|
I've had treadwright guard dogs on my XJ for 3 years now. They've worn well, Just remember to rotate them regularly. Great tires. The old tires are great, can't speak for the quality since the move though. Certainly a wait and see situation.
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2014 23:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 22:31 |
|
|
Seriously look at the Toyo Tyres- Ive got their MT's and they are absolutely AWESOME. Heard great reviews of their AT's too.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2014 03:43
|
|
|
We stuck an ARB Old Man Emu lift kit into dads new hilux today- Its 30K kms old and the stock suspension was so rooted that we got 80mm out of the front and 90mm out of the rear on a 50mm lift kit! Its amazing how much nicer it rides now that the front control arms arent basically sitting on the bump stops!
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2014 06:48
|
|
|
Has anybody ever taken their rear seats out of a 4-door-anything and regretted it while offroad/camping/etc? I rarely ever have my rear seats in use. With the Jeep JKU, removing the rear seats and doors (and replace with plastic halfdoors), will save 300lbs in weight. I can also use the rear seat recesses for more secure storage, which is a benefit during top down season.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2014 07:48
|
|
|
tuna posted:Has anybody ever taken their rear seats out of a 4-door-anything and regretted it while offroad/camping/etc? I rarely ever have my rear seats in use. With the Jeep JKU, removing the rear seats and doors (and replace with plastic halfdoors), will save 300lbs in weight. I can also use the rear seat recesses for more secure storage, which is a benefit during top down season. Nope. If you aren't using them, and you won't be adding any passengers out on the trail, pull them out and save the wear and tear.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2014 08:51
|
|
|
Paulie posted:Nope. If you aren't using them, and you won't be adding any passengers out on the trail, pull them out and save the wear and tear. Cool, thanks. Gonna see how light I can get this thing.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2014 09:19
|
|
|
tuna posted:Cool, thanks. Gonna see how light I can get this thing. I Remove and reinstall the rear seat in my YJ frequently but it only weighs about 25 lbs if I remember correctly.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2014 11:25
|
|
|
Sandbagger SA posted:I Remove and reinstall the rear seat in my YJ frequently but it only weighs about 25 lbs if I remember correctly. Unfortunately the JKU seat is a 15-awkward-bolts 90lbs beast that nobody in their right mind frequently takes out. The 2-door Jeeps have much simpler seats to take out since they aren't 60/40 split complex folding. I'd love the ability to have fold-out jumpseats somewhere just in case, but that's a big task that I'm not interested in. tuna fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Nov 19, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2014 19:42
|
|
|
Do the rear doors on a JKU really weigh 150 pounds each? They didn't feel that heavy when I have helped other people strip off doors at a trailhead. Edit: I can't read apparently. Still just a little bit skeptical on the weight of the doors and seats being 300 pounds though, sounds just a bit high.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2014 19:44
|
|
|
I'm reading that the front door is 62.2 lbs and rear door is 46.4 lbs. x2 for each side, and that's 217 lbs for 4 doors. The rear seats are ~90lbs I've read from a few places on the internet. http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63526 Here is a breakdown of some lightweight options, with values for weight + savings. He mentions "Mastercraft Bench Seat - 32 lbs - 55 lbs saved over stock 60/40 bench" 32+55 = 87lbs 217 + 87 = 304lbs.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2014 20:01
|
|
|
I guess I can participate in this thread now? Just picked up an Xterra.  2006, 6spd manual, Off Road Package (locker, dana 44, etc) with a small lift and 33" Duratracs.  Heading to the mountains this weekend! Crazy how you can get one of these for 7k but a wrangler or FJ are just crazy pricey.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 03:39
|
|
|
I picked up this Hilux (right) for $600 - needed a waterpump and alternator which I picked up for cheap and did in a couple hours. It's got the 3y motor and no powersteering with 31" all-terrains so it's a bit of a pig on the road. Once we got it on the dunes though it came alive  It's nice having a car you don't care too much about - in the middle of the photo is the friend that I bought it from with his new (to him) 03 ford courier. He couldn't go half the places I could simply because he didn't want to ruin his nice car. Once he's comfortable though that 3.0 turbo diesel will be a weapon. The other vehicle is a friends SWB Ford Maverick/GQ Patrol he picked up for $1k - It has a 4.2 petrol straight six, auto, and 33" mud tyres. We had a lot of fun bush bashing and enjoying and area that will soon be destroyed to build more suburbs and houses for people who can't afford them  .
