Off Road Adventure with Jeeps

[Okie4570]

Showed this to the wife! She says we need one! Wonder where a guy can find one?

I have a friend in Ft. Worth who drives around with this in the passenger seat of her 69' Bronco about half the year lol. Gets lots of looks.

 

[SKATA]

Who do you jeep with or want to jeep with and what are their current setups capable of and where do you want to go? There's two routes to this pursuit imo based on your budget and mechanical abilities.

I've been doing this with 66-77 Ford Broncos for the last 20y but the same concept applies.

First is this going to be a daily driver also? Occasionally street driven? Or off-road only?

Second, how mechanically inclined are you?

want to pursue easy to moderate trails in Oklahoma. From all the different inputs, a stock 2-door used Wrangler will do just fine and I can drive it for daily use too. I don't have the tools or area to get into mechanical projects though. Thanks for your input.

 

[SKATA]

Guess I am going to sound like a kinda chincy old fart here on this subject. I would say take a real good look at what you want and need the end result to do on a regular basis for you. Full time off road you are going to have to trailer to the sites, part time most every weekend drive during the week after you spend an hour or so cleaning it up, drying the carpet and electrical connections, or once a month maby to take out and scratch and ding up and fill with creek water when you have time? Yep, long term things to think about.

A few years ago I was looking for a different daily driver. Through a member on this site I wound up with a 98 TJ.totally stock low milage except for maby the wiper blades. Knew nothing about jeeps. Just saw the picture, very low miles, and to me the price was right. Little did I know I had a gem. Inline 6, 5 speed manual, half doors, very little surface frame rust, totally stock in every way. I had been to watch several jeep rallies, hill climbs, etc. Take a look on the web at what happens at Langely OK up by Grand lake each year for example.

I looked it over and bought it thinking hey, jack this up put some hellacious size tires, bumpers, winch, light bars, snorkle, and $3-4K of other nifty do dads on it and I will be hot snot. I can go out and beat the hell out of it like I used to do with my old dirt bikes, Right?. Humm, but do I really want to ding it up as much? Humm Then I got to looking at the prices for all that added stuff, the time involved in installing all of it, how it was going to affect my daily driving without other changes of re-gearing, etc. For gaining what. Raise my axles and pumpkins 3-4 inches to clear a few rocks I might never encounter? Right now, my "low riding" stocker is amazing to me handling a tight corner at speed. A little after I got it I " chased some Moto Guzi" guys through some curvy road areas on some back roads just to get a feel. I amazed myself. Raise all that up 6-8 inches and whats gona happen? Take a look at the Jeep forums and you will not have a hard time finding articles of hundreds of jeep owners who are now limited to 50-55 mph street use without "death wobble". I had my 98 stocker at a steady 84-85 mph on the turnpike today. Yep noisy as hell, but stable driving. Lots to think about depending what you are going to use it for.

I did a lot of thought to, Well, Iffen I built it up and get tired of it, I can always sell it, right? Would I maby get half of what I bought in accessorie $ back? Maby, maby not, especially iffen I had bashed the crap out of hitting things that is going to happen Humm.

So Iffen you want to go out and play in a jeep in the mud without spending one hell of a lot of money and a lot of hours, I would take the time to look for something for sale that is already built close to what you envision your final project will be and fine tune it for you. If it is for sale, you can bet someone is going to have to take a loss on it to get rid of it. You most likely will save a lot of $ and time over doing it your self. Unless $ is not a factor and you have a ton of free time I would consider doing that. Just as a Second option, I see you are a MC rider. How much dirt bike time do you have out in the mud, over rocky trails, rolling down hills with your bike you and others could not climb? How beat up was your dirt bike when you both tipped over and you picked it up to ride off and do it agein? How beat up is your Jeep going to be after rolling down those same hills. Ha.

Yep, just a few things to think about overall. Let us know how all this works out.

Thanks for all the input. It would be similar to my Harley days. The motorcycle is the starting point for all the extras. LOL. I have been looking at used 2-door Wranglers. For my use, any of them would work just stock. Maybe better tires, LED lights, steps, bumpers, etc.

 

[Okie4570]

want to pursue easy to moderate trails in Oklahoma. From all the different inputs, a stock 2-door used Wrangler will do just fine and I can drive it for daily use too. I don't have the tools or area to get into mechanical projects though. Thanks for your input.

Find a 2000-2006 two door 4.0l 6 cyl with Dana 44 axles front and back with either limited slip or locker in the rear at least. You can go A LOT of places in 3WD. You'll start out "easy to moderate trails in Oklahoma".......but if you like it, you're going to want harder trails I can almost promise lol.

 

[montesa]

I love an all stock wrangler. I would get some quality tires, maybe some better protection for the under parts. Rear locker. Stereo. Then just keep it maintained.

 

[TerryMiller]

One of our nephews was into off-roading and had an experience in which he now gives additional advice. Be sure and do the off-roading with another driver and vehicle. They went off into the mountains west of Colorado Springs, and while off the main trail, had a breakdown. He had his mother with him, but she couldn't walk long distances, so he took off on foot to get help. Fortunately, he encountered another off-roader that took him and his mother back to town. They went back later to fix the jeep and bring it back.

 

[Okie4570]

Then Long Arm, Lift, ARBs, RCV axle shafts, Sleeve and Truss the 44s, Atlas Transfer Case, PCS Steering, 38” tires with Beadlocks, Winch, Adams Drive Shafts, Good Winch, Belly Pan, Roll Cage…………………………….

There's no end.....it's a trap!

 

[HarryBear]

If you get a jeep, you have to wave at all the other jeep owners as you're driving.

 

[tynyphil]

Same for motorcycles. Since I have both I catch myself waving at everybody

 

[SiGArmed]

4Runner!

lol.