Subaru Shows Up at XOverland’s The Big Thing

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Images courtesy of David Wong, SteadyOutside, and Carey Lando

By Carey Lando, Founder of MtnSubi Consulting & Adventures

The Montana sun was relentless. By midday, everyone was looking for whatever patch of shade they could find. Dust clung to vehicles and camp chairs, conversations moved beneath awnings, and the Subaru camp gradually became a home base for a group of owners who had arrived from different places and with very different levels of experience.

This year, XOverland’s The Big Thing brought together overlanders, explorers, educators, and outdoor brands from across the country for several days of learning, trail time, and community at the XOverland Ranch in Montana.

For the first time, the event also included a dedicated Subaru presence, supported by Subaru of America and hosted by MtnSubi Consulting & Adventures.

MtnSubi was founded by two-time Rebelle Rally champion Carey Lando and, partnered with Milton Salguero (aka SilverbulletXV on social media), is built around helping AWD drivers better understand their vehicles, build confidence, and explore responsibly. We work with automotive brands, dealerships, event organizers, and individual owners to create educational experiences that are practical, welcoming, and useful in the real world.

Fifteen members of the Subaru community joined us for the weekend, including drivers from the North Washington and North Rockies SubieCrew chapters. Some arrived with years of off-road experience. For others, this was their first Subaru event or one of their first opportunities to find out what their vehicle could really do beyond the pavement.

That mix is one of the things we love most.

You don’t need a heavily modified vehicle or years of experience to belong in this space. You just need some curiosity, a willingness to learn, and a good attitude.

Finding a Place in the Community

Our Subaru group camp became home base for the weekend. Vehicles circled the camp area, people wandered between tents and awnings, and introductions quickly turned into conversations about builds, favorite places, lessons learned, and future trips.

Attendees later described the camp as welcoming, friendly, relaxed, inclusive, and fun. Everyone who responded to our post-event survey said they felt included and comfortable with the group.

There was enough structure to bring people together, but also enough breathing room for everyone to experience the larger event in their own way. On Friday night, the group gathered for tacos, shared stories, and settled into the kind of easy conversation that happens when people realize they have more in common than the vehicles parked around them.

For some, the most meaningful part of the weekend wasn’t a particular obstacle or trail. It was simply meeting people.

Kathleen Gardner remembered discovering that the person camped next to her was new to off-roading, but had attended one of her DIY demonstrations at Overland Expo PNW the previous year. That presentation had helped inspire his camping build and his interest in taking his Subaru off pavement.

Those connections are a reminder that we rarely know how far one conversation, demonstration, or welcoming interaction might travel.

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Images courtesy of David Wong, SteadyOutside, and Carey Lando

From Intimidation to Confidence

We also worked with the XOverland team to give the Subaru group time on the ranch’s Back 400 trails and technical off-road course.

From the driver’s seat, some of the hills looked far steeper than they had from outside the vehicle. Off-camber sections shifted the view through the windshield and made drivers much more aware of every tire placement. For someone experiencing those angles for the first time, even a capable vehicle can suddenly feel unfamiliar.

The goal wasn’t to push anyone to prove something. It was to slow the experience down, help each driver understand what the vehicle was doing, and give them the support to work through it.

Drivers learned how to identify a line, use the different X-Modes, understand traction and weight transfer, and trust a spotter when the terrain felt intimidating.

“A better understanding of the types of roads and terrain that my mostly stock Forester can handle,” is how David Wong described what he took away from the experience. “Some of the hills that we took on looked intimidating, but easy to handle with a spotter. Lots of confidence gained.”

For Carlleen, one of the most memorable moments came after her vehicle rolled backward slightly on a hill. It was scary in the moment, but with calm guidance from her spotter Milton, she regrouped and made it up.

She left the experience having learned how to drive her car better, find the right line, and trust the person guiding her through an obstacle.

That change, from uncertainty to understanding, is at the heart of what MtnSubi does.

Seeing the Event in a New Light

As the heat finally began to ease, the ranch changed.

One of the weekend’s standout moments came during the nighttime driving course. A long line of vehicles moved through the darkness, their lights cutting across the terrain before roughly 40 vehicles gathered on a hill overlooking the ranch.

Greg described that view as the moment he would remember: rows of vehicles parked together above the glowing event grounds below.

By then, the Subaru attendees were no longer simply a collection of owners who had arrived at the same event. They had driven together, eaten together, coached and encouraged one another, and become their own small community within the larger one.

The experience also showed why a dedicated Subaru presence mattered.

A lot of Subaru owners are interested in camping, overlanding, and backcountry travel, but they don’t always see themselves represented in traditional off-road spaces. Some arrive unsure whether their vehicle is capable enough, whether they have enough experience, or whether they belong there at all.

We believe they do.

Adventure travel isn’t limited to one type of vehicle or one level of experience. With the right preparation, education, judgment, and support, AWD vehicles can open the door to an incredible range of places and experiences.

The Subaru camp brought a slightly different energy to The Big Thing, but that was part of its value. It showed that overlanding can include the mostly stock Forester, the first-time driver, the family building its first camp setup, and the experienced owner who is ready to share what they’ve learned.

There is room for all of them.

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Images courtesy of David Wong, SteadyOutside, and Carey Lando

More Than a Weekend

Every attendee who completed our survey said they would attend a similar Subaru and SubieCrew camp again, recommend the experience to another Subaru owner, and be interested in more Subaru-specific off-road instruction.

They asked for more trail drives, more instruction, more shared meals, more recovery and gear workshops, and more opportunities to spend time together.

That tells us the weekend created something people want to continue.

For us, The Big Thing was another opportunity to bridge the gap between owning an adventure-capable vehicle and actually feeling confident using it. It was also a chance to help Subaru owners see themselves as part of the larger overlanding community.

We’re incredibly grateful to Subaru of America for supporting the experience, to the XOverland team for welcoming us, and to every attendee who showed up ready to learn, contribute, and help make the Subaru camp feel like home.

It was about more than simply having Subaru vehicles at an overlanding event.

It was about building confidence, creating community, and showing once again that we belong here too.