Motorsports
Extreme 4x4
Could it be considered obsessive-compulsive? Absolutely. But even if it is, that’s totally acceptable. There are those walking around on two feet who are clearly more at home on four wheels—crawling up, down, across and through tortured but magnificent landscapes, such as those found in the Moab, Utah, area.
Building and enjoying “tweaked” street-legal 4WD vehicles is an avocation that is, among many things, a great equalizer. The sport offers a venue where those with lesser means can participate and enjoy the fun and adventure right along those with the deepest of pockets. It’s a passion that cuts across all demographics, where old timers and the “now generation” find common ground, where muscle mass does not count, and where both genders meet on equal ground.
Like a giant magnet tugging at those whose passion it is to match their machines against Moab’s canyon lands, dry river beds and moonscapes, Heartland USA also felt that tug and went west for a peek into this off-road world. What we discovered (as 4WD enthusiasts have known all along) is that navigating through red rock country is akin to a spiritual experience.
The Outpost
Upon arriving in Moab it didn’t take long to find out that the cornerstone for this sport is Moab 4X4 Outpost. Located on the south end of town, this is a candy store for the extreme 4X4 enthusiast. Whether it is service, custom modifications (street-legal upgrades to totally tricked “built” units) or trail rescue (retrieving or repairing disabled rigs from the surrounding canyon lands), Moab 4X4 Outpost offers one-stop shopping for off-roaders.
Their motto is, “We strive to repair bad days,” and during the busy times (March through June and October through December) they fix many, many broken axles, destroyed differentials and busted U-joints. During the off-season they do custom buildups (non-street-legal tube buggies and rock crawlers). They also do a huge number of extreme street-legal modifications that make factory 4WD vehicles go where they weren’t designed to go. Here we met owner Steve Nantz and long-time 4X4 enthusiast Jeremy Parriott, who comes from a family where off-road racing is in the gene pool.
Jeremy has driven off-road in sixteen countries around the world. He has competed in the Baja 1000 and assorted rock crawling events, and he is the first to testify, “It just doesn’t get any better than Moab when it comes to this sport.” He grew up racing motorcycles, and the transition to building and racing 4X4s was a natural. Before he could even drive, Jeremy built a rock crawler out of a vintage Suburban using parts from his dad’s Moab salvage yard.
Terrill Johnston is a rock crawler who is sponsored by Moab 4X4 Outpost. He competes in the XRRA (Xtreme Rock Racing Association) Western Series, and he showed us his machine that Moab 4X4 Outpost helped him build. It’s something akin to a dune buggy on steroids. It features a welded tubular steel roll cage, a V8 engine, auto transmission and heavy-duty everything. This rig has incredibly high ground clearance and is in no way legal for the street. The amount of wheel travel (which is phenomenal) permits each wheel to articulate as much as 60 inches over rocks and into crevices independently of the other wheels.
In his mid-20s, Terrill has about $50,000 of his own money tied up in his rock crawler. That’s considered inexpensive in some circles, and is the case only because he assisted in the buildup, he does his own repairs and maintenance, and because he’s so good Moab 4X4 Outpost sponsors him.
Terrill explained that rock crawling competitions are timed events where the participants engage and compete in a whole series of terra firma challenges. Technique, driving skills, equipment, intuition, luck and, of course, passion all figure into the equation.
We looked at several Moab 4X4 built rock crawlers (they can cost up to $100,000 each) and “awesome” is the only word to describe them. The Outpost designs and builds machines that, right off the showroom floor, can win a rock crawling event or take the adventurer into places (like Coyote Canyon) where no one else can go (even with an extreme modified street-legal Jeep).
That’s exactly how these folks like it.
Still Street-Legal
Of those who live in this part of the country, and the thousands who visit Moab annually, the greatest number of 4X4 enthusiasts drive street-legal modified 4x4s. They are mostly Jeeps, but Toyota trucks, Land Cruisers and older Ford Broncos season the mix. Joining Jeremy and an ad hoc group of diehard four-wheelers, Heartland USA enjoyed a day of total immersion into extreme off-roading with a visit to two popular BLM areas called the Pickle and Mashed Potatoes.
