Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Seattle, May 28, 2008
ARB 4×4 Accessories

Due to the ever growing popularity and recent release in Australia, ARB 4×4 Accessories is proud to announce the release of the newest accessory in the Hummer H3 ARB product line up, the ARB Deluxe Winch Bumper.

Considering ARB’s twenty-year history manufacturing both original and after market accessories for vehicles around the world, you can be sure to expect a customized mounting system and sleek yet, functional winch compatible bumper system specifically engineered to enhance the look and operation of your H3.
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I’m a little late in getting this posted. The latest ARB 4×4 Action Newsletter is available for viewing (pdf document).

Within is feature articles on new Jeep JK Wrangler rear bumper system, a sweet new portable air compressor, 10 Essentials of Outback Travel and of course, things for vehicles we can’t get in the United States.

Download HERE

Even though we never found that perfect Christmas tree, we had a great time with some great people under beautiful blue skies on this year’s Christmas Tree run to the Cle Elum, Washington area.

We all met for breakfast at the Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum. Already seated upon our arrival were Jerry (aka soggymountain) and Evelyn from Yakima, Brian (aka Photog) and Cindy from Gig Harbor, Valerie and her mother Ellen from Bothell and Kent, and friends of Ellen’s (whom I did not get their names). Of course I can’t forget to mention my wife Martha, daughter Korinne and our dog Tareva.

After breakfast, we headed out of town to the Roslyn Cyclery in Roslyn to purchase our tree permits. We were the only family on the hunt for a Christmas tree, everybody was out for the fun of it. After getting the permit, we headed out of town, past Ronald towards Salmon la Sac.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARB Rock Sliders Now Available For the new Jeep JK 2 Door and 4 Door Wrangler

Seattle, WA November 26, 2007. ARB 4×4 Accessories, Australian based four-wheel parts
manufacturer, is proud to announce another great product for the newly released Jeep
Wrangler JK. ARB is world renown for engineering and manufacturing near indestructible body
protection equipment for a wide variety of vehicles around the world, and the new ARB JK
Wrangler Rock Sliders are no exception.
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Those that regularly head off the beaten track know how essential it is to be prepared for a recovery situation. A snatch block is an incredibly useful piece of recovery equipment that enables you to retrieve loads that are double a winch’s capacity by reducing the load on the winch by half. To add to ARB’s range of snatch blocks and recovery equipment, an innovative new snatch block for both off road and competition use has just been released.
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Day Two: August 11, 2007.

Daily Goal: To Drive from Babyshoe Pass (on FS-23 near Mt. Adams) to Cle Elum, Washington (I-90).

Map Reference:
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Map
Wenatchee National Forest Map

After a surprisingly comfortable night of sleep in the back of my 80-series Land Cruiser (with my dog Tareva right next to me), I arose just after daybreak to the awesome views of Mt. Adams and Mt Hood. This was my first attempt at sleeping in my FJ80. I initially had my doubts on how comfortable it would be, considering my height. My newly built cargo box, the back seat folded down, a plastic tub on the second row footwell and the front passenger seat folded forward and all the way to the dash provided a great support for my air mattress. All that I had to do to rearrange from the days trip was to move the ARB refrigerator to the drivers side and throw some of my bags in the front seats.
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This year was the third year attending the annual PNW4WDA annual jamboree. As in years past, I volunteered to help ARB serve their annual Friday dinner for the event. This is always a lot of fun and a great group of people to work with. They do a great job on putting on the dinner.

Since the event was a sellout, all the trail runs on Saturday were quickly filled. This was also the first time I was actually going to wheel my FJ-80 Land Cruiser, so I decided to sit in and attend (and assist where needed) the Four Wheel Drive 101 class presented by Chris Wood of ARB. This is a great class and you will pick up tips whether you are brand new to wheeling or a seasoned veteran. A great emphasis is placed on personal safety and preparedness. There were also some excellent discussion and demonstration on vehicle recovery techniques including a demonstration on how to winch you vehicle backwards with a front mounted winch.

After the presentation, the rest of the day was spent on the Clover Springs Trail with a few stops along the way to practice off-road driving techniques. An especially important practice session was backing down a hill using only your mirrors.

By time we got back to the jamboree base camp, we had been on the trail nearly eleven hours. A long and fun day. I look forward to next year.

You can view my photos of the trail run at Clover Springs Trail Run.

Having recently witnessing first hand what a deer can do to a full size vehicle at highway speeds and considering the locations I travel to and from, I decided it was time to add a little protection to the front of my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser.

My needs for protection of the front of Land Cruiser were simple, maximum front end protection from animal strikes and other objects, and a strong point to mount a future winch. Since I’m building my Land Cruiser as an overland expedition type vehicle, there was no need for super high clearance rock crawling bumpers. I wanted a bumper that would increase the chances of reaching my destination if the unthinkable happens.

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If you’ve been looking for an alternative to standard tent camping, a roof top tent on your expedition vehicle may be a viable option for your needs.

Imagine only taking minutes to set up and tear down the tent. No more trying to find that perfect level, lump-free, dry spot to pitch your tent. No more valuable cargo space taken up by a tent, mattress and sleeping bags. Maybe I getting old but it sounds good to me.

There are many roof top tents available in the United States, each with features that are great for specific purposes. The latest entry into this market is the Simpson II tent from ARB. From the early versions I had the privledge to view, its a nice set up to have. It would sure look nice on my Land Cruiser.

For further information, please read the ARB Press Release.

One important aspect of any outdoor adventure is the ability to make it home safely. Animal strikes are one of the leading causes of vehicle damage when traveling in rural and remote areas, especially at night. As anybody who travels the highways knows, here in the Pacific Northwest, we have our share of animal strikes. The most common you see along the side of the road are deer. I have also seen collisions with elk, cattle and horses. Our friends to the North in British Columbia frequently witness collisions with moose.

In a full head-on animal strike, at a minimum, you will most likely damage your radiator, which can totally incapacitate your vehicle. Hopefully, the collision will be a glancing blow, minimizing the damage. I’ve seen pickup trucks where a 60 mph collision with a deer caused damage to the entire front end including the bumper, grill, radiator, core support, hood and both front fenders. The loss of your vehicle far from home is the last thing a person wants on an adventure.

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