Well I figured I have done enough to see if the Jeep is going to work reliably and for one of the ways I was hoping it would. So instead of doing a more local shakedown, I set out on a 5 hour one way drive to Pagosa Springs CO.
Yep the butt is sagging...but it is loaded with a bunch of things to keep me out for 10 days. I made it in with no issues. While there I managed to have sun, dry, rain, wind, and snow. The jeep performed fantastically! Gnarly forest roads, water crossings, mud, snow, all of it. The short wheelbase and narrow profile made everything pretty easy. I can firmly state I hate mud....
After days and miles of road and forest road travels I was quite happy with all the work. It even got me out of places when I started to "get in too deep". Being solo on the trip lowered my risk tolerance as well. No issues with suspension travel or clearances.
Return trip went well too. Overall very pleased. It did everything I wanted to do all while averaging 17 miles per gallon and cruising well past 166,000 miles..!
Of course no trip report is complete without pics of some chow......
So I'll be continuing to do more "maintenance" items and attempt to keep the reliability high.
