Friday was the second day of Overland Expo East – the largest Overlanding Event in the world. Overland Expo is a unique event with a scope of classes taught by the world’s leading experts, alongside a professional-level trade show that brings together in one place all the camping and vehicle and motorcycle equipment and services than anyone would need to get outfitted and get going, in their own words.
Getting Started in the AM…
Knowing that it’d rain today, I got an early start to the morning with my first trip to the vendor areas, where I was razzle-dazzled by high-end gear and 4×4 luxury campers that would be equally at home on HGTV or the White Rim Trail in Moab, Utah.
Plenty of drool-worthy rigs and gear at Expo East!
I also had the chance to attend a couple of classes during the day. In the AM I checked out the “How to Weld in the Field” class taught in the “Camel Trophy Skills Area”. Welding is one of those things that I would love to develop as a skill set, so being exposed to the basics was a really cool experience. Several of us in the class got to lay our very first beads, under a tree, with a welding get-up that consisted of car batteries, jumper cables, and vice-grip pliers! Only at Overland Expo…
Learning how to weld in the field and also a little moto prepping
In the afternoon I attended a class focused on recovering rolled vehicles, taught by Lucky 8. In this class the instructors repeatedly rolled their Land Rover Discovery “demo truck” and walked us through safe recovery tactics. It was an awesome experience, but no matter how many times they intentionally rolled the truck, I couldn’t help but cringe at the breaking glass and bending metal sounds…
Rollover recovery training with Lucky 8
By late afternoon the rain finally passed and the sun came out for a great sunset by the lake and main gathering area. We spent the night hanging with old and new friends cooking dinner and enjoying the crisp fall air (a cold front rolled through late afternoon).
Afternoon happy hour and sunset
Saturday is forecast to be sunny, and a bit cooler – promising to be the best day yet of the event.
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