Hey everyone. New here to Expedition Portal but glad to be aboard. I'm not new to off roading but I am semi-new to the overlanding aspect of it. Two of my college buddies and I have been camping, backpacking, bushcrafting, and semi-overlanding together for a little more than four years now in various spots around Massachusetts and New Hampshire, but now I'm looking now to take things to the next level. Generally we partake in multi-day trips, though lately we've taken to a more minimalist/survivalist approach to our time in the woods.
The vehicle that started my passion for the outdoors is my 1992 Jeep YJ. It has a 2.5L motor with an AX-5 five speed transmission, factory HP D30 front axle and Dana 35 rear axle (with upgraded chromoly axle shafts), a two-inch suspension lift, TJ flares at all four corners, and a bunch of other upgrades here and there. It started out as my completely stock daily driver in college and morphed into the machine it is today. Prior to my ownership it had sat in a garage untouched for six years with a blown slave cylinder, and it needed a decent amount of work to get it back to being road-ready. At the moment it's riding on mismatched 32"/11.5"/15 mud terrains and is no longer my daily driver, and has instead become a weekend wheeler for my old man and I. This summer it will be getting a locked Ford 8.8 rear axle and a bunch of other upgrades here and there to beef it up for hardcore wheeling. Eventually the plan is to have it riding on 33/12.5 mud terrains.
On to the real reason I joined Expedition Portal: my 1998 Jeep Cherokee, which I've nicknamed Little Red. (I can't upload any photos at the moment which I assume is because I'm a new member here; the nickname comes from the Cherokee's chili pepper red color.) I bought it last summer for $500 off a guy from my hometown who was just sick of dealing with the thing. I was on the hunt for another Wrangler at the time, but the deal was too good to pass up so I jumped on it. And having been fully versed in bringing a mistreated/neglected (and frankly, sh!tbox) Jeep back from the dead previously it was a challenge I was willing to take on. It had a 4.5 inch Rough Country lift installed on it, completely bald 31" no-name mud tires, and came with a separate set of 32"/11.5" BFG KMs with about 40 percent tread left and a few other goodies. The biggest issues with it were the completely trashed exhaust manifold, cooked motor mount, and nasty lifter tick from the 4.0. It was so bad it sounded more like rod knock to me than a lifter tick, but a few different shops diagnosed it as such so I took them at their word.
After fixing a few of the odds and ends (mainly electrical gremlins the previous owner ignored or performed atrocious work on) and driving it for a few months I had a junkyard motor swapped in after all efforts to quiet the lifter tick were unsuccessful. The original motor had close to 300,000 miles on it, and frankly I consider that a very long and fulfilled life. The replacement came from a 1997 and had 161,000 on it when swapped in. I've been driving it that way since about the end of September, and aside from a leaky freeze plug and a semi-broken defrost door I've had no major issues with it (knock on wood). Here's a full breakdown of the Jeep:
4.0L engine
AW-4 auto transmission
NP-231 transfer case
HP Dana 30 front axle, Corporate 8.25 rear axle, 3.55 gearing
4.5" Rough Country suspension lift (full coils and leafs)
1-inch case drop (not my preferred situation but it is what it is)
245/75/16 Grabber AT2 tires on 16x8 Rubicon Moab wheels
Power windows and locks
Remote starter with keyless entry
Functional A/C
Yakima roof rails
Rugged Ridge front tow hooks
As you can see the Cherokee is all-around almost the polar opposite of the YJ. It has creature comforts like the power windows/locks, A/C, and remote start, all of which made it a very easy decision to make it my daily driver. It also has a more powerful motor, is a lot taller, has greater fuel capacity (not that it matters because it is a pig at the moment), and most importantly it has an incredible amount of cargo space. It was not easy to cram three or more persons into the YJ as well as their gear for multi-day trips, and this is what intrigued me most about using the Cherokee as a mild expo rig. The point-and-shoot nature of the automatic tranny make it nice on and off road as well.
I'm really looking forward to turning this thing into a mild overland rig. I've got a good amount of upgrades/fixes planned for the thing for the coming year, but most of them will focus more on making it a solid, reliable daily driver that occasionally is used as an expo rig and hits easy to moderate (legal) trails around New England (and perhaps beyond). I've already created a cheap and easy mounting system in the back for my axe and shovel, and once the weather gets a little warmer I will be hard wiring and mounting an 1100 watt power inverter out back as well. I would like to try sleeping in the vehicle itself just to know what it's like, but most of the time we bring a tent or erect shelters with tarps or natural material. 'Major' planned upgrades include:
Skyjacker Hydro 7000 shocks
Replacement steering box
Trailer hitch
Hella 500 driving light kit
LED flood lights
Rocker guards
Spicer 5-760X U-joints
Timken hub assemblies
Solid front diff cover (to match rear)
Bosch 5277739 fuel injectors (4-hole upgrade vs. factory 1-hole)
I'd love to someday compete in the Vermont Overland Trophy with either or both of my Jeeps, but that will take a lot of work and cash flow and is definitely a few years off. My hope is to slowly add things to the Cherokee based on needs, and to expand my overlanding skills and experiences along the way. My funds (i.e. tax returns) will be split between the Cherokee, the YJ, and upgrading my camping/backpacking equipment. I'm looking forward to sharing photos and videos of my trips here in this thread, and I think it will be a great year of camping and wheeling for us. Looking forward to updating this and interacting with you folks on here.
