(Click here to read Part 1 and Part 2)
The Rigs of UA
One of the cool things about UA is seeing the diversity of rigs that are driven on the Ultimate Adventure, from Péwé’s long travel IFS F150 to a mid-80s Land Cruiser, ’70s F250 to a couple of Samaris, an Amigo, a pair of solid-axed Nissans, 1-ton Chevys, an E-350 van, and all breeds of Jeeps. All had their advantages as well as their shortcomings, but what a sight to see the cruising through the back roads of America.
This year Zone Offroad decided to build something a little different. While there are many suitable vehicles that could be made into a trail rig, the Jeep Comanche MJ is one that stuck out to us when discussing possible choices. After finding a suitable Comanche, one with limited rust and a clean title, we went to work completely overhauling it with a variety of aftermarket goodies and prototype parts in an effort to build a memorable rig that would be well suited for any terrain Péwé threw at us. We covered the buildup on our blog in a 7 part series available on the Zone Blog. We scrambled to finish the rig by our deadline, but had the rig functional and hit the road to drive through the night to make the start. Over the course of the week on the Ultimate Adventure, the rig did well, outside of a few front axle breakage and a sticky throttle. The worst of our issues was on the first trail day when we broke a u-joint causing the demise of inner and outer axle shafts and as well as pressing the ball joints out on the driver’s side. Nothing some tools and a welder couldn’t fix however most parts store was closed for the 4th of July Holiday. Once we had the parts and the rig back together the trip went much smoother for us.
By now you’ve probably heard where this year’s UA journey took us; Starting in Missouri, then into Kansas, back to Missouri, followed by some Oklahoma wheeling, then back into Missouri, spent some time in Arkansas, and finished up back in Oklahoma. Sound confusing? That’s how Péwé likes it. We woke up each morning with no clue where the day would lead. Maybe it would be a road day of 300+ miles, maybe its a trail 10 minutes away followed by what seems to be a random stop for ice cream and kittens, you’re just along for the ride. In the 7 days of UA, we drove nearly 1000 miles, wheeled 5 parks with terrain ranging from rocks to mud, plenty off camber and a bt of chaos. We helped clean up a tornado stricken town, explored caverns, and came back with memories to last a lifetime. This trip is if you have the chance to do in your lifetime you need to go. Check out the info on 4W&OR’s website and sign up for next year’s trip. Hopefully we’ll see you out there for some upcoming 4wheeling or even a future Ultimate Adventure, but until then Happy Wheeling!
Check out the slideshow and check out this link for more info on the Ultimate Adventure.
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