The Trailhead an Offroad Show

Trail Hero 2026 is in the rearview mirror, and JD and Calvin are back from Sand Hollow with stories, opinions, and plenty of good-natured ribbing from the rest of the crew. JD shares how his first trip in the new Jeep Gladiator changed his approach to the build, while the guys trade early reactions to Trail Hero, including vendor row and event security. Meanwhile, Bryan is racing to finish his out...

What happens when your totaled Jeep gets a second life—and your friends discover everything you left behind? JD, Bryan, Calvin, Joe, and Andrew are back with plenty of laughs, questionable decisions, and some off-road headlines that have everyone talking. From Scout's return and Hyundai's ambitious plans to the future of electric off-roading, the opinions are flying. But things really get...

The Trailhead is back for Season 5, and JD has some big news to share with Bryan, Calvin, and Joe! After a year of major life changes, a wild recovery at Trail Hero, and an insurance decision that officially ended the road for his beloved yellow Jeep Wrangler JK, JD finally reveals what he bought to replace it. The crew wastes absolutely no time roasting his new rig, debating everything from 33-in...

Recorded at the start of July 2026, this episode catches JD at a very specific moment: the yellow JK had been declared a loss, the insurance process was still playing out, and nobody knew what would replace it. JD is joined by Bryan, Joe, Calvin, and Keenan to work through the options—from a Jeep Wrangler JLU Rubicon to a Jeep Gladiator JT—and what makes sense for a future focused more on camping...

JD and Calvin are joined by Kerry Garrison of Trail Traveler to talk about Rosetta Maps, a camping resource tool Kerry built after getting fed up with outdated, inaccurate, and sometimes illegal dispersed camping information. Rosetta Maps brings dispersed camping, campgrounds, public-land data, weather, wildfire information, GPX tracks, and other trip-planning tools into one place. The conversatio...

JD sits down with Ryan Stoangi of Combat Off Road to talk about how more than 20 years of building Jeeps and working in off-road retail led him to start making his own parts. Ryan breaks down Combat’s focus on durable, repairable Jeep accessories, including their hood latches, armored taillights, fenders, and inner fenders, and why he believes in sticking to what the company does well. They also t...

JD closes out the Trail Hero Expedition Spotlights series with Nathaniel and Susan Savka of Team Danger Zone, the first-time overlanders who became the inaugural Trail Hero Expeditions champions by just 16 seconds. They unpack their 2020 Jeep Gladiator overland build, rooftop tent camping lessons, lightning-fast tire change, MORRFlate four-tire inflation challenge, and the teamwork that carried th...

JD sits down with Dan DuBose from Motobilt for a deeper look at the person behind one of the most recognized names in Jeep armor, off-road fabrication, and the sport itself. Dan walks through his early days building bumpers because he could not afford to buy them, the Blue Torch FabWorks era, his reality TV detour, and the long road to building Motobilt into a serious Made-in-USA manufacturing ope...

JD is joined by Angela Rickerson, the Seattle-based driver behind Ronda Rhino, for a conversation about Jeep life, Rebelle Rally, Pacific Northwest rock crawling, and the messy, rewarding path into off-roading. Angela shares how a 2017 two-door Jeep Wrangler went from “cool preschool drop-off rig” to a heavily built desert rally and rock crawling machine. The episode digs into Rebelle Rally endura...

JD is joined by Bryan, Calvin, Nathan, along with Chris Bailey and Joey Seavolt, for a focused Trailhead roundtable on Right to Repair, Jeep mods, vehicle data access, DIY wrenching, and the future of aftermarket parts. The crew connects the John Deere repair fight to what off-roaders are already seeing with locked-down ECUs, security gateway modules, subscription features, Tazer/JScan workarounds...

JD is joined by Ben Burr from Blue Ribbon Coalition for a straight-up land access scoreboard on the fights shaping the future of motorized recreation. Ben breaks down the rescission of the BLM Public Lands Rule, the Roadless Rule fight, Moab route reassessments, the San Rafael Swell, WEMO closures in the Western Mojave Desert, and why the minimization criteria could become a serious threat to OHV...

JD sits down with Bo Parham and Josh Hull of Jackson Off-Road for another Trail Hero Expeditions Interview Series episode, and this one has the perfect mix of overlanding, rock crawling, Jeep prep, desert chaos, and paramedic-level problem solving. Bo and Josh talk about how they got into off-roading, how their friendship grew from work into camping and trail runs, and why their Cherokee was the r...

