Why do you stick with this hobby?

[tonybolton]

And Tonyb you only wheel when it's 74.8999423 degrees out with partial cloud cover and a 2.15 mph breeze, so all weather is shitty weather for you :****:

Quality over quantity. Until someone pays me to ride in weather I don't like.....then i'll ride when I see fit. Even with the `12v fan and new top, it was hotter'n **** last weekend.

 

[P]

Big tires make me feel like a little kid. I like redneck **** with redneck people. High tech rednecks are cooler than dumb **** rednecks. Beer is always involved with anything 4x4 be it working on it or playing with them. I love my Harley n **** but rednecks don't where chaps and stupid ****ing rings with skulls n Maltese crosses. Dirtbikes are the **** but I gotta make it to work. There is ALWAYS something to learn. Some people can " feel " traction others can not regardless it's a show. Tearing **** up is always fun.

 

[CHASMAN9]

Unlike a lot of you on here, I have been doing some form of offroading since the early 80's and I have asked this question so many times, that I finally stopped asking and started just accepting it.
Friends come and go in anything you do, but I always make new ones every single time I go out wheeling. EVERY TIME. How many activities can offer you that? There are a whole lot of worse things you can spend your money on and get a better return on it, but you cannot put a price on friendship, new or old. I've never met most of you on here and probably never will, BUT, maybe one day I will. For me, it's the love of a good challenge, friends or driving. Yes, most of you know I have a love/hate for trees, but in the end it's a release knowing I can conquer most obstacles I put in front of me and my machine. I also enjoy building and working on my junk when I know I can accomplish it, and for those times I cannot, I try to bring it to somebody that can. hahahahha.




ADMINISTRATOR

 

[Bebop]

I've wondered this about OTHER people in this hobby for a while. I understand everyone is different and has different situations but the ones i'm always left shaking my head and dropping the WTF are:

-Constantly repairing your rig/vehicle(not upgrading, REPAIRING/FIXING) This is fun???
-Riding in shitty weather just to be riding. Why? You don't goto the beach when it snows(insert some .000000001353% joke of people that do).
-Building a rig for 1+year. Seriously.....and also see next reason below
-Selling after minimal to 0 use? Is this why everyone says its better to BUY than BUILD? Not talking about 3500 crap box XJ's. I'm talkin 20+grand stuff
-Bad day wheeling / better than good day at work? Maybe if you're a roofer...in Texas...while being shot at.

I hate to say it, but when I bought my rig from Jessie on here(...thanks again, I still love this rig) this thing has damn near been a good INVESTMENT for me. Coming up on 6 or 7 years with this rig and only real money spent in those times has been 4 tires and an atlas. I enjoy just one hand on the steering wheel drivin' over stuff and not having to think or worry about ****.

All I do M-F is process numbers, risk analysis, logistics, babysit adults, fix electronic issues and try to save a penny or 3 on distribution product. Most times stressful but manageable. I enjoy not having people depend on me or needing to think. Same ingredients as my other hobbies.

As long as I can balance the below equation, i'm good.

Stress+inconvenience+people = money+quality of life+free time

If anyone has ever seen the movie "The Accountant" with Ben Afleck, that's basically me....except poorer..... and I can't fight or shoot that good.

That's hilarious cause I'm the exact opposite.

I'd rather roll out, crash and burn on Cable Hill on a stormy day and then go hang out with my buddies than take it easy all day long cause, ya know, I might break. The actual driving portion (while very fun) is less important to me than the hanging out part.

Disclaimer : this opinion is subject to change after I spend thousands of $$$ fixing and redoing my ****, but I'm already doing that without having the buggy on the trails yet laughing1

Not saying your opinion is wrong, far from it, but that's why I'm in the USA. To find the "all out, balls to the wall, DGAF, pushing the limits" mindset I couldn't find in Europe. The people here are soooo much invested in this hobby than anywhere else I've been.

Offroading can be a lifestyle in the USA and nowhere else (except maybe Australia). And despite the forums dying, the knowledge base is second to none.

