First of all nice xj. As the former owner of 2 xjs they r awesome wheeling rigs. Sorry as I converted to the zj grand side of the fence. Much more comfortable w the back and knee issues I have. Secondly its nice to sees the better half out there wrenching. My wife has assisted w all my project jeeps through the years. It quality time together and also teaches them about the rig in case of a break down/equipment failure in the Bush. That way they are able to assist with repairs. Keep up the great work man. I'm def gonna follow your build up.
Jake's XJ build.
- Thread starter Jakeleverett
- Start date
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
@jeepdreamer, haha absolutely not! That would be my girlfriend's MOM!!
@xjman88, Thank you very much, I don't have those problems yet but my dad and girlfriend's mom have both complained about the seats(one being 58 and the other 51, they have problems...) but eventually I think I would be interested in finding another set of seats out of another type of car, I have been looking at the camel color BMW seats. From the measurements that I have gotten from my cousin's car, his 335 seats will fit fairly perfectly. I have been keeping my eye out for them and will snatch them up when I see them, but I am currently in no rush...
That is very true, I was shocked when she wanted to help because she is fairly "girly" with most things. It is a different side of them(girls) that is kinda cool to see and it definitely is exciting to be able to share that with them!!
Thank you again!
@Bbasso, No it doesn't interfere in the least bit! That may be because the RTT is mounted to the higher rails on the rack though. If it were any lower then it was I don't think that we could open the rear hatch all the way. I want it to eventually be mounted so that it opens off to the side of the Jeep rather than off the rear.
I chose this mainly because of some AMAZING customer service on the part of Tepui Tents, specifically a rep named Evan Currid. This guy was great! They have not only taken care of us from the original purchase, but we also had some shipping damage that they took care of right away, hours after I emailed him and told him of the damaged rail and cover he let me know that the new parts were on the way as well as a newer version of their ladder design! I had no knowledge of this upgraded ladder, nor had I asked for it, he just sent it as a gift! They have great products and stand by them 100%!
I was also in contact with Cascadia Tents who also had fairly good customer service and similar pricing, but they were just too slow to respond.
I have zero complaints about the tent, only praise and excitement to get to use it the next time!
Thank you for your interest!
@xjman88, Thank you very much, I don't have those problems yet but my dad and girlfriend's mom have both complained about the seats(one being 58 and the other 51, they have problems...) but eventually I think I would be interested in finding another set of seats out of another type of car, I have been looking at the camel color BMW seats. From the measurements that I have gotten from my cousin's car, his 335 seats will fit fairly perfectly. I have been keeping my eye out for them and will snatch them up when I see them, but I am currently in no rush...
That is very true, I was shocked when she wanted to help because she is fairly "girly" with most things. It is a different side of them(girls) that is kinda cool to see and it definitely is exciting to be able to share that with them!!
Thank you again!
@Bbasso, No it doesn't interfere in the least bit! That may be because the RTT is mounted to the higher rails on the rack though. If it were any lower then it was I don't think that we could open the rear hatch all the way. I want it to eventually be mounted so that it opens off to the side of the Jeep rather than off the rear.
I chose this mainly because of some AMAZING customer service on the part of Tepui Tents, specifically a rep named Evan Currid. This guy was great! They have not only taken care of us from the original purchase, but we also had some shipping damage that they took care of right away, hours after I emailed him and told him of the damaged rail and cover he let me know that the new parts were on the way as well as a newer version of their ladder design! I had no knowledge of this upgraded ladder, nor had I asked for it, he just sent it as a gift! They have great products and stand by them 100%!
I was also in contact with Cascadia Tents who also had fairly good customer service and similar pricing, but they were just too slow to respond.
I have zero complaints about the tent, only praise and excitement to get to use it the next time!
Thank you for your interest!
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
I don't have all of the pictures that we took on our little camping trip up to Palomar, but here's a few that I had taken on my phone.
This is from right before we left my girlfriend's house:
Here is part of the view from Boucher's Point:
I realized as we were halfway down from Boucher's Point that I had a panorama app that I downloaded.
It would have been awesome to shoot a panorama of this view!
Apparently this mountain top is used by the fire department to spot fires in the area.
On a clear day, we could see from Mexico to the South, Catalina Island to the West, all the way up to Mt Baldy and beyond to the North.
Here I am setting up the tent on the second day:
I received a ticket for parking in the dirt that morning.
