4x4 FOR LIFE

WASILLA — Big tires, big hills, big boulders and big food are part of an equation that yields huge fun for 4x4 enthusiasts. Put them together on Father’s Day, “and that’s a match made in heaven,” said Tyson Hillis, co-chair of the annual Alaska 4x4 Meet and Greet.

This year, at the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry, more than 100 off-roaders and their families arrived Saturday to enjoy the event and its obstacle course, and to camp out overnight and make a weekend of it, Hillis said.

As a father and military man stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Hillis said there’s no better way to spend Father’s Day than with the family and his modified 1988 Jeep Cherokee.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “You know, I teach a dad’s class for the Air Force. This is actually a real important weekend for me. I have twin boys who are 9 years old. When my boys were 2, I was out working on my Jeep and I took my hands off the wrench because my arms were tired. (One of the boys) reached in there and grabbed ahold of it. It was such and exciting moment for me. It was like, ‘That’s my boy!’”

Although he’s attended the meet and greet each of it’s nine years, Wasilla resident Wayne Letourneau said it’s especially satisfying this Father’s Day. His wife recently returned from a deployment to Iraq and they’re all together with their 12-year-old daughter and 3-year-old twin boys.

“This is a miracle for us,” he said. “We’re all together in one spot.”

Letourneau brought his 1985 Toyota truck, which he’s been working on for quite some time. It has a Ford 350 engine with a Chevy ignition and the radiator is installed in the back of the truck.

“It’s a rush,” he said of the lure of 4x4 driving. “You build it yourself with all kind of scrap parts. I’ve got every make and model of vehicle you can think of on my Toyota. I’ve got a Ford motor, Toyota drivetrain, Scout lead springs — just about everything you can think of.”

Testing the machine against the elements and terrain is a passion shared by his family, Letourneau said. His daughter will drive off-road in the woods (with her father close by).

“It’s for everybody, it’s a family event,” he said. “This is a big thing for us. What got me started was hunting with my dad. For me, the best part of hunting with my dad was driving in the rig to get to the hunting spot.”

Although his boys are a little too young to do much more than ride in the truck, “They’re always running around with my wrenches,” he said. “In fact, I have to chase after them because they’ll always have the wrench I need to work on the truck.”

What obstacles?

Besides the camaraderie with other 4x4 motorheads, a big draw for this year’s meet and greet is the obstacle course, Hillis said. In an area south of the museum, local contractors banded together to help the organization create the course, which features five main areas.

First is the big hill climb.

“That’s got some stuff to test the vehicle’s ability to climb,” Hillis said.

That moves the 4x4 into the log pit.

“In that log roll area you’ve got loose logs mixed in with telephone poles that aren’t moving, mixed in with small stumps that add a little extra fun into it so the course changes every time you go through it,” he said.

Then it’s to the rock climb.

“We’ve got some really big boulders up there, down to some smaller stuff,” Hillis said. “It’s eating sheet metal on the sides of some vehicles and it’ll kind-of push some tie rods out of place.”

Next are the mid pits, shallow and deep.

“There, they’re just having at it and having a good time in the mud,” he said. “What’s fun is to watch someone who goes through the small pit just fine and they think, ‘You know, I can do that deep pit.’ You’re standing back at an angle and watch them go in and they just disappear.”

Finally is what Hillis calls the “frame-twister,” which is basically a moguls course for 4x4s.

“We started digging some big holes, that way a vehicle can go in and then pop back up,” he said. “That’s the last obstacle. So, you’ve got mud all over you, you’ve already beat up your vehicle on the rock climb, you’ve got sand up in every different part of it, then you get into this mogul (field). It’s going to test your suspension flex, the weight distribution of your vehicle. We’ve had a lot of vehicles get stuck in there and have had a lot of fun. The very first vehicle to go through there ripped the body mount right off the vehicle.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.