Amid our hectic lives, most of us look forward to an exciting adventure. Luckily, both Overlanding and van life cater to this need. Both allow you to explore unchartered territories without thinking about any set timeframe. But is Overlanding the same as van life? What similarities and differences do they have?
We will find that out and more in the following few sections.
What Is The Difference Between Overlanding and Van Life?
Typically, the difference between Overlanding and Van Life lies in one primary area: THE GOAL. If you are an overlander, you are probably traveling out of a desire to embark on an adventurous journey. However, with van life, your lifestyle is fairly static. Your intent may not be an adventure, but you focus on sightseeing travel.
But what are the other differences between these activities? We will find that out and more in the following few sections.
Key Similarities Between Overlanding and Van Life
Contrary to popular notion, Overlanding is not just about traveling. Instead, it is a curious and interesting combination of traveling, camps, off-road adventures, and everything that comes between. It will be an entire journey as opposed to a single trip. And if you ever embark on an Overlanding journey, you will find yourself traveling without any set timeframe in mind.
Vanlife, on the other hand, is an alternate form of lifestyle. This is the kind of life where people don’t root for a specific place and instead create a space of their own in a van or similar vehicle. At this point, you are probably wondering how both these activities are similar in the first place.
Well, here’s how: If a person enjoying the van life decides to renounce their static lifestyle and head out for a world full of adventure, they might easily become an overlander. With Overlanding, you are not just limited to a van. Instead, you get to travel freely with a new purpose. It is beyond mere survival.
In this section, we will discuss some key similarities between both these activities.
No Specific Timeframe
With Overlanding, you may not have a set timeframe for your travel. You explore as much or as little as you want and the allure of the journey keeps you hooked. While van life isn’t about traveling or exploring new destinations, it is still similar in one way. As with Overlanding, it doesn’t come with a specific timeframe. You can live a static life in your van for as long as you prefer. You won’t have deadlines or destinations to worry about.
Involves a Vehicle
This is quite basic. Both Overlanding and van life involve a vehicle. For Overlanding, this can be a bike, a trailer, a truck, or even an RV with all basic amenities. Most of these Overlanding vehicles, come with designated storage units that can be folded out to create your small space. While vans are fairly bigger and more spacious, they too come with this facility. Most vans are equipped with kitchens, laundry zones, and storage units among others. Some even come with designated bathrooms.
In case you are Overlanding or trying the van life for the first time, it is crucial to understand the amenities you would need. One such amenity is bathroom showers. For instance, you can try this Flo and fully pressurized shower from Reliance Products. The Flow Pro Pressurized Portable Shower, 2 Gallon, Black.
Alternatively, if you are looking for something even more powerful, try the NEMO shower that operates on Helio pressure: NEMO Helio Pressure Shower – 11 Liters. Both these showers can be easily installed and accommodated in your Overlanding vehicles and vans. So using them will be a breeze!
Nomadic Lifestyle
The third key similarity between the two is the kind of nomadic lifestyle they both come to offer. Let’s face it, a person with a 9-to-5 job wouldn’t prefer living in a vehicle. You have chosen that because you enjoy staying in nature. Both these activities also involve embracing a nomadic lifestyle which again is another key similarity.
Key Differences
Now that you already know about the similarities between van life and Overlanding, let’s take a closer look at the differences.
Primary Purpose of Overlanding
The key difference between both these activities boils down to their primary purpose. While Overlanding is all about embarking on an adventure, Van life teaches you to survive against all odds. If you enjoy traveling, you wouldn’t care about the destination and instead head out for a beautiful journey. You will be curious, and thrilled, and your soul will be beaming with adventure. At its very essence, you are driven to learn more about nature by staying with and in it. You are curious about people and want to know more about them.
Primary Purpose of Van Life
However, Van Life is not quite the same. In the majority of cases, people embrace this lifestyle because they cannot financially afford a house. With rents soaring, many people struggle to rent houses as well. That is why people choose to try the van life. While van life was originally popular, it has managed to gain significant traction over the last couple of years. Some people choose it as a means to romanticize the raw, unforgiving, and fully unpredictable nomadic life.
Finance as a Factor to Consider
But there is one major factor to consider. When it comes to van life, people do not always try it out of choice. At times, they are compelled to embrace this lifestyle given their financial constraints. And this alone is its biggest difference with Overlanding.
With Overlanding, people seek adventure and a means of recreation and fun. Most people participating in Overlanding tours are financially stable and they can comfortably pay for expenses related to gas, and meals among others. They also have the privilege to get some time out of their busy schedule where they can roam around freely without having to think about work.
Vanlife is fairly inexpensive when compared to Overlanding. However, this entirely depends on the kind of lifestyle you choose. If you pick an inexpensive secondhand van with all basic amenities, you can still enjoy the van life without having to shell out money.
The best part: if you are in the mood for adventure, you can also try Overlanding with the same van. This way, the approach is both flexible and affordable.
Different Events for Overlanders and Off-Roaders VS. Van Life People
Offroading, Overlanding, and van life come with their own set of events. In this section, we will dig slightly deeper.
Off-Roading
Offroading is fun and so are the events. Here’s what you need to know about them.
1227 Mile Peninsula Run
The 1227 Mile Peninsula Run is a fun race where you get to travel across the iconic Baja Peninsula. It is exciting and adventurous in equal amounts.
Sand Sports Event
https://www.offroadxtreme.com/event-coverage/2021-sand-sports-super-show-highlights/
Every year, Sand Sports comes up with a new event to celebrate the many joys of offroading. In 2021, you can try their Xtreme event if you are in California at that time. The event is held in Costa Mesa and it comes with large numbers of enthusiastic audiences.
Northwest Bronco Event
The Northwest Bronco Roundup is yet another event you might want to try. Slated for 2021, this tour involves four days and you typically start from Oregon.
Overlanding
As with offroading, Overlanding comes with tons of interesting events. Here are the highlights of events for overlanders:
Overland Expo West
Overland Expo West is an exciting event with tours, film festivals, and everything in between. The event is in proximity to the spectacular Flagstaff, and as you travel you get an opportunity to visit everything from the Grand Canyon to the Four Corners.
Overland Rally
The BC Overland Rally event is held at a beautiful resort located in Hemlock Valley. It is extremely easy to reach and will barely take you two hours when traveling from Calgary. The tour involves travelers, Overlanding vendors, and a bunch of motivators who will keep you up with their inspirational talks.
Van Life
If you thought van life was boring, you were never more wrong. Events for van life are aplenty and here’s everything you need to know about them.
Vanlife App
The Van Life App is an online community that hosts regular meet-ups to catch up with other van lifers. In addition to real events, they also have virtual events like Digital Mondays for a daily tete-e-tete.
Adventure Van Expos
Adventure Van Expos And More (@adventurevanxpo) • Instagram photos and videos
If you’re looking to participate in a van show, you might want to try the Van Expo. Here, you get some excellent ranges of vans and also get an opportunity to meet with like-minded people.
Bottom Line
Both Overlanding and van life come with their fair share of pros and cons. The kind of lifestyle or activity you choose entirely depends on your specific tastes and goals in life. If you seek adventure and are looking to explore the world without having to think about a timeframe, you might want to try Overlanding. Alternatively, if you just want to settle amid nature, without any specific intent for traveling, van life is your best option.
I prefer overlanding with hiking or mountain biking!
