For those who paddle at the end of the road less taken, this beast will lug your canoe down bogging, belly-shredding roads. beast

I read that same article less than 10 minutes ago. What color are you going to get?

Whoa! I mean GO! Hope I win the lottery soon :)

Whoever can afford one I'd be glad to ride shotgun! Maybe the new Ford Bronco will have a lower price tag.

quote Northwoodsman: "I read that same article less than 10 minutes ago. What color are you going to get?"

I like that chartreuse in the pic. Then, when you're paddling back to your car, it's an easy see!

quote DeanL: "Whoever can afford one I'd be glad to ride shotgun! Maybe the new Ford Bronco will have a lower price tag."

Yep, the Bronco is my pay grade, but I loved the technology in the Mercedes and its clearance. However, I couldn't even afford the Mercedes' repairs and they get poor scores for reliability.

I already have a sweet ride.

That is a nice ride jeepgirl. Which portage was that picture taken on?

Thanks. Gilbert MN at the Iron Range Off Road Park. Not sure which trail.

Gimme a Jeep any day.

That Benz is SWEEEEET! Now, where did I put that extra 100Gs...I know its around here somewhere...I'm forever losing these things...Oh my!

quote awbrown: "Gimme a Jeep any day.


"

Yep, I gotta go did da flatness willies. More my speed for repairs.

quote overthehill: "

quote awbrown: "Gimme a Jeep any day.



"

Yep, I gotta go did da flatness willies. More my speed for repairs."

I'm the little kid in the picture, over 60 years ago. My childhood was spent exploring the mountains of Colorado in the back seat of this 47 Willy's. Very fond memories.

It also didn't cost $500 for an oil change in those days, like it does today for that Mercedes.

Now I know where the AW in AWESOME comes from, AWbrown. What a pic! What a moment!

Wow, jeepgirl. I love the Rubicon. LOVE. IT. Yours looks especially bad ass. Three questions:

How often do you use your winch, given that you have front and rear lockers?

How often do you use your hi-lift jack, given that you have a winch?

How do you carry your canoe?

I drive a PRO-4X. It's not a Rubicon, but it does have Bilstein shocks, a solid rear axle, four skid plates, hill technology, and a rear locker. It's also big enough I can sleep inside and it comes with a rack, as you likely know.

quote awbrown: "

quote overthehill: "

quote awbrown: "Gimme a Jeep any day.



"

Yep, I gotta go did da flatness willies. More my speed for repairs."

I'm the little kid in the picture, over 60 years ago. My childhood was spent exploring the mountains of Colorado in the back seat of this 47 Willy's. Very fond memories.


It also didn't cost $500 for an oil change in those days, like it does today for that Mercedes."

Love that picture. Sounds like the kind of childhood a boy (or a Tomboy) would be envious of?

Someone said "New" Ford Bronco? Gosh, I didn't realize they were coming out with a new one? I know many would laugh and scoff, but our little Honda Element spent more time off-road than most ORV's on the road. Did a pretty admirable job and saw a fair amount of the country to boot.

The Element is a fine car, Oz. Handsome too.

...but if you're in a hurry, and comfort in your SUV is any sort of priority... Bentayga

Missmolly,

We have a second Jeep Wrangler. It has a hard top and a roof rack. Its my daily driver.

We have only had this Jeep 1 year and have only been out a few times. No high lift jack or winch used yet. Our older Jeep that we sold, well we got stuck a few times and spun the tire off a few more times. We snapped an axle, tore off the control arms and smashed the fender too. This was when we had more time to go off road. With dragon boat season lasting all summer and my husband's new hobby of military vehicles, the beautiful black Jeep has only been off road a few times.

I'll put my vote in for the Toyota 4runner TRD Pro .

Slightly more attainable for most of us, and extremely capable. I've had one for a year, and I love it. It will take me anywhere I'd want to go.

Sorry to keep bugging you, jeepgirl, but the more you share, the more questions I have:

How did you snap an axle? Was it a Rubicon with a solid axle?

I use logging roads to reach Crown Land lakes. There is water, both still and moving. I've never gotten stuck yet. However, I've considered a winch. My concern about winching is logging roads are often logged, so there might be times when I couldn't reach a big enough tree with the cable to free myself. Do you think I should buy a winch?

Nick, if I'd had the money, I would also bought a TRD Pro: Toyota reliability, nice and big, and rugged good looks. I bought my Pro 4X used and as you know, Nissans depreciate quickly, which made it affordable. Those damn Toyotas hold their value, so it's pert near impossible to find a used one cheap.

You're right. It's not a crazy MSRP relative to other vehicles, even the TRD Pro, but it's tough to find a used on cheap. I actually saw a year old TRD Pro with about 20k miles on a lot for more than the price of new. That's Beanie Baby economics if I've ever seen it.

