TJ Winter Upgrade Project
- Thread starter DrDirt
- Start date
OP
And there was one request from my wife of 36 years. She is a breast cancer survivor (fortunately it was found early, stage 1) and her upper body strength isn't was it use to be. (It never was that good, but now its worse.) She wanted some type of step to help her get in and out of the Jeep.
Rather than carry around some type of step stool to help her get in and out of the Jeep, I installed a set of the Rock Slide Engineering automatic steps. They are really neat steps. Open the door and the step drops down. Close the door, and after a tow second delay, the step tucks nicely back into the rock slider. You can see it tucked away in the slider on the side photo of the Jeep I posted a few entries back.
Rather than carry around some type of step stool to help her get in and out of the Jeep, I installed a set of the Rock Slide Engineering automatic steps. They are really neat steps. Open the door and the step drops down. Close the door, and after a tow second delay, the step tucks nicely back into the rock slider. You can see it tucked away in the slider on the side photo of the Jeep I posted a few entries back.
The difference in axle length will make your turning arc much closer between front and rear. Heck, the rear may follow right in line w the front. Neat. Bet it will do very well at Moab. I’m planning a trip in 2019. Still have some work to do on the Jeep. Good ideas here. Thanks
How did I know you’d get those? First time I’ve seen them on a Jeep. Speedy but nice! My wife would love those
OP
I also had to get a couple of custom steering parts because of wider axle. The turnbuckle sleeve in the drag link had to be lengthened 2-1/2 inches and I got a new tie rod that 5" longer.
OP
So I'm back from Moab and the winter upgrade project is complete and tested on the rocks.
We took four days to get to Moab. Arrived at the Condo on Sunday, 3/25. Took the northern route from South Carolina via I70. Not a bad drive until we got to Denver. Going through Denver with the traffic and the significant hills was tense. The last time I drove to Moab we took the same route but dropped down through Colorado Springs and drove through the middle of Colorado. Never had driven through Denver and with towing my Jeep I didn't care for it. (So we changed our route home and went down to Albuquerque and then headed east on I40 for the trip home.)
Monday, 3/26 was our first trail ride. Went on the Dynatrac trail ride on the Steel Bender trail. Hate to say it but I bent some of my steel on Steel Bender. Was making a vertical climb, following the spotters instructions, the Jeep did a little bounce and laid over on the passenger side. We got it back on all fours and continued the trail and kept trail riding several more days. Used some Gorilla tape to tape up some of the damage.
Went to the BFG trail ride at area BFE on Wednesday and then to the BFG gathering at "Grandpa's Garage" on Wednesday night.
My daughter, son-in-law, and two grand kids also joined us for part of the trip. He's a mountain biker so he rented a nice bike and did some trail rides with one of the local bike shops. We took some time to show the kids around.
Also had some friends from Florida show up for part of the EJS week. My birthday is in early April so we had a cookout/party on Saturday night.
We registered for a trail ride on Elephant hill on Sunday. (This trail is in the Canyonlands Park south of town and you have to register for it.)
Never had been on this trail before. It had a good combination of technical climbs and scenery.
We spent Monday and part of Tuesday with "Grandpa" doing some local wheeling and seeing some of the sites the locals know about. These were easy trails but there were Indian ruins, petroglyphs, and a few ruins from the coal mining around the 1950s era.
Other than me putting the Jeep on its side, it worked well. There is more noise in the suspension than I would like and I think I can reduce some of it by getting the bump stops adjusted a little better. These are the closed cell Teraflex stops. The fronts have about a 4" stroke and the rears have about a 3" stroke. The end of the bump stop is close to the pad it hits and I think it's making a tapping type noise when they connect.
So I'll check a few things out and I also now have a new Jeep project. Already located a new front window frame and passenger door. I got a new Bestop for my Jeep for Christmas a couple of years ago. So it will be going on soon. I'll probably install my Poison Spyder front fenders and then get the whole Jeep painted.
But the wife says the deck upgrade and expansion is my next project. Which it is badly needed. So I'll work on the Jeep when it's too hot to work outside.
We took four days to get to Moab. Arrived at the Condo on Sunday, 3/25. Took the northern route from South Carolina via I70. Not a bad drive until we got to Denver. Going through Denver with the traffic and the significant hills was tense. The last time I drove to Moab we took the same route but dropped down through Colorado Springs and drove through the middle of Colorado. Never had driven through Denver and with towing my Jeep I didn't care for it. (So we changed our route home and went down to Albuquerque and then headed east on I40 for the trip home.)
Monday, 3/26 was our first trail ride. Went on the Dynatrac trail ride on the Steel Bender trail. Hate to say it but I bent some of my steel on Steel Bender. Was making a vertical climb, following the spotters instructions, the Jeep did a little bounce and laid over on the passenger side. We got it back on all fours and continued the trail and kept trail riding several more days. Used some Gorilla tape to tape up some of the damage.
Went to the BFG trail ride at area BFE on Wednesday and then to the BFG gathering at "Grandpa's Garage" on Wednesday night.
My daughter, son-in-law, and two grand kids also joined us for part of the trip. He's a mountain biker so he rented a nice bike and did some trail rides with one of the local bike shops. We took some time to show the kids around.
Also had some friends from Florida show up for part of the EJS week. My birthday is in early April so we had a cookout/party on Saturday night.
We registered for a trail ride on Elephant hill on Sunday. (This trail is in the Canyonlands Park south of town and you have to register for it.)
Never had been on this trail before. It had a good combination of technical climbs and scenery.
We spent Monday and part of Tuesday with "Grandpa" doing some local wheeling and seeing some of the sites the locals know about. These were easy trails but there were Indian ruins, petroglyphs, and a few ruins from the coal mining around the 1950s era.
Other than me putting the Jeep on its side, it worked well. There is more noise in the suspension than I would like and I think I can reduce some of it by getting the bump stops adjusted a little better. These are the closed cell Teraflex stops. The fronts have about a 4" stroke and the rears have about a 3" stroke. The end of the bump stop is close to the pad it hits and I think it's making a tapping type noise when they connect.
So I'll check a few things out and I also now have a new Jeep project. Already located a new front window frame and passenger door. I got a new Bestop for my Jeep for Christmas a couple of years ago. So it will be going on soon. I'll probably install my Poison Spyder front fenders and then get the whole Jeep painted.
But the wife says the deck upgrade and expansion is my next project. Which it is badly needed. So I'll work on the Jeep when it's too hot to work outside.
Sorry to hear/see your Jeep rolled over on its side. Glad no one was hurt and that you could continue on and enjoy Moab. Been there twice and going back next year.
Man, that side roll is crazy! Glad you are okay and were able to finish out the week. I think I'll stay off that trail when I head to Moab next year. Elephant Hill I've heard is an excellent trail, and very beautiful, so I'll be looking forward to that one as a possibility. How did your rock sliders hold up? Did you rub them on the rocks?
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