Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options

Jeep Wrangler

1…133134136138139…455

Comments

  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Steve, that was wheelerman that drove his Jeep up on an RX7, not me.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    oceantoadoceantoad Member Posts: 186
    Tom, I want you to sit down before you read this.

    I went to Wally World today and bought all the stuff to wash and wax my TJ.

    Going to shoot for this weekend to get it done, since I hope to head for Oklahoma on the long weekend.

    I have not hand washed or hand waxed a vehicle in over 5 years. I really was holding out for you to do it for me like you said you would.

    Still a happy camper.
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Good for you! I'm very proud of you. Do a good job.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    no one ever said i was smart ,i only watch the part of the news that has to do with san jose . i hope to get my wife out wheeling some day. i took her to hollister hills once to show her what it was like.
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    my photos are up at www.jeepfourm.com in the jeep registry part. i hope the host lets you guys see them.
  • Options
    scmhockeyscmhockey Member Posts: 45
    Those pictures ROCK!!! I am going to show a guy here who has a RX-7 and see if he turns sheet white. *LOL*

    Steve
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    and that was done with a stock jeep. we just let the air out of the tires. you should see what i do with my jeep offroad .it gets a good work out. thank you mr. host for letting everyone see my photos. did you take a look at them ?
  • Options
    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    It was hard to find them - here's a link that should take you close to the pics. Maybe you should check your brakes, LOL.



    Steve

    Host

    SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    i'm sorry mr. host i fixed it. if no one posts on my photos for a day or so they get droped.
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    I will soon be heading for Turkey Bay to hook up with the folks from Mid Rivers Jeep Thing from O'Fallon, Illinois. I will have no shortage of Jeeps to hook up with this weekend! :)

    Today will be a rainy day, with the remnants of good old Lili passing through, but that won't bother us too much (I hope).

    I plan on wheelin' with these guys today, tomorrow, and Sunday. Ross Allen is all fired up over it too. :)

    I'll post tonight and let all my Buds in here know how the day went.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    scmhockeyscmhockey Member Posts: 45
    Tsjay,

    Mid Rivers is actually in St. Peters, MO. Which is right next to O'Fallon, MO, not Illinois. Everyone gets those two mixed up. When you say "I live in O'Fallon", they always think you are from Illinois. They might have some members from Illinois though. Of course, I could be wrong! *LOL*

    Steve
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    they took the photos back down so if you want to see the rx-7 being ran over by my stock jeep use the link the host put up. i got a flat yesterday, so now i can't go wheeling till the new tire comes in. i hope you have fun wheeling this weekend tom .
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Here's my post after I took Thelma Jane off the pavement for the first time.

    #4244 of 6769 Ok, Jeep Buddies... here's a shocker for ya by tsjay Nov 24, 2001 (01:48 pm)

    You are most likely sitting down, since you are on the puter, but if you're not, you need to be before you read this.

    I TOOK THELMA JANE OFF ROAD!

    Yep, my little Thelma Jane was offroad yesterday and she even got a little muddy!

    We went out in the strip mine land and found a few little dirt roads that were mostly overgrown with grass and took a ride on them. There were some places where the road was partially washed out, and we used 4-low to get through them.

    Now I'm sure what we did would be considered very tame stuff by any true offroader's standards, but, hey, it was a start.

    I had a ball! Thelma Jane loved it! She still has a smile on her grill!

    I think I'm hooked. Just wish I had some better places to go offroading around here. Those little roads only went a few hundred yards at the most and then dead ended. Had to turn around and come back out the same way. I wish I could find someplace where you can go miles and miles offroad.

    tsjay

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?

    As it turned out, I didn't go seriously offroading until February 15,2002, when I hooked up with someone at Turkey Bay.

    Do you guys ever go back and read some of the old posts? It's fun.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    #4649 of 6770 Tsjay's Wheelin' Experience by tsjay Feb 16, 2002 (03:05 am)
    It happened! Thelma finally got to have some fun off the pavement. I took her to the Turkey Bay OHV (off-highway vehicle) area in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area on Kentucky Lake.

    I have to first of all thank my guide, RodDawg. He met me down there and led me around the trails.

