I just got back from Moab and it was all that I expected it to be!! I went with my local 4x4 club and it was my first trip there with my Jeep. It showered on us a couple of days, but in general, the weather was generally fantastic- not too hot, not too cold! Moab has been on my hit list, since I began building my 2017 2-door JK Sport. I went from sea level to 4000 feet, traversing 7000 foot passes with a motorcycle sitting on my rear bumper and I still got 16 mpg going there! I was pretty happy with that!
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We got to run Hells Revenge (Hells Gate), Cliff Hanger, Metal Masher, Poison Spyder Mesa/Gold Run Rim, Steel Bender (night run) and Top of the World. The traction is phenomenal! Cliff Hanger was the most challenging for my Jeep- some obstacles didn't even look possible, but I managed on all except for one stair sequence coming back almost at the parking lot. I just couldn't stick the right line and kept getting hung up, so that was the only time on this trip that I had to get winched. There were some pretty good ledges on Metal Masher and Steel Bender to climb, which went perfectly. Then there was that giant rock to climb called Waterfall on Gold Run Rim, which I got it on my first attempt. I was so pleased with my Jeep! Running all these iconic trails and being able to basically have the Jeep do whatever I wanted it to do made me feel accomplished in my building of the rig.
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A sad, but true story.... while my group was handling Waterfall, there sat a young female at the top of the ledge on the left watching us. Her new gen Bronco sat not far from her across the trail. She tried to take her Bronco up this obstacle and her transmission broke. Others winched her up the rock to where it then was sitting. She had been waiting all alone for 2 days, while "someone" was getting help. She seemed to be in good spirits offering suggestions on which lines to take. We offered her food, water, supplies, but she was fine.
As Jeep wheelers, we all have to make decisions on how we're going to do our builds- how big, how strong, what brands, what parts work well together, 4-door or 2-door, etc. And thank god for internet forums out there to help us sift through the good and the bad! I bought this little Jeep (I named him King- that was my dad's middle name, or so he said) brand new in 2017 specifically to go crawling. It lasted about 2 weeks before parts started coming off it. In 2018, my wife and I did the Rubicon Trail with Jeepers Jamboree and I was HOOKED!! Since then, the build has come a long way. Then I took a few years off from wheelin', while work took its toll, but I was still building it up. I finally joined a club in 2022 and really started enjoying the fruits of my labor!
My Jeep, King, as he stands now is pretty robust, although he is still running a Dana 30 in front! I had the axle trussed and C-gussets welded in along with front LCA skids done at the same time. I also had Synergy ball joints installed. Eaton e-lockers were installed front and rear and the pumpkins were regeared to 4.56. To control the lockers, I built my own switch panel from cheap Amazon and eBay parts. No sleeves, but I'm running Revolution Gear chromoly axle shafts all around, pushing BFG K02 35" tires on AEV Borah wheels. I found a cooked 4:1 Rubicon transfer case and rebuilt it myself with a USA Standard kit and Borg Warner chain (it's been spot on ever since!). Tom Woods drive shafts front and rear turn the axles. For suspension, I'm running the Metalcloak Gamechanger 3.5 with Teraflex Falcon 3.3 piggyback shocks. Of course, I have protection all around with beefy aluminum fenders, Smittybilt belly armor, a stubby Smittybilt bumper in front, a Poison Spyder RockBrawler in the back, and the PS Ricochet Rockers for sliders. I installed a Smittybilt sport cage kit for added safety. (Say what you will about this Shittybilt roll cage, but I've seen what it can do- my friend rolled his Jeep sideways 7 times down a hill and that cage held just fine.)
Oh, and I couldn't bear to listen to that HORRIBLE stock stereo, so I stole the Sony AX5000 stereo/nav unit from my other car- I can run OnX on it, so I can read the maps where I'm going. It's paired it with Infinity Primus component speakers in front and Polk Audio component speakers in the soundbar, and for bass support, I'm running an 8" Alpine subwoofer tucked under my seat. I added an Alpine 4-channel amp that fits nicely in the glovebox area. Music at freeway speeds with no top is not a problem!
I'm sure that a lot of you have similar builds, if not bigger! One of the toughest decisions I've had to wrestle with is if I should make the jump up to 37" tires. The D30 would certainly be a no-go, so for starters, I would need to replace that front axle. I would have to regear again and probably move up to a bigger suspension. But this little Jeep is actually my daily driver. And I do a bit of overlanding in it too. I can't but feel that by going bigger, I'm headed more into dedicated rig territory. And what would I gain by going bigger? Heck, it's doing just about everything I need it to do right now. It's been battle-tested over the past four years. I live in California, so I've done the Rubicon, Fordyce and Slick Rock a few times, as well as Barrett Lake and all the popular trails down at Big Bear Lake. King doesn't have any problems getting around. Especially after this Moab trip- I'm thinking of just leaving the Jeep alone.
