We’ve been testing and evaluating 4x4s, parts and products from Day 1 here . . .

If it works off-pavement, we reason, it deserves a place in our magazine, and over the last 46 years, we’ve tested everything from Jeeps to dune buggies to dirt bikes to motorhomes, to mountain bikes to crossovers, to go-karts and remote-control racers. Just for fun, we thought we’d share a few glimpses from some of our more fabled trail tests today . . .

February ’64: “Boat Pullers of Baja” took a look at this “impossible to engineer on paper” ’54 Chevy work truck, noting that “the rocks on the lower frame prevent tipping at high speeds.”

April ’84: We solved the mystery of those “crated Jeeps” of yore---and while this story did appear in an April issue, the mini-Jeeps were functional, powered by Briggs & Stratton motors.

September ’67: The 3hp “Li’l Indian” trail bike came in one color---red---which prompted us to ask: “What color did you expect, paleface?”

October ’89: An RV with 44-inch Cepeks? Yep, and the $200,000 Revcon motorhome “straddled everything in its path” on an off-road test around Ocotillo Wells.

May ’68: The one-wheel-drive Unibike required “courage, intestinal fortitude, and the complete lack of the will to survive” to handle, but otherwise, we liked it just fine.

May ‘68: In that same issue, was ran our famous “VW Dune Buggy Directory.” Considering the recent growth of the side-by-side market, this is one type of off-road vehicle that’s still around, albeit in a different form.

May ’88: Calling Rachel Ray. This time around, we were testing a bunch of 12-volt toasters, coffeemakers and the like for camp use. Long story short, they all worked lousy.

March ’69: The ARDCO swamp buggy ran three psi in its oversized tires. Our comment: “If this rig were to run over a man, the extensive resiliency of this large rubber wouldn’t even bruise him.” Uhhhh, yeah.