Deep in the heart of Southern California’s Mojave Desert, two aftermarket accessory companies with a keen focus on the burgeoning overland market—TRIGGER and ICON Vehicle Dynamics—teamed up to host the first-ever Overland Experience during the Ultra4 King of the Hammers race. This inaugural, invitation-only event hosted more than 50 preregistered YouTube and other social media influencers in a secluded campsite about 3 miles from the busy nucleus called Hammertown.

According to TRIGGER’s Rory Connell, the company’s primary goal for this initial event was to bring together a well-known group of overland ambassadors and instill in them a sense of belonging and community.

“We wanted not only the opportunity to better educate them about our collective brands and products but also to show them that they have a home in Johnson Valley during King of the Hammers,” Connell said. “Most people just see the rock crawlers and tend to shy away from what many refer to as the ‘Burning Man of off-road racing.’”

The Overland Experience campsite featured more than 20 SHIFTPOD tents provided by Advanced Shelter Systems for use by invitees. With their unique reflective coatings and hexagonal shapes, the SHIFTPODS created quite a buzz; indeed, many passersby stopped to see the otherworldly tents in the desert. Of the encampment, Cody Sisson of the Trailchasers podcast noted that “The design and construction of the SHIFTPODS were truly impressive. From the ease of setup to the high-quality materials, especially the robust zippers, you can tell that a lot of engineering went into these to result in a superior camping experience.”

Team members from cohost ICON Vehicle Dynamics led several trail rides to hot spots out on the race course. “For a company that manufacturers complete suspension systems, we were thrilled to have the chance to showcase our products in the real world to our brand ambassadors and customers,” said ICON’s Jeremy Headlee.

ICON certainly got the attention of Edward Shin, host of the Krokem Outdoors YouTube channel. “I didn’t know what an off-the-shelf suspension system from ICON could do until I got to ride in their truck and see for myself,” Shin said.

Each evening culminated in a campfire hosted by KC HiLiTES, which kicked off its 50th-anniversary marketing campaign at the event and leveraged the large group of attending influencers to generate content for the upcoming year.

The weekend concluded with a raffle highlighted by donations provided by additional manufacturers who have the overland market in their sights. “It’s been nothing short of exciting working with other brands who want a piece of the overland pie,” said TRIGGER’s Connell. “It’s really easy to get stuff done when everyone involved has a common interest.”