Georgia Trail Riders Forum
MEMBERS DISCUSSION AREA => General Discussion => Topic started by: DOUG on December 04, 2013, 09:42:30 PM
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Jeremy
You've had a JK, JKU Rubi, and an LJ before getting a buggy, and sold the buggy after a few months.
Why did you sell the buggy?
What was good?
What was bad?
What did you learn that you can share?
Sent off camber
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Damn haven't seen him on the trails in a year or so
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To give you a short tie over.
I knew he stated the buggy was a little small for him.
I also knew there were a lot of loose ends on the buggy he had.
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Tripp pretty much got it. The buggy was cheap and had some issues and was to small for me. The work needed to make it larger would have involved reworking 90% of the cage and just not worth it for a cheap rig. I didn't plan to sell it right away but a guy offered me more money than I had in it so I figured why not. After putting 30 miles on it at Windrock a few weekends ago I am glad I did. My back hurt for days after riding it in it. Ill get another buggy or dedicated rig at some point, that I fit, and with an auto.
A trail rig is the way to go. Why I ever spent the money on 3 Jeeps ill never know. I have no issues sharing cost. Between truck, trailer and buggy with upgrades and replacing parts I was in about $16,500-17,000 and my buggy walked most obstacles as easy as people with twice as much money in their rig as my entire set up. How many people here (me included) will, or have, spend more than $16,500 on their Jeep between monthly payments and mods?
"What did you learn that you can share?"
-This is all coming from someone who has done it, who has been the new guy, made the mistakes, this is not a personal attack on any club, company or person. This is my opinion on it, having done it, if I offend anyone or say something you don't like, sorry, just an opinion. All my questions are rhetorical, no looking to debate my opinion.
1. If you wheel your daily driver you are retarded. Period. I did it for years and it all changed when I purchased a 97' Honda Civic and had something else to drive Mon-Fri. What are your plans when your jeep breaks? If you are one of the lucky few with friends with trucks and trailers then you are good (unless your in Kentucky, then they may say screw you). What about if you don't? Uhaul isn't open late on Sundays and even if you could get your rig back to the trail head and loaded up on someones trailer, you still have a broke rig and no ride to work the next morning. Ever seen a tow bill from wrecker? Whats the closest Jeep dealer to Windrock? Its something to think about. I honestly never did and looking back now I guess the best I could have done is left my jeep at the park, caught a ride with someone and then have to borrow a truck, get a trail (probably Uhaul) then go back and get the Jeep but it would be a day or 2 later and THEN have to fix it... So we are talking a week minimum without a DD...
2. Tow pigs and trailers are awesome and should be EVERYONE's end goal in this hobby. With that said, its one more vehicle to keep up on, replace parts and modify. You also have a trailer to keep up on and check over before every ride. Its gets $$$ at this point. Diesel for the truck, 15 qt oil changes, fuel filters, trailer tires + whatever your trail rig needs. But going back to #1 all you need to do is get your trail rig to a place where you can get the tow pig and you can get home and drive the pig to work tomorrow. Its a great piece of mind to have. I use to be the guy who said "look at me hanging with the big guys and I don't even tow".... yeah that's a horrible way to look at it. Its more like, "hey look at me taking my DD that I am still paying for on the same hard trail that guys who don't care about damage, monthly payments or a ride home."
3. If you are afraid to change parts on your jeep, if replacing an axle shaft or a drive shaft scares you then you should NEVER get on a trail. This goes back to #1. Things break, no matter what high dollar part you have on your rig, it can break. We are tossing 1,000's of lbs around on rocks with lots of moving parts, eventually the unplanned will happen. When I first started this hobby, other than bolting on engine parts and wiring sound systems I had no real mechanical experience. I was lucky something didn't break bad back then. I don't hate on 4WP or Allsouth, I shop at 4WP being down the street from my house, my dad goes to AllSouth with his truck from my recommendation on them... But unless the part you are getting installed requires some crazy tool, like a gear set up, or fabrication, you should be figuring out how to do it at your house, alone or with friends. Because when you are on the trail, 4WP and AllSouth may not be there to get you home, now what? Plus, when you install your own parts you start to acquire tools that you can have on the trail to fix with. How many of you know what size the nut is, and have the socket to fit it, to remove off the end of the front axle shaft?
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That is a good, well thought out, response. Thank you very much.
Regarding the tools needed on the trail...everyone should get under their ride with a set of metric and SAE sockets and wrenches to figure out which sizes are needed for any parts you would need to remove/replace/repair on the trail (keep in mind the bolt and nut head sizes). Then document what you need and build a dedicated rig tool bag with those tools. As you see things being needed on the trail, such as a hacksaw, add a hacksaw blade to your tool kit. Additionally, this will cut down on the amount of weight you are hefting around with unnecessary tools and the amount of space needed.
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I feel that way but can't get there yet.
Sure would add a lot of fun and decrease concern and worry.
Have, uh MUST have a jeep for my ladies so will have both..
Sent off camber
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Good response
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I remember trailering my XJ on 33's to Tellico and people were kind of laughing asking why, well there was a water hole on trail 8 that clogged their radiators. After a long day of getting them unclogged, everyone made it home ok but I was the most worry free riding in my truck. Never will I go without a trailer, there's been times my Jeep probably wishes I didn't though.
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I remember trailering my XJ on 33's to Tellico and people were kind of laughing asking why, well there was a water hole on trail 8 that clogged their radiators. After a long day of getting them unclogged, everyone made it home ok but I was the most worry free riding in my truck. Never will I go without a trailer, there's been times my Jeep probably wishes I didn't though.
