First Rule Go Big Or GO HOME... This advuenture looks rather small!

I had to have a little laugh at the ultimate adventure itself. I mean off-road parks? Does some one not know the meaning ultimate-- it means finale. So in that sense this should be like greatest adventure possible. It seems to me that you need to find some place where the road ends and the adventure begins from day one to day fourteen.  I don't think there should be any moment of concrete portaging of one's vehicle on a trailer. That seems like cheating to me. Perhaps, I'm just insane; but, if this were to be truly an ultimate adventure it would seem that it would have to be in an open area like the Mojave Desert where you start point a the outskirts of civilization and point b is civilization again some distance away. What is the point of calling it an off-road adventure if 60% or more of it is spent driving on pavement in road vehicles to off-road parks? That seems to defeat the entire purpose of the adventure to me.

I think the perfect place to go an adventure is some place like Belize or Serbia in the Spring. Nothing says quagmire faster than Siberia in the Spring! Or Belize that joyous bit of real estate is almost muddy and overgrown by jungles...

For example:
Siberia in Spring:
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This is the highway-- The offroading is far more intense with steep grades, endless wilderness...


Belize's Jungle:
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These are tame adventures in the Belize Jungle but they give you an idea of terrain.

I'm sure that you could find some sort of super extreme terrain in the US perhaps Alaska in Spring or the Mojave Desert...  I just don't find off-road parks to be the ultimate off road adventure. For that sort of adventure has to be a totally uncharted trek into the wild.  

I think you should try taking part in one of these sometime and then speaking from experience instead of arm chair quarterbacking. I can tell you for sure that there was more time spent off road than on. I can also tell you there is way more that happens that can fit on a few pages of a magazine. Heck the weeklong journey won't even fit on the DVD. The UA is not all about wheeling, it is about being part of a group and surviving as a team. While your suggestions have a little merit, Being able to get 20 properly prepared rigs out of the country or even to Alaska would be a whole nother adventure in itself. Many of the people who get to attend this event, do so on thier own dime. I know I spent over a grand in travel expenses alone. Add in 2 new tires, a brake booster + other odds & ends and it only climbed from there. Trying to keep this event attainable for the readers is high on the list of piorities when these events are planned.  

Double post  

But you see my issue isn't with the event itself but, the connotation of what "ultimate adventure" really means. This sort of adventure should be something you have to plan for all year.  I want an event where the trucks are completely lost if you screw up. That is the ultimate event.

This to me is a good event but it is not the ultimate event.  

For those who run it, it is the Ultimate. Only Pewe' and one or two of his staff know exactly where we were going. To give you an idea of how it goes down I'll tell you how my view was this past year. I put in the application back in Jan. On April fools day I get a call from Pewe' stating I am one of 10 being considered for the UA. He only tells me the tentative dates that they are shooting for. Pretty much says if you are serious about doing this, I better make sure my time off from work is in order (kind of like a deployment-get your crap together!). So without a promise I put in for the time off giving myself 2 days on each side to travel to and from the area (which I still don't know where) where it will take place. When I say area, we covered 4 states and around a thousand miles. I have to figure out whowill be willing and able to go with me and is willing to also ask for vaca time without a solid promise that we will actually get the invite. I strted ordering some parts that I wanted and some that were required for the event that I did not have. I think it was the 5th of May that I got another call from Pewe' where heofficially invited me. At this point I have only 2 months left to get everything in order. Sounds like more than enough time, right? Well, considering I still have to work full time, spend quality time with my family and get the truck ready, that time frame is ate up quickly. 3 weeks before the event, I am (as almost all the other attendees) told where the start and end points will be. That is just getting there!

On the event, there are NO trailers allowed unless you are towing it behind your rig. Yes there are road days when we travel from park to park. I can tell you that those road days are not interstate highways, but back roads, dirt roads, sometimes even a ferry or 2. Sounds easy until you realize that some of the rigs run full hydro steering, big unbalanced tires, fully loaded for the week. No support semis or trailoring. If you have an overheating issue, you let it cool, try and fix it and continue on. I sliced the sideawall on 2 different tires on days 1 and 2. It was not until day 3 that Pewe' had mercy on me and allowed me to split from the group to get 2 new ones from a major city.  

