Off Road Podcast 458 – Florida Trail Teams

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This episode of the Off Road Podcast is Sponsored by Colby Valve.

Tonight, Aaron does a drive by, Coy eats wet tacos, & Ben chills out

Welcome to the off-road podcast. A podcast about everything off-road. We cover the news, review products, and interview people in the off road industry.  Your hosts are Aaron, Coy, my name is Ben and we are joined tonight by Marc Lawson.  Welcome to the show.

Coy – taco festival in a rainstorm, toy hauler shopping

Aaron – Took a CPR class. 2 of 3 paint colors done on the off road trailer.  Brakes all put back together, just need to be bled.  Drove by Ben’s house.

Ben – got fridge up and going now I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole

Marc – 

Listener Feedback

(605) SPOTTER We’ve only got some spam.  Call us with your questions or if you just want to tell us about a wheeling trip that you just returned from.

We did, however get an email from our buddy Dave over at the “Let’s Go Hunt” podcast and it reads:

“If money were no object, what engine would you swap into your project. You can choose a gas and a diesel.”
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News brought to you by Colby Valve

Motor1 – Ram Confirms High Horsepower Pickup Truck

• Ram’s short film to launch the RHO wasn’t a simple shoot with a few cameras in the desert. It featured several trucks, famous racing drivers, a Hollywood movie star, and Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis showing off his awkward acting chops as the “boss.” It also featured a couple of dirt bikes, one of which apparently had a hidden message about a future Ram truck with a whole lotta horsepower.
• Don’t feel bad about missing it. The Easter Egg in question is the dirt bike that doesn’t have any number affixed to it. Meanwhile, the other bike wears 540—a nod to the 540-hp twin-turbocharged I-6 engine in the new RHO. As for the blank bike, it “has a number intentionally left blank for the next Ram High HP vehicle with three letters.” That’s a quote from Jeff Summers, the head of advertising for Ram who shared a post on LinkedIn explaining the video in detail.
• It’s not a direct confirmation of a new TRX, but it clearly points to a future Ram with gobs of horsepower, presumably more than the RHO. Ram has been non-committal on the subject up to this point, though the company has made it clear that RHO is not a TRX replacement. Tim stated the TRX name is “on the shelf for a little while” and said it might be used in the future. Curiously, Tim said almost the exact same thing when asked about a future Dodge Challenger. 
• In any case, something else is cooking at Ram and Summers suggests there are more hidden clues in the video. With that in mind, we replayed the clip while wearing our sleuthing hat and noticed a few things. A series of numbers occasionally show up on the lower right, looking like official military-type stuff but it also looks like binary code. We ran it through some translators and didn’t get anything, but knowing how much Dodge and Ram love to play with numbers, they could mean something.
• We also noticed the letters RC and a lightning bolt on the trailer carrying the camouflaged RHO. That could simply be a brand of car trailer, but perhaps it points to an electrified high-performance off-roader. Or maybe the grains of sand have certain shapes that indicate a new high-efficiency Hemi design? Where are our tinfoil hats?

Autoblog – Earth Cruiser Shuts Down

• EarthCruiser is kaput. Founded in 2008, the Oregon-based builder of overlanding rigs based on medium-duty pickups and box truck chassis’ posted a notice on its site on April 24 that it would be shutting down the following day, April 25, with a finality that would end vehicle production and vehicle servicing. The company wrote that the events of the past few years created “changing market dynamics and economic challenges [that] made it increasingly difficult to sustain operations,” hence, “after careful consideration and in-depth strategic analysis the company has made the decision to wind down operations in its current form.”
• The company was best known for its EXP and FX lines, based on the Isuzu NPR. The range expanded three years ago with the smaller Terranova Expedition Camper for a chassis-cab pickup initially built on the Ford F-550. An Australian-style camper, the Terranova offered the same benefits as the larger EXP and FX in a more compact package, most notably the roof that could be raised for more headroom and lowered for better clearance. Last year, EarthCruiser launched a custom camper upfit for the GMC Hummer EV that wore an even taller roof extension so liveaboards could stand in the Hummer’s bed and sit up in the camper bed without issue. One of the first owners put a rig up for auction on Bring a Trailer last month (of course), getting $150,000 for it.
• EarthCruiser had also recently got into creating off-road fire and rescue rigs for emergency services in the Pacific Northwest. Called Commander Off-Road Equipment (CORE), they were made to get first responders deep into the thickly wooded backcountry. 
• Founder and CIO Lance Gilles says the firm is “working with professionals to accomplish orderly liquidation in accordance with state law,” and that it will make further announcements in the future. We’re sad to see it go.

Main Topic  

Marc Lawson

Fast Five Facts   

1. New or old vehicle?
2. Summer or winter camping?
3. Rock, Sand, Snow or Mud?
4. Favorite vehicle brand? 
5. Favorite tire?

Any recommendations for someone new to off-roading

Tell us about you

How did you get started in off-roading?

What was the first vehicle you took off road?

What’s your favorite rig to hit the trail in?

What’s your most embarrassing moment on the trail?

Do you have a biggest win on the trail? 

Where is your favorite place to wheel? 

Any places you want to go that you haven’t gone to?

What is the Florida trail team challenge? 

How long does the event take to complete?

How many challenges and what are they?

What are the requirements to compete in the FTTC?

Tell us a little about the marksmanship challenge, Aaron is afraid of guns can he still compete?

Do the challenges change from year to year?

One last thing, just in case a competitor is doing his research and listens to this show, give them a hint about one of this year’s challenges…

Tell us about your business jeep lab?

Plug jeep lab

Final Last question, Where can our listeners find you?

• Facebook- florida trail team challenge 
• Youtube- thejeeplab
• Instagram- trail team challenge
• Web- floridatrailteamchallenge.com

Next Week:  Phil OTO Mountain Mayhem coverage

Closing Statements

Thanks everyone who listens to us weekly and also to those who watch us live on YouTube.  We really appreciate you.  Please share us with your friends and help us grow.  God bless America!

Don’t forget to visit Patriot Patch and join the Patch of the Month club. Check out our Gaia affiliate link for up to 40% off. Also, don’t forget to head over to Warn, Colby Valve, and 4Patriots to see all of their great products. We are a proud part of the Firearms Radio Network. Got a question or comment?  Send it to us through our Linktree account or by searching for Off Road Podcast.  Also, you can listen to us live at overlandradio.com Mondays at 7 pm Pacific.  When off-road please remember to have fun, tread lightly, and be safe and courteous. Thanks for listening.