Hardrock Off-Road Park, Ocala, FL

Barbara and I spent Wednesday at the Hardrock Off-Road Park in Ocala, FL. I had just finished installing a 2.5” suspension lift and wanted to try it out. Since our Orlando Jeep Club just happened to have a trip planned to the park we were all in. This facility is not large at somewhere around 39 acres, but it has varied terrain. With Florida’s highest point at just over 400’ you can’t expect too much, but there is quite a bit packed into this small space.

We had about ten jeeps in the group. Most were newer Wrangler JK’s, but there were a Liberty and Commander in the mix. We represented the older TJ versions pretty well, and right in there, doing everything the newer jeeps were, was a stock 1958 Willy’s. Pretty cool!

The hills were not too long, but very steep. Having a Rubicon model with locking differentials allowed us to easily handle the steep hills, and the Rubicon’s 4:1 geared transfer case allowed us to come down the very steep descents fully under control. It was a great confidence builder for our upcoming trip out west. 

All shots, including video, were from the iPhone5. We were surprised at how well the phone managed to dampen the shakes in video mode. Sorry, but one video is all I could stand trying to upload. Took way too long. I need to learn to post to YouTube and post links instead.