Anyone ever driven across the country in their TJ?

Bad wording on my part. It should have been "that came all wired" and not "that all came wired". Yes, it was 03-06, I believe, that are pre-wired. Not 02.
Still wrong, year has no guarantee of wiring being there.
I should have just clearly stated it, sorry for derpy response :)
 
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Exactly, if you regear you'll be shifting more since the ratios become shorter with less speed change between shifts.

You are either wrong, or i completely misunderstood your response.

Ahhh gotcha, makes sense for sure. However, how would that change specifically if I regeared? Wouldn’t I still be rowing the shifter it’s the grades of the hills/mountains are always changing? Or will, by regearing, that be eliminated and I’d be able to stay in one gear for longer?

There is no way of telling.
With proper axle gear ratio to tire size, you will be able to stay in gear for longer.
There are certain axle gear to tire size combinations where a simple transmission downshift alleviates the problem. Like a 4th gear of improperly geared would be "equivalent" to 6th gear of properly geared.

Issue will arise when the gear you in is not enough, and the one below it is too short ( i think thats the proper way to call it). So as a result, you end up in the situation where you are either lugging and losing , or reving the engine and not gaining anything.

Anyways, thats way off topic, don't know what is the point of bringing up regearing before the road trip.
 
I drove from El Cajon California where I bought my 1999 TJ 4.0 5 Speed to Winder GA. 2175 miles. Left Friday at 6:00 pm and arrived Sunday Night around midnight. Was one of the hardest drives ever because of the push to get it done as fast as possible. Definitely take time to enjoy it, pack 5 gallons of gas and a gallon a water. The TJ can take the drive no problem. Have fun!
 
I think that's funny, I move from Jacksonville NC to Anchorage Alaska in August. 4500 mile trip and I plan to drive 500 a day for 10 days. I wanted to stop and enjoy all the scenery especially in Canada. I have a bit of a misfire once a week or so often so I planned to figure this issue out before I leave. So I think I am for the most part in a similar situation as you. The TJ is in great shape, 120k miles and is ready to go hopefully by the end of the month. But if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I am not taking everything except for my two pitbulls and a clothes. I don't want any extra weight because it makes a difference when I am driving 4500 miles. And I don't want to drive over 65 mph ever.
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You are either wrong, or i completely misunderstood your response.



There is no way of telling.
With proper axle gear ratio to tire size, you will be able to stay in gear for longer.
There are certain axle gear to tire size combinations where a simple transmission downshift alleviates the problem. Like a 4th gear of improperly geared would be "equivalent" to 6th gear of properly geared.

Issue will arise when the gear you in is not enough, and the one below it is too short ( i think thats the proper way to call it). So as a result, you end up in the situation where you are either lugging and losing , or reving the engine and not gaining anything.

Anyways, thats way off topic, don't know what is the point of bringing up regearing before the road trip.
Well that’s exactly what I’ve been wondering! That’s why I figured it be like, either lugging or revving. I haven’t experienced it yet but I’ve come close on some highway driving I’ve done. As long as I’m at or below the 3k rpm mark I should have nothing to worry about right? Like I said in other comments, I’d love to do a regear but money wise it won’t happen before this trip
 
Exactly, if you regear you'll be shifting more since the ratios become shorter with less speed change between shifts.

More gears means more overlap, more ability to stay in the power band by changing gears.

Nobody is going to force you to shift more if you, for some reason, believe staying in one gear is more efficient (it's not.)

I've got a properly geared 6 speed in my Jeep, but I suppose if I yearned for the days of a 3 on the tree I could just use 2nd 4th and 6th exclusively. That would suck, though.
 
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As a 3 speed rarely if ever ran an overdrive in 3rd you will find that 6 gear unlikely.
And I actually loved a 3 speed I had in a few of my CJ'S. Tremec T-150 I think. Start in 1st, city driving in 2nd, highway speeds in 3rd. With a good running 258 even cruising at 10 mph in 2nd had no luging. Easy and smooth acceleration from there to 45-50 and 3rd didn't lug until down around 30 mph and still easy cruising at 65-70.

But I would start to get shoulder cramps when doing long days. I'd start off rubbing in some Ben Gay or similar at every gas up to help keep the cramps at bay.
Also having a left foot 'dead pedal ' makes a huge improvement in my comfort compared to having that foot with nothing to support it.
 
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Hello! So I am moving across the country, from upstate NY, to Oregon, in July this year. I’m looking at roughly 2,400 miles of travel, that I’m planning on doing in about 7-9 days.

I should mention, I’m driving a 2001 wrangler tj with the 4.0 inline 6 5 speed manual with stock gears running 35’s(bought it like that have yet to do a regear). It’s got 109k miles on it and will have about 116k when I do the move. I’ve timed my oil changes so I’ll be doing that and a tire rotation before I leave, as well as doing the spark plugs. Are there other things I should do(maintenance wise) of the Jeep before making a 2,400 mile trip? I’ll be averaging 350ish miles a day because I don’t want to go crazy on my baby doing a shit ton of miles in a day.

I won’t be hauling a trailer, bringing only what I’m fitting in my Jeep so I won’t have to worry about that. The Jeep is in great condition, built by a mechanic, pretty much no rust at all(it’s a NJ Jeep and for a upstate ny’er this thing is as good as they come on the upper east coast). I’ll attach a pic if that helps anyone with giving advice.

Cheers!

View attachment 134371
I've literally taken the same drive your about to do. Once lived in Upstate, NY and drove to Seattle, around the PNW and ultimately ending in OR. What part of OR you moving to? There are many Jeep trails along the way, you stopping anywhere? What time of year are you driving?, there are 3 significant mountain passes for you to cross in your path.

