TREADの January/February 2026 の目次

Meet Adam Nguyen, a Southern Californian based out of Fountain Valley. Adam is the builder behind this Nautical Blue Toyota 4Runner. This truck isn’t just a random build for fun and capability; Adam sold his custom 4th Gen 4Runner to build a family vehicle for himself, his wife, and kids to go out and have fun in! The exterior features on this rig include AlphaRex MK II Nova Series headlights, a Vidal Metal Worx Nighthawk 5G front bumper with its clean and slick look providing its high clearance needs, and McQueen 4-inch fiberglass fenders to give it that wide feel when cruising. The 4Runner’s exterior has also been upgraded with a Bison Gear roof rack with a table and best-in-the-business illumination from Baja Designs, including a linkable LP4, RTL, S2s…

What you are looking at is quite possibly one of the wildest Nissan Frontier pickups on the planet. This truck is composed of equal parts passion, dedication, and patience. While there’s just something about the Frontier’s aggressive design, the most impressive feature about this truck is what you don’t see at first glance. James Holguin has owned this truck since his senior year of high school, and there is video proof of that (go ahead and check Terra Crew’s YouTube page for the receipts). James is seen sitting in front of his already heavily modified Frontier back in 2006, and it’s apparent from the words coming out of his mouth that he was having an absolute blast with his truck back then. Even after a quick watch, it’s evident that…

Let’s get something straight right out of the gate: most fixed blades are either too big to carry or too dainty to do anything worth a damn. The Alpine Gen 2 from Axial hits the sweet spot. Made from start to finish in Utah, USA, this compact beast isn’t just a pretty blade to toss in your gear photo; it’s a workhorse that’s built for the real-world grind. Whether you’re slicing cord, prepping kindling, or gutting open another Amazon package you don’t remember ordering, the Alpine shows up ready to raise hell. Not Your Typical Fixed Blade Let me be honest for a second. I’m not a big fixed-blade guy when it comes to EDC. I think they’ve got their place at camp, survival, and the occasional truck console, but…

Meet Steven Donovan, racer by day and firefighter by night. Steven is a guy of pure joy and excitement and is down to try anything! He brought this buggy over 50 hours’ worth of driving from Canada to the harshest rock trails in California at The Hammers in Johnson Valley. Even though Steven has been here at the Hammers many times, he has never been able to bring his buggy down and be able to party on these trails. I’ve been a longtime wheeler and veteran of the trails in Johnson Valley, and I sat shotgun with Steven for these trails and got to co-drive and spot him through everything. Let me tell you, this buggy even surprised me, and that’s coming from a person with over eighteen years of…

Growing up in one of the flattest portions of the Colorado High Plains, I was always mesmerized by mountains and broken country. I was fortunate to spend a summer working in western Nebraska and the Pine Ridge. It’s an amazing place filled with pronghorn, mule deer, elk, mountain lions, and many other species. It’s also a fantastic place to watch raptors. Provided is one route example to spend a day in this fairly unknown but fantastic part of Nebraska. Taking your UTV, ATV, or bikes can provide another way to sample more of this area. Additional research will allow you to craft a few days of adventure that will provide a lot of scenery, varying terrain, and wildlife viewing. Utilizing onX Maps will help you find many of the short…

Every legend starts with a spark—an idea too wild to ignore. For this one, it was simple: What if a Tacoma could outrun the horizon? That question became a mission. A Tacoma cab stripped to its bones became the foundation for something unthinkable—a machine that fused Toyota’s proven toughness with Dodge’s supercharged chaos. What followed were years of late nights, TIG sparks, and desert dust, ending in a creation that turned heads first at Toyo Tires’ Treadpass during SEMA 2024 and again a year later under the Lock Off-Road banner at SEMA 2025. At the center of this monster sits a 6.2L Hellcat V8, an engine built for speedways and drag strips, now breathing desert air through a custom titanium intake and K&N filter. It’s anchored by solid motor mounts…

If you’ve been following our American Gladiator series, you know we’ve come a long way from the bone-stock 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon we started with. We tackled the suspension with Skyjacker’s long-travel lift kit, added Dirty Life beadlocks wrapped in Toyo R/Ts, bolted on a Truxedo tonneau and Go Rhino steps, and even turned up the tunes with a full JL Audio sound system. Now that our Gladiator can climb, crawl, and cruise with the best of them, it’s time to make sure it can stop just as reliably as it goes. Enter Wilwood’s new 13.50-inch big brake kit, engineered specifically for Jeep Gladiator owners who demand real stopping power without giving up any factory compatibility. This setup ditches the stock floating calipers for Wilwood’s forged aluminum four-piston calipers, delivering…

