Rhino Ray's Trick Bitz has been formed from a competition background. It all started in the early eighties when Ray Edwards, a.k.a. 'Rhino Ray' first started trialing with the All Wheel Drive Club of Great Britain in a series three diesel short wheel base Land Rover. After five or six events had been taken part in, a feeling of frustration started to loom in our Raymond.

Always getting stuck, never being able to make any tight turns, and that ever increasing pool of oil on the driveway started to take its toll on our now demoralized champion.

Not wanting to give up just yet, and Ray's dad totally forbidding him to drive the farm's unimog, Ray set off to another standard Road Taxed Vehicle Trial in the series three. What Ray did not know he was about to meet up with the legendary John Harvey. Unfortunately John is not with us any more, but his memory lives on.

After Ray's third mistake of the day, usually a six or seven point penalty and stuck yet again, John introduced himself to Ray with an offer of a tow out which Ray accepted with open arms. John Harvey was the current AWDC trials champion driving an LJ80 Suzuki and he explained to Ray that basically he was a very good off road driver; he just needed a lighter, more agile 4 x 4.

Two days later Ray had purchased an accident damaged SJ413 one of the very first batch to set foot on British soil. Some three weeks later Ray was back on the circuit with his freshly repaired and painted Suzuki. The first meeting was at Long Valley, Aldershot. Section four saw Ray gently his new mount on its side, but went on to come third in class. With his the small wooden shield placed proudly on mum's sideboard at home, we soon found this was the start of things to come, as by the fourth meeting Ray won his class for the first time and the following year he took home the Class 3 Championship.

As the years passed and the circuits got much harder, Ray realised the need to improve and modify his Suzuki to suit and so Rhino Ray's Trick Bitz was born. With minor mods to start with, it has now formed into a small but interesting business to run.

Based in Woodingdean near Brighton, Sunny Sussex and with the help of his son Mark, Ray works from an old tractor shed/workshop turning out his Suzuki based off road goodies.

Why Rhino Ray? Well what else would you call an over-weight/thick skinned driver of a Suzuki jeep.