Overland Expo SoCal 2025! The Ultimate Off-Road Gathering in Costa Mesa

A Recount of the Inaugural Overland Expo in Costa Mesa, California

Since 2009, the Overland Expo has served as an important part of the off-roading and overlanding community, as it has become a yearly staple for many attendees of these events across the United States. Until recently, overland and off-road enthusiasts have been able to choose from four regional events across the country: Expo West in Flagstaff, Arizona, PNW in Redmond, Oregon, Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado, and OE East in Arlington, Virginia. 2025, however, is a year of new opportunity, as Overland Expo debuted a new venue in the sunny state of California that offered expo-goers an early-season excuse for a warm(er) weather road-trip to shake off old-man winter.

Properly named Overland Expo SoCal, and hosted at Costa Mesa’s Orange County Fair & Event Center, the inaugural showing exceeded everyone’s expectations. Between March 15th and 16th, over 19,000 adventurers flocked through the gates of the events center to meet up with friends, find inspiration from all kinds of builds and rigs, learn useful skills from Overland Expo’s 100+ specialized classes, and explore some of the newest products in the off-road and overland industry from the 303 different exhibitors on display.

There are several ways you can experience an Overland Expo event. Of course, there are both day and weekend passes (while SoCal was only a two-day event this year, most Overland Expos run from Friday to Sunday) available to anyone interested in attending. But visiting during the day captures only a portion of the potential of these events. For those so inclined, Overland Expos present a unique opportunity for enthusiasts to take in the full experience, from sunrise to sundown (and a bit beyond). That’s right, we are talking about car camping at an event for car campers while surrounded by other people camping in their cars—with access to just about every car camping accessory you could dream of!

The Expo planning staff intentionally selects locations across the country that can comfortably fit hundreds of overlanding attendees and their overnight rigs. For the few days that the events are held, attendees and vendors co-mingle in the form of an ad-hoc small city. You will find everything from food vendors to live music to a film festival, all within a few minutes’ walk around the proverbial expo village.

For certain individuals, however, a slightly more “inside” opportunity for attending exists. Neither “vendor” nor “company”, these participants represent a hand-curated selection of vehicles that comprise a small but cherished part of the Overland Expo. They are the owners and builders who make up the Showcase/DIY and Content Creator sections of the show. Here you will find some of the most creative and inspiring individuals in the overlanding community, as well as some of the craziest vehicles on display.

A Must-See Part of the Show – The Showcase DIY and Content Creators Section

(I would like to note that this section of the show is my personal favorite, as it was as a last-minute alternate fill-in in a DIY Showcase spot that I attended my first event. I’m biased!)

To get the inside scoop on how the whole DIY piece works, I sat down with the mastermind of the Showcase DIY and Creators space, Azure O’Niel. An extremely passionate, knowledgeable, and all-around kind member of the overlanding community, and a valuable part of the Expo Staff, Azure has become an expert at compiling an amazing collection of vehicles, along with the equally amazing individuals and stories behind them for each of these events. When piecing together the roster for this area, Azure explained that “we’re looking for unique, cool-looking, well-built vehicles. When I’m curating the Showcase & DIY Area, I like to make sure that we have examples that speak to every budget and that speak to a variety of goals for overland travel. At the end of the day, the core goal is to encourage and inspire people to get out there”.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can apply for the DIY Showcase for future events, make sure to look for the “Showcase Vehicle/Moto” link under the “Apply” tab for any of the events on the Overland Expo website.

When I asked Azure what she thought made the Showcase DIY and Content Creator sections a special part of an Expo experience, she told me that  several things make them special. “One of my primary programming goals at Overland Expo is to build community and make it feel like there are several events happening within the event”, she says. “These two areas tend to develop their own vibe, and attendees are drawn to them both for similar and different reasons”. She explained to me that both the DIY and Creator areas offer some of the more interesting and unique vehicles and stories at the event, because the vehicles are brought to the show by their owners. Not just showpieces, the rigs in this section are often some of the most heavily used and painstakingly customized vehicles at the show. They are a great place to draw inspiration when contemplating your own build. The Content Creator area may even give an attendee the awesome opportunity to not only meet, but sit and talk with someone they may have been following online for years. As Azure has overseen this area for some time now, she shared, “One of my favorite things about both of these areas is that I’ve seen participants become good friends after camping in these spaces all weekend long. They then wind up actually traveling together, sometimes as far as Prudhoe Bay, Alaska”.

