Let the zany adventures begin!

We kicked off another stellar tour season this month at the Tampa RV Super Show.

JAN. 31, 2023 | BY INGRID SCHNADER

The Storyteller Overland team kicked off the 2023 tour season in Tampa, Florida.

The dream team is back together again.

OK, so maybe it hasn’t been that long since we were all together. The 2022 Stay Awesome Tour came to a close in October, and then we all hung out in December for the Storyteller Christmas party. But still, there’s something magical about getting off the plane knowing you’ll be seeing some of your favorite people again.

The 2023 No Gravity Tour kicked off in Florida at the Tampa RV Super Show. This is a unique event for us — for one, it’s much longer, being a seven-day show instead of a two- or three-day expo.

It’s also a chance for us to show off our booth decorating abilities: we reserved an entire garage for Storyteller Overland and Global Expedition Vehicles, which lent enough space for us to go all out with striped carpet, enough plants to feel like you’re in a rainforest, and a set of chairs around a fire pit that was perfect for event goers to hang out or take a load off and rehydrate.

In addition to a super vibey space, I was also excited to finally show off our AWD MODE Vans. I drove the MODE LT (on the Ford Transit) to the event from Birmingham, so I haven’t been behind the wheel of an AWD Sprinter yet. But my coworkers Evan and Tanner drove down in a Classic and a Stealth on the AWD Chassis, and they both said they were instantly impressed with the responsiveness and fuel economy. More on their first impressions coming in a blog post soon!

Not only did we have four AWD MODE vans, we also had a Patagonia truck from Global Expedition Vehicles on display at our booth. This became a bucket list item for eventgoers to tour — everyone had to see what was inside! As I stood at the entrance ready to give tours, I heard a lot of comments like “It looks like it belongs to the military! Is it bulletproof? This is what I would want during the apocalypse.”

I didn’t know much about the specs of Global X Vehicles before I started giving tours, but I quickly became the expert as I answered questions as best as I could. One thing that stood out to me was the truck’s water and fuel capacity. I typically tell people that the Storyteller van has enough water capacity to last you about three days if you conserve — but with the truck’s 135 gallon water capacity, you can easily shower and live off of the tank for two weeks and still be using almost 10 gallons a day! And it has 200 gallons of diesel fuel capacity, which translates to about a 1,800 mile range. These rigs are truly meant to be self-sustained and are ready to travel the world.

I love the tour season not only for the amazing shows but also for the quality time spent with friends after the show. We ate the most amazing seafood, and our new Tour Coordinator, Jordan, tried raw oysters for the first time. We shared many late-night laughs with our friends from Flarespace, Owl Vans, Canyon Adventure Vans and Backwoods Adventure Mods, and a few of us may have even ridden a mechanical bull.

This tour season, though, we want to make the adventures even zanier by focusing on side quests with our MODE community. This could be anything from MODE meetups and convoys to giving back to the community through our SOUL Program.

Have an idea for a side quest? Contact us using this form!

2023 Tour Dates

Want to join in on the adventures? Come find us as we set out once again to explore the far reaches of the cosmos in search of signs of life, stellar vibes, and super munchable burritos!

TAMPA RV SUPER SHOW | Jan 18-22 | Tampa, FL

VAN LIFE: ESCAPAR A LA BAJA | Feb 1-6 | Baja, Mexico

BACK TO BAJA | April 20-23 | Baja, Mexico

VAN LIFE: WEIRD WILD WEST | April 21-23 | Bisbee, AZ

ADVENTURE VAN EXPO | April 29-30 | San Juan Capistrano, CA

ADVENTURE VAN EXPO | May 13-14 | Sonoma, CA

OVERLAND EXPO WEST | May 19-21 | Flagstaff, AZ

ADVENTURE VAN EXPO | June 10-11 | Cable, WI

ADVENTURE VAN EXPO | June 17-18 | Hood River, OR

WIND RIVER RALLY | June 22-25 | Wind River Country, WY

ADVENTURE VAN EXPO | July 8-9 | Evergreen, CO

VAN LIFE: HOLY TOLEDO | July 13-16 | Toledo, OR