The ranger was extremely upset with me as she was walking up exclaiming, "I can't believe you just did that, how could you do that!?"
I originally had no idea what she was talking about so I started looking around on the ground thinking that I may have dropped something and not noticed.
She was referring to where I parked...
which parking in the dirt is apparently illegal in state parks...
Even though the RV parking spots are all dirt as well as the area where she pulled off the asphalt(into DIRT!!!) to rush over and scold me!
I was in complete and utter shock that she was so upset and currently yelling at me to move my car on to the asphalt.
I talked to her for a little while about what damage the vehicles cause to the tree roots under the dirt and whatnot(all the while, her F350 loaded with equipment and probably double what my Jeep weighed was parked behind her... IN THE DIRT. I kept my mouth shut though...) and calmed her down after moving my Jeep.
She originally wrote me a $330 ticket, I assume trying to scare me.
Then after calming her down we got talking about good places to off road(Legally) and where she went camping when she was younger(Cougar Canyon/Anza Borrego area) which happened to be where my favorite place to backpack is(besides the Sierras) and she reduced the ticket/fine to $77.
Then we got talking about when I got my Eagle rank in Boy Scouts and about my Eagle project and all that good stuff.
Eventually when we got home and I went to pay the fine, there was no ticket on my license/car so apparently she threw it out!
I was relieved about this as it would have been my very first ticket after 2 years of driving!
Anyway she went from being upset to getting nostalgic with me that she forgot about my offense.
Here is breakfast time and the campsite:
Another funny story...
So I had been promised by my female that I would get to sleep in until 10am because she talked me into staying up late for a campfire/smores/stargazing/etc.
We finally got to bed at 3am after watching Zombieland in the tent.
She brought her ipad which we hung from one of the poles in the tent, this is where the alarm was set...
When our alarm went off at "10am" I was less than satisfied with the night's sleep.
I got up anyway and we had breakfast, cleaned up, applied sun screen and bug spray, and went for a walk.
Halfway through the day after lunch, a hike, fishing, exploring, bouldering, etc. we were wondering why we felt so productive and how it was only 1pm!
The next day our alarm went off again at "10am" and I, yet again, didn't feel very refreshed...
I looked at my watch, it said 7am... I clicked her ipad, it said 10am, I clicked my iphone, it said 7am...
Yeah.
I got cheated the day before.
I went back to sleep.
It was a nice, refreshing trip and was well needed. It has been pretty stressful back at home.
I am waiting for it to cool off for some desert camping/offroading.
I HATE BUGS, that is the MAIN reason why I love desert camping.
This is from right before we left my girlfriend's house:
Here is part of the view from Boucher's Point:
I realized as we were halfway down from Boucher's Point that I had a panorama app that I downloaded.
It would have been awesome to shoot a panorama of this view!
Apparently this mountain top is used by the fire department to spot fires in the area.
On a clear day, we could see from Mexico to the South, Catalina Island to the West, all the way up to Mt Baldy and beyond to the North.
Here I am setting up the tent on the second day:
I received a ticket for parking in the dirt that morning.
The ranger was extremely upset with me as she was walking up exclaiming, "I can't believe you just did that, how could you do that!?"
I originally had no idea what she was talking about so I started looking around on the ground thinking that I may have dropped something and not noticed.
She was referring to where I parked...
which parking in the dirt is apparently illegal in state parks...
Even though the RV parking spots are all dirt as well as the area where she pulled off the asphalt(into DIRT!!!) to rush over and scold me!
I was in complete and utter shock that she was so upset and currently yelling at me to move my car on to the asphalt.
I talked to her for a little while about what damage the vehicles cause to the tree roots under the dirt and whatnot(all the while, her F350 loaded with equipment and probably double what my Jeep weighed was parked behind her... IN THE DIRT. I kept my mouth shut though...) and calmed her down after moving my Jeep.
She originally wrote me a $330 ticket, I assume trying to scare me.
Then after calming her down we got talking about good places to off road(Legally) and where she went camping when she was younger(Cougar Canyon/Anza Borrego area) which happened to be where my favorite place to backpack is(besides the Sierras) and she reduced the ticket/fine to $77.
Then we got talking about when I got my Eagle rank in Boy Scouts and about my Eagle project and all that good stuff.
Eventually when we got home and I went to pay the fine, there was no ticket on my license/car so apparently she threw it out!
