I ran into with the first 270 awning I tried, a ($688). One reason听that product is more affordable is its nonfreestanding design鈥攖he awning听requires vertical poles to support each horizontal arm. The poles adjust in length through an internal twist-to-tighten cam; screw them clockwise to loosen, slide the outer pole over the inner pole to find the right height, and twist counterclockwise to tighten. But听the very first time I set up the Rhino-Rack in the driveway, that mechanism broke. I had to remove the entire pole assembly from the awning, disassemble it, refit the cam, and remount the pole. The whole process took 20 minutes听and a fair amount of swearing. With practice, I got that time down to ten minutes. Better, but still pretty听annoying given that the thing broke every time I set up the awning.

On my first camping trip with the Rhino-Rack, I discovered another problem. If my tires splashed any mud into the awning鈥檚 zipper, it would jam shut, requiring a blast with a hose to clean it before the zipper would听work again. I鈥檝e never been happier about the ten-gallon water tank and听extra-long听hose I carry in my truck than I was on that first night, after dark, in the pouring rain. I may have soaked myself to the bone in the process, then had to dismantle, repair, and refit a support pole听and听stake down guylines, but half an hour later, I did have a nice,听dry spot to hang out.

Thirty minutes isn鈥檛 quick. And pulling out tools in the dark isn鈥檛 convenient. So, for my next attempt at fitting an awning to my truck, I created a list of wants: something that wouldn鈥檛 fall apart, was fast and easy to set up and put away, and didn鈥檛 require support legs, at least in very mild conditions.

A recommendation from a friend led me to the . At $1,300, it鈥檚 considerably more expensive than the Rhino-Rack, but it also comes from a South African brand that鈥檚 synonymous with high-quality overland gear. It ticked all my boxes听and came with a bonus: at just 46 pounds, it鈥檚 the lightest 270 awning out there.

Instead of cheap steel tubes, the Bat 270听uses boxed aluminum for its arms and legs, which weigh a lot less. And听while the awning is capable of standing on its own in mild weather, poles hide inside the arms that allow you to support the awning when听needed. The poles include external knobs for length adjustment, and they hold the awning down听rather than听up,听since enormous fabric structures act like sails in the wind. Where other awnings rely on guylines, the Bat 270 requires you to simply pound stakes through holes in the pole feet. Once staked, the Bat 270 will remain stable in any wind conditions you want to be outside in. Using legs instead of guylines, as on the Rhino-Rack,听cuts time, adds strength,听and reduces flapping in high wind.

Fitting the Bat 270 to my GoFastCampers Platform was easy, thanks to bolt channels that run the full length of the awning鈥檚 backing plate. After a couple practice runs, I got my setup time down to under a minute. Packing it up probably takes half as long听and is so simple and intuitive that I quickly learned to do it in the dark听without the aid of a headlamp.

And that鈥檚 all it takes to get a three-quarter circle of coverage听that extends six feet ten inches听from my truck in every direction听it covers. It鈥檚 hard to articulate听just how nice a space that is; now I dread the idea of going car camping without my truck.

But Eezi-Awn鈥檚 awning isn鈥檛 perfect. In heavy rain, water pools in each waterproof fabric panel until it reaches a tipping point and comes tumbling out in one big splash. You can avoid this by pushing up on the fabric every few minutes, but that just nets you smaller splashes听and more of them. Other 270 awnings, like the ($1,500), avoid this by using clever fabric spreaders that dome the fabric to prevent pooling.

Mounting a 270 awning can be complicated听if you don鈥檛 happen to already have the world’s听lightest, most modular truck camper. Heavier designs may require supporting the hinges at the awning鈥檚 rear, which means you鈥檒l need听an aftermarket roof rack like those made by Frontrunner, ARB, and others. Lightweight awnings like听the Bat 270 are听much simpler in that they require only two vertical mounting surfaces on the side of your roof. If you have stock roof rails, you can drill holes into your cross rails and bolt听on an . If you have generic load bars, such as those made by Yakima or Thule, you may be able to fit awning mounts sold by those brands. Whichever awning you choose, make sure to identify its mounting requirements ahead of time and that your vehicle is capable of meeting them.

