14th Annual Truckhaven
Challenge! 
RAIN or SHINE
ATVs are required to have whips with
flags
Printable Event Flyer (pdf format)
Attention all 14th Annual Truckhaven Challenge attendees!
Due to the inability of State Parks to get the required environmental documents (for our traditional area off of North Marina Drive) finished in time for the 14th Annual Truckhaven Challenge, we will be holding the event in the same location we used in 2008 in Ocotillo Wells SVRA. Please use the map below to locate our campsite/staging area.
We were well prepared for this possibility, and already have a great trail mapped and ready to mark! Once again, we are going to have a great time, and with the CHEAP gas prices we are anticipating a really good turnout! So get your rigs all packed up and join us for another weekend of great family fun! We look forward to seeing everyone there!
Happy New Year!
Your Truckhaven Challenge Crew
Click on the map for a printable map
Please check back here for updates on the event, especially right before you leave for the event in case there are last minute changes!
M/C and ATV riders Helmets mandatory !!!
ATVs are required to have whips with flags
4X4's, Buggies & Baja's Metal tops or roll bars mandatory !!!
TRUCKHAVEN CHALLENGE XIV 2008 UPDATE
By Geoff Teare
Yes, it is almost time for the 14th Annual Truckhaven Challenge, and your “Challenge” crew is hard at work in the prep stages!
As I said in my last article, State Parks is preparing a new General Plan for the new Truckhaven area acquisition. Officials have told us the plan “should” be done in time for us to hold the event back in our traditional area off of North Marina Drive, and we have already applied for the permit. We however, are not totally convinced the plan will be done in time, and have also applied for a permit to have the event in the same place we had it in 2008, south of highway S-22 in Ocotillo Wells SVRA. This way we are covered no matter what.
At press time, we have a ride-along scheduled (for late October) in our traditional area with the company working on the Environmental Review document for State Parks. They will be travelling with us on the route we have planned for our coming event. We are working hard to get the event back in our traditional location!
One thing we can tell you with certainty is that we are going to have another fantastic event! The trails will be great as usual, with the route(s) appropriately marked for driver/rider skill level.
Now, CORVA has gained a lot more members in the past year so for those that have not participated in this event before, here is an overview….
The Truckhaven Challenge is held in late January each year just west of Salton City, California. The terrain is primarily decomposing, dry mud hills with some sand washes and rocky sections thrown in for good measure. The area is laced with trails ranging from tight and twisty to steep and hairy. In other words, great off-roading!
It is in this ever-changing terrain that we mark an approximately 20 mile course (changing it each year) for the Saturday Poker Run. There will be several checkpoints. At each checkpoint you will draw a card to assemble a poker hand, and also participate in a “game of skill”. The top three winners of both the poker hands and game scores will all win great prizes! There will also be marked “Alternate” routes which will be much more difficult than the main route. These are for those folks really keen on abusing their vehicles! After the run we will have a BBQ dinner prepared by the Trailmasters Four Wheel Drive Club, and a drawing for great prizes donated by the off road industry!
The event is open to all Off Road vehicles, but please remember not all four wheel drive vehicles are suitable for off road use. Stock SUV’s with novice drivers run the biggest risk of getting stuck/damaged. Similarly, young children on 50cc- 60cc bikes and ATV’s may have a problem with some hills and technical spots. While we test the course with a high-clearance Jeep in 2 wheel drive and open differentials, this does not mean the run will be easy. We do this so we feel the course “should” be navigable by most 4 wheel drives and other OHV’s. Since there is no way we can anticipate the experience level of every rider/driver, please consider this paragraph as a “heads-up”!
We promise you will be kept busy all day and boredom will not be an option!
The Satellite Safari is for those people who have jumped on the hot GPS (Global Positioning System) bandwagon and are having fun utilizing orbiting satellites to determine their position in the backcountry. Using your portable or built-in GPS units, you will be sent on a “treasure hunt” into the hills to find………….something. You will have no course markers or maps, but will follow only the directions on your GPS screen. Objects will be hidden adjacent to established routes in order to keep the Safari time frame manageable. This is great fun!
The Satellite Safari will be held on Sunday, January 25 between 9:00 AM and Noon. Participants will have enough time to run the Safari before they need to pack up and head for home.
And, as usual, we will have our Sunday morning kid’s games, so the younger ones not out on the Satellite Safari will have their own little “treasure hunt” near camp!
We already have several businesses signed up for our vendor row, and product for our BIG Saturday night raffle is being lined up now. The Trailmasters Four Wheel Drive Club is once again going to be putting on the killer post-poker run BBQ, with the best fixin’s you could ever put on burgers or hot dogs!
As I announced previously, we are opening up this event to the entire OHV community this year! We would like all our CORVA members to let all their non-CORVA member friends know they are welcome at this event! They will even be signed up as FREE 90 Day Members! All OHV’s are welcome of course, but everyone needs to read the “Attention” section on the event ad/flyer to make sure they realize this will not be an easy run for everybody. Vehicle damage is always a possibility. But for those that do attend, a great time for the whole family is virtually guaranteed!
Please circle the weekend of January 24-25, 2009 on your calendar and join us for the fun!
M/C and ATV riders Helmets mandatory !!!
4X4's, Buggies & Baja's Metal tops or roll bars mandatory !!!
This page last updated March 13, 2010