Carcass Off-Road Excursion

(Jimmy)>> You're watching Powernation!

(Jimmy)>> Today on Carcass we're on the trail with our Jeep JK, Project Off Duty, and we've invited a few of our friends to join us on this little excursion.

(Jeremy)>> We'll push our Rubicon through the myriad of obstacles and have a little fun, sharing our enthusiasm for adventure and the off road community. [ Music ] [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

[ Music ] [ seatbelt sensor beeping ]

(Jeremy)>> Alright guys, the JK is done! We're at Adventure Off Road Park in Southern Tennessee. We brought a bunch of guys with us. Let's go do some wheeling. Get all them pretty Jeeps dirty! [ Music ] Adventure Off Road Park is one of our favorite places to wheel. With several hundred acres of beautiful countryside and numerous trails with a variety of difficulties. AOP has something to offer everyone who has a passion for off roading, testing their skills, plus their rigs. Adventure Off Road Park offers several amenities as well for those who want a long weekend of wheeling.

(Nathan)>> So I am the office and park manager. We have about 60 trails. We are adding a couple more. We bought some new land. So we'll have after that closer to 70 total trails sitting on about 600 acres of total land. We also have some bunk houses that we offer as well along with our farmhouse that we rent out that's an actual Air BnB style house. Along with some r/v spots, electric and water spots. So we've got the options for everyone coming out here. Our difficult trails are gonna be pretty dang difficult. So we advise that, but the easy trails should be easy for most people to go up in their semi stock rigs and go up and hit some trails. The moderate's kinda that mix for if you're an avid off roader, want to go out there, and want to mix it up and not just take some easy trails but give yourself a little bit of a challenge as well. Got a little bit of everything for everyone out here, from easy to pretty difficult. It's a good mix of everything. [ On The Radio ]>> They're have trouble. We're gonna need some assistance.

(Jimmy)>> Copy, Jeremy will come down. We'll keep going up just a little bit to park the Jeep and then we'll come down. Any time you're wheeling with a group there is one thing that is going to happen when taking people to places they've never been before, and that thing is spotting. And on this trip it was a must. Some of our guests were new to rock crawling. Plus we didn't know the capabilities of their rigs and how they would perform. [ On The Radio ]>> Sometimes you've just gotta do what you've gotta do.

(Jimmy)>> Needless to say, we were in and out of our Jeep quite a bit. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Deep breath, deep breath. Wipe the freaking sweat off my face! Can't think! [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> That put you right back in it. You have to stay passenger, stay passenger. Come driver, come driver, now go!

(Justin)>> Can't beat them good spotters boys! So the Jeep behind us is our Summit Racing. It's our 2020 JL. We bought it brand new, and the goal of the build was to be able to do everything in your driveway. So go from mild to wild. All bolt-ons. No major fab, anything like that. You can do this all in your driveway. So we want to show people that you can buy a Jeep and you don't have to have a lift, be a fabricator, all this. There's a lot of good people in the industry that have figured all this stuff out for you, and you can bolt all this stuff on. This will be our second. We've had it about two and a half years. Not only do we wheel it mild to wild, but we also do a bunch of shows and road tripping with it. So the cool part about the JL platform and what I love about it the most is you can go wheel all day, have fun, and then you can air back up, jump in it, and drive down the highway, go to the next spot. You don't have to have a truck and trailer as well as a wheeling rig. You can incorporate all of it into one daily driver. As I like to say, you can go wheel all day and pick the kids up from baseball practice. Being the Summit Racing guy everybody ask do I have a drag car? No, I like old crusty rusty stuff that you go beat off trees in the woods. It's a little different. So every part on our JL is right out of the Summit Racing catalog. We have a dedicated Summit Racing Jeep catalog along with our big book and our couple of others. So since the last time I wheeled it we've actually gone from a 35 inch tire to a 37. So this is the first time out on the 37s. I'm pumped to see the improved ground clearance. I joke around. I use the full underbelly skid plate strategically. When you're wheeling on small tires ground clearance is an issue. So sometimes you've got to put the skid plate on a rock, and rotate, and manipulate the Jeep, but with the 37s hopefully I won't have to do that as much. Wheeling is a tight nit. Everybody helps everybody. If you're broken in the woods people always stop and ask, can I help, are you okay? It's been cool to see fellow Jeepers get really hyped on this thing. It's fun to get out in the woods and hang out with other people. The thing is a giant Summit billboard. So we like to show off that not only do we sell race car parts but we sell off road parts too. So everybody's been happy about it. It's been so much fun going out and wheeling with people, and just having a good time. I'm excited about it!