    There were three Jeeps: RodDawg's 97 dark blue (now called Patriot Blue) Sport with a 4" lift and 33 x 12.50 tires, his friend's (Greg's) stock red 97 SE, and, of course, the lovely "Thelma Jane." :) We were very patriotic, the jeeps being red, white, and blue.

    Rod's friend, Greg, was a first time offroader too.

    Man, I just cannot believe the things we did today! These crazy Jeeps will go ANYWHERE!

    Rod stopped at one point early on and turned right, leaving the trail and climbing up the hillside that the trail was cut into. I thought to myself, "This guys is absolutely nuts! I sure won't try that!" But I DID! Thelma Jane did the same thing that Rod's Jeep did. The terrain was so steep that I could only see Thelma's hood as we climbed that hill.

    The next scary thing we did was to go up a steep, narrow, twisting, rocky ravine. Once again, I thought that there was no way I could follow Rod up that thing, but Thelma Jane just fell right in behind that lead Jeep and went up the ravine like it was no big thing.

    At the end of the day we came to a nice big mudhole and played in it for a while. I made several passes throuh it, and I got Thelma good and muddy. She wasn't completely covered in mud, but it wasn't from lack of effort on my part. Her tires just don't stick out far enough to sling mud all over her. She still had plenty of mud on her, though.

    I shot several pics, but I used a 35 MM camera, since I don't have a digi. I will try take up the rest of that roll's exposures and get it sent off for processing ASAP. I'll post a pic or two in the photo gallery here.

    People, I HAD FUN! Thelma Jane had fun. Ross Allen had fun. WHAT A DAY!

    RodDawg, thanks again!

    tsjay

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?

    I love this wheelin' stuff! No telling how many times I have been since February 15, 2002, but I'll always remember that first time.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    so did you go wheeling today ??
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Yep! Took a vacation day and went over to Turkey Bay, like I had planned to do.

    It rained all the way over there and for about the first hour that I was there. No probelm, though... the wheelin' was still good.

    That place is amazing with so many trails criss-crossing and going everywhere. I thought that as many times as I had been there, I must have covered every acre of the 2500 acres in the park. Well, yesterday I was on some trails that were new to me.

    One of the guys from the Jeep club that I hooked up with took the lead, and he apparently had been there before and knew where he was going.

    We followed along the northern boundary and headed west toward Kentucky Lake. I had been on sections of that route before, but never all the way to the lake shore like we did yesterday.

    The shore of Kentucky Lake is the western boundary of the OHV area, and we got all the way to the lake yesterday and followed the shore line from the north end to the south end of the park.

    The shore is gravel for the most part, with some pretty big rocks mixed in. At times we had to actually put the right side tires in the lake in order to get around a fallen tree or some other obstacle. Kentucky Lake is HUGE and looks like an ocean from the shore.

    I guess I finally got a chance to see what that Detroit locker was gonna do for me, and I liked the results! With the rain we had, there was more mud than usual, and I got through it just fine.

    Some of the climbs we made going up and over a ridge were much more difficult with the surface of the ground being a layer of mud, but old Thelma Jane went right on up. I'm not sure that I went anywhere that I couldn't have gone without the locker, but I know that I would have had more trouble without it.

    I'll be going back this AM and maybe even tomorrow.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    i wish i could go wheeling today. but l'm waiting for my new tire to come in . i got a cut in the side wall on one of my new tires. and i'm running my small spare. i hope you have fun today Tom.
  • Options
    anonymous02anonymous02 Member Posts: 1,538
    Tom: OHV? You mean ORV (Off Road Vehicle)?

    Wheelerman: That cut doesn't match a certain Mazda windshield or frame, does it?

    :-) or :-( I guess.
  • Options
    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Off highway?

    Steve
    Host
    SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    ohv is off highway vehicle . how about svra ???state vehicular recreation area [ hollister hills ] i got my flat here in the front yard two days ago . a car down the street had the same flat on the same night. it was done by a knife or some sharp thing .the cut was on the out side of the tire.
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Those of you who guessed Off Highway Vehicle win the cigar! :)

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    so tom did you go wheeling ???
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Had another great, wonderful, exciting, tremendous, beautiful, rewarding, satisfying, super day of wheelin'!

    I LOVE MY JEEP!

