It’s no surprise that overlanding is booming—when it comes to outdoor adventure, there’s nothing more accessible. With a few key pieces of gear, you can explore the backcountry and camp in comfort in the most remote places. But that doesn’t mean you should just hop in your vehicle and leave the pavement behind. You can avoid a lot of trial and error by learning from someone who has years of experience.

　　That’s why we enlisted Andrew Muse for some expert advice. The adventure videographer started overlanding more than a decade ago as a way to save money while exploring the wilds of North America. He loved it so much that he never stopped. From Baja to Alaska, Muse and his dog, Kicker, have enjoyed adventures that will last a lifetime. And they’re not slowing down. “Now it’s just a way of life,” says Muse. After thousands of miles, he says the most important thing is having the right vehicle with the right tires, but that’s just the start.

　　We caught up with Muse and Kicker at Overland Expo. The annual gathering, held in four locations from spring to fall, offers a full immersion in overlanding gear and culture. At Overland Expo West, in Arizona in May, Muse checked in with Hankook and all the top makers of vehicles, gadgets, and camping products. “My favorite part of Overland Expo is the community,” says Muse. “Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a hardcore full-timer, the people here are just excited to share knowledge and stories.”

　　Muse is the same. He loves to learn from others and share some of his hard-won tips. Besides tires, which provide that all-important contact between your vehicle and the ground, he says there are four more key categories you should get right. Call them basic needs for comfort and safety: sleeping, eating, maintaining power, and getting clean. Here’s what Muse found at Overland Expo West to get outfitted on all fronts.

　　Sleep System Muse drives a Ford Bronco, which means using a tent or trailer of some type for sleeping. Unless you’re in a larger vehicle with internal quarters, you’ll have to balance setup/takedown convenience with comfort, protection, and stability. “I use a Thule rooftop tent that turns my Bronco into an instant backcountry hotel,” says Muse. At Overland Expo West, he stopped by the Thule booth to see what their engineers have been working on and discovered a new option for rigs like his. The Thule Outset, a hitch-mounted tent, offers many of the same advantages of a rooftop model, but it’s closer to the ground for easier access and is less exposed to wind. Muse hasn’t slept in it yet (it launches in September), but Kicker gave it a quick “hop-in test” at the Expo and gave it a paw’s up.

　　All-Conditions Tires A good overlanding rig starts with high clearance and four-wheel drive, but it definitely doesn’t end there. Tires are the single most important upgrade you can make when prepping to leave the pavement. Superior traction and puncture resistance are critical on dirt, mud, and rocks, and nothing will serve you better than Hankook Dynapro tires. “In the world of overlanding, tires are the foundation of every great adventure. The Dynapro family of tires has the traction and reliability you need to explore with confidence,” says Robert Nasca, product and marketing training manager at Hankook Tire America. The Dynapro family of tires is designed specifically for light trucks and SUVs, with an emphasis on all-terrain performance and durability. The Dynapro off-road models—the AT2 Xtreme, MT2, and XT—are fine-tuned to fit the needs of overlanding, with different attributes to suit your type of driving.

　　“With my current Bronco build, my focus is exploring hard-to-access places,” Muse says. “Having good tires is super important for that. I want a tire that has great off-road traction but also isn’t too loud during long days on the highway. That’s why I’m running the Dynapro AT2 Xtremes. Of course, I’m prepared to deal with a flat—everyone should be—but I would much rather have reliable tires and leave the repair gear packed away. I’ve been in a few situations with low-quality tires, and I will never make that mistake again.”

　　To make the best use of your tires, you’ll want a deflation device and portable air compressor. Lowering tire pressure increases the tire’s footprint, which improves traction on soft surfaces like sand and snow. Be sure to inflate your tires back to the recommended pressure when returning to pavement.

　　Food Storage Whether you’re out for a weekend, a month, or a year, eating well is priority number one. First, it’s just plain satisfying to make and eat delicious meals in the backcountry. But it’s also important to eat fresh, nutritious ingredients that will keep you energized and healthy when you’re out for extended periods. For a long time, Muse made do with a conventional cooler. But on longer trips, coolers have obvious drawbacks—namely replenishing ice and dealing with soggy items. “Kicker and I love to be on the road for months at a time,” Muse says. “That’s a lot of ice—if you can find it.” Fortunately, the technology for portable electric refrigerators has exploded in recent years, and when Muse stopped by the Dometic booth, he was impressed with the brand’s latest fridge, which runs on both AC and DC power, requires less juice than a 60-watt lightbulb, and has 45 cubic feet of space.

　　Solar Power You’ll need power for that fridge and all your other devices. Muse also needs power for cameras, phone, laptop, and more. Solar panels (a 100-to-200-watt range is a good target) are the answer for off-the-grid living, but like any electronics, panels are vulnerable to backcountry mishaps. “You want to be as self-sufficient as possible when overlanding,” says Muse. “And that means caring for your gear and always choosing durable options.” Solar panels don’t get more durable than the ones from Xplor, which can withstand direct blows from a baseball bat. Literally. Muse hit the flexible panel as hard as he could, multiple times, and it didn’t break. The panels are also efficient: just plug them into the cigarette lighter or truck-bed plug while you’re driving and into a power station when you’re not, and you’ll never be without juice.

　　Portable Shower Play hard, get dirty, and clean up. “A shower at the end of a long day can make the difference between a good trip and a great trip,” says Muse. “But on overlanding journeys, water is almost always a precious commodity, so you need to be able to clean off without wasting a drop.” That’s why he was thrilled to discover Geyser Systems, a portable shower that’s so efficient you can get clean with less than one gallon of water. Pair it with a stove and you can even have a hot shower in less than five minutes. It’s also great for cleaning dishes, gear, and pets, and it’s super compact, so it’s compatible with any rig.

　　Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hankook Tire America markets and distributes a complete line of high-performance passenger tires, light truck and SUV tires, and medium truck and bus tires. Hankook Tire America is a subsidiary of Hankook Tire Technology Co., Ltd., headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.