OK4WD has been serving the vehicle-based industry for over 40 years and this is their story

In 2019, we began an ongoing series entitled Around the Campfire focused on highlighting unique individuals and companies within the vehicle-based community. OK4WD has been serving New Jersey and the surrounding region since 1979. From their beginnings in a two bay garage, to pioneering several popular 4×4 and overlanding brands, OK4WD is synonymous with the overlanding and offroad world. We sat down to chat about their history, initiatives, and the offroad industry. 

OX4: Last year you celebrated your 40th anniversary. Did you ever dream that the company would become what it is today?
OK4WD: No. I was 18 when I started OK and was just trying to find my way to make a living and also love what I was doing to make that living. It began from a passion and I also surrounded myself with passionate people and that evolved into what it is today.  

OX4: What has been your biggest “aha” moment, or your proudest accomplishment?
OK4WD: I’m so proud of the staff I work with. Many have been here over 30 years and each of them has played a part in the success of this company. Any good company is only as good as the people within that company. I’ve been blessed to have awesome talent working here and they are the reason our company is successful. Business is all about relationships and we’ve always seeked out great people within the 4WD community to develop good relationships with. From our staff, our customers, and our vendors, seeking out and developing these relationships has helped us in so many ways and all have played a part in the many accomplishments we’ve made.  

Another great moment was when we traveled abroad and learned about 4WD’s and products around the world. This has opened us up to learning so much and also bringing in the best products the world has to offer. 

OX4: You have truly brought a lot of international aspects of offroading and overlanding to the United States in particular. Outside of retail you’ve also hosted a number of events that have made the store a destination and center point for the community. What can you tell us about those events and OK as a destination for travelers in your region?
OK4WD: We were founded with service and it is still the foundation of our business, so we like to show people the service side of our business. We have a large service facility that always has something interesting happening. We also have a large showroom to show what we sell and build. We have a lift in our showroom and build some projects while customers watch and we also use that to display the underside of vehicles. We host numerous events throughout the year that all focus on different aspects of 4WD’s. Our three acre facility has a 4WD rock pile/test track and ample room to host our annual Truckfest show in October as well as allow overlanders to stay here while they’re visiting us. We also are surrounded by a county park so people can recreate while visiting or while we are working on their vehicle.   

OX4: You’ve made some serious accomplishments in the realm of sustainability. Can you tell us why that’s important to OK4WD as a company, and how you got started on that path?
OK4WD: I grew up with parents that lived through the Great Depression and my Mom was also raised on our family farm which I reside on now. Being around a family farm as a child you learn sustainability as a way of life. If you take care of things they take care of you. We’ve always been aware of waste and try to recycle as much as possible. Our building is all solar and we are able to produce all our own power since 2012. We are trying to be paperless, which is really difficult, but we have made great progress in this initiative. One of our core values is to do more with less, and by following this value it keeps us centered as being good stewards to our community as well as the Earth, and allows us to be competitive in our market.          

OX4: You’ve seen the evolution of the industry over the last 40 years. What do you think about the path the world of offroading has taken?
OK4WD:  We love it!  For many years offroading was looked upon as destroying the environment. Overlanding has helped educate the masses that offroading is enjoying and preserving the environment when it’s done properly. Our business has always been focused on functional 4WD’s that can be used for work and for fun. We build 4WD’s that not only look good but perform and function for the drivers needs. We’ve always loved off-roading and camping away from crowds and the industry has swung heavily in that direction over the last 5 years.   

OX4: Where do you see the industry and hobby heading in the next decade?
OK4WD:  Right now we see believe the major OEMs are overpricing themselves from what most people can afford. They need to get back to some basics and offer some bare bones 4WD vehicles at good prices. 

With that being said, we also see electric vehicles taking a bigger role in the 4WD market future. We think electric platforms will be amazing for weight distribution and ground clearance issues that current fossil fuel vehicles have. We believe that a multi-powered 4WD will become the vehicle of choice such as an electric vehicle powered by a diesel or gas generator with a solar backup as well. This will give offroaders a choice and not many limitations. We believe in 10 years we’ll look at what we currently have and it’ll be a classic. However, the economy and so many things factor into this so we’ll wait and see as nobody knows the future.

OX4: Are there any updates, new products, or upcoming projects you’d like to give us a sneak peak of?
OK4WD:  We’d love to but we’re sworn to secrecy. There’s so much innovation right now and so many amazing products coming out soon. Stay tuned.

We can tell you that we are building a 4WD Sprinter van that will be quite different. We’ve been watching and researching the van market and there has been a big resurgence for vans. Now that there are 4WD vans from vehicle manufacturers we decided to build one. We should have this done around shortly and as things settle from COVID-19 will be touring all over the USA.         

Learn more about OK4WD and look to them for all your overland/vehicle-based product needs by visiting www.ok4wd.com. You can also watch a brief video below about OK4WD, narrated by OK4WD Founder Jim Oostdyk.

Editor Note: The Around the Campfire series is brought to you in collaboration with our friends from 67 Designs, proprietors of the finest mounting solutions for your mobile devices whether in the backcountry, around town, and at home. Learn more about 67 Designs by visiting www.67d.com.

OutdoorX4 Magazine – Promoting responsible vehicle-based adventure travel and outdoors adventure