The fourth installment of the ARB Experiences series is out – and this one highlights Doug Pettis. His story is that of an off-road enthusiast that landed his dream job and became the President of ARB North America.
From his first experience behind the wheel of his grandfather’s 1951 M38 Jeep, to his very own 1982 Jeep CJ 7, Doug was always infatuated by Jeep vehicles and getting out to explore our public lands. He wheeled recreation areas around the Pacific Northwest like Tillamook State Forest, Brown’s Camp, and Naches near his home in Southwest Washington state. These areas fed both his need to get out and explore in the CJ, and his hunger for more. Tougher trails commanded an even more capable vehicle.
“I was looking forward to the day I would graduate college and have the means to build something more robust. I always dreamed about coming down to Moab or running the Rubicon Trail, but didn’t have the capability at that time.”
He sent away for a video from an Australian company named ARB about their new Air Lockers and after viewing that video, he knew he wanted a set for his 1986 Jeep CJ 7 that he was building out.
His first run with the Air Lockers was Elephant Hill in Canyonlands National Park. Doug smiles thinking back on that first run with Air Lockers. “I remember, though I might not have needed them for that trail, the Air Lockers gave me so much confidence. I was engaging them sooner and probably more often than I needed to but it was a lot of fun.”
After graduating college he penned a letter to ARB and WARN Industries hoping for a job (and unfortunately heard nothing.) He ended up in the tech boom of the early 2000s until he got a recruiter note about a decade later informing him of the position at ARB. He’s been there ever since.
If you have a couple of minutes, check out the accompanying video with some great footage of Utah.
