When one gets into the overlanding game, imagination and stories from others can easily convince you that you need, taking bikes as example, an all singing, all dancing enduro or Beemer with the bells and whistles. Having bought it you get to the farthest point on the map and admire you achievement only to have your reverie interrupted by some bloke riding up on a C90 with all his kit in a Tescos jute bag... He may have taken longer, and had a few more hurdles, but the end result is the same.
(No disrespect to enduros, BMs or C90s..)

My point is that I know very little about what conditions are like down on the ground in places like Africa and Siberia; two of our dream destinations.

So I start to imagine situations where a Unimog with a month's supply of food and fuel is the only way to go!!

However my wife, being a substantial subsidiser of any future purchase, prefers something more low key. She quite likes the idea of a 4x4 van like a VW Caravelle, or Toyota Hiace, with a decked out interior.

These may have the space and the 4x4 traction, but have less ground clearance, less punch, and no funky snorkels.

Vague, I know, but I mean things like:
Do I need 20 inches of ground clearance?
Do I need a snorkel?
Do I need a winch, or bull bars?
Etc

What should I not do without in my vehicle of choice in order to keep most routes open to us?

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)