Proud owner of: 2020 Jeep Gladiator (previously had a 2001 Dodge RAM aka “Dodge Mahal”).
Featured upgrades: Philip’s Jeep is decked out with the following...
- 67 Designs Gladiator Rail, Universal for Phones and Series 55 rail
- Warn Zeon 12s Winch & Elite Bumper
- Icon Stage 8 suspension
- 37" Nitto Trail Grapplers on Icon alloys
- Hellwig Rear sway bar
- Steer smarts front track bar, tie rod, and drag link
- Rigid Industries lighting
- Dometic CFX series Fridge
- Maxtrax Extreme's
- James Baroud EVO XL Rooftop Tent
- Pakrax Bed Rack
- Nitro gears 5.13
- Magnaflow Rock Crawler Exhaust
- Install and Fab work done by Nichols Autofab
- Ironman 4x4 shower tent
- Bison Overland camper - composite flatbed box camper
Customer of 67 Designs since: April 2020.
Inspiration for buying the Jeep: Adventure. When Philip was a financial advisor, he was obsessed with where he could go with his 4 Door Jeep on the weekend. The off road capability was incredible and while the RAM was awesome, his current Gladiator has all of the functions of the camper he had with the RAM plus the capabilities of his prior Jeep.
First adventure with vehicle: April 2015. The one that sticks out for Philip is the four days he spent going through the Continental Divide trails in New Mexico. He went with a friend who does trail mapping for Trails Offroad and it was there that realized he should be doing this full time.
Most recent adventure/COVID-19 adventures: September 2020. He went to Utah with 3 other individuals (Shoutout John Burt, Bringles and The Big Blue Rig!) and they were on the road for about a month total. In the entire time they were there, they did not hit one big city. Philip made note of the cattle, Lake Powell and the amazing capability of his new 6,000 lb (light!) truck.
Most memorable adventure: July—October 2019. For a few months, he went with some friends on an adventure from Washington, to Canada, the Arctic Ocean (via the Dempster Highway) and Alaska. They hiked some glaciers, saw some ice caves, photographed the northern lights, witnessed grizzlies and got through some major vehicle breakdowns. Oh, and an Arctic superstorm! The trip was so awesome it actually ruins expectations for upcoming trips because Philip does not think anything could top that expedition.
Upcoming trips: He has taken a good chunk of this year to build the Jeep, but he plans on going to the Pacific Northwest through Oregon and Washington soon. He is also planning on going to the King of the Hammers Event in February and heading to Oklahoma for Camper Install in March. Further, if overland events keep getting pushed back, he is going to relive his Alaska trip during the summer!
Dream trip: Philip’s dream trip is through Central and South America. It has always been on the list. Even though he travels solo a lot, he wants to do this trip with others. When I asked him what specific places he would go to, he explained that it is not really about the places (except the Salt Flats), but more about meeting people and experiencing culture along the way. He already knows of some other overlanders he wants to meet.
Advice for those who are just beginning overlanding: “A lot of people have fears and questions, regardless of those, you will get that answer within a few days, weeks and months of traveling full time. If you do not jump in and do it, you will always contemplate.”
#1 place he has camped: On a river in Alaska that is a short hike away from an ice cave or any of the northern lights camp spots.
Fun fact about: He rewrote Ice Ice Baby for two of his family member’s weddings and sang it as their speech. He loves karaoke rap—be on the lookout for an overlanding rap he wrote, it is dropping soon!
Jeep club memberships: N/A
Notes from the writer: What once was a weekend hobby, has turned into a full fledged lifestyle for Philip. As he takes the internet by storm with his YouTube page, he also checks off his personal map with camp spots, slowly starting to fill the map with pins around the country. If you are ever close by, let him know because he and his pitbull Koda love to do collaboration videos with other people on the road!
Check out his work here: You can take a look at Philip’s Instagram and YouTube below. Also, make sure to check out his site because it is a central zone for everything. He is even building a store to sell overlanding products:
