TJ Fest 2021 - Moab (April 24 – May 1, 2021)

Added to Calendar: 8 dates

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Just watched that episode with my wife and she reminded me of my fear of heights then called me a "chicken 🤬". 🤣

So three thoughts as I was watching this:
1st Thank god for my doubler, I swear I'm going to do ascents and descents in double low gear so I don't have to rely solely on my brakes.
2nd I'm going to have to get over some of my fear of heights which is has been a rather major problem for me.
3rd Third I'm beginning to wonder how well I can keep up with everyone else having 1.25" body lift and barely 32" tall tires! I think my 15.25" of ground clearance might be my saving grace here!

My final thought is I'm not going to try being a hero, I want to enjoy Moab and see what my TJ can do but I also want everyone's honest opinion if they think an obstacle will be unsafe for my TJ!

-Grant
My GF is afraid of heights, I have her pic out on top of the world next to where my Jeep is in my cover photo. She had to walk out with her eyes closed.

Trails like fins n things are good also baby lions back.

Towards the end of the trip my gf drove my Jeep over baby lions back and she can’t wait to go to Moab in June. It’s now one of her favorite places, she’s still scared of heights.

Baby lions back below, the guys are Roman, Tommy and Andre from TFL. Super nice guys to chat with.

9D3A367D-62AD-4277-B070-EB9227E75094.jpeg
 
Just watched that episode with my wife and she reminded me of my fear of heights then called me a "chicken 🤬". 🤣

So three thoughts as I was watching this:
1st Thank god for my doubler, I swear I'm going to do ascents and descents in double low gear so I don't have to rely solely on my brakes.
2nd I'm going to have to get over some of my fear of heights which is has been a rather major problem for me.
3rd Third I'm beginning to wonder how well I can keep up with everyone else having 1.25" body lift and barely 32" tall tires! I think my 15.25" of ground clearance might be my saving grace here!

My final thought is I'm not going to try being a hero, I want to enjoy Moab and see what my TJ can do but I also want everyone's honest opinion if they think an obstacle will be unsafe for my TJ!

-Grant
Another thing read up on the trails when you get your Moab book, if you cross-reference with Jeep badge of honor you can get some free badges.
 
Just watched that episode with my wife and she reminded me of my fear of heights then called me a "chicken 🤬". 🤣

So three thoughts as I was watching this:
1st Thank god for my doubler, I swear I'm going to do ascents and descents in double low gear so I don't have to rely solely on my brakes.
2nd I'm going to have to get over some of my fear of heights which is has been a rather major problem for me.
3rd Third I'm beginning to wonder how well I can keep up with everyone else having 1.25" body lift and barely 32" tall tires! I think my 15.25" of ground clearance might be my saving grace here!

My final thought is I'm not going to try being a hero, I want to enjoy Moab and see what my TJ can do but I also want everyone's honest opinion if they think an obstacle will be unsafe for my TJ!

-Grant
Do your homework on what trails you would like to go on. The point of the trip is to enjoy yourself. You don't have to try to keep up with anyone or think you have to be a hero if you don't want to do anything. The whole group won't be on one trail. There will be a lot of people and they will break up and go on trails they want to go on and feel comfortable on. Join in with a group that is going on a trail you feel comfortable on. Or pick a trail yourself and ask who wants to join you, you'll have takers that will join you. Have fun and enjoy, it's a great place, trails for all level of skills.
 
Regarding the people that have the UHF/ham radios, it is illegal to transmit without license except in an emergency situation but the group as a whole will be spread out over a vast area. The FCC will not be monitoring Moab for violators and the chatter while on a trail usually isn't that heavy. The club I belong to provides radios to all our guest on our rides and we don't use repeaters on our handhelds while running the trail.
KN6GND
 
Operation. Backyard yert sleepover was a success.
The last time I went camping with the kids my son was roughly 9months old. And we all slept in hammocks. Needless to say, I said no more until they are older.