We went down a rocky trail and my husband must have hit a rock or snapped it going over a rock. I was watching and taking photo's. There are good Jeep noises then there are bad Jeep noises. I heard something snap and he was done. Bad Jeep noise. It was a beat up 97 Wrangler Sport, not a rubicon. We bought it with a 7 inch lift in it, and 35 inch tires. The tires were too big for the dana 30 axle. It was a money pit. We took out part of the lift, replaced the drive shaft, put 33 inch tires on it, replaced the control arms, starter, ball joints, etc. But its a Jeep. Jeep stands for Just empty every pocket. We did have fun with it. It had some bad rust and some other major issues so we sold it and upgraded to the Rubicon.

You don't need a winch if you go with a group. We go to a few off road parks here in MN with our Jeep Club. Not everyone has a winch. My husband is the one who brings extra parts, tools, liquids, and even canned air. Last year he bought a winch for his Christmas present and I don't think he used it.

I put a winch on my Toyota. I don't do anything crazy, but I'm out alone and out of range quite a bit. I feel better having it, though I haven't had to use it. It
May not always work where you are, but it only takes once to be worth every penny.

quote amhacker22: "You're right. It's not a crazy MSRP relative to other vehicles, even the TRD Pro, but it's tough to find a used on cheap. I actually saw a year old TRD Pro with about 20k miles on a lot for more than the price of new. That's Beanie Baby economics if I've ever seen it."

Plus, TRD Pros are pretty rare. FJs are relatively common, but they hold their value too. Buying a new TRD Pro is the way to go. Thanks for your advice about the winch. You're right about one usage paying for it. Do you carry extra cable or webbing?

Thanks, Jeepgirl. I don't go with a group, so I'm leaning toward the winch. Okay, I have one, final question:

I assume the canned air is to reinflate tires deflated for additional traction. Would a bike pump also work?

BTW, my number one strategy is to retreat if a hole looks too deep and muddy, which is the antithesis of what serious mudders too.

I have a 100 ft synthetic line and a 40 ft tow strap. I figure that gives me about 110 ft of usable length. My fingers are crossed that it's enough.

quote missmolly: "Thanks, Jeepgirl. I don't go with a group, so I'm leaning toward the winch. Okay, I have one, final question:


I assume the canned air is to reinflate tires deflated for additional traction. Would a bike pump also work. "

The small amount of air delivered with each stroke of a bike pump means it would probably take hours to achieve much progress and your arms would fall off before you were finished

Get a small air compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter and you will be much happier.

quote awbrown: "

quote missmolly: "Thanks, Jeepgirl. I don't go with a group, so I'm leaning toward the winch. Okay, I have one, final question:



I assume the canned air is to reinflate tires deflated for additional traction. Would a bike pump also work. "

The small amount of air delivered with each stroke of a bike pump means it would probably take hours to achieve much progress and your arms would fall off before you were finished

Get a small air compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter and you will be much happier."

Great tip. I'll do that. Any other off-roading advice?

We took a class from Mark at Iron Range Off Road. He taught the class in Gilbert MN at the off road park. Its an old mine pit. Not everyone needs a class. My husband wanted to take the class to introduce me to driving the Jeep off road. We took our 2 year old stock Jeep and spent the weekend driving the simple trails. I got stuck a few times, hit a tree and had a blast. We met new people, joined a Jeep Club, and bought a second Jeep. The second Jeep was our trail princess until we sold her and bought the black ruby. No off road advice from me. I haven't driven any big trails since I almost rolled my daily driver trying to climb a big hill a few years ago.

quote jcavenagh: "That Benz is SWEEEEET! Now, where did I put that extra 100Gs...I know its around here somewhere...I'm forever losing these things...Oh my!"

I bet you put your 100 grand next to my Unicorn horn walking stick. FRED

Boy miss Molly, a winch is a good thing. Some extras like a tow strap to give you more reach is a good idea too. Our brush rig at the fire department is my best friend in the winter. When I had my Dodge deully diesel with a good size plow I was always getting in trouble. I could push mountains... But the stupidest places would suck that thing in. I'd either have to grab another vehicle, call a buddy, or walk two miles to the hall and grab the brush rig. That thing, an old f250 with a DNR type fire fighting box on it could winch out my big old deully sideways. On our 4 wheelers and side by sides the winches are used a lot. Like mentioned, where you go it only takes one time to pay for itself. But the danger is getting in the thought process that because you have the extra tool you can take more chances.

Quote Nctry: "But the danger is getting in the thought process that because you have the extra tool you can take more chances. " Yep, the extra tool is to better your odds, but there's a line there, somewhere...

quote missmolly: "

quote amhacker22: "You're right. It's not a crazy MSRP relative to other vehicles, even the TRD Pro, but it's tough to find a used on cheap. I actually saw a year old TRD Pro with about 20k miles on a lot for more than the price of new. That's Beanie Baby economics if I've ever seen it."

Plus, TRD Pros are pretty rare. FJs are relatively common, but they hold their value too. Buying a new TRD Pro is the way to go. Thanks for your advice about the winch. You're right about one usage paying for it. Do you carry extra cable or webbing?"

This is a long lost thread, but I thought I'd share a winch update. I got stuck in the snow in the woods. The winch is the only reason I got out. I'm officially playing on house money as far as the winch is concerned.

Keep Wrangler will be my next car!