JK Experience to cover new ground in 2012
CERRITOS, CA (August 15, 2012) -- Nine lucky Jeep enthusiasts will accompany Mel Wade and the team from Off Road Evolution on a 1,000-mile adventure this September that will take them through every range of terrain their vehicles can handle.
“There will be winching, deep mud, rocks, water crossings, sand dunes and everything,” said Wade, tour organizer. “We make the route as challenging as possible, without trying to destroy the vehicles.”
Each year, hundreds of people apply for the chance to be invited to take their modified Wranglers on the JK Experience, a journey designed specially for the JK model Jeep. Wade and his team hand select a lucky few who can prove they have the experience and equipment to rise to the challenge he lays out for them. ATX Wheels is a key partner in the 2012 JK Experience, presented by Nitto Tire.
“The route is designed to have challenging off-roading,” said Wade. “But it still has road miles to showcase the vehicle’s drivability -- on and off the highway.”
Wade said he created the JK Experience in 2009 because he felt there was a need for a challenging tour that would welcome JK owners. At the time, many enthusiasts ridiculed the 2007 model-year revision of the Jeep Wrangler – known as the “JK” – for being too plush. But Wade knew he could prove otherwise.
“People didn’t think the JK was trail worthy. They said it wasn’t hardcore like the old Jeeps,” said Wade, adding when he tried to take his own modified JK on existing tours, he was frequently rejected. “But it’s an equal. Easily. No problem.”
Wade is something of a hero among Jeep enthusiasts. His Off Road Evolution shop, based in Southern California, builds and modifies off-road capable vehicles, with a specialty in creating aftermarket parts for the JK model. He has taken his own modified Jeep on many excursions that have left no doubts about its off-road worthiness – including campaigns on the famed King of the Hammers, a race that is known as one of the most hardcore off-road racing challenges in the U.S.
To ensure participants get the most out of the JK Experience, Wade keeps tour numbers low, accepting fewer than 10 jeeps -- despite receiving more than 300 applications to the 2012 adventure.
Wade also invites a handful off-road industry members to join the tour, allowing participants to share the trail with the people who develop products for off-roading. He says a lot of valuable feedback makes its way back into the components developed for the JK. ATX Wheels will return to take part in the tour for a second time in 2012.
The fourth-annual JK Experience is slated to start in Terre Haute, Indiana, and end in Drummond Island, Michigan. The points in-between are a closely guarded secret, revealed only to participants once the event begins.
“This year, since we’re in the east, we’ll see lots of lakes, trees and cornfields,” promised Wade. “And more mud.”
This is the furthest east the JK Experience has ventured to-date. Last year’s participants ate up 1,000 miles of Colorado’s spectacular countryside. In 2010, tour participants visited Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. They visited Texas, Arizona, and California in 2009.
Once the tour starts, Wade and the crew will be off the grid, but not out of touch. Follow along on Facebook and watch for YouTube videos of the experience.
Applications for the 2013 tour open shortly after 2012 particpants return home, sometime in October. Keep on checking for updates right here on evb.cc
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