The Accessory Dream Guide Issue 4

MR. BEAST 2014 RAM 1500 @GEARINTOADVENTURE

This featured vehicle is such a frequent customer at North Shore Off-Road that he and his “light duty baby Ram, Mr. Beast,” have become like fam- ily. It works both ways because that’s also how Victor feels about NSOR and Rob Dufault, in particular, because over the years Rob has repeatedly given him wise advice based on experience*. “They are family that will always be there to take care of my growing appetite for a more self-suffi- cient vehicle as I plan in the future to cross countries and continents, solo or with others. Of course with a full-time job, it is a bit tricky to get the sufficient chunks of time to cover the distances. So I don’t know when and how, but things will happen - you just have to want it like it’s your last breath of air.” While that kind of ambition for a vehicle and what it can do is common among enthusiasts, it sure wasn’t always that way for Victor: “I never cared for cars up until a year and a half ago. In fact, I didn’t drive at all and didn’t even have a license before then.” “My parents and sister kept pushing me all these years to at least get a car and in February, 2016 they finally broke me down”. “I got a used, rebuilt 2012 Kia Sorento and started going on mini trips in BC. This sparked my appetite and I also had rare opportunity in the late summer of 2016 to take a 2 month vacation from work. I decided to travel to Florida and visit most of the National Parks in the USA and some in Canada. It was two of us, living out of an SUV for a month at campgrounds and mixing that with motels. I still managed to hit the off-roads in 16 states out of 18. I got stuck in sand twice, I broke my bike rack hitch, I ripped a tire and I broke the water pump and some of the door handles.” “After that trip, I knew that I love vehicle-based travel, but for the kind of places that I want to go, the SUV would no longer be an option even if it was lifted and trimmed. It is just too small of a space to live out of. So, I got the stock Mr. Beast, thinking I would tow a travel trailer behind it. I wasn’t thinking lifts or light bars or winches at that time.” Mr. Beast is a 2014, RAM 1500 and “he is a gentle giant, a gentleman and he likes to give way to lady Jeeps on trails due to the size and pace associated with a little bit of belly fat. :)” “Then, I had my first tire puncture going to Sloquet Hot Springs from Pem- berton and that made me think of getting serious tires, but with that came the decision that they also should be much bigger and hence, I needed a lift. Around the same time, I began watching various overlanding videos on You Tube. These were not the weekend warriors stuff, but people crossing continents and countries. I started to desire and have dreams about one day crossing the globe in a vehicle. I began looking for an off-road shop that is fair, but also with a good reputation and this is how I discovered North Shore Off-Road. I needed a shop that could be my shop for a long time to come and with people I could become friends with. I lucked out on my first email inquiry and got a reply that made sense to me. I went from thinking about just the lift and tires and rims to also thinking a bit further ahead and considering the loads I would carry (at that time I was contemplating a truck pop up camper).

Visit our Install Shop to see more of our work installshop.nsor.com

54 THE ACCESSORY DREAM GUIDE