754: Rich Klein on Trail Hero Expeditions, Season 2
Jimmy and Tyler sit down with Rich Klein, better known as “Little Rich,” the creator of **Trail Hero Expeditions**, the overlanding TV show Jimmy and Tyler filmed back in May. Season 2 is airing right now. This episode kicks off a run of Trail Hero X content on the podcast over the next couple of months.
Rich explains what the show actually is: 12 teams, 600+ miles, five days and four nights, with as little pavement as possible. It was originally pitched as a competition, but it turned into something better. It’s not a race. It’s about the adventure, the scenery, and the bonds that form between teams who barely knew each other before day one. Jimmy and Tyler signed up as “experts” who got minimal route info, and that’s how they ended up in Episode 2 hunting for a ghost town that turned out to be… nothing.
Then the story of Little Rich. There are three generations of Rich Kleins (yes, he’s heard every joke). He had his first rollover at age two on the slabs of the Rubicon, which was his hometown trail growing up in Placerville. He moved to Cedar City, Utah, went back to Northern California, and then co-founded **W.E. Rock** with his dad, “Big Rich,” after the success of CalROCS competition rock crawling. Eventually he burned out, sold everything, and moved to Alaska to work in the oil field. There he earned his engineering degree, picked up patents and royalty-earning designs, and figured out why Alaskans really love Alaska (about two and a half months a year).
Rich also walks through his long history with off-road TV. He sold a show idea that History Channel turned into *Alaska Off Road Warriors*, which ended up filmed entirely in a one-square-mile off-road park outside Anchorage. He designed courses for *Truck Night in America*, including a running concrete waterfall. And he has built 26 off-road parks around the world, including the concrete structure at Ocotillo Wells SVRA. That’s why he decided to own Trail Hero X outright and keep full creative control. Truck Night had about $8 million for 13 episodes. Trail Hero X Season 1 ran on roughly $40,000.
The behind-the-scenes stories are the best part. A landowner passed away mid-season, and Rich re-ran and re-mapped a section during filming without the teams ever knowing. A land agency accused the production of running a race. And the gate moment from Episode 2, where Jimmy and Tyler stopped on their own to explain “if it’s closed, close it behind you; if it’s open, leave it open,” made its way back to that same agency and earned real goodwill. Tyler’s take: a TV show is just an amplified version of “don’t put stupid stuff on social media.” With 100 million minutes streamed on the first episode release, every move on camera represents the sport.
The episode wraps with how Season 3 is already being pre-run before the snow flies (Rich’s wife getting carsick 15 miles in and a G-out that snapped a spare gas can in half, included), where to watch, and a shared belief in what Jimmy and Tyler call mountain therapy: connecting with the outdoors by disconnecting from your devices.
**Watch Trail Hero Expeditions:** Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Mountain on Speed Sport 1 (available through Amazon Prime Video, Roku, Apple TV, and more), live and on demand on the Trail Hero TV app and at trailherotv.com.
Follow TrailHeroXWebsite: https://trailherox.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trailherox/
MORRFlate TrailHero Video: https://youtu.be/dzrJOWb30X0?si=KDNUvb840oVGzefF
Donate To BLOP: https://www.venmo.com/u/Hi-Landers4WDClub Donate To FLOP: https://www.venmo.com/u/friendsoffordyce
GROUP BUY: Red Dog Trail Welder is doing a group buy. They are offering $2 off per person up to 25 people. If we can get 25 people to sign up, then we can get $50 off. If you’re interested in getting a welder. Please email, DM or hit Jimmy or Tyler up on Discord.
SnailTrail4x4 Discord: https://discord.gg/yFyFFkQbuyCome hang out with us on the SnailTrail4x4 Discord — it’s the easiest way to connect with Tyler and Jimmy directly, chat with fellow off-road enthusiasts, and get first access to Group Buys and Treasure Hunt token drops.
MORRFlate Giveaway at 900 Reviews on Apple Podcasts. Congratulations to JeffH555 for winning our 800 reviews giveaway. The runner-up was Roanokrick. You won an OnX Elite Membership. We will also give away an OnX Elite membership when we get to 850. However, when we reach 900 Reviews, we are teaming up with MORRFlate for a $1000 MF Product Giveaway. Go over to Apple Podcasts to leave your review now and become eligible to win. Congratulations to A13XMONT, who won a set of tires from Yokohama Tire!
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4Wheel Underground has all the suspension parts you need to take your off-road rig from leaf springs to a performance suspension system. We just ordered our kits for Kermit and Samantha and are looking forward to getting them. The ordering process was quite simple, and after answering the questionnaire, we ensured we got the correct and best-fitting kits for our vehicles. If you want to level up your suspension game, check out 4Wheel Underground.
SnailTrail4x4 Podcast is brought to you by all of our peeps over at irate4x4! Make sure to stop by and see all of the great perks you get for supporting SnailTrail4x4! Discount Codes, Monthly Give-Always, Gift Boxes, the SnailTrail4x4 Community, and the ST4x4 Treasure Hunt! Thank you to all of those who support us! We couldn’t do it without you guys (and gals!)!
SnailSquad Monthly Giveaway
November Giveaway is with our new friend Red Dog Trail Welders. Josh joined us on the podcast (Ep. 572) to talks aobu the new entery into the Trail Welder market. He found a way to create a trail welder that is different than all the others out there. If you want a chance to win a Red Dog Trail Welder, make sure to sign up for the giveaway tier on either Irate4x4 or the SnailTrail4x4 Discord.
October is one of our favorite giveaways of the year, and that is with us at SnailTrail4x4 and our October Gift Boxes. This month, two lucky winners will win an October Gift Box. These are made up of fun random items that Jimmy and Tyler enjoy, use, and value, worth around $80 each. If you want a chance to win, make sure you sign up for the giveaway tier on either Irate4x4 or the SnailTrail4x4 Discord.
Congrats to Rover Don for winning the September Giveaway, MORRFlate. They are releasing their Power Panel Pro switch panel. This is a brand new product to hit the industry with their 12 switches and manual power-down switch. The panel is also RGB, and each switch has four settings. If you want a chance to win, make sure you sign up for the giveaway tier on either Irate4x4 or the SnailTrail4x4 Discord.
Listener Discount Codes:
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Show Music:
Midroll Music – ComaStudio
Outroll Music – Meizong Kumbang
