Washington Washington members that live to wheel
- Thread starter Wildman
- Start date
New Washington TJ owner here! Most of you guys are way more hardcore than me (and more hardcore than I plan to get! lol) but going to keep an eye out here in the future for trail rides that might be reasonable for a small lift and 33's! 
I've followed off-roading my whole life but spent the majority of my off-road time on a quad or side-by-side. Looking forward to adding to my TJ and getting some experience behind the wheel off-road!
A guy I know through work is a member of the Thurston County Jeep Patrol but I've not talked to him about anything they do or rides they go on. I'll have to have a chat!
I've followed off-roading my whole life but spent the majority of my off-road time on a quad or side-by-side. Looking forward to adding to my TJ and getting some experience behind the wheel off-road!A guy I know through work is a member of the Thurston County Jeep Patrol but I've not talked to him about anything they do or rides they go on. I'll have to have a chat!
Welcome!!!New Washington TJ owner here! Most of you guys are way more hardcore than me (and more hardcore than I plan to get! lol) but going to keep an eye out here in the future for trail rides that might be reasonable for a small lift and 33's!
A guy I know through work is a member of the Thurston County Jeep Patrol but I've not talked to him about anything they do or rides they go on. I'll have to have a chat!
There are countless trails in WA that you can easily navigate on 33s or even smaller tires. Most have bypasses for the really hard sections but you'll be pleasantly surprised how far you can take a TJ even without lockers.
Thanks!
I use onX hunt but I may need to add onX off-road too. The only areas that I know of anyone near me is Capitol Forest (DNR) which is just dirt roads and then Wynoochee Valley (USFS) which is also just fire/logging roads. Unless I just haven't gotten far enough off the beaten path for the more technical stuff.
I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what it's capable of in it's current form. I'm thinking it has the limited slip rear, but still trying to confirm.
OP
New Washington TJ owner here! Most of you guys are way more hardcore than me (and more hardcore than I plan to get! lol) but going to keep an eye out here in the future for trail rides that might be reasonable for a small lift and 33's!
A guy I know through work is a member of the Thurston County Jeep Patrol but I've not talked to him about anything they do or rides they go on. I'll have to have a chat!
I've told 100's of people, you can run 90% of the trails in WA on 33" tires and no lockers. You might have to add a little more wheel speed or get a yank now & than but you can do them. Adding a winch and you can do most of them without help from anyone else.
Having a locker helps but it isn't a NEED & if you have a trackloc in the rear it can help a little.
I started out in a Samurai on 31" tires and that was it. It grew up to more than that but I still did most of the trails here.
Thanks!
I use onX hunt but I may need to add onX off-road too. The only areas that I know of anyone near me is Capitol Forest (DNR) which is just dirt roads and then Wynoochee Valley (USFS) which is also just fire/logging roads. Unless I just haven't gotten far enough off the beaten path for the more technical stuff.
I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what it's capable of in it's current form. I'm thinking it has the limited slip rear, but still trying to confirm.
You've got Tahuya ORV park that has a few spots. And then Evans Creek & Elbe Hills all south of Seattle. Then Walker Valley & Reiter north of Seattle.
Then here in central WA there is the Naches area with a ton of trails that can be done on 31" tires. And then the Rimrock area which has some of the most technical trails in WA but you need 35's & lockers to play there.
Thanks @Wildman ! Have you used onX or a similar app in Washington with any success or have you just learned the places. It's always a little frustrating trying to find information for trails online.
My ultimate goal for this is a 35" tire build (37" max) with a 44 front and lockers. Just something reliable and capable to have fun in. However, it's going to get some use as is for now!
I'm thinking it has the LSD but I'll get it jacked up in a few days to check. Going to be working on it anyway, so I might as well answer that question.
I'll probably start a thread in the build section just to keep track for myself and have a way to see the progression.
My ultimate goal for this is a 35" tire build (37" max) with a 44 front and lockers. Just something reliable and capable to have fun in. However, it's going to get some use as is for now!
I'm thinking it has the LSD but I'll get it jacked up in a few days to check. Going to be working on it anyway, so I might as well answer that question.
I'll probably start a thread in the build section just to keep track for myself and have a way to see the progression.
OP
I'm OLD so I learned about all the trails and spots by word of mouth or someone showing me. We only had paper maps back then too. But as a kid I also backpacked all over the PNW.
I actually only started wheeling in the PNW in 1997 so haven't been wheeling here all that long.