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 03:58
|
|
|
Went camping in Death Valley this weekend (no real offroading to speak of), but managed to stumble across the Jeep's younger brother. After driving around that remote area I've bumped the priority of extra fuel systems to the top. What's everyone's recommendations on extra fuel carriers these days? From what I've read, it comes down to Rotopax Vs Scepter being the best modern jerry cans. I'll be mounting flush with the tailgate if that makes a difference, as I keep my spare in the tub. As far as I can see, Rotopax are more lego style modular, can have 1/2/3/4gal size containers that are all slightly compatible with mounts, but Scepter offers 5gal jugs, which I think I have room for 2x5g on the back, whereas Rotopax it'd be 2x4 or 4x2 (not sure which is better). But all anecdotes on leaking/awkwardness of use/price is interesting to me. tuna fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Nov 24, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2014 08:41
|
|
|
I'm looking to step up my lighting game for this years vermont winter challenge. I'm only allowed to run stock lights + 2 aux lights. No idea if LED bars are legal, but they don't throw as far as a pencil. The lights will only be on the car for the event and then they'll be moved to my 4x light bar for the rally car if I ever do night events. They'll be on metal flat stock at headlight level. I'm looking at chinesium ebay lights unless someone can give me a good reason to get something else. 9 inch 75w hids in spot pattern for $130: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2PCS-9INCH-...9119035&vxp=mtr 6 inch 35w hids in driving pattern for $550: http://www.bajadesigns.com/ProductDetail?ItemNumber=613260 Obviously the not chinesium stuff is going to be better, but even if the ebay stuff is 25% as effective as a baja design setup it's close enough. That and I may blow into a guardrail or tree and I don't want to be out $texas. Last year I ran lovely headlights and 30 dollar harbor freight 100w doo doo lights. ebay trash is going to be a step up.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 03:12
|
|
|
I have a pair of 100W 7" Chinese Special HID's on the front of the jeep. I went from a set of HIDX 4" 35W lights and a set of 100W KCs to these with a huge increase in light. From my comparison they are about equal to a 40" no-name LED bar with the HIDs having more throw. They were cheap, bright as gently caress, and haven't failed in the ~two years I've been running them. these are pretty similar to the ones I bought. (Euro beam) Amber filters are available on eBay as well, if thats your thing.
ThinkFear fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Nov 26, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 18:59
|
|
|
ThinkFear posted:I have a pair of 100W 7" Chinese Special HID's on the front of the jeep. I went from a set of HIDX 4" 35W lights and a set of 100W KCs to these with a huge increase in light. From my comparison they are about equal to a 40" no-name LED bar with the HIDs having more throw. They were cheap, bright as gently caress, and haven't failed in the ~two years I've been running them. these are pretty similar to the ones I bought. (Euro beam) Amber filters are available on eBay as well, if thats your thing. Wow, this is mighty cheap. Looks like straight up copies of the Hella Rallye 4000s?
