Hemi-powered JL Rubicon Goes Where Few Jeeps Have Gone Before
Effortlessly crawling up a rock wall is only one highlight of ‘Trail Hero 2019.’
If you haven’t heard of Lite Brite Nation, allow us to bring you up to speed. Brittany and Kevin Williams are a husband-and-wife duo that travels the country with their dog in their Hemi-powered 2018 JL Wrangler Rubicon and goes on all sorts of automotive adventures. It’s kind of like that old TV show Hart to Hart, but with fewer mysteries and more Jeeps.
This recent video is a bit of a twofer. Trail Hero at Sand Hollow State Park near Hurricane, Utah was this past October 1-5, and the couple was there filming all the action. First, they show off their resurrected Polaris RZR, complete with a new engine, wheels, and tires. Then, we see footage of the Lasernut Rock Race, a bare-knuckle brawl featuring some seriously formidable buggies flying over some impressive obstacles. Brittany and Kevin even include some glorious slow-motion footage of these badass buggies for your viewing pleasure. If you aren’t into kicking sand, there’s also an up-close look at the Trail-Gear Supercrawl here too.
But we aren’t just here to talk about the buggies. Trail Hero is a paradise for off-roaders. “So for those of you who haven’t seen any of our trail hero or sand hollow videos,” Brittany says, the thing that is so freaking amazing about this state park… is it’s probably one of the only parks we’ve ever wheeled at… where there’s almost complete freedom. It’s like the biggest playground for wheeling… anywhere.”
And with that, our hero car, er Jeep comes into the frame: The red Hemi-powered JL. It looks just as at home on the soft sand with the buggies as it does on the trails. “That’s just fun,” Kevin says, pulling up to the camera and pointing to the middle distance. “Then, you just go from here [the dunes] to there and go rock climbing.”
Serious Terrain
The big reason the Williams’ are here is to celebrate the first-ever event for their E3Offroad group. The members-only event features a meet-up, raffles, and the launch of their monthly donations to Hero For a Day, charity that helps disabled veterans. “This is the reason that we’ve been doing everything that we’ve been doing. This is the reason we’ve wanted to build E3Offroad.” It’s heartwarming to be sure, and it gets better: A couple attending Trail Hero sees their $4,280 donation and volunteers to double it on the spot.
But this video isn’t all buggies and charity, there’s also plenty of footage showing Jeeps doing what Jeeps do. The next morning, the couple tackles Milt’s Mile along with a surprisingly formidable second-generation Dodge Dakota pickup, a ZJ Grand Cherokee, an XJ Cherokee, a couple of Wranglers, and even a J80 Land Cruiser thrown in for good measure. But they save the best for last here. Their impressively-kitted JL simply tears up a near-vertical buggy wall in the middle of the night.
With Kevin at the wheel, Brittany spots, yelling to stop once the spare tire starts dragging on the desert floor. She airs down the tire, then he takes a second pass. A little skid threatens to take the Jeep sideways but he manages to keep everything together. “this is literally our house right now,” she says, reminding him not to screw this up. After a few more tries (and some liberal swearing), the Hemi-powered Rubicon scrambles up the impossible-looking rock face with that familiar V8 roar. It’s an impressive sight to see, and clearly the highlight of the drive.
If you didn’t make it to Trail Hero this year, this video is about as close as you’re going to get to the experience. You see the beautiful terrain, four-wheelers of every stripe, and the incredible sense of community shared by everyone there. The Best part? This ride happened even before the official Lite Brite trail ride, so there’s plenty of more Trail Hero content coming real soon from this off-roading couple.
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