You鈥檒l also want to consider which side of the vehicle to mount the awning听and order the appropriate configuration for that side. Since we drive on the right side of the road in the United States, a passenger-side awning will open away from traffic听if you鈥檙e pulled over on the side of the road. It will also transmit less wind noise to the driver. I went with a driver-side awning for the simple reason that my rear swingout鈥攁nd the cute little camp table a friend and I made for it鈥攐pens to the passenger side.

Looking for a way to quickly detach and reattach your awning听so you don鈥檛 have to deal with the noise during daily driving? The听 ($149) sits between the awning and vehicle mount, allowing you to easily lift your awning on and off.

The post 270 Awnings: The Ultimate Camping Upgrade appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

If you want to take full advantage of the traction provided by your truck鈥檚 four-wheel-drive system, you need to run a tire designed to grip the surfaces you drive on. And if those include both paved and unpaved roads, the tire you鈥檙e looking for听is an all-terrain. Let me save you a bunch of money, hassle, and headaches, and show you how to find the right one for your specific needs.

What Is an All-Terrain Tire?听

鈥淎n all-terrain tire is a jack of all trades, and a master of none,鈥� says Todd Bergeson, the senior manager of product planning at . Bergeson is responsible for engineering听the tires my wife runs on her long-travel Land Cruiser,听and听he participated in the design of that vehicle鈥攂efore joining Toyo, Bergeson worked as an engineer and product planner at Toyota. His r茅sum茅 also includes听other well-regarded 4x4s, like the 4Runner TRD Pro听and the FJ Cruiser.

What Bergeson is getting at is that,听while other tires may outperform all-terrains听on snow, dirt, or pavement, nothing else is designed to work as well across all those surfaces.

Compared with听a highway tire, an all-terrain tire will be equipped with a stronger bead (a ropelike ring that runs around the inner perimeter of the tire, holding it onto the wheel rim), tougher plies (the panels of steel or fabric mesh that lie under the rubber, adding strength and puncture resistance), as well as a rubber tread that鈥檚 thicker and designed to better withstand the cutting, tearing, and deformation caused by off-road surfaces. The pattern of that tread will also be designed to grip loose surfaces, while evacuating water, mud, small rocks, and snow as efficiently as possible.

Unfortunately, all those traits do come with some trade-offs. Compared with听a highway tire, an all-terrain tire will be heavier and louder听and won鈥檛 offer quite as much grip on pavement. Bergeson听says听that more new vehicles don鈥檛 come听equipped with all-terrain tires for just those reasons. 鈥淢ost drivers don鈥檛 actually use their 4x4s off-road,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd they still want their trucks to be competitive with other vehicles.鈥�

Consumers who buy rugged听SUVs听or pickups with the expectation听that they鈥檒l听drive like a luxury car or a sports car often dictate the tire choices made by car manufacturers. If you bought an SUV or a pickup truck听with the expectation听that you鈥檒l be able to use it off-road听and in winter weather, you鈥檒l need to change those tires.

What鈥檚 the Right Size?

Larger tires will more easily roll over larger obstacles off-road. They also look cool. Unfortunately, larger tires will also reduce a vehicle鈥檚 effective gear ratio. As I wrote about at length in an article about people ruining their Tacomas, that can utterly destroy a vehicle鈥檚 fuel economy, performance, and off-road capability.

Want to see the effect that fitting a larger tire size will have on your vehicle鈥檚 performance? .

(Original tire diameter) / (New tire diameter) x Vehicle axle ratio = Effective axle ratio with new tires

So听if you鈥檙e switching from the 30.5-inch tire that comes standard on a Tacoma听to a 34-inch tire, given the Taco鈥檚 3.91 gears, that will give you a new effective ratio of 3.50 to 1. Your performance will decrease by 11 percent.

It鈥檚 hard to picture what that will look like in the real world, so听this formula will help you understand that:

(Original tire diameter) / (New tire diameter) x RPM@MPH = New RPM at that speed

Again, using the same Taco example, switching from a 30.5-inch tire听to a 34-inch one听will reduce engine revolutions at 60 miles per hour from 1,500 to 1,345 revolutions per minute. That鈥檚 also an 11 percent difference. Take that into the real world and see how your engine and transmission perform at the different RPMs. Just remember that the effects of altering your final drive ratio with larger tires are compound; while your engine will be operating at lower RPMs听at a given road speed, it will also have less power.

