Jerid and I had a great time out at KOH a few weeks back! This incredible event happens every year on Bureau of Land Management property in Johnson Valley, CA and brings out some of the best off-road racers and community. We documented as much as the elements/our phones allowed us to and came back with quite a few stories. We can't wait to get back out there in numbers next year!
Preparing COBB’s Raptor and Jerid’s F-150 with BuiltRight gear, dirt bikes and some essential equipment before trekking out to Hammertown.
Our friends over at COBB Tuning shared some of their tent space with us in the Overland Experience, and other than the hot coffee-flavored water we relied on for warmth in the windy desert mornings, we had a blast. Nothing better than getting out and spending some time camping, off-roading and networking with various manufacturers and racing enthusiasts.
Some influencers were supposed to stay in the Overland Experience in these sweet ShiftPods, but they must've been hesitant with Friday's weather because we got to crash in these nifty things the whole weekend.
Jerid and I posted up at Chocolate Thunder to observe the insanity of everyone and their cousin trying to make it up the rocks at night. The laser pointers were plentiful, Jeeps were rolling over and we enjoyed a few Banquets by a small fire. The nighttime shenanigans did not disappoint, but we prioritized getting good rest and returned to the Overland Experience before it got too late.
We got an early start on race day and walked the pits before flag drop, watched some legends tear out of the gate and then made our way back to Chocolate Thunder. Arguably one of the harder sections on the course, photos and videos of this rocky slope do not do it justice. Watching racers climb this face at the speeds they do is mind blowing when you're actually standing amongst the rocks.
When racers weren't zipping by, we were chatting with the folks nearby, checking out different builds and buggies that made it up there, and devouring girl scout cookies.
We talked with the guys who brought out their Cybertruck to test its capabilities and see what breaks first - which they discovered relatively quickly. Luckily they broke an OEM component (future product opportunity?) and not one of their own parts, because the internet found out about the whole situation almost immediately. Shoutout to those fellas for testing their vehicles in real conditions and discovering where the aftermarket industry can step in and help new platforms become better! No hard feelings :)
While we only watched most of the racing, we did get to do a little bit of rowdy off-roading ourselves in Jerid's awesome LS-powered dune buggy. He and his family bring out this thing and a few other buggies and dirt bikes on a regular basis. Jerid grew up coming out here with his family, and now he's getting to do the same thing with his kids, passing along the love for escaping to the desert to go off-roading.
We did some minor trail maintenance with the help of our well-equipped Packout toolbox mounted to a Bedside MOLLE Panel on COBB's Raptor. This was one of the attachments we got set up beforehand with our MOLLE-compatible Mounting Brackets for Milwaukee Packout. These low-profile mounts let you securely keep Packout boxes full of important tools and gear in your truck while you're on the go. This ended up being essential to have on board! Shoutout to Kirstin for actually doing the repairs while we stood around and watched!
While we had an awesome time out there getting sandblasted by the wind and meeting a bunch of you guys, by the time racing wrapped up we were more than ready to pack up the tents and get on the road back home. Thank you again to COBB Tuning and Kirstin Backes for sharing their space and braving the elements with us throughout the event! We'll be back next year.
Watch our full recap video here:
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