Classic Overlanding Books - TX:GX Overland

Want to sharpen your overlanding skills or relax reading a historical recounting of overlanding adventures from the past? Overlanding books are a great way to broaden your overlanding horizons, learn new skills and places, and gain enlightenment from those who have ventured before us. Enjoy one of the books on your next overland or camping adventure.

– Page Contains Affiliate Links – Why? (click here to expand)

We lose money every month producing the TX:GX Overland website and YouTube channel. Creating content takes time and money – we have to pay for:

Website and WordPress hosting
Trip videos that cost money for fuel, admissions fees at parks/events, and wear and tear on our vehicle
An enormous amount of our time producing this site and the videos (I won’t even begin to calculate that cost!)

Basically, we lose money every month. We use affiliate links and YouTube monetization to try to reduce this monthly loss but they don’t pay much. We lose about $20 per month just from our website costs (not including trip costs). Purchases made via this website using affiliate links sometimes result in us making a small commission (usually 2-4%) that we use to keep the lights on. But since we lose about $20 per month (not including trip fees) you can see we are definitely not “in it for the money” – we do this out of a love for helping other people enjoy the outdoors and overlanding, to help people get started and find gear to make their trips more successful, and to produce videos that inspire and entertain our viewers. Even though we lose money each month, we are committed to helping the world we live in. Please read “Who Our Affiliate Links Benefit” to see a list of the causes and charitable organizations we donate to. Thank you for your understanding!

– Who Our Affiliate Links Benefit (click here to expand)

TX:GX Overland is about experiencing the outdoors and doing so in a responsible, sustainable way. Without the trees, the forests, the clean babbling brooks and the open trails we enjoy while overlanding we simply couldn’t exist. Therefore, we are committed to helping organizations that support our outdoor adventures. Though we do not make a profit from the TX:GX Overland website or YouTube channel we still make donations to worthwhile causes. We make donations to the following organizations:

OneTreePlanted
Tread Lightly

We have reviewed these organizations and determined they fit our purpose. We do not have the resources to do an exhaustive background check of their prior/current activities, partnerships, board members, etc. so if they are “doing something bad” we’re not aware of it. We hope our donations to these organizations is doing the world some good – if you disagree with these choices we respect your decision, please respect ours.

Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide

The Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide is an inspirational account that covers the important aspects of vehicle dependent expedition, from the adventure of true self-reliance to the technical details of how to outfit and prepare your vehicle for a long journey in remote areas. This book will help you take up this life changing hobby.

Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide is the essential handbook for anyone looking to embark on the ultimate adventure: a vehicle dependent expedition. Rough roads, wild rivers, and steep mountains are no match for the land-reconnaissance vehicle detailed here. This book is your guide through the nitty gritty of planning, packing and launching your own adventure

Fire To Fork

Turn travel-friendly ingredients into memorable meals when you know how to cook over an open fire. Fire to Fork is your guide to cooking exquisite meals with a camp stove, campfire, or grill. From meat and fish, to vegetables and sweets—even hot drinks—this book covers the basics of campfire cooking, plus shares tips and recipes for elevating your campsite meal into something truly special.

Camel Trophy: The Definitive History

Camel Trophy the Definitive History is an in-depth look at overlanding and the Camel Trophy legendary competition. Follow Jock Armstrong and the rest of the field through their preparations for and journeys across this toughest of rallies. Experience each day of the 1984 race to Dakar, as well as other races over the years, in a complete review. This book also gives essential information on what it takes to go overlanding and how to choose your vehicle to ensure you’re ready for anything. Camel Trophy The Definitive History enriches your love of adventure.

From the late seventies to the nineties, some of the world’s greatest drivers (and their co-drivers) took part in a series of epic overland races. The cars used were equipped for all terrain and designed for endurance. The ‘Camel Trophy’ series covered more than 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) through some of the most challenging terrain there is. This book takes you back to the origins of Camel Trophy and shows you what happened during that incredible era of overland racing.

First Overland: London-Singapore by Land Rover Paperback; by Tim Slessor

The first modern day overland trip is created when “six itinerant British subjects” who met in University get a wild idea to drive their Land Rover from London to Singapore. They experience the challenges of route planning before GPS (and many times maps), mechanical and weather, geopolitical fluctuations and how to pay for the entire trip along the way. This detailed and colorful diary captures the entire trip. It beautifully captures travel in a by gone era, in vehicles not meant to be driven that far, and what it was like in countries that don’t even exist anymore. The book also captures the mindset to embark on a trip such as this, and how the team prepared and overcame overland challenges.

American Road: The Story of an Epic Transcontinental Journey at the Dawn of the Motor Age; by Pete Davies

This book details the first complete drive across the United States. Averaging 5 mph and covering 3,250 miles, the team proved a vehicle could indeed drive from Washington, DC to California. But it wasn’t easy! Mechanical failures, a lack of roads, dirt, mud, rocks, sand and more took their toll on the team. One notable participate, Dwight Eisenhower, would later become the President of the United States officially ushering into existence the federal interstate highway system.

The Road Chose Me Volume 1: Two years and 40,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina; by Dan Grec

We’ve all day dreamed about letting it all go and hitting the open road. Dan actual does it though! This book details his planning and adventure from the Northern tip of Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, the Southern-most tip of South America. The trip took two years and covered thousands of miles. Dan’s modest budget and Jeep Wrangler got him through it all – but not without challenges, corruption, danger and adventure along the way.

The Butterfield Overland Mail Ox Bow Route Through Texas: 1858-1861 (Butterfield Overland Mail Route) (Volume 3); by Kirby David Sanders

From Missouri to California, the Butterfield Overland Route was the answer to finding a better route across the country. It was the first long-distance stagecoach route operated in the United States, and it provided an alternative to the difficult mountain crossings by Southern Emigrant Trail and the much longer Mormon Trail. This book documents the history of this route, maps and Texas routes, and historical photographs. You can still drive portions of this route today as a modern day overland route.