Organised by Dave Round of Llama 4x4, this year’s 4x4 Expo had a shade under 100 exhibitors neatly packed into the Stafford Show Ground, and it certainly lived up to its description as the biggest, busiest and best indoor 4x4 show in the UK.

With the opening time advertised at 9.30am, I decided to rock up a bit early so I could get a quick video and take some photos before the crowds were allowed in.  This didn’t materialise as I ended up chatting to pretty much everyone on the trade stands, and before I knew it the halls were thronging with punters!

I blame the good folks from Wild4x4 for keeping me enthralled with their tales, they had a great stand that included an OPUS camper for sale, it was the off-road version that they’d been using for a while.  Watch this space as there might be a few tales from them coming our way soon.

I had a quick chat with the Northern Monkeys 4x4 club, then Adrian from the Castlewood 4x4 show which this year is at the Cheshire Show Ground 10th-12th May.  He was doing his best to tempt me to take a stand, which I might do…

Next was a brief chat to Roy from 4x4 Obsession, he had his usual selection of Lightforce spots and LED lightbars on offer as well as ActionTrax and other bits, before visiting Pat from Team X.  Pat had his ever faithful double championship winning Freelander 1 on show, as well as his F2RSX that, after some testing, will be heading for Baja.  More on this epic adventure coming soon.

Russ from Ardventures would be upset if I didn’t mention him, too.  By the way, if you ever get to speak to Russ, ask him how he managed to damage the side of his Hilux…

Throughout the day I desperately tried to grab a word with Victoria and Paul from West Coast Off Road Centre who were on hand with their fantastic silver 79 Series double cab Land Cruiser - all 4.5ltr v8 diesel of it.  They also had a gorgeous lifted red Hilux on show, not sure why as they were too busy to chat with, so I might have to pay them a visit soon.

Also in the first hall were the guys from Off Grid Camp whose website promotes, well, off grid camp sites.  As I type this I’m planning a trip to one of the sites this coming weekend in a Grenadier, which I’m expecting to be fun, if not cold.

Tucked away under the balcony was Miri and Lucas from ‘Beyond the Horizon’.  Not only are they ambassadors for X-Lifter, but they’ve created an incredibly well thought out camp conversion for their Discovery 4.  Check out their facebook page for more details - especially if you have a Discovery.

I was excited to have a quick chat to Andy from Storm Jeeps, he’s been driving around in a modified Wrangler Gladiator of late.  I’m going to have a chat with Jeep about borrowing one of their new ’24 model year Wranglers soon so Andy and I can spend a day or two ‘laning in them, now that should be fun.

In the second hall were Milner Off-Road and Open Road Adventure Campers, and instead of the usual Off Road Motorsport Zone, new for 2024 the whole area was dedicated to just the one off-road race series, Dirt Nationals. With a large selection of vehicles it was a chance for visitors to chat to the organisers, look at the race cars and meet the teams.

Up on the balcony, next to the cafe, where All-Terrain-UK who were offering green laning seminars demonstrating their green lane navigation app.  On the opposite side where a selection of club stands as well as the Green Lane Association (GLASS).

There were plenty more exhibitors on hand, sadly far too many to mention here, but no less interesting.  Visitors also access to a complete second show of aircooled VW’s in a separate hall, which of course peaked my interest as we have our beach buggy.

With a load of work to get through back at Muddy Towers I decided to say my goodbyes around dinner time (lunch if you’re a southerner), but before having a nosey around the grounds as a lot of folk camped the night before.  Besides, we all know that quite often the car park at events like this can be just as interesting as the show themselves, and it didn’t disappoint.

What I like about the 4x4 Expo show is that it has a real emphasis on people who actually use their 4x4s rather than just the lifestyle and show trucks.  Overall the 2024 4x4 Expo was a cracking show with pretty much something for everyone, from competition, recovery, touring, parts and everything in between. Hopefully I’ll see you next year.

In the meantime, have a gander at the rest of my photos and check out their website for more details, http://4x4expo.co.uk