Six months? Sleeping in a Cherokee? In WINTER?
These were the amazed voices we heard when we decided that a long weekend or one week vacation wouldn't get us far enough from Southern California. We took off half a year to venture crosscountry through the United States.
Our sponsors, ProComp Tires, Durango 4x4 and 4-Wheel Parts, helped us to prepare for this journey which would take us along 31,885 miles through 41 states.

It was winter indeed! Already in New Mexico we experienced temperatures as low as ten degrees Farenheit at night. But we were well prepared, and though we had a layer of ice on the inside of the windows every morning we managed to stay warm. The thermometer would rise in some of the southern states to acceptable T-shirt temperatures but the first real 'Summer Vacation days' had to wait until we reached Florida. Of course Key West was one of the 'must-sees'. A trip like this has to feature the southernmost point of the continental US. Up to this end of the continent the 4-wheeling had been limited to the discovery of the infamous slimy mud of Louisiana, which put an immediate halt to our exploring efforts. We needed help from others to get our truck out of this hopeless situation.
Ocala National Forest in Florida would become our first extended adventure which ended with a broken shock mount. We still managed to drive to Jacksonville, FL, where the helpful team of 4-Wheel Parts fixed up our rig in no time; soon, we were on our way to start the exploration along the east coast.
Through Georgia and South Carolina we worked our way to Tennessee for some more off-roading. We checked out the Windrock OHV Area and looped back south to pick up the Upper Tellico ORV Area which became one of our favorite 4-wheeling areas. The lush forest and the right amount of driving challenge give this area the special touch. Paragon Adventure Park was next on our list. Previous heavy rainfalls forced the management to close some areas but the additional flooding added to the excitement. One of the team members guided us through part of the park so we got a first-hand tour through this off-roading paradise.
Early on during this trip the rear axle had shown signs of serious leakage and the 'backyard' mechanics we were forced to use in the middle of nowhere in Texas obviously didn't do a great job. This problem would start to haunt us throughout the entire journey. But keeping our spirits up we pushed on to Pennsylvania where we met with the North Jersey Jeep Club. One of the members had invited us by email through our website (xxxpedition.com) to come along on a day of wheeling in the Pocono Mountains. The organizers were able to get us into an off-road area generally closed to public. We were glad to be able to join a group of enthusiasts on such a unique experience.
At this point it was time to let the car rest for a few days and we dove into the 'jungle' of skyscrapers to enjoy the life of the Big Apple. The energy of such a buzzing city is always worth a visit.
After the fast pace of NYC we ventured out into the country again and worked our way up north into freezing winter temperatures. Maine still showed us its cold shoulder but we fought the elements and pushed on to reach the easternmost point of the USA and the northernmost point of Maine. This cold environment brought some fascinating sights, though. The Saint John River between Canada and the US was completely covered with huge ice blocks the size of cars which slowly made their way downstream.
At this point, we had reached the opposite side of the United States, and had completed about half of our journey.
Now the northern states awaited our exploration…