Wondering how much height a taller tire will add? Fortunately, that calculation is a lot easier. Simply divide the difference in tire diameters by half, and that will give you the increase in height that changing the tires alone will give you. This can be important in determining whether or not your truck will fit in your garage.

What I can鈥檛 give you a formula for is how well a larger tire will fit on your vehicle. For instance, mounting (which actually measure out at 33 inches) to my Ranger required a two-inch suspension lift, chopping off the wheel-crash bars, and using wheels that spaced the tires听outboard. And they still rub at full lock in reverse. Every vehicle and every suspension setup will be different, and the skill of your alignment shop plays a role in tire fitment, too.

Does all that sound like a real pain in the butt? It is. There is no possible outcome here in which increasing your tire size does not cost you money听and create an unnecessary hassle. So听instead of trying to fit a larger size when you switch to an all-terrain tire, I鈥檓 going to make a controversial suggestion here: don鈥檛. The best听all-terrain size for you is almost certainly the tire size your vehicle left the showroom with.

What About Load Ratings?

And you thought sizes were complicated! All-terrain tires come in three varieties, based on the loads they鈥檙e designed to handle: P/Euro-metric, LT, and flotation.

A tire鈥檚 load capacity is determined by how much air it鈥檚 designed to hold. P/Euro-metric all-terrains come in either standard load (denoted by an SL or nothing in the tire鈥檚 size description)听or extra load (XL in the size description). SL tires can be inflated to 36 pounds per square inch (psi), while XL tires can hold 42 psi.

In either case, you should look up your vehicle鈥檚 gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), found online, inside your doorjamb, or in your owner鈥檚 manual, and make sure any tire you fit is designed to support at least a quarter of that weight.

鈥淭hink of a tire like a balloon,鈥� says Bergeson. One designed to hold less air can be made thinner and lighter. One designed to hold more will need to be thicker and heavier.

LT stands for light truck (you鈥檒l see LT ahead of the tire size). In this verbiage, this denotes anything shy of a commercial vehicle. LT tires come standard on heavy-duty pickups, like the Ford Super Duty. The load capacity of LT tires is denoted by letters, typically B, C, D, E, or F. In the past, these letters indicated the number of plies used in the tire鈥檚 construction鈥攊n听that same order: four, six, eight, ten, and twelve听plies. With modern materials, that鈥檚 no longer the case. High-strength steel, nylon, or polyester plies don鈥檛 need to use as much material to provide an equivalent capacity to the cotton plies of yore, so tires now feature a ply equivalent rating. An E-rated tire, for instance, can now hold as much air as ten old plies, using just three plies made from modern materials. All you need to understand is that B-load tires can hold the least air, and therefore support the least weight, and that progresses on up to F, which can hold the most air听and therefore support the most weight.

As a tire鈥檚 load capacity increases, so does the air pressure it takes to fully inflate it. Where the maximum pressure on a standard-load P/Euro-metric tire is 36 psi听(consult the table inside your vehicle鈥檚 doorjamb for recommended pressures;听they鈥檙e typically a little lower than the maximum), the max pressure for an E-rated LT tire is probably 80 psi.听(On LTs, maximum pressures vary with tire size.听I鈥檓 glossing over some technicalities for brevity.)听Not only will that be a thicker, stronger balloon, but inflated to sufficient pressures, it鈥檒l also be a stiffer one. On the road, you鈥檒l feel that. The thicker, stronger听carcass of an LT tire, inflated to a higher pressure,听will deform less over small bumps than a P/Euro-metric one, transmitting those movements to the suspension. And not only will more bumps reach the suspension, the momentum of that heavier tire will also be greater, so those bumps will effect the suspension more severely. It also takes more energy to accelerate or decelerate a heavier tire. All that听to say: compared with听a lighter P/Euro-metric tire, a heavier LT tire will worsen your vehicle鈥檚 ride quality, make it slower, and increase your braking distances.

