4-Wheel & Off-Road welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include an address or a telephone number so the sender can be verified. Once verified, your name may be withheld at your request. Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, or other purposes. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot reply to unpublished letters or return photos. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.
Write to:
Editor, 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704
E-mail to:
4wheeloffroad@primedia.com
Reader: I have been very curious about the Ultimate Adventure (Nov. and Dec. '05) trip your magazine takes every year. And, I am curious to experience it for myself. You say it is the Ultimate Adventure, but how do I know that? For all I know, you could just be parking all these 4x4s on rocks 10 feet off the highway, taking pictures, and then going back to soak your feet in a Jacuzzi at some Four Seasons hotel. I think the only way for me to know for sure what you guys do is for me to join you on one of these trips. So I have decided I want to go, but now what do I do? How do I enter? Does everyone that enters get to go? Do I have to pay a fee to go? And lastly, what do I have to have on my Jeep to attend? I believe my Jeep is very well built, but I do not have a front locker and I remember you stating in the past that this was a requirement. Thanks very much for your time, sir, and maybe I'll be seeing you on this year's trip.
Dutch Van Gaale
Dallas, TX
Reader: What's up, guys? I've been reading about your Ultimate Adventure for a few years now, and that looks like a pretty sweet trip! I'd love to go with you guys on one of them, but I'm not sure how to enter or if my truck is even good enough to make the trip. I have a 3/4-ton Chevy with a Dana 44 and a 14-bolt, and both axles have lockers. I run 37- to 38-inch tires usually, depending on what I can find for cheap, and have a ton of spare parts and tools that I always carry with me. I just installed a rollbar, and was thinking of buying a winch next month. What else would I need to do to my truck to go on the trip with you guys? How do I even enter to go on Ultimate Adventure? It's a week, right? I figure I'll probably have to pay for my own gas and hotels, or do you guys just camp the entire time? Thanks a lot for answering all these questions. It looks like you guys have a lot of fun, and I want to come experience an Ultimate Adventure too.
Jim Wallace
Spokane, WA
Editor: If you're a long-time reader of 4-Wheel & Off-Road, you know that our hallmark four-wheeling event is the Ultimate Adventure. For those newcomers, suffice to say that the Ultimate Adventure entails taking a group of competent wheelers with killer rigs on some of the best off-road courses this country has to offer, and tying them all together with a 1,000-mile road trip each summer.
If you've been paying attention, you already read about our 5th annual Ultimate Adventure (Nov. and Dec. '05). If you haven't, check out our Web coverage at www.4wheeloffroad.com for the complete story and all the extras our Web site provides.
But even better than that, it's time to start selecting readers to join us on this trip for Ultimate Adventure 2006. That's right; this is the first call for those of you who think you have the right stuff to make the UA what it is, a reader-based trip through America. But as always, we have our rules and regulations that must be adhered to-not to limit fun, but to enhance safety and minimize liability, since this is a reader-based 4x4 run with just the minimum amount of organization needed to keep us together as a group. The number one rule is the same as in the past, No Whining. If you can't handle it, don't even think of applying.
The Ultimate Adventure is based around 20 street-legal vehicles capable of handling the toughest terrain, which means hundreds of road miles a day without trailer support, then wheeling as much as possible, camping out, and continuing on the trip. It takes just over a week, and you are responsible for all your food, fuel, fun, and lodging, and must be completely self-sufficient and self-reliant. We can't have anyone under the age of 18 along, and pets, guns, drugs, or alcohol aren't allowed either. What's more, you can't win a trophy, or an award, since this isn't a competition. It is, however, a fun trip, as our coverage can attest to. Check out our DVDs as well (shop.truckinweb.com), which can give you the whole story in about an hour. If you want to join our trip, send an application to 4-Wheel & Off-Road, Ultimate Adventure, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, or log on to our Web site at www.4wheeloffroad.com to e-mail us your info. Make sure you include a photo of your rig and a description of it and yourself, and why you want to go have fun. Should be easy, right? See page 10 for the rest of the rules you need to know, and we're looking forward to picking some readers to join us.