This years Off-Road Expo in Pomona, California, was a vast improvement over previous years. There were more vendors, more vehicles, and definitely a lot more people. This year, however, we had the opportunity to show the 'Project TJ' to the public in a booth sponsored by Genuine Steel.

The Off-Road Expo is a 'SEMA' style convention, and while SEMA is 'industry only', the Off-Road Expo allows the public to come and check out custom vehicles, new products, and to get new ideas for their own rigs. The Expo had everything from motorcycles to dune buggies, and, of course, extreme off-road vehicles. As you walked through the maze of vendors and people you saw everything you could possibly want for your rig.

The big draw this year was Brad Kilby's new '03 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on display with all of the Kilby products mounted on - Onboard Air, gas tank skid plate, etc... (Check out Kilby Enterprises for more). Brad was the only vendor this year sporting one of the new Jeep Rubicons . Naturally, everyone wanted to see it and know how he got it. Some offered money for it! We will have some more pictures of this rig as it gets built up.

Other hot news was the new BFG Krawlers that were on display mounted on several vehicles such as the Sniper, and the 4 X Doctors bio-green CJ-7. The Krawlers are set to come out sometime next summer, but for now, here are a few pictures of the completely hand grooved tires. Each tire's tread design is different right now until BFG can find the tread pattern that they are happy with. Expect to see these on a couple of our project vehicles!

Other cool products were on display as well such as the new TeraFlex sway bar disconnects that are a similar design to the Currie Anti-Rock. These new disconnects work a bit differently though. They work as normal disconnects, but you only have one pin to disconnect. The new system has a dial that has a spring loaded bolt through it that allows it to easily pop back into the sway bars. How well do they work on uneven ground? That was our question too! When on uneven ground, because the pin is spring-loaded, whenever the suspension finally lines up with pin hole, it will automatically lock. These are due to come out sometime next June. Hopefully we will be able to get our hands on one to show you how good they really work.

As we mentioned, a big thanks to Genuine Steel for getting our 'Project TJ' a spot at the Expo this year. It was a great chance to show off the products of Genuine Steel and our other sponsors. We had a lot of response about the TJ and everyone really loved that a Christian organization existed in the off-road community. Getting the TJ ready for the show was a long process, since it is an everyday driver and an off-road vehicle. In fact, we were wheeling with it the weekend before the show! Our goal though, was to make everyone think that it was a show vehicle that didn't see very many trails. Well, we managed to get it so clean that we heard a couple of the those remarks "This thing never goes off-road" or "This has never seen a trail in its life". It was fun to listen to the comments and explain how the vehicle is used. (We'll go wheelin' anytime with the TJ!). The greatest thing though, was to hear how many people really appreciated a Christian group not afraid to show their colors to the public. Be sure to check out the 'Project TJ' and the many sponsors that have contributed to this very unique and capable off-road vehicle.

If you missed the Off-Road Expo this year, don't worry. The event is held every October and word has it that next year it will be expanding into 2 buildings and adding more outside show vehicles.