Competitive rockcrawling is taking the motorsports world by storm. Big-time racers, sponsors, and venues are all getting in on the action, and this can make it hard for the little guy. However, we're here to give you a hand. 4-Wheel & Off-Road, in conjunction with BFGoodrich and Avalanche Engineering, is building and is going to give away a competition-ready tube chassis rockcrawler to one lucky reader, and it could be you.
BFG showed up on the rockcrawling circuit with its Krawler T/A tires and started winning left and right. One of the competitors using the tires is John Gilleland, who did very well in last year's competitions in his Avalanche-built buggy. The buggy Gilleland runs is built on Avalanche's Zero-G Chassis, and we are building a near exact replica of his '03 rig to give away. This full tube chassis will enlist proven running gear, simple but effective suspension, and of course, BFGoodrich Krawler tires.
The body will be styled after a Hummer, but like the artist's rendition shows, it will be reduced in size to fit the chassis and allow visibility for tight competition courses. It will be known as the Karnivore. This rig will be ready for you to hop in and compete, but it will not be street-legal. So if you've been contemplating how to get a rig together to go compete in some events, and you don't know the first thing about bending tube, then this could be the answer.
Building a rig like this takes time, energy, experience, tools, space, cash, and smarts. You can get away with less of some of these if you have more of the others, but having a bit of all of them sure does help. The first steps to building a full tube buggy are design and mock-up. This involves hours of contemplation with a pencil and paper. You will need to imagine the vehicle in your head and get an idea of what tires, axles, suspension, drivetrain, and body style you would like. In addition, wheelbase, the number of seats, geometry, cage design, and track width are more important than bending any tube. Talk to other people who have rigs you like or that seem to work in the terrain you visit, listen to all the advice you can get, and use what is relevant.
Now if building your own chassis is more than you are interested in, or if you realize that you have no right to be fabricating, but are a fairly adept gearhead, then maybe a prebuilt chassis from Avalanche Engineering is the way to go. Avalanche has many options from a competition-ready turnkey rig to a bare chassis on which you can add all the components from your built-but rusted and beat-trail rig. Avalanche can also build something with enough seats for just you and a copilot, or the whole family. They have been building rock buggies since early in the game and have more experience than most. Follow along as we inspect their Zero-G chassis and see what could be going into your Karnivore.