As the daylight broke, gas tanks were filled up, tires were aired down, flags were attached to rear bumpers, and...mustaches and mullets were groomed? Yes indeed, that could only mean one thing: it was time for our annual Heavy Metal Weekend camping trip at Pismo Beach!
This was our third semi-official outing to the Oceano Dunes ORV Area (perhaps more well known simply by its former name, Pismo) on the second weekend of September, and we were again looking forward to our yearly celebration the four S's: Sand, Stomping (as in the accelerator pedal), Slayer, and once we got back to camp for the evening, Suds. Add a nice nighttime bonfire to the mix and the recipe is complete for our favorite type of outing, one that is more focused on fun, togetherness, and shared good times than any kind of competition or strict organization.
Sure enough, the goal was met. Everyone seemed to have a good time, trucks held together (except for Editor Jones' truck), and we drained the batteries each night playing heavy metal music. After long days of running the sand dunes, attendees cooked hot dogs and whatever else while enjoying some suds as the sun set and bonfires were sparked.
This year, we had no less than six OFF-ROAD project vehicles show up, and as always, we were enthused and impressed with all the cool off-road vehicles our readers brought, too. This isn't some exclusive, invite-only affair; we encourage anyone and everyone to come hang out, drive around with us, and partake in the fun. With this in mind, let this be your official notice for next year: ready up your ride, pack a cooler, and set up camp with us on the beach, because we're already looking forward to that second weekend in September, which we will always refer to as the Pismo Heavy Metal Weekend.
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Editor-in-Chief Jones ran his red Dodge, Jinxy, good and hard the first night of the trip.
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Brad Kilby showed up with a big RV and plenty of toys to roll around in.
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A fine selection of sandrails showed up to run the dunes.
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We were floored when we saw Peter Verboom's '55 Chevy. It's easily one of the coolest and
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You may recognize Jon Acuff's 2500 Dodge truck-it appeared on the cover of our July '09 is
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Last year, more Broncos showed up than Blazers. But not this year, as Blazers outnumbered
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Ex-publisher Jeff Dahlin now heads up our company's product development division, launchin
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We thought this Toyota prerunner was a great little truck.
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David Hamilton launched his JK a few times before it got dark on Friday night.
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Yes, paddles!
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Dave from DT Pro Fab is always welcome at our get-togethers. He joined us for some high-sp
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After everyone had parked their vehicles for the night, a few of the more intellectual cam
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We weren't kidding when we said some wild vehicles show up to Heavy Metal Weekend. This gr
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Another cool Blazer.
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Acuff in his most comfortable off-road pose.
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Editor Jones had carefully chosen his look for the weekend, which was a result of careful
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Ryan Burke once again joined us for Heavy Metal Weekend and promptly proceeded to tear up
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Dustin Chernoh, the man behind DC Customs, showed up with a super badass, LS-powered sandr
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After all, it is a beach....
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Bubba Rope sent out one of its burly recovery ropes for us to test...and test it we did.
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Hey! It's our S-10 Blazer project, the Almighty Dime. This was its first real off-road wee
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Our former intern (and current contributing editor), Gusto, made it to this year's Heavy M
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Another year, another tow for Editor Jones.