Off-Road Adventure Rigs Keeps Us Together Pt. 2

Words by Mercedes Lilienthal | Photos by Mercedes Lilienthal & Andy Lilienthal 

This is the sequel to our first article. My husband, Andy Lilienthal, and I gave up our white-collar careers in search of adventure, travel, and cars. The deaths of our fathers at age 66, cemented the desire to do what we wanted to do in life—and do it now. 

Don’t wait until you retire or the “someday” thought comes to mind. It may be too late. 

We left our jobs in 2018 and 2023 respectively. We soon found ourselves eyeballs deep in adventure and travel. It was challenging in many ways. 

However, we didn’t anticipate stumbling upon road rally, and the challenges our new life would give us. Would we give it up? Heck no.

Preparing for our First Alcan 5000 Rally

The Alcan 5000 is North America’s longest rally. It can take you to the Arctic Ocean and Alaska. After years of pondering, we entered the winter 2020 Alcan 5000 Rally. Andy rebuilt our 1991 Mitsubishi Pajero’s front end. We found five Toyota FJ Cruiser wheels and bored them out to fit over the Pajero’s hubs. We sourced studded tires and installed scheel-mann Vario F orthopedic seats. We got an auxiliary diesel tank, doubling our range, transferring fuel while driving. Other teams froze while refueling with jerry cans. 

We didn’t know what to expect during this 5,000+ mile time-speed-distance (TSD) Arctic rally. This competition was based on accuracy and on-route instructions on public roads, not speed on closed courses.

The rally’s owner, Jerry Hines, asked us to be a tribute vehicle to the late, legendary racer Rod Hall, who passed mere months earlier. Rod ran the summer 1986 Alcan 5000. He piloted a Mitsubishi-built Dodge Raider, similar to the Mitsubishi Pajero we’d take. We were honored to compete as Rod’s tribute vehicle. While we never met him, we knew many people he mentored and taught how to race.

Rod’s career included approximately 180 race wins with a streak of 35 back-to-back victories in the ’80s. He raced 50 consecutive Baja 1000s in Mexico, too. While other teams have a 50 percent chance to finish a race, Rod had a 50 percent chance to win it.

Conquering our First Major Rally

We rallied and we conquered. Our goal was to finish the Alcan 500 Rally without mechanical issues and finish strong. We did that and then some, we were hooked.  

Since 2020, we’ve competed in four Alcan 5000 Rally events (soon to be five) and numerous rallies throughout the world. This included the northernmost rally in the world: the Baltic Circle Sea Rally. We piloted an early-2024 German-spec Volkswagen ID .Buzz van a year before North America would see our iteration. 

Since 2018, many people have helped us learn the sport. We’ve won our classes before and failed numerous times. We’ve since mentored many teams in hopes of growing rally. It’s a great way to get off the couch, meet like-minded gearheads, and see many parts of the world others won’t. TSD rally is affordable and anyone can do it. 

What are Time-Speed-Distance Rallies? 

TSD, or time-speed-distance rallies, are not races. There are important distinctions to understand why. Stage rallies (which are races) are typically go-fast competitions held on closed courses. TSD, or precision-based rallies, sometimes known as regularities or enduros, are based on accuracy. Teams follow the rallymaster’s designated speed on public roads, at or below prescribed speed limit. We’ve taken nearly all our 4x4s in these competitions. This includes our 1989 Mitsubishi Star Wagon van, 1991 Mitsubishi Pajero, and 1998 Suzuki Jimny Wide.  

Teams get a paper route book notating each route instruction (turn left on 11th Street, right on Jefferson, etc.) at precise speeds (23 mph, 32 mph, etc.). They’re typically given specific starting times (usually each car leaves a minute after their predecessor). 

The game is to be as accurate as possible against the rallymaster’s perfect time during the competition. The catch? Teams aren’t given exact times they need to be at each route change. They need to figure that out on their own. 

It may seem overwhelming at first. We’ve learned to stay on course first, and the timing and accuracy bit will come later. It’s addictive and people can enter TSD rallies in pretty much any vehicle. 