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Ok, I hooked up with my Bud with the restored 83 CJ7, and we drove down to Turkey Bay. I had it set up to meet a guy from Memphis that I met on the Net, and he brought his dad along (his dad drove his Jeep too).

    Jeff, from Memphis, had a 2001 SE with a 4" Procomp lift and 33" tires. Jeff had Detroit Tru-Trax LSD's front and back. His dad had a stock TJ (don't know the year) Sport with the factory 30" tire package and auto tranny.

    We got to TB about 10:30 AM and wheeled until about 2:30 or 3:00. We ate some snacks and shot the breeze for a while before everyone went their separate ways.

    We got into some pretty tough climbs, and Jeff's dad had to be winched up a real steep, rocky, rutted ravine. Jeff had a winch and did the honors, since he was the first one up to the top and the only one in the group with a winch.

    Bob tried next, and couldn't make it, so he backed down. I was last, but since Bob couldn't make it, there was no use in my going up to the top and leaving Bob by himself at the bottom.

    We found an alternate way up to the top that was much easier and hooked back up with Jeff and his Dad.

    I'm gonna try that place sometime to see if I can make it.

    It was a real good day, and Jeff and his dad were super nice people, but, since they were Jeepers, that was to be expected.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Besides going wheelin' with "Grandpa," Ross Allen had a special treat on the way home.

    We stopped at a Mc Donalds, and I got him his very favorite thing in the world, a Mc Donalds hamburger.

    He is asleep on the bed beside me right now, and is one tired, but very happy puppy dog. Being outdoors all day makes him very sleepy at night afer we get home. It has the same effect on me too.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Even though you don't wheel your Jeep, some of you might be a little bit interested in learning a little bit about the type of wheelin' I have been doing. (Well, probably not, but I will tell ya anyway.) :)

    One of the most fun and most challenging things I do down at Turkey Bay is to climb up ravines or gullies, or whatever you want to call them.

    The terrain at Turkey Bay is very hilly, and on the hillsides there are many, many ravines that run up and down the slopes. These ravines are often so deep that the tops of them are higher than the top of the Jeep.

    I don't know what caused these ravines, but I guess just erosion dug them out.

    These ravines typically have a deep center and sloped sides. Many of these ravines are very narrow, with very little room on either side as you drive up or down them.

    The slope of the sides and the narrowness of the ravines can often mean that you are actually getting your traction from the side walls of the tires rather than from the tread on the bottom.

    They are sometimes very steep, and they don't go straight up and down the hillsides: they twist and turn. So, you are climbing and turning at the same time quite often.

    The ravines consist of bare dirt and rocks of various sizes. There are often tree roots sticking out from the sides of these ravines, and these root wads can be enough to stop you, since you can lose your momemtum when you hit them, and you don't have enough traction to climb over them. The same thing can happen if there is a rock shelf that you have to go over or, sometimes, just a large rock in your path.

    You are climbing so steeply that you are on the verge of breaking traction anyway, so it doesn't take much to stop you.

    One of the tips that I finally got around to trying is disconnecting the front sway bar. This lets the front axle articulate much more, so that you can keep both front tires on the ground. If you don't have a locker in the front, which I don't, then it is really important to keep both front wheels on the ground. If one wheel is in the air, then it will spin and the other side will not pull, unless you have a locker.

    People were telling me all along that I should try that, but I didn't do it until just a few trips ago, and MAN, what a difference!

    Now that I have the locker in the rear, I can go up these ravines a little slower, relying less on momentum and more on traction. Without a locker, you have to hit some of those traction-breaking obstacles with enough speed to carry you over during the momentary loss of traction.

    Since there are often large rocks or trees right on the sides of these ravines, it ain't too good to get up too much speed and bounce over obstacles. The Jeep may be thrown sideways while you are bouncing, and that can put the side of the Jeep into a big rock or tree.

    Well, hope I didn't put everyone to sleep.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    hey Tom sounds like your getting into some hard wheeling. good to here. now about that locker thing . i can lift my front wheel anywhere from one to almost three feet in the air and still be moving at a slow pace. with no locker and no lsd. i was at hollister hills rideing behind three jeeps and i could here them talking about needing lockers to do the trail. but i just did the same trail like 10 min. ago . and that thing about all jeepers being nice ha ha right. here at hollister hills they are almost rude every time. Tom if you want to see a video of me wheeling email me your adress and i'll send it when it's ready. do you have any more wheeling photos ?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    If you lift a wheel entirely off the ground with no locker on that same axle where the wheel is off the ground and you are still moving, then you are moving because your other axle is providing the power to move you.

