What I use, and what it’s for.

I wanted one vehicle for both daily life and overlanding. My 2022 Rivian R1T does both. It handles the hardest trails I want to drive, then comes home for school pickup and groceries. The bed, gear tunnel, front trunk, and power outlets carry my camp and recovery gear full time, and the truck still works as an everyday vehicle without changing anything for the weekday. It’s the most versatile vehicle I’ve owned. The bed isn’t airtight, so gear back there gets dusty off-road, and I pack it with that in mind. There’s no getting around that it’s an expensive vehicle. The Gen 1 is a more affordable way in, but it’s missing some features compared to the Gen 2. If you want an enclosed cargo area that keeps dust out, the R1S is worth a look. I love my Gen 1, and Compass Yellow is still my favorite color.

Finding your own routes and campsites takes good maps. You need to know where trails go, how difficult they are, who owns the land, and where dispersed camping is allowed. I use onX Offroad for all of my mapping and planning, online and offline. I plan at home on a big screen, then carry the same plan offline on my iPhone or iPad on the trail. Influencers push it so hard that I was skeptical, but it eventually won me over. It’s a curated, opinionated system that doesn’t allow much customization, but it gives me everything I need, so I think it’s great. It costs money, and you can do the same research yourself with MVUM maps and agency resources. If you want more control, Gaia GPS has far more map layers to choose from.

I like getting off grid, but when I do need to connect, I want the best chance of getting a signal. No single carrier has the best coverage everywhere, and without something like Starlink, that means covering more than one network.

I use US Mobile. It’s an MVNO, which means it doesn’t own its own towers and sells service on the big three carriers’ networks: Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Its multi-network feature lets one phone number work on multiple carriers. The Rivian’s built-in hotspot runs on AT&T, so with my US Mobile Verizon and T-Mobile lines, I have access to all three major networks at any given time. You typically buy your phone separately, so there are no phone subsidies built into the plan. You pay for your phone, you pay for service, and that clean split is part of why it costs less.

It’s not for everyone. If you want a more conventional phone plan, a major carrier might make more sense. Roaming is the other caveat. MVNO lines don’t get the same roaming agreements or priority as the carrier’s own customers, so in some areas a US Mobile line may not connect where a regular Verizon or T-Mobile line would, and it can be slower when the network is busy. International travel takes more planning too.

Radios matter on the trail because cell service drops out, vehicles need to talk to each other, and someone has to spot a driver through tough obstacles. I chose Rocky Talkie Expedition radios because I wanted something that just works. I can hand one to anyone and they won’t accidentally mess something up. They’re high-power GMRS handhelds, which require an FCC license, and Rocky Talkie has a very good guide for getting one. They’re expensive, but they’re a very good product. Inside the cab, range is severely reduced. If you don’t want to get a license, Rocky Talkie’s Mountain Radio is lower power and doesn’t require one.

The iKamper Skycamp DLX Mini is where I sleep on nearly every trip, about 30 to 40 nights a year and more than 100 nights so far. It’s a hard-shell rooftop tent, and it’s warm, comfortable, and holds up well in wind. I got the DLX version for the cork floor, which helps a little with insulation, plus the upgraded mattress and built-in lighting. The newest equivalent is the Skycamp 4.0 Duo, iKamper’s most compact 4.0 model. It adds power and air pass-throughs and larger windows and doors. The cork floor and lighting are now standard, and an upgraded air-and-foam mattress is optional.

The Kammok Crosswing is a freestanding awning, so there are no poles or stakes. I haven’t found another freestanding awning this compact that opens this fast. It opens in about three seconds and packs away in about five. Because it’s that quick, I use it all the time: for shade while I eat lunch at a charger, for shade around camp, when a rain shower comes through, and when I’m parked under trees that drop bugs and debris. I have the 5-foot version, which perfectly fits the R1T cab. There’s a larger 7-foot version that fits an R1S better and provides more coverage. It’s one of my favorite things on the truck. I now leave it on full time, so I always have it with me.

The Geyser shower is the one piece of camp gear I won’t leave behind. Being gross on the road stops being fun quickly, and wipes never leave me feeling fully clean. The Geyser gives me a warm, complete shower with less than a gallon of water, so I can shower when dispersed camping. It’s a sponge shower with a small pump, and I heat the water with my electric kettle. I’ve used it for more than five years. The first version combined the pump and water container in one unit. It worked, but it was bulky and needed a few tweaks. I now use the ultralight version with a separate water container, and it’s been trouble-free.

At camp I need water for cooking, washing hands, and making coffee. I use the Dometic GO powered faucet with the Dometic GO water jug. The jug is well made and easy to handle, and the faucet is designed to work with it. The faucet is USB-C rechargeable, lasts a long time on a charge, has a built-in light, and uses tap controls. For longer trips I add a 7-gallon Aqua-Tainer instead of carrying a bigger jug every day.