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 19:45
|
|
|
Theres also a 9" version, which would be more of the 4000 clone that you're seeking. I'm considering one to run as the main beam on my bike, and a few for wifeys jeep.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 19:50
|
|
|
This is an interesting proposition. The Xterra has horrible stock fogs (no way to fix that) and mediocre low/high beams (one bulb UGH). I do have a set of projectors and ballasts to do a bixenon retrofit, but some additional badass offroad lights would be cool... hmm.... Blaise fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Nov 26, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 19:52
|
|
|
Blaise posted:Wow, this is mighty cheap. Looks like straight up copies of the Hella Rallye 4000s? They look a lot like the Hella Optilux HIDs, though surprisingly that's more a case of Hella slapping their name on some Chinese lights vs the Chinese cloning their lights. Pretty sure I owned the aforementioned HIDX 4" lights before Hella's version existed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 20:07
|
|
|
Well well well. Government liquidation lost the surplus vehicle contract and the new contractor realized they didn't have to shred/demil HMMWVS anymore, which was bizzare considering all the CUCV's, LMTV's, M35's, M939's and loving god drat HEMTTS that got surplused without a thought for pennies on the dollar. Now I got my next project in sights after next year. http://www.militarytrader.com/jagfile/hummers-unleashed http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/tech/2014/12/12/humvee-auctions-to-public-a-first/20300263/?sf34613531=%5B%22%5B%271%27%5D%22%5D 4,000 surplus humvees to hit the market. I'd say the first few sets of the well equipped ones will go for 20-25k+ but the stripped down basic M998A2's or trucks without upgrades or tops will go for much less. I'd grab an M998, upgrade parts to an A2 chassis/GVW [H1] and put in the ECV sheppard steering gear, an detroit on the rear and a custom roll cage and call it done and go hammer it off road in more places I'd be afraid to take my H1. You get an SF 97 and everything with off road only, no highway use, but depending on some states [  Arizona ]you could probably get it re titled for on road use. It'll be loud as poo poo though 
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 06:29
|
|
|
Can you tell me which military wheels will fit on the 2.5T rockwells ? (6 bolt pattern) I have m35 wheels that have been cut down and turned into split wheels, but it would be nice to go with something that I could get spares from the surplus for. These would be to fit my michelin 395/85/20 XML's  jonathan fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Dec 13, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 07:11
|
|
|
Big K of Justice posted:Well well well. Man I love HMMWVs and would buy an m998 in a heartbeat if i had some drat space to keep a project like that. Are these things basically going to be impossible to register for the roads in California? I am happy that they are finally auctioning these things off.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 07:28
|
|
|
tuna posted:Are these things basically going to be impossible to register for the roads in California?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 13:36
|
|
|
jonathan posted:Can you tell me which military wheels will fit on the 2.5T rockwells ? (6 bolt pattern) I'd search around for 6 lug adapter plates for PLS / HEMTT / MRAP wheels. You'll get a 20" hmmwv like hutchinson rim with runflat/2 piece support plus a large supply of XZL's. I've seen nearly new HEMMT wheel/tire assemblies go for about $200-300 each last time i looked a year or so ago.  I can ask my buddy who has a PLS and a M35 and a few ducks on what vendor he uses for them.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 22:10
|
|
|
yeah mine came from usa6x6... which doesn't exist anymore. I wonder if the stuff they did to these wheels are just a common modification.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2014 21:23
|
|
|
I looked into that for my 5 ton and came to the conclusion that 10x11.25 wheel bolt pattern conflicts badly with the MRAP pattern and making adapter plates is a bad idea  too close in diameter, MRAP wheels are 10x330mm or 10x13" (yeah I know that's 4 thousandths of an inch off per lug stud, sue me.)
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2014 03:41
|
|
|
jonathan posted:yeah mine came from usa6x6... which doesn't exist anymore. I wonder if the stuff they did to these wheels are just a common modification. That usa 6x6 guys [Daniel little? something like that] got chased out of a lot of forums for taking money and never delivering anything or taking in trucks for customization and leaving them piles of parts for owners to fix. He popped up on a ford dealership in texas 2 years ago selling the "ultimate off road truck" which was a F-650 with next to no ground clearance with CTIS axles... and his big claim that it was the best at off road because it had big rig weight capacity axles.  People put 2+2 together and went collectively "gently caress that clown". Not sure what happened to him after that. I guess in short. gently caress usa 6x6.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2014 05:56
|
|
|
This could probably go in the Stupid Questions thread, but I figure it'll get more replies here. Do any of you use a HAM radio on the trail? The local Jeep group I just joined uses it exclusively, so I need to figure out this licensing and coursework stuff. Who's been through it and has some advice to give? I see books, sample tests, and straight up classes at community colleges and stuff. What's actually necessary?
