We have featured a couple FourWheeler Magazine Top Truck Challenge rigs over the last month and are pleased to feature Jim King’s 1964 Dodge Powerwagon as vehicle of the week.
Jim King is a diamond in the rough, he is low key, reserved, and one very intelligent guy. Jim hails from Sparta Tennessee where he operates Premier Machine.
Jim has a passion for offroading that he has been enjoying for over 16 years. He made it a point of letting me know that he enjoys the thrill of conquering the rocks rather than engaging in mud bogging. Jim and his boys Joshua and Thor have helped him build several rock crawling rigs. They noticed that on some obstacles a shorter wheelbase was advantageous while on others a longer wheelbase was better. This caused some frustration in their quest to build the ultimate off road machine. 
One night at the dinner table Jim and his son Joshua were discussing the ideal wheelbase for their next project and concluded that they wished they could have the best of both worlds. That sparked a discussion on the possibility of creating an adjustable frame that could be extended from a short wheelbase to a long wheelbase. Before long Jim and Joshua were sketching out some ideas right at the dinner table.
The ideas were refined with some trial and error and they were able to create a hydraulically variable three-foot extending frame on a 1964 Dodge Powerwagon. While Josh helped with the initial design, his brother Thor helped his dad with the fabrication assembly and mechanical work. Jim named his truck Elmo and competed successfully in the 2010 Top Truck Challenge with Co-driver Nazir (An XXRA Competitor). Elmo is an amazing vehicle and it is amazing to watch in action as the hydraulic frame allows it to “inch worm” itself through both rock and mud obstacles. Elmo is not the prettiest rig you will see but certainly one of the best engineered.
After day one of the competition Jim had burned up his winch, another team loaned him a backup chrome finished winch. Jim quipped that it was the first time ‘Elmo’ ever wore chrome.
Vehicle Specs:
- 1964 Dodge Powerwagon
- Dodge 360 engine bored 308 propane
- 4 Speed Transmission
- 4 Wheel Steering
- Front and Rear Rockwell Axles
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