There are times in a vehicle build when you wonder if it's ever going to get done, and there are other times when you feel like you're over the hump and start to get excited as your vision starts coming together. We've had plenty of the former with the Ultimate International, especially when parts didn't show up, didn't fit, or just didn't work like we planned. Thankfully we worked through most of those issues and are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel—and we're pretty sure it's not a train.

There are thousands of details big and small to attend to when building a vehicle largely from scratch, and using an uncommon platform only makes things more challenging. It has been an adventure just getting the Ultimate International ready for the 2019 Ultimate Adventure, not to mention the further adventure of getting it to the start of the event in Alaska.

By now you've seen the unique destination of UA 2019 and how we fared during the trip. This final installment of the Ultimate International is the backstory on how we ended up lucking into creating one of the most trouble-free UA vehicles in the history of the event, along with many of the parts we used to make it happen. Also, be sure to follow the social media hashtags#ua2019and#ultimateinternationalto see some of the other challenges and fun stuff that we encountered along the way. Although we're wrapping up the Ultimate International build, don't be surprised if you see it down the road as we continue to tweak and refine what we think is one of the coolest International builds in recent history.

02 UASC scout 80 rear bumper tire carrier