Big Dogs Main Jambo VI

When thinking of extreme four-wheeling events, most people think of places like Moab, Farmington, or the Rubicon. The folks at BIG DOG Productions are trying to add another location to that list, and it is found on the East Coast. For three weekends a year, BIG DOG Productions opens up 3,500 acres of private land near Winchester, Virginia, to licensed 4-wheel drive vehicles. We were able to attend their fall 2001 event, Main Jambo VI, over the weekend of September 14-16, and entered Project Money Pit in the two-day competition known as the Best of the Best.

BIG DOG Productions provide challenging trails for all levels of wheelers, from mild to highly challenging. A Maryland based company, BIG DOG Productions negotiates with private land owners to provide increased four-wheeling opportunities. The three founding members have over 50 years of off-road experience and are members of the United Four Wheel Drive Association, the Middle Atlantic Association, and the East Coast Four Wheel Drive Association.

The sixth annual Main Jambo saw the biggest participant turn out for a BIG DOGS event, with over 170 registered vehicles. Participants were able to pre-register for three days of trailriding, with trails ranging in difficulty from 1-4 (stock to lower intermediate), 5-7 (intermediate to advanced intermediate), and 8-10 (advanced and expert). The BIG DOGS organizers were well prepared each morning as participants gathered their rigs at the staging area. Unlike some events where trails are clogged with 20 to 30 vehicles, BIG DOGS had plenty of experienced trail guides on hand to ensure that each trail had 15 or less vehicles.


Gene Rose spotting on the decent into Hell Hole.	Skip Shildhauer shows what it takes to climb out of Hell Hole.	Ron Hollatz tries to power over some logs on Hell Hole.

Due in large part to an early morning rainfall, only 6 teams had the courage and determination to enter the Best of the Best competition. Each team was comprised of a driver and a spotter: Mark Cook and Gene Rose in a CJ7 of unknown vintage; John Boring and Bobby O in a '78 CJ7; Luis Aveleyra and Tom Popp in a '74 CJ5; Nick Sunday Junior and Nick Sunday Senior in a '71 Toyota Land Cruiser; Linyee Shuml and Bill Marsh in a '00 TJ; and Ron Hollatz and Mark Long in a '94 YJ. The first day of competition involved getting acquainted with each other, the rules of the competition, and the judges, Don Barker and Skip Shildhauer. The rules included the usual point accumulation for backing up (10 points), winching (25 points), going out of bounds (25 points), interacting with spectators and other participants (50 points), etc. Two new rules added this year included 50 points a piece for not wearing a seat belt or for moving a rock, stick, log, or other item on the trail. Stacking rocks was not even an option in this competition!

The trails chosen for the Best of the Best included Trail 10A (Hell Hole) and Trail 8 on Saturday, and Trail 10 (E.T.) on Sunday. Prior to letting the competitors on the trails, Don and Skip drove their rigs through each trail, showing the competitors and spectators that it was indeed possible to maneuver successfully over the multitude of obstacles. On Trail 8, however, Don showed us which line not to take as he slowly rolled his rig on its side, with only minor damage to his steering wheel and seat...;and, oh yeah, he ripped his jeans. The competitors, however, provided spectacular opportunities to witness a wide array of carnage over the two day competition including broken u-joints, axle shafts, hubs, and even a Detroit locker; smashed and ripped off skid plates; blown tires; and body damage on almost every vehicle. In the end, Nick Sunday Junior and his self-modified Toyota demonstrated his driving expertise in crawling through the shark toothed rocks of E.T. with minimum penalty points, winning the competition with just over 300 points. Coming in second place with just over 400 points, Luis and Tom showed the crowd of spectators how synchronized teamwork should work in a competition. After breaking a hub on the last major obstacle of E.T., Tom strapped the winch to a nearby tree and proceeded to change out the hub for a new one as Luis slowly winched the Jeep forward every 40 or 50 seconds so that the team would not gain penalty points for stopping forward progress after 1 minute. After successfully changing out the hub with air tools, the team received hearty applause from the crowd of spectators as they exited the final gate.


Mark Cook digs through the loose soil on Hell Hole.	John Boring uses some wheel speed to get through the loose soil, rocks, and logs.	Don Barker, one of the judges, demonstrates which line not to take on Trail 8.

As for Project Money Pit's performance in the Best of the Best competition, Ron did great on Friday considering a broken U-Joint shortly after starting the first trail (Hell Hole), successfully completing both trails in 3-wheel drive, and ended up in fourth place at the end of the day. After a long night of power tools, swapping out of U-Joints, and taping up brake lines, the YJ was ready to hit a second day of trails. While Friday's trails was a mixture of steep dirt hills mixed with jutting moss covered rocks, tree stumps, and logs, Saturday's trail was a continuous stream of boulders and sharp pointed rocks. Ron was doing pretty well until a particularly nasty corner of rocks and tree logs. The YJ got in to a precarious position when a loud BANG sounded from the front of the rig. That scared the heck out of me and I screamed just a little too loud (reports are that the whole mountain heard my screams), which threw Ron off kilter as he thought from my reactions that something major had blown. Nope. It was my first experience being that close to a vehicle when an axle goes. I didn't realize how truly loud it can sound. With Ron thinking that he broke his steering knuckle off, he dropped out of the competition so that the next driver could continue on the trail. Upon closer inspection (and without a whimpering wife nearby), Ron realized that he had only broken the ears off the driver's side inner axle and could have continued the trail in three wheel drive as he had done the prior day. Lesson learned?? Gag your spouse during competition. It will just be easier in the end.


Ron Hollatz negotiating the rocks on E.T.	Linyee Shuml shows even a TJ with 33" tires can be competitive.	Nick Sunday and his well built Land Cruiser on their way to victory.

Saturday night BIG DOGS started a monstrous bonfire down at the staging area, inviting all of the four wheeling clubs and event participants to join in an evening of live music, door prizes, and awards. The crowd also took the opportunity to dig deep in their pockets, contributing $2,750 in cash donations plus club pledges of an additional $750 for a total of $3,500 raised for the Four-Wheel Relief Fund. 100% of all donations raised will be distributed to relief efforts such as the American Red Cross and The Navy Relief Fund as well as to several other funds to help in the relief efforts for the people who suffered losses in New York and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001. The generosity demonstrated by the four wheeling community that evening was amazing and heart warming. Thousands of dollars in Door Prizes from major sponsors were also given away during the evening, with the premier prize being a winch.

We had a great time at BIG DOGS 2001 Main Jambo and look forward to attending more of their events next year. It was refreshing to find challenging trails led by experienced guides who are passionate about four wheeling right in our home state of Virginia! If you are looking for a unique and exciting weekend of wheeling in the mountains, BIG DOGS has the event for you! Check out their registration information for next year's events at www.bigdogsoffroad.com, including Spring Fling IV (June 2002), Summer Slam II (August 2002), and Main Jambo VII (September 2002).

Contacts	Related Links
BIG DOG Productions 114 Weaver Lane Hampstead, MD 21074 (410)442-2222 phone (410)239-4633 fax	Picture Gallery