Idaho Dunes RV Park, St. Anthony, Idaho | Labor Day weekend 2016
The third Idaho Dunes UTV Invasion, powered by Boondocker, brought a packed crowd to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes. Idaho Dunes RV Park sold out weeks ahead of the event, and the weekend mixed long dune rides with Can-Am Maverick X3 demos, sand drags, a Show ’n Shine and a raffle that supported a local family.
Enthusiasts began arriving as early as Tuesday. The official kickoff came Thursday morning with prizes and the national anthem sung by local country artist Clint King. Rugged Radios helped make admission to vendor row, the concert and the weekend activities free.
Can-Am Maverick X3 Demos at UTV Invasion
Can-Am’s demo tour was one of the biggest draws. Four new Maverick X3s ran nearly continuously from Thursday through Sunday as attendees lined up to drive the recently introduced sport UTV. The factory presence was a milestone for the event in its third year.
Can-Am also arranged a longer media drive Thursday morning. It was enough time to make a few laps and take photos, though it was no substitute for an extended test. Read our 2016 Maverick X3 X rs dune review for driving impressions from that visit.
Riding the St. Anthony Sand Dunes
With most organized activities set for Friday and Saturday, Thursday gave us time to ride. We brought our Polaris GENERAL 1000 project and SDR-built RZR XP 4 Turbo. The four-seat RZR’s long wheelbase and long-travel suspension made it especially enjoyable in the tall bowls around Devil’s Dune.
Friday began with a pancake and bacon breakfast sponsored by Camp Fireball and Fullerton Sand Sports. Before the day’s events, we took the GENERAL through some of the smaller dunes. It was taller and less purpose-built for sand than the RZR, but a set of sand tires made the ride possible and fun. For a closer look at the terrain, see our tour of the St. Anthony Sand Dunes.
Sand Drags, TMW Builds and Vendor Row
Drag racing was new to UTV Invasion in 2016. Boondocker Performance, Evolution Powersports, Ignite Racing Fuels and K&T Turbo teamed up for an exhibition, while Matt Ling of NSX Designs ran the starting tree. The temporary course sat in a field beside the dunes; just days before the event, it had been covered with sagebrush. Spectators helped remove loose debris before the high-horsepower UTVs took their runs through the dust.
Friday afternoon we met the TMW Off-Road crew for a photo session with its custom machines. Clint Ellsworth put his XP 4 Turbo to work, throwing roost and skimming across Eigen Lake. Vendor row was busy throughout the weekend, with Mac’s Tie Downs, SSV Works and Jericho Specialties joining familiar exhibitors including Assault UTV, Proline Wraps, Rugged Radios and Wolf Designs.
A Wrap for a Volunteer
Wolf Designs donated a custom wrap for the Friday night raffle and installed it on the winner’s UTV Saturday morning. Jon and Amy Wolf had prepared both two-seat and four-seat designs because they could not know which model the winner would bring. The extra two-seat kit gave promoter Dave Kuskie a way to thank Chad, a volunteer who had traveled from Oregon and spent much of the weekend driving a water truck to control dust.
Saturday’s Challenges and Show ’n Shine
Saturday brought more drag racing, the Proline Wraps UTV teeter-totter and the new Rugged Relay. In the relay, teammates used a handheld radio to guide a blindfolded driver through a course. Once the teams found their rhythm, it became one of the weekend’s most entertaining spectator events.
The SuperATV-sponsored Show ’n Shine separated owner-built Weekend Warrior entries from Industry Professional builds. The judges, including X Games gold medalist Ronnie Renner, selected two machines with unusual powertrains.
Two views from the 2016 Show ’n Shine; select either photo to see it larger.
Chris Martin of Roseburg, Oregon, won Weekend Warrior with his Z1-powered RZR. Jon Wolf won Industry Professional with the TMW-built, LS2-powered Werewolf 2.0 RZR. We had featured the TMW Off-Road Werewolf build after the 2015 Sand Sports Super Show; its extensive fabrication still retained a recognizable RZR shape.
Rain, Raffles and a Community Tribute
Heavy rain arrived Sunday, but the Rugged Relay finals resumed after the sky cleared. The event closed with a raffle of products donated by vendors and sponsors. Proceeds supported Shannon and Connor Wood, the wife and son of our friend Art Wood, who had died of cancer a few weeks earlier.
After three years at Idaho Dunes, the combination of riding, custom UTVs, vendors and a growing national crowd had made UTV Invasion a Labor Day gathering worth the trip. The new Can-Am demo fleet gave attendees another reason to come, but the volunteers and the community response were every bit as memorable.
