I am no stranger to the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA. I first went in 2013 and 2015 as day-trips to check out the show. In 2016 and 2017 I had a small booth there promoting ECOA, the NHT books, and teaching some classes. I wasn’t able to go in 2018 due to work commitments at the time, but I returned in 2019.
When I returned to Butler for the 2019 show I wasn’t alone. Dan “The Real Deal” Grec from “The Road Chose Me” came with his Africa Jeep and brought his friend Eric Walton from JPFreak magazine with his Alaskan Postal CJ8. Together the three us formed the very first “Overland Demo Area” (ODA for short).
We all know what happened in 2020 and 2021, so the idea for the “Overland Demo Area” all but died in its infancy. For 2022 I revisited the idea for the PA Jeeps: All Breeds Jeep Show in Carlisle, PA. I was also no stranger to the PA Jeeps show. Having gone off-and-on for a number of years. In 2016 I was invited to be a guest of JKSmfg in their booth. In 2017 I had set up on my own again with a very narrow booth next to my friends from Torque Masters who made the Aussie Locker I ran in my front axle. I missed 2018 for the same reason I missed BJHF that year, as was the case for the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. In 2022 PA Jeeps gave me a sizable chunk of grass to work with and I coordinated with some vendors and other overland Jeeps for the “rebirth” of the ODA.
Nothing like a few adult beverages and cigars around a campfire.
Similarly my presence at the Toledo Jeep Jeep Festival had grown from being just Dan Grec and I in 2019, to what we had last year in 2025 with Walt from M4Expeditions and John from New Horizons Overland. More on Toledo later. We were talking about Butler, right? Well, here’s the connection. At the Toledo show in 2025 I connected with the new director of the Butler show. There, now we’re back on track.
If you know me and have followed ECOA, the NHT book series, and the EoA podcast you are well aware that nothing — NOTHING — NOT A THING — ever goes according to plan. The ODA at this year’s Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival was no exception.
The Plan Developed a Few Kinks
The plan for this year’s ODA was to have four Jeeps set up in the demo area. My 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Walt’s Jeep Gladiator with a Super Pacific pop-top, Jonathan’s Jeep JK Unlimited with a Safari top, and John’s Jeep Rubicon with an Ursa Minor pop-top. Three of us were also going to bring trailers. My “Poor Man’s Teardrop” built out of an M101 ¾ ton military trailer. Walt’s M416 ¼ ton military trailer with a lid and rooftop tent. Lastly, Jonathan’s Canadian 101 ¼ ton military trailer. The idea was to showcase a variety of Jeeps: a two-door Wrangler, a pair of four-door Wranglers, and a four-door Jeep pickup truck. Combined with the variety of trailers — one you could sleep in, one you could sleep on, and one to haul gear — we hoped to cover a spectrum of solutions for Jeep based overland adventure travel. That was the plan.
The first kink in the plan was John from New Horizons Overland could not make it due to new orders from the Coast Guard necessitating a move around the time of the show in Butler. While understandable, it was a bummer not having him or his Jeep available for the show.
The second kink in the plan was Walt’s Gladiator getting totaled when it got rear-ended and rolled on the highway. Everyone was fine, for the most part, but the Jeep was a loss. Tragic, but the safety of him and his family was more important than the Jeep.
The third kink in the plan was my own Jeep deciding to spring a few leaks after Peter from Aylestock Automotive and I spent the better part of a month building a new 5.3 LS V8 for my 2004 Wrangler Unlimited. It was a tight deadline and we were so close to pulling it off. The Jeep roared to life the Wednesday before the show, which was a good sign, however the radiator was leaking coolant from the front, and oil was leaking out of the rear main seal in the back.
At this point both Walt and I resorted to our backup plans. Walt was going to bring his four-door JKU with his DIY pop-top camper and his trailer. I resigned myself to borrowing my dad’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and spending a few nights in my Gazelle tent. Ironically it was the same Grand Cherokee I took for the 2019 BJHF ODA.
The fourth and final kink in our plan was when Jonathan had to bail on coming to the show at the last minute due to his wife ending up in the hospital the night before the show. While he was willing to drive through the night and make it, assuming his wife was discharged in time, we assured him that family ALWAYS comes first and that Walt and I could handle the show without him.