Happy trails!
The vehicle that started my passion for the outdoors is my 1992 Jeep YJ. It has a 2.5L motor with an AX-5 five speed transmission, factory HP D30 front axle and Dana 35 rear axle (with upgraded chromoly axle shafts), a two-inch suspension lift, TJ flares at all four corners, and a bunch of other upgrades here and there. It started out as my completely stock daily driver in college and morphed into the machine it is today. Prior to my ownership it had sat in a garage untouched for six years with a blown slave cylinder, and it needed a decent amount of work to get it back to being road-ready. At the moment it's riding on mismatched 32"/11.5"/15 mud terrains and is no longer my daily driver, and has instead become a weekend wheeler for my old man and I. This summer it will be getting a locked Ford 8.8 rear axle and a bunch of other upgrades here and there to beef it up for hardcore wheeling. Eventually the plan is to have it riding on 33/12.5 mud terrains.
On to the real reason I joined Expedition Portal: my 1998 Jeep Cherokee, which I've nicknamed Little Red. (I can't upload any photos at the moment which I assume is because I'm a new member here; the nickname comes from the Cherokee's chili pepper red color.) I bought it last summer for $500 off a guy from my hometown who was just sick of dealing with the thing. I was on the hunt for another Wrangler at the time, but the deal was too good to pass up so I jumped on it. And having been fully versed in bringing a mistreated/neglected (and frankly, sh!tbox) Jeep back from the dead previously it was a challenge I was willing to take on. It had a 4.5 inch Rough Country lift installed on it, completely bald 31" no-name mud tires, and came with a separate set of 32"/11.5" BFG KMs with about 40 percent tread left and a few other goodies. The biggest issues with it were the completely trashed exhaust manifold, cooked motor mount, and nasty lifter tick from the 4.0. It was so bad it sounded more like rod knock to me than a lifter tick, but a few different shops diagnosed it as such so I took them at their word.
After fixing a few of the odds and ends (mainly electrical gremlins the previous owner ignored or performed atrocious work on) and driving it for a few months I had a junkyard motor swapped in after all efforts to quiet the lifter tick were unsuccessful. The original motor had close to 300,000 miles on it, and frankly I consider that a very long and fulfilled life. The replacement came from a 1997 and had 161,000 on it when swapped in. I've been driving it that way since about the end of September, and aside from a leaky freeze plug and a semi-broken defrost door I've had no major issues with it (knock on wood). Here's a full breakdown of the Jeep:
4.0L engine
AW-4 auto transmission
NP-231 transfer case
HP Dana 30 front axle, Corporate 8.25 rear axle, 3.55 gearing
4.5" Rough Country suspension lift (full coils and leafs)
1-inch case drop (not my preferred situation but it is what it is)
245/75/16 Grabber AT2 tires on 16x8 Rubicon Moab wheels
Power windows and locks
Remote starter with keyless entry
Functional A/C
Yakima roof rails
Rugged Ridge front tow hooks
As you can see the Cherokee is all-around almost the polar opposite of the YJ. It has creature comforts like the power windows/locks, A/C, and remote start, all of which made it a very easy decision to make it my daily driver. It also has a more powerful motor, is a lot taller, has greater fuel capacity (not that it matters because it is a pig at the moment), and most importantly it has an incredible amount of cargo space. It was not easy to cram three or more persons into the YJ as well as their gear for multi-day trips, and this is what intrigued me most about using the Cherokee as a mild expo rig. The point-and-shoot nature of the automatic tranny make it nice on and off road as well.
I'm really looking forward to turning this thing into a mild overland rig. I've got a good amount of upgrades/fixes planned for the thing for the coming year, but most of them will focus more on making it a solid, reliable daily driver that occasionally is used as an expo rig and hits easy to moderate (legal) trails around New England (and perhaps beyond). I've already created a cheap and easy mounting system in the back for my axe and shovel, and once the weather gets a little warmer I will be hard wiring and mounting an 1100 watt power inverter out back as well. I would like to try sleeping in the vehicle itself just to know what it's like, but most of the time we bring a tent or erect shelters with tarps or natural material. 'Major' planned upgrades include:
Skyjacker Hydro 7000 shocks
Replacement steering box
Trailer hitch
Hella 500 driving light kit
LED flood lights
Rocker guards
Spicer 5-760X U-joints
Timken hub assemblies
Solid front diff cover (to match rear)
Bosch 5277739 fuel injectors (4-hole upgrade vs. factory 1-hole)
I'd love to someday compete in the Vermont Overland Trophy with either or both of my Jeeps, but that will take a lot of work and cash flow and is definitely a few years off. My hope is to slowly add things to the Cherokee based on needs, and to expand my overlanding skills and experiences along the way. My funds (i.e. tax returns) will be split between the Cherokee, the YJ, and upgrading my camping/backpacking equipment. I'm looking forward to sharing photos and videos of my trips here in this thread, and I think it will be a great year of camping and wheeling for us. Looking forward to updating this and interacting with you folks on here.
Happy trails!
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