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2014 21:18
|
|
|
The hardest part about getting your HAM license is waiting for the FCC to get back to you. Play around with http://www.eham.net/exams/ for a week studying for a Technician class license, find a licensing exam near you, and get your license. It's easy.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2014 21:35
|
|
|
Here is the SA Amateur radio thread if you want better, more specific info: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2827275 I also need to get my license but I'm lazy.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2014 23:02
|
|
|
tuna posted:Here is the SA Amateur radio thread if you want better, more specific info: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2827275 This is great info, thanks. I actually searched through the sub forums and still didn't come across that thread.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2014 23:26
|
|
|
BoostCreep posted:This is great info, thanks. I actually searched through the sub forums and still didn't come across that thread. Cool, let me know how it all goes as I think getting that license is pretty topical for 4x4 stuff. If I ever do more solo stuff in the desert it won't be without an amateur radio license, so for now I only travel in groups.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2014 23:55
|
|
|
A lot of the offroaders here use commercial VHF radios, I work in offroad communications and the only group I know that uses actual 2m amateur frequencies is a jeep group in San Diego. Everyone else uses the same stuff desert racers have used for 30 years. Back east its mostly CBs and some FRS/GMRS radios. A lot of people use LMR hardware, some use 'unlocked' amateur radio equipment. Yaesu FT2900, Kenwood TM261, etc.
DJ Commie fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Dec 20, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2014 00:00
|
|
|
Big K of Justice posted:That usa 6x6 guys [Daniel little? something like that] got chased out of a lot of forums for taking money and never delivering anything or taking in trucks for customization and leaving them piles of parts for owners to fix. Yeah I knew there was some drama. He sounds like the John Hennessy of the Offroad world.
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2014 21:04
|
|
|
Honeymoon suite  We've been trying to find this cabin for years now, and finally found the fucker 2 weeks to us moving away.    The pictures we found from a few years ago show it in muuuuch better shape, it was kinda fuckin' haggard when we arrived. set up a tent inside and made some fires to keep warm.   loving 29*F this morning when we headed out. man the ride home sucked rear end. E!  Forgot the
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2014 20:43
|
|
|
I like to imagine that you always have an emergency banjo with you, and start playing it whenever you hear/see someone approaching your campsite.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2014 00:34
|
|
|
Trip Report: Joshua Tree National Park or; I'm fuckin' miserable, maaaaan Warning: contains no scenic photos of Joshua Trees A previously planned trip to Saline Valley hot springs in CA fell through due to holiday/work bullshit a couple of weeks ago, but my friend and I were able to get away for a quick overnighter to Babby's First Campground a.k.a Joshua Tree National Park. I've camped in various remote places around Southern California but had never been to JTNP. Everything else within reasonable distance around us was getting rained out and we only had 36 hours so, as the guy I bought the XJ from called it, "J-Tree" it was. The campgrounds are all paved and have very nice toilets, grills and tables - the park had 1.4million visitors in 2012 but there are large parts of it where no one goes. The campsites were pretty well occupied for a stormy night midweek in the offseason (as the yearly visitor #s would imply), but we got a spot around 11AM and went to explore the Black Eagle Mine Road. It starts out in the center of the park off the main road and heads NE about 11 miles. Washboarding most of the way with a few spots of picking your path carefully through rocks, and a couple of sandy areas where I went to 4Hi rather than get out and air down. 4Lo once for a steep washed out exit from a little creekbed. Real easy, and about right for the time we had.  The road exits park boundaries on the East side and enters BLM land. Shortly before the Black Eagle Mine remains, someone has placed a huge boulder in the road blocking further passage - probably whoever owns the old Kaiser steel mine three or four miles down the road. I miiiiiight have been able to get by on the left without rolling 20' into a wash, and I saw someone online who made it past on the right with a longarm TJ on 35"s but we played it safe. The Kaiser mine is private property and is supposedly patrolled anway (fun fact: Kaiser Steel's onsite prepaid medical facilities later became Kaiser Permanente). gently caress you, boulder  Hiked the 100 yards up to the Black Eagle Mine      On the way back down we drove up a road with an old decrepit gate labeled "Jade Mine". Upon further reading when I got home, apparently that gate is supposed to be locked and closed to vehicle traffic. Whoops. It was less than a mile anyway, and I am always careful to avoid going offtrack and damaging anything (old lessons from Dad die hard). It's a small claim at the end of the road, apparently mined for ten years or so by a desert freak who claimed UFOs led him to the spot.  