Four Wheeler October 2022

This issue of Four Wheeler includes a very special deep dive into the history of the incredible Ultimate Adventure. Ultimate Adventure began in 1999 as a 4-Wheel & Off-Road exclusive and it’ll celebrate its 23rd adventure in 2022. Throughout those years it has taken participants on an incredible ride in some of the most challenging off-road terrain in the world. And it has taken readers along, too, with in-depth coverage that made you feel like you were there. I got to lead Ultimate Adventure once, for just a few minutes, but the experience has stuck with me since that day in 2004. I was Senior Editor at Four Wheeler and by that time Four Wheeler and 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazines were both owned by the same company. The 2004 Ultimate Adventure…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM CJ-5 MEMORIES I loved the article entitled “Jeep CJ-5 Buyer’s Guide” in the April 2022 issue. In 1967, I bought a surplus M38A1 the year I graduated from high school in east San Diego County. Someone had put the Buick 225ci engine in it, but it had the stock wheels. I haven’t found a picture of it yet. I was “Jeep hooked.” In 1973, after the Marines, I bought a new CJ-5 with the soft top for (wait for it) $3,500 with the 258ci straight-six that had great torque. That was a lot of money at the time. I had saved money when I was in Vietnam (tracked vehicle mechanic) and put $1,000 down. I think my payments were about $80 a month. I had that vehicle for 15 years, getting…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM In the News Color us not-shocked about how a AAA survey found that drivers want “automakers to improve the performance of existing driver support features” rather than fixate on building self-driving vehicles. For real: The results of the Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey conducted by Buglife and the Kent Wildlife Trust are in. They analyzed UK license plates for dead flying bug and guts and found a 60 percent decline over the course of 17 years. We’re unclear whether the messaging is for us to stop driving or that insects are finally figuring things out and the uprising is coming. As we went to press, the stats according to ISeeCars.com had Fairbanks, Alaska, as the most expensive locale for buying a used Jeep Grand Cherokee and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as…

JERED.KORFHAGE@FOURWHEELER.COM ELEVATED 392 Skyjacker’s ADX 2.0 Adventure Series Remote Reservoir Aluminum Monotube Shocks are designed to excel in higher-speed applications and also perform while rockcrawling. The external remote reservoir separates the nitrogen gas from the oil with an Internal Floating Piston (IFP). The majority of the reservoir contains pressurized nitrogen gas. The IFP prevents the gas and oil from mixing or foaming (cavitation). When paired with Skyjacker’s dual-rate, long-travel coil springs and the other heavy-duty components of the company’s 3.5-inch Suspension Lift System, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392 can benefit from a more aggressive off-road stance and improved flex on the trail while maintaining quality on-road handling characteristics. INFO: Skyjacker, 318/388-0816, skyjacker.com SEAL YOUR SCOUT Need help keeping the weather out of your ’71-’80 International Scout II? The Vent Window Weatherstrip Set from…

christian_hazel@motortrend.com “What is Ultimate Adventure?” A question a child may ask, but not a childish question. Although Ultimate Adventure, or “UA” as it’s affectionately referred to, is a very well-known event in the off-road world, now more than two decades after its inception the actual history behind the event may be a bit murky and shadowed. When was the first one? Has the event always been the same? Did it develop out of some sort of competition? Is it in the same place every year? Well, let’s get into answering those questions and more. Ultimate Adventure was the brainchild of Cole Quinnell. Cole started as a lowly editorial assistant at Hot Rod magazine before working his way up to staff level. While a Hot Rod staffer, it was Cole who came up…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com Mickey Thompson’s Baja-inspired radial mud-terrain rolled with us across the United States for a 10,000-mile whirlwind adventure spanning both coasts. Baja Boss is the name emblazoned on the sidewall and the tire is as much a continuation of the company’s off-road legacy as it is a round-and-black testament to the latest in mud-terrain technology. While “mud-terrain” is in its name, Mickey Thompson made sure to optimize the tire for the improved surfaces found between the trailheads. Face up to the Baja Boss and you’ll see an asymmetric tread pattern. Larger-sized tread elements along the outboard portion of the tread contribute to on-road stability while their wide spacing and subsequent voids help grip loose substrate. Looking inward, the tread elements are smaller and spaced closer together. This is said to promote all-weather…