The premise is tried and true, as I can attest. I’ve now had the opportunity to spend the weekend camping in this section at a couple of these events over the past two seasons, including the inaugural SoCal event. Over the course of a few days, I’ve spent my time surrounded by some pretty amazing rigs, and even more incredible people. Hearing and sharing the stories of everyone in this area could fill a magazine, so for the sake of this article, it is my pleasure to introduce you to my two immediate neighbors – Kirby and Amanda!

My Neighbor to the West: Kirby and his Espresso-Fueled Mercedes G500

One vehicle that is always exciting to see “in the wild” out on the trails, but often misunderstood and only used to a small fraction of its potential by a large number of its owners, is the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. These days, odds are you’ll more likely encounter the infamous “G-Wagon” in front of your local coffee shop than at your favorite off-road haunt or secret camping spot. Kirby Gonzales, however, had different plans when building his 2002 Mercedes-Benz G500. If you know anything about the history of “The Geländewagen”, then you know these vehicles were built for severe military off-road duty dating as far back as 1979. It is from these utilitarian roots that, to Mercedes’ credit, all G-classes to this day come triple locked, offering some of the best factory-backed off-road capability on the market today.

When contemplating what vehicle to build out, Kirby quickly fell in love with the G500. It was unique enough to set him apart from other vehicles on the trails, while preserving a touch of luxury for those long hours traveling to and from camp. For Kirby, this car represents the opportunity to escape for a weekend, enjoy the outdoors, and have a good time while doing it. He left no stone unturned when it came to tailoring this vehicle to suit his needs while maximizing the potential of an already highly capable off-road rig. Let’s get into the details:

The transformation and up-fitting of this rig is a pretty incredible feat, optimizing the space offered in the G500 to not only fit a sleeping setup, but arguably a better-equipped kitchen than my first apartment out of college. Making Kirby’s rig truly next level, the aforementioned camp-top roof conversion creates a spacious interior that almost anyone short of an NBA player can fully stand up in. Kirby says making the switch from a conventional rooftop tent to this roof replacement “has been night and day,” reducing the top heaviness of this already tall vehicle, while offering inhabitants a luxurious spaciousness similar to that of van-lifers.

In the true art of bespoke upfitting, one of Kirby’s most unique aspects of his build, at least in the context of a multiple-day event, was his impressive and clearly connoisseur coffee setup. I am not ashamed to admit that I spent a fair bit of time sitting with Kirby in the back of his G Wagon, watching in awe as he prepared me an iced oat milk latte on his custom-made butcher-block countertop. In my world, coffee is an essential part of any adventure, and Kirby believes that you should not have to sacrifice a good cup of espresso just because you’re over a hundred miles away from the nearest coffee shop.

Equipped with every coffee gadget known to man, Kirby’s G-class offers no shortage of options for your morning brew. Using his personal favorite, an Outin Nano portable espresso machine, Kirby loaded a glass with tiny ice balls, pulled a shot of espresso, and topped my drink off with oat milk pulled from his Dometic with all the ease of a barista behind a counter. I was so blown away by the creativity and engineering that Kirby squeezed into this relatively compact vehicle that I almost forgot that we were sitting in the passenger compartment of a car, and not a coffee shop. Points for the unique rig, with bonus points for the impeccably executed iced coffee.

To follow along with Kirby on his future adventures, or if you want to watch a master in mobile espresso at work, be sure to check out his Instagram, @koibee_g.

My Neighbor to the North, Amanda Zito and Her 2022 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Bike

Personally, I prefer traveling safely nestled within my 7000-lb, 4-wheeled SUV, isolated from the elements by steel, aluminum, windows, and a windshield. Amanda Zito, however, is far braver than I. A 33-year-old full-time content creator and adventure seeker, Amanda’s main method of mobility is a 2022 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sport ES DCT. Purchased new, Amanda has taken “Artemis” on over 42,000 miles of pavement, dirt, mud and gravel to just about every corner of the United States, documenting her adventures on social media and her website along the way. Over the years, Amanda has also put together an amazing tool for 2-wheeled adventurers: The Motorcycle Camp Cookbook. In my short time flipping through a copy while sitting with her, I couldn’t help but feel that I needed to up my own cooking game. Her comprehensive guide, written and photographed along her journey over the past 10 years on motorcycles, is a truly great resource for anyone seeking authentic culinary guidance from a real-world mobile chef with tried and tested methods.

