In this video I’m out in 97° heat laying out something that’s bigger than gear—because in 2023, 2,415 people died from heat in the U.S., and some of them were camping. I rank the five biggest summer mistakes I see overlanders make, from “this will ruin your trip” to “this can kill you.” And none of this is theory—I’m pulling from CDC, USDA/FDA guidance, National Weather Service, Johns Hopkins, and National Park Service data. First up is food safety: bacteria grows fastest between 90–100°F and can double every 20 minutes, which is why perishable food left out over an hour above 90° is unsafe. My simple fix is running two coolers—one for drinks, one for perishables—keeping the food cooler shaded and packed correctly. Then we hit tire pressure creep (1–2 PSI per 10° rise), which is how blowouts turn into survival situations when you’re 40 miles out with no signal. After that, I cover engine overheating—the cooling system is the most important system on your rig in summer—and why you need to inspect it and carry premixed coolant. The last two are the killers: how fast heatstroke happens (you can be in a fatal window within 30 minutes), and the biggest mistake nobody wants to talk about—camping in the wrong desert parks at the wrong time. I even share my own Death Valley moment: 109° at 1:00 a.m. If you’re planning summer trips, this is the checklist that can keep you out of the hospital—or worse.