I finally had the opritunity to take Black Sunshine off road last Sunday for her maiden voyage
with our local Jeep club, the Midwest Jeep Thing at Washita Off Road Park outside Farmington Missouri.

I'd forgotten what it's like to go Jeeping. I truely had. I remember it being fun and a bonding experience with everyone involved but I'd forgotten how centered and focused it can make you feel. Much like a fighter pilot or a bull rider when you're behind the wheel on a narrow trail there's no time to think about anything else other than taking your line and keeping your rig out of the trees. Everything else melts away. The job, the bills, the commitments to be places.

They all magically vanish from your mind. And for a few hours, you just exist in the here and now.

We had a blast.


The trip taught me a few things I'd not known before, not having had much experience Jeeping in the woods of the midwest.

1.) The JK Unlimiteds body lenght is definatly a disadvantage in the densely forested midwest.

It was interesting to have to back up and retake lines sometimes 3 times to clear something the JK guys could just turn around. Definatly makes you focus more.

2.) The Unlimited could go everywhere the short body guys can. It just takes patience to select the right line. Getting in a hurry will do nothing but damage your rig.

3.) Trail striping is unavoidable. At first I was pissed. Here's a $35,000 SUV not even a year old and I've scratched the paint. But then I got to thinking about my own body. It has scars and thats what give it character. A Jeep is the same way. Every scratch and nick is a badge of honor earned by doing what the vehicle was intended to do.

4.) You can never have to much armor. Period.

5.) While the JK Wrangler may not need a lift from the factory, the JK Unlimited needs a lift kit to compensate for the longer body.


I've had to reconsider the order of some of my mods. The skids are definatly going to come before the front bumper. If for no other reason than peace of mind. As soon as I hear scrapping metal my teeth just clench and I wonder what it is I'm destroying. A set of good skids will correct that in a hurry.

Now, if I could just get my lift installed.

Big thanks to Marvin, WireDawg_MG, and JKRockStomper with Midwest Jeep Thing for putting this event together.!

I'd also like to thank LockedNLoaded, beaquel, Dude52, Squirrel Killer, and all the others I met that day for making it the most fun I've had in a while.

See ya on the trail!

 

Joe,

I got my M-PAC in the mail last night and hope to have it on by the weekend. I ordered the Medic/First Aid bag instead of the smaller bag. Looks to be of good quality. I can't wait to get it on. Now if I could only find a MOLLE eTool carrier.

 

I know that the line you pick while wheeling an Unlimited you really need to watch the break over angle, but often times it is much more stable climbing than the 2 doors. Also the stock skids are stronger than you probably think. I know that I have heard the scrapes and thought to myself that I must have broke something, but in the end it just left a scratch on the underside.

I know that I am looking forward to going wheeling this weekend and trying out the Tera 2.5 spring lift I thre on last weekend to see how much that little extra clearance really does help with the break over.

 

STATUS UPDATE:

Parts are coming in by the truck load now. I have sitting in my garage the following:

Expedition One rear bumper w/ tire carrier - To be installed tomorrow.
Spring Tail Solutions M-PAC MOLLE Rack - To be installed tomorrow.
TeraFlex 2.5" Coil lift w/ shock adapters - Installation date unknown.
Cobra 75 WXST CB w/ 2' FireStik Antenna - Installation date unknown.

I'm hoping to get the rear bumper, tire carrier, and M-PAC rack on tomorrow. I'll post and update and pics when I have it installed.

 

man i dont know how you can leave that stuff sitting in your garage. i would be out all night putting it on

 

You need to post pictures after you're completed tomorrow

 

Oh man I want to see this thing!

 

I spent the better part of today installing my new Expedition One rear bumper and tire carrier. I learned a few things in doing so.

1.) The factory rear bumper is a joke. It would have been better to just bolt milk jugs to the back of my Jeep. Whole thing can't weigh but 20lbs at most. Which is nothing compared to the 100lbs of the new one.

2.) The factory trailer hitch is STRONG. That things got 4 1" bolts going through the frame. It ain't going anywhere.

3.) You can never have enough tools.

4.) And project you plan will take twice as long as you think it will.


So I got the rear bumper up and mounted. There was some damage durring shipping that I'm going to take up with the vendor tomorrow mostly consisting of the bumper coming out of one side of the box and having all the powercoating on a tip rubbed off. I plan to fill this in with Duplicolor and doubt I'll ever notice it again.

BEFORE:



AFTER:




I didn't get a chance to install the M-PAC today and will probably do so tomorrow. Putting the bumper on took 5 hours and I was running short on time before an appointment this evening.

 

looks real good. shame about the poor packaging.
have you got a pic of the cb mount?

 

looks great.