Influencer II
- 1,988
- First Name
- Peter
- Last Name
- Dougherty
- Member #
-
28487
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- W2IRT
Hi all, and I hope the Holiday Season was kind to all. One year ago I bought my first Jeep-branded product, a 2018 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk edition. As this awful year progressed I put a set of rock sliders on it, a 3/8" steel sump plate, transmission armor (to go with the factory armor already installed), and thanks to Santa, a 10k winch, a steel lower front bumper, nