My 4l60e has 243k miles and 32 years of boat towing on it. You can do it.
Travelling long distances in a Jeep Wrangler TJ
- Thread starter DETOUR
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My 4l60e has 243k miles and 32 years of boat towing on it. You can do it.
Genuinely surprised by the amount of people that don't consider their TJ highway-worthy. They kinda suck after a while but jeez it isn't that bad
We’re leaning towards driving , like someone else mentioned, one gets to meet great folks
deserteagle56
Member
Bunch of old farts
Got that right!
Back in the 60s and fresh out of Vietnam I thought I was tough. A dirt bike and a sleeping bag and maybe a small tent and I would go on long tours. If I were to sleep on the ground today I'd need help getting up the next morning. Now when I travel I require a quiet environment, heat and air conditioning!
I still love my TJ...but only for short periods of time and in the dirt!
50+ years ago.....
I think this old fart drove 10 or 11 hours just to wheel with @AndyG why I have no clue
@Jerry Bransford just wanted to see someone break an axle I guess.
I’ve made three trips with each from 3500-4300 miles. A few days along the way were all day drives. I have a 3 spd auto so no OD. My rpm’s are bit high keeping up on the freeway so I enjoy slower state highways when practical. Keeping the AC comfortable and using a thin ventilating seat cushion helps. A dead pedal for the left foot is a must. Though I enjoyed taking the TJ for the adventure of it, I’ve switched to the T4R for long trips. A little more civilized and 19 mph.
Hell I’m just gettin old and tired of arriving nearly deaf and vibrating after driving over 1000 miles just to get to a decent destination.
Now that our jeeps are getting 20+ years old it’s nice to tow them with a comfy F-350 diesel.
Keeps the wife and dog happy as well
C’mon RocknLJ
You’ve got only one year more vintage….
DETOUR
“Goin the xtra mile - it’s never crowded”
If it behaved normally I would but it has a shift flare going 2-3 and perpetually has a P1870 code stored but only occasionally trips the CEL and bumps the line pressure up, resulting in an alarmingly hard 1-2 shift. There are some kits out there that are supposed to address that issue and only require pulling the valve body but I don't know how effective they are.
Last summer I did 4900 miles over 2 weeks that also included doing the Rubicon trail.
No issues.
I usually do at least one long distance wheeling trip a year.
Two words, cruise control…. My life was changed forever going from a 97 to an 05
Yes and no. I find that the cruise control uses more throttle than I do (because I can find the point where more throttle doesn't make any more power and it can't) which makes my range even worse than it already is. I'll use it on flat or downhill terrain but if I'm climbing I just use my foot.
Yea, that’s the main reason I don’t use my CC on long trips and didn’t like CC in other vehicles from that era. I also noticed that CC made my transmission run a bit hotter, which I believe was also from being in the throttle more.
I mainly use CC to stretch my limbs a bit on long trips before going back to using the pedal. I like having it for that reason, but that’s about it.
My CC didn’t work recently and I didn’t really care since I have other projects going on (until I realized it might be a vacuum leak). Sure enough, a little time in the engine bay and all is good again. So CC can be good diagnostic tool as well.
Theoretically the last 10-20% of pedal travel should net you some additional power. I can't remember what the stock delay was, but after a certain time it will go into power enrichment mode, and burn richer. My tune sets that delay to zero.
That said I try to keep it stoich by keeping the pedal just before that threshold until I'm out of gears or heavily pinging.
Also, I've learned by accident that running an electric vacuum pump keeps the cruise control more responsive during sustained high load when the engine just isn't making any significant vacuum.
Making DFCO more aggressive also massively improved the engine braking, which helps the cruise control on hills. It also builds even higher vacuum than it would in closed loop.
My '06 didn't have CC, so I installed a Rostra unit. CC is the ONE "technology" that I insist on - I use it heavily. But you *do* have to be cognizant of what's going on, I'll kick it off on steep hills. A vacuum gauge helps too.
Oddly enough, my vacuum numbers were good in idle on the gauge (barely).
Ended up being cracks on a hose, and I tightened up another boot more just in case. I would have used my smoker device w/ compressed air had I not found the cause (got lucky).
I think cruise control was getting into that because I kept seeing the fuel system status go into open loop based on engine load.
But I could turn off CC and still maintain the same speed with less throttle position...a lot less, like 20-30%. I was still getting into open loop but not as consistently.
I've noticed this before (getting worse mpg when using CC), even with other vehicles but when I really paid attention to it was a few weeks ago on my way to CO. It was a particularly desolate stretch of northeastern New Mexico that's just a slight ascending grade....like 1000 feet in 80 miles. Speed limit 65-70 and I was also contending with a 20+mph headwind, it was in the 90s and my IATs were around 130.
I was talking more about watching the gauge to know when to DC the cruise and downshift, but good on finding the your leak - they suck!
YJ and TJ go on a trailer if I’m just on a trip where I will be using them to run trails and have lodging. If the trip requires bringing lodging I just drive the TJ and pull my teardrop. Pulling on a trailer has the added benefit of having a way to get home in the event of mechanical failure. Having an Unlimited with a hard top I have no noise or comfort issues and my AC works great. Now that I’m retired I try not to drive over 400 miles per day.
I bought my TJ 900 miles from home. The Wife and I flew up to Denver for the weekend to look at it and purchase it. My Son and I drove up the next weekend with my truck and trailer to pick it up. Because there were 2 of us we drove up in one day, spent the night and drove back the next day with it. The longest trip I’ve taken so far has been 200+- with no issues. Having cruise control is a big plus. I will not drive my YJ more than 100 miles because it rides like a buckboard and only has a bikini top. My Son does drive it farther than that but he is young and can tolerate it.
I bought my TJ 900 miles from home. The Wife and I flew up to Denver for the weekend to look at it and purchase it. My Son and I drove up the next weekend with my truck and trailer to pick it up. Because there were 2 of us we drove up in one day, spent the night and drove back the next day with it. The longest trip I’ve taken so far has been 200+- with no issues. Having cruise control is a big plus. I will not drive my YJ more than 100 miles because it rides like a buckboard and only has a bikini top. My Son does drive it farther than that but he is young and can tolerate it.
Thanks a bundle to everyone who took the time to voice their two bits
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