Is eBay Motors Your Next Overland Outfitter?

The term “overlanding” gets thrown around a lot these days despite a glut of definitions, nuances, and debates about what it is (and isn’t). What’s undeniable is products associated with the term are very popular for camping, traveling, and building up a vehicle.

The online marketplace, eBay Motors, recognizes this and recently showed off how much overland stuff can be had on its online bazaar, now in its 25^th year. They did this by showcasing four unique vehicles in the Colorado mountains, all built in an overland style, and all with parts from eBay Motors.

Massive Growth In Overlanding
Jo Figueiredo, eBay’s Director of Commercial Operations U.S., got straight to the point: eBay Motors has 550,000,000 parts globally for people to purchase, and since 2019, the site has seen a 3,500% growth in sales with the term “overlanding” in it.

As “overland everything” grows, so has eBay’s ability to offer overland-specific parts to its visitors. From wheels and rooftop tents to bumpers and full-on vehicles, it can all be found on eBay.

To hit this point home, the eBay Motors crew brought four vehicles, all of which were outfitted exclusively with parts from its site. In fact, two of the vehicles—a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport and a 2009 Lexus GX 470—were actually bought via eBay. The other vehicles consisted of a 2024 Toyota Tacoma SR5 and a 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo EV.

When I was invited to the event, I thought we’d probably see vehicles outfitted with inexpensive no-name parts. But this isn’t Alibaba, TEMU, or Wish—and eBay is trying to make people aware of that. In fact, the vehicles eBay outfitted were equipped with well-known brands ranging from ARB and BFGoodrich, to Yakima and even Porsche. We’d experience each vehicle as someone would on an overlanding trip, going where owners might visit.

The 2009 Lexus GX 470: The Obvious Overlander
The Lexus GX has become a favorite of the overlanding world, so seeing it here was natural. This rig was bought from eBay for just under $17,000 and equipped with a variety of aftermarket parts also from the online marketplace.

Starting with the suspension, the Lexus wore 17x8.5 ICON alloy wheels shod with 285/70R17 BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 tires. They added a Wilwood front brake kit to help stop the 4,7871 lb. GX. Up front was a DV8 MTO Series bumper with a DV8 12,000-lb. capacity winch and 3” LED lights.

A Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform 6 rack adorned the top and carried the brand’s hardshell tent and 270° Batwing awning. A Rough Country 42” Spectrum Series LED light bar was on the rack’s front and controlled by their switch panel. RCI Off Road skid plates were installed to guard against trail hazards, and a Dobinsons snorkel and rear panhard bar were added.

Rounding out the eBay Motors-sourced mods were TRQ headlights, Covercraft seat covers, and WeatherTech floor liners.

Once on the trail, the ICON shocks provided a super comfortable ride and the BFG tires provided plenty of grab in the dirt. The route was a good proving ground for the modifications. And, at the trail’s summit, we opened the rooftop tent and awning to see how it all worked. Hikers walked by and commented how cool they thought the setup was.

This lightly built GX was a great example of what people do with these SUVs. They add comfort, capability, and convenience. Many get minimal add-ons, but enough to go a bit farther than stock.

2024 Toyota Tacoma SR-5: The Overland Darling
The Tacoma has been one of the most popular overland vehicle platforms in North America, and 2024 was the first of the new body style. But even the latest version has a host of accessories available and is likely to be successful.

Our eBay Tacoma was a less-expensive SR5 variant and eBay outfitted it modestly. The truck retained its stock suspension, but eBay added 17x8.5 Fuel Off-Road Cycle wheels wrapped in 285/70R17Perelli Scorpion all-terrains for extra traction.

In the bed was a genuine Toyota bed mat, cargo divider, and a host of Rough Country bits. This included their Twin Motor Air Compressor and mount, aluminum bed rack, and bed MOLLE panel kit. Other RC things included a Pro12000S winch, roof rack with Front Runner Outfitters cargo accessories, a Rough Country 40” LED light bar, 3” LED ditch lights, Sport Style fender flares, a rear recovery shackle kit, and SureFit Floor Mats.

We trekked up the mountain side along shelf roads leading to a wonderful view of the valley. At the top, was a camp site where we snapped a few pics. We continued the trail to witness more epic Colorado wilderness.

