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2002 OFF ROAD EXPO

Photos and Story by Tony Bothwell

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OFF ROAD EXPO
October 5-6, 2002, Fairplex Pomona, CA

The fairgrounds located in the beautiful rolling hills of Pomona, California attract people from all over the state for the various events it hosts during the year, but if you were in the area on October 5th or 6th you'd undoubtedly know an off -road show was in town. Pulling into the local McDonald's for a quick bite to eat before the show had me surrounded by a veritable convoy of very lifted full-size trucks, as well as pre-runner style race trucks. While the majority of the draw for this expo is of the sand and race sports crowd, there was definitely a substantial increase in the rockcrawlers representation this year over last year's show.

With most major off-road companies having some identity present, competition was clearly in the air as this year the displays got bigger and the equipment got wilder. Exhibitors from far-reaching locations such as Africa were present showing off their wares. And when it comes to the Aussie's and the African's terrain, gear suited towards two and three week long trips seems to be the standard. Take, for example, these back-country trailer systems.

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  2002 OFF ROAD EXPO  2002 OFF ROAD EXPO
Rancho was showing off their new H2 suspension.

Here we see Ron Schneider, one of the C.R.C.A. competitors, from Off Road General Store. Although he had an upset and didn't take the gold back in February, he will be out on the course again this October 18th and 19th at the Wooden Nickel Ranch proving his mettle.

2002 OFF ROAD EXPO  2002 OFF ROAD EXPO

As you can imagine, an event as large as this can get pretty crowded but they couldn't have picked a better location. Located right next to an NHRA museum, visitors could get a little break if they were a bit overwhelmed by the immense amount of off-road toys. The ample parking was a breeze to handle and there was even a shuttle to take you from the parking area to the show - just like Disneyland.

Events like this Off Road Expo are a great place for both the large companies to show off their new products and for the emerging companies to try to break in by marketing their ideas to the same audience. The Off Road Expo has basicallly become the consumer version of the SEMA show.

I'll look forward to seeing you there next year!

 2002 OFF ROAD EXPO  2002 OFF ROAD EXPO  2002 OFF ROAD EXPO

Check Out More Photos in the GALLERIES
GALLERY 1
GALLERY 2

 

Tony Bothwell

Tony Bothwell is a photojournalist for ROCKCRAWLER.com and resides in Los Angeles, California.

Contact Tony at tonyb@rockcrawler.com

 

 
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