I ****ing love this country ! 8)

 

[rugger99]

For me this hobby is relaxing and I can honestly say I have met a lot of good genuine people who seem to gravitate to this hobby. For me, this is a good enough reason to spend the money and time to continue my pursuit of it. As an adult, my careers have always been high stress and at times high risk and I need a way to bleed the stress off in a healthy fashion and for me it's the offroad lifestyle...either wheeling or working on a project allows me to decompress and relax.

 

[Sawzall]

I grew up on dirt bikes trail riding in the woods in the 70s. Being at some place like Harlan with my friends reminds me of that. I hope I can continue with the hobby until I get too old to participate. Then I will just have to watch the videos. It is in my blood so bad that I rent a Jeep or SxS on any vacation that has a trail to ride on.

 

[1tonyj]

I stay in this sport cause I love it...need it for my sanity....and love the people I get to ride with and meet.

It all started with a Honda Odyssey back in 1981 when I could barely see over the "night rider" style steering wheel and the bass boat sparkle burnt orange helmet I wore that was way to big for me. I still get that same feeling as I did when I was a kid in my buggy today.

 

[Bronco72]

I've started joking whenever something breaks on the trail that I'm filming this weeks episode of "Dirt Every Day"

I'll be laying under the rig, in the mud, creek, whatever and yelling "Today on Dirt Every Day we're going to drag you and your buddies to the woods, break something that makes absolutely no sense at all and see if you can get back home or keep riding with limited tools and zip ties..all before you run out of beer..."


That said, I enjoy acting like Mcguyver. Also, the wife was giving me a hard time the other day about how 90% of our friends were originally fake internet friends. I guess that's the real reason.

Hay i just wanted to sell you some axles you didnt need lol

 

[Bronco72]

I stay in this sport cause I love it...need it for my sanity....and love the people I get to ride with and meet.

It all started with a Honda Odyssey back in 1981 when I could barely see over the "night rider" style steering wheel and the bass boat sparkle burnt orange helmet I wore that was way to big for me. I still get that same feeling as I did when I was a kid in my buggy today.

Im with this guy. I have got to get out in the woods away from people i dont like and away from town andall that mess. I love beinging out in the woods. Wheeling just makes it easy for me i guess. Come in from work and say **** it hook to my trailer and haul ass for the weekend

 

[mrdrinksalil]

For me it's an evolution of ATVs as a kid and the freedom of the trails before a drivers license. Being with friends and pushing each other to climb the bigger hill, clear the bigger jump. A lot of crazy stories from those days and even though now it's 10x the $$ invested, can't ride as much because of children and work responsibilities, I'm still chasing the same thing.

I have like minded friends who have gotten out but you almost know them better than themselves and that eventually... they'll be back.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dwa2469]

I think it amazes me, that we can drive places that you really can't even walk. It is a combination of that, being out in nature, and spending quality time with family & Friends (fake internet or otherwise). For me, there is also, the mechanical and engineering aspect. My wife does not get it, that I can stare at a Harley Engine for long periods of time, to me it is a beautiful piece of engineering. It is not one thing, but, the hobby as a whole, that keeps me around.

 

[El Diablo]

Im with this guy. I have got to get out in the woods away from people i dont like and away from town andall that mess. I love beinging out in the woods. Wheeling just makes it easy for me i guess. Come in from work and say **** it hook to my trailer and haul ass for the weekend

If it wasn't for wheeling I wouldn't have met this guy and many more like him.
I'm a little different from most if my junk is running i'm going to ride all day if it's not i'm just as happy sitting at camp all weekend drinking and shooting the ****.
I just need the get away that comes with wheeling so I can remove myself from the rest of the worlds bullshit.

 

[Truckin222]

Good topic/question.

I grew up riding around in the back of pickups. My mother drove an old F100 from when I was born till I was probably 6 or so.
My step father had a Scout II and a couple J-10s (one of which is my trail truck now). We were out on the beach in 4wd fishing all the time. I would help him air down and was the designated hub locker...

My first job was on the same beach collecting trash and harassing tourists and the crazy bastard I worked with would let me drive all the time. 4wd in deep soft sand, fun for a 11-12 year old...

I went to Tellico riding shotgun in my buddies ifs Toyota and was hooked 100%.
Ended up with prviously mentioned J-10 and immediately lifted & locked it and began chopping it up and wheeling it every chance I had to get out.
We'd wheel there in the winter or summer, 20 degrees or 90... I miss that place so much...