The Pickle (a narrow canyon hundreds of feet deep and at least a mile long) earned its name because it’s easy to get yourself into a pickle due to the vertical obstacles you have to climb to get through it. Mashed Potatoes, on the other hand, is on the top of the canyon wall, where the twisted outcroppings of white rock look similar to a landscape of clumped up mashed potatoes. Among these clumps of rock are deep bowls that catch rain water and look like gravy bowls. These are a favorite among the real thrill-seekers. Being twenty-plus feet deep, three within our group of fifteen vehicles elected to ease down into the bowl and then work ever so hard at getting themselves out. In both cases (the Pickle and Mashed Potatoes) driving skill and vehicle prowess are what get you through.
Tim Sanders works at Moab 4x4 Outpost modifying street-legal 4WD vehicles into extreme 4x4s. While living in Chicago Tim modified a Jeep Cherokee, and last fall he and his partner Camille came west to Moab to put his rig to the test. They have never looked back. If Moab were a country they would seek asylum here. We watched Camille, who is a total novice at rock crawling and not much bigger than a minute, take on a vertical climb that was as tall as her Jeep was long. With coaching and good equipment she did it successfully.
Another member of our group, Bob Micklick, is at the other end of the spectrum. He’s an excellent example of how anyone with skill and good equipment can compete and enjoy this sport regardless of seniority. Bob was one of only three individuals who looked into the depths of the gravy bowl, entered and made his escape on the first try.
Bumping It Up A Notch
Moab 4x4 Outpost owner Steve Nantz explained the basics of modifying a 4WD. For example, a factory equipped Jeep has ten inches of wheel travel, but by modifying it with technology borrowed from the genre of tube buggies (such as custom long arm suspensions), as much as 40 inches of wheel articulation can be achieved. Body damage, however, is a huge limiting factor in taking even a moderately modified rig into canyon lands (that is if you don’t want it to come back all beat up). The Outpost has addressed this by designing body armor (individually replaceable steel panels) that protects sheetmetal from damage.
- Other Fun Stuff In Moab
- Good food and beverages are a must to round out a good time. Heartland USA recommends the following…’cuz we tried ’em! Eddie McStiff’s is a restaurant and micro brewery near downtown, and Moab Brewery is on the south end of town. What they do with barley, hops and a little yeast is phenomenal, just like the menus they offer. For breakfast, the Moab Diner and the Jail (both downtown) won’t disappoint. And for that high octane cup of Joe, Wicked Brew is just the ticket.
- Scenic Stuff
- Thirty minutes north of Moab is Sego Canyon, featuring canyon walls draped with petroglyphs and pictographs (rock art) from the Barrier Canyon, Fremont and Ute Indian periods dating back 1,500 years. Check with the visitor center in Moab for directions.
- While there, visit what remains of the old mining town. You’ll see remnants of the 1890s saloon and hotel. Bathed by bright sunlight and washed by winds that sweep down from the Bookcliff Mountains, old cemetery markers above town provide evidence that here, too, the American Dream once lived.
A good example of a Moab 4x4 Outpost rig modified to engage in rock crawling adventures and still be roadworthy is a 1969 Jeep CJ-5 that was in the shop when we visited. The wheel wells had been trimmed to accommodate larger tires and the original engine was replaced with a V6 and automatic transmission. Fox Shocks, a winch and heavy-duty bumpers were added, while the short factory leaf spring suspension was replaced with 52-inch springs (the longer the leaf spring the greater the articulation). This aftermarket spring package yields 36 inches of wheel articulation.
Off-Road Safety
Ensuring a safe and fun trip off-highway requires more than a roll cage, harness restraints and an otherwise mechanically sound vehicle. First, take plenty of water (a gallon a day per person). This is mandatory to survive in Utah’s hot, dry climate. You will last only a couple of days without water. Proper clothing, sun screen and snacks are also high on the list. One proactive measure to take is to use the buddy system (go out with another 4WD) in case you break down and field repairs don’t work. Of paramount importance is to tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return so they will come looking for you if you don’t make it back within the predetermined time. Cell phone service around Moab is pretty good unless you’re in a canyon, and even then a satellite cell phone may not work. A satellite phone, cell phone and a GPS is a smart combination to have with you.
There are literally hundreds of miles of off-road trails in southeastern Utah, and a little planning can go a long way to ensure a safe off-road adventure. Best of all, the area has something to offer every 4WD owner—whether they are running bone-stock 4x4s or the most advanced trail-only buggies on four wheels. Head out and have a blast!