Overland Affair

THE DRIVING SKILLS YOU NEED TO GO OFF-ROADING.

- Max Prince

THE UNITED STATES encompasses 3.8 million square miles. Less than 0.1 percent of that is paved roadway. So, to see America, to really know the place, you need to keep rolling after the street ends.

But don’t be intimidated. With mild modification, most four-wheel-drive vehicles, including pickups, can handle recreational wheeling. Forty-one states offer Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) areas, backcountry trails on public land sequestered for motorized play. These are fine places for your first overland expedition. That doesn’t mean you should just hop in your truck and head out there.

“Whether it’s a day trip or race, leave knowing you’re prepared,” says longtime driver coach Bob Bower. Bower, 71, is a former executive director of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. He’s also won the SCORE Baja 1000, the world’s toughest desert race, seven times. Preparation, he says, is mostly about thinking ahead.