Photography: Craig Perronne

In our minds, we are all rugged individualists. We forge our own path and do our own thing. We don't follow trends or care about the latest craze. Part of the appeal of hitting the trail and owning a 4x4 is that not everyone does it. People can drive around in their Prius or whatever other appliance of an automobile they prefer, but we are different. Or so we like to think.

Truth be told, that is like a hipster saying he doesn't follow trends. In a hipster's mind, his man bun, flowing beard, and uncomfortably tight jeans are an expression of individualism. In reality, he is just following the latest trend and trying to pick up women who are into that kind of thing. To be honest we have never met any women who are into man buns or jeans tighter than they wear. Maybe we need to hang out at the local craft brewery more.

Just like with the hipsters, there are trends in off-road. Thankfully, they have nothing to do with hipster nonsense. However, some are just as ridiculous as taking five minutes to order a beer, or consuming activated charcoal quinoa toast. Others are solid trends we wholeheartedly embrace, or would love to see more of. Regardless, we can guarantee they're all better than growing a man bun. Let's take a look at the latest trends in the wide, wonderful world we call off-road. Some are good, some are bad, and others are downright ugly.

If you ‘re going to build a brodozer, we say build one you can actually use off-road (like Heavy D's BroDozer). It will be way more fun than just sitting around at car shows waxing your truck.

Sketchy Brodozers

We get it. You have a burning desire to look cool, a credit card with an ultra-high limit, and a brand new Super Duty. Break out that credit card, slap on some white sunglasses, put on that tank top, and go to town ordering a lift kit. As we all know, "real" lift kits are measured in feet, not inches.

Actually, while we like to poke fun, we have no problem with brodozers. The big world of off-road is a rich tapestry of uniqueness, and that keeps things interesting. While it might not be our cup of tea, we're all about different strokes for different folks. If you are into that kind of thing, we don't judge. Build what you want. This is America, not the damn USSR.

Where we do draw the line is when things get sketchy. We're talking triple stacked wheel spacers, and steering sourced from the bargain bin at your local hardware store. Some of the sketchier lift kits we've seen look like they were designed on a napkin and not a computer. Sure, some brodozers may never see the dirt, but some are an absolute danger even on the pavement. If you are going to brodoze, please brodoze responsibly.

Overlanding has definitely become trendy. While we don't have the time or money to go to the tip of South America, we are all about getting out of the office, camping and exploring.

The Rise Of Overlanding

Overlanding used to belong to those rare individuals who could afford to take five months off work to travel to the tip of South America and back in a nicely-built vehicle. These people have an abundance of what many of us do not: time and money. In our personal lives we've noticed a direct correlation between the two. If we have lots of spare time then we usually have no money, and if we have lots of money, we usually have no spare time. This is because, like most people who weren't born rich or beautiful, we have to work for a living. Don't take this as a knock on those who've figured out the magic formula enabling them to go on extended overlanding trips. We aren't haters. Our hats go off to them. Hell, we would love to be them!

The reality, though, is many of us just can't be gone for that long. Thankfully, that doesn't really matter. Plenty of people just want to get out of town for the weekend, go camping, and do some exploring with their 4x4s. The group is constantly growing (us included). The good thing is all that sweet overlanding gear that makes camping off-road so much easier is now available to any of us. Call us "poserlanders" or "overlander lites," but we'll happily take it. Any escape from the cube farm is a good one.

Getting Fat

There has been plenty of coverage in the mainstream media on America's obesity epidemic. A whole industry of magazines, diet products, workouts and gyms exist to slim us down. All of it is in hope we won't be embarrassed if we ever get to the beach this summer. Newsflash: we're already one step ahead of them and hard at work on our winter bodies.

However, there is absolutely no mention of the growing vehicle obesity epidemic. Let's face it, the vast majority of new vehicles need some extra protection. Bumpers, skid plates and the like tend to be on the flimsy side straight from the factory. We are all about protecting that new ride, so bolting on some armor makes sense. You can go overboard, though. We are starting to see more Wranglers weighing north of 6,000 lbs. Overlanders, we're also looking at you. Some of you take almost everything imaginable on the trail. Just like in life, excess weight can slowly sneak up on you. And, just like your body can only handle so much weight, so can your vehicle. Help stop the vehicle obesity epidemic and watch that weight.

The Jeep JK was a game changer when it came out. With huge aftermarket support, it can be built to be extremely capable with just bolt-on parts. The new JL should be just as capable with the right modifications.

Bolt On And Go

Love it or hate it, there really is no denying the Jeep JK Unlimited really was a game-changer. Adding four doors provided more room for family, friends and gear, and that extra wheelbase made the JKU more capable, as well. It transformed the Jeep Wrangler from a trail-only vehicle or second vehicle into a daily driver. The response was amazing, and sales of the JKU skyrocketed.