Rally organizations are sprinkled throughout the United States. They may be classic car oriented, gravel biased, anything goes, or super-car slanted. Most are inexpensive to enter, too. It’s a great way to do something cool. You meet interesting people and travel to places you’d never know about otherwise. 

Two New Rides, First Up? The #TravelTractor

Andy and I wanted to get back into the van game. In May of 2020, we flew to Florida from Oregon and bought a 1994 Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear 4WD van. It was a newer body style and had a rare manual transmission. 

However, it was during Covid as part of the country were just starting to open up. 

We were armed with masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes. We flew with camp gear and food. Andy and I slept out of the van at truck stops and whatever campgrounds we could find that were open. We isolated and washed hands after each fill-up. I talked to gas station workers and called healthcare organizations and state trooper offices for their input on the state of the country. It was such a bizarre time that I wrote a story about our trip for The New York Times. 

Our Covid preparedness paid off. We still own the Delica, aka the Travel Tractor, and customized it in a refined, pragmatic way. It has an Egoé camp and sleep setup in it and added capability for off-pavement use. It’s been a reliable and fun adventure vehicle to own.

The Latest Acquisition: a 1998 Suzuki Jimny Wide

We’ve always loved the Suzuki Jimny, especially after renting a 2019 Jimny in Iceland. They’re nimble, fun-to-drive, capable, and small. However, the United States has a 25-year import law. This means people must wait at least 25 years or more to import a vehicle that wasn’t officially sold here—as long as they have the right paperwork. Once the gen 3 Jimny was allowed to be imported here, we jumped at the chance and grabbed one. Ours is a right-hand-drive JDM 4x4 with a manual transmission. That means loads of fun no matter if you’re on tarmac or trails!

We knew parts would be scant in North America. And like our Mitsubishis, we’d have to be resourceful to maintain it. Many items would have to be researched and/or cross-referenced. We’d need to pack patience and spend big bucks to ship parts from overseas. Tariffs would play an even bigger role, hurting our pocketbooks. 

Despite this, Andy and I have fixed a few issues and customized the Jimny to our liking. It features a full XPEL Moss Green Color PPF wrap, XPEL ARMOR on the rocker panels, and WPF windshield protection film.

Up top our Jimny has a Front Runner Dometic Slimline II Roof Rack. The rack features a Wolf Pack Pro Box for storage, four MAXTRAX Minis vehicle recovery boards, and two five-gallon fuel canisters. It also has a bottle opener mounted to its side. 

Our stout Jimny also features a WARN R60-S Winch along with a Factor 55 UltraHook XTV hook and Factor 55 Short Drum Competition Fairlead for vehicle recovery operations. Our mighty Jimny rolls on steel wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich KO3 all-terrain tires. It’s the perfect addition to our adventure fleet.

Summing It Up

We recently lost a friend of ours, Joanna Holston, whom we met online several years ago via social media. We became friends and finally met her in person as she passed through the Pacific Northwest where we live. We shared many stories over the years. We connected over each other’s challenges, triumphs, and our adventures. She always checked in with us and we appreciated her.

Joanna drove semis across the country for many years and eventually graduated from motorcycle mechanics at Forsyth Tech Community College’s two-year degree before she died. We celebrated her achievements and were gutted when we learned we lost her.

No matter what Joanna faced, she persevered through adversity. 

Joanna told us we should write a book about our adventures. She said, “There’s a lot of kids and young people out there that are confined to a wheelchair or bedridden, or some other illness that’d love to live your guy’s adventures in their minds full of imagination.” 

While a book may happen someday, Andy and I hope to inspire through our adventures. We hope our travels, vehicle builds, and challenges encourage others to push boundaries and test comfort zones. 

Adventure awaits us all. It’s how we answer the call that sets people apart from the ordinary to extraordinary. Our life is filled with adventure, challenges, and unexpected rewards. Stay tuned to more. We can’t wait to share more with you!