So many questions...
 
As a 3 speed rarely if ever ran an overdrive in 3rd you will find that 6 gear unlikely.
And I actually loved a 3 speed I had in a few of my CJ'S. Tremec T-150 I think. Start in 1st, city driving in 2nd, highway speeds in 3rd. With a good running 258 even cruising at 10 mph in 2nd had no luging. Easy and smooth acceleration from there to 45-50 and 3rd didn't lug until down around 30 mph and still easy cruising at 65-70.
Exactly, a 6speed with close ratios and a low rear end forces you to shift every 10-15mph.
A tall rear end with a 3 speed was 1st for city, school zones, conjestion.. 2nd cruising around town... 3rd on the highway. Lots of the old CJs came with 2.72 rear end ratios. 1st was good for 50mph.

The deeper the rear end and more gears you have the more gears there are to row.

I loved the CJ with a 3speed too.
I even like the TJ with the 3speed automatic.
 
I've literally taken the same drive your about to do. Once lived in Upstate, NY and drove to Seattle, around the PNW and ultimately ending in OR. What part of OR you moving to? There are many Jeep trails along the way, you stopping anywhere? What time of year are you driving?, there are 3 significant mountain passes for you to cross in your path.

So many questions...
You did?? Nice! I’m moving to Eugene Oregon. I’m sure there are tons of Jeep trails, if anyone has some good suggestions for along the way I’d love to make a few stops for that specifically! And I’ll be going in the first week of July. I didn’t want to drive through the flatlands in the winter in a lifted Jeep lol. What mountain passes will I hit? How bad are they?
 
I ran that with my TJ and the 2.5 towing a MC, and I thought it was interesting that I did better then my son's XJ with the 4.0, think I was at about 35 mph when hitting the peak.
Yeah I had the flashers on the whole way up the grade. I was probably pushing about 35 mph as well.
 
You did?? Nice! I’m moving to Eugene Oregon. I’m sure there are tons of Jeep trails, if anyone has some good suggestions for along the way I’d love to make a few stops for that specifically! And I’ll be going in the first week of July. I didn’t want to drive through the flatlands in the winter in a lifted Jeep lol. What mountain passes will I hit? How bad are they?
Yup, you going to school in Eugene? Thats only a couple hours from me on the coast, we should definitely run a trail or something sometime when you get out here! There's a good bunch of us here in Oregon so there will be plenty of it if your game.

Also looks like you'll pass Redbird SRA, IN and Holy Cross, CO! Those would both be Jeep Badge of Honor trails and would be slight detours but could still be on track. I just checked your route and it does look like you will be taking a different route than I took. I took I-90 all the way west, where as it looks like you might be on I-80/84 most of the way further south. That may be a good thing for you.
 
If you're taking I-80 its relatively flat until you get to the Rockies. It will appear flat in my state, but you'll be going from 900' elevation on the eastern side up to 4500' elevation when you get to western edge border with Wyoming. And the wind will probably be blowing 15-35 mph in your face. The speed limit on I-80 is 75 mph through Nebraska and once out of the traffic jam that is I-80 in Chicago everyone is probably doing 80-85 mph. If you want to go slower and see a million small towns, Highways 34 and 30 run parallel to and two miles north of I-80 through almost the entire state.

When I do the 9 hour+ drive from Omaha to ski in Colorado, I set the cruise a little over 80 mph and get passed a lot. If it's a "breezy" or "windy" day (25-35 mph sustained winds) the wind will affect your driving and you'll have to fight the wheel constantly to stay in your lane. Those are the tiring days to drive and you may occasionally feel like it's going to blow your car over.

They didn't even mention wind today in the weather forecast because it's only blowing 15 mph.
 
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Yup, you going to school in Eugene? Thats only a couple hours from me on the coast, we should definitely run a trail or something sometime when you get out here! There's a good bunch of us here in Oregon so there will be plenty of it if your game.

Also looks like you'll pass Redbird SRA, IN and Holy Cross, CO! Those would both be Jeep Badge of Honor trails and would be slight detours but could still be on track. I just checked your route and it does look like you will be taking a different route than I took. I took I-90 all the way west, where as it looks like you might be on I-80/84 most of the way further south. That may be a good thing for you.
Nah moving out there and gonna be working as a mechanic(eventual goal is to build jeeps for a living lol). But hell yes definitely! I’m the only person with a wrangler out of my friends, and there’s pretty much no good jeep trails here in upstate Ny, so I’m always down to meet new people and wheel!! I’ll for sure hit you up once I move out there. And awesome, thanks for the recommendations, I’ll check em out and add them to my plan haha. Yeah I’m not entirely sure what path I’ll be taking to Oregon so I still gotta figure that out
 
Most trails around me (upstate NY) are snowmobiling trails. Come Spring and Summer the trails are used as hayfields interconnecting the wooded sections. And most is private land. If you go a bit farther North you hit the HUGE Adirondack Park. Fewer trails there. Really a poor place to live unless you like high taxes and corrupt politicians.
 
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Why do you say that? I’m truly wondering lol. So far I’ve driven 200 miles on the highway at once in it and it drove like butter( as well as a lifted Jeep can). Fifth is useless unless it’s a flat straightaway but 3rd and 4th do great for highway use. I know I should regear for tons of reasons, but it’s not monetarily smart for me to do that before the trip. As long as my Jeep runs like normal on the trip, I’m happy

I recommend getting gears as well, but after making the trip. I wouldn’t want to test a new set of gears on my way across the country.