Having the air mattresses really helped them settle down like they were going to bed in the house.

It's supposedly waterproof already. But it's canvas, so I plan to treat it again with silicone spray before we go any amount of distance for camping.

I'm going to need to make a trailer for the jeep to carry all this camping junk 😂

IMG_20200502_084846.jpg
 
Operation. Backyard yert sleepover was a success.
The last time I went camping with the kids my son was roughly 9months old. And we all slept in hammocks. Needless to say, I said no more until they are older.

Having the air mattresses really helped them settle down like they were going to bed in the house.

It's supposedly waterproof already. But it's canvas, so I plan to treat it again with silicone spray before we go any amount of distance for camping.

I'm going to need to make a trailer for the jeep to carry all this camping junk 😂
That's a great adventure for the kids, we used to do the camping trips every year when my girls were small, went to the sierras for a couple weeks and camped by the streams, fished, hiked, campfires at night....damn those were great times.
 
That's a great adventure for the kids, we used to do the camping trips every year when my girls were small, went to the sierras for a couple weeks and camped by the streams, fished, hiked, campfires at night....damn those were great times.
Some of my fondest memories are camping with my Dad, uncle and cousins. We were all in boyscouts together. My goal is to raise my kids with mechanical know how, and the same affinity for nature that I developed as a child.
 
Im not huge on stickers on the outsides of my cars. I usually like to line the inside more. But these ox-offroad stickers are too cool. One is definitely going outside the jeep somewhere.

View attachment 157861

Let me know what you think about the ox locker it's one of them that I am debating for my Dana 30 myself!
 
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Let me know what you think about the ox locker it's one of them that I am debating for my Dana 30 myself!
This is coming from someone with professional visual YouTube experience.

I wouldn't locker the front. Unless I upgraded the axle shafts too.
I watch these insane Aussies wheel and they break front CVs and axleshafts all the time.
Granted they wheel some pretty wild stuff.
Just food for thought though.
If I broke a 27spline rear shaft on road with 33's. Imagine the stress on the trail.

Food for thought. If you want it do it. As I don't have much personal experience in the matter of that.

I'm a mechanical type guy, and I like mechanical things, that's why I wanted this manually engaged locker. May be a silly reason, but I haven't read anything bad about ox yet.
 
This is coming from someone with professional visual YouTube experience.

I wouldn't locker the front. Unless I upgraded the axle shafts too.
I watch these insane Aussies wheel and they break front CVs and axleshafts all the time.
Granted they wheel some pretty wild stuff.
Just food for thought though.
If I broke a 27spline rear shaft on road with 33's. Imagine the stress on the trail.

Food for thought. If you want it do it. As I don't have much personal experience in the matter of that.

I'm a mechanical type guy, and I like mechanical things, that's why I wanted this manually engaged locker. May be a silly reason, but I haven't read anything bad about ox yet.

I'm a complete amateur that went off the deep end :ROFLMAO:. Yeah watching the video last night of people wheeling on Moab maybe me realize I can't have an open Dana 30. I'm really debating a PowerTrac LSD for simiplicity or an OX Locker/Eaton E-Locker. I get the appeal of a selectable locker, but for my rig and what I'm looking to do, the LSD really might offer everything I'm wanting.

Unrelated, have you fabbed up an oil pan skid yet? I don't recall seeing a video on it.

No not yet, I have a skid pan on the AW4, but I'm working with KubotaSwappers to make a similar style skid plate for the Kubota V2403!

-Grant
 
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@RustyAutoholicGuy
Haha, yeah me too.
I got this jeep for a steal at 5k. 113k miles and all that aftermarket junk. So far, I've got nearly 9k into it including the purchase price.
I'm not sure if I'll have a locker up front or not by Moab time rolls around.

I still don't have a front carrier for my gears that I got. So its a serious possibility. If I do locker it, I'll be getting 30splines for the front too.
 
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28 pages and we're still a year out.

