BuiltRight at Overland Expo East 2024!

Overland Expo is centered around education and spreading both love and access for vehicle camping and overland living. Expo East is the organization's event for mobile adventurers across the Atlantic coast, occurring every year on the sizable Oak Ridge Estate Racetrack in Arrington, VA. This incredible gathering seemingly overruns the small town for a long weekend and creates significant draw... last year there were more than 15,000 overlanders in attendance. We're not positive what our numbers were like this year - there were points throughout the weekend when we couldn't keep track of the number of folks in our booth and around the trucks!

At the root of Overland Expo is charity, community, education and inspiration. This organization strives to enrich anyone even remotely interested in overland life. From offering thorough courses with renowned instructors to hosting a huge charity raffle supporting the preservation of public lands and our access to them, the entire event is all about our dedication to the outdoors. The entire itinerary was jam-packed with fun and enrichment, from sun-up 'til past sun-down.

While there were crystal clear skies at night and we couldn't help but crane our necks to ogle the stars of the Milky Way, one night we found ourselves happily kicked back watching Talladega Nights projected onto the side of the AEONrv with our new friends Shelby and Anthony (@shelbssays). This is truly a warm, conscientious and inviting community that welcomes newcomers with open arms! Even if we weren't camping directly behind our booth, we would have felt perfectly comfortable leaving our setup unattended in the evenings. 

One thing this outdoor community prioritizes is high quality food and drink, whether prepared at campsites or sourced from the food trucks parked next to the event tent. There was never a shortage of good drink, grub and evening activities. Every morning our director of sales, Jerid, volunteered to whip up some mean maple bacon breakfast burritos - and they kept us powered through the day along with some energy drinks of course. They were so good in fact that we had random campers and exhibitors walking by our makeshift kitchen curious if they could put in an order... nothing quite hits the spot like an all-in one flattop breakfast while you're camping!

We did notice some fast moving and high-interest products with this crowd specifically, from our Universal Traction Recovery Board Mounts to our Mountech gear and Seat Back MOLLE Kits. The interest in our prototypes installed on both the trucks was overwhelming at times - folks were very excited about the sliding Bedside BAR prototype in the Raptor and consistently inquiring about the Dometic/NATO/Wavian water/fuel jug holder and Cab Wall prototype in the Colorado. From those imminent parts to Matt's propane tank prototype and 3D printed 3rd gen Colorado/Canyon Dash Mount prototype, the trucks were loaded up with pre-production gear in order to share how we develop products.

Unfortunately we couldn't bring everything available on our site of course, and we did learn a lot about the most common (and not-so common) vehicles that folks are trying to outfit. We offered a steep event discount and free shipping to folks who ordered parts to be delivered from our shop in CT - anyone who picked up their gear directly from our booth also received the discount and was showered with BuiltRight swag and freebies! Sharing our vehicles and products with others is always a great time. Spreading the word about how we revolutionize gear storage while you're on the move is a learning experience for everyone involved.

One thing we didn't know about before attending this event was the number of canines that would be showing up... there were pups of all shapes and sizes everywhere. From old Dachshunds barely able to walk to Saint Bernards that couldn't wait to lay down in the shade at our booth, there were fluffy companions wherever we turned. In fact there were so many that we decided to pivot from our planned content and make a 'Dogs of Overland Expo East' video (coming out on our YouTube channel next week). 

The extensive overland builds and single-purpose rigs were an ideal distraction from all the dogs, keeping us both focused and fascinated at how folks will innovate and spend freely in order to be comfortable, capable and prepared off-road. We'll be releasing an all-encompassing Overland Expo East 2024 recap video for you to get a glimpse of the wild builds that were there - check back soon!

Wrapping up the event on Sunday, we took turns walking the track doing some light shopping with our favorite vendors before hopping in an INEOS Grenadier for a quick ride along (also coming to the YouTube channel soon)! We began tearing down the booth at 3pm and had the trailer and both trucks ready to take off back to Connecticut by 5pm. Over the course of the 9 hour drive up North, we shared some of the incredible discussions had and people met throughout the event... we observed questionable driving around every major East coast city obviously and were stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic a few times, but made it back to the shop in New Milford safely without major complications or parkway tickets at 2:30am.

When all was said, done and unpacked, we had an absolute blast camping and exhibiting at Overland Expo East 2024 and know that attending was well worth it from a sales and direct customer engagement standpoint. Being able to meet a bunch of you guys and discuss what is happening across the industry is always beneficial. We can't wait to come back next year!