I was relieved about this as it would have been my very first ticket after 2 years of driving!
Anyway she went from being upset to getting nostalgic with me that she forgot about my offense.
Here is breakfast time and the campsite:
Another funny story...
So I had been promised by my female that I would get to sleep in until 10am because she talked me into staying up late for a campfire/smores/stargazing/etc.
We finally got to bed at 3am after watching Zombieland in the tent.
She brought her ipad which we hung from one of the poles in the tent, this is where the alarm was set...
When our alarm went off at "10am" I was less than satisfied with the night's sleep.
I got up anyway and we had breakfast, cleaned up, applied sun screen and bug spray, and went for a walk.
Halfway through the day after lunch, a hike, fishing, exploring, bouldering, etc. we were wondering why we felt so productive and how it was only 1pm!
The next day our alarm went off again at "10am" and I, yet again, didn't feel very refreshed...
I looked at my watch, it said 7am... I clicked her ipad, it said 10am, I clicked my iphone, it said 7am...
Yeah.
I got cheated the day before.
I went back to sleep.
It was a nice, refreshing trip and was well needed. It has been pretty stressful back at home.
I am waiting for it to cool off for some desert camping/offroading.
I HATE BUGS, that is the MAIN reason why I love desert camping.
88Xj
Banned
EPIC. Now was that intentional or accidental:ylsmoke:
I see your from socal? Where abouts? I'm hoping to have my jeep operational soon (needs a crossmember & a few small things) and would love to get out an explore. I'm in the high desert. I'm kinda alone where I'm at..most locals are all rock crawlers & my rigs better than yours type guys lol. If not them then theres the desert runner (prerunner) guys which are actually cool to hang out with actually. But I can't do what they do & most don't do what I do lol.
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
@ 88Xj, I wouldnt be surprised either way haha.
Im in SD currently... Sera Mesa more specifically but will probably be moving to Pacific Beach soon... My aunt just finished building a house a couple blocks from the beach and is currently decorating the second story of the garage which was designed as a condo for my cousin, but things happened, she got into some trouble and now the condo has no one to claim it... We have since been talking about me renting it which would be cool.
Haha yeah both of those are probably true about the off roaders around here. I haven't found any I like enough to hang out with, but I am still looking for a group... all my idiot friends are scared to scratch their lifted tacomas or have moved on to racing cars... I am the only one left and am alone too =( haha.
What part of Southern Cali do you rein from? Im drawing a blank on where specifically the high desert is, sorry, is that Anza area?
Let me know if you need any help with your ride, October is super hectic but after the 30th I don't have anything planned for a little while and I'd love to help and meet some new people.
Crawling and Desert Running are fun and all, I just prefer relaxing and leisurely exploring. You also don't break things as often that way...
O and this is kind of the condo, its the second story above where I am parked in the carport. You can't see much of it but I took the picture initially because I thought the fence and grass looked cool with the Jeep:
Im in SD currently... Sera Mesa more specifically but will probably be moving to Pacific Beach soon... My aunt just finished building a house a couple blocks from the beach and is currently decorating the second story of the garage which was designed as a condo for my cousin, but things happened, she got into some trouble and now the condo has no one to claim it... We have since been talking about me renting it which would be cool.
Haha yeah both of those are probably true about the off roaders around here. I haven't found any I like enough to hang out with, but I am still looking for a group... all my idiot friends are scared to scratch their lifted tacomas or have moved on to racing cars... I am the only one left and am alone too =( haha.
What part of Southern Cali do you rein from? Im drawing a blank on where specifically the high desert is, sorry, is that Anza area?
Let me know if you need any help with your ride, October is super hectic but after the 30th I don't have anything planned for a little while and I'd love to help and meet some new people.
Crawling and Desert Running are fun and all, I just prefer relaxing and leisurely exploring. You also don't break things as often that way...
O and this is kind of the condo, its the second story above where I am parked in the carport. You can't see much of it but I took the picture initially because I thought the fence and grass looked cool with the Jeep:
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
@dakineJ, Ya I took some pictures so I could protest it but I didn't end up needing to. I also wanted to take a picture of her truck but I didn't want to aggravate her even more... My girlfriend is very stubborn and wanted to argue with her right there but when dealing with police officers and other people who have the power to cause you headache, the best thing to do is stay calm, talk to them, stay respectful, speak and act like you are truly sorry and leave a positive impression on them. 9 times out of 10, you made it easier on yourself as well as the next person they pull over.
