EDITOR’S LETTER
Spring is in the air, and it's a welcome relief from one of the coldest winters that we’ve seen in a long time. Now that temperatures are warming up, what activities do you have planned? Perhaps some wheeling and fishing? Maybe a family camping trip is the way to go? My plan is to drive and hike some previously unexplored trails and get my fill of some quality camping.
When you look around, the roads and trails seem to be getting fuller with off-road outfitted trucks, SUVs and Jeeps, doesn’t it? It’s a sight we love to see. What was your impetus to build your off-road rig? For many, there is a single purpose to their build; for others, their vehicles are built to fit a variety of missions.
Tread brings you the inside look at a variety of purpose-built vehicles, including a Tacoma that was outfitted with getting to remote fishing spots in mind. We also take a look at a Jeep JKU Rubicon that was made to cruise the trails and the mall. The Ram flatbed camper that you’ll see early on in this issue is an impressive build made to take on the vast deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and Saharan Africa.
Also in this issue, we get a first-hand account of traveling through the beautiful, yet turbulent, land of Zimbabwe. Dan Grec gives us a tour of the African nation that you won’t soon forget. On the other side of the globe, adventurer Bryon Dorr takes us on an overland journey through Honduras as he accompanies ROCO 4x4 on their annual adventure week. You’ll want to see how thick the mud gets.
If you’ve wondered how to build a more efficient, faster-lighting campfire, we got it covered in The Perfect Fire Lay. We also get a factory tour at Orca Coolers, where they pride themselves on making their products in America.
Since trails are recovering from the snow, we also look at essential recovery gear in the guide, Unstuck. If you’re in need of a travel duffel bag (and who doesn’t?) our gear expert John Pangilinan gives us his pros and cons of a dozen of the latest and greatest duffels on the market.
Thank you for joining us; we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Let us know what you’d like to see in Tread by visiting and contributing to our Facebook page [facebook.com/TreadMagazine] and on Instagram [@ tread_magazine]. Until next time, Jerry Tsai
Editor