Unlike The Field of Dreams, Overland Expo SoCal in Costa Mesa wasn’t visited by ghosts but rather 303 exhibitors and over 19,000 attendees hungry for good deals on camping gear and overlanding products over a 2-day show at the OC Fair & Event Center this past March 2025.
Leading into the expo dates, stress was high for the show producers and the exhibitors because sunny California wasn’t so sunny. Over a 10-day period leading into Overland Expo SoCal on March 15 & 16, Los Angeles experienced 6 days of rain. Weather forecasters called for a break in the rain on the show dates before rain would come back on the following day.
Having been cooped up in their houses for so many days, Angelenos were ready for a family outing and what’s better than checking out awesome camping and overlanding gear. From Happy Hours to documentaries, from charity raffle to Overlanding seminars and demos. Overland SoCal delivered 84 classes, seminars, and films: totaling over 96 hours of instruction.
Tread Lightly!, US Forest Service, Overland Expo Foundation created an educational RC track to teach young kids about safety and responsibility on the trail.
What Did the Exhibitors Have to Say?
PEAK Suspensions
We like to attend the Overland Expo shows to grow our branding awareness and form vendor connections for potential collaborations. The Overland Expo SoCal, in it’s initial year, exceeded our expectations. As a matter of fact, we have already signed up for 2026. For the rest of the 2025 season, we will be attending West, PNW and Mountain West.
Nick Psomas, President at Peak Suspension / Photo, Andy Sedano
Storyteller Overland
The show was incredible. First off, the weather couldn’t have been better, but I guess that’s just Southern California for you! But the people that came were amazing too. It was packed from gate open to close both days with folks genuinely interested in our products.
We are going to all five Overland Expos this year and have already committed to our same booth space for OVE SoCal next year. This year, we will also have Storyteller campsites at the four remaining OVEs for even bigger community gatherings as well.
We love the OVE series and appreciate how much work goes into them to make them such a big success.
Summer Trammell, Chief Engagement Officer / Photo, Andy Sedano
OPTIMA Batteries
Our goal for the show was branding and bringing awareness to our latest lithium products and to give a first look at our brand new QH6 lithium automotive battery and prompting show attendees to keep it in mind for their next upgrade as it goes live for sale in June of 2025.
OE SoCal show exceeded our expectations. Being the inaugural run at a new location and seemingly not advertised within the local area, we were unsure what attendance it would draw. The overwhelming crowd on Saturday was a welcomed surprise!
OPTIMA will be back in 2026 with an even larger footprint. For the rest of the year, we will attend OE West and Mtn West.
Paige Wilson, Marketing
SHOWER POUCH
This show EXCEEDED our expectations and helped Shower Pouch increase our branding awareness and grow sales. We plan on attending OE West in Flagstaff, AZ and definitely plan on coming back to OE SoCal in 2026. Haley Tumsuden (left), Mike Houston (center), Omar Jimenez (right)
Mike Houston, Co-Founder
MORRFlate
From the moment the show kicked off, Overland Expo SoCal exceeded our expectations. Our goal was to connect with customers, meet new faces, and immerse ourselves in the overland community—and this event delivered in every way.
The energy was incredible, and attendees were excited to see us there. Many stopped by just to tell us how glad they were that MORRFlate made it to the event. The best part? We left with a completely empty event trailer! That kind of excitement and demand speaks volumes about the event’s success.
The connections we made, the conversations we had, and the enthusiasm we saw made it clear—this show is here to stay. Without a doubt, we’ll be back for 2026. If you’re considering attending, don’t hesitate—this event is worth it. Next up for us: Overland Expo West and PNW in 2025!
Justin “Ah-Z” Khoo, Marketing Director
BILSTEIN Shock Absorbers
We like to engage with show attendees and get high quality questions about our products during the purchase process. We’re finding the Overland Expo series to be the perfect way to launch our new TerraSport line of lifted suspension for CUVs like Subarus and Toyota Rav4s.
This EXPO exceeded our expectations, and we plan on returning in 2026. For 2025, we will attend Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, PNW in Redmond, WA and Mtn West in Loveland, Colorado.
Steve von Seggern, Head of Marketing / Photo- Andy Sedano
IMAGE GALLERY
To see more details about OVERLAND EXPO and the rest of the 2025 schedule, go to overlandexpo.com.
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