Overland Gear Guide FAQ

Overland Gear Guide is an independent resource for overlanders, 4×4 travellers, and adventure drivers. We combine skills training, planning tools, and gear recommendations to help you plan safer, smarter trips — from first-time weekend trails to multi-continent expeditions.

Our content is written for:

• New overlanders who want plain-English guidance and checklists
• Intermediate travellers stepping up to longer regional or international trips
• Experienced drivers looking for route intel, border info, and deep-dive gear reviews

A great place to begin is the Start Here page or the Overland Skills Center.

The Overland Skills Center is our hub for structured learning — skills paths, courses and hubs grouped by topic and terrain. It currently includes:

• Recovery 101 – safe overland recovery fundamentals
• Terrain skills hubs – mud, sand, snow/ice, water crossings and more
• Supporting tools like the Expedition Planner and tyre pressure calculator

Explore it here:

Overland Skills Center | Off-Road & Recovery Courses

No. At this time we do not operate guided trips or tours. Overland Gear Guide focuses on education, planning tools, and gear recommendations so that you can plan and run your own adventures.

Where we reference commercial operators, training schools, ferries, or shipping companies, those are for information only — we are not responsible for their services, prices, or availability.

We work hard to keep guides and tools current, but overlanding is affected by fast-changing factors like weather, politics, border regulations, and park rules. That means:

• Articles and tools are for general planning, not real-time navigation or official advice
• You must cross-check route access, permits, and regulations with the official authority before you go
• Conditions can change between reading a guide and reaching a trail, border, or park gate

Our General Disclaimer explains these limitations in more detail.

The best way to reach us is via our contact page:

Contact

Please include as much detail as you can, such as:

• The page or tool you’re asking about (URL)
• Your region and planned area (e.g., UK, Europe, Southern Africa)
• Whether your question is about a route, skill, gear, or order

Rusty AI is our on-site overlanding and recovery assistant. He’s trained on Overland Gear Guide’s tools, guides, and methodology to help you:

• Sense-check tyre pressures for your vehicle and terrain
• Plan trips with fuel, water and risk points in mind
• Walk through safer recovery steps before you pull
• Spot obvious gaps in your recovery kit or loadout

Rusty lives on his own page here:

Rusty – Overland Skills Coach

Important: Rusty is an educational tool — always use your own judgement, follow local laws, and prioritise safety on the ground.

The Overland Expedition Planner helps you:

• Break longer trips into legs and segments
• Estimate fuel usage, range, and daily distances
• Track camps, border crossings, ferries, and major resupply points

Access it here:

Expedition Planner

Use it alongside paper maps and official resources — it’s a planning helper, not a navigation or routing guarantee.

The Overland Gear List Builder is an interactive checklist that helps you plan and sanity-check your loadout before a trip. It groups items by system — shelter, recovery, spares, kitchen, comms, and more.

• Start with suggested essentials for typical overland travel
• Add, remove, or rename items to match your rig and style
• Tick items off as you pack, then save or print a copy for the vehicle

Open the tool here:
https://www.overlandgearguide.com/p/overland-gear-list-builder.html

Treat it as a prompt and safety net – it helps you avoid obvious gaps like forgetting a tyre repair kit, compressor, or basic recovery gear.

Our 4WD Tyre Pressure Calculator suggests starting pressures for different terrains based on:

Try it here:
https://www.overlandgearguide.com/p/tyre-pressure-calculator.html

These are starting points, not absolutes. Always adjust based on real-world feel, tyre temperature and manufacturer limits — and never exceed the tyre’s max load/pressure rating.

For deeper learning, see our tyre and traction articles plus titles like Traction Mastery: Airing Down Techniques for Overland Journeys.

The Vehicle Load & Weight Simulator lets you model how passengers, cargo, upgrades and rooftop tents affect your total vehicle weight, front and rear axle loads, and roof loading.

• Enter your GVWR, axle ratings and basic vehicle setup
• Tick common upgrades (bars, winch, rack, RTT) and add custom items with position
• See live estimates of axle utilisation, front/rear balance and roof load vs rating

Try it here:

Vehicle Load & Weight Simulator

The simulator is a visual planning tool — you should still confirm final figures at a certified weighbridge and follow local legal requirements for vehicle weights and modifications.

Our public planning tools and Skills Center courses are currently designed to be used without a login. In future we may offer optional accounts for saving trips or tracking course progress, but these are not required for browsing articles, using calculators, or reading route guides.

Recovery 101 – Safe Overland Recovery Fundamentals is our core recovery course in the Overland Skills Center. It’s designed for overlanders who want to stop “winging it” when things get boggy or sketchy, and start approaching recovery as a calm, systematic process.

By the end of the course you’ll be able to:

• Understand basic forces, loads and weak links in a recovery system
• Use modern recovery gear more safely and deliberately
• Plan recoveries before you pull, with clear roles and abort options

Open Recovery 101:
https://overland-gear-guide.com/recovery-101/

No. Our route guides are independent planning resources. They summarise typical:

• Waypoints, distances, and seasons
• Permits, border considerations, and park rules
• Minimum recovery kit and vehicle requirements

They are not “official” route descriptions, nor do they replace current information from:

• National parks, forestry, or land managers
• Border agencies, embassies, or consulates
• Local authorities, road agencies, or ranger stations

Always confirm the latest conditions and requirements with those official sources before you travel.