JD sits down with Virgil from NorthBound Expeditions and NBX Trail Gear for a laid-back conversation about Jeeps, handmade gear, and the kind of trips that stick with you long after you get home. Virgil shares how he went from growing up in Luxembourg to building a life in Nova Scotia, serving in the Canadian Army, creating overland content, and turning his own need for better storage into NBX Tra...

JD sits down with Chad Hixon, Executive Director of the Trails Preservation Alliance, for a deep conversation about off-road access, single-track trails, public lands, trail closures, and the future of motorized recreation. Chad shares how growing up in Howard, Colorado, a lifetime of motorcycles, kayaking, skiing, and stewardship eventually led him into full-time trail advocacy. The episode digs...

JD sits down with Steve and Katie Botkin of Epic Adventure Duo for a fun, grounded conversation about marriage, overlanding, and the kind of off-road life that’s built on real miles instead of parking-lot hype. They talk through how camping, dirt bikes, and years of Jeep ownership led them to Trail Hero Expeditions, where their expert navigation, camp rhythm, and well-used Gladiator helped carry t...

JD is joined by Bryan, Calvin, and Joe for a live show packed with Easter Jeep Safari 2026 reactions, Moab complaints, busted parts, and the official death of JD’s long-running lifetime Jeep warranty. The crew recaps Coyote Canyon , Metal Masher , Behind the Rocks , and the general chaos around EJS, including speed-limit changes, enforcement, expensive lodging, and why the event feels less friendl...

JD sits down with Brian Ritchie and Jeff Hesse of Team GenRight Offroad for a hilarious, honest Trail Hero Expeditions recap that feels more like campfire bench racing than a formal interview. The guys talk about how Brian jumped from overlanding into a full rock-crawling build, how Jeff got dragged into the adventure with almost no off-road background, and how Moab, Sand Hollow, Windrock, and Whi...

JD sits down with Aaron Wedeking and Jason DeArmond from Team Number Two for a fun, honest recap of their Trail Hero Expeditions run. The conversation covers Aaron’s long history in off-road and PRP Seats, Jason’s marketing background and Number 2 brand, and the chaos of running Trail Hero Expeditions in a mostly stock 4Runner on undersized tires. They get into overlanding, trail riding, off-road...

JD is joined by Bryan (Beatrice JKU the Lunchbox) and Calvin (SRG Offroad) for a loose, funny, and brutally honest conversation about whether Easter Jeep Safari still deserves its reputation as the kickoff to the off-road season. Alongside Bryan’s Moab trail plan—Coyote Canyon, Metal Masher, Kane Creek, Behind the Rocks, and Top of the World—the crew gets into Jeep Wrangler reality, rock crawling...

JD sits down with Fran Adler for a conversation that starts with a little leftover Trail Hero sand and quickly turns into a story about growth, grit, and finding your place in the off-road world. Fran shares how a 2020 JLU Sport became a two-time SEMA build, but the real heart of the episode is what happened after the lights and show floor—heading into Trail Hero Expeditions largely on her own, ma...

JD sits down with Eric, Brittany, and Pam from Skid Row Offroad for a conversation that feels like hanging out with the kind of off-road family that’s been doing this long enough to know what actually matters. Together, they share the story of how Skid Row Offroad has stayed relevant over the years as a small American-made company focused on real protection, real experience, and gear built by peop...

JD sits down with Joe Belk of Larger Than Life Adventures for a conversation that covers a lot more than just one trip. Joe talks about starting out in lowriders and mini trucks before making the jump into off-road life, building his now well-known 1991 Chevy Suburban “The Beast,” and spending years in the recovery world, including running the Utah Offroad Recovery Team and earning deep respect fo...

After an unplanned break and a lost episode courtesy of Riverside gremlins, JD gets the roundtable back together with Bryan, Calvin, and Nathan for a live show that feels like getting the gang back in the garage. The first part of the conversation catches up on show business, including progress on the Trail Hero Expeditions edits, upcoming interviews, and plans to get the release schedule moving a...

In this Trail Hero Expedition Spotlight, Episode 2 in the Trail Hero Expeditions Spotlight series, JD talks with the team about their Buckeye, Arizona roots, desert-driven wheeling style, and the mindset that comes from piling on serious trail miles. They share Trail Hero stories, what it’s like being tracked and moving at event pace, and how a tight crew handles the little problems that can snowb...

We continue our close out of the year with your voicemails and the crew swaps favorite 2025 moments and what changed us most: first meet-ups that turned into friendships, holiday plans that went sideways, and the reminder that the people around the rig matter more than the parts on it. Between a few good-natured roasts and some honest reflection, we talk about what we’re thankful for, what we lear...