TREAD -julkaisun November/December 2022 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

New aftermarket wheels can up your vehicle’s performance potential and enhance its looks all in one fell swoop. If you’re looking for a more aggressive tire setup that your stock wheels simply can’t handle, a new set of wheels are definitely in order. No matter if your four-by-four is brand new and fresh off the lot or is a seasoned veteran of more than a few trail runs, a wheel upgrade can help it looking good and performing even better. To get started, we collected some of the newest releases for your perusal. Which design would you like to see on your rig? KMC/KM728 LOBO KMC’s retro-motorsport inspired 5-spoke design is perfect for those looking for a sportier look from their rig. It features a classic step lip profile and…

Growing up in South Africa, Aidan Stott, was introduced to overlanding at a young age. With his father, they would travel off road to find unique campsites in their Land Rover, providing fond memories, bonding time, and a passion for travel. His explorations helped him to fine-tune his bush mechanic skills and build confidence, which would prove to be helpful for his journey. While South Africa has its charm and beauty, it was simply home and Aidan wanted more — he had a dream to move to the United States. He yearned for more opportunities and places to travel. His father motivated him and pushed him to study abroad. So, he applied to several stateside schools and once accepted, he packed his belongings, and a new chapter began. His first…

A relaxing drive up to the mountains to play in the snow seemed like a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. No hard trails this time. No deep-woods trekking. Just a nice easy drive up the canyon road. While building snowmen and pelting your girlfriend with snowballs, ominous black clouds rolled in. The temperatures plummeted, and dime-sized flakes began to fall. In a blink of an eye, your Jeep is covered. Before you are able to dig it out, it’s too late. You’re stranded, cold, and isolated. Your recovery gear is useless and any hope of rocking it out of the snowdrifts is hopeless. You have a choice: walk out or stay put. What you do depends solely on the weather. If it is a brief storm that won’t…

After a hard day on the trail or a bouncy trek through the canyons, the last thing you want to do is bed down in the back of your truck. If you don’t have an air mattress, or at least a foam pad of some kind, the back of your truck can be a miserable place to sleep. Also, not only do you have to clear out your gear, but you’re exposed to any potential wind, rain, and chill throughout the night. The better alternative is to perch yourself up on top of your rig in the new Alpine rooftop tent from Tuff Stuff Overland (TSO). Starting from the desire to explore the rugged world around them, Tuff Stuff Overland, a California company, was founded on the belief that innovation,…

STEEP & DEEP WINTER OFF-ROAD ADVENTURES FIND YOUR BALANCE The key to staying in control, just like on a motorcycle, is for your neutral riding position to be slightly forward over the sled and over the ball of your feet on the outer rail of each running board. Don’t hang off the handlebars, but instead be balanced over your feet and ready for the sled to move around under you and for you to move around the sled as needed, staying balanced and forward. Remember to keep your weight centered over the sled, so even when you transition to both feet on one side of the sled you move your foot on that side forward and your back foot just behind where your center was in order to keep that…

O1. FRONT RUNNER/ROOF TOP TENT Looking for a low-profile roof top tent but have limited roof space? Allow us to introduce you to Front Runner’s Roof Top Tent. It is 1.3-meterd wide when stowed that opens up to 2.4 meters long when set up. The super-low, 330mm profile reduces wind resistance while on the road and lowers the vehicle’s total height. The Front Runner Roof Top Tent is said to be the lowest profile roof top tent on the market. MSRP: $1,169 frontrunneroutfitters.com O2. MOVE BUMPERS/PRECISION 1.5-INCH PRERUNNER BUMPER KIT Move Bumpers’ Precision 1.5-inch Prerunner Bumper Kit provides a sporty look while providing front-end protection to your truck or SUV. A wide range of applications is available for your truck or SUV. It is made of 3/16-inch raw plate steel…

Women in Saudi Arabia have only been allowed to drive a car beginning just four years ago. Announced in September 2017, it wasn’t until June 24, 2018, where women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia got behind the wheel. Fast forward to March of 2022, and the first-ever all-women’s off-road competition in Saudi Arabia and the Arab nation was held: Rally Jameel. This three-day event took competitors from Hail to Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh in bone-stock 4x4s and all-wheel-drive vehicles. Not only did they tackle soft sand and challenging terrain, but they tried to keep the exact speed, time, and distance while finding various waypoints required by the rally’s roadbook. This is called a time/speed/distance rally, or TSD rally. Coming Together Hassan Jameel is a supporter of Rally Jameel. He…

A visit to Australia requires a 16-hour flight from LAX. Not long after arriving the realization dawns that this island nation is more than a little different. There are funny animals hopping around, people pronounce things like they’re trying to win a Steve Irwin impersonation contest, and because beer is too hard to spell they called it XXXX instead. The mainland is a bustling metropolis in comparison to the isolated island state of Tasmania, which lies some 130 nautical miles off the southeastern coast of Australia. At just 35,000 square miles, Tasmania comprises less than 1 percent of the entire Australian landmass, and I seriously thought about giving it a miss. In my mind, I was sure there would be bigger and more important things to see and do on…

