5 Tips for Overlanding with Family
18 Dec, 2024
In a world dominated by cell phones and social media, overlanding offers families a much needed opportunity to unplug, spend time in nature, and ultimately strengthen their relationship. In this post, we invite James Baroud ambassador Marco Hernandez (@OVRLNDX YouTube and Instagram) to share his tips to make overlanding with family an unforgettable experience.
Author
Marco Hernandez is before anything else a kind family man. Proud father and grandfather, head of a beautiful family established in Southern California. Born in Mexico, he is a business man who turned his hobby of overlanding into a prominent YouTuber and content creator carrier known for his channel Ovrlndx. Through his channel, he provides valuable insights into off-road travel, overlanding gear, and vehicle modifications, offering both inspiration and guidance to fellow outdoor enthusiasts.
Beyond YouTube, Marco Hernandez’s influence has extended to social media and partnerships with outdoor brands. His infectious personality and genuine passion for outdoor exploration has helped him build a reputation as a trusted source of information and entertainment in the overlanding space. As a result, his channel continues to grow, inspiring more people to take their own journeys into the wild and to embrace the freedom and challenges that come with life on the road.
Tip #1 – Cooking as a Fun Bonding Experience
Overlanding with family gives you a great opportunity to put your hobbies and special skills to practice. In my case, I have a deep passion for cooking, which has become a cornerstone of our adventures. I typically have a menu in mind before embarking on our trip, but our family also makes a point to stay open minded and allow space for experimentation. For example, here are some spontaneous dishes that we have unexpectedly cooked during our adventures:
If you’re interested in exploring this further, I published a book a few years ago called The Overland Cook: food on the trail with overlandx. Feel free to order via Amazon.
You should also be aware of the James Baroud Barbecue, built with 2mm-thick laser-cut stainless steel. This barbecue ensures durability and resistance to rust. It conveniently stores flat in a rugged carrying case, making it easy to transport and store.
Tip #2 – Make it easy to get a good night of sleep
The ability to get quality sleep has always been a top priority for our family. After all, you spend a third of your life sleeping, so you will have a hard time getting your family excited about overlanding if you cannot offer a good night of sleep to them. Moreover, sleep allows us to recharge for the next day and enjoy our experience to the fullest.
But there are several factors that can make sleep challenging when overlanding. First, if you’re camping at low temperature and you do not have the right protection, you can get cold really fast. Second, a bad mattress can keep you awake or give you back pain. Third, sunlight can wake you up really early if you do not have a way to block it. And last but not least, the noise of the night can be anything between relaxing, intriguing and also scary.
This is one of the main reasons we have decided to use a premium rooftop tent like our James Baroud Odyssey for overlanding. There are four features in particular that make this invaluable for us:
Pro Tip – Be Mindful of Condensation
The first time my wife and I went camping to Yosemite National Park, we used a rooftop tent that had a very thin fabric. It was November and the temperature was in the 30s. We had to close all the windows because of the cold, which created a temperature difference between the heat from our body and the outside. This temperature difference combined with the thin fabric used in this rooftop tent resulted in condensation. By the time we woke up, we had ice inside our tent and cold water dripping onto us. Needless to say, we learned the hard way that a rooftop tent must have high quality fabric in order to maintain optimal temperature and prevent condensation.
Tip #3 – Keep Safety a Priority
“If you could only take one tool or accessory to your next family adventure, which one would it be”? I have been asked this question a thousand times. Without a doubt, I say that recovery equipment is the most important thing to have available at all times. If I have a winch and a compressor to inflate/deflate the tires as needed, I have enough to get out of messy situations and return to a convenient location. Dive deeper: Practical winch tips for overlanders.
In addition to this, you should be mindful when camping with family in remote locations. For example, we love Baja California Sur. We believe this is one of the most beautiful places on earth and go there frequently. But we always take a few precautions:
Tip #4 – Build Privacy into your Setup
If you’re anything like me, a shovel and a few rolls of paper are all you need to spend a weekend camping with friends. But as my wife, daughters, and grandkids join me for these adventures, I’ve had to ensure private space is available at all times. As such, I have built the following into my setup:
These features have allowed me to offer a more comfortable experience to our family, which ultimately entices them to come back and join me for more adventures.
Tip #5 – Make It A Family Tradition
I first got exposed to the outdoors when I was 12 or 13 years old. I remember vividly going to Baja California Sur with my brothers to camp and go offroad. It was challenging as we had a very rudimentary setup but it was also a lot of fun and we made amazing memories. That foundation kept me connected to the outdoor world and it eventually led me to pass the same passion on to my wife, daughters, and grandkids.
The overlanding and camping community have supported us through the most difficult times and we are eternally grateful for it. It is on us to continue passing on the tradition of camping and overlanding to our families and beyond!
Join Geo’s Journey to Beat Cancer
Georgina “Geo” Hernandez, a single mom of three beautiful girls, is 37 years old. She loves the outdoors and her Jeep. Her smile fills up the room when she is present. Not even receiving the news about her metastatic breast cancer that is also affecting her spine wiped her beautiful smile from her face. Geo is a fighter and she is ready to fight this disease. But for this battle, any support helps assure her victory. She has finished her first 4 week therapy program with amazing results, she was able to drop her tumor markers considerably, but the road ahead is long and a bit rough. Your donations will be used for Geo’s therapies at the clinic and to pay for the home treatment protocols. GoFundMe
Want us to feature your family adventure?
We are always interested in hearing from our community. If you have any pictures, videos, or stories from your family adventures, please share them with us and we may feature you in an upcoming post!