Marshall Kramer, Jamie Wolgemguth, and Craig Dieffenbach are The Desert Dutchmen; on today's Slow Baja Podcast, they break down their drive of the 2019 Baja XL Rally.
The trio from Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, began building a 2000 Jeep bought on the cheap from a relative. The build progressed at a glacial pace, and the trio moved to Plan-B. They booked a modern Toyota 4Runner from California Baja Rent-a-car in San Diego. In preparation for the 3000-mile drive, they shipped a ton of spares and specialized off-road equipment to the rental agency office. The folks at CABaja became quite concerned about their intentions for the vehicle. After an hour of tense discussion, the team put down a $5000 deposit and were on their way.
Kramer designed a stunning logo and applied a complete (removable) graphics package to the truck, which set them apart from the other BajaXL Rally teams. They sported matching team garb and, at least in my mind, earned multiple gold stars for their efforts.
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