Look here for some suggestions.
https://www.google.com/search?tbs=l...!1e3!2m4!1e17!4m2!17m1!1e2!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:1
Thanks! Yea I'm hoping onX or something will help see the individual trails once you get in there. But I'm not opposed to finding some paper maps for those areas!
Going to start closer to home while we have a 16-month old and then slowly branch out a little further. He loves riding in the Jeep (so far during the 2 days we've had it! lol) but doesn't love being in the car seat for long periods.
OP
Some of the places you need to get the paper maps to know for sure what is open & closed.
I started my daughter out at about 3 years old and she would sleep 60% of the time. Actually still does if she's riding with me. I was deployed to Iraq before that so I couldn't take her wheeling. Once they are old enough to hold their heads up and you have a good car seat to brace their head you are fine. My daughter HATED riding in the back seat with her car seat facing backwards.
This was her look most of the time.
Awesome!
I'm so excited for my son to grow up with a Jeep! It'll be a little better once he's not rear facing.
OP
My daughter is 21 now and she grew up Jeepin with dad. Lots of good memories. I've owned my TJ since she was 6 months old so she's be really mad if I was to sell it now. I'm almost done rebuilding my Jeep. Hope to be back out on some trails soon too.
I used to put her in the back seat but when I took it out for a camping trip she told me she liked being up front better. Even when she had to be rear facing. I just disabled the air bag.
So far my wife has ridden in the back with him. But if it's just him and me, I may try him in the front.
OP
Legally you aren't allowed to have an infant in the front seat. If I'd gotten pulled over I was going to use the excuse that I didn't have a back seat....
Don't know how far it would fly or not. My point is if you're going to try this make sure you don't have a rear seat in the rig.
#1 thing is if you put your kid in the front seat is that you make sure you disable the airbag. And since you have a 97 TJ you do that by pulling some fuses from the fuse box in the glove compartment. If you don't have an owners manual download one so you'll know which ones to remove.
Just take your time. Don't over build your rig. Learn to wheel it as is and once your skill level is more than your rig THEN it's time for an upgrade.
I started out on Jeeps & Samurai's that on 30's & 31's without lockers or a winch & they were my DD so I had to take care of what I did.
My TJ not too long after I bought it on 33's
And then after a few mods.
Don't be in a hurry to modify your Jeep.
Sorry, I wasn't clear on that! I mean once we're off road switching him to the front. But I think you could argue in a two door TJ that it's fine since the law says they have to be in the back when practical? I mean the front seat sits a little lower and has a metal door (though thin) versus an open top?
Mine actually has the airbag shut off. From what the previous owner said, it seems to have a mix of 97 and 98 parts that he noticed as he was redoing a lot of things. From what I can find it's kind of a 97.5? It has a 44 rear and 3.73 gears which from most literature, wasn't an option
OP
Interesting. My understanding of the law was always if a back seat was available then you were required to put them in the back.
Yes I'd read your post about the rig. It's always interesting to see how Jeep built these "new" rigs.
Mine is a 01/06 build so I have more YJ stuff on mine. Not that there is much left of anything original.
I thought there was something about when available so I double checked it and it does say "when practical." I would still prefer to have him in the back. But once we're in the woods it would be fun to have him close where we can see each other.
Yea, it almost seems like each '97 is unique! Jeep was just like "well we've got these pieces laying around, just use what we have." Hopefully it doesn't cause problems down the road for adding/replacing parts. I'm planning to add the air conditioning kit from Jeep Air and the '97 and '98 kits are different.
OP
One thing about them being in the front seat is they can get smacked with branches more than when in the back. May daughter would be sound asleep and get smacked and wake up screaming. The drivers side of my Jeep took a lot more abuse because I tried to stay more to the left of the trail.
Once she was older and knew to put her hand up to protect her face it wasn't as bad.
@bbaldwin237 @Wildman If I am remembering correctly, the later model '97 TJs that came with the disconnect were delivered, from the factory, without the rear seat so they "had to have" the disconnect. As for the child safety seat in the front, according to the WASP officer that used to be in the club I ran with in WA, it's only legal if there is no back seat "in" the vehicle. They had to make that distinction mainly for trucks, vans, sports cars, and suvs that didn't come with a back seat.
That's understandable, but I think you could definitely use that verbage to your advantage if anyone ever tried to push the issue. Again, I still have every intention of driving with him in the back on the street for quite some time.
Once you get out to the trail, just fold the back seat up and pack what every you've taken with you up against it... Problem solved..
Seriously though, I doubt you'd ever be bothered once you're out on the trail.