My wheeling family

Off roaders are a strange bunch, most of us dedicate portions of our lives to a pile of parts that isn't worth any where near what we have into it. I paid just $300 for my ZJ, I stopped counting when I passed the $10,000 mark on parts; my "new" one cost me just $50 and I'm sure it will end up costing me WAY more than I told my loving and understanding wife it would cost to get it trail ready. We happily give up our weekends, late nights, early mornings, heck sometimes even holidays just to get our rigs ready to go to the next event.

So why do we do it? Why do we give up so much of our free time? So much of our hard earned money? There's no prize for crawling over a hard obstacle, we certainly don't get paid for that long hot day out on the trail. But damn is there a reward! It seems every time we load up and head out to an event, or just a weekend at an off road park or trail we meet new people, it doesn't matter where you are from, or what you are driving, you WILL find someone that you connect with instantly. Most of my closest friends are people that I've met out on the trail somewhere. Half the time we don't even know each other by name "hey, you're the guy with that wicked WJ on tons right?" and BOOM that's how it starts!

Social media has made it super easy to stay in touch with your wheeling family, hell, I talk to them more than I do my real family! My wheeling family spreads from my home state of Maine, to my current home in Wisconsin, extends to Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado, and down to North Carolina. We are all from different backgrounds, wheel completely different types of rigs at all different levels. But we are all connected, and wouldn't think twice about lending a hand on any given Sunday to get that new locker installed, or help recover your stuck/broken pile off the trail; sure we would talk crap the whole time, and laugh at how stupid you are... But we know that the next time the tables will probably be turned.

My wheeling family may be mouthy, drink to much, be a bit odd, and certainly be the worst possible influences out there that will almost certainly talk you into hitting a line that you have no business attempting, but they are what makes that 8 hour drive to the trail worth it.