So… all four Jeeps originally slated to be in the “Overland Demo Area” never made it to the show. Of the three trailers originally slated to be there, only one made it. However, like good overland adventures faced with adversity, we none-the-less persevered. After all, we — the people — and our experience is the valuable part, not what we drive. That goes for you too.
Perseverance in the Face of Adversity
I have written, taught, and spoken on taking life’s challenges head-on and not letting things stop you. In my own life I have faced a wide range of things that derailed my plans and left me a less than enthused in the moment. However, I’ve never been one to quit. I adapted, overcome, and then thrive in spite of those adversities. Broken tooth. Broken Jeep. Broken foot. Bad weather. Bad gas. Food poisoning. Snake bites. Wild Hogs. All frustrating in the moment, but all make for great stories around the campfire.
Some nice classics in the mix.
In the case of the 2026 BJHF ODA, we persevered. The foundation of the demo area this year was a series of posters that I designed based off of my “10 Essentials for Overland Travel” class which evolved from an article series I had written on “Preparing for your first adventure”. With some help from Walt, John, Jonathan, and my girlfriend we took my rough designs and fine-tuned them into something worthwhile. One of the cool features of the posters is that they have a QR code that links to the corresponding episode from the third season of Echoes of Adventure Podcast which was also framed around the same “10 Essentials” outline. It’s almost like I had a plan all along.
With Walt’s JKU Rubicon, with over 430,000 miles on it by the way, and his trailer anchoring one end of the demo area, and my dad’s Grand Cherokee with my Gazelle Tent and Gazelle Gazebo in the middle, we had a bit of a void on the other end where Jonathan’s Jeep, tent, and trailer were supposed to be. Luckily a friend of Walt’s spotted a vendor driving by toward the vendor parking area that had a truck with a rooftop tent and awning on it. I recognized him as someone I camped next to at the Southeast Adventure Vehicle Expo in Starke, FL a few years prior. Downside, it was a <insert gasp here> a Toyota Tundra <visable shock>. Luckily, and thankfully, no one seemed to care — or notice — the off-brand vehicle in the ODA. The tent and awning made enough of a distraction to not make a big deal about it. If someone did poke fun at the Toyota at a Jeep show we just deflected with a bit of humor claiming it identified as a Gladiator for the weekend. In a more serious tone we explained it belonged to a vendor and he would point in the general direction of his booth. We’re hoping to have him set up next to us for next year’s ODA — as well as hoping everyone brings their correct Jeeps this time and that everyone shows up!
Right: Out of uniform
Conclusion
While I didn’t get to see much of the show beyond the borders of our little fiefdom, everything we did see and hear pointed to another fun show for the team putting on the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival. We are looking forward to being a part of the show again next year and have some ideas to expand and flesh out the Overland Demo Area to make it even bigger and better!
There were 12 posters in total including the “10 Essentials” topic, intro poster, and Stewardship poster
Now, will next year go according to plan? Who knows. Having been at this for well over 10 years I can only assume it won’t. But as I say, “the trip you experience is always better than the trip that you plan.” I think we can say the something about shows. It didn’t go according to plan, but it was a great time. Maybe next year we’ll plan for things to not go according to plan and maybe they’ll just work out on their own.
Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay in publishing this article. Upon leaving Butler, PA I discovered I had sustained a Wolf Spider bite to my left arm just below the elbow. It ended up getting infected requiring a week and a half worth of antibiotics and steroids. I’ll spare you all the gross details involving puss, pain, and losing of a layer of skin. However, I will emphasize the need for due diligence when camping, even in an area that is not remotely close to being “wilderness”. While not as bad as a Black Widow or Brown Recluse bite, Wolf Spider bites are no joke. Upon further inspection, once it started to heal, I found three distinct pairs of puncture wounds meaning that tiny little bastard got me real good. Even with all my knowledge and experience in wilderness medicine I still ended up in Urgent Care after trying to treat it on my own. The lesson is, check your sleeping area before bed. Keep yourself clean. Check yourself regularly and if you suspect something bit you, get it checked out sooner rather than later. Do as I say, not as I do. Trust me.
