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Badlands Off Road Park - BadlandsAll Around Wheeling From the July, 2009 issue of Jp By Pete Trasborg Photography by Missy Howard
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There is nothing like the... There is nothing like the roar of a V-8 and nothing better than a driver who isn't afraid to unleash the power. We've been to a lot of off-road parks across this great country. It is, after all, what we do for a living. Over all those wheeling miles, we just seem to have the most fun out in the Badlands in Attica, Indiana. The Badlands is a pay-to-play park, like many of the places to wheel back east and offers a combination of mud, rocks, water, dirt roads and more. With a professional staff and even a shop on-site you can play as hard as you want to and likely still be able to put the Jeep back together once you are done. Mostly, we think, that no matter what kind of wheeling we are in the mood for on the particular day we end up there, we never come away disappointed and that is what keeps us coming back.  Some guys just don't like...  Some guys just don't like going slow, and John D. Love seemed like one of them. Every time we turned around he had his foot in it and he had his '06 Wrangler Unlimited doing its impression of a NASA lift-off. The drivetrain is left completely alone with a 4.0L still coupled to the stock transmission, T-case, and front and rear Dana 44s. An 8-inch Fabtech Rock Crawler lift provides clearance for the AEV Pintler beadlocks and 37-inch BFG KM2 mud tires. Poison Spyder tube fenders on all four corners fend off any rogue trees or rocks.  Sometimes throttle-down is...  Sometimes throttle-down is the only way up, and with rain less than twenty-four hours in the past, flogging it was necessary to get up hills that would have been a no-brainer if they were dry. If you are afraid of breaking parts thanks to too much gas, stay out of the Badlands if it has recently rained. On the other hand, if you aren't afraid of a little heavy-throttle fun, there are really good times to be had here.  Kyle was our tour guide for...  Kyle was our tour guide for the day, and after running many of the great trails in the park proper, we got to drop down into this valley for some bigger rocks, water crossings and some more technical wheeling. His coil-sprung YJ with a high-clearance fiberglass hood ran perfect for the whole day, but right at the end, it developed a fuel delivery problem that couldn't be fixed with the tools we had on hand.  We mentioned the words "mud"...  We mentioned the words "mud" or "pond" and Adam Weber or Mentor, Ohio, was getting wet. The floorboards of this thing would just get dried out when the 4.0L, NV3550, and NP231 would all be under water again. A swapped-in Chrysler 8.25 with 4.10 gears turns the 35-inch BFG MTs which are cleared by 4-inch-lift leaf springs. Adam put this Jeep together from three other Jeeps for just under $3,000.  At the Badlands, the trees...  At the Badlands, the trees bite back, so you better be prepared. Like a good Boy Scout, this TJ is fully prepared with armor, the windshield removed and a complete aftermarket cage to help keep the occupants safe. Other additions include a Lowrance 540C GPS, a CB, 4-point harnesses, aftermarket bucket seats and a duster deck cover to keep down on the amount of rain filling the tub. A set of Super Swamper TSLs, coilover shocks and custom front and rear bumpers complete the package.  Even if you don't have the...  Even if you don't have the heart of a race-driver, and just want to get out for a great weekend of wheeling and testing your skills and your vehicle, there is something for everyone here. This '08 Unlimited hailed from Missouri and was just getting warmed up when we snapped this shot.  The land that the park sits...  The land that the park sits on used to be a large coal mining operation and this is the largest structure left standing from last century. If you have an under developed sense of your own mortality, you can drive-through and pretend you were there while guys were dropping of black lung. If on the other hand, you don't want to run the risk of a timber falling 50 feet and crushing you, there is a bypass too.  We caught this TJ at the top...  We caught this TJ at the top of one of the more difficult climbs. Believe it or not, this thing started life as a Sahara model but the Maxxis Creepy Crawlers, rocker protection, and Poison Spyder Customs roll cage, rear bumper and front stinger were but a few steps away from stock for this Jeep.  Jeff Huffman of Fairland,...  Jeff Huffman of Fairland, Indiana, put his stock Rubicon rocker guards to the test. A Rubicon Express suspension lift combined with a 1-inch body lift clear the 285/75R16 Toyo tires and keep the rockers from being eaten completely by the rocks. On the off chance that Jeff does get stuck, the AFW front bumper topped off with a Warn Powerplant winch can handle the duty of getting him out.  Randy Ball gave us a lift...  Randy Ball gave us a lift from time to time in his very capable '04 Wrangler Rubicon. He left the engine, transmission, and transfer case alone. He even still runs the front Dana 44 with the stock air locker and just swapped in 4.88 gears to help turn the 36-inch IROKs bolted to Champion beadlocks. Out back, a Currie-built Ford 9-inch is stuffed with an ARB Air Locker and matching 4.88 gears. A 7-inch wheelbase stretch, Rockland roll cage, and Mastercraft seats make this Jeep comfortable and stable on any obstacle we encountered.  One of the more famous "obstacles"...  One of the more famous "obstacles" is this drainage tunnel. It is tight, but as Jeff Ritter of Indianapolis, Indiana, shows us, it's not impossible. He has a 4 1/2-inch Rubicon Express lift coupled with a 1-inch body lift to clear 35-inch MT/Rs and still has no problems fitting through the tunnel that leads to another part of the trail.
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