Just because we were not in the jungles of South America, does not mean we were Napa stores around the corner. Wewere never told where we were going outside the start and end points, we found out when we got there. We were never told routes we were taking, we had to stay together as  group. We would fix broken parts on the trail, on the road or at the campsite instead of getting sleep. If you don't think it is the Ultimate Adventure, then youare entitled to your oppinion. For those that have made this trek, they will most likely disagree. I say put in for it and give it a try, I bet you'll agree too.

Sorry for rambling.  

Damn, double posting!  

If I were designing the ultimate challenge-- this what it would look like.

1) the location and route would be made known from day one to all people from the beginning of the event. I don't find the secrecy to add anything to the overall off-roading experience.  

2) I would pick a location that was open space with variety of terrain. It would have the following features: no roads, perhaps a few trails at best, hills, soft soil or sand,  water features (most streams or rivers), rock features,  and so and so forth. I think the jungle would be the best because it would take a lot of effort to break new trails in certain areas.  

3) The starting point and ending point would all be driven off-road. I don't see what the challenge is in driving on back roads or even dirt roads. That to me is sort of like a Car & Driver Magazine thing-- look at how great our vehicles do on back roads. Sure if you want to test out how streetable your truck is that is fine. But this isn't a test for finding out what truck is the most well balanced off-road machine- it is about the off roading.

4) What to bring- the trucks I'm talking would expedition type trucks and it would be better to have teams. You know that way one truck is like a camper and the other carries the truck supplies. Because unlike this adventure where Napa might be 50-100 miles away-- I would pick a location where truck parts would be totally unattainable to the event goers. So that means if your Nissan Frontier destroys a brake booster and two tires you better have enough parts on your truck to get the repairs done. So you would need a team of people.

5)You fall behind you stay behind! Top Gear UK Rules! Actually, that I'm just kidding about. However, I wouldn't mind if the trucks were lost completely on the trek.


6) Trucks:  I saw the trucks in the articles and the biggest truck tires were 42 inch diameter models. Mostly Dana 60 size axles. They are not bad-- but really I was expecting trucks with Rockwell 2.5ton size axles or even the 5-ton Rockwell model.  I was expecting to see higher output engines all in the 500+ HP range. 46 inch tires at minimum.  What I saw were a bunch of nice trucks that were just not ultimate machines. The type of adventure I'm talking about would require trucks like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqFqapalVc&feature=related


What I saw in the magazine is just a nice little trek to off road parks.  I'm not trying to say this wasn't a challenging trek- or that the trucks are not well built for what they are designed to do.  However, I just don't call this sort of adventure an Ultimate Adventure-- And since I do tend to go big or go home-- I don't think my Kaiser-Jeep M35A2 2.5 6x6 with full ARB Air Lockers or my new baby the Tatra T-813 Kolos that is coming soon would be acceptable at this sort event. After all the M35A2 is 13,500 lbs empty and the Tatra T-813 is 30,000lbs or so unloaded. But to me these are what I enjoy when it comes to off roading.  

duplicate post  

I would really like to know exactly how many miles the UA actually does off road in truly challenging conditions. That to me is only way to measure the difficulty of the trek.  

thats to easy being that ua11 is over take there route with there time restrictions and try it for yourself only then will you be able to make a real judgement  

thats to easy being that ua11 is over take there route with there time restrictions and try it for yourself only then will you be able to make a real judgement  

TatraFan, I'm curious as to where you take a 30,000lb empty truck? Not across any roads in my neck of the woods....  

Anywhere you want to...  Unless the roads and bridges say less than 15tons...  Tatra T-813 or T-815 series trucks cross trenches 2.0 meters wide, climb 100% grades, ford 1.2m deep streams and rivers, travel across all terrains. And if trees get in your way if they are small enough you just run them down.  

I've got a little trek planned for myself-- across the Trans-Siberian Highway and into the wilderness of Siberia itself in say 2013...  

This why the Tatra is so great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKJYDdiaBYQ

Just follow the link and you'll see what I'm talking about.