I have heard of the Blue Ribbon Coalition but haven't looked into it. What do they do?
I hear Oregon is pretty fantastic as well, I think you are pretty lucky because the only thing that I love more than the desert is RAIN!!
I have heard of the Blue Ribbon Coalition but haven't looked into it. What do they do?
I hear Oregon is pretty fantastic as well, I think you are pretty lucky because the only thing that I love more than the desert is RAIN!!
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
Here is another before/after comparison of the lift and rack:
Before:
After:
I would have liked to take the picture at the same angle but a large bush(borderline tree) has since grown in where I was standing for the first picture!
This area is a little secret of mine. Its literally in the center of the city, 5 mins from my house and perfect for those times when you've been driving on pavement for too long and need some dirt.
Here are a few more, I took them while waiting for my female and her mom to finish packing for a trip that we should have already left for!
The pictures were taken at around 10am because I was told the day and week before that we would be leaving for Big Bear at around 9:30-10:00 am. Knowing this, I packed the night before, right as I was starting my Jeep, I get a text telling me that they are starting to pack NOW and to take my time... Sweet.
Sooooo, I entertained myself the best way I knew of:
Before:
After:
I would have liked to take the picture at the same angle but a large bush(borderline tree) has since grown in where I was standing for the first picture!
This area is a little secret of mine. Its literally in the center of the city, 5 mins from my house and perfect for those times when you've been driving on pavement for too long and need some dirt.
Here are a few more, I took them while waiting for my female and her mom to finish packing for a trip that we should have already left for!
The pictures were taken at around 10am because I was told the day and week before that we would be leaving for Big Bear at around 9:30-10:00 am. Knowing this, I packed the night before, right as I was starting my Jeep, I get a text telling me that they are starting to pack NOW and to take my time... Sweet.
Sooooo, I entertained myself the best way I knew of:
88Xj
Banned
No a little further than Anza. I'm a little over 2 hours due north of you. Straight up the 15 & 215 will get you to me. Hesperia, apple valley, phelan, victorville is where I'm at. Past San Bernardino ect.
And same here brother, I just like to get out find some nice spots to go exploring, run some of the milder trails & enjoy being away from the city!
And same here brother, I just like to get out find some nice spots to go exploring, run some of the milder trails & enjoy being away from the city!
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
Oh ok north of Big Bear! Ever venture up into Big Bear? That's one of my favorite places to go, I love the little mine trail on the northern side of the lake starting near the landfill! Have you ever driven that trail?
88Xj
Banned
No I actually haven't..I've seen others going up it but never have! Hell when my jeeps together you can scout me once I get my Xj back under way:bike_rider:
I do big bear, wrightwood, deep creek..Just alot of the medium stuff, nothing ever to hard. I have a 5speed so being in rocks blows for me..alot of clutch slippage, cooling down, more slippage, cooling down lol. I try to do as little rocks as possible, anything else I'm good!
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
Ok so here are a few pictures from our previously mentioned Big Bear trip:
The trip was a ton of fun and I was doing one of my favorite things (besides offroading and mountain biking) which is snowboarding!
I love that Big Bear is so close and so versatile, I can snowboard there in the winter and mountain bike the same runs in the summer!
It is a great place for quick weekend or extended weekend getaways. We usually try to plan our trips up there when no one else will be, so during the week or just before or after holiday weekends. It can get pretty busy on holiday weekends.
We snowboarded the first day. It was my girlfriend's mom's first time snowboarding, she did extremely well actually and was able to comfortably ride heel by the time we left and she was 50 at the time!
The next day we relaxed and walked around the village, they were in no condition to do a second day of riding after having fallen so much the first day(my girlfriend is still learning as well).
As we were heading out we decided to drive this cool mine trail. We drive a little ways up it every time we come because there is a cool view of the lake but never the whole mine road.
Here is a couple pictures from a previous trip of the view and this cool old mine building that is along the way:
This was also the tail end of the winter season so there was some snow and ice on the trail.
I was nervous because we were fairly weighed down due to having three people and two of them being female...
If anyone has ever vacationed with women, they will know that women tend to pack everything they own into a damn suit case!!! They may as well pack lead weights!!