(Jeremy)>> I love doing that! It's like your front tires are barely touching. I have no idea where we are, not a clue. So I've got the ultimate question for you. Where is Bigfoot? I bet he's got a rock bouncer.

(Jimmy)>> Custom tube chassis. You'd have to put them on deuce axles.

(Jeremy)>> Not one tons? Bottom them out?

(Jimmy)>> I mean the guy weighs 850 pounds. [ ding ]

(Jimmy)>> Shut up!

(Jeremy)>> There's an alien in the woods! [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> We keep finding new obstructions to conquer and do a little trail maintenance as well!

(Jeremy)>> I'll tell you what. Out of everybody that's running today there's one Jeep Susie that's following us. She's on 315s.

(Jimmy)>> Shorter tire.

(Jeremy)>> And I think only a two and a half lift. It's a Rubicon, but that thing. She's right behind us! She's not having a single issue.

(Susie)>> She's a Rubicon, and she used to be the Bubicon but we changed her up a little bit. So now she's the mountain Mom-icon. She's a 2014, almost 10 years old, and I've been banging her since the day I bought her. Matter of fact day one was here at this park with a paper tag on a trail that's too big for her right now.

(Jeremy)>> Keep going, keep going, stop! Stay up passenger. You've got a ledge on this side, but this rock is an absolute axle killer. Your diff is sitting right on here. So the trick is to get your Jeep over to the this side where the ledge is far enough but still put a driver's side tire on both of these rocks to give you the clearance over this one. Susie just had to shift her completely over to the center of the Jeep and put the passenger side on this side. So it's just a game of how you've got to get up it. Susie is proof that women and wheeling do exist, and that you can do anything. It starts by getting out there and challenging yourself to try new things.

(Susie)>> I've put two different lifts on it. It's like a bottomless pit. You can't stop. It's like boating or any other hobby. Just empty every pocket Jeep, and I've never rolled it. When I first started driving the Jeep that was my biggest fear. And everybody I asked about it, have you ever rolled over? 10 years down the road and I've never rolled it over. It taught me I'm brave. I'm a lot braver than I ever thought I was. I have been in situations to where I could have died. My first V-notch is probably what taught me, you know that fear of adrenaline that goes through you when you get really scared? I learned that in that situation I don't freeze, I just sweat and I function. Because of the Jeeping and learning how brave I am I now back country trek. Like long distance, hundreds of miles, back country hiking. I never thought I could do that but my Jeep taught me that I'm a lot braver than I thought I was. And to any woman out there get yourself a Jeep and learn to drive it. It's the most freeing thing in the world. God I love lockers. Lockers are the best invention on the planet!

(Seth)>> There's really no words to explain. I thought I'd been wheeling before but definitely not. When you make a wrong move on some of these trails it can end up pretty bad. ( )>> When the ground comes up by the window and stuff it gets a little gnarly.

(Landon)>> You know how you get forklift certified? I think we're four wheel drive certified now. [ engine revving ]

(Landon)>> So behind us we've got a 2019 Wrangler Rubicon. It has Kings coil-overs, Terraflex brakes, suspension, and then the heart of it is a Hellcat 702 horsepower drivetrain. So it has a Hellcat engine, transmission. It's rowdy! It's on 37s, Toyos, and it's a blast to drive and a blast to rip around as well. It'll go as fast as you're willing to hold on a Jeep. Plan's not to break anything though. We've got Boxo tools . So we'll be alright. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> So we're out on the trails and Jeremy and I are out wheeling this thing and we hear a little hear a little bit of air coming out of our right front tire. We think it's just the bead lock coming loose, but this is why we bring our Boxo tools. So we can tighten it up and get back out on the trail.

