During the past few weeks, we’ve shared with you all of the dusty, crazy, gear-grinding action of the 2025 King of the Hammers in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.
While some revel in the action-packed bustle of Hammertown (think 100,000 off-roaders amped up high-octane fuel and Monster energy drinks), some of us prefer to escape to dust-free starlit nights and the camaraderie of friends around a quite campfire.
The OVR Outpost was just such a haven. Situated a three miles north of Hammertown where sagebrush permeates the nostrils and lonely coyotes howl at the moon, several dozen overlanders circled the wagons for a completely different KOH experience.
We arrived Thursday afternoon to find OVR Outpost hosts KC HiLiTES, PEAK Suspension, and OVR Magazine setting up basecamp. Talking with OVR publisher Mark Han, he said, “The concept behind the OVR Outpost is to provide a place where overland-minded KOH spectators can gather in a quiet setting, share experiences, and get to know some of the manufacturers in our industry. We’ve scheduled skills workshops, evening presentations, social gatherings, and group trips to watch the racing action. We think it is the best of both worlds.”
Later that evening the guys from BuiltRight Industries, Rossmönster, Truckhouse (purveyor of custom vans and campers), Storyteller Overland, Liquid Spring Suspension, Roof Space, and SHIFTPOD rolled in. Christian Weber (SHIFTPOD founder), a larger-than-life character, proceeded to erect a supersized SHIFTPODzilla replete with a few of their soon-to-be-released inflatable Stratolounger chairs and a mobile libation station.
Outpost Happenings
The first workshop was with Justin Andrews from Warn Industries/Factor 55 . Justin, who is passionate about perfection, gave a presentation on best practices for safe recoveries followed by a comprehensive discussion on product design and why cutting corners can lead to devastating consequences in the field.
The next day, Josh Walker of onX Offroad (KOH’s official navigation partner) provided an in-depth review on the app’s features followed by a Q&A session.
On the first night, PEAK Suspensions hosted a pizza party—yes, they had a couple dozen pizzas delivered to the middle of nowhere. On another night the guys from Storyteller Overland, purveyors of custom adventure vans and campers, hosted Stories by the Campfire.
There were also several cooking demos and a hot cuppa joe, provided by the Overland Coffee Company, could be found in the OVR camp each morning. During the weekend, most OVR Outpost participants made their way to Hammertown to wander the massive manufacturer display or go to The Forty for live music and BBQ at the Optima Oasis.
Trackside
KOH has come a long way since its inception in 2007, and nearly every day there is some form of race or qualifying event. Those that arrived early in the week watched King of the UTVs or a one-off race for Class 11 Baja Bug style VWs. The main events of the week were EVERY MAN CHALLENGE and Race of Kings, which prompted groups to head out to the course with BuiltRight (who hosted a scavenger hunt) and witness some of the craziest rock and desert racing in the West.
A cool thing about OVR Outpost’s sponsors and manufacturers is that these guys (and ladies) do more than just sell widgets, they actually get out and play in the dirt. Justin Andrews strapped on a brain bucket and climbed into a race-prepped Jeep JL with Warn’s regional sales manager Sergio Pinillos.
These guys rocked a 4th place in EVERY MAN CHALLENGE (4600 Stock Class) on a track so brutal that less than 25 percent of their competitors made it to the checkered flag.
Late one night, the skies over the OVR Outpost lit up and the whine of a red-lined four-banger resonated across the valley. It was KC’s Marketing Manager Randy Wimenta hot-shoeing it toward camp in his rally cross, all-wheel-drive, `89 Toyota Corolla GT-S.
Affectionately named AWDROLA (think Odd CoROLLA), this bad boy sports Toyota’s classic red, orange, and yellow color scheme and is a tribute to the great Ivan “Iron Man” Stewart.
Speaking of go-fast ambitions, leading up to KOH week OVR Outpost sponsors held a drawing for cool swag and WARN VIP passes, with the grand prize being a ride in an ULTRA4 race car. The big winner was Haley Tumsuden, an avid backcountry explorer and dirt bike rider. Golden ticket in-hand she suited up, strapped into the SoCal X Motorsports 4800 Class car with Josh Sowell and navigated while they pre-ran sections of the racecourse.
The Wrap
On the agenda for the final night was the KC Outdoor Adventure Hour, which we’ll call a Take no Prisoners Party (TNPP). Wondering what a TNPP is? That’s where everyone shows up at the campfire with their leftover bottles, tosses the corks, and shares yarns and libation until corks are a moot point.
Overland Coffee Company donated enough single use coffee packs for everyone for the duration of the show.
There might have been a culinary competition as well. The KC crew whipped out plates of scrumptious Amaesing Noodles , and Bert and Liz Switten (#outpostoverland) served up Skottles of sautéed shrimp. As the fire waned and dead soldiers fell to the rubbish can, a challenge was circulating for next year’s Adventure Hour cook-off.
Calm blanketed the valley as the sun illuminated the horizon the next morning. The aroma of percolating coffee and sizzling bacon drifted through camp as everyone began packing up. In a few days, all traces of the OVR Outpost and Hammertown would vanish, and coyotes would reclaim the valley…at least until next February. If KOH is on your bucket list and you prefer calm over commotion, make your way to the OVR Outpost and join us at our quiet patch of sagebrush.
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