It鈥檚 important to emphasize here that听if you upgrade from the P/Euro-metric highway tires that likely came with your vehicle to an aftermarket LT tire, you鈥檒l need to run higher pressures than is suggested by your vehicle manufacturer on the road. LT tires require more air听to reach optimal levels of inflation; fail to inflate one fully and the tire鈥檚 tread will cup inward听rather than make uniform contact with the road. This will cause your tires to wear prematurely and create an awful lot of noise, and that reduced contact patch will combine with the soft, underinflated sidewalls to entirely ruin your vehicle鈥檚 handling. to determine the correct pressures for your LT tires.

But听carcass strength isn鈥檛 the only thing separating P/Euro-metric all-terrains from LT ones. Bergeson听says听that Toyo uses different compound materials for the two categories of tires, as well as听different tread designs.

鈥淥ur data says P/Euro-metric users spend at least 80 percent of their time on paved roads,鈥� he says. So Toyo optimizes those tires for that use. On its new , for instance, Toyo employs a rubber compound with a higher proportion of silica, which enhances grip on wet pavement. And听the tread pattern features smaller voids听and more siping. (Sipes are the squiggly little lines inside the tread blocks.) The noise you hear all-terrain tires make is created by air passing through those voids. So making sipes听smaller on tires biased to听on-road use helps make those tires more civilized. Sipes enhance mechanical keying on slippery surfaces like ice, so adding more of them helps the P/Euro-metric AT/IIIs perform better in winter conditions.

I asked Bergeson if the thinner, more flexible construction of a P/Euro-metric tire was less suitable for off-road use. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l actually find that the more flexible tire deforms better over obstacles, which can help with grip and ride quality,鈥� he says. It鈥檚 not true that plies used in those tires can lead to more punctures. While the strands used to construct the lighter tires aren鈥檛 quite as thick, they鈥檙e more densely woven, which works to prevent penetration equally well. The one area where an LT tire might be more resistant to punctures than the lighter option will come simply from increased thickness of the tread on the former.

Where a P/Euro-metric AT/III is equipped with a tread depth of 13/32nds of an inch, the tread on LT sizes is 16/32nds of an inch deep. That means the rubber that the LT tires drive on is that much thicker. It鈥檚 also made from a different compound, with a lower silica content, and uses a tread pattern with larger voids听and fewer sipes. Bergeson says that these changes are intended to increase the LT tire鈥檚 durability and performance off-road. Not only is the lower-silica-content compound more resistant to cuts, tears, and deformation caused by sharp rocks, but the larger voids are better at ejecting those rocks before they can cause damage. Fewer sipes are also less prone to picking up听and being damaged by very small stones. With fewer of those sipes, the tread blocks on LT AT/IIIs better resist deformation, which restores some of the steering feel and stability lost by the larger voids. But听those larger voids听enhance traction on loose surfaces like mud.

Notably, equipping LT tires with the ability to contain higher air pressures also gives them one feature that really helps off-road: because all that extra air requires a thicker, stronger bead, LT tires mount more securely to their wheel rims. This lets drivers safely run lower pressures off-road.

Which brings us to flotation sizes. Whereas P/Euro-metric and LT sizes are listed in metric sizes (285/75R17 for instance), flotation sizes are listed in imperial specs (35×12.5R17). They鈥檙e typically produced in loads ranging from C to E听and are usually available only in wider widths. Flotation tires are the most off-road-oriented all-terrains. Flotation AT/IIIs, for example, use a 17/32nds听tread depth听and even larger voids than the equivalent LTs. So听they also require high on-road pressures听but will be even more durable off-road, and even noisier on. Because they鈥檙e so wide, flotation sizes typically only fit modified trucks.

Running P/Euro-metric all-terrains in your vehicle鈥檚 stock tire size is the easiest, most effective way to gain traction off-road and in winter weather听without sacrificing too much in the way of road manners. Bergeson recommends only upgrading to an LT tire if you drive a lot of gravel (or if the weight of your vehicle dictates it). All the tiny, sharp, rolling rocks in that surface represent a unique challenge to tires, and it鈥檚 one the compound听and voids used on the LT AT/IIIs are听specifically designed to handle.

What Are the Best All-Terrain Tires for You?

Beyond size and load capacities, there are听a couple other markings you need to consider.