(Chris)>> Boxo got its start in the power sports, off road community, Southern California, and we've just been all over the United States. This is our core, this is our roots. This is why we design our boxes, why we design our tool rolls and tool bags. You'll see on this event is our PA-916. It's an off road bag and tool roll. It was designed for the Jeep market, and we've expanded it out for all off road trucks, trailers, you name it. It's a one stop shop. Just put the bag on and go. We designed that bag. All of us are off roaders, enthusiasts. We all have everything from side by sides, to off road Jeeps, to trucks, you name it. So put a little bit of engineering into it, a little bit of thought, and you come up with a bag that is very purpose driven and purpose built.

(Jeremy)>> There's really no better solution when you're out on the trails. You always gotta bring something with you because it's the old adage. If you don't you're gonna need it.

(Jimmy)>> And it's organized, and you know when something's missing. And that bag weighs what, 30 pounds? It's pretty light.

(Jeremy)>> So that's not the only thing that they offer. They don't offer just the off road roll. They have stuff for a-t-vs, u-t-vs, side by side.

(Jimmy)>> Motocross is huge for them.

(Jeremy)>> They've got the King of Hammer edition. They have loaded toolboxes of almost any size. Their tools, they're nice tools. They fit decent in your hand. There's really no better solution when you're out on the trails. When you're out wheeling the right equipment is paramount to keeping you safe. We'll test out some of our upgrades on the trail.

(Jimmy)>> Welcome back! We've been making our way around the first part of our excursion here at Adventure Off Road Park, which has us working our way up trail one to JW-2. These trails offer some easy to moderate obstacles for us and Project Off Duty.

(Jeremy)>> I guess our Jeep is capable. [ On The Radio ]>> Jeremy, you make that look too easy!

(Jeremy)>> It's just amazing what these things can do. This is unbelievable.

(Jimmy)>> Little bit of rocks. We're up on 37s now. We don't have too much to worry about.

(Jeremy)>> The gas pedal finesse now is the part.

(Jimmy)>> Good thing about our Jeep, we've got Powerstop brakes on it. We know when you hit the pedal this thing's gonna slow down, and it will give us some control over what's going on with the front tires slipping over rocks.

(Jeremy)>> You literally took the words out of my mouth. Your front's gonna go up, your back's gonna come down. Perfect, you're down! I like our Jeep. It's got good style. It looks really good, and it's very well put together, and it's doing its job.

(Rodion)>> Got a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. Obviously running a Z-36 kit all the way around, the Z-36 Truck and Tow from Powerstop. Hands down the best brakes. Sitting on a four and a half inch lift, coilover conversion up front and spring and shock in the rear. Outfitted with Baja Designs off road lighting all the way around. Smart Cap in the back for the canopy. Great storage and organization, and up top overland bed rack and roof rack. Usually it has rooftop tent and all my camping gear in the back, but for this trip I'm trying to keep it a little bit lighter and see how she does. I've done the whole rock crawling thing. Got a little bit burnt out breaking stuff and having to fix it.

(Jeremy)>> But the thrill for adventure and being one with nature has kept Rodion in the off roading world just on a different path.

(Rodion)>> I'm an outdoor enthusiast. So anything that gets me out in the middle of nowhere that's what I love doing. Family and I go camping all the time. Purpose built this rig for those kind of trips. Still when the rock crawling calls you've gotta answer, gotta have some fun.

(Jeremy)>> So one might ask. What do Rodion's off roading buddies think about his new path of overlanding?

(Rodion)>> There's a lot of back and forth joking around. It's all in good fun. I think we're all after the same thing. Just to get out there in nature, have fun, really push our rigs, build the rigs, have them be as capable as possible. At the end of the day we're all doing the same thing. Tread lightly and keep it going. It's gonna be interesting. I've never wheeled in Tennessee before, period. So I'm really looking forward to taking her through her paces. I'll be a newbie this trip. So it's gonna be fun.

(Jimmy)>> Rodion's Jeep Gladiator is a true dual purpose vehicle. It was built for overlanding, which has become hugely popular in the last several years, tapping into people's sense for exploring things unknown and then heading home once your adventure's done. Having the right equipment to do these things is paramount to keeping you safe and your rig going onto the next destination.

