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What could be cooler?
Since I bought the Jeep I’ve learned a thing or two about wheeling. Oh sure,
there are a lot of technical issues to run down. Not least among them is the
selection of tire. Size does matter!
The size of the tire you want to run will practically dictate what axle,
differential gearing and minimum lift height you will have to have. The fun
thing is that within any given set-up there are still a lot of options to pick
from to meet the needed spec’s.. Are you happy with body lift or do you want
spring lift? Will you need long arm or short arm, or perhaps you’re running
leaf springs and only need taller shackles. The list can get rather long!
All that is rather satisfying to our inner nerd, but hey, there’s more. Next
you get to enjoy ‘Christmas in July’ when the boxes of ordered parts arrive by
UPS! Then it’s off to the garage and the self esteem builder. There is nothing
as truly satisfying as finishing a build. Even if you needed a prefab kit and
step by step instructions to get’er done, it doesn’t matter once the thing is
finished! You have the satisfaction of knowing, “I did it myself!” And driving
it down the road or out on the trail is proof of a job well done.
Then there is the ultimate high. The superior reward of wheeling with a group
that comes when one guy or another needs you to drive up/around/through whatever
has him stuck and throw him a tow strap. Yep… all that time and money pays off
in huge self esteem strokes when you can go and do what others can’t.
But until I get there, I’ll have to settle for the little things. What I call
the Barbie-doll effect. I’ve never owned a vehicle that had as many dress-up
options as a Barbie-doll until I bought the Jeep. Now I can run topless, soft
topped, safari topped, bikini topped or hard topped. I can run with no doors,
half doors, tube doors or full doors. I can swap bumpers, fenders, roll bars,
seats, or opt for various styles of grill and hood that have come down through
the years. I can dress it up with options such as off road lights, rock lights,
top carriers, spare tire racks and perches for additional gear. I can adorn it
with shovels, jacks and spare gas cans. I can justify 2 way radios, GPS
locators and various other high-end electronics. A Jeep has more dress-up
options than a Barbie has clothes!
How cool is that!
It may be built on an assymbly line like every other car out there, but after a
few mod's I'll never have the problem of getting my Jeep confused with someone
else's. It is uniquely mine!
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Wheeling.
Wheeling. What is it about wheeling?
I had no idea what wheeling is when I ambled on to the Jeep dealers lot.
Nope, not a clue! Now I had driven several 4X4's... Bronco's and a Samy, or
should I say a Geo Tracker. Same thing, different labbel. In fact it was the
Track with 150K miles on it that had me looking for a repacement. I kew it
needed some shop time if it was going to last much longer, but I still needed
something to get back and forth from work.
I looked first at the want adds for a Toyota FJ40. I've always wanted one
of those! I like the look, and the utility... nothing, not one was anywhere to
be found for sale. So I test drove a the new version at the Toyota Dealer. It
was sound and comfortable, but, I don't know, a bit too plastic, and had poor
visibility. I came away from the test drive rather un-impressed.
Then I wandered around the Jeep lot. The 07's were out, and I liked the
top.. two peace, hard top... great! But it just doesn't look like a Jeep. I'm
sick to death of "Bubble Cars" [anything that looks like a Ford Tarus from the
side] and do not want my Jeep to start taking that same shape. Then I saw them,
two classic Jeeps on the edge of the lot. One was all gloss black, the other
was black over white. The last of the 06 models.
I bought the white one. An 06 TJ Rubicon, and had no clue what I was realy
getting myself into. I did not then know about the low gearing, the
differential lockers, and heavy duty axles, or any of that, and why I'd want
them. I do now!
I have driven more places, and seen more of Idaho, in the last year than I
ever did in over 20 years of living here. I have braved trails that my other
rigs could not have crossed, and I have forged ahead without any carnage, dents
or troubles. Maybe some difficulty, but nothing that couldn't be handled. My
Jeep has opened up a whole new Idaho, I didn't even know thet it existed.
Now I love to go out wheeling. Near or far... in groups or alone... I take
the dog, and give her a walk. I take the camera and record the views. I take a
friend, and we actually have time to talk... now that's wheeling!
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