Jessica Chasse

About Jessica:

Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Blue

Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Thai – especially green curry, I like it Thai hot!

Q: Do you have kids? 
A: None

Q: Do you have any pets?
A: Yes, I have an 18 year old cat, Cleo and 2 Yorkshire Terriers. Bean is a 5½ lb traditional black and tan and Binkley is a 14lb parti

Q: Do you take your pets off-roading?
A: Cleo stays at home but the dogs love to go in the jeep. They have a booster seat that gets seat belted in that has a clip for a collar and I have a leash splitter I use so both are secured within the jeep.

Q: What are your off-roading goals?
A: The Rubicon is the next major trail I plan to tackle. I have not yet begun planning the trip yet but hope to accomplish this in the next few years. Thanks to the Co-Driver Challenge, I really want to participate in an expedition event like the Rebelle Rally. I had never heard of it or the other events until I joined the challenge, now I want to find a co-driver and run it myself! I am just now learning how many events are out there, until a month ago, all I knew about were KOH and some of the other races I see posted up on the local forums.

Jessica's Off-Road Facts:

Q: Is your whole family into off-roading?
A: Not really, my parents used to have quads but my mom rarely used hers. My dad now has a side by side and explores the forest roads up around Payson.

Q: Are you usually the driver or co-driver?
A: I am usually the driver!

Q: How old were you when you first started wheeling?
A: 37

Q: How often do you get to go off-roading?
A: Several times a month, sometimes every weekend.

Q: How did you get started in the offroad world?
A: I got started by buying my Jeep!

Q: Where is your favorite place to wheel?
A: Moab

Q: Do you belong to an off-road club? Which one? What is their motto/mission?
A: Yes - Virtual Jeep Club

Q: Do you have any wheeling traditions?
A: Make sure everything is packed! I always try to put everything in its place because there is nothing worse than going to air up after the run only to find you do not have your air hose (been there) or chuck (done that).

Q: Do you look up to anyone in the industry?
A: Nena Barlow – her knowledge of wheeling and recovery is incredible!

Jessica's Off-Road Stories:

Q: What is your most memorable offroad moment?
A: Running a trail that challenged me on my second time off-roading, then coming back a year later and having no issues

Q: What was your first wheeling trip?
A: My dad and I went to Cracker Jack Mine on quads. My first time rock crawling was 2014 Toyzuki John Memorial Run with VJC.

Q: What was your longest wheeling trip?
A: 5 days in Moab but continuous wheeling/sleeping on the trail is a yet to be planned trip to the Rubicon Trail.

Q: What was your favorite wheeling trip?
A: The ladies trip I organized in the Sedona area. I nearly lost my rear axle due to the track bar bracket almost completely shearing off. The way everyone jumped in and helped was great and I hope it illustrated to the new wheelers how everyone takes care of each other.

All About the Ladies:

Q: How do you feel as a woman in the offroad industry?
A:At first I was a little afraid that I would be looked down upon as a woman but I have found that everyone is so supportive of one another. I have been able to learn so much from “the guys” about wheeling and wrenching. I have been very fortunate that the group I normally wheel with has other women that also have their own jeeps. As a result of the Ladies Co-Driver Challenge, I now know far more women from all over the country that share the same addiction to jeeps and being off-road!

Q: What changes have you seen in the offroad community since you began wheeling?
A:The unfortunate loss of access to trails and public lands, I was only able to get out to the White Tanks once before the trails were closed.

Q: Give us a story, any story, about educating, guiding, empowering ladies in the offroad, past or future:
A:Last year I organized a camping trip in the Sedona area with the stipulation that all drivers on the Saturday runs must be female. We split into 2 groups – those who had driven before went to Broken Arrow after driving down Schnebly Hill Rd from our campsite. There was at least one of the ladies on the trip that had never driven off-road before; she wasn’t even all that fond of being the co-driver on her previous trips! I had the less experienced drivers follow me down Schnebly Hill Rd then we went to Soldiers Pass before meeting the others on Broken Arrow for a BBQ lunch at Submarine Rock. While the first time driver did not drive the steps on Broken Arrow, she drove on all of the other obstacles and did great! She even surprised everyone when she walked right up the hill leading to the Devil’s Kitchen

Q: Do you have any advice for ladies wanting to get started in off-roading?
A: Do it! Take the chance, you are not alone, there are a lot of us out here and the majority of us are happy to help a newbie learn the things we have picked up along the way. Be a sponge; talk to as many people as you can, get active on forums, join a club. Watch YouTube videos on basic vehicle repair and maintenance.

Jessica's Vehicle, Tillie Jane:

About Tillie Jane:
"Tillie Jane is a Jeep Wrangler that is only used for off-roading."

Q: What is the best mod you have done to your vehicle?
A: It is the ongoing upgrades to the nut behind the wheel.

Q: Do you work on your own vehicle?
A: As much as I can, I’m learning how to wrench on it!

SPEC SHEET FOR TILLIE JANE