Trail Tales: Cleaning Up Hurricane Irma - Jeep Style!
When natural disasters force you to cancel adventure plans you can stay home or you can be like Steve Radius from It Works Off-Road and head straight into the affected area and lend a hand. Steve had planned an epic adventure through Florida to Mexico but when the hurricane hit he made a radical decision to use his Jeep to help.
All images supplied by @itworksoffroad
Where: Florida Keys
When: November 17-19
Vehicle: 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sahara JKU
Rhino-Rack Products:
- Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform
- Rhino-Rack Pioneer Shovel Holder Bracket
Rhino-Rack: Plans changed and you made the most of it. Tell us more?
It Works Off-Road: Our original adventure was to drive our Jeeps from Florida to Mexico. The earthquake in Mexico and hurricane damage caused us to delay our trip till 2018. Since we were already scheduled to travel we decided to head to the Florida Keys to assist in Hurricane Cleanup.
Rhino-Rack: How did you prepare for the trip?
It Works Off-Road: After assessing the needs with our contacts in the area we gathered supplies, and trail gear and tools needed for the cleanup efforts.
Rhino-Rack: What was it you intended to do/see/ experience there?
It Works Off-Road: We intended to help families in that area get their life back. What we saw was overwhelming, it's been more than two months since Hurricane Irma and the streets are still lined with debris, boats, campers washing machines. The utter amount of work to be done is daunting.
Rhino-Rack: Did you accomplish that?
It Works Off-Road: We were able to help several families, One in particular had a tree fall on a camper, two cars and a boat. We were able to clean up the tree and remove all of the debris, pull out the camper and the boat and give access to the two truck to take the cars away.
Rhino-Rack: Were there any lessons learnt?
It Works Off-Road: We learned a lot about what equipment is needed, and that there is so much more work to be done. We are organizing another trip in January with a larger group of Jeeps and crew.
Rhino-Rack: How did Rhino-Rack products help to facilitate your adventure?
It Works Off-Road: The Rhino-Rack was great! We were able to pack our box of rescue gear on the rack, needed the extra space in the Jeep for our cooler, and supplies for the trip.
Rhino-Rack: Did you face any obstacles along the way and how did you get around them?
It Works Off-Road: We had to use our brains and not just brute pulling power to get all of the trees down safely. Soil was very loose so we had to be strategic on how we pulled to make sure we had traction.
Rhino-Rack: What is it about the destination or the journey of your adventure that makes the trip worthwhile?
It Works Off-Road: Being able to do what we love, Jeeping, pulling and towing and helping these families at the same time was incredible. Looking forward to the next opportunity to use the Jeep to help those in need.
A little more about Steve Radius - He is the Director of facilities for It Works Global. He is also director of It Works Off-Road which is his way of using his Jeep to make a difference.
Rhino-Rack Trail Tales
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