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If you haven't gone to Moab yet, definitely put it on your list!! We ended up running all red (difficult) trails, but there are less hard trails out there that are just as enjoyable. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and vast! Moab is not to be missed!
We got to run Hells Revenge (Hells Gate), Cliff Hanger, Metal Masher, Poison Spyder Mesa/Gold Run Rim, Steel Bender (night run) and Top of the World. The traction is phenomenal! Cliff Hanger was the most challenging for my Jeep- some obstacles didn't even look possible, but I managed on all except for one stair sequence coming back almost at the parking lot. I just couldn't stick the right line and kept getting hung up, so that was the only time on this trip that I had to get winched. There were some pretty good ledges on Metal Masher and Steel Bender to climb, which went perfectly. Then there was that giant rock to climb called Waterfall on Gold Run Rim, which I got it on my first attempt. I was so pleased with my Jeep! Running all these iconic trails and being able to basically have the Jeep do whatever I wanted it to do made me feel accomplished in my building of the rig.
As Jeep wheelers, we all have to make decisions on how we're going to do our builds- how big, how strong, what brands, what parts work well together, 4-door or 2-door, etc. And thank god for internet forums out there to help us sift through the good and the bad! I bought this little Jeep (I named him King- that was my dad's middle name, or so he said) brand new in 2017 specifically to go crawling. It lasted about 2 weeks before parts started coming off it. In 2018, my wife and I did the Rubicon Trail with Jeepers Jamboree and I was HOOKED!! Since then, the build has come a long way. Then I took a few years off from wheelin', while work took its toll, but I was still building it up. I finally joined a club in 2022 and really started enjoying the fruits of my labor!
My Jeep, King, as he stands now is pretty robust, although he is still running a Dana 30 in front! I had the axle trussed and C-gussets welded in along with front LCA skids done at the same time. I also had Synergy ball joints installed. Eaton e-lockers were installed front and rear and the pumpkins were regeared to 4.56. To control the lockers, I built my own switch panel from cheap Amazon and eBay parts. No sleeves, but I'm running Revolution Gear chromoly axle shafts all around, pushing BFG K02 35" tires on AEV Borah wheels. I found a cooked 4:1 Rubicon transfer case and rebuilt it myself with a USA Standard kit and Borg Warner chain (it's been spot on ever since!). Tom Woods drive shafts front and rear turn the axles. For suspension, I'm running the Metalcloak Gamechanger 3.5 with Teraflex Falcon 3.3 piggyback shocks. Of course, I have protection all around with beefy aluminum fenders, Smittybilt belly armor, a stubby Smittybilt bumper in front, a Poison Spyder RockBrawler in the back, and the PS Ricochet Rockers for sliders. I installed a Smittybilt sport cage kit for added safety. (Say what you will about this Shittybilt roll cage, but I've seen what it can do- my friend rolled his Jeep sideways 7 times down a hill and that cage held just fine.)
Oh, and I couldn't bear to listen to that HORRIBLE stock stereo, so I stole the Sony AX5000 stereo/nav unit from my other car- I can run OnX on it, so I can read the maps where I'm going. It's paired it with Infinity Primus component speakers in front and Polk Audio component speakers in the soundbar, and for bass support, I'm running an 8" Alpine subwoofer tucked under my seat. I added an Alpine 4-channel amp that fits nicely in the glovebox area. Music at freeway speeds with no top is not a problem!
I'm sure that a lot of you have similar builds, if not bigger! One of the toughest decisions I've had to wrestle with is if I should make the jump up to 37" tires. The D30 would certainly be a no-go, so for starters, I would need to replace that front axle. I would have to regear again and probably move up to a bigger suspension. But this little Jeep is actually my daily driver. And I do a bit of overlanding in it too. I can't but feel that by going bigger, I'm headed more into dedicated rig territory. And what would I gain by going bigger? Heck, it's doing just about everything I need it to do right now. It's been battle-tested over the past four years. I live in California, so I've done the Rubicon, Fordyce and Slick Rock a few times, as well as Barrett Lake and all the popular trails down at Big Bear Lake. King doesn't have any problems getting around. Especially after this Moab trip- I'm thinking of just leaving the Jeep alone.
If you haven't gone to Moab yet, definitely put it on your list!! We ended up running all red (difficult) trails, but there are less hard trails out there that are just as enjoyable. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and vast! Moab is not to be missed!
