Thank you TJFest 2021

Yep, thanks to all that had any sort of hand in putting this on, including @Chris of course, and @Apparition for putting together Team America and letting me follow him around for a week!

Also thanks to everyone I met who came a long ways to meet up... I truly enjoyed putting a face to names and Jeeps. Everyone I hit a trail with was pretty much awesome.

Not sure if I should thank or curse @NashvilleTJ though... He was great to wheel with and a great spotter etc... and I did like seeing that monster LJ of his in person/action... however, seeing it will most likely cost me mucho cash at some point in the future :D

Getting around other Jeepers this is always a risk. You have to give your credit cards to a trusted friend who won't allow you to binge order Jeep parts.
 
Getting around other Jeepers this is always a risk. You have to give your credit cards to a trusted friend who won't allow you to binge order Jeep parts.
I’ll play the counter example, I felt like my
build wasn’t the limiting factor at all and I walked up a good number of things I didn’t expect to (many of which others struggled on) - so for the first time in a while I walked away thinking I’m pretty content with where I’m at (and the few upgrades sitting in my garage). My follow up list isn’t very much vs where I’ve been planning to go. And my build isn’t really all that special.
 
I’ll play the counter example, I felt like my
build wasn’t the limiting factor at all and I walked up a good number of things I didn’t expect to (many of which others struggled on) - so for the first time in a while I walked away thinking I’m pretty content with where I’m at (and the few upgrades sitting in my garage). My follow up list isn’t very much vs where I’ve been planning to go. And my build isn’t really all that special.

That is always a GREAT feeling.
Knowing that you made it and it works is a big thing. And when you didn't have to sell a kidney & your 1st born it's even better.
That's great.

Even if I don't NEED it seeing mods are like drugs to me. Same thing happens when I get around other Harleys.
 
I’ll play the counter example, I felt like my
build wasn’t the limiting factor at all and I walked up a good number of things I didn’t expect to (many of which others struggled on) - so for the first time in a while I walked away thinking I’m pretty content with where I’m at (and the few upgrades sitting in my garage). My follow up list isn’t very much vs where I’ve been planning to go. And my build isn’t really all that special.
I felt the same way. I’m content with this Jeep so now I need a second one.
 
The funny thing is that I am happy with my build for what we did in Moab; however, that is not the terrain that i normally wheel. So, I still got work to do! If you are not careful, Saying that I did well in Moab doesn't get you through the next trail, it just makes you cocky.

I do already miss Moab, everything there is just so amazingly big, beautiful, and made me feel so small in relation. Everywhere you went, you had a great view!!
 
The funny thing is that I am happy with my build for what we did in Moab; however, that is not the terrain that i normally wheel. So, I still got work to do! If you are not careful, Saying that I did well in Moab doesn't get you through the next trail, it just makes you cocky.

I do already miss Moab, everything there is just so amazingly big, beautiful, and made me feel so small in relation. Everywhere you went, you had a great view!!
You’re definitely right, I’ve only had a few minor runs locally since my latest round of changes. I can tell you since then ATs > Patagonia’s and I’d expect my MTRs > ATs
 
The funny thing is that I am happy with my build for what we did in Moab; however, that is not the terrain that i normally wheel. So, I still got work to do! If you are not careful, Saying that I did well in Moab doesn't get you through the next trail, it just makes you cocky.

I do already miss Moab, everything there is just so amazingly big, beautiful, and made me feel so small in relation. Everywhere you went, you had a great view!!
The number of times I cursed my inability to turn the steering wheel while on an obstacle in Pritchett Canyon pretty much convinced me I need to spend money :) That and how beat up I got with my stock seats over 6 days of wheeling. Neither of those are Moab specific either.

