Table of contents for May/June 2024 in TREAD

“IN THE REAR PASSENGER COMPARTMENT, RYNO TOOK OUT THE DISCOVERY’S REAR SEATS AND ADDED A CUSTOM DOG ENCLOSURE, COMPLETE WITH CARGO BARRIERS, WINDOW GUARDS, AND A BUILT-IN WINDOW FAN FOR HIS K9 COMPANION.” Taking out your off-road vehicle for a day trip can only be topped by one thing—taking it out for a multi-day adventure. For Ryan “Ryno” Lieberman, owner of Ryno Built Rod & Custom in Carl Junction, Missouri, taking his vehicles on long weekends and vacations near and far are what dreams are made of. But to get to places where not everyone can reach, he needed a capable vehicle with plenty of on-board amenities to make the trip enjoyable and stress free. That’s why he built his 1998 Land Rover Discovery 1 to be the ultimate off-road…

“FROM A SMALL GROUP OF FRIENDS BETTING AGAINST ONE ANOTHER IN 2007, TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST OFF-ROAD EVENTS IN THE WORLD FEATURING THE TOUGHEST OFF-ROAD RACE IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2024, KING OF THE HAMMERS HAS BECOME A MECCA OF SORTS FOR OFF-ROAD ENTHUSIASTS WORLD WIDE.” If you haven’t heard of King of the Hammers, you’ve been missing out! The massive off-road event held early each year in Johnson Valley, California, offers off-road enthusiasts everything from extreme desert and rock racing to concerts, bars, and as much rowdy fun as you’d like to partake in. This year, we made our way out to the desert for the major rock races of the event for an exclusive look at this amazing event! How It Started King of the Hammers…

“THE 2022 TUNDRA PICKS UP WHERE THE LAST GENERATION LEFT OFF, WITH PLENTY OF POWER AND PAYLOAD CAPACITY NOW COMBINED WITH A MORE MODERN SUSPENSION AND INTERIOR.” The 2007-2021 Toyota Tundra is one of the most popular vehicles for overland travel. It checks all the boxes with a reliable drivetrain, comfortable size, long production run, and plenty of aftermarket support. When Toyota announced that the Tundra would be redesigned for 2022, we wondered if it would live up to the Tundra name. Spoiler—it does. The second-generation Toyota Tundra had a production run of 15 years from 2007 to 2021, which is nearly unheard of today. The truck addressed US customers’ complaints that the first generation Tundra was too small and underpowered with a big size increase, both for the body…

“THE BUILD TOOK DAN ABOUT TWO YEARS TO COMPLETE, NOT TO MENTION THE COUNTLESS HOURS THAT WENT INTO DEVELOPING ALL OF THE MOTOBILT COMPONENTS HE INCLUDED IN THE JEEP BUILD.” You can tell a lot about a person by what they put into a build. Take, for example, our cover model—a Jeep YJ Wrangler dubbed “El Jefe” built by MotoBilt’s owner and CEO Dan DuBose. Just one look at this masterpiece and you’ll quickly discern that Dan knows what he’s doing when it comes to building badass off-road machines. You’ll also see that his attention to detail, along with the custom components he has and continues to develop for other enthusiasts looking to build custom Jeeps, are second to none! Dan is what you’d call an OG of the off-road…

“A SET OF 17X9 METHOD #103 BEADLOCK WHEELS AND 37-INCH BFG BAJA T/A PROJECT TIRES ALLOW THE RANGER TO TRAVERSE ANY TYPE OF TERRAIN IT ENCOUNTERS, AND JUST IN CASE THINGS GO SOUTH, THERE ARE TWO EASY-TO-ACCESS SPARES READY TO GO.” While some stick to their guns when it comes to remaining true to truck branding and badging, others see no division or boundaries when it comes to piecing a project together. Guy Bancroft-Livingston of Huntington Beach, California, is just the kind of guy who would mix and match parts from within the Big 3 of automakers if that meant he would end up with his ideal truck at the end. Sure, doing this could be considered blasphemous to a few purists in the crowd, but Guy’s only objective was…

when the new Jeep Gladiator hit the market for 2020, it took the Jeep and light truck worlds by storm. Not only did the new truck offer a renewed way to adventure, but it also brought with it decades of Jeep truck history. But some were skeptical with regard to how it would perform from the get-go. After all, how well could an elongated four-door Jeep with a bed do off road? Luckily, it ended up doing pretty dang well on and off-road in applications from running to the hardware store to racing some of the toughest off-road races in the world. The Gladiator also gave overlanders and off-road enthusiasts another platform to build upon, while ushering in a new era of performance and aesthetic products for Jeep. One company…

“BLAKE WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO UTILIZE A GOOD AMOUNT OF READILY AVAILABLE, OFF-THE-SHELF PRODUCTS THAT CUT DOWN ON OVERALL COST AND DOWN TIME.” When we heard that Blake Wilkey of Urban Assault video fame was taking a quick pause from shredding asphalt to building a rock crawling Bronco he refers to as Bloodshark, our attention span was locked on nothing else. We’ve all seen footage of Wilkey ripping though cities from Las Vegas to Tijuana at breakneck speeds and flying over obstacles with the greatest of ease. The level of excitement his driving skills delivers blows right off the charts, but with his latest project he was forced to slow down dramatically as he approached a project with a different set of obstacles ahead. The vehicles that Blake typically fabricates…

Several years ago, I got this bug in me to start hiking volcanoes around the world, but not the typical volcanoes found in Costa Rica or Hawaii that attract all the tourists. I was looking for some more obscure and exotic locations, the kind that didn’t have a gift shop or cheap T-shirts for sale. I got my chance to do some travel photography in the Mediterranean, where I would be able to visit Santorini, Greece, and Mount Vesuvius in Italy. I heard about another volcano on the other side of the globe. It was called Taal volcano in Tagaytay, Philippines. A few thousand miles and 30 mosquito bites later, I found myself staring into the sulfur crater of this mighty little volcano. BOLO MACHETES On this trip, I was…

The Oodnadatta Track is one of Australia’s most iconic and famous outback tracks. Quirky name aside, the Oodnadatta is well known for being remote, scorching hot even in the winter months, and severely dusty. That last point bears repeating. This is the kind of Outback “bulldust” that is as fine as talcum powder that works its way past door seals and zips and leaves a fine coating on every surface inside and out. Of course, the track has plenty of redeeming qualities, too. There are a smattering of natural hot springs, quirky outback towns and pubs, date palm plantations from the Middle East, and plenty of stunning views across the rugged desert. While I thought I knew exactly what we had in store for the next week or so, I…

The Winter 4x4 Jamboree in Hurricane, Utah, has become an established event for off-road enthusiasts, drawing participants and spectators from across the country. The history of this Jamboree is marked by the passion for adventure, the love of off-roading, and the spirit of community. The event is conducted annually during the third week of January. The roots of the Winter 4x4 Jamboree can be traced back to 2014, when a group of local off-road enthusiasts envisioned creating a winter off-roading event that would showcase the breathtaking landscapes of southwest Utah. With the support of the community, the inaugural Winter 4x4 Jamboree was held in January of 2015, bringing together 284 registrants. The event is organized by volunteers with the Desert Roads and Trails Society (DRATS), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. DRATS…