my name is grant willbanks, and i make youtube videos for whoever wants to watch. thanks for stopping by to hang 🤘🏼

Honestly, I started my channel by accident. Well, sort of. I never sat down one day and said “I want to do YouTube and try to be successful. I randomly filmed myself on a small camping trip and threw together a little video and somehow it caught on. Then I kept making videos and people kept watching.

I don’t really have any secret tips, but I’d just say be yourself and be original. Sounds lame and cliche, but that’s all I did. I learned as I went and made videos I wanted to make. I never looked into YouTube algorithms or tactical ways to grow my channel. I just made the videos I wanted to make when I wanted to make them.

You can check out my video here for more details on how I made my channel and how I edit videos.

My iPhone 14 Pro. That’s it. Always have and always will (shoot on my phone). I want to make it easy and simple to film content. I also use iMovie (a free and fairly limited video editing software).

Even though I have a design background and know to use high end camera equipment and editing software, I keep it super basic and easy because I want to be relatable and show you can do a lot with simple equipment.

Besides my iPhone and iMovie, I also use a Movo WMX-1 2.4GHz Wireless Lavalier Microphone System. This helps reduce wind noise and helps overall speaking audio. But literally, that’s it.

This is tough question to answer. Without sounding rude, no. I won’t give out exact coordinates publicly, especially to strangers. A lot of these campsites I go to in videos are very special and sites I (or my close friends) have found. While I’d love to share them with everyone, I can’t trust that everyone will treat them with respect. Plus, a campsite is only special if it’s kept a secret. Part of the joys of camping and exploring is finding your own spots and trails. It creates exclusivity.

If you want a general idea of some places to go, you can Google the Ozark National Forest and find lots of stuff worth checking out.

I do have a Patreon, which gives you trails and some of my favorite waypoints if subscribed at the mid/top levels. This is reserved for the true enthusiasts. If you’re into the hobby and willing to support, that tells me you’re not a crazy person and won’t trash these sacred campsites and trails. If I left this open to the public, there’s no telling what shape the forest would be in.

Yes.

Usually, every year I attend most of the Overland Expos across the country. Expo MTN West, Expo PNW, Expo East, and Expo West. I also attend Rendezvous in the Ozarks (in Arkansas) and the MOORE Expo every year. I also attend Rigs & Coffee in Downtown Bentonville, AR every month. Besides those usual shows, I may also attend more shows with Backwoods throughout the year.

No, and honestly I don’t want it to be for a few reasons. Firstly, I work full time for Backwoods Adventure Mods as their Marketing Manager. I also do their graphic/web design. I love having this job because I get to stay plugged into the overlanding industry and work with great people and resources. I love working with a team and building awesome products I know people want.

The reason I don’t have plans on being a full time YouTuber is I don’t want to burn myself out. I always want to be in charge of my channel and make videos I want to make exactly how I want to make them. I don’t want to sell out or ever make this feel like a “job.” I don’t want to have to try to think of ways to get views or to make things go viral and become popular or learn how to beat the social media algorithm. Nothing wrong with that, but that kind of stuff takes the joy out of it for me.

I do miss that rig at times, but I am so much happier with my Tacoma. It’s got more space, has better mpg, actually has A/C, locking doors, does great on long distance trips, is quieter, and much much more reliable.

In a perfect world, I’d love to still have my TJ as a trail rig. Who knows, maybe I’ll have one someday.

The TJ is currently living in Colorado with its owner. I feel like it’s in a good place.

I’d encourage you to get out there and SEE what you need. I know so many people that buy absolutely everything for their rig, but don’t know how to use it or why they need it. I’ve built up my vehicles over several years by learning after each trip what I needed to make it better.

The first thing I would consider with your build, and probably the MOST important is, how are you going to be using your vehicle and what type of terrain/environment will you be in mostly? Daily driver? Trail rig? Mix of both? Dry, dusty environment? Wet and muddy environment with lots of rocks? Do you want to do casual/easy trails, or hard trails? How many days do you see yourself camping at a time? These are all things to consider before building an overland vehicle.

The very first mods I would consider no matter what are tires, suspension lift, and sliders. I’ve seen many mostly stock vehicles keep up with built rigs. You’d be surprised how capable modern stock 4x4s are. For suspension, taller isn’t better. I like to try to fit the biggest tires size possible with an average 2-3” suspension lift, while still clearing everything. You’re looking for a low center of gravity. Your tires will give you the ground clearance.

See photos below.