//iws//
Ya, great point. My low sitting non-stretched TJ on 33x10.50x15's looks silly on the trailer when a monster pulls up next to it, but my ride to-and-from the park is smooth and I have no concern about getting back home...and building it bigger is on the road map, so hopefully it will not look so silly in the future. :)
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I remember trailering my XJ on 33's to Tellico and people were kind of laughing asking why, well there was a water hole on trail 8 that clogged their radiators. After a long day of getting them unclogged, everyone made it home ok but I was the most worry free riding in my truck. Never will I go without a trailer, there's been times my Jeep probably wishes I didn't though.
So you trailer it to the mall? //LMAO//
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Hahaha. That's funny right there ^^^^^^
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I remember trailering my XJ on 33's to Tellico and people were kind of laughing asking why, well there was a water hole on trail 8 that clogged their radiators. After a long day of getting them unclogged, everyone made it home ok but I was the most worry free riding in my truck. Never will I go without a trailer, there's been times my Jeep probably wishes I didn't though.
So you trailer it to the mall? //LMAO//
You build most of the rig I have now so I'm afraid anything harder than the mall curb will break it //nlnnn//
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I remember trailering my XJ on 33's to Tellico and people were kind of laughing asking why, well there was a water hole on trail 8 that clogged their radiators. After a long day of getting them unclogged, everyone made it home ok but I was the most worry free riding in my truck. Never will I go without a trailer, there's been times my Jeep probably wishes I didn't though.
That same water hole got me to buy a truck&trailer too. Broke the slave cylinder tube on the TJ in that hole and had to be towed all the way back to the parking. A buddy trailered my Jeep to my house while I drove his rig back.
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I enjoyed the first year driving my jeep to and from the parks that are generally an hour or two away but having said that after Windrock this year and really experiencing my first real break in the middle of a long trail and having to be hauled back to camp, and a very very good friend coming to pick me and my rig up from Alpharetta I can safely say that even though I enjoy driving it every day around town and to work It will be on a trailer anytime I want to take it off road.
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Well said big jerm. I wheeled my yj, which was also my dd, like an idiot. I wheeled with the "big dawgs", and it took awhile for me to come to my senses. These guys had a ride home, and had another way to get to work come Monday. They didn't care about damage, or breakage, because it was their toy. I was young, dumb, and thought breaking stuff gave you "big dawg" status. Luckily I was smart enough to at least swap the d35 out for an 8.8 before running a decent size tire. I got 2 yrs worth of schooling in about 6hrs. I realized an sye wasn't just for vibes when my slip yoke pulled out a little too far. When it pushed back in, it was barely on the output shaft, and wreaked havoc. After seeing the t-case ripped completely in half, and all of the internals hanging out , I realized just how dumb I was. Sure, my buddy towed me to the trailhead, but their trailers would only hold one rig. 150 miles from home, and a problem a trip to the auto parts store wouldn't solve, it got real. After paying for an expensive tow, and fixing my rig with money I didnt really have, I learned my lesson. Sure, it all worked out, but could have been avoided.
I still wheeled my dd, and I currently wheel my dd, but do things alot differently. Before even taking my rig wheeling, I'll make sure ive done all of the mods needed to reliably wheel my rig. I try to wheel as smart and as delicate as I can, and keep in mind, its a long drive home. Even then, the inevitable still happens, so i carry spares and tools. I got spoiled when I had a tow rig, and a rig that was just a toy. It was alot more fun, and you didnt have much to worry about. After baby #2 came, tow rig payments, upkeep, and parts for the wheeling rig was just too much. I decided I'd rather be limited to the easier trails and fire roads in my dd, then pay for the tow rig and not have extra money to go wheeling. I miss it, but that day will come again. Im glad i learned my lesson when i did.
Btw bjeep, that was a classic. By far the funniest one I've seen
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From this point on I'll trailer my jeep to all the events we have except the open rides. My flop at Chocco taught me how quick something can happen with a rig you thought was in great shape and result in a bad situation. A pause here and a BIG Thank You to Tony and Bobby and the other guys who helped me right my jeep that day. Had I not trailered my jeep that day it would have been a very bad day
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From this point on I'll trailer my jeep to all the events we have except the open rides. My flop at Chocco taught me how quick something can happen with a rig you thought was in great shape and result in a bad situation. A pause here and a BIG Thank You to Tony and Bobby and the other guys who helped me right my jeep that day. Had I not trailered my jeep that day it would have been a very bad day
Chocco was an open ride in 2013 (it was my first ride with GATR)!
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I will continue to trailer whatever I am wheeling. Unless I am going on a Forest service trail ride/ leaf looking.
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This weekend I broke my front drive shaft. Now it was trailered and only requires it to be zip tied but worse things could have happened.
Short video of it throwing the drive shaft yoke ear from under the jeep.
http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid709.photobucket.com/albums/ww93/Tripp5509/20131207_142236.mp4
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holy crap, that snap sucked. I hate that sound no matter who it is.
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This weekend I broke my front drive shaft. Now it was trailered and only requires it to be zip tied but worse things could have happened.
Short video of it throwing the drive shaft yoke ear from under the jeep.
http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid709.photobucket.com/albums/ww93/Tripp5509/20131207_142236.mp4
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that lower area on Hells Revenge at Chocco? you made that last time... and with a hell of a lot more wheel spin.
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This weekend I broke my front drive shaft. Now it was trailered and only requires it to be zip tied but worse things could have happened.
Short video of it throwing the drive shaft yoke ear from under the jeep.
http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid709.photobucket.com/albums/ww93/Tripp5509/20131207_142236.mp4
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that lower area on Hells Revenge at Chocco? you made that last time... and with a hell of a lot more wheel spin.
It is. There was a rock the size of my tire under the jeep making love with the rear axle. If the massive rock wasn't in the way I would have made it just fine.
Tried t pee but barely made it up due to pure mud with a 4.0 and 37's. Not enough whoo power there.
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