As the owner of Cole Worx, Bryan Cole knows exactly how well these hardcore rock-bouncing rigs are built. The owner of this buggy, which is dubbed Jenny Craig, was nice enough to let Cole take it out for a little tuning session on the mountain. Judging by the way Jenny performed and the fact that it was one of the few that didn’t break, we say all systems seemed to be in check.As the owner of Cole Worx, Bryan Cole knows exactly how well these hardcore rock-bouncing Private wheeling parks are nothing new, but over the past decade they have increased tremendously across America. This trend is especially fast-growing in southeastern regions that have been affected by national park closures. One park that’s earned a great reputation for a fun place to wheel is the Hale Mountain OHV Park. Located in New Market, Alabama, the 400-acre park is a packed with trails ranging from easy to extreme, and has a host of elevated terrain to keep any wheeling enthusiast entertained. We recently made it out to the park on a rainy winter weekend and set out to explore some of the tougher trails. With a handful of buggies and mildly built 4x4s in the group we knew that there would be a nice range of action and line choices. What we didn’t know is how much tire spinning, crazy carnage, and rain-soaked fun we were in for. Though the wet conditions greatly elevated the challenge on even the mild trails, we managed to get through most of our desired paths—not without a few trail mishaps, of course. To find out more about the park, give them a ring at 931.937.8772 or visit the website www.halemountainohvpark.com. Richie Keith took a few good tumbles in his John Deere–themed buggy over the weekend but always managed to come out unharmed and ready to go again. What’s more impressive is that he always managed to keep his yellow shades on during and after his rollovers!Richie Keith took a few good tumbles in his John Deere–themed buggy over the weekend but a Bobby Tanner was the throttle-down driver of the group and enjoyed to mashing the skinny pedal, no matter how extreme the obstacle. His Screamin’ Blue Cole Worx chassis somehow survived the punishment, and Tanner and his buggy made it through the day unscathed.Bobby Tanner was the throttle-down driver of the group and enjoyed to mashing the skinny p Though our group was mostly comprised of heavy-duty tube creations, plenty of entry-level and advanced full-bodied wheeling machines were at the park too. This classic XJ was using every ounce of the 4.0L power to clean out his tires and make it up the slick trail.Though our group was mostly comprised of heavy-duty tube creations, plenty of entry-level From hillclimbing to basic rockcrawling, Hale Mountain has a wide selection of trails that can keep all vehicle levels entertained. This straight-axle Toyota was set up for crawling and worked great throughout the day.From hillclimbing to basic rockcrawling, Hale Mountain has a wide selection of trails that Our ride for the day was Donovan Jeffrey’s custom buggy. Jeffrey’s was one of the only buggies with a roof, which was nice when the rain came pouring down. While he managed to go trouble-free for most of the day, a hard bounce on this waterfall devoured his Dana 60 front ring-and-pinion.Our ride for the day was Donovan Jeffrey’s custom buggy. Jeffrey’s was one of the only bug Jordan Tanner wasn’t afraid to push his tube machine to its limits. Even after experiencing a broken RCV joint and a torn sidewall early in the day, he fixed his rig and kept on wheeling.Jordan Tanner wasn’t afraid to push his tube machine to its limits. Even after experiencin Mark Statum’s buggy was fitted with a Dana 60 front and a 14-bolt rear and was powered by a throaty LS2 engine. While we wouldn’t say his machine had many weak links, he did manage to blast apart the rear yoke on his Atlas transfer case. The explosion was so violent that it actually blew a hole through the buggy’s center console. Luckily, no one was injured and they were able to get the buggy off of the trail using one of the many access roads inside the park. After working through the night to get his buggy ready for the weekend trail ride, Scott Lemon hoped that his wrenching was over for a while. Unfortunately this high-speed launch ended with more of a bang than he expected. Bang! That’s what Lemon heard and felt as the 21⁄2-ton Rockwell knuckle broke into pieces and his wheel and axle end assembly left the rig. Some clever rigging was required to drag the 502ci-powered Jimmy Smith chassis buggy out of the trail and back onto the trailer. By Ali Mansour Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
