Adventure Overland Virtual Show (AOS 2023)
It’s been a week since our return from the Adventure Overland show and in case you didn’t make it or couldn’t brave the rain, we thought we’d take you with us on a virtual tour of some of our favourite things!
Located in Stratford-upon-Avon, Adventure Overland Show is a massive weekend-long gathering of like-minded folk, a festival for enthusiastic overlanders, adventurers and explorers. It’s a great chance to meet fellow travellers, discuss your gear requirements with experts and improve skills during a number of focussed workshops. The show is always packed with off-road vehicles, from Rangers and Defenders to massive ex-military MAN rigs and even adventure bikes.
Ranger Club UK Stand
We had a good turnout to AOS, with some members camping the whole weekend and others arriving for just individual days. One thing we love about all our events is that each Ranger build is different to the other, this event was no exception; some trucks with RTTs, a couple of lightweight setups with small ground tents and one member with an extensive overlanding setup & caravan.
As with most of our outdoor & camping events, we love coming together and cooking as a group at the end of the day, sharing stories, discussing each others Rangers and planning future events. 6 bags of Green Olive Firewood and a substantial amount of cooked meat later; everyone was ready for bed. The Friday evening was cold and wet which started to prove difficult for the volume of vehicles coming into the showground but luckily from there on, the weather was mainly dry with the sun even making a couple of appearances.
Right next to our stand was Global Traces and co-part Dave, an international award winning professional photographer and filmmaker with his 15 tonne, £150k~ Man (RMMV) HX60 named ‘Bebe’. The former military vehicle has been modified for overlanding use and with the help of MotoCraft now sleeps Dave and his family. Bebe holds around 400 litres of fuel, 2x spare wheels & tyres and has satellite internet from Starlink.
Check out our full gallery from Adventure Overland Show here.
Trade Stands
The Direct 4x4 Escapes Ford Ranger is an expedition ready vehicle kitted out with almost everything you need for a great camping / overlanding getaway or even roof top tent trial. Located in the Peak district and only £180p/n you can hire it from +3 days .
The extensive Direct 4x4 stand had some other great vehicles on it too. The orange Land Rover Defender fitted with an Expedition Foldout 3 Person Roof Top Camping Tent in Granite Grey which was paired with the included zip-on annex and massive 270 Overland Expedition Awning which our members loved. Further to that they had another couple of Land Rover vehicles with hard, clam shell style roof top tents; the RoofTrekk - 4 person tent and the Pathseeker - a cool 2 person electric tent demonstrated by Gary, which is perfect for people less able, who still want to be able to camp.
The Front Runner stand was as you’d expect, filled with awesome gear, overlanding accessories and the FR Discovery with Slimline II roof rack. Now being acquired by Dometic, there was also a host of outdoor and camping accessories such as the Dometic TRT 140 AIR, a fully inflatable roof top tent with included pump which automatically cuts off when the tent reaches the correct PSI.
The stand was headed up by Johnny Nel (B2B Europe Team Lead) and Patrick Cruywagen (Previous Editor of Land Rover Monthly & FR Writer) who explained how pretty much almost all the gear is manufactured in South Africa, just outside of Johannesburg. It was great speaking with the two, as fellow 4x4 enthusiasts and having a passion for off-roading.
Slimline II - Rack & Accessories
Slimsport - Rack & Accessories
Our second time meeting up with Kieran from the Open Road Adventure Company, an outdoor lover and Ford Ranger fan. They specialise in Ford Ranger conversions, offering 3 packages to suit your requirements and budget, and are the official mainland UK dealer for Overland Protection Systems, offering Piak and Fortman accessories. They also manufacture the versatile Pickup Pod, a demountable camping solution for pickup trucks, designed to quickly turn your daily driver or work truck into a weekend ready adventure vehicle.
Speaking with Kieran about his personal and work Ranger (which has the gold tier ORAC package and custom Pickup Pod), he mentioned about a disk brake conversion for 2012-2022 Ford Rangers. Open Road Adventure Co are starting to offer this upgrade service, removing the rear axle and replacing with a strengthened counter part and converted brake components; a much needed modification for those of us overlanding and carrying extra load.
Stationed right next to the Front Runner stand, Andrew and his partner had a great and packed stand - bringing as much as they could fit in their vehicles. AJ 4WD Outfitters are one of the top online marketplaces for off-roading equipment and accessories. From roof racks and camping gear to recovery equipment and storage, there’s not a lot that you couldn’t find!
As an official Front Runner distributor, they had plenty of Front Runner’s smaller accessories and the new Wolf Pack Pro storage tubs which are perfect for food and camping storage. They also had the extremely popular The Camplight products which are perfect for lighting up a tent or gazebo.
Dara and his team at Tuff-Trek were located in the Adventure Bike Zone due to the very muddy conditions! On show were a selection of vehicles, our favourite being the two Ford Rangers. The first (white) Ranger, a Tuff-Trek demonstration vehicle was complete with two roof top tents, the TT-01 over the cab and TT-02 on top of the canopy.
The other Ranger on display was Tom’s, a Tuff-Trek customer with awesome Alu-Cab Khaya Camper and 270 degree self supporting Shadow Awning.
The Khaya Camper is a demountable camper body with double sized bed, integrated water system, 2 gas hob, sink and fridge space. Either side of the truck bed is two large and two medium sized compartments for storage, two of which Tom has used for a diesel heater and hot water tank. The Khaya Camper is also available in a family size which can sleep up to 4 people!
Off Grid Camp is a new company with a great idea. A network of locations for 4x4 overlanders and adventure enthusiasts looking for somewhere wilder to camp. It’s a membership service where you gain access to a host of remote and wild campsites all over the UK.
It’s a simple concept which allows overlanding campers to easily find great destinations to set up camp!
Each registered campsite is given an off-grid rating for it’s remoteness as well as a few other key features. Once logged into your Off-Grid account, you can see further details about the location and information to contact the land owner for booking enquiries.
Green Lane Association were at the show, promoting safe and responsible use of green lanes. They are a national not-for-profit organisation founded in 1995. Since its inception it has been dedicated to promoting inclusive countryside access for all users through education, physical works, and legal action. On the TV display they were demonstrating TrailWise2, their national green lane map and route planning tool.
We partnered up with GLASS at the beginning of 2022 to both support them and offer our members a combined saving when subscribing to both Ranger Club UK and GLASS. If you have a Ranger and are interested in supporting the Green Lane Association as well as unlocking their member benefits such as TW2, make sure to join our Silver or Gold Tiers!
That's All
Unfortunately there's a lot that we missed this show and haven't covered, possibly due to us overindulging in relaxation. Let us know in the comments below what your favourite parts of Adventure Overland Show was, what you hope to see at the next show comment some photos of anything cool you saw!