Dial in the Mud and Snow Factor

The first of those is the M+S stamp that鈥檚 present on most all-terrain tires听and also many highway tires that advertise themselves as appropriate for mud and snow. The M+S standard is 听and is self-reported by tire makers, not certified by any independent body. To merit this stamp, a two-dimensional analysis of a tire鈥檚 tread pattern must demonstrate that at least 25 percent of the tread鈥檚 surface area is made up of grooves. M+S reflects no actual designed, intended, or tested traction in mud or snow, just that 25 percent groove area. Don鈥檛 rely on an M+S stamp to tell you anything about a tire鈥檚 performance.

Conversely, the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF)听does 听to an actual American Society for Testing and Materials standard, but it is still self-reported by tire makers. And while 3PMSF is used by authorities to legally define a winter-capable tire, that鈥檚 a very limited standard. To score听a 3PMSF rating, a tire only has to demonstrate traction on packed snow that鈥檚 10听percent superior to a reference tire, that reference tire being a bargain-basement highway all-season tire from the early 1990s. Running a 3PMSF stamp may allow you to legally drive into Lake Tahoe, California,听in the winter in a four-wheel-drive vehicle without snow chains, but it does nothing to guarantee that your drive will be safe.

Until such a time that adequate performance standards for tires are enacted, we as consumers have to work with听tire-maker claims, customer reviews, and independent tests conducted by enthusiast publications. If that doesn鈥檛 sound like an ideal situation for finding objective guidance around choosing the single most important component on your vehicle, I鈥檓 with you.

How I Pick the Best All-Terrain Tires

My method for picking an all-terrain tire is to first figure out what size and load capacity I need, then to look around for the tire with those听numbers that has听been developed most recently. Assuming that materials and manufacturing technologies advance over time, I figure that should result in the latest and greatest product. But听just to be sure, I鈥檒l pull up a tire鈥檚听specs听and compare them with competitors. The point of comparison that鈥檚 most important? Weight. For all the reasons described above, a lighter tire is a better tire听if it otherwise provides the load capacity, durability, and traction you require.

And that鈥檚 how I ended up putting on my wife鈥檚 Land Cruiser. That tire was released last March, and in the LT275/70R18 E size听that听works best with the very complicated custom-suspension system on that truck,听the 53-pound AT/III is four pounds lighter than the 鈥攁nd over seven pounds lighter than the .

鈥淏ecause we manufacturer the tire in America, we鈥檙e able to very carefully place rubber only where it鈥檚 needed,鈥� said Bergeson听when I asked him to account for that weight difference. He went on to explain that the AT/III鈥檚 light weight is achieved without sacrificing puncture resistance. Tread depth isn鈥檛 compromised on the design.听Plus,听the unique method by which the company layers its plies ensures that, while the E-rated AT/III is technically a three-ply tire, the plies overlap behind the tire鈥檚 sidewall, effectively protecting that area with six plies, while helping the tire retain better stability on the road.

Those merits have been听borne out in my time driving on those tires. That they鈥檝e proven trouble-free off-road should be expected. What鈥檚 surprising is how good they are听on dry pavement, on the road in rain, and on packed snow, too. Since we live in Montana, I still switch听to a dedicated winter tire for that season, but running the AT/IIIs in the shoulder seasons allows us to confidently tackle even significant snow events without concern.

My one prior听frustration with that vehicle had been how invasive听and lurch-prone its traction-management system is. But听the level of grip provided by the AT/IIIs has smoothed it out听and made it more effective听and seamless in operation. I had no idea when I selected听the tires that they were engineered by one of the guys who helped develop the Land Cruiser, but now that I know, it鈥檚 not a huge surprise that they鈥檙e the perfect match for the vehicle.

The Bottom Line: Best All-Terrain Tires

What are the best all-terrain tires for you? Run through the formulas I listed above to determine the right size.听Then听decide whether or not your use case is more on-road听or off, and choose either P/Euro-metric or LT tires to suit. (Consider a flotation size if you drive a highly modified truck.) See if you can find a lighter tire than the AT/III, and if you can鈥檛, run those. Don鈥檛 be surprised if those tires make your truck feel brand-new, too.

(If you drive an all-wheel-drive crossover, I still recommend the . It鈥檚 the only all-terrain tire actually designed to work on Subarus听and the like.)

The post Everything You Need to Know About All-Terrain Tires appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.