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Thread: Did anyone catch Alaska Off-Road Warriors on the History Channel?

  1. #1

    Did anyone catch Alaska Off-Road Warriors on the History Channel?

    I know, it's another dramatic show and yet another show in Alaska but I found it mildly entertaining. It would come on after my bed time on Sundays but my wife and I caught up on it with On Demand. One of the competitors was Carl from Jantz4x4 and he's been on Pirate since forever. He's also a bright guy and has been in the sport for years. As such some of the drama surrounded him especially since he was from the lower 48. He chimed in every week while the series played to offer insight on the behind the scenes action. Soon after a few other drivers did the same. I'd say the online offroad forum action was right up there with the actual show.

    His co-pilot is also an interesting guy. He's a big EV guy and I have read about him off and on for a long time with his electric rock crawling vehicles. He runs a company called Manzanita Micro and has a short fuse which was kind of fun to watch.

    Highlights include some shady Alaskan competitors, some with skill others not so much. Some you could tell were wheelers others bought a used rig to compete in. How they were chosen was all part of what the producers hoped would be a good show.

    War Wagon was an FJ-55 that was run hard and put away wet, in real life and for the show.
    There was a solid axle 2nd gen as well as a 1st gen 4Runner, both with manual trannys.
    A Rover and then Super Jeep (Jantz).

    Might be worth checking out if you've got some couch time and need a chuckle. Try not to look into the editing too much or it will drive you crazy (stuck in the mud on an incline then flashes to winching on a trail in the flats). For a behind the scenes check it out on Pirate.

    http://www.history.com/shows/alaska-off-road-warriors

  2. #2
    I was hoping someone would start a thread on this show lol.

    I did watch it and thought it was def entertaining from a drama stand point.
    But I felt it depicted the wrong side of the off-road world.

    I myself would have preferred something more educational, not a mud bog balls to the walls trip.

    Tread lightly I think went the way side with 100K on the line.

    I agree with you on the selection of vehicles and people.
    The prep of the vehicles is what really got me, for something like that, I would make sure my rig was 110% ready to hit a long hard trail like that.
    Some of the breaks I feel could have been avoided if proper prep was done but then it would not have made good TV.
    Also lack of equipment on some of the crews just blew my mind.

    I was pretty impressed with how far the 1st gen ifs 4Runner went...
    And that 2nd gen was pretty clean!

    Def something to get a good chuckle, but I would like to see a more educational version of the show, no prize but a goal to get past the hardest terrain imaginable, like ultimate adventures from 4wheelers with no pavement, no roads, even live off the land, maybe around the world trip.

  3. #3
    My boss keeps talking about it but I've yet to see it. Maybe someday!
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  4. #4
    Wow sounds like I have to crawl out from under my rock lol. I hadn't even heard of this show
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
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  5. #5
    While the show was airing I read, from several spots, about the characters, the trails and the show. Wild Bill (War Wagon driver) and Jason (Rover driver) are real wheelers and are well known in AK as far as wheeling and in clubs. The others are real Alaskians and wheel but not to the extent. They also all wheel different rigs than the big moose hunting rigs and other AK rigs you see online.

    Tractor tires and mud bog type of wheelers are really popular but that's not what they wanted for the show. Apparently the support crew had and was driven around by other locals in their homemade mud style rigs. If you watch closely you'll see them and SXS's from time to time. You can also see other trails adjacent to the ones they are running, these were the ones traveled by the non contestants. The 1st gen was a prime example of the type of rig and crew that needed to be on the show to make it interesting. The Leigh brothers were sketch. Kind of funny to watch on tv but sketch.

    The lack of preparedness also had to be part of the show. SuperJeep apparently had 1500 pounds of additional gear on it for the trip and an owner that knew his rig. That doesn't count the extra stuff he shipped up there and stashed on the productions vehicles, apparently. Carl was prepared, was the only on that had lockers as well as a cool head.

    Carl said they shot 1000's of hours of film and narrowed i down to 6 hours, 8 shows a 44 minutes each. History and/or the producers knew the audiance they wanted to hit. SJ had a cracked frame and trail repair for it. It also ate a steering box (prior to the one that they showed) and was dying all the time. Timing/scoring and filming was all altered to make everything work and they hoped the viewers didn't notice.

    It's true they didn't depict the sport well but again who do they want watching it. In this link there are copies of the permits and explanation about mudding, trails, trees, water crossings, etc. AK is a different area than most other places people wheel and it was explained in the link. Caution, there is many times more drama in the link than the show. If you watched it, this is good reading. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gener...y-channel.html

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by YotaFun View Post
    Def something to get a good chuckle, but I would like to see a more educational version of the show, no prize but a goal to get past the hardest terrain imaginable, like ultimate adventures from 4wheelers with no pavement, no roads, even live off the land, maybe around the world trip.
    I like educational but I feel like I could get some good stuff on a place like youtube. Plenty of guys that know what they are doing and like to film themselves telling the world they are the best. A good medium, I feel, was Ian on Extreme4x4 on Powerblock. Him and Jessie were well spoken, had cool projects and kept it entertaining. Most of the builds were nothing I would do or tackle but it was entertaining to watch and different than desk chair wheeling.

    When their show was on he would get on Pirate as well and get feed back and ideas, some of which he used. He took what the PBB dished and still put out a good product.

  7. #7
    I sorta liked it, felt the people with the 2nd gen had the best rig b/c it wasnt always breaking down. Seems everyone else was ill prepared and their rigs werent all that well built. Then again it was all for tv most likely
    Marc<br />96&#39; T100 SR5 4x4<br /><br />Other rides:<br />00 Honda 416EX

  8. #8
    I haven't even heard of the show, but I'll have to see if I can catch it online somewhere. No cable/satellite yet, and possibly never.
    -Daniel2000 4Runner Sport | V6 | 5spd | 4x4 | Leather | 265/75-16 BFG AT/KO | OBA | BudBuilt front skid

    1990 4Runner SR5 | V6 | Auto | 2wd | 3.90 rear | Cobra CB | 265/65r17 Bridgestone Duelers H/Ts | '08 Tacoma 5 spoke rims | Has an 11:1 crawl ratio! SOLD

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