That said, I was definitely amazed at what my Jeep could do... it is certainly more confidant than I am! :)
 
Definitely had a blast. I think everyone did really well too. I know I cant wait to go back with a jeep that is 100%

Also huge thanks to @ChevyKeith , a local who gave us an informative trip on Gold Spike, Poison Spider and Gold Bar. His passenger Don too who's wife ran to the auto parts store to pick up some parts for me. Never met him or his wife before but they went out of their way to lend a hand when I needed it. Wish we could have met several others
I was lucky enough to spend the day with Team LJ and @ChevyKeith going the other direction on those trails on Thursday and it was a blast. We really enjoyed his tribal knowledge of the trails.
 
The number of times I cursed my inability to turn the steering wheel while on an obstacle in Pritchett Canyon pretty much convinced me I need to spend money :) That and how beat up I got with my stock seats over 6 days of wheeling. Neither of those are Moab specific either.

That said, I was definitely amazed at what my Jeep could do... it is certainly more confidant than I am! :)
Moab made me really want hydro more than I did before.
 
Moab made me really want hydro more than I did before.
That's funny, it made me want it a little less! For me I wanted to be able to turn on and off my lockers without having to think through the implications on the LSD or spider gears in the rubi Dana 44. Otherwise, the potential for other issues up the line made me a little more aware of the implication it may have. Of course, I assume some of that comes with experience with the setup.
 
That's funny, it made me want it a little less! For me I wanted to be able to turn on and off my lockers without having to think through the implications on the LSD or spider gears in the rubi Dana 44. Otherwise, the potential for other issues up the line made me a little more aware of the implication it may have. Of course, I assume some of that comes with experience with the setup.

It also made me want to not have the front Rubi locker. But hydro would address the off road steering difficulties as well as improve the road handling. There are a lot of benefits to hydro.
 
It also made me want to not have the front Rubi locker. But hydro would address the off road steering difficulties as well as improve the road handling. There are a lot of benefits to hydro.
The on-road aspect is the most appealing to me right now!
 
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Yes, too many thanks to go around. What an awesome trip! So awesome meeting everyone and seeing all the cool rigs. Learned so much about the capability of my rig and myself.
@Alex01 thanks for the initial trip invite that turned into an event. @Chris thanks for turning it into an event. To those of you I wheeled with thanks for the good times and the learning experience!
@Larry97TJ , @Daryl both of you thanks for offering me your only camshaft position sensors. @Midnight LJR , @taylormade73 thanks for spending hours with me instead of enjoying yourselves trying to chase my rigs problem. @DrDmoney for lending me your code scanner. And lastly thanks @mrblaine for building my rig. It’s awesome to have a jeep that’s limits lie mostly with the driver, I learned a lot this trip. Also thanks for spending hours on the phone with Mike, Jason and I trying to trouble shoot my rig.
 
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Yes, too many thanks to go around. What an awesome trip! So awesome meeting everyone and seeing all the cool rigs. Learned so much about the capability of my rig and myself.
@Alex01 thanks for the initial trip invite that turned into an event. @Chris thanks for turning it into an event. To those of you I wheeled with thanks for the good times and the learning experience!
@Larry97TJ , @Daryl both of you thanks for offering me your only camshaft position sensors. @Midnight LJR , @taylormade73 thanks for spending hours with me instead of enjoying yourselves trying to chase my rigs problem. And lastly thanks @mrblaine for building my rig. It’s awesome to have a jeep that’s limits lie mostly with the driver, I learned a lot this trip. Also thanks for spending hours on the phone with Mike, Jason and I trying to trouble shoot my rig.
Thanks for letting me test drive your jeep on the trail. It was fun to see the difference in the tune and how much less body roll is present in your tune than mine. Also, for taking lead on the rollover recovery - and everyone else on the trail that day for staying cool, calm, and collected after the accident/thunder/hail/rain went down all at once.

Looking forward to wheeling with you again one day. Hopefully sooner than later.
 
Thanks for letting me test drive your jeep on the trail. It was fun to see the difference in the tune and how much less body roll is present in your tune than mine. Also, for taking lead on the rollover recovery - and everyone else on the trail that day for staying cool, calm, and collected after the accident/thunder/hail/rain went down all at once.

Looking forward to wheeling with you again one day. Hopefully sooner than later.
See ya in a month or two in big 🐻