Overlanding, apocalyptic vibes, and adventure are all things that are bundled into this one vehicle . With this 2022 Jeep Gladiator, there is nothing short of its looks and handling on the streets of Casco, Maine. Meet Ryan and his Gladiator that he named Endgame. This rig is built with top brand names and parts from all over the off-road industry. Jumping right into the looks of this rig, it has a 2024+ Jeep grille on the front stuffed with a set of AlphaRex Nova Series headlights to light up daily drives. Protecting the grille and front end from any damage is a Metalcloak frame-built bumper. With just over 2 months and $190k invested into this build, this Gladiator has the components that Jeep aficionados appreciate in high-end off-road builds.…

When you were a teenager in high school, you may have gotten caught up in watching drifting videos on the Internet. One Japanese dream car in particular, the Nissan 240SX, seemed to be everywhere. They are typically low to the ground, can’t go over speed bumps, and are meant to get sideways on a back road in the hills. Big wheels and thin tires defined the 240SX, which Jake O’Donnel knows about all too well. Jake has a blue 1995 Nissan 240SX that defies what every person has ever thought about the Japanese-manufactured creation. His vision was to turn his car into an American prerunner fan’s wet dream. Over the five years of this project being built, Jake’s 240SX has gone through a few versions and has been featured by…

01. PACKFIRE This collapsible round fire pit folds flat, sets up in seconds, and delivers smokeless warmth, so you can enjoy the good times. You know, the classic marshmallow and ghost story gatherings—minus the smoky eyes. MSRP $399.00 packfire.com 02. RTIC ULTRA-DRY BACKPACK The Ultra-Dry Backpack features RTIC EZ waterproof zippers, waterproof fabric, and welded seams throughout, making it watertight. Your essentials will stay dry, whether you’re commuting on a foggy morning, boating, or getting caught in the rain. MSRP $119.99 rtic.com 03. ZEMPIRE KITPAC PRO STANDARD CAMPING TABLE The Zempire Kitpac Pro Standard Camping Table is easy to set up and is ideal for food prep, dining, card games, and more. It folds down small for easy transport and storage. MSRP $140.00 zempirecamping.com 04. KATADYN BEFREE 1.0L Whether you’re…

From start to finish, the Off-Road Expo in Costa Mesa, California, is an event that I look forward to every single year, but 2025 was my favorite so far! There were many companies I have close relations with in attendance, like Maxxis Tires, Predator Tires, Fittipaldi Off-Road, PRP Seats, Terra Crew, and many more! There was no shortage of drama on the Proving Grounds course either with the excitement of rowdiness put on by the Terra Crew and Terra Drift Crew. Big names like Ruslan, Blake Wilkey, Eric Conner, Anthony West, and more got to party and jump their rigs for everyone to see as well as show off the capability these desert rigs have on pavement. Saturday morning started off with an early wake-up call at 5:30 A.M. I…

This story isn’t just about a truck, and it isn’t about its speed, its capability off-road, or its looks either. This story is about a man and a machine that healed each other through the passion of off-roading and finding a new way to express themselves behind the wheel and off the pavement. Of course, we will cover all the bases of this rowdy build and its legacy. This project took over five years of pain, sweat, tears, blood, and a lot of money and learning to build. Meet Spencer Trego, a Chula Vista local here in Southern California, who is the creative mind and builder behind this rig. Spencer didn’t know much about his truck when he first started working on it, but what he did know is that…

In the hills surrounding Las Vegas, a sun-faded Ford Bronco sat forgotten but not lost. It wasn’t just any Bronco—it was a 1978 conversion by RVI (Recreational Vans Inc.), a little-known custom outfit based out of Torrance, California, that dared to break from convention during the heyday of American van culture. RVI wasn’t building for the masses; they were building for people who wanted more—more stripes, more chrome, more sunroofs, and apparently…more attitude. This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill 4x4. It also wasn’t just a rare custom truck with a backstory, vintage RV flair, and a future that no one could’ve predicted. Well, except for Jake Gertsch from Montana. He knew he had to have more than a basic restored Bronco—one that checked all the boxes. Jake also knew he had to…