Going full throttle: Utah family builds 'crazy' off-road beasts

RICHMOND, Cache County — Building the lightest and most capable off-road vehicles on the face of the earth? That's Utah-based Adrenalin Industries' specialty.

"I know that sounds a little dramatic," said Cole Eades, director of sales and marketing. "But compared to our competitors, we put a very strong focus on being the lightest and most capable so that people can get out and go on whatever adventure they want."

Adrenalin Industries custom builds large campers atop Ram 5500s, Ford 550s and Mercedes-Benz Unimogs. The modified vehicles are just as capable going off-road as they are comfortable for sleeping. And the gas mileage isn't too bad either, relatively speaking.

"I started Adrenalin Industries to just build amazing cars. And we're just building crazy stuff lately," founder Judson Eades said. "It's just so fun."

The off-road, fully decked out vehicles have a big price tag — they start at half a million dollars. The size is a bit formidable too, weighing up to 30,000 pounds. Still, they're surprisingly agile.

"Our trucks are huge, but they're really easy to drive," Judson Eades said.

Adrenalin Industries is a small, family-centric business. "Some of us are literally family, and then the rest of us were friends outside of work," Cole Eades said.

So it's not surprising that Judson Eades wants his trucks to help other families spend more quality time together.

"We're hoping they take time away from that busyness and spend time with what matters most, with those they love the most," he said. "A lot of our customers find that joy in these trucks."

Up next? Turning a four-door into a six-door truck. "I don't know that anyone's done one like this before," said Casey Hibbard, Adrenalin chief engineer and co-owner.

Learn about Adrenalin Industries in the video above. Find more interesting stories about Utah-founded companies — from Swig to Minky Couture and Salsa Queen — in our KSL.com series Beyond Business.

Related topics