According to Bonnier Events, the 4-Wheel Jamboree is America’s favorite family-friendly 4×4 festival. They will get no argument from me. I attended my first Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Jambo way back in 1991 — man am I old. Unfortunately, I moved out of Pennsylvania in 2001 and have not been able to attend this yearly event in quite some time. So, when I got the assignment to go to the 2022 event in Bloomsburg, I jumped at the opportunity.
I am sure you all know the 4-Wheel Jamboree events are geared toward 4×4 truck and SUV enthusiasts. In fact, these multi-day events have been described as “State Fairs for 4-Wheelers.” Sounds accurate to me. Each day, as I walked around at the Bloomsburg 4-Wheel Jamboree, participants and spectators alike were riding in water-filled pickup-truck beds, walking through the throngs of show trucks, and watching either the burnouts, Mega Truck racing, mud races, or all of the above. There was a dizzying array of things to do.
The sound of diesel was everywhere.
This being my first year attending as Editor of DieselArmy.com, I knew there would be a plethora of diesel-powered rigs to see, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. Not only were there factory-fitted diesel machines, but many swapped vehicles that boggled the mind. All were above-average rides.
The 4-Wheel Jamboree is a mecca for all enthusiasts of anything four-wheel-drive, and as an added bonus for me and DieselArmy.com, I had the honor of choosing one ride as my favorite. Talk about an awe-inspiring task. But in the end, I found one cool hot rod that actually hauled another. Dean Shingara completed a Cummins swap when he built his ’53 Chevy rollback. Stay tuned for more on this cool rig in a later feature.
When I arrived at the show on Saturday morning, it was evident I missed an exciting day on Friday, but I knew Saturday would be just as fun. When the gates opened that morning, immediately, the bumper-to-bumper traffic started piling into the grounds. If it had four-wheel-drive under it, it was here. As the vehicles passed by where I was standing, right after a “stock appearing” ride passed, another “monster” was following. A more diverse grouping of vehicles could not be had. And although burnouts were frowned upon while the trucks drove in, not everyone adhered to that suggestion.
Can I get a tug??
As I walked around the venue and took in all the amazing rides, I thought you guys might also like to see what was there. If this is the first time you’re seeing them, shame on you for not attending the show. Regardless of whether you made it or not, here are a few of the coolest things I saw at the 2022 Bloomsburg 4-Wheel Jamboree.
Older School 12-Valve
The designers of the ’39 Chevy truck never envisioned what Tony Salokas and his father — also Tony — did with a 1-1/2-ton hauler. The duo started with a very rough cab and then decided a 12-valve Cummins would be the perfect motivation. Behind the inline-six engine is a 4R100 transmission connected to a pair of Super Duty axles with 3.73 gears. I refrain from calling it a rat rod, and rather, simply call it cool.
Young Tony informed me this unique ride is driven everywhere it goes. No trailer for this hot rod.
Camper Special Meets 12 V
Sorry Super-Duty fans, but this ’77 F-250 Camper Special is fitted with a Cummins 12-valve. The folks at Big Time Kustomz had the Ford front and center at their booth and at first glance, I actually wondered why it was at the show. I figured it must have a Power Stroke between the fenders, and then I peeked under the hood.
From the outside, one would never notice the wolf hiding under the stock exterior.
I was told the project started with the inclusion of a 12-valve engine backed by an NV4500 transmission. A custom driveshaft was built to mate to the stock rearend. The engine features the typical performance bolt ons, benefits from a resealing of all gaskets, head studs, and a Super B turbo from BD Diesel.
As I walked past this cool old ’41 Chevy pickup, I thought it was a very cool truck but almost walked right past it. And then the owner, Charles Lorenzo, fired it up. The immediate “rattle” of the Mercedes compression ignition had me do a neck-snapping double take. The Mercedes diesel and four-speed automatic transmission is mated to Jeep Wagoneer axles. The truck also has rack-and-pinion steering and power-assisted disc brakes on the front.
Crank ‘Em And Yank ‘Em
I couldn’t find a lot of information about this Ford or talk to the owner, but talk about cool! This sled puller definitely looks like one fun ride — both on and off the track.
How fun could this be on the street with that push…err…I mean weight bar on the front?
Goin’ Green
And for our next DieselArmy.com project vehicle… I saw this for sale and for some reason, my wife grabbed me by the belt and pulled me back. Apparently, she doesn’t have the same concept of “daily driver” as I do.
So much want.
That’s just a small portion of some of the cool things diesel-powered that I saw at the event, and if you missed it, you missed a great time. However, you can partake in the gallery of images featuring some of the highlights. If you still can’t get enough, click here to check out the images on the 4-wheel Jamboree website. Hopefully, I’ll see you there next year. I just wish I would be driving that big Army-green monster I wasn’t allowed to buy.