I cook almost every camp meal in an Audecook electric hot pot, also known as the Emily Pan Pan. A member of the Storyteller Overland community named Emily Pan discovered it and turned a lot of people on to it as an easier alternative to induction cooktops. It’s a quick, easy way to cook, and wind doesn’t affect it because there’s no flame. I don’t need an induction cooktop or separate pots and pans. Everything happens in the one pot. The wattage is low enough for the Rivian’s outlet, and I bring it on every camping trip. It’s small, which is perfect for me but not enough to cook for a group, and the nonstick surface means being careful with utensils. I have the original 1.0. There’s a newer official 2.0 with more compact handles.

I heat water at camp with an electric kettle instead of a propane stove. It’s quicker, there’s no flame, and it runs off the truck. I use it for coffee in the morning, peppermint tea at night, ramen, oatmeal, freeze-dried meals, dishes, washing up, and hot showers. Most kitchen kettles draw about as much power as the truck’s outlet can supply, so I went with this 20-ounce travel kettle, which only draws 800 watts. The handle folds, so it packs small. It’s inexpensive, it’s worked fine, and it comes out nearly every morning and evening at camp.

The R1T’s full-size spare sits under the bed floor. That’s convenient until the bed is full of gear. Then changing a tire means opening the tonneau cover and unloading half the truck bed to get to it. The RIGd UltraSwing moves the spare onto a swing arm on the hitch, where I can easily reach it on a trail or the side of the road. The R1’s hitch sits deep under the bumper, so any carrier needs a long extension to clear it. I chose the RIGd because it still has a recovery point and retains some limited towing ability.

It also solved a second problem: work space at the back of the truck. The UltraTable mounts to the swing arm and gives me a flat surface next to the tailgate. With the truck level, I have two surfaces for cooking and don’t need to set up a separate table.

The trade-off is bed access. I have to swing the arm open every time I want into the bed, and it blocks the backup camera unless you relocate the camera. For me, having the spare within reach is worth it. It makes even more sense on an R1S, which has no factory spot for a full-size spare.

On tougher trails, eventually you’re going to set the truck down on a rock. To protect the truck’s lower body, I run Megawatt Performance rock sliders. Mine have taken repeated hits with no damage beyond scraped powder coat.

They have two extra benefits: the built-in step makes it easier to hop in, and they’re strong enough to use as a jack point, so I don’t need the special jacking pucks.

The trade-offs are clearance and cost. They take away about an inch of ground clearance, and they were expensive and difficult to install. For me, protecting the truck is worth it. If clearance matters more to you than a step, you might be interested in a lower-profile design.

They’re also hard to get right now. Megawatt has stopped producing them and is looking for a buyer for the design, so whether they come back depends on who picks it up. Keep your eyes and ears open for a used set.

In spring especially, it’s common to find downed trees across a trail. For clearing small ones, where it’s allowed, I carry a Silky GomBoy Curve folding saw. It’s extremely sharp and cuts wood up to about four inches in diameter far more easily than its size suggests. It folds down small, so it stays in the truck all the time, and it keeps my kit simpler than carrying a chainsaw with fuel and oil.

It’s not meant for large trees. For bigger work, a chainsaw is the right tool, as long as land-manager rules allow it.

I need a solid place on the dash to mount my phone and other gear where I can see it. The Offroam R1 Mounting Base is machined aluminum with a standard 20mm mounting point. I tried three other bases first, and the 3D-printed ones weren’t solid enough. This one doesn’t move, sag, or warp in the heat. Because it uses the standard 20mm interface, it works with a wide range of arms and accessories, so it can hold a phone, a radio, or whatever else you need. I use carbon-fiber Bulletpoint arms with mine. I liked it enough to buy a second one for the other side of the center screen.

The only trade-off is placement. Depending on how you set it up, an arm or phone can block part of the center screen.

When I’m navigating on the trail, my phone sits on the dash charging, and in summer heat it can overheat and shut down to cool off, right when I need the map.

I went through six phone chargers, which is a lot of phone chargers, before eventually settling on the Tackform MagSafe charger. The others either charged too slowly or let the phone overheat. The Tackform charges fast and has a built-in fan that keeps the phone cool. It also attaches to a standard 20mm mount, so it works with the same dash mounts as my other gear. It’s the only charger I’ve found that does all three.

The fan on mine has started to rattle now and then, which is slightly annoying, but not enough to make me change anything.

I try to limit how much sun I get in the truck. The R1T’s large glass roof already blocks UV, but the side windows don’t, so I had them all tinted with UV-blocking film. I added the VION roof sunshade to cut the direct sun and heat coming through the glass overhead. It’s two magnetic pieces that connect securely. It installs easily, doesn’t sag, and doesn’t rattle. It keeps the cabin noticeably cooler, and I noticed the difference most on trips through Phoenix. It blocks the roof view, but my roof rack already limits it, so I give up little. It stays in full time.