Our skills content (e.g. Recovery 101, terrain hubs, off-roading basics) is aimed at practical education and confidence building, but it is not a substitute for hands-on training or professional instruction.

For complex skills like:

• Advanced winching and rigging
• Vehicle repairs and welding
• Medical response and first aid

we strongly recommend professional courses and certifications. Our content is there to help you prepare, ask better questions, and practise safely — not to certify your competency.

No site can cover every track, route, border and regulation worldwide. Our focus is on:

• Major overlanding regions (e.g. UK & Europe, South America, Africa, USA, etc.)
• Iconic routes and representative examples within those regions
• Principles and checklists that apply globally (border crossings, tyre management, recovery basics)

If your dream route isn’t covered yet, use our existing articles as a template for what to research (seasons, permits, fuel spacing, etc.) and confirm the details with local sources.

On Overland Gear Guide you’ll see two main types of products:

• OGG products: These are items sold directly by us (primarily digital ebooks, and occasionally physical items). For these, our own Refund & Returns Policy applies.
• Affiliate products (e.g. Amazon): These are third-party products we recommend and link to. When you click the link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. In these cases, the retailer’s shipping, refund and customer-service policies apply.

For more detail on how affiliate links work, please see our Affiliate Disclosure and Privacy Policy.

For items purchased via an affiliate link (e.g. Amazon):

• Overland Gear Guide does not handle those orders or payments
• You must follow the retailer’s own refund and returns process
• Log into your retailer account (e.g. Amazon) to request returns, replacements, or support

We recommend keeping your order confirmation emails and checking the retailer’s return window and conditions when you buy.

Some links on our site are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. However, we aim to recommend gear based on:

• Real-world suitability for overlanding and 4×4 travel
• Reliability, safety, and overall value
• Fit within a realistic overland loadout (not just gear for gear’s sake)

You pay the same price whether you use our link or not — affiliate income simply helps fund free guides and tools. See our Affiliate Disclosure and Privacy Policy for full details.

For the rare occasions we ship physical products directly (non-affiliate items), please see:

• Shipping Policy
• Refund & Returns Policy

These pages outline fulfilment times, typical delivery estimates by region, and how to handle damaged or incorrect items.

Most of our ebooks — including the Overland Expedition Series, titles such as Overland Navigator, Crossing Borders, Overland Repair & Recovery, Traction Mastery and Overland with Confidence — are sold via Amazon.

You’ll typically find direct links in:

• Sidebars of relevant articles
• Route guides for each region
• Dedicated ebook review and promo pages

For digital products sold directly by Overland Gear Guide, we generally do not offer refunds once the file has been delivered, as it is not possible to “return” a digital download.

For ebooks purchased via Amazon or other retailers, the retailer’s own digital refund policy applies. Please refer to Amazon’s help pages or your account for details.

Full details can be found in our Refund & Returns Policy.

No. Our ebooks and guides are designed to help you understand concepts, ask better questions, and make more informed decisions — but they do not replace:

• Professional driver training, mechanical instruction, or medical courses
• Legal advice or official guidance on visas, customs, or compliance
• Local laws, park regulations, or temporary closures

They should be used in conjunction with official sources and real-world training where appropriate.

You’ll find our key legal and data pages here:

• Affiliate Disclosure
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Terms of Service
• Copyright Policy
• General Disclaimer

These pages explain how we collect and use data, how cookies work on the site, and the terms under which you use our content and tools.

We aim to keep data collection minimal and purposeful. Depending on how you use the site, data may include:

• Basic analytics (e.g., page views, device type) to understand site performance
• Information you choose to submit via contact or feedback forms
• Cookie-based preferences and tracking, as described in our Cookie Policy

We do not sell your personal data. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

All original written content, graphics, and tools on Overland Gear Guide are protected by copyright. You may:

• Link to our articles and tools from your own site or social media
• Quote short excerpts with proper attribution and a link back

You may not:

• Copy entire articles, tools, or images
• Republish our content as your own
• Scrape or bulk-download route data without permission

Full details and how to request permission can be found in our Copyright Policy.

You are solely responsible for your own safety, decisions, and compliance with laws when travelling or overlanding. Overland Gear Guide provides informational and educational content only.

By using our site, you agree that:

• You will assess your own skills, vehicle, health, and risk tolerance
• You will verify all critical information with official and local sources
• You will not hold Overland Gear Guide liable for accidents, losses, legal issues, or changes in conditions

Please review our General Disclaimer and Terms of Service for full details.

Yes. Our full accessibility statement is available here:

Accessibility Statement

In summary, we are working towards alignment with WCAG 2.1 AA and continuously improving:

• Heading structure and semantic HTML
• Alternative text for meaningful images
• Keyboard accessibility for navigation and interactive tools
• Colour contrast and readable typography across devices

If you rely on specific assistive tech, we’d love to hear how we can make the site more usable for you.

Please use our contact page and include:

• The page URL
• What you were trying to do
• What happened instead (error message, missing content, etc.)
• Your device, browser, and (if applicable) assistive technology

Contact page:

Contact

In many cases, key planning content is already available in multiple formats (web articles, ebooks, and sometimes printable checklists). If you need a specific article or checklist in a more accessible format (for example, simplified layout or high-contrast text):

• Contact us with the page URL and what you need
• Explain any assistive technology or formatting requirements

While we may not be able to accommodate every request, we’ll do our best to help or point you to the most suitable version.