Hey guys, I'm Bill.
After decades of thinking about getting a Jeep, I finally broke down a month ago and acquired a nice 2005 TJ Rocky Mountain Edition with the 4.0L engine, 6-speed manual, and 53K miles. No personal pictures yet, but here's a low-rez photo from the craigslist ad.
It's pretty stock, except for a 2 inch lift and 31 inch tires. So far haven't done much to it other than seat covers, floor pads, and Hella Vision Plus halogen conversion headlights (what the heck — I thought the headlights were out the first time I drove at night... ;-)
I've had 4x4 vehicles since my younger and more crazy days when I went hang gliding and needed something to haul the glider up rough logging roads to the top of mountains, but my first taste of something like a jeep was with a Geo Tracker. I called it my "Jeep Lite" and enjoyed the spartan and utilitarian setup of the vehicle, its ability to go anywhere, and the convertible top which was fun to lower on those summer days. When the transmission died in the Tracker I thought about a jeep then, but ended up with a Toyota Rav4, which I've really enjoyed. But when it started leaking oil pretty badly, rather than spend the money to fix it up, decided to scratch that jeep itch.
I don't have any serious off-road plans (although an office-mate is trying to talk me in to it) but will be taking advantage of the 4x4 on rough logging roads to go camping/hiking, winter excursions, and beach trips here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
I've already learned a lot about the TJ from this forum, and really appreciate the info provided by Chris, Jerry, and others. I've been reading up mostly about maintenance (making plans to do the 60K maintenance myself — looks pretty doable) and soft tops (gotta get ready for summer ;-) Thanks for all the information and discussion you guys have posted — it's helped me get a handle on this "Jeep Thing". ;-)
Bill.
After decades of thinking about getting a Jeep, I finally broke down a month ago and acquired a nice 2005 TJ Rocky Mountain Edition with the 4.0L engine, 6-speed manual, and 53K miles. No personal pictures yet, but here's a low-rez photo from the craigslist ad.
It's pretty stock, except for a 2 inch lift and 31 inch tires. So far haven't done much to it other than seat covers, floor pads, and Hella Vision Plus halogen conversion headlights (what the heck — I thought the headlights were out the first time I drove at night... ;-)
I've had 4x4 vehicles since my younger and more crazy days when I went hang gliding and needed something to haul the glider up rough logging roads to the top of mountains, but my first taste of something like a jeep was with a Geo Tracker. I called it my "Jeep Lite" and enjoyed the spartan and utilitarian setup of the vehicle, its ability to go anywhere, and the convertible top which was fun to lower on those summer days. When the transmission died in the Tracker I thought about a jeep then, but ended up with a Toyota Rav4, which I've really enjoyed. But when it started leaking oil pretty badly, rather than spend the money to fix it up, decided to scratch that jeep itch.
I don't have any serious off-road plans (although an office-mate is trying to talk me in to it) but will be taking advantage of the 4x4 on rough logging roads to go camping/hiking, winter excursions, and beach trips here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
I've already learned a lot about the TJ from this forum, and really appreciate the info provided by Chris, Jerry, and others. I've been reading up mostly about maintenance (making plans to do the 60K maintenance myself — looks pretty doable) and soft tops (gotta get ready for summer ;-) Thanks for all the information and discussion you guys have posted — it's helped me get a handle on this "Jeep Thing". ;-)
Bill.
