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Photos: Jon Maib & Mike Troy |
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| Every October thousands of off-roaders head to the Pomona Fair Grounds in Pomona CA. for the annual Off-Road Expo. The Off-Road expo is kind of like a mini SEMA show, but anyone can come. It is a great place to see new rigs, new products, and get to talk with many off-road experts. In fact, the cool thing about the Off-Road Expo is that you can actually buy product right at the show and take it home! I didn't think I was going to be able to make it this year, since I am now a Texan, but at the last moment, work decided to send me to California for a job. So by the grace of God, I was able to make the show. I met up with our Feature Editor Mike Troy and caught up on old times. This years event was twice as big as last year. They had a couple more halls of exhibits and a lot more rigs on display outside. It was great to meet up with some of our sponsors and talk to them about new things they have coming out. Now, the Off-Road Expo is not just about 4 wheel drive trucks, they have everything for the off-road sport - Motorcycles, Dune Buggies, ATV's, Off-Road Racing, Rock Crawling, and everywhere in between. As we walked the halls, we began to notice a couple of trends in the industry this time. First off was the new Jeep TJ Unlimited. There were several companies sporting these new rigs.
The other thing we noticed were several replicas of "Tiny" If you are unfamiliar with the name "Tiny" in the rock crawling realm, it is a custom tube buggy sporting a VW engine and driven by John Bundrant of All Pro Offroad. This buggy is also the #1 rock crawling champion. So... I guess everyone decided it was time to "copy" the buggy! Even the original creator of "Tiny" - Nelson and Nelson, created a smaller version of "Tiny" These things are really cool, however, they are high dollar too!
Not sure how most people feel, but for myself, I think the rock buggy is starting to lose its appeal! For me, I'd like to see the industry get back to the old art of off roading. I'd like to see a stock Flat Fender or CJ wheelin' the Hammers! (Impossible, I know. But, I'd like to see real world rigs tackling hard-core stuff!). This would really bring about driver skill, not just rig capabilities.
If you have not made your way out to the Pomona Fair Grounds in October to see the Off Road Expo, I highly recommend that you put it on your calendar today! Here are a few pics of some of the other cool things we saw.
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