The Texas Summers can be brutal in the middle of August (if you didn’t know, COBB Tuning HQ is in Austin Texas). Unless you have a climate-controlled garage or live near a cool body of water, there are not many outdoor activities to do unless you enjoy the heat. Luckily Overland Expo Mountain West took place in Loveland Colorado, just north of Dever. Oh boy was the weather BEAUTIFUL compared to what we’re used to, and it was the change of pace some of us were looking for

Wait, Overland? COBB Tuning?

That’s right, we attended an Overlanding event as Exhibitors (Vendors) as we now have a little bit of overlap with performance tuning rolling into the truck market. With tuning the Ford F-150 Raptor capable of Off-Road and Baja Runs, we dipped our toes into the aftermarket performance truck market. Then with the recent and successful support for the Subaru Outback XT, it only made sense to outfit our development Wilderness Edition with as much overlanding gear as possible in the shortest amount of time time. We then took both vehicles and set a journey for The Ranch Events Complex, +900 miles one-way from Austin Texas to Colorado.

But first, what is Overlanding? What is that?

Overland can mean several different things, depending on who you ask. The quickest and shortest answer is being able to take a vehicle to a remote area and being self-reliant. From there, you can branch off with a light 4×4 vehicle, with a roof-rack mounted tent to camp with your family on the weekend at your local national park. The other end of the spectrum is doing a 3-6month Expedition in Iceland in a 6×6 Mercedes Diesel Truck with a 20ft living quarter containing a kitchen, bathroom, 145 gallons of water, power hook up for solar or external hook-ups, and the list goes on. The common goal here is about memories and the journey that got you there.

Journey of the Expo!

We are fairly new to the off-road market, especially the overland sector. Knowingly, we came out with expectations to meet different crowds of cars and truck owners to understand this community and the needs that we may be able to offer them. Being able to tune and provide parts for the Outback XT for more power and torque, The Accessport certainly helped with our fully loaded Subaru. Having a tuned Outback helped for this higher elevation by providing the power we needed at the right moment. The same goes for our Ford Raptor, more notably with our tunes for the transmission addressing the odd factory shifting behaviors. It certainly helped driving up the rolling hills, keeping the engine in the power band with the smooth shifting of the transmission tune.

We didn’t meet a lot of existing Outback Wilderness or Porsche Safari owners, but we did meet MANY previous owners. We’ve met people who heard of us or seen COBB stickers on Subarus (Colorado has a lot of Subaru owners). We met many owners who’ve owned a Subaru WRX, Focus ST, VW GTi, ECT, and moved on to a new off-road capable vehicle (we’ve met some with Civic Type-Rs!). These owners were QUITE excited to see us, talk to us, see our parts, and ask questions because they’ve never had the chance while they’ve owned a supported vehicle. The biggest question was “COBB, as in THE COBB Tuning? What are you doing here?!” Then many follow-up questions about supporting Jeeps, Toyotas/Lexus, and motorcycles?! It was more than just tuning questions, people wanted parts, accessories, and quality-of-life improvements for their rigs. We took many notes. We hear the requests. We have so much information to process now. We can’t possibly let this community down now.

The Community

Overland Expo felt like being at a Toy’s R Us when you were a young kid. With over +200 Exhibitors, we got to see many of our favorite brands and parts. That’s right, our favorite brands. A few of us at COBB do own some Toyotas and Lexus and it was fun to window shop but also see what many little niches were offered to the avid off-roaders. It was a great chance for COBB to understand what small piece this community is missing and what we can offer in the future. We also received the same sentiment from other Exhibitors and many have been fans for decades.

The Overland crowd was much more community-driven than we realized. We left out ice water for all the dogs to come to say hello and hang out with us. That’s how we accidentally got the attention of many to start up conversations ask what was on their wishlist from the event. Our exhibitor neighbors consisted of Air Lift Company (a familiar name in the aftermarket industry), Pakmule (who is from Texas, only 45 minutes from COBB HQ), and Heritage1857 Coffee (also from Texas!) These were great neighbors as we all helped each other with booth setup and cleaning supplies. Big thanks to Heritage1857 for providing sample coffee in the morning! Even strangers came by to offer us margaritas after hours because their dogs loved our temporary home base.

Home for the next 3 nights

As Exhibitors, it was highly encouraged to camp. We weren’t going to say no to that! The COBB Team that went to this Overland Expo was no stranger to camping (Glamping at best). We wanted to make sure we used our rigs and space to the best of our ability. We had a refrigerator packed in the Outback and the Raptor was used to hold our Starlink and Goal Zero Yeti 700 Back-up Power Generator with solar panels. We had meals planned out all weekend. That’s right, meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all made on our campsite.

Most of us were experienced campers, but the luxury of overland glamping has now spoiled us. You can see us here using the Raptor TailgATE, watching a live NASCAR race on an iPad, using our Starlink for consistent data, with our battery power generator to charge our devices. To accompany our entertainment, we grilled steaks with bourbon flambeed mushrooms and loaded mashed potatoes. Then to wash it all down with a cold beverage, nothing beats that after a long work day of petting dogs and talking shop about cars.

Rocky Mountain Photoshoot

One of the nights after the Expo, we had a chance to escape out to drive up to the Rock Mountain to experience the true beauty of Colorado. We do not have such great scenery as this back in Texas, so we took advantage of the landscape during golden hour. The drive wasn’t short, but it was worth the journey. This wasn’t even the mountain’s peak, as we had to quickly shoot before we lost daylight.

(Enjoy the rest of the photos in the gallery below)

Conclusion

Big thank you to those who came out to talk to us, grab some stickers for their friends, and everyone who showed us the great enthusiasm and community they have to offer. We’re excited to be a part of this side of the automotive industry that’s new to us.

Extra Overland Expo Photos