AllOver Overland

I was a guide for the BFGoodrich KO3 launch in Alaska, let me say that one more time, I was a guide for the BFGoodrich KO3 launch in Alaska. WHAT!!!????

Last spring Craig Pester with Total Truck and Alaska Overlander asked me if I would be able to help guide the BFG KO3 tire launch here in Alaska? Say what? I said yes before I knew anything like where, when, how….. and like do I need to plan or help plan this? To be truthfully I didn’t ask any of those questions because I was too freaked out to ask. Craig probable thought I was super chill or an arrogant asshole because I was like “sure”. Inside I was jumping around, yelling, dancing, screaming. Yeah I was excited.

I owned KO2’s years ago and loved them. So I was super excited to get a set of the new KO3’s. I never had any issues with the KO2’s and only replaced them because of the Arkansas mud.

I had to pick up a rotopaX at Total Truck several weeks later. I still hadn’t heard anything about the event. Craig sees me and starts telling me about the event (OK THIS IS HAPPENING!). He is super busy running around while he’s telling me, and I’m trying to follow but not catching everything and not saying I’m not catching all of it sooooo…. I left not knowing much more than, that I WAS GOING!!!!!! I did kinda know when, at least the month, September.

Craig calls me a couple of days later, “what size tires mate?”.

“33” I say.

“17 inch right?” Craig says.

“Yep” I say.

“I need rims for those, Methods”, Me

“Roger”, Craig says and hangs up.

I still didn’t have dates or any idea what I was going to do as a guide, like the route, how many, who, where…. LOL. Brook called me a couple weeks later and filled me in with all the info, thanks Brook.

I called AllDogs Offroad Coop. I ended up with Fox shocks on AllDogs Springs and AllDogs Upper Controls Arms, Enoch thanks! They shipped the suspension and I had the guys at Total Truck install the lift, which happened just a couple of days before the event. I stayed up in Anchorage area for a few days, camping and hanging at Steve’s house, thanks man. I helped drive trucks to the sticker shop, the detail shop and back to Total Truck. It was impressive the complete machine the crew at Total Truck and Alaska Overlander are, top notch! I watched and video’ed Josh install the lift. I’m sure I annoyed him but he did an amazing job. Stickers are in place, lift and tires are installed. Let’s GO!

Taylor, Josh, and I left Thursday evening toward Talkeetna to camp the night and arrive at the Talkeetna lodge by 9AM. During the drive we were in a heavy and I mean heavy downpour the entire way. The KO2’s were not known for wet weather driving, so I was cautious. As we drove and my confidence grew I got faster and faster and theses new KO3’s head perfectly. This was my first experience with these tires and I am already a fan. They performed so much better than my old KO2’s and my recent MT’s. The drive was over an hour and a half, no issues at all.

A drink or two or three or more at the Fairview Inn lead to a fun night as Craig joined us for drinks. Camp was in puddles but we were drunk so we didn’t care. A foggy morning next the the river gave a spooky fun vibe. Josh 2 and Matt joined us and followed us up th the lodge. The Talkeetna Lodge was amazing! They had a Jeep and Bronco outside on the only KO3 37’s in the world, made just for this event.

We met up with more of our crew and a few BFG guys to pre-run the trail. We drove out of Talkeetna, gassed up and drove to Forks Roadhouse. At Forks you can go left to the mud or right to the “sand” pit. The Roadhouse was going to be a meeting point and the only bathrooms we would have available the entire day. The mud run was’t too long just enough to see what these tires and do, remember they are not mud tires. We found that out as the lead truck got into several inches deep of wet sticky mud. We would have loved to keep going and hoped to bring people further back, but again these are not mud tires so we opted to stay in our lane. A shortened mud run was decided, to be honest I wouldn’t have driven the rest of the way in these conditions in my old MT’s, it was thick. It was impressive that we all made it back with only one person(Craig) getting stuck.

To the right, and to the rest of the trail, was the “sand” pit. I “” sand because Alaska sand, well its different. This was more like a grave pit with fine fine gravel, lol. The next couple of days the drivers will his get the chance to really check out the grip of these All-Terrain tires. Each vehicle would have two drivers and each would get a turn. Watching everyone you could easily tell they were having a blast. Once every had a chance we all gathered around Steve’s Lexus and one of the BFG guys told us about all the awesome things that go into the evolution of the new KO3. Also showed us how the side walls create grip over rocks.

From there it was all a trail ride. We drove by Petersville, an old mining town that people still work their claims and live. Winding roads thats just reach the edge Denali National Park. The drive was easy with a few water crossings and unbelievable views. When we have the BFG guests with us we will have a stop on the way up to eat and pan for gold. Moose burgers and Halibut tacos catered for lunch, made fresh in the middle of nowhere Alaska. The guests also got a chance to actually pan for gold and a couple of people walked away with a nugget!

Several long deep water crossings met us on the way to the look out Craig had planned. I have never driven through this much water, which is saying a lot since I wheeled a ton in NW Arkansas. This was insane and a total blast.

After all the water we had a long steep climb in loose rock, with tundra on each side of us and it was in full fall colors. The red and yellow colors on the side of these mountains was something I had never seen before as the tundra that blanket the area was completely in fall color change, so amazing.

The next couple of days I would be guide BFG race car drivers, influencers and content creators. I met so many amazing people, there were all big time and super nice, all of them. The last night we all ate diner together, BFG knows how to throw and event and a party. It turns out this was the last event for the then current CEO, it was special just being there.

I am so thankful for being asked to help with this event. The entire BFG crew were so helpful and nice. Craig and Brook thank you. Your leaders-ship and your crew at Total Truck and Alaska Overlander are amazing and a great reflection of you and your companies. I made several friends and had an amazing experince. Thank you again to everyone.

Full KO3 review coming soon.

Michael Hyden