    If you lift a front tire, then it's the back tires that are propelling you. If you lift a rear tire, then it's your front tires that are pulling you.

    That's the way open differentials work. The tire WITHOUT traction gets all the torque and spins while the other one just sits there.

    Limited slips work ok as long as one tire has SOME traction, but they do no good when one tire on the axle in question is entirely off the ground. Some folks use a little trick to fool their limited slips and apply a little brake at the same time they are on the gas. This makes the axle "think" it has traction on both tires (because there is some resistance) and you can get that axle to pull.

    I am sending off a roll of film today, and if the pics turn out to be good, I'll post some.

    Later

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?

    P.S. My email is tjoh298765@aol.com It's public in my profile. All of you Edmunds buddies are welcome to email me any time.
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    My post on wheelin' put everyone to sleep except wheelerman! Darn! Now no one is posting, cause everyone is asleep.

    Have you gone to sleep too, wheelerman?

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    bamatazzbamatazz Member Posts: 311
    shhhhh im still asleep here

    SNORE.....SNORE.....SNORE

    offroad, offroad, offroad That all i hear..

    Bama
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    this weekend i could'nt go wheeling so i put flush mount taillights on my jeep. and do thay look good ! i'll send you a photo when i get one.and that post you put up about wheel spinning i can't think of a thing to say.
  • Options
    mtngalmtngal Member Posts: 1,911
    I was out of town this weekend, but I did like your post. So now I'm back and back to work. Too bad my out of town trip didn't include some desert exploring, but it didn't (took the Taco instead). I just had our usual rather boring trip to Vegas.
  • Options
    tluketluke Member Posts: 52
    I drove through a spot of gravel when going through the parking lot on the way to my parking space at work. I seemed to make it OK even though I was only in 2WD. I didn't lose traction and I don't think I even needed the trac-lok I paid so dearly for. Seriously, if you keep posting messages like that one you may even convince me to try this off roading thing.
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Man, just come on down whenever you want to go to Turkey Bay with me! That would be SUPER! But, that's an awful long way for you to drive, so odds are you will take your first wheelin' trip a little closer to home.

    Nothing would make me happier than for you to come down here. I would be glad to guide you around good old Turkey Bay, but I still get lost, even as many times as I've been there. That makes it just that much more of an adventure, though.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Here's a link to a satellite photo of Turkey Bay.


    In the picture that comes up, Turkey Bay is the largest cove on the east (right) side of the lake, about a third of the way up from the bottom. It has the little peninsula jutting out from the north toward the south. The OHV area is that section of land norhward from Turkey Bay up toward that bridge, which is the HWY 68 bridge.


    You can click on this photo and zoom in on particular areas.


    The light areas are the hillsides and the darker areas are the hollows (we rednecks in Ky say "hollers").


    Tom


    Have you hugged your Jeep today?


    http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=14&x=126&y=1270&z=16&w=1

  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    hey Tom if you want to see my taillights you can go to serobs site g.t. to see them. you can now ad photos to your post.
  • Options
    lvcheflvchef Member Posts: 52
    Tsjay
    I ordered a pair of rocker panel gaurds from 4wheel drive hardware. I also got a steering box cover. Is it necessary to cover the oil pan??
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    I was intending to get a Skid Row oil pan skid, but I never got around to it yet. I think the Skid Row is the best bet, since it will still work if you get a lift later on. Some of the oil pan skids out there will not work if you get a lift, or so it seems from posts that I have read.

    How badly you need one depends on the type of wheelin' you do. I'll bet there are lots of rocks where you wheel, so I would think an oil pan skid would be a real good idea.

    It's probably not as important for me with the wheelin' I do, but I have been seriously considering one.

    How about your gas tank? Did you ever get a gas tank skid? I sure recommend the Kilby. Mine took a real hard lick this past weekend, and it didn't hurt it a bit. I would hate to think about what might have happened with only the factory skid on there.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    I went to Rob's site, but I couldn't find a pic of your tail lights. I saw some of your other pics, but no tail light pic.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Poor old Gill! He has lost the entire site again! Something crashed, and he is real upset. He's even saying he might not restore the site this time.

