Rally In the Northeast: The Great American Jeep Rally

by Ian Brynjolfson

I always get a little excited to see another Jeep driving along New England roads. What modifications have they made? Are there any ideas that I can "borrow" to pass off as my own? Is the driver going to acknowledge "the wave"? So you can imagine the Jeep overload that came from being at the Great American Jeep Rally in Somers, CT on September 21st, where they boasted a turnout of over 600 Jeeps.

That tingly sensation, indicating that this was going to be a good event, started when the gates had to open ten minutes early in order to alleviate the half mile backup of Jeeps along the road. Admission through the front gates was quick, but not fast enough to prevent the line from reaching two miles in length. Nobody seemed to mind, as the weather was beautiful, tops were down and Jeeps be plentiful. To hack and abuse an oft overused line, if you host it, they will come.

Oh and come they did. I spent quite a bit of time wandering among all the various Jeeps parked in a semi-organized fashion, and noticed the wide variety of models being represented. From every "fill in the blank" J, to every alphabet soup of Jeep seemed to come out of the woodwork, like off-roaders to buck-o-five gas. There were pristine military models, off road monsters, show and shine beauties, simple stock, and well... junk. But even the junk is enchanting when it has that seven slot grill.

The story of the Great American Jeep Rally (or GAJR for short) begins way back in 2001, when a bunch of Jeep enthusiasts decided to get together and hold a gathering with others who share their genetic predisposition to Jeep addiction. While finding a way to take the edge off of their jones, the decision was made to legitimize themselves by taking the proceeds from the rally and donating them to an association that fights for their right to wheel. This is where the North East Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs (NEA4WDC) plays an important role. While lending it's member clubs a common voice during exchanges with local, state and federal government, the NEA4WDC does even more to educate wheelers on the impact they have on the environment and provide them with legal trails to do the things they do. As a growing number of Northeasterners harbor a distaste for anything sporting Mud-terrains, an increasing multitude of the favorite Jeep trails have become a thing of the past. Therefore, the NEA4WDC has become more important than ever.

Although you could spend the whole day just wandering amongst the plethora of interesting vehicles in attendance, the organizers still managed to provide plenty of activities that cound keep the interest of those with an attention span lasting about as long as Dana 25's turning 54inch Boggers. After signing the "I promise not to be stupid" waiver and getting your hand stamped, you could take your heap over to the Ramp Travel Index (RTI) ramp to check your suspensions flexibility, followed by a rock garden to see if you know how to take advantage of your RTI score. This was a good way to identify those who hit the trail with their rig and develop their skills, and those of us who have an expensive and pretty rig... and that's about it. There were even stands for all to gaze in awe at the odd mixture of zen mastery following banzai moves and carnage.

The chance for Jeepers to test their wheeling mettle on the boulders brought forth quite a few intriguing vehicles. I wandered over to talk to the driver of the M-35 6x6 truck waiting in line, to find out that his attendance that day was to also help promote his business of rebuilding and selling old Jeep military trucks. Just to show any potential customer the capabilities of his product, he wanted to take it over the garden. I think he just wanted to have fun in the big 6x6, irrespective of the presence of any interested party. I asked him politely to not make it look too easy, but with that kind of clearance, he was up and over with limited difficulty. I now understand why the military had specified their product to be built that way. Not only did the truck make the rock pile look like a gentle meander through a rolling French field, but it also runs on almost any kind of fuel you could find, from diesel, home heating oil, or kerosene, to peanut or vegetable oil.

Shortly thereafter, a non-Jeep dared intrude on the day in the form of the Somers, CT Fire Departments Unimog. They were standing by to douse any flames that could be caused by anyones lack of proper judgment, but it was too much temptation to not let them show their crawling skills. We also witnessed an attempt by a modified golf cart, and a neat little kid buggy. However, most of the day passed and nobody had really taken a run at the truly difficult approach to the rock pile. Fear not, as the man who is known to some by the name of Captain Carnage would lead the way. Given his long voyage of discovery into what breaks when you use a little too much of the skinny pedal, we kind of expected either the use of the forks on the junk yard loader for vertical extraction or a blast of fire retardant from the Unimog. To the delight and disgruntlement of the spectators, he achieved glory like a Spanish Conquistador through Latin America. Must have been the new Ford 8.8 out back, replacing the oft snapped 35.

