Thirty some years ago a group of fellas started taking their trucks out to their hunting cabin for a few days of deer, pig, and gator pursuit, and along the way they had to wheel, winch, and blast their way across some long muddy tracks. It quickly became a friendly rivalry to see who could get to the cabin first, and oftentimes these trips lasted late into the night and early morning. One of these guys was Lonnie McCurry, and he quickly realized that if he and his friends needed better components for their trucks, then maybe there was a market out there for lots of folks.
Thus in his hometown of West Monroe, Louisiana, was born Skyjacker Suspensions. We were recently invited to relive some of those adventures when we visited for a weekend. We did some trail rides and a suspension install, and then relaxed on Sunday at the Skyjacker-sponsored 30th anniversary Mud Celebration and Races.
The first thing we noticed on our trip was that the humidity in Louisiana can be so thick that us sissy folks from California should be miserably uncomfortable, but because of the wonderful hospitality (not to mention the great cooking) of the folks down south, we were more than comfortable, and sad (not to mention a little chubbier) as we headed home. Our suspension install is elsewhere in this issue, and as for wheeling, all we can tell you is that there's no rocks, and barely any hills in Louisiana, but plenty of mud and sand. The tricks for building a truck for mud is a healthy motor, a stay-dry electrical system, and a tall air filter. Not to mention total disregard for clean clothes.
We spent a day out on the property of the Davis Island Hunting Club LLC, which is on Davis Island in the Mississippi River between Louisiana and Mississippi. This island-named after Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, who had a plantation there-is now renowned for its game hunting, and members can also find quite a few swampy mud tracks for getting their hunting trucks bogged. Membership in this hunting club is open to the public (there is a serious initial purchase price), and can be investigated at www.davisislandhuntingclub.com.
The mud races are part of the Champion Mud Racing Confederation (CMRC), and brought together four classes of racers vying for more than $10,000 in payouts. The site outside of Monroe was great for the 60 race teams and tons of fans who came to see the races, eat barbecue, show off their trucks, and watch or ride the Monster Trucks. Plans are to have this event become an annual happening so check out www.skyjacker.com or www.lacmrc.com to learn more.