Arctic Offroad Forums

I'm sure everyone has a different answer to this question. Why do you wheel?

I wheel because I love the outdoors and seeing where the trail goes and hanging out with like minded people.

I build and wheel for several reasons.
1st; I just plain like it. I like the sounds of mud tires creeping through mud. I like the slow cruise into places where the majority cannot go. I like the ability to escape fromt he concrete jungle society and get back into the trees. I like to find the quiet places where my religion is strongest.

2nd. I continue to wheel because of the closeness of the wheeling community in AO. The fact that back in the middle of nowhere, you have someone to back upi up if something goes wrong. The loyalty of the club members to help each other out in time of need, whether it be on the trail or off the trail.

3rd. I believe that wheeling, contriving, making do, being resourceful, and using human enginuity to figure out ways out of stucks, rollovers, trail hazards, etc

4th. I really like Jeeps. The first time I can ever remember seeing a jeep on TV was watching clips from the invasion of Normandy. Jeeps gruntign it up the beachheads of France taking troops, ammo, and food off of the ships and on to the shore. Perfect little logistics machines. 4wd. Light and easy to manuever, go anywhere workhorses of the green machine of 1943. Then in 1994 I wrecked my VW rabbit into a tree during a snow storm and a friend of mine named Bud came out to pull the Rabbit back home in a 1977 Cherokee Chief with the quadratrac and 360 V-8. The thing was a beast and we used it all summer pullign felled logs from down int he hollot to up in the field to trim, cut and split for the oncomign winter.

5th. My kids love to go out int he woods and see nature. Not just through the windshield, but actually see and be with nature. Ya can't beat that.

6th. I like to build my own stuff as much as I can. I like settign something up and putting it through the test to see if it can hack it. Break it, and take it home and rebuilt it.

I find it relaxing. That and I like watching Marek break stuff

Seriously though, I have always liked offroading, but it wasnt until I met most of the AO clan that I felt like being part of a club. Offroading to me growing up was getting stuck and walking back to the tractor to pull me out. Now that AO is a big part of my life, I like tackling the trails with friends as well as people new to the offroad community. I like looking at a hill and saying no way, then 10 minutes later looking at the view from the top.

I like getting out there. I mean physically, we all know mentally that's not a challenge for me. It's also something I've been around since I was little. The trail riding is fairly new to me mostly it was just mud boggin' but I'v gotten to like the trail riding. And being out with some good folks.

I started this so prospects could get an idea of who we are and why we love wheeling

i used to love to go hunting with my Dad as a kid but in reality for me it was always the trail getting there that i loved most .. My Dad was always a old ford or Scout guy and we had to wheel pretty hard to get out to his favorite hunting spots ..

the lessons of life and the Bond we share to this day has always been because of time we spent wheeling together just to get to our hunting areas back home (more than one weekend where we didnt get to hunt ..lol

now im older i really enjoy getting out of the rat race letting life slow down catch your breath thank the lord for another beautiful day ..

it is always an adventure no matter how many times you have been on the same trail its always different than the last ..

wheeling friends are friends for life no matter what continent your on ..

and people around the world who wheel and wrench all speak the same language ...

folks that love the outdoors , are always the ones you can stake your life on ..
they are always the most resourceful, bright and dont panic when times get tough

i wheel because i like knowing if i want to get away from it all, its cust a selction lever to 4WD drive away. also to break stuff, cause if i dont break it i cant fix it and then im just bored

I like to wheel to get away from people and to see where i can go.

What everyone else has said. I like getting away from everything for a while. When you are wheeling it's you, your friends and nature. There is no rush to get anywhere which is a nice change from the daily grind. Besides you will never find better conversation than when someone is stuck or broken and everyone is there chatting and lending a hand to get you going again. I never thought I would be a club person but AO is a great club full of great people and I dread the day I have to leave.

Taken from a Hummer ad....


"Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere... and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself".

