Day 2
Even with a potent big-block under the hood, Jerrod's Blazer fell victim to the mud. Having three Warn winches handy, we were able to extract Jones and reevaluate which path was going to be the most consistent.
It was around 7 a.m. and Rick's Ram Jet 350-powered A1 sat idling in the driveway as we made our way over to double-check everything before loading the trailer. A brief inspection would introduce us to yet another uninvited surprise-the trailer shackles had ripped apart on the driver side of the trailer. We made a quick call to Brian Wallach at American Off-Road for a potential backup fix if we had to make our own set of shackles, but luckily, we were able to get it fixed at the local trailer shop.
After a few hours of driving we arrived at the local mud pit for a fun-filled day of changing muddy tires, taking lots of photos, and did I mention changing muddy tires? As we pulled into the park, we could only make out half of Jerrod's Blazer. The rest laid buried, stuck up to the doors in mud. You never really know the importance of a winch until you have to use three of them to pull out one stuck Blazer. Once safely extracted, I was introduced to the most mellow, down-to-earth group of guys I have ever met. If you ever thought that this job requires an ego, think again.
Naturally, I was the new guy, so most of my time was spent with my arms wrapped around tires covered in the muddy black silt and shuffling jacks from one 4x4 to the other. Regardless of how hard the wind blew or how much dirt was in your face, you had a job to do. Simply put, there isn't much glamour in this part of the business. If you want to be famous, try out for American Idol, not 4WOR. Once finished with mud testing, we headed towards the mountains in hopes of locating enough snow to test the tires in the morning. But as fate would have it, our day of swapping tires was far from over.
Driving a truck better suited for the long roads of Baja, Jason Gonderman navigated his Ranger through the trails with minimal body damage. Outfitted with coilovers, fiberglass fenders, and custom control arms, this desert racer adapted quickly to the rock-friendly environment. | 
After losing a tire coming down the mountain road, this is what happened to the rotor. We straightened out the threads on the studs, packed on a new set of wheels, and headed off to our next destination. It's all in a day's work. | 
Fred opted to park and ride after breaking the front passenger-side CV shaft on the Red Sled. Look forward to more articles and changes on our IFS project. |
Have you ever wondered what would happen if your wheel flew off while driving down a mountain road at 65 mph at night? Well, the crew here at 4-Wheel & Off-Road likes to conduct little tests of their own for the safety and benefit of their readership, and you will be glad to know that our test dummy (Jerrod) walked away without injury, but the same can't be said for his wheel, studs, and rotor. A fluke accident caused his front driver-side wheel to shoot off while rounding a bend coming down the mountain. Though the Blazer put out an impressive fireworks show from underneath, the only real damage came in the form of a flat spotted rotor and a few shaken nerves.
Flashlights ruled the dark as we worked through the night to fix the Blazer and switch out another set of tires. Finally we were able to get back on the road, but our mountain hopes were too far gone for the evening as we crashed at a local hotel.
Day 3
Not your typical pit area, but acceptable by 4-Wheel & Off-Road standards. Johnson Valley offers wheelers tons of traction, miles of terra firma, and some of the most technical rockcrawling you will find on the West Coast.
Shortly after 8 a.m. we hit the road in search of a snow-filled path that would be thick enough for us to justify testing the tires. Without a cloud in the sky and the temperature rising, we headed up the steep winding road to the mountain resort of Big Bear. The view that's offered to you going up the mountain is simply incredible.
The problem with no clouds is usually no problem, but unfortunately it also meant no snow that day. Rick, knowing that it was my first time in snow, found just enough to chuck a snowball at me. Thanks, Rick. No white stuff meant back down the mountain and off to Johnson Valley for the rock portion of the test.
Stiff winds, loose sand, and three-story-tall rock formations set the stage for the day's test of tire bashing. The light-colored sticky granite was the perfect platform for testing the tires' grip, flex, and overall performance in a dry environment. Again I was stationed in the pits with a barrage of jacks, Power Tanks, and cordless impacts, and spent most of my time swapping tires and hustling over to the testing area to try and take photos. We worked until dark and as the winds began to blow more frigid and sharp, we headed back out onto the dusty Baja-type roads looking once more for food and comfort.