Well the thing about off-roading trips is something always goes wrong. Always.
On the other hand, if it didn't the stories would be pretty boring. "yeah, we drove... nothing happened, it was pretty."
I've seen hard core guys do amazing things.
Once, we rebuilt my starter motor on the back of a tailgate in Death Valley. I swear it worked better than anything I'd ever purchased and lasted till I sold the truck.
Another time, I broke three of four engine mounts halfway through a trip, up a canyon that consisted of a series of short waterfalls. Fixed them with hose clamps, zip ties and and an un-spooled CB antenna.