Two grown men playing with kids’ toys,” a hiker says as he walks by. Alex Mace hits the brakes on his RC truck and pauses for an awkward laugh. He starts to explain the hobby to this man, as his friend sends a truck up the side of a boulder in the background. After less than a minute, the hiker chuckles and turns to his wife to say, “Now I know what I want for Christmas,” before moving along the trail. What makes these high-performance radio-controlled vehicles stand out from those that most had as kids is the complex engineering, suspension systems and powertrains. These intricate off roaders provide fun for the whole family and come in various shapes, sizes and types to accommodate different budgets, interests and skill levels.…

It’s rare that a manufacturer makes a concept vehicle that actually runs and is drivable; it’s even more rare when they make one that’s truly capable off-road. It’s beyond ultra-rare to let journalist take one of these treasured concept vehicles out on an adventure unsupervised. Luckily for us, Jeep is one of those ultra-rare brands. It continues to stand behind its product by letting myself and others truly experience the world-class working concept vehicles that they create each year for Easter Jeep Safari (EJS) and The SEMA Show. This year I was able to talk Jeep into dusting off its 2020 EJS overland-style Gladiator build and letting me take it on a proper adventure. I picked it up at the Las Vegas airport valet with only about 1,500 miles on…

WHEELBASE90.5 in. GROUND CLEARANCE12.4 in. CARGO CAPACITY300 lbs. FUEL CAPACITY9.0 gal. TIRES:29 in. Maxxis Carnage 01 PERFORMANCE ENGINE. With plenty of pep in its step, the YXZ1000R SS XT-R’s high-revving inline triple engine offers exceptional power, a screaming 10,500 rpm redline and high-strength internals that are ready to handle high-output demands. TRANSMISSION. The YXZ utilizes Yamaha’s Sport Shift, a sequential five-speed manual transmission that features Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift (YCC-S) technology. The system combines the power, durability and efficiency of a traditional manual transmission with an advanced automatic clutch system controlled with sporty paddle shifters mounted to the steering column. 02 SUSPENSION & CHASSIS FOX SUSPENSION. While the performance focused Fox suspension on the YXZ1000R SS XT-R is engineered for the widest possible adjustment range for various terrain, that same…

“ONE LOOK AT THE THING FROM ANY ANGLE OTHER THAN FRONT AND YOU WILL KNOW THAT THE BEST FEATURE ON SPEK’S FRONTIER IS THE SUMMIT EXPEDITION TRAY.” There are certain natural choices off-road enthusiasts flock to when building their off-road rig. The more popular the vehicle the easier it is to add parts and modifications to your checkout cart, but that isn’t the vibe Jason Spek was going for with his 2018 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X build. He wanted to build something truly unique embodying the rigs that inspired his love of off roading. Why Build a Frontier? Spek is a Corporal in the Royal Canadian Air Force currently in his 8th year of service out of Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada. His love of off roading and the idea behind the…

“DURING HIS STRUGGLE WITH ACUTE ILLNESS, BRIAN LEARNED THAT 37 PERCENT OF KIDS IN THE REGION WERE DYING BEFORE AGE 5.” It all began for Brian King in 2008 with a bucket list trip to Africa, where he did something we would consider very routine, but it changed the course of his life forever: He took a simple drink of water. Turns out the water was contaminated—like most water in that region—and it sent him into a life-threatening bout with dysentery. Brian remembers: “After 48 hours of pain and constant fluid loss, my colleagues transferred me from the mud hut to a pickup truck and drove me three hours though the bush to a make-shift clinic, where they ran a crude IV and pumped my body with wrong medicine.” During…

When the snow gets deep and the terrain gets steep, a snowmobile is the answer. We went to British Columbia to see what backcountry snowmobile travel is all about, learn the skills required, and check out the latest and greatest sleds from Ski-Doo. Snowmobiling You’re reading this magazine because you love the off-road adventure lifestyle. We love to experience that lifestyle in all forms that we can. That includes adventures by overland camper, rock crawler, UTV, motorcycle, snowmobile, and even our own two feet. Snowmobiles are another one of those tools that lets you explore off the beaten path where the road ends, and even past where your 4WD can access. CKMP Since 2013, Carl Kuster Mountain Park (CKMP) has been hosting guests to sample the local British Columbia Monashee…

The ability to charge up electronics while off grid is quite the luxury and can also be a necessity for some. Some adventurers haul video or camera equipment on trips to capture epic moments and need a way to keep their batteries at full power. Others have accessories they want to keep charged and running while driving or relaxing at a camping spot. And as we know, we can’t help adding more and accessories to our builds that need power. While some people opt for a dual battery setup in their rig, others opt for a portable battery solution. Perfect for those with multiple vehicles, or for people who simply don’t want something so permanent, a portable battery allows for charging on the go and constant power to accessories in…

Food and the cooking of it are inextricably tied to almost all outdoor adventures. From the 15th century search for spices that lead to global exploration to the chuckwagons that served up food to the hungry cowboys and settlers of the old west, it can be argued that food and the preparation of it is as important as the adventure itself… or at least, it fuels it. Cooking over an open flame used to be the only way to get food cooked, but fortunately for those of us who enjoy properly prepping meals, camping stoves were invented. What kind of portable outdoor stove you use is really dependent on what kind of activity you plan to embark on. For every type of outdoor adventure, there is a corresponding outdoor stove.…