Explosives bunker:  The old tunnel is maybe 40ft into the hillside, and well traveled:   Driving back out I noticed a spot where someone quite recently took a wrong turn, got stuck in a deep sand pit and had to dig out. After we got back to the highway, we went and drove Geology Tour Road in the South end of the park a bit after dark. It's marked one-way and mildly rutty/washboardy, so it was a good time to give my recent suspension upgrade and running lights a try at speed. Everything held together nicely and we made it back to camp and got the fire going. A large group of highschoolers in BMWs had set up at a site about forty yards away, and a couple of guys in an Acura were in the site directly adjacent to us. They all behaved about how I imagined Joshua Tree campsites might play out - the highschoolers were up all night rolling E from the sounds of it, and the two guys next door moaned audibly about how cold they were until we couldn't hold it in any longer and broke up laughing at " I'm freezing my rear end off maaaan, I'm fuckin' miserable...". We quoted that line loudly for an hour or so until they zipped up their tents and were quiet. The highschoolers woke me up about 6AM trying to impersonate a coyote howl, and again at 8AM when someone mobbed loudly past my tent within ten feet. I crawled angrily out in time to observe him climb a rock and take a few morning bong rips:  The Acura bros next to us had a flat tire and asked a park ranger who drove past if she had "any air". She didn't, so I made coffee and watched them learn how to change a tire. After figuring out that you have to loosen the lugs before jacking up the car, they also learned that you probably shouldn't go into the desert without airing up your spare donut - it was flat too. At this point I had a moment of weakness & pity, and suggested to my buddy that we take over my portable compressor & Fix-A-Flat can to help out - he countered that their lovely smouldering fire was permeating our tents and that they were drinking almond milk and deserved whatever happened to them. I felt that was a bit hard-hearted, but at this point a dazed teenage girl stumbled directly through the middle of our camp with no shoes and one sock - that was enough, so we packed up and left everyone to their own devices. There's two unpaved roads out of Joshua Tree that I found in my quick research - Old Dale road to the north, and Berdoo Canyon to the south, which splits off the previously mentioned Geology Tour Road. We took Berdoo Canyon out, which was a pretty nice road most of the way except for one narrow, windy canyon bit over some rocks. We got out to walk it, and found plenty of undercarriage bits: parts of splash guards, plastic trim, and even a few chunks of metal pans and something that looked like a control arm. The old 88 XJ with 3" lift and silly 235 tires walked over it easily with a bit of spotting.  Just around the corner we encountered a soft-top H1 running tours up the canyon. He backed up a bit and let us through:   The rest of the road out was easy, with just a spot or two where I had to slow and watch my diffs.  Once the park boundary ends and you get back to BLM, there's a kind of local-boy approved chaos shooting area - almost a mile of old tires/tv sets/furniture/broken glass surrounded by countless thousands of old shotgun shells and spent brass. I had read about this area previously, and we stopped to try out some new hardware I had brought along. After a box or two of ammo, we left and passed a few early-rising kids with an AR15 and no trigger discipline. We exited out into Indio and got the hell out of that shithole. Notes for Next Time: *Take Berdoo Canyon into the park and avoid $15 entrance fee *Camp out near the Black Eagle Mine in BLM land and avoid $15/night campsite fee + stoner trustafarians *Buy bigger tires *bring cheap blankets + fix-a-flat to sell at markup
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2014 08:15
|
|
|
The Royal Nonesuch posted:*Take Berdoo Canyon into the park and avoid $15 entrance fee You learned all of the right lessons. Those students sound terrible but I'm still  at that whole situation you described. JT is wonderful but you only have to drive through once to realize how busy it is. You did really get unlucky with the camping though.I've been into JT via Berdoo before. I remember passing a group of 6-7 people setting up guns at the firing spot section, pulling around the corner for safety and hopping out & airing down. They let loose with everything they had and I had ricochets wizzing over me as I aired down. Quite the experience. Berdoo seems like it might be slightly harder getting into JT than leaving it, but nothing slightly larger tires can't handle. You would be fine in your XJ, I'm pretty sure. However you will have to pay $10 to leave through any national forest exits, but depending on the direction you were headed into JT, Berdoo is quicker than the freeway. Awesome trip!
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2014 09:31
|
|
|
Glad you made it out alive TBQH. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2014 09:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 22:31 |
|
|
That kind of shooting area is the kind I really try to stay the hell away from... and their behavior is what gives 4x4 owners a bad rap. A couple of the clubs I've been associated with try and do regular cleanups at the local hillrod shooting areas, but it's a losing battle.
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2014 16:16
|
|