Join the Land Use Fun Tour
The BlueRibbon Coalition’s Del and Stacie Albright are lining up the Trail Access Partnership Tour, a fun four-wheeling convoy dedicated to trail access awareness. Starting at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the tour will join the 31st annual Hump n Bump by the Vegas Valley 4 Wheelers in Logandale, Nevada, and then move on to Parker, Arizona, for the 16th annual Desert Splash put on by the Parker 4 Wheelers.
Del tells us there will be evening discussions on land use and motivational seminars, plus tech tips will be offered from sponsoring vendors such as Nemesis Industries, Burnsville Offroad, T&T Customs, Daystar, and Olympic 4x4 Products. You can RSVP for the tour at www.trailaccesstour.com.
Earth Watch
• The fourth annual Tread Lightly! charity auction on eBay takes place November 1-11. Among the items to be sold to raise funds for the land use organization are a Yamaha Grizzly 550 ATV, a John Deere Gator 625i XUV, a set of five tires from BFGoodrich, a Talon winch from Superwinch, and two certificates for a Jeep Jamboree from Jeep Jamboree USA.
• Morrison Trail in Clark, Wyoming, is the latest benefactor of the BFGoodrich Outstanding Trails Program. BFG presented a $4,000 check to the Magic City 4 Wheelers to be used to help preserve the trail, which is in Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest.
Calendar
• Dec. 2-4: Transwest Ford Henderson 250 desert race, Henderson, NV, by Best in the Desert. Info: www.bitd.com
• Dec. 3: Sand Driving Clinic, Oceano Dunes near Pismo, CA, by Badlands Off-Road Adventures. Info: 310.374.8047, www.4x4training.com
• Dec. 3-4: JeepSkool, NE Ohio. Info: www.jeepskool.com
• Dec. 10: Getting Started Off-Road Driving Clinic, Hungry Valley SVRA, Gorman, CA, by Badlands Off-Road Adventures. Info: 310.374.8047, www.4x4training.com
• Dec. 10: Wheelin’ 4 Toys, Kansas Rocks Recreation Park, Mapleton, KS. Info: www.brushbeaters.com
• Dec. 10-11: Rage at the River desert race, Laughlin, NV, by SNORE. Info: www.snoreracing.net
• Dec. 11: Winch and Recovery Clinic, El Paso Mountains, Mojave, CA, by Badlands Off-Road Adventures. Info: 310.374.8047, www.4x4training.com
• Note: If you have a 4WD event you want us to publicize, please send the date, location, a description of the event, and contact info—phone numbers and/or email/website address—to Calendar, 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245; fax 310.531.9368; email 4wheeloffroad@sorc.com. Please submit your info at least four months in advance of the event due to our press lead times.
New Trans & More for Ram HD
The ’12 model year brings some refinements to the heavy-duty Ram trucks, including the addition of a new six-speed automatic transmission for Hemi-powered models. SLT, Outdoorsman, Power Wagon, Laramie, and Laramie Longhorn models now feature a standard integrated trailer brake control, and the GVWR in Ram 2500s has bumped up from 9,000 to 9,600 pounds.
New Defender Concept
Land Rover debuted the DC100 at the Frankfurt Auto Show, a concept vehicle that represents “a modern interpretation of the iconic Land Rover Defender,” says the company. “This isn’t a production-ready concept but the beginning of a four-year journey to design a relevant Defender for the 21st century,” said Gerry McGovern, director of design at Land Rover. Land Rover confirmed that a new Defender—likely carrying design cues from the concept—will be introduced for the ’15 model year, though it’s unclear if the model will be available in the U.S.
Menzies Dominates Crandon
Mopar Ram Truck Pro 2 racer Bryce Menzies was unstoppable at the Traxxas TORC Series in Crandon, Wisconsin, over the Labor Day weekend, winning his main events on both Saturday and Sunday.
“That was one of the wildest races I’ve ever been in, with all the rain and mud,” said Menzies. “I definitely had to be patient and went through every single tear-off I had on my helmet.”
Menzies left Crandon with a 26-point lead over Ram teammate Rob MacCachren for the Pro 2 championship.