Last July when I picked this up in Atlanta: just a warm, fuzzy, and seemingly harmless impulse. Note that other than when various forms of employment required it, I had absolutely no off-road experiences, nor had I ever intended to get involved in off-roading. I needed a little truck to handle light duties around the homestead, and haul the purchases home from flea markets, yard sales, etc. that were too grungy to be hauled in the wife's grocery-getter.

Needing some mechanical attention, I did some web surfing for info on how to bring my new purchase up to snuff. You guessed it.....I hit on TRS. By August, the Ranger looked like this:

In October, and in direct response to advice from members on upgrades, I went to LaGrange, KY and picked up this for parts:

Then, curious to see just what my Ranger would do; and responding to no end of suggestions from this site as how best to find out, I went to Badlands the weekend of November 8th. There, I met Will and was further inspired by this:

In early January, I brought this back from Philadelphia, PA:

Then, I attended the TRS Snowball Run, in Wellsville, OH in late January, and was hooked (literally)

Figured I'd get more seriously involved and picked this up locally for a song and dance.

And then this, which was a bit more costly:

Things didn't work out so good with the Nuge (zebramobile), so I offered my equipment and personal services and hooked up with Ryan and Will for the TRS Spring Round-Up, again in Wellsville, OH.

I shotgunned for Will at the event, and wouldn't you know it, he went all out and set the hook for good:

After hashing it out and changing plans, Will trailered Ryan's rig to TN, and I got the distinct pleasure of hauling Will's choice rig to my home-20 and putting it under the microscope....but I had to beat back the Nuge as he grew quite enamored with Will's little beauty:

Adding insult to injury, I let my wife do some hot laps in the Nuge at a buddy's private dirt track, and she shredded the clutch:

With all the events coming up, and getting farther and farther behind on my build plans, I took decisive and immediate action and Picked up this rig in Miami, FL.

Consider that I am just a working-class guy, practically without the proverbial "pot and window," and I work pretty damned hard to make ends meet at times. Since joining up with TRS and these folks.....guess how much money I've spent and how much harder I've had to work to come up with it. All because I wanted a pickup truck and looked for a source of info on how to maintain it.

Here's my warning.....be very careful what you're about to get involved in.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!-TRS