It's not Hot August Nights (the awesome hot rod show in Reno), but it is a neat type of 4x4 event that's just as hot and way cooler at the same time. The 7th Annual Bond Auto Parts 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals was held in Essex Junction, Vermont, in August amid the sweltering heat and humidity of summer.
You haven't seen much coverage of the 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals in years past, but hopefully you've noticed that this year is different. Instead of ignoring a large part of the wheeling world and concentrating on rockcrawling, we decided to give this magazine the flavor of the entire country. We want to show our readers what goes on in the local areas. While the Jamboree series certainly isn't about trail rides, they are full of hard-core competition, whether it be the National Mud Racing Organization (NMRO)-sanctioned mud drags, the monster truck point series, or the show 'n' shine competition. Mickey Thompson Performance Tires even sponsors the burnout contest. Sure, you may roast the tread off your tires making smoke, but if you win, a new set of Mickeys are coming your way. This year local wheeler Rusty Russin smoked his '88 Chevy to the roar of the crowd, and garnered a new set of meats for his efforts.
We make an effort to attend at least four of the 10 shows held around the country, and snap pictures of more than just action. In fact, we look carefully at the rigs on display to find feature vehicles for the pages of the magazine. Shiny or beat to a pulp, we capture them all and set up photo shoots depending on the situations we encounter. Since the shows are only on the weekends, we can't do many trail rides since most wheelers have real jobs that start on Monday.
But here's the challenge: Next season, with your help, we'd like to shoot a local trail ride the day after the Jamboree. Let us know what you have and what you can do, and maybe it's just right for our pages. Log on to www.familyevents.com or give them a call at 317/236-6515 for a listing of all of next year's Jambos. Then, drop us a line to see which ones we'll attend. Who knows? With a little luck you too can be a star in 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine.