We spent July 28-29 traipsing around the Jeep and Truckfest held at the Canfield Fairgrounds in Canfield, Ohio. This was the first time 4-Wheel Parts and 4-Wheel Hardware got together to throw this shindig.
Sure, 4-Wheel Hardware has had Jeepfests before, but never before has it been this big, with as many people, vehicles, or things to see.
By the end of the day, there...
By the end of the day, there was about a foot less mud in the bog than there was at the beginning. This big-block-powered Cherokee was the first Jeep to make it all the way through during the event.
The tough-truck competition...
The tough-truck competition included some Jeeps. This Grand Cherokee got 3-4 feet of air off the jump on the front straightaway.
Then there were some Jeeps...
Then there were some Jeeps that should've been left alone. This flatfender had strobes and music going all day long. We thought a rare four-wheel-steer GPW was cut up for this thing. Rest assured, it was a conversion
Some of the spectacles to behold were a professionally judged show-'n'-shine competition with more than 100 awards, a Ms. Jeep and Truckfest contest, a mud-bog challenge, a tough-truck competition (yes, there were Jeeps there), more than 130 manufacturers and vendors attended so the absolute newest products could be seen, there was a tire-melting burnout competition, two separate rockcrawl courses and challenges, and monster-truck drag racing.
Thousands of people were in attendance, so we went ahead and sneaked in the back gate to shoot pictures of the event and give you a glimpse at what you missed, and what you can possibly see next year around the end of July in Canfield.
Before anyone was allowed...
Before anyone was allowed to compete, their vehicle had to go through tech inspection. The inspectors looked mainly for safety items and front and rear recovery points, with emphasis on different things (depending on what event you were competing in).
This is the larger of the...
This is the larger of the two rock piles. There was more than one Jeep or buggy that didn't make it all the way through. Some of the rocks were just huge.
If you like to see low-mileage...
If you like to see low-mileage survivors, this was the place to be. Many years of clean, surviving, unrestored Jeeps were there, including this CJ-5 with the original window sticker. It had some really cool period-correct engine modifications, but it was mostly original otherwise.
There were some really cool...
There were some really cool built Jeeps that weren't all spit and polish too. Among other cool things going on with this CJ-8 were the rear fenders, which give plenty of clearance to those 44-inch Boggers.
The smaller of the two piles...
The smaller of the two piles was for vehicles with smaller tires. We saw this Jeep come in, with its twisted bumper and hammered nerf bars, and we noticed it was well-used. The Jeep also ran the mud pit every time possible.
The burnout competition was...
The burnout competition was cool. This Grand Cherokee owned by Brian Haynes was the only Jeep competing in a field of approximately 10, and it finished in Third Place.