Can You Overland with a Two-Wheel Drive Vehicle?

Two-wheel drive vehicles are super common and usually a lot cheaper than vehicles with four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, plus most people that have four-wheel drive don’t actually use it. If you’re interested in Overlanding and currently have a two-wheel-drive vehicle, don’t worry it’s extremely possible and can get you on the same trails as the four-wheel-drive vehicles with the right gear and modifications, but it’s also very important to know your limitations. In this article, we will go over all of that information to make sure you’re ready to get your vehicle out on the trails safely and fully equipped.

This article contains affiliate links. Learn about our affiliate and privacy policy here.

Overall, a four-wheel (4WD) drive vehicle will be more offroad capable than a two-wheel-drive (2WD) one, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to use one as an Overlanding vehicle. Sometimes, a 2WD vehicle is more in your price range or you don’t feel like going out and buying a brand new vehicle, so don’t be discouraged, it will just take a bit more planning and making sure you are as prepared as possible.

Front-Wheel Drive vs Rear-Wheel Drive

If you have a two-wheel-drive vehicle, they can come in either a front-wheel-drive (FWD) or rear-wheel drive (RWD). Both of these have their advantages and disadvantages when it comes to Overlanding or any type of off-road driving. Depending on your driving capabilities, we will cover what each type of drivetrain does better than the other so you can learn what Overlanding style would be better for your vehicle and skills.

Front-Wheel Drive

Front-wheel drive vehicles tend to have better traction off-road than their two-wheel-drive counterparts due to the weight of the engine above the front axles. Another plus for FWD is that they are generally more fuel-efficient due to everything being tucked upfront and can allow for better aerodynamics. A FWD vehicle with the right clearance and set of tires will go just about anywhere reasonable and some can even compete with 4WD.

Rear-Wheel Drive

Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is considered the most fun of the 2WD vehicles when it comes to offroading due to its ability to slide out the back end (who doesn’t love to drift on dirt roads?) but this is also a big problem with them as keeping traction in them is a lot harder because of the lack of weight over the rear axles. If you do happen to have a RWD vehicle, I would look more towards building it kind of like a pre-runner. This means you will want high clearance in the front and some weight in the back (such as a couple of spare tires). Rear-wheel drive vehicles excel in going fast through all kinds of terrain, so they may not be the best for Overlanding, but with a couple of modifications listed below, they can be a mean trail machine and even have the ability to get you out of some sticky situations.

Know Your Limits

The biggest limitation in 2WD vehicles is the traction. Unlike a 4WD, if you happen to get stuck, like in the mud, you won’t be able to engage all of your wheels to get you out, so you’ll need to get pretty clever or plan your routes around these obstacles you’re not sure you’ll be able to get out of. With improvements in vehicles traction control systems, 2WD vehicles are getting better at doing more off-road style things, but I wouldn’t fully rely on it.

Bring Recovery Gear

When going off-road with a 2WD vehicle, you’ll want to make sure you have recovery gear. Recovery gear is designed to get your vehicle unstuck in bad situations. Although there is some gear that is better than others, we’ve included the necessities so you can plan your trip without too much worrying.

Traction Boards

Traction boards are designed to be placed under your vehicle’s tires in order to give it some more traction if you happen to get stuck. Simply place the board underneath your tires where your tire will easily come in contact with them, and let the magic happen as your vehicle makes its way out of that hole you dug yourself into.

Shovel

Having a shovel handy will make putting your traction boards under your tire a whole lot easier as well as you’ll be able to actually just dig yourself out of any hole if you get stuck and give you more space to get a running start at getting your vehicle out.

Recovery Straps

A recovery strap will give you the ability to be pulled out by someone else if you’re stuck. Although this is used with another person, it’s super helpful to have. Plus, if you see someone else stuck, it will allow you to help them out as well. I recommend going with a high-quality recovery strap to reduce the risk of snapping it. Higher-quality straps usually have a higher load capacity to hold the weight of your vehicle.

Winch

Although this one might seem a bit overkill, a winch makes a huge difference and allows you to get yourself out of situations all by yourself. Make sure when going with a winch, you get one that can actually pull the weight of your vehicle and more.

Most winches either come with a steel cable or a synthetic rope. I love winches with the synthetic rope because they don’t turn into a giant steel whip if they were to snap but also cause less damage to trees if you use one to pull yourself out. Whichever type of winch you choose, you’ll want to make sure that you buy a tree saver to wrap around your cable that’s around a tree so you don’t damage the tree and kill it or cause it to fall onto you and your vehicle. Tree savers are also required by law in many locations, so I would pick one up and use it to help the environment and protect yourself as well.

Also, I very highly recommend adding a snatch block into your winch setup in order to maximize the load capacity of your winch and make it easier to pull out your vehicle.

Air Compressor

An often overlooked piece of recovery equipment is an air compressor. Having an air compressor will allow you to air down your tires for more traction, and then air them back up before you get onto solid ground, like a road, to make sure you don’t damage your tires and risk a blowout.

Upgrades that Make a Huge Difference

Locking Differential (RWD Vehicles)

If you have a RWD Vehicle, one of the best things you can add is a locking rear differential. A rear locker, once engaged, locks your rear wheels into spinning at the same speed and with the same power to increase traction. These will help out especially if you have one tire that’s stuck and can’t gain traction but the other one is completely fine.

Tires

One of the simplest upgrades that you can make to any vehicle is a good set of tires. Having the right tires for the situation means your vehicle can get better traction. If you’re not sure which tires to pick or don’t want to have to change them every time you go on a trip, I would suggest getting a good set of all-terrain tires like the Falken Wildpeak AT/3W or the BF Goodrich KO2. These tires excel in offroad situations and are the most popular for a very good reason.

Lift

If you have a lower vehicle, it may cause some problems since when overlanding, you want as much ground clearance as possible. Adding a lift to your vehicle will help keep it protected while going over rough terrain as well as give your tires more room to match the bumps and holes on the trails to keep them planted to the ground at all times, which will increase your traction. Lift kits vary by lift height, vehicle, and tons of specifications. If you do want to go with a lift kit, I would do some research to find which kit fits your vehicle's needs and parts.