For those who watch NASCAR for vehicular mayhem, the rock garden did not disappoint. I have always found fascination watching the whole rear tire and axle wander sideways from a Dana 35 after the large snap that eerily sounds like the breaking leg bone of an osteoporosis patient. Dan St. Rock, the President of Crazy Jeepers, was the first to go on the hook that day. I am assured that both are real names. As anyone was allowed out back to play, there were quite a few on the learning curve as to the specifics of 4x4ing. I don't know how many times I heard the question being asked, "Do you have it in four wheel drive?" The look of bewilderment was always priceless. But, you know, that's what these types of gatherings are about. To help make fellow enthusiasts out of those who have so far taken their Jeeps off-road as much as P. Diddy does his Escalade.

In order to ease the transition from Jeep owner to Jeep enthusiast, and sometimes Jeep abuser (in a good way, of course), various four wheel drive clubs from the Northeast were invited to set up a booth. Each club seemed to have it's own niche. Some were new clubs, some had been around for several administrations, some had tire restrictions, some were full of rock buggies, and some were for the stock or slightly modified. All of them were about a good time, and trying to educate off-roaders and the general public. They weren't all just "Jeep Only" organizations either, so if you enjoy mixing it up with Samurai's and full size trucks, then you could find that club too. There were quite a few attendees who knew nothing of these clubs and decided to join up at the rally.

Vendors contributed to the fund in return for space to promote their wares. Some sold shirts, accessories and parts. Others were primairly there to attract future patronage for their suspension systems or other services. There were some neat toys for the Jeep, and some that were just for the kids to play with. In other words, early bribery to get them interested in family vacations that involve a Jeep, rather than the more expensive trips to Orlando "Family Fun Parks". I still don't know why "family fun" usually involves spending mucho dinero. For those vendors hoping to provide systems or services that you couldn't fit in your goodie bag, the benefits for both buyer and seller differed from other retailers. Of course, the vendor is looking for future business, however the client has the opportunity to really extract as much information and advice as time would allow. After all, they are off-roaders themselves and have been for a long time. There is much to learn from the experienced yoda-like masters.

If, after talking to the clubs and vendors, you still didn't know how to modify your rig or spend your money, then the best thing to do was to just wander around the vast field of parked Jeeps. You could see TJ's with all aftermarket bolt on parts, to CJ's with full custom work. There were a lot of great ideas that I wish Jeep engineers would adopt for the production line. One had crammed a Nissan turbo Diesel into a CJ. Others had wedged a V8 under the hood, while some still had the original factory AMC 304 V8 that was available in the CJ from `72 to `81. Even if you are happy with your stock YJ, or are just a fan, it's a wonder to see what people do with either too much money, or too much time, or way too much of both.

So, if you actually had to work for a living instead of funding extravagant lifestyles through a Hilton trust fund, you could try your luck at the impressive array of items to be raffled off. The three headliners were two separately raffled sets of tires, and a winch. There were so many other smaller prizes up for grabs, that I lost count. You could take your ticket and give a try for tire care kits to Jeep duffel bags and gift certificates. Unfortunately, this years raffle took about 50 minutes too long. As a result the assurance has been made that next year will be "different". Let's hope so. As that was an hour of our lives that are off in to the same abyss as my 401K.

The event with the biggest "neatness" factor, had to be the Remote Controlled Car Rock Crawl. A pile of rocks about 2 feet high, and 10 feet wide became the playground for mini-jeeps. Some of those things looked better than my TJ and certainly had more flex in the suspension. I wonder what their RTI score would be. The best part is if they happened to flip or get stuck, there was no need for a winch, nobody got hurt, and the cost of repairs is much less.

As the day came to a close and the air was let out of the giant inflatable Jeep up front, a declaration of success was made official. The goal at the outset was to beat the last rally, which was done by approximately 100 Jeeps, and to make sure that the rally came back next year. Judging by the activity at the GAJR forum, I think there are already volunteers signed up to get up close and personal to next year's new and improved rock garden. Lets see what the organizers come up with next year in order to reach their goal of 800 participants.

www.jeeprally.org

Photo Credit: Ian Brynjolfson (size 1.7M)