It was actually an H1 ad from before the days of the h2, h3, etc, and I feel it sums up why I wheel very well. I find it relaxing and after sitting in meetings and working all the time, I get to go out and do something I want to do.... instead of what somebody else wants me to do.... my radio doesn't work and i am not about to fix it... you see the rattle of the diesel engine and hum of the mud tires is all a part of the experience I don't want to miss out on....

There was a thread a few years back that was something like "what makes you an offroader". My answer was something like -

If you see something that's not on the road, say "I wanna go there", and then actually try, then you're an "offroader".

As we all know, there are varying degrees of success when it comes to implementing that philosphy. The more I do it and the farther I make it away from the road with the goal of going "over there, thatta way", the more I enjoy it. I also really love having such a good group to do it with.

I don't really wheel anymore. Most of that is due to financial difficulties and my attempts at being somewhat responsible with my time/money. Now that gas prices are falling, it's starting to look a little more reasonable. now I just need to make it a little more tolerable to be in the Jeep, either by cleaning it out and putting the carpet back in, or cleaning it and bedlining the inside and carpeting the hard top. Right now, it's so filthy and cold that I don't even drive it to the store. That and I have a chronic flat tire that Sears never seems to be able to fix.

When I DID wheel, it was because it was the most fun thing I could do with my new-to-me 4x4. Now, I find that pretty much all terrain around here except for mud is a cakewalk, there's really no challenge any more. I don't really enjoy mudbogging so building just for that seems pointless. I dunno.

wheeling for me is kind of like a sexual experience......

really it is about that feeling of conquest when you beat that rock or trail that looked so tuff and then feeling invisable afterwards. And for good friends to share it with. so i enjoy wheeling for the same reason ya'll do!

Now it just isnt the same down here.

Wagonburner glad to hear from a retired member :yes:

i guess im due for my anual pop in i like threads like this i want to point out that we all make offroading so much more than just driving around ... never anywhere else have i seen sutch a level of comradery and dedication to help those around you and to enjoy and do something with your lives i feel honored to have met and spent time with you these are the kind of people that make me want to be a part of society and contribute some of you said this is where you find life long friends i believe that and would gladly help all of you even new members i dont know because i know you all would do the same and we hold each other up to like i wouldnt have tried half the stuff i did if you guys werent there to back me up .. wheeling is fun but i think its so much better with friends family and a diversity of vehicles that encourage you and pull you out help you fix things i agree with all of your reasons to wheel and cant wait to get back

Joe said...

Quote:
When I DID wheel, it was because it was the most fun thing I could do with my new-to-me 4x4. Now, I find that pretty much all terrain around here except for mud is a cakewalk, there's really no challenge any more

I think that you need to get out on the trails more. Different trails.

Thinking about this some more and I'd like to change my answer a bit. I wheel so that I am privileged enough to associate with the other members of AO. I like the trails and getting away but I wheel more to see the people in the club and the ability to call them friends. Getting out on the trail is a great way to unwind but doing alone or with people you don't care for is not that fun. The group the is in this club is some of the best people I have met both on and off the trail. It's not the trail rides, it's the people you get to go with that make this sport/club worth being a part of.

The challenge of building a rig to perform on different terrains to allow you to get to where most others won't ever go or see.

The ability to participate in this "sport" or activities with the entire family.

The friendships you develop along the way.

































Need I post more????

Dang kev, those are some great pics... now I am gonna have to stay in Alaska one more tour.... even though I despise doing PT outside at 15 below...

Whats this PT that you speak of?

Wheeling for me is a way to get away from it all. Its getting harder with the addition of cell phone towers however it's nice to turn off the radio (because you can't get a station) and listen to the sounds of the wilderness and not have disturbed by a cell phone ring.

The trip out to the Stampede bus was a good example, my dad and I talking about everything and anything, the FRS chater between friends, the crackle of a fire, star lite sky and silence from civilization.