    I think he will, though, cause he has said that before, and he has always brought it back.

    Trouble is, some of the posts and the pics may be lost for good. We might have to repost our albums.

    We'll just have to see how it goes.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    wheelermanwheelerman Member Posts: 113
    there over in the swb part. you should post a photo of your jeep over in the members part and mabe a photo of yourself? i would like to see what you look like.
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    I would post a pic of myself, but the women would be emailing me and trying to call me, maybe even stalking me. I am super sexy. It's a curse!

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    lol, isn't that Ross Allen's job? - protection in a different kind of 4 wheel drive package.

    Steve
    Host
    SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Well, Ross Allen has the same problem. He's real sexy too. We have to protect each other.

    I'm going to bed. C ya

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    mtngalmtngal Member Posts: 1,911
    Yep, you need to protect that sexy Ross Allen - he looks like a real sweetie to me! Great eyes...
  • Options
    twylietwylie Member Posts: 619
    OK, so it's not "real" wheeling Tom, but I just got back from a week at Cape Hatteras, NC, one of the few (that I know about) places you can still drive on the beach for miles at a time. I have to say that a topless, doorless Jeep on the beach is about perfection.

    When I pulled up at the beachhouse, my dad looked at my tires (semi-aggressive mud terrain), and told me I'd just dig on the beach. I told him, we'll see... I aired the trXus tires down to 12psi and drove around in 2wd most of the time. I used 4Hi to play (donuts, and getting unstuck after 2wd adventures) and pull a few people out out of the deep, soft sand. I had the pleasure of pulling my dad's Explorer out after his transfer case decided to not engage, but the best was a Yukon from NJ. The owner was very upset that his $40k vehicle was buried to the frame going nowhere. He swore his 4wd wasn't working but both axles were spinning. I was able to extract him from a dead stop (I was down on the harder, wetter sand near the waves). I was thrilled at my first real recovery and his buddies gave him a lot of grief. As I was wrapping the strap back up, one guy said "Jeep, there's only one...". I laughed and the Yukon owner bowed his head.

    For me, it was a 11 hour drive, but completely worth it to spend time with family and get to do some beach driving. If you have the chance to do this kind of "wheeling", don't pass it up!

    My family was amazed at the versatility and flexability of the Jeep as they helped me reassemble it (doors, bikini, etc.) for my trip home. Maybe now I can talk my dad into one as a retirement vehicle!

    -twylie
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Sounds good! Glad you had a good time and had an opportunity to show people how cool Jeeps really are.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    tsjaytsjay Member Posts: 4,591
    Chat room works, so come on! Still no bulletin board or photo gallery yet.

    Tom

    Have you hugged your Jeep today?
  • Options
    appstate88appstate88 Member Posts: 40
    Twylie,

    Hatteras is great isn't it? We've done just enough 4 wheeling on the beaches there to want to do more!

    My family (Adults only, no younguns...)is heading out to Hatteras for my Dads Birthday in November for a weekend of Surf Fishing and general revelry.

    My wife has the only Wrangler so it will be interesting to see how it does compared to the other 4WDs like Suburbans, Pick ups, 4 runner, etc that the rest of my family has.

    A couple questions.

    1- Do you carry an air pump to fill the tires back up when you get on the hard-ball? Or do you just ride with them soft until you hit a gas station?

    2- Did you happen to do any surf fishing? I'm thinking about attaching Surf Rod holders to the front bumper, and was hoping to find someone with experience on attaching them.

    Thanks!
    Cam
  • Options
    fj100fj100 Member Posts: 97
    No air pump is needed, just reinflate your tires at the Pelican Roost gas, bait and fishing store in Hatteras before you head home. I usually air down to 18 psi. Better to run in 4wd high and not tear up the beach and stay off the dunes.

    Rod holders - Attach to a board then attach the board to the bumper or get the check book out for a sweet aluminum pr built rod holder. Frisco Rod and Gun sells these on the way to Hatteras,
    located in Frisco.

    Good luck.

    fj100
    Raleigh, NC
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles