Welcome to the debut of the 67 Designs Customer Spotlights, where we share the stories of some of our customers. In this spotlight, we get to know Scott Willeford. Willeford, from Austin, Texas, is a freelance photographer and a nationally ranked mountain biker who also enjoys the more than occasional overlanding trip and a good cup of coffee.
Proud owner of a: White soft top 2018 Jeep Wrangler JLU.
Featured upgrades: Scott’s Jeep is decked out with the following…
- Interior
- 67 Designs JL Rail with Universal Holder (with more mounts in the mail!)
- Midland radio mic mount
- Midland radio
- Custom drawer system made by BK Kustoms
- Exterior
- KC HiLiTES—Gravity PRO6 LED round pods over bumper and windshield
- Rough Country MLC6 Multiple Light controller switch box
- Smittybilt XRC Gen2 front bumper
- Smittybilt SRC Side Armor Rock Sliders
- DV8 RBJL-01 rear bumper cover and tire carrier
- Nitto Tires terra grappler 35” tires #scottwpittcrew
- 2.5” Fox suspension
Customer of 67 Designs since: March 2020
Inspiration for buying Jeep Wrangler JLU: “Being able to get it off the grid and go places to get that amazing photography and get away from society”. The JLU has always been his dream vehicle.
First adventure with JLU: Summer 2019. Scott had just taken his Jeep to Ouray, CO for a mountain biking race (BTW, he was #5 as a Master in the country!) and snow passes were still heavy—about 20 foot snow walls. He was halfway up the trail from the Ouray side and was told the pass was open, making it possible to cross the 13,114 foot Imogene Pass and onward to Telluride. There was “lots of white knuckling.”
Most recent adventure/COVID-19 adventure: Scott suffered a catastrophic injury to his hand in November of 2019 and has only slowly been getting back into offroading. However, at the end of May he was able to pack up his Jeep and head out to Cloudcroft, NM where he explored the Lincoln National Forest. An amazing fact about the park is that within the timespan of 20 minutes you can drive from the mountains at 8800 ft to the desert at 4500 ft. Scott loved the trip so much that after one day of being back in Texas, he brought his wife, Beth back to the park to experience Cloudcroft Part 2.
Most memorable adventure: The trip through Imogene Pass, which is also one of the Jeep Off-Roading Badge of Honor trails (there are 49 in total!).
Upcoming trips: Scott is planning on going back to Ouray and through Breckenridge in July to knock out more trails. He is also planning to head over to Moab or Big Bend National Park in his home state of Texas.
Dream trip: Scott’s ultimate trip is a 6 week offroading adventure through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Capetown, Namibia and Mozambique. His goal is to take this trip within the next two years.
Advice for those who are just beginning overlanding: “Always go prepared; expect the unexpected; know your environment; keep your eyes open and don't get so caught up in tunnel vision that you miss where you are!” Lastly, sage advice from Scott, “Have fun!”
#1 place he has camped: Scott ranks an evening in the Lincoln National Forest about a football field away from a NASA observatory as his ultimate camping experience.
Fun fact about Scott: He is VERY serious about his coffee. In fact, Scott buys about 10-15 lbs of coffee beans from each place he travels. Even when he is in the field, he brings along his French press or AeroPress.
Jeep Club Memberships: Austin Jeep Vets, Mission 22
Note from the writer: Scott has certainly done more traveling than the average person racking up a list including Dubai, South Africa, Guatemala, Baghdad (where he lived for a year!), Amand, Petra and Eastern Europe. He makes sure to travel for at least 2 months of the year, sometimes even with his dog, Seuss! Once his hand fully recovers he will be back out mountain biking and killing full pints of ice cream after races!
Check out Scott’s work here: Scott’s love of adventure and nature is reflected in his photography! He has a true eye for beauty:
- https://www.swprophotos.com/ (primarily a product photographer for 4 Hands)
- @texasxlander
© 67 Designs, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Spotlight by Kate Della Pietra