Poison Spyder Customs' motto is "Heritage in Hardcore," and there's no better proof than the company's new JK Wrangler.
Poison Spyder was recently purchased by Larry McRae, a longtime 4x4 and rockcrawling enthusiast who was part of All-Pro Off-Road's 2003 championship season. Larry moved the company headquarters to Banning, California which is conveniently close to the world-infamous Hammer trails of Johnson Valley.
Larry wanted to properly showcase the JK, which is bedecked with the company's products, on a worthy trail. We loaded it up and headed over to the Hammers.
We had the valley to ourselves, which meant no safety net should we break. Clawhammer was the chosen trail, a route that's difficult enough to turn back the timid, yet not so gnarly as to guarantee carnage. With the four-door JK's 117-inch wheelbase on our side, Clawhammer was quickly clicked off sans drama.
There was enough daylight for another round, and Backdoor is walking distance from Means Dry Lake where we'd parked. Backdoor isn't too nasty, unless you count a certain waterfall that's sent more than a few toppling over turtle-style. Many have conceded to the winch line at the waterfall, but Larry's driving prowess and the JK's hardware and wheelbase motored up the waterfall on their own terms.
We'll do a full feature in print in an upcoming issue.