My girlfriend in particular was notorious for this. The first time we went on vacation together, for a weekend, she packed an entire large-size suitcase AND a medium one!! This was extremely irritating to me as I have lived out of a backpack for three weeks before!! I love backpacking so I pack bare essentials, small, and lightweight.
I now have her using just a medium suitcase and I think I can do even better than that with her, but she has definitely come a loooooong way.
Anyway, we were very weighed down and we were alone.
These two things do not go together when snow is involved.
I was hesitant to do it but I was talked into it so we drove it and survived to tell the tale!
Here is right before we got into the snow:
Notice that where my girlfriend is standing is dirt and dust, but the hill behind her has snow.
That is how the trail was, one second we would have a dust cloud behind us and after rounding a bend, we would be up to the axle in snow.
This is part of the way through, we pulled over to check out this cool meadow and hunter's cabin:
Near this area, the trail splits off into more hairy offroading which was still closed due to the snow and ice.
It was still impassible even by those little swiss 6x6 trucks.
There are a few locals who own them and drive the trails every now and then.
This is one of the main mine roads that is about halfway through the trail.
It was pretty scary because this portion of the trail was almost entirely ice and entirely uphill!
We definitely did some slipping and sliding on this part. It wasn't too bad but definitely on the border of out of control!
It is a really cool trail and is definitely checking out if you're in the area.
I apologize for the picture quality and lighting, most of these pictures are taken with an iphone.
The trip was a ton of fun and I was doing one of my favorite things (besides offroading and mountain biking) which is snowboarding!
I love that Big Bear is so close and so versatile, I can snowboard there in the winter and mountain bike the same runs in the summer!
It is a great place for quick weekend or extended weekend getaways. We usually try to plan our trips up there when no one else will be, so during the week or just before or after holiday weekends. It can get pretty busy on holiday weekends.
We snowboarded the first day. It was my girlfriend's mom's first time snowboarding, she did extremely well actually and was able to comfortably ride heel by the time we left and she was 50 at the time!
The next day we relaxed and walked around the village, they were in no condition to do a second day of riding after having fallen so much the first day(my girlfriend is still learning as well).
As we were heading out we decided to drive this cool mine trail. We drive a little ways up it every time we come because there is a cool view of the lake but never the whole mine road.
Here is a couple pictures from a previous trip of the view and this cool old mine building that is along the way:
This was also the tail end of the winter season so there was some snow and ice on the trail.
I was nervous because we were fairly weighed down due to having three people and two of them being female...
If anyone has ever vacationed with women, they will know that women tend to pack everything they own into a damn suit case!!! They may as well pack lead weights!!
My girlfriend in particular was notorious for this. The first time we went on vacation together, for a weekend, she packed an entire large-size suitcase AND a medium one!! This was extremely irritating to me as I have lived out of a backpack for three weeks before!! I love backpacking so I pack bare essentials, small, and lightweight.
I now have her using just a medium suitcase and I think I can do even better than that with her, but she has definitely come a loooooong way.
Anyway, we were very weighed down and we were alone.
These two things do not go together when snow is involved.
I was hesitant to do it but I was talked into it so we drove it and survived to tell the tale!
Here is right before we got into the snow:
Notice that where my girlfriend is standing is dirt and dust, but the hill behind her has snow.
That is how the trail was, one second we would have a dust cloud behind us and after rounding a bend, we would be up to the axle in snow.
This is part of the way through, we pulled over to check out this cool meadow and hunter's cabin:
Near this area, the trail splits off into more hairy offroading which was still closed due to the snow and ice.
It was still impassible even by those little swiss 6x6 trucks.
There are a few locals who own them and drive the trails every now and then.
This is one of the main mine roads that is about halfway through the trail.
It was pretty scary because this portion of the trail was almost entirely ice and entirely uphill!
We definitely did some slipping and sliding on this part. It wasn't too bad but definitely on the border of out of control!
It is a really cool trail and is definitely checking out if you're in the area.
I apologize for the picture quality and lighting, most of these pictures are taken with an iphone.
Jakeleverett
Adventurer
@88Xj, there aren't too many rocks, a few Ice puddles that were fun to drive over/through. but nothing needing a spotter.
The portions of the trails that close in the winter may be a whole different story though...
Itd be a cool drive if you're interested!
The portions of the trails that close in the winter may be a whole different story though...
Itd be a cool drive if you're interested!