The More We Explore: Why Overlanding Is a Way of Life

In 2012, Steve, Tess and their dog, Fender, set a goal to go tent camping once a month. By 2013, that once a month was not enough and by 2014 they had camped for 58 nights in a tent and were still craving more.

Before long, dealing with the burden of a house that was not getting much use as a home, they decided to sell and started researching RVs and tiny houses to live out of—allowing them to keep exploring the U.S.

Eventually they settled on a ‘10 Airstream Flying Cloud 30. While Airstreams are considered to be the pinnacle of mobile living, they aren’t designed to be lived in full time. They had to make several key modifications to the Airstream in order to make this possible, like replacing the dinette with a desk, lifting it three inches, upgrading the electrical system with high amperage inverters, solar panels and a bank of lithium batteries. The work still is not done, and Steve and Tess are constantly refining their outfitting with an ever-growing wishlist.To pull their Airstream “Sparky”, they decided to outfit themselves with a 4WD converted van gone over with a fine-tooth comb by U-Joint Offroad. The ‘97 Ford E350 Extended Body “Fred”, sports a 7.3L Power Stroke diesel, six-inch suspension lift, and dozens of other upgrades.

Since their purchase of Airstream Sparky, and their van Fred, Steve and Tess have been living the nomad life—and don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

If you’d like to learn more about The More We Explore and their equipment, go to their website and settle in to watch dozens upon dozens of videos they’ve put together on their lifestyle and equipment.