Accomplished 4×4 racer Jason Scherer is known for a spectacular collection of victories in the 15 years he’s been racing: taking a place on the podium in the 2009 King of the Hammers, winning both the 2012 and 2013 Ultra4 Nitto National Championships and being named Dirt Sports Driver of the Year twice in a row, for instance. But beyond his life as a racer, Jason is a family man.

Between his racing life and day job, Jason frequently takes his wife Dana, five-year-old daughter Hayden and one-year-old son Jackson for what they like to call their “days in the dirt” – and he’s building up a new 2014 Jeep JK just for them.

Jason got the JK a couple months ago for his wife and the family took it out to Moab for Easter Jeep Safari for its first ride. So far, Jason has installed a 3.5 inch Rubicon Express long arm lift and a Dynomax exhaust, but it needs a few more additions to make it a truly family-friendly ride.

“The JKs are extremely safe, and there are a lot of aftermarket Jeep parts like roll cages and proper seat belts for children’s car seats to make them safer,” says Jason. He focuses especially on making sure he has the right tie-downs for all of his equipment, saying: “I want to be sure that nothing in the Jeep would become a projectile if anything did go wrong.”

While he doesn’t feel like he or his family are in any danger, he makes sure to always be over-prepared. “I’m really safe with the family, even on the hardest obstacles,” he said. “I make very safe choices and if something does start to go wrong, I know exactly what to do to get out of the situation before things go badly … but you can never be too safe.”

In case of the worst case scenario, Jason will be arming the family Jeep with cargo nets, tie downs, bumpers, a Smittybilt Winch, satellite phones for the family and all of the other accessories every off-roader needs. Of course, he’ll be decked out in plenty of Rubicon, because as he puts it, “they have the best stuff.”

He will also be installing a lot of “creature comforts” to make sure every outing is as comfortable and hassle-free as any road trip, because for the Scherer family the ride is a blast, but the destination is the true adventure.

“It’s all about the camping for us,” says Jason. “The off-roading part’s awesome, but the idea behind it is to have all the best parts on your Jeep so you can go enjoy being with the family on your camping trip.”

The Rubicon Trail is their favorite spot and it has special meaning to them all, being the place where Jason and Dana were married. They drive between the lakes, getting the full off-road experience as well as the fun of camping out, telling campfire stories and plenty of fishing.

Jason recalls one story in particular, when Hayden joined him for an early morning fly fishing trip and he caught a large trout, which quickly became breakfast. Hayden loved it so much, she said it was “like candy” and still today asks for a trout breakfast in the morning, and that is the whole point.

Off-roading comes with the Scherer family package and camping is a great time, but it’s the time spent with each other that makes them want to pack up the JK and leave civilization behind. As Jason puts it, “It’s all about making memories with the family which they will enjoy for the rest of their lives.”

Rachel Bowes is a copywriter with 4WD