Weighing in at 551 pounds stock, the Honda can gain an estimated 120-180 lbs with additional gear, depending on the trip. Though I have absolutely zero background with this particular category of motorcycles, Amanda let me try to stand up the bike, loaded, during the expo. I can confess it was quite terrifying, and definitely more of an art than one might think. Space restrictions aside though, with carefully thought-out custom luggage, she is able to carry everything she needs for off-grid travel, including shelter, water, food, tools, first aid, clothing, power, camera gear, and more.

Artemis, while serving as her current method of transportation while adventuring, is only one of the eight two-wheeled vehicles Amanda owns. For those readers of the motorcycle enthusiast bent, here is the current list of mounts (and their names) proudly residing in Amanda’s stable:

1. 1980 Suzuki GS850gl – Lazarus
2. 2005 Honda Shadow Spirit 750 – Hephaestus
3. 1972 Honda CB175 – Paul Bunyan
4. 2016 Honda CB500x – Briareos Hecatonchires
5. Batavus Moped -Icarus
6. Coleman Pit Bike – Hermes
7. Honda Moto Compacto – Iris
8. 2022 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT – Artemis

Now to state the obvious, Amanda does not sleep on the bike. She has a full ground camping set up that weighs half as much as the Coleman tent that was carried in the trunk of my car in high school. For all her gear specifics, I would recommend checking out her website where she covers every aspect of her equipment, as well as shares tons of useful advice and tips for those looking for adventures of the two-wheel variety.

With the bike parked, a ground tent, sleeping pad, cooking gear, and every other essential mysteriously emerged from her custom bags, quickly creating a perfectly planned out camp. My personal favorite of this whole arrangement? A portable battery that doubles as a nightstand, sitting beside her bed in the tent. It was a perfect example of optimized use of space, and a great reminder that some accessories can serve multi-purpose roles.

 Follow Amanda’s future adventures, including her incredible trip planned for Alaska later this year on Instagram @blindthistle – plus check out her Motorcycle Camp Cookbook at www.asthemagpieflies.com.

Signing Off

After months of winter trudging through the snow in Missoula, Montana, then relocating in early March to the similarly-still-cold town of Boise, Idaho, the idea of a weekend under the California sun was like proverbial music to my ears. Spending that weekend amongst some of the best and brightest in the overlanding space elevated my experience to one of absolute pleasure. Given the enormous success of the first SoCal Overland Expo, an event that ultimately set a new mark for the highest attended launch in Overland Expo history, I can say with confidence that Costa Mesa has not seen the last of the overlanding community. So mark your calendars for 2026 in California. If you’re coming from the northwest, let me know. Maybe we can plan another road trip to the coast next year and make it a tradition.

See you out there!
Dillon Houck

You can follow Dillon on Instagram at @dillon.houck, and on his YouTube channel where he works on all sorts of cool automotive projects at @DillonHouckYT.

Performance & Off-Road Modifications

• King 2.5 adjustable shocks front and rear
• Nomad 501SB Convoy wheels
• Toyo RT Trail LT296/75R16 33-inch tires
• OME 2-inch HD lift springs for added ground clearance and load support
• Schmude walkable carbon fiber hood
• Schmude dual raised air intake for improved water fording and dust protection
• MK Customs custom steel rear bumper with swing-outs
• Jack Wagon Overlanding custom front steel bumper
• Borne Off-Road 10,000-lb winch

Roof & Interior Customization

• Schmude camp-top roof conversion for expanded interior space and increased livability
• Fully DIY custom interior including:
• –      Custom cabinetry for storage
• –      Side pull-out stove and griddle for outdoor cooking
• –      Dometic NRX 60C refrigerator
• –      Redarc Combo RedVision System off-the-grid power solution

Other Essentials

• 10-gallon side water tank and RotopaX fuel containers
• The Bush Company 270 XT Awning MK2
• The Bush Company Outhouse Shower tent

SMALL PACKAGE WITH A BIG PUNCH

To suit her traveling needs, Amanda’s Honda has been fitted with the necessary equipment to take her wherever she desires. Here are the key specs, and some notable accessories of Artemis:

• Fuel capacity: 6.4 gallons
• Water storage: 2 gallons
• SW-Motech engine guards, saddlebag racks, luggage rack
• Custom Wolfman Luggage – tank bag, engine guard bags, saddlebags, two duffels
• Pelican laptop case
• Denali Electronics auxiliary lights (D3 on engine guards and D2 light pods at the bottom of the forks)
• Peak Design Qi2 wireless charging phone mount
• Hippo Hands Rogue hand covers
• MotoJug hydration system
• Custom hat harness (designed by Amanda)