Some days you go to a car event to talk shop. Some days you go to stand in the sun, sweat through your shirt, and have an absolutely great time with good people and good rigs. Rigs and Red Bull at Overland Vehicle Systems was the second kind. The R1 crew rolled out to OVS’s newly expanded warehouse for a day of overland builds, cold drinks, and the kind of easy conversation that reminds you why this community is worth showing up for. It was hot, it was loud, and it was a blast.
Rigs and Red Bull is exactly what it sounds like. Rigs out, sun out, drinks out, and a whole crowd of overland enthusiasts gathered to hang, shop a good sale, and check out each other’s builds. This one went down at Overland Vehicle Systems’ newly expanded warehouse, which gave everyone plenty of room to spread out and take it all in. Events like this are the heartbeat of the overland scene: no pressure, no gatekeeping, just people who love getting out there swapping stories and comparing setups.
Rex got to sit down with Paul, the boss man behind the whole operation, for a rapid-fire round of overland questions. Rooftop tent or ground tent? Solo trips or convoy? Camp Chef or freeze-dried meals? The answers were honest and funny, from a hard vote for camp cooking to a dream rig that lands somewhere in EarthRoamer territory. That is the fun of these conversations. Everybody has a take, everybody has a dream build, and everybody is happy to argue about it over a cold one in a hot parking lot.
Overland rigs are some of the hardest working vehicles out there. They carry weight, they run big tires, and they tackle long descents fully loaded, which is exactly the environment where brakes earn their keep. Meeting owners at events like Rigs and Red Bull is how we stay close to what these builds actually need. A rig you trust to get you deep into the backcountry needs brakes you trust to get you back out, and those conversations start face to face at gatherings just like this one.
By the end of the day the sun had thoroughly cooked everyone, the sale had moved plenty of gear, and the crew had met a bunch of new faces. That is a win in our book. Huge thanks to Overland Vehicle Systems for hosting in the new warehouse and to everyone who came out to hang. If your overland build is ready for a brake setup that can handle the weight and the miles, check out r1concepts.com, and we will see you at the next one.