"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little drive. So I drove to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd drive to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just drive across Greenbow county. And I figured, since I drove this far, maybe I'd just drive across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I drove clear across Alabama." ~ Fourwheeler Gump
And the best part of these older movies expeditions is these vehicles we're not driven by computers in satellites, no cell phones nothing, no sponsors just a group of men awesome and a desire to do a dream
Pleasant Lake Pirate....I lived in Juneau for 2 years, then Eagle River (north of Anchorage) for another year, and the whole time I lived in Alaska I daily drove a 1958 Willy's Cj-5 with only a soft top, soft doors, and no heater...I was running a Ford 289 K-Code out of a 66 Mustang so a heater core wouldn't fit under the hood...the only thing kept me warm were the Hedman Headers underneath the footwells....
This journey was taken several times. This was one of the last. I remember an early issue of PV4 magazine, from about 1972, where a group of Range Rovers took this trip. I figured if I looked hard enough, I'd find some kind of documentary on someone making this trip.
Camel Trophy was a similar competition in Discoveries I was invited to compete for a spot on the 92 team, I actualy did really well and was selected for the primary team, but my jreal ob required me to deploy to Africa so I turned down the trip from Manus Brazil to Gtown Guyana. No regrets really.
Not quite true about the lack of sponsorship, AMC provided them with brand new 1978 Jeep CJ-7 vehicles. and I can't remember if it was Ramsey or Warn who provided the winches. I was working for AMC at the time and applied to go on the expedition, but was one of many who were not accepted, due to the fact that we were affiliated with AMC.
Look at these simple gringos playing their banjos and having a great time with locals in Chile! The good old days when Americans weren't scared of people who spoke a different language.
Unfortunately, there have always been Americans that did not like people that spoke diff languages. I’m from Mississippi and it’s literally black and white down there. 😂
That's long ago, the year I was born! When I was a kid I had a toy green CJ, with exactly the same white wheels and probably the same tires these ones have. I have a JKU now, my second, as well as I had a Patriot and a Grand Cherokee, but nothing like the Wrangler. I'd love to have a CJ.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the vibe, narration, and music combo on these old documentaries. (also, jeeps + adventure = amazing) Why doesnt Jeep sponsor something like this?
I’d say they kind of did here a little bit. They say it’s all financed by the people doing it but that is being a bit dishonest. They bought the Jeep’s for a dollar, the tires were given to them for testing purposes as I’m sure a lot of other supplies were as well. My guess is the reason Jeep didn’t and wouldn’t officially sponsor something like this is because it’s quite dangerous, if they end up kidnapped and killed or just killed in an accident that’s a bad look. I’d imagine the whole thing of selling it for a dollar is for some reason like that.
There’s a spot that finds its wayinto a special kind of manthat lights a fire deep in his soulthat tells him “yes you can.” He can get out from behind his deskAnd go try something newDriving up the side of the worldIs just the thing to do. Cause he’s driven by a dreamA rainbow is his guideHe get’s his strength from mother earthAnd a billion starry lights He’s driven by a dreamCrossing rivers, climbing treesTo turn the heartaches and the joysInto treasured … memories. This spark becomes a torchAnd is passed from man to manYou can see it in their facesAs they go lend a hand Each step makes him tallerAnd fills his heart with prideWhen your driving up the side of the worldYou take it all in stride
Bealieve it or not! This is actually the first camel trophy! It was started with jeeps the first year. Then land rover took over. Awesome footage from jeep!😃👍
@@jeffreymccarty1388 they were, one of the drivers did a interview, said jeep sold em the rigs for dollar each n goodyear did the tires - ramsey did the winches
@@jeffreymccarty1388 ive seen a few videos on the trip can confirm that ramsey supplied the winches for free both electric ones and PTO driven ones, and goodyear supplied the tires for free to showcase their new design at the time.. cant confirm if jeep actually supplied the vehicles for a dollar or not but the guy had the other facts right so id believe him on that one too
@@AndrewBrowner the jeeps were bought for a dollar. Read “31 days in the Darien.” Kevin Arnold, son of Mike, who was on expedition, describes in detail. Awesome read man
I was with my client, Al Grim, a few years back before he pasted away and he still had his Jeep he used for the trip. Only had 1 dent in the hood and he refused to repair the dent.
You know with a little dramatic flare and with the love for older vehicle movies like Ford vs. Frerrai being so popular now it would be a great time to make a movie of this documentary
I had those tires on my 1978 cj5 that original owner i grew up with had put on there in 1982. i got the jeep in 2006 4th owner those tires had very very little dry rot and 85% tread they would go thru anything and beyond durable.
Several still show up at Jeep rallies and have actually even had a 6 week reunion trip from Lima Peru to Santiago Chile back in 1999. Rumor has it another reunion may be in the future.
the Darien Gap has attracted many expeditions, in 1959-60 the british crossed it aboard the legendary Land Rover (the real one, not the junk produced today), this piece of jungle is one biological hotspot that should be preserved at all costs, so a road is not the best of arguments when you want to achieve such thing...
Read Road Fever by Tim Cahill, in which he and Gary Sowerby take a GMC 4x4 pickup the length of the Americas, albeit bypassing the Darien Gap and Nicaragua.
10:20. False. Some Americans crossed this same Darien gap in 1960 in three stock 2wd Chevrolet Corvairs with two 4wd support trucks. These Jeep guys probably saw the rusted remains of one of the corvairs left behind because it ran out of gas. Incredible story that is even more impressive than this one.
How much would it cost to take this same trip NO SPONSORS , out of pocket on a stock jeep with harbor freight winches and chainsaws in 2023 usa money ?
Funny, you can't have one down there now (they probably had that and the 6 shooter for critters that assume eat them). Yet all the drug lords and crooked cops that work for them have arsenals (even more reason to have a gun there now than before).