When Tellico was shut down, I got out of it for a while. Truck sat and rusted but never got sold.
Resurected it over 12 months or so and have been getting back out again.

A big part of it for me these days is to get my 5yo daughter in the woods and exposed to wheeling. She has a blast every time.

I've also been big into MTB, dirt bikes, street bikes and roadrace bikes, and still love riding, but wheelin is probably more of a lifelong thing for me than any of the other things.
My 2 wheeled injuries are catching up with me as I get older...

 

[Bronco72]

If it wasn't for wheeling I wouldn't have met this guy and many more like him.
I'm a little different from most if my junk is running i'm going to ride all day if it's not i'm just as happy sitting at camp all weekend drinking and shooting the ****.
I just need the get away that comes with wheeling so I can remove myself from the rest of the worlds bullshit.

Iv meet a bunch of really good people wheeling

 

[Stretch]

I've met a bunch of good people through wheelin but have been out of it for about 2+ years now. Slowly piecing together a 79 CJ7 as a trail rider and just something fun to bomb around the inlaws farm with using mostly parts laying around the farm. These days I'll get way more use out of a something with a tag that we can cruise to town and around the farm but can still hang with the Ton's and 40's crowd within reason.

About 5 years ago I bought a dirtbike as a plan B for wheelin trips in case I blew my **** up and was 6-8hrs from home. I could load the beercan on the trailer and just hop on the bike and bomb around with everyone. Then I got conned into doing a hare scramble and it stuck. A handful of guys in the NC area that used to wheel a lot started riding and racing too. Started racing more and wheeling less because it was cheaper and way more convenient. I can ride/race about 5 different race series within a 4 hour drive of the house and its pennies on the dollar compared to breaking a rig during a wheeling trip. I can grenade a 250 2stroke, spend $600 to rebuild it and be back at the races the next weekend. Unless that actually happens, the regular maintenance is comically cheap in comparison to a rig. Yeah the risk is there, but I've seen some really sketchy **** happen in a rig too.

 

[98TJ]

I grew up on dirt bikes trail riding in the woods in the 70s. Being at some place like Harlan with my friends reminds me of that. I hope I can continue with the hobby until I get too old to participate.

Yep, same here. I rode over 150 enduros, hare scrambles, ISDE qualifiers all over the south. Got too old and fat for dirt bikes; plus all my riding buddies quit or got married and then quit. I'm in it for the duration now.

 

[The Luke]

Iv meet a bunch of really good people wheeling

That's how I met your crazy ass.

"Sorry, I can't hear you over this screaming 4.0"

 

[Bronco72]

That's how I met your crazy ass.

"Sorry, I can't hear you over this screaming 4.0"

Im crazy?? Comin from the guy that flipped a nice jeep on the moon at GMP. LOL

 

[nhl_bullitt]

Wheelin has always been in my roots. Grew up around my dad's samurais and wranglers on 31s. Not too cool, but cruising around in those in the woods was exciting for an 8 year old. By the time I was 16 it was bolt-on city and 33-35s on my cherokees for awhile.

Honestly, seeing the bouncers around 2011 really rejuvenated my love for the hobby. Made me want to learn more about aggressive fabrication and what all goes into building rigs that conquer climbs that jeeps on 35s could never do. To this day, I love doing tube work and helping friends build their buggies.

I am not into sxs or quads at all (I own a polaris quad btw, love it around the house, just not for offroad parks). I really just love fullsize buggies from scratch.

Financially, yes it is an expensive hobby, especially if you include the tow rig you trust to get you from A to B. I've learned as long as I don't try to keep up with the race buggies, I'll be alright and I can justify what I have in my set up. It provides me with lots of fun with friends (new and old). 16 year old me would love the knowledge I've gained over the years and there is still so much to figure out.

As for the actual wheelin, there is damn near nothing I love more than being out in the woods on a 40-75 degree day with my friends and wife. It is simply a fun time. With out them, it would be very hard to stay an enthusiast.

And a side note, it is even nice getting to chat with people I've never met due to sharing this same hobby.

 

[scrambled]

2 Reasons..


1: Every time I go I see a vehicle do something that I don't believe is possible.

2: I love the sound of metal scrapping over rocks. It soothes me.