(Rodion)>> Running Powerstop brakes all the way around, Z-369 Truck and Tow kit. This thing's heavy. So it's usually got a rooftop tent on it, an oversized smart cap, all the camping gear that usually goes on there. She's heavy. Definitely need that extra stopping power to bring her to a halt safely, especially places like this where you're wheeling and far from home. We drive this thing across country multiple times a year. So we get a lot of highway miles put on her. Not fortunate to have a tow rig or anything like that. So she sees the highway pretty much, and I try to alternate between a couple different vehicles to keep the mileage down cause I intend to keep this thing for a long time.

(Jimmy)>> We continue having a blast on our excursion, enjoying the trails with our off road friends.

(Jimmy)>> We're still running around Adventure Off Road Park flexing out all the suspension on our Jeep JK. We're heading back out for the second part of our excursion. This time we're heading up to trails two and three.

(Jeremy)>> You want to get out there and test your rig to the max, but I don't mind driving it home either. Not breaking something. You can build everything so it's awesome, but there's also a point where you're money conscious. Not everybody can afford to do a complete build. You do it in parts and pieces. When you're done you can have a really nice rig, whatever stage you want to get to. Maybe just maybe that's the top of the hill right there. I think we're going down now, which can be just as sketchy as going up.

(Jimmy)>> Cause when you're dropping off ledges and stuff you don't have as much control I guess. You're at the mercy of how dry your tires are, and if there's a slick rock or whatever.

(Jeremy)>> So if you guys need to go see our 4-Runner overland build go check that out. It's general consensus at this point that the 4-Runner has stole the show out here.

(Jimmy)>> Cause that thing was built not to be quite as extreme as what we have with this Jeep and all these other Jeeps. And I would say the Jeeps are still more capable but the fact the 4-Runner has kept up, and it has to go in front of us at some points and pave the way. It's taking an absolute beating and it's still alive.

(Jeremy)>> There's four production crew members inside. It's loaded down with all the production equipment. These guys are trekking everywhere, and no matter what they're making it.

(Jimmy)>> No lockers! General tires man! They take a bite, get in there, and make your way on up.

(Jeremy)>> Ours are doing fantastic.

(Susie)>> Let me tell you something about General tires. When it comes to gripping the big rocks that they have out here at AOP you've gotta have something that's gonna grip the rocks, and when you air these down they give you so much surface area. Watch me today. It's gonna be like I'm walking a dog. There have been things that I've walked up that others have been spotted on, and I credit these tires for that. They are gripping these rocks, and I am holding on tight.

(Justin)>> This place is gorgeous. There's mild to wild trails here. We're getting Jeeps out here in the woods and playing, and it's a good time. A lot of fun. I like off roading because it's something to do with your friends. You can all go out in the woods, have fun all day, work on stuff together. The terrain always changes. So you can wheel a trail one week, come back two weeks later, and it look completely different. And the fun part is there's places in nature you can get in a rig or other off road machine that you can't hike to. So you get to see some really cool things.

(Landon)>> Man this has been awesome! Absolute blast! We've enjoyed every bit of it.

(Rodion)>> Bound to have fun! ( )>> You do it again?

(Rodion)>> Hell yeah!

(Susie)>> It's like hiking. If people could live life the way the wheeling community does or the hiking community they've got it right. They help each other when somebody's in need. They don't care who they are or what it is. If somebody's broke up there they're gonna help fix them to get them down off the hill. There's a saying that nobody gets left behind, and that's one of the things that makes the wheeling community so wonderful. You don't have to know them, but nobody gets left behind.

(Nathan)>> You come out here you're gonna leave with some new friends, I guarantee it. It's good riding, it's good fun, weather's nice most of the time, which is pretty good. It's the people out here for me. Everyone's super friendly. You're gonna leave with some new friends when you come out here. Everyone's wheeling to help out, lend a hand if you break something, which you're gonna do out here. It's the people for me. It's the experience, the beautiful scenery, being in nature and being away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

(Jimmy)>> Well that is one heck of a day of wheeling. We've been out here testing our Jeep. It's still in one piece, and we have five Jeeps behind us that are still in one piece, and we just want to thank our friends at Summit Racing, General Tire, Boxo Tools, and Powerstop Brakes for helping us out getting this thing together. We have a little bit of time before we need to leave, but that's gonna be it for us. We're gonna catch you guys later.