How many pages do you think this thread will be come next April? :LOL:

Yeah this thread as really taken off but I also feel like all the various comments and questions that have been brought up are really good information as well. I know I'm responsible for a few questions with several really good answers from other members!

Also I think we are just really hyped about going to Moab and not being drowned out by 4 door JK/JLs. I love the both but my first love was a TJ and I'm looking forward to wheeling with a bunch of TJs!

-Grant
 
Yeah this thread as really taken off but I also feel like all the various comments and questions that have been brought up are really good information as well. I know I'm responsible for a few questions with several really good answers from other members!

Also I think we are just really hyped about going to Moab and not being drowned out by 4 door JK/JLs. I love the both but my first love was a TJ and I'm looking forward to wheeling with a bunch of TJs!

-Grant

I owned a hell of a nice JK Rubicon. It's a fantastic vehicle by all means.

At the end of the day though, it felt more like a really nice SUV to me than a Jeep. I appreciate a lot of the quirks and shortcomings of older vehicles like the TJ.

One thing I'll say about that JK is that to me it felt like it was no longer a DIY vehicle.

I remember installing a winch on the front bumper. Took me probably 4 hours to do it! The TJ bumper comes off with a few bolts. The JK Hard Rock bumper is a million different pieces to get off. It’s nuts how much more complicated the newer Wranglers are to work on.
 
I owned a hell of a nice JK Rubicon. It's a fantastic vehicle by all means.

At the end of the day though, it felt more like a really nice SUV to me than a Jeep. I appreciate a lot of the quirks and shortcomings of older vehicles like the TJ.

One thing I'll say about that JK is that to me it felt like it was no longer a DIY vehicle.

I remember installing a winch on the front bumper. Took me probably 4 hours to do it! The TJ bumper comes off with a few bolts. The JK Hard Rock bumper is a million different pieces to get off. It’s nuts how much more complicated the newer Wranglers are to work on.

I have wondered that about the JKs honestly. I really want a 4 door Wrangler because of my two kids. I've actually been debating selling my 2005 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon to get a 4 door it's a 6-speed manual and I really love my automatics, I just can not row gears like I use to. Also my wife was not thrilled with getting yet another 2-door Wrangler when I clearly need a 4-door Wrangler.

There is one 4-door Wrangler for sale near me that I'm seriously debating trying to get if I can sell my Rubicon but I need to get some other things figured out first as well!

-Grant
 
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Just watched that episode with my wife and she reminded me of my fear of heights then called me a "chicken 🤬". 🤣

So three thoughts as I was watching this:
1st Thank god for my doubler, I swear I'm going to do ascents and descents in double low gear so I don't have to rely solely on my brakes.
2nd I'm going to have to get over some of my fear of heights which is has been a rather major problem for me.
3rd Third I'm beginning to wonder how well I can keep up with everyone else having 1.25" body lift and barely 32" tall tires! I think my 15.25" of ground clearance might be my saving grace here!

My final thought is I'm not going to try being a hero, I want to enjoy Moab and see what my TJ can do but I also want everyone's honest opinion if they think an obstacle will be unsafe for my TJ!

-Grant


As many have said, there is normally a bypass around the harder obstacles. Your LOW gearing will be nice. I used my 2nd low range a lot when wheeling the rocks. As I said back towards the beginning we drug a YJ on 31" tires thru Pritchett Canyon so yes you'll be fine.

Those books on Moab are great for information and so are the videos. But DON'T let they make you think you can't do stuff. Remember especially the video's they are like fishing shows on TV. They have to make it exciting to hold peoples attention. It's been 12 years since I have been there so I know stuff has changed but I also know from when I went the first time things get made into fish stories sometimes.
 
28 pages and we're still a year out.

How many pages do you think this thread will be come next April? :LOL:
Yeah a year out, we'll have to do some reviewing of this , to remember what was what.

I'll leave here sat morning get out there sun evening the 25th, little over 20 hours if you're not fooling around. No tactical advantage in driving straight thru, I might as well stop along the way
 
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