Project Crawlorado – Build Update #1
Long days and long nights, neglecting family and friends and banished to the fab shop as he slaves away on his latest project build. While those may or may not be the words from Kevin Stearns of Pacific Fabrication, I’m sure that sentiment has crossed the crew’s mind as they overhaul this year’s Ultimate Adventure entry to represent BDS Suspension. If you haven’t heard how this build came together check out the UA Winner! article and find out more about the plans at Crawlorado build plans. With less than 2 months to complete the transformation (all the while managing the shop’s day to day business), the crew at Pacific Fabrication set out to tear down their shop truck, a timid looking beige 2011 Chevy Colorado with a healthy 5.3L V8 under the hood. The stock suspension, steering, axles and bumpers were pulled to prep for the new components. From there measurements were taken and calls were…
Congrats to the Navy Offroad Team for finishing the Mexican 1000!
Congratulations are in order for the Navy Offroad team of wounded warriors and disabled veterans who competed in the 2015 Mexican 1000 late last month. This NORRA sanctioned event brings out big names in offroad racing and vehicles of all makes and budgets. With a team of motivated veterans they set out months ago to resurrect the historic Flyer One military buggy (aka LSV or Light Strike Vehicle) for competition and finished with an impressive 32nd overall and 6th out of 11 in their Class. Retired Admiral Mike Shatynski and retired Navy SEAL Tim King piloted Flyer One and ran flawlessly over the 1335 miles of unforgiving Baja terrain ranging from rocky hill climbs to rambling sand trails and river fords to bottomless silt. Mike Shatynski mentioned how the buildup to and the race itself meant so much to the team members.  He added that racing 1000 miles down the Baja peninsula was the closest thing…
Project Crawlorado – BDS 2015 Ultimate Adventure Rig Build Plans
Project Crawlorado, dreamt up by the guys are Pacific Fabrication and BDS Suspension. If you haven’t read how the project came to be, head back and read the last article, 2015 UA vehicle winner.  The plan Pacific Fabrication is getting started on the tear down and will be overhauling the 2011 Chevy Colorado 4WD over the next few months leading up to the Ultimate Adventure this summer. The midsize truck has a full-size 5.3L V8 putting out 300hp/320tq stock. Pacific Fabrication specializes in GM-powertrain upgrades so this truck is sure to be a screamer. The stock engine and tranny will be backed up by a Off-Road Design Magnum T-Case sending power to a pair of Dynatrac 60s, running 4.88 gears and lockers. Suspension under this Colorado will be modified BDS JK 4-link long arm up front with BDS coils, JKS ACOS adjustable spacers to dial in the ride height and Fox 2.5 remote resi shocks.…
2015 Ultimate Adventure Readers Selected: Which is your favorite?
Each summer 4Wheel & Offroad Magazine hosts a weeklong offroad road trip known as the Ultimate Adventure (UA). They invite the event sponsors, a few event cronies and have an open call for reader submissions. From that they pick 6 enthusiastic readers + 1 returning reader fro met previous year to bring their rigs and take on the grueling 1000+ mile trip. BDS will be attending the event once again this year as the official suspension in a new build underway now called the Crawlorado. For this year’s lucky group of readers, its a chance of a lifetime to hit the trails with the the Rick Pewe, the magazine writers and the unfathomable collection of 4WD knowledge that attends each year. Between the 4wheeling, the road days, the camp fire stories and the memories that will be made, the UA is something special. This year’s list of lucky readers includes: For the…
2015 BDS Ultimate Adventure Vehicle Winner!
For the past several years, BDS has held the coveted title of official suspension of the Ultimate Adventure (UA). The prestigious position is good advertising, but it also gives us the opportunity to build a kick ass trail rig and spend time wheeling with a select group of magazine reps, corporate sponsors, and readers as we all challenge ourselves and our rig to the  ultimate test, a weeklong off-road road trip covering more than 1000-miles across multiple states. The terrain varies from year to year depending on the region we wheel, but one thing is certain, you never know what to expect on the UA. Each day is a mystery lead by 4WOR’s Rick Pewe, some days consist of 100% hardcore trails and others have hundreds of road miles to get to the next location. One of the perks of sponsoring the event is being able to participate on the trip. When BDS started out…
Jeep Unveils 7 Killer Concepts for EJS
Auto manufacturers have their go to events to debut cool concepts for the future and dwell up conversation among the media and general public. Most use the North American International Auto Show in Detroit or one of the other big OEM oriented show. Jeep, on the other hand, heads to Moab, the offroad mecca to debut them at the annual Easter Jeep Safari hosted by the Red Rock 4Wheelers. While most of these concepts will never see production, its a great to see a manufacturer getting out to a retail consumer focused event and actually getting some trail time with the concepts. This year Jeep is showcasing 7 custom-built concepts at Easter Jeep Safari. They include: Jeep Chief Jeep Wrangler Red Rock Responder Jeep Staff car Jeep Renegade Desert Hawk Jeep Cherokee Canyon Trail Jeep Grand Cherokee Overlander Jeep Wrangler Africa