- There is truly something unexplainable
that happens throughout the different stages
of preparing and going on an off-road exploration.
And yet so many people out there
have yet to fully experience the excitement and tranquility
of such an adventure
so then the question is, what's stopping you?
There is something that happens to you, to me, to all of us
before, during and after every off-road adventure
that if you haven't experienced yet, you really need to.
It's a feeling of content, blissfulness,
relaxation, excitement,
and an overwhelming sense of peace that comes over us
throughout the travels and explorations of unknown areas
not often visited by the general public.
A spiritual transformation,
some would even go as far as saying.
It's the same euphoria that our team and our friends
from this year's Keweenaw Overland Adventure Retreat
had experienced, as KOAR, for short,
is as unique of an overlanding adventure with friends,
as it gets.
See guys, the thing is,
there are three pertinent foundations
to having a successful and enjoyable
off-road vehicle adventure.
And before anything else, the first one
is you have to have that deep down burning desire
to want to escape the rat race
that so many of us are chained down to.
Yeah, it pays the bills
and affords the ability to escape the concrete jungles,
or prisons of capitalist America.
But if you don't have that driving urge
to want to run away from it all and explore,
like "Huckleberry Finn" in the novel by Mark Twain,
then off-road vehicle travel isn't for you
and that type of person
isn't watching this type of video, either.
But for all of you who are watching,
we know all about this urge, this burning desire
to want to break free from the capitalist chains
and go exploring on another adventure into the unknown
and away from the rest of the stress of daily life.
See the thing is, with the exploration type mentality,
it's that it isn't necessarily an easy hobby
or, for some, a lifestyle.
We often spend a lot of time and energy
preparing to go on these adventures,
from working on our vehicles, doing maintenance items,
outfitting them with gear, to planning the routes,
preparing the meals
and triple checking that we have all the provisions
to have a safe and successful trip.
And that's why getting together at an event like KOAR
offers so much excitement, it's because you already know
that everyone you're going to meet
thinks almost exactly like you do.
Foundation number two.
But first of all, off-road travel doesn't always mean
that you're gonna be off-roading.
Now I know what I said doesn't make any sense
but let me explain.
Off-road translates to not being on paved roads
whereas off-roading is often referred to
in the sense of an activity and, most of the time,
will mean that you're gonna be traversing
some sort of an obstacle, or a variety of obstacles,
out on the trails.
For example, when I ask my buddies
if they want to go off-roading this weekend.
Hey, you guys want to go off-roading this weekend?
It's a unsaid rule they all understand
and are gonna go hit some obstacles
and challenge our rigs to their limits
and, most of the times, beyond those limits.
Thing is, just because you're going off the road
doesn't always mean
you're gonna be hitting huge rock obstacles,
or deep mud holes, or other various extreme challenges
that may require a built-up four wheel drive vehicle
with thousands of dollars invested into it
and that's where I think the term overlanding
is most commonly used for.
And maybe I'm way out in left field here
but when I hear the word overlanding,
I think more about the adventure
and exploration side of things
than I do about the off-roading aspect of vehicle travel.
Don't get me wrong, no, I still want my vehicle
to be capable enough and reliable enough
that it makes it through
some of those more challenging trail obstacles.
Instead of spending most of my money on vehicle upgrades,
I spend most of it on camping and recovery gear.
Sort of like more of a survivalist mentality
over the off-roading vehicle recreationalist mentality
when it comes to overlanding.
So, the second foundation to off-road vehicle travel,
is that just about any reliable vehicle
with a decent amount of ground clearance,
like six or eight inches or so,
and a good set of all-terrain tires,
of which you can find right on our website
at trailbuiltoffroad.
But tires that aren't all worn out
and you can go hit a large number of nationally owned
or state owned off-highway vehicle trails
and experience that awesome adventure
that comes with exploring those often remote destinations,
away from civilization
and the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Our third foundation to a successful adventure is,
we've covered the will, the drive,
the motivation to want to go out and explore.
We've covered having a solid reliable vehicle
to go do it with, so what else is there?
Well, number three is probably even more important
than the others, maybe even combined,
and that is having and keeping a positive attitude.
Throughout the duration of a trip,
or even before you leave to go on your adventure,
regardless if it's your first time going
or you're a seasoned veteran,
there are literally thousands of different things
that can go wrong,
Some, of course, worse than others.
From vehicle breakdowns to getting sick,
to forgetting your favorite camp coffee maker, getting lost,
crappy weather or even treacherous weather conditions,
there's nothing more important
than maintaining a positive attitude.
Your attitude will determine if you get out
of those treacherous weather conditions safely,
it'll also help keep you level headed
when trying to fix your busted up, broken down vehicle,
to get you going on your way faster.
It's truly difficult, if not impossible
to use your comprehension and critical thinking skills
when you get too damn focused on what's going wrong
instead of focusing on how you make it right.
Life is 10% of what happens to you
and 90% of how you react to it.
We adjust, we adapt, we improvise and we overcome,
but that doesn't happen until our attitude lets it happen.
Maintain the abilities to be proactive instead of reactive
and when something goes completely to shit on you,
just take a second step back, take a deep breath, relax
and start thinking of a solution
to the challenge that just presented itself.
Remember that in life there are no such things as problems,
only challenges and solutions to those challenges.
So, when you encounter the many various challenges,
and you will,
and then overcome those challenges
to get to the very spot you've been trying to get to,
then and only then can you really appreciate the adventure,
the peace and all of nature's beauty that comes with it.
And that's what makes it so worth the while
to follow that inner drive,
to escape away from the daily grind to the great outdoors
where we can be one with nature again,
just like what was built into our DNA
since the dawn of mankind.
So, if you just quite haven't made the leap of faith
into the adventures of off-road travel,
do yourself a huge favor,
set aside some time to plan a trip.
Save up a few bucks for gas and food,
it doesn't have to be much
as you can always sleep right in your vehicle,
and just get out there and do it
because once you do, one, you won't regret it
and two, you're gonna be hooked for life.
And remember guys for new wheel and tire packages,
suspension upgrades, and all sorts of accessories
for your Jeep, Toyota, truck, SUV, or off-road rig,
make sure and head on over to our website,
it's trailbuiltoffroad.com.
As always guys, we appreciate all of you for watching
and all of your support.
I'm Josh from Trail Built
and we'll see you guys out on the trails.
(calm encouraging music)