If you've spent the summer building out a rig, this is where you take it. Overland Expo Mountain West hits The Ranch in Loveland, Colorado on August 21–23, 2026 — 300+ exhibitors, 150+ classes, and a few thousand of the most gear-obsessed people you'll ever share a campground with.

It's about six weeks out, which makes right now the sweet spot: enough time to grab tickets, plan the drive, and finish the last few items on your build list before you roll in. Here's what to expect — and how to make sure your rig is actually ready.

What Overland Expo Mountain West actually is

Overland Expo has been running since 2009 and has grown into the premier overlanding event series in the world. Mountain West is one of five stops on the calendar, and it's a big one. To put last year in perspective: the 2025 Loveland edition drew over 18,000 attendees, 347 exhibitors, and 308+ hours of educational sessions, with people coming from 49 states and 9 countries.

The format is part trade show, part classroom, part campground party:

300+ exhibitors. Everything from armor, tires, and roof tents down to the small gear that makes or breaks a trip. This is where brands launch product and where you'll find show-only discounts.

150+ classes and demos across 300+ session-hours, taught by 100+ instructors from around the world. Off-road driving technique, recovery, navigation, vehicle prep, international expedition planning — real training, not sales pitches.

Ride & Drive experiences (sponsored by RAM), plus the Overland Essentials area, a Storytelling Pavilion, a Backcountry & Culinary Pavilion, the Learning Lab, and roundtable discussions.

The rigs. Honestly, this is the real draw. The campgrounds and exhibitor lots turn into a rolling museum of custom builds — some of which took years. This year also features the 2026 Ultimate Overland Vehicle Build, a kitted-out Nissan Frontier PRO-4X that's touring the whole event season before being auctioned off to benefit the Overland Expo Foundation.

Hours are Friday and Saturday 9–5, Sunday 9–3, at The Ranch Events Complex — less than an hour from Denver International Airport and about 45 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park. Camping on-site is festival-style and, by all accounts, half the fun.

Why this one's worth the drive

If you've never been to an Overland Expo, here's the pitch: it's the rare event where you can take a hands-on recovery class in the morning, spend the afternoon talking to the people who actually build the gear on your truck, and end the night at a happy hour swapping trail stories with someone who just drove in from three states away.

And Loveland's location is a gift. You're at the doorstep of the Rockies — which means the smart move is to build trail time into the trip on either side. Plenty of attendees turn the drive itself into the adventure, which is exactly the point.

Get your rig ready: the pre-Expo checklist

Six weeks is enough time to actually finish things. A few worth handling before you go:

Recovery gear. Straps, shackles, traction boards, a working jack. You'll get talked into buying more at the show — but show up with the basics.

Tires and pressure. Know your on-road and aired-down numbers. Bring a compressor and a gauge.

Camp setup. Test your tent, awning, and sleeping setup before you're doing it in the dark in a Colorado field.

Power and fluids. Battery health, fluids topped, spare fuses. Basic, but it's the stuff that strands people.

Lighting. More on that below — because it's the one people forget until they need it.

The one upgrade you'll wish you made

Here's the thing about an event like this: you're not just parking in a convention lot. You're rolling into a field at dusk, setting up camp in the dark, running gravel roads to a trailhead before sunrise, and — if you're doing it right — pointing the truck at a Colorado two-track on the way home.

Factory headlights are built for lit highways. They're not built for finding your campsite in an unlit field, picking a line on a mountain track at night, or backing a trailer into a spot at 10 p.m. That's the gap a proper LED setup fills: a front bumper light bar for distance, and ditch lights to wash the sides where the ruts, rocks, and turnoffs hide.

It's also, frankly, the upgrade that gets noticed at a show like this. Walk the campground at Overland Expo and look at what the serious builds are running. Auxiliary lighting is on nearly all of them, because everyone who's spent a night out there has learned the same lesson the hard way.

We build bolt-on kits for most of the rigs that'll be in that field:

• Toyota Tacoma LED light kits
• Toyota 4Runner LED light kits
• Toyota Tundra LED light kits
• Ford Bronco LED light kits
• INEOS Grenadier LED light kits

Don't see your rig? Browse the full off-road light bar collection — we cover most trucks and SUVs, with bolt-on fitment and no cutting or drilling. Order in the next few weeks and you'll have it mounted well before you point the truck at Loveland.

FAQ: Overland Expo Mountain West 2026

When and where is Overland Expo Mountain West 2026?
August 21–23, 2026 at The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland, Colorado. Hours are Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

How many exhibitors are at Overland Expo Mountain West?
The 2026 event features 300+ exhibitors covering overland, adventure travel, outdoor, camping, and motorcycle gear. The 2025 edition had 347 exhibitors and drew over 18,000 attendees.

Can you camp at Overland Expo Mountain West?
Yes. On-site festival-style camping is available with vehicle, moto, and premium camping packages, running Thursday morning through Monday morning. Camping is a big part of the experience — happy hours, film festivals, and community gatherings happen in the campgrounds.

What classes are offered at Overland Expo?
More than 150 different classes, slideshows, demos, and activities across 300+ session-hours, taught by 100+ instructors. Topics span off-road driving technique, recovery, navigation, vehicle prep, and expedition planning.

How should I prep my vehicle for Overland Expo?
Cover the basics: recovery gear, correct tire pressures and a compressor, a tested camp setup, healthy battery and topped fluids. Auxiliary LED lighting — a front bumper light bar and ditch lights — is the upgrade most people wish they'd made, since you'll be setting up camp and running trails in the dark.

See you in Loveland

Overland Expo Mountain West is the best excuse all summer to finish the build, load the truck, and point it at the Rockies. Six weeks is plenty of time to get your rig sorted — and to make sure you can actually see where you're going once the sun drops. Rolling to Loveland? Tell us what you're driving on socials — we want to see the builds.