While this Yota was only minimally accessorized, it highlighted the idea that you don’t always need to build your rig to the hilt to have epic adventures, no matter where you live or your budget.

1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport: The Classic
As a former Jeep Cherokee (XJ) owner, I can attest to their off-road prowess. These rigs had solid axles and a just-right 101.4” wheelbase—ideal for wheeling. The 4.0-liter inline-six engine is legendary and tanklike.

Usually, XJs are affordable platforms to take you on amazing adventures. eBay, however, stated they paid a whopping $27,424 for this one stating it already had a host of mods. These included Rusty’s Offroad suspension and steering, DirtBound sliders, skid plates, and bumper, the Smittybilt XRC winch, and the 17x8.5 Black Rhino PRIMM beadlock wheels.

To help make the XJ an over-the-top overlander, those wheels were equipped with big 35x12.50x17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers, which were purchased via eBay.

Up top was a Thule WingBar Evo Roof Rack and an ARB Series III Simpson tent and annex. Out back was a Yakima EXO Swing Base ready for a fully accessorized Yakima OpenRange Kitchen box. Inside the box is a full cooking and countertop setup. The system mounts to the EXO Swing Base for an instant basecamp cooking spot.

The eBay Motors team appropriately chose a more challenging trail for the XJ. The narrow, winding track had a steep, rocky climb toward the end requiring drivers to pick a specific line through large rocks. Who says you can’t go wheeling and overlanding?

Once up top, we were rewarded with an epic view of Colorado. I could’ve spent all day up there. And hey, isn’t that the point of a good overland trip?

While the XJ was the most capable, it could’ve used a regear and a brake upgrade. I’m sure eBay has parts for that.

2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo: Future Travel?
A high-performance electric car isn’t what most people associate with overlanding. But with the increasing popularity of EVs, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Granted, this was nearly a $200,000 vehicle!

The Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo was by far the most powerful vehicle here, offering 670 HP and 626 lb-ft of twist put to all four wheels. This isn’t a rock crawler or even a trail runner, but it can run gravel roads. In fact, when in gravel mode, air suspension lifts the car up to provide 6.9” of ground clearance.

To improve its dirt-road willingness, 20x9 front and 20x11 rear Porsche Aero wheels were installed and wrapped in 245/45-20 front and 275/45-20 Nitto Nomad Grapplers. And yes, those came from eBay, not the dealership.

Porsche offers a branded rooftop tent (made by iKamper) to sit atop its own roof rack, too and yes, those came from eBay. Finaly, when taking a $194,480 Porche to the dirt, you put in floor mats; ours were from WeatherTech.

Despite the Porsche’s power and instant EV torque, we resisted the urge to drive it like a rally car, and drove slowly to prevent vehicle damage. Compared to the other 4x4s, this was a low rider. The trail ascended a dirt road, parts of which had been washed out by recent rains. The trail’s end led to a beautiful reservoir with heavy clouds dramatically dipping down from the hills.

Once back on tarmac, we tested the Taycan’s neck-snapping acceleration, albeit, briefly. Yes, it’s super-fast. ’Nuff said.

eBay Motors: An Overland Outfitter?
I had the chance to ask Jo Figueiredo how eBay Motors looks at overlanding.

“You know, I am not an overlanding expert,” she said. But she added, “It’s a community that is driving a lifestyle. People are passionate about it and are embracing [it], and we felt that this was a lovely way of showing the range of inventory of what you can do on eBay.”

I asked why would someone turn to eBay as an overland outfitter?

“It’s a combination of two things: The range of inventory (it’s unrivaled), and the convenience and trust of the service and features that we have built-in the last few years to assure you that you can find the part you need quickly the first time and everything will be right or your money back,” she said.

From rare, hard-to-get parts (like the glow plug control unit I bought for my 1992 Mitsubishi Pajero), to everyday items like wiper blades, eBay has it. Of course, if you need a part immediately, it’s hard to beat your local parts shop. But over 25 years, eBay has expanded and evolved. With the massive overlanding growth over the last five years, eBay will continue to strive for evolution, customer satisfaction, and might even help you outfit your rig for your next overlanding trip.

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