IN to UT, AZ, CO in a stock JK Unlimited

[scarysharkface]

Day 4 Part 5 Already...

Family portrait!

We squeeze off a handful of pics and have lunch on the slickrock...

Heading back out, we spy a coyote..

Next stop: Hidden Canyon...

Sand...

John

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Yo john, I've been faithfully following your report and again, I'll say 'beautiful family"

Now one little added FYI

With the new Jeep JK, whenever you HEAD OFF-ROAD, gently put the xfer case in 4HI

If the time suddenly shows up that you NEED 4 wheel traction, the manual xfer case gear shift, uses very substandard linkage connectors, so if your allready in 4wd, it will save you from being in the middle of NO-WHERE and suddenly locking your xfer case in "neutral"

Wonderful pic's

:costumed-smiley-007:snorkel::safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

 

[scarysharkface]

:sombrero: Yo john, I've been faithfully following your report and again, I'll say 'beautiful family"

Now one little added FYI

With the new Jeep JK, whenever you HEAD OFF-ROAD, gently put the xfer case in 4HI

If the time suddenly shows up that you NEED 4 wheel traction, the manual xfer case gear shift, uses very substandard linkage connectors, so if your allready in 4wd, it will save you from being in the middle of NO-WHERE and suddenly locking your xfer case in "neutral"

Wonderful pic's

:costumed-smiley-007:snorkel::safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

Great advice for all of us, and generally what I do (except for that one time when I couldn't figure out ****** was wrong with my new Jeep at the bottom of a wash). Resting on the frame in mud/sand/whatever is not the best time to have to crawl underneath to tweak a linkage..

Glad you're enjoying the pics. We took plenty.

John

 

[crawldit]

I have subscribed to this thread. Phenomenal images and great looking trip.

 

[scarysharkface]

Day 4 Episode 6

John

 

[scarysharkface]

Day 4 Even More

So it's looking like it's going to rain by now, or maybe not. By now we've stopped again..

We start noticing the occasional drop of water on our noses and decide to hightail it for the pavement. Don't want to be on Blue Hills Road (or whatever it's called) in or after a rain. The Wells book says it's impassable when wet, which is easy to believe as it's either clay or sandy wash..

At one point I'm thinking I've got problems with the 4wd system, and maybe some sand got past the air cleaner. I gas it and not only does it want to get stuck, but the engine cuts out as well. The feeling is not unlike having a plugged fuel filter or air-starvation, and decidedly ungood. Then I notice I'd put it in 2-HI when shifting out of 4-LO a few minutes ago and am a bit amused. Jeep did pretty well for not being in 4wd for that last stretch. Shift into 4wd and we're back in business as the rain begins to fall a little harder, though still light..

The sprinkles don't last long, so we decide to hit up Arches and have a look-see..

Hats were invented for this..

One almost doesn't have to get out of the vehicle to see the signature cliche, but some wise engineer probably made the conscious decision that it is immoral to view such great beauty from the driver's seat of a Chrysler and located the parking area accordingly..

We walked on up to the viewing area, and could see that we'd stopped at the wrong set of trails and couldn't actually get to the arch from here. Great views of the countryside though...

Some rigs arriving down one of the 4WD roads...

John

lots left to post...

 

[scarysharkface]

Yes, Even More Day 4

Tower Arch seems like the next logical destination, so we follow the dirt road...

With lots of this out the left side window...

As we were pulling onto this road, we passed a green Jeep JK Unlimited pulled off to the side and traded waves.. Several minutes later I see Jeep headlights in the mirror and let him pass at the turnoff to Tower Arch and the Four Wheel Drive Road..

I figure if he can make it, then I can make it and proceed to stay on his tail as best I can..

It gets interesting, but I've got tracks to follow and surely he can't get that far ahead of me...

I'm having a good time. We're all having a good time, actually. The green Jeep was waiting for us, and we got out and exchanged exhuberant pleasantries while assessing the challenges up the trail before us...

Bruce, the other driver, asks me if I've ever done this before. I tell him no (I've never done rocks before this trip, just dirt), and am about to thank him for letting me follow his tracks when he tells me he's never done this before either, with the biggest smile I've seen in a long time. We strategerize a bit...

John

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: That actually looks pretty mild John, your most dangerous hazard can be one 10 inch rock, in the middle of the dirt road, that has been known to strip the rear diff cover bottom, you'll slowly learn to drive from the bottom of your jeep

Fantastic pics

:costumed-smiley-007:smiley_drive::safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

 

[scarysharkface]

:sombrero: That actually looks pretty mild John, your most dangerous hazard can be one 10 inch rock, in the middle of the dirt road, that has been known to strip the rear diff cover bottom, you'll slowly learn to drive from the bottom of your jeep

Fantastic pics

:costumed-smiley-007:smiley_drive::safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

I don't know the Jeep very well, and haven't done rocks before so it all looks big, pointy and scary to me!

John

 

[scarysharkface]

Day 4 Part 2553

Bruce and I are enjoying this too much, so we smile big and keep going. I kindly offer to follow, since that's been working so well so far..

John

 

[Hltoppr]

John,

Great report! Moving out West anytime soon now? :sombrero:

-H-

 

[scarysharkface]

John,

Great report! Moving out West anytime soon now? :sombrero:

-H-

God I wish... Glad you like the report. There's lots more to come, as time allows..

John

 

[Maddmatt]

Great trip report - I love that you just went and did it, commit first research second is how all my best adventures begin.

At some point I'd be interested in your opinions of the JK with 4 in it for long distances. Prices are getting good, and with 2 kids myself you never know - but we do a lot of road trips. I'll check in here from time to time or you could send me a PM if you get a chance. No hurry, and I don't want to derail a great trip report.

-Matt

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: I'm on the west coast and at least for a Rubicon 4dr, it would be cheaper to get a 2009, rather than a used '07/08

Great trip report - I love that you just went and did it, commit first research second is how all my best adventures begin.

At some point I'd be interested in your opinions of the JK with 4 in it for long distances. Prices are getting good, and with 2 kids myself you never know - but we do a lot of road trips. I'll check in here from time to time or you could send me a PM if you get a chance. No hurry, and I don't want to derail a great trip report.

-Matt

Just lately a used '08 Ruby-4dr was listed at $34800 and I paid $30285 for mine, 8 months ago

Checkemout Matt

:costumed-smiley-007:smiley_drive::safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

 

[scarysharkface]

Great trip report - I love that you just went and did it, commit first research second is how all my best adventures begin.

At some point I'd be interested in your opinions of the JK with 4 in it for long distances. Prices are getting good, and with 2 kids myself you never know - but we do a lot of road trips. I'll check in here from time to time or you could send me a PM if you get a chance. No hurry, and I don't want to derail a great trip report.

-Matt

ALL my adventures begin that way! :sombrero: :bike_rider: :smiley_drive:

The kids like the back seat of the JK Unlimited better than the back seat of the Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab it replaced. The JK seat back isn't as upright, and they say it feels a lot more natural. We took a 2-day trip in the Dodge a couple of months ago and they complained constantly about the seat, whereas this 14-day trip the complaints were all about each other with the exception of the left-side seatbelt sometimes being tight (which I attribute to having stuff packed too closely to it on travel days)..

John