The aftermarket responded in kind, producing almost every part imaginable for the JK. Sure, some of these might be somewhat questionable, and are pure fluff or just for looks. But there are plenty of other suspension systems, armor, axles, bumpers and more that are well engineered, and can radically expand on the capability of the JK. Best of all, the vast majority of them are pretty simple to install. This means you can literally bolt them on one weekend and hit the trail the next. Building a capable JK takes days instead of months or years in a garage. This has opened up off-roading to a whole new group of people who don't have the time or the capability to build a trail rig. This will continue with the new Wrangler JL as it looks to be a solid platform that will enjoy tons of aftermarket support.

Lights Everywhere

Some of you have lost your damn minds when it comes to LED lights. Just because something is cheap doesn't mean you should put it everywhere on your vehicle. Bananas are cheap too, but you don't see us slapping them all over our 4x4s. We've seen people triple stack giant light bars along with another dozen cube lights anywhere they can fit them. Lights from unknown manufacturers might be cheap, but we've tried them and their beam patterns suck, they don't last off-road, and good luck returning them.

The thing is, unless you are driving a Trophy Truck, you really don't need enough lighting to rival a baseball stadium. Modern, high-quality LED lights can put out a lot of light in a small package (the key word here is high-quality). We have seen slower buggies race the Baja 1000 with a 30-inch single row light and a couple of cube lights aimed off to the side. Instead of a ton of crappy lights, we would rather have a couple of well-built lights in the right beam pattern to illuminate our way. Make the madness stop.

UTVs are constantly becoming more capable straight from the factory. The new Polaris RZR XP Turbo S features 32-inch tires, 25 inches of wheel travel, and 168 horsepower right off the showroom floor. They make a great option for those who want a seriously capable vehicle in the desert, on the rocks, or the trail without having to build one.

The Rise Of High-Performance UTVs

A friend recently called us when he had his eye on an old-school Chevy Blazer and wanted our advice on how to build it. He wanted something to take out on the trail that would work decently at speed, as well. It had to be reliable and safe because he wanted to take his wife and kids with him. He'd already thought about swapping in a new drivetrain, engine, and rewiring the whole thing to make it reliable. His plan also included swapping out the front leaf springs for coilovers.

Our advice was to forget about building the Blazer and get a four-seat, high-performance UTV. Building the Blazer could realistically take a couple years. Sorting out any little bugs to make it reliable could take even more time. Instead, he could go down to the dealership, get a brand-new UTV and hit the dirt. It might be a little bit more money than the Blazer, but probably not by much once all was said and done. Modern UTVs are reliable, have a warranty, and can be financed. They are are coming more capable from the factory than ever before. We were blown away with the performance of the Dynamix suspension on the Polaris RZR. It's easy to see why they are becoming more popular.

Giant Wheels And Goofy Tires

By now you might think we sound like that deranged old man who is always yelling at pesky kids to get off his lawn, or going on and on about how good things were back in his day. Honestly, we embrace change and have no problems with trends. But one trend that we can't get behind is giant diameter wheels wrapped with no-name tires with minimal sidewall.

Most of these vehicles admittedly probably never touch dirt, but we would be scared to drive next to them on the highway. Tires from companies we've never heard of with load ratings (if they even have them) for passenger cars have no place on heavy trucks. Even worse, these tires are usually stretched to fit onto a wheel to give a certain look. It is one big blowout waiting to happen. Not to mention that huge-diameter wheels weigh a ton and many don't have proper weight ratings. If you are going this direction, please use tires and wheels from a trusted company with a proven track record. Yes, they are more expensive, but you won't be a danger to yourself and others.

Big wheels are all the rage, but wrapping them with sketchy no-name tires is asking for trouble. Make sure to use wheels and tires from reputable companies. And if you plan to go off-road, you are going to need just a bit more sidewall than this setup.

Wheeling Responsibly

This is definitely something we want to see become one of the biggest trends out there. What we do is under constant attack from groups seeking to shut us out of public lands permanently. The absolute last thing we should be doing is giving them ammunition or cause to do so. With the vast majority of ‘wheeling taking place on public lands, we need to treat those lands with absolute respect.

The best thing? None of this is remotely complicated. In fact, it is extremely simple. Don't go around barriers or into areas that are closed. Don't make your own trail or bypass. Don't litter or leave anything behind. Remove litter if you can. Respect the land and get involved with organizations trying to keep access for all of us before it is too late. Basically just don't be a dumbass when on public lands.