For immediate release
June 4, 2008
Cross-country Adventure Trailer Trip to Benefit Disabled Explorers
A custom-built Adventure Trailer is being towed 2600 miles from Fort Myers, Florida to Upland, California. The journey is a fundraiser for Disabled Explorers. Anyone can support the cause by “buying a mile.” Donations of a dollar a mile, in any amount, are accepted at:
www.sierraexpeditions.com. The cross-country trip will begin on Friday, June 6, 2008 and is expected to end on June 10.
The trailer was specifically designed and built for adventure travel by Adventure Trailers of Upland, California. The company arranged an extended test with a potential buyer and the borrowed off-road trailer failed to turn up at the appointed time. After some investigation and publicity, largely via the off-highway vehicle community website
www.expeditionportal.com, the wayward trailer was located in Fort Myers, Florida. Adventure Trailers began efforts to return the trailer to its California headquarters.
Meanwhile the trailer, and its own adventure, had garnered some celebrity. This spawned dozens of creative ideas for its return, including a fundraiser for a worthy cause. Adventure Trailers chose Disabled Explorers as the beneficiary. The organization helps people with impaired mobility to explore the backcountry, using off-highway vehicles to reach areas otherwise inaccessible to them.
Lance Blair of Disabled Explorers explains, “We work to empower the disabled to undertake their own vehicle-enhanced backcountry exploration. Our motto is ‘Adapt, Overcome, Explore’ and the homecoming journey of the missing trailer exemplifies that spirit.”
Since it was relocated, the missing Adventure Trailer has developed a large online base of support. That community is now stepping forward to get the trailer home and raise funds for Disabled Explorers along the way. Martyn Davies of Adventure Trailers says, “Our customers are just as capable and unique as our trailers. They have raised their hands, opened their hearts, and pulled out their wallets to support our friends at Disabled Explorers.”
Two members of the Expedition Portal forum community were instrumental in getting the trailer home and launching the fundraising effort. Jim Feehan is an Adventure Trailer customer who located the missing trailer, stored it at his home in Fort Myers, Florida, and prepped it for its cross-country return trip. Joe Wagner, of Phoenix, Arizona, drove to Florida and is towing the trailer back west. Joe will not lack for camaraderie along the way. He’ll be stopping for “meet and greet” events along the route. There, Expedition Portal members, trailer enthusiasts, and off-highway vehicle travelers will get a chance to meet one another, see the trailer, hear its story first-hand, and learn how to contribute to Disabled Explorers. Dates, times, and locations for the meet and greet events will be announced on
www.expeditionportal.com
About Disabled Explorers
www.disabledexplorers.com
Disabled Explorers works to empower the disabled to undertake their own vehicle-enhanced backcountry exploration. The organization offers ride-along events, driver and recovery training, equipment reviews, and guided trips. To publicize the need for equal access to the backcountry, this summer Disabled Explorers will undertake a 24-day expedition from Canada to Mexico along the Continental Divide using dirt roads and trails. Disabled Explorers is currently in the final stages of formalizing its non-profit 501c3 status. The organization is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona and can be reached at (602) 451-6079.
About Adventure Trailers
www.adventuretrailers.com
Adventure Trailers builds the best Built for Off-Road® trailers in the world. The company maintains extremely high standards of quality control and integrity. No trailer leaves the shop that the owners and staff would not be proud to travel with themselves. The company is headquartered in Upland, California and can be reached at (877) 661-8097.
About Sierra Expeditions
www.sierraexpeditions.com
Sierra Expeditions is an online marketplace offering the best vehicle-dependent living equipment and is the trusted gear source for Disabled Explorers. The company takes great pride in providing only the best products available and continually tests new equipment prior to offering it to its customers. Sierra Expeditions is based in Mesa, Arizona and can be reached at (866) 507-4254 or (602) 445-6228.
About Expedition Portal
www.expeditionportal.com
Expedition Portal is a community of expedition travelers intent on exploring the distant and remote places of the world. An expedition need not be a high-budget, multi-year attempt to cross a continent. It is a team of individuals undertaking a journey for a particular purpose. Expedition Portal was founded in 2005 by Scott Brady of Expeditions West.