SeaRubi
Explorer
A couple of Rubicons, snow, rocks, mud - yes it must be Evans Creek ORV in the winter :REOutIceFishing:
I've come to appreciate these adventures at the local ORV areas, not just as singular events but as a great opportunity to increase my aptitude in vehicle handling. The experience gained here in a local environment will one day be very useful for those longer trips outside of the US I continue to fantasize about.
Everytime I start whining about my stock Rubi I go back out wheeling in it and am reminded how capable it can be when more attention is paid to how it's driven. You don't need 35's and a long-arm suspension to make it over 95% of the trails in the Pacific North West - and certainly you don't need that equipment to get well off the beaten track, or over a several thousand mile voyage over primitive roads.
There is a strong case I think for leaving it bone stock, or as close to that as possible. Engineers at Daimler Chrysler have worked very hard to minimize warranty claims on their product line. Why go messing around with a good thing? No lift, swaybars attached, and ~18-19psi in the tires have worked well for me over most of WA state's terrain in the 14 months I've owned the Jeep. The one detriment that will be corrected is the much loathed "shovel". If it weren't for that low-hanging transfer case skidplate, the Rubi would be near perfect right out of the box.
My friend's 2003 is sanely fitted with a 3.5" teraflex kit, 33" MT/R's, and a nice winch and bumper combination. With the short wheelbase, there's next to nothing in this state that's not conquerable with that setup. It's something to strive for, to be sure. Even so, sometimes, all you need is a bit of faith in yourself, faith in the equipment you do have, and the fortitude to put it all together for a safe, memorable experience. It sure beats web wheeling and stressing over mods.
As I stood in the trees at the snowed-in camp site, chewing on Nalley chili cooked right in the can and savoring a cool glass of wine, I couldn't help but wonder how many vehicles had been here over the weekend revving their engines and employing those massive tires so popular around here towards dubious objectives. Certainly not I. :chowtime:
Were they missing the point? Why trade a few moments of peace for beef jerky, bad beer and near vertical assaults on the surrounding landscape ... leaving the beerboxes and bottles for me to clean up the next Wednesday?
The trails that are there have plenty of challenge in them ... for a stock or nearly stock rig. Take this memorable climb below, for instance. Tires spinning, smashing the shovel and rear control arms repeatedly on the rocks in the middle, going to the high-side the first two attempts and needing winched off backwards, not once but twice, before settling for the easy route to the left. All in a day's fun - maybe when I come back to drier times I'll be able to crawl it, but today the ability of the tires to claw over snowy, muddy terrain is much less than the tenacious grip the serpentine rock had on my drivers side lower control arm. At least I didn't have to be winched up.
A couple more miles down the trail I figured out that our 2 jeep party was well away from finding 102 to the north, and discovered deep snow drifts, untouched trails, and plenty of frozen mud that would lead us to great views. Long, steep climbs on the sharp hills were taken with the lockers off, with enough speed to maintain momentum through wheel-deep snow but not so much as to risk sliding over the edge. The limited slip worked dutifully, and in the vast quietness of the forest we slid to a stop a few yards away to spot two enormous doe curiously gazing and perhaps wondering why these mechanical things were intruding into their space. I was envious of their quick getaway straight over the precipice, marveling that not only would I never attempt that in my jeep, but it would be unlikely that I'd try it on foot, either.
One more snowy climb and a 1/4 mile led us to the end of the road. It had been a good day of carefree exploring, and I'd not remembered to break out the camera nearly enough to do the day justice.
To sum up - stop whining about those mods, and get yourself out into the woods. What doesn't kill you or your jeep will only make it stronger.
cheers
-isaac
I've come to appreciate these adventures at the local ORV areas, not just as singular events but as a great opportunity to increase my aptitude in vehicle handling. The experience gained here in a local environment will one day be very useful for those longer trips outside of the US I continue to fantasize about.
Everytime I start whining about my stock Rubi I go back out wheeling in it and am reminded how capable it can be when more attention is paid to how it's driven. You don't need 35's and a long-arm suspension to make it over 95% of the trails in the Pacific North West - and certainly you don't need that equipment to get well off the beaten track, or over a several thousand mile voyage over primitive roads.
There is a strong case I think for leaving it bone stock, or as close to that as possible. Engineers at Daimler Chrysler have worked very hard to minimize warranty claims on their product line. Why go messing around with a good thing? No lift, swaybars attached, and ~18-19psi in the tires have worked well for me over most of WA state's terrain in the 14 months I've owned the Jeep. The one detriment that will be corrected is the much loathed "shovel". If it weren't for that low-hanging transfer case skidplate, the Rubi would be near perfect right out of the box.
My friend's 2003 is sanely fitted with a 3.5" teraflex kit, 33" MT/R's, and a nice winch and bumper combination. With the short wheelbase, there's next to nothing in this state that's not conquerable with that setup. It's something to strive for, to be sure. Even so, sometimes, all you need is a bit of faith in yourself, faith in the equipment you do have, and the fortitude to put it all together for a safe, memorable experience. It sure beats web wheeling and stressing over mods.
As I stood in the trees at the snowed-in camp site, chewing on Nalley chili cooked right in the can and savoring a cool glass of wine, I couldn't help but wonder how many vehicles had been here over the weekend revving their engines and employing those massive tires so popular around here towards dubious objectives. Certainly not I. :chowtime:
Were they missing the point? Why trade a few moments of peace for beef jerky, bad beer and near vertical assaults on the surrounding landscape ... leaving the beerboxes and bottles for me to clean up the next Wednesday?
The trails that are there have plenty of challenge in them ... for a stock or nearly stock rig. Take this memorable climb below, for instance. Tires spinning, smashing the shovel and rear control arms repeatedly on the rocks in the middle, going to the high-side the first two attempts and needing winched off backwards, not once but twice, before settling for the easy route to the left. All in a day's fun - maybe when I come back to drier times I'll be able to crawl it, but today the ability of the tires to claw over snowy, muddy terrain is much less than the tenacious grip the serpentine rock had on my drivers side lower control arm. At least I didn't have to be winched up.
A couple more miles down the trail I figured out that our 2 jeep party was well away from finding 102 to the north, and discovered deep snow drifts, untouched trails, and plenty of frozen mud that would lead us to great views. Long, steep climbs on the sharp hills were taken with the lockers off, with enough speed to maintain momentum through wheel-deep snow but not so much as to risk sliding over the edge. The limited slip worked dutifully, and in the vast quietness of the forest we slid to a stop a few yards away to spot two enormous doe curiously gazing and perhaps wondering why these mechanical things were intruding into their space. I was envious of their quick getaway straight over the precipice, marveling that not only would I never attempt that in my jeep, but it would be unlikely that I'd try it on foot, either.
One more snowy climb and a 1/4 mile led us to the end of the road. It had been a good day of carefree exploring, and I'd not remembered to break out the camera nearly enough to do the day justice.
To sum up - stop whining about those mods, and get yourself out into the woods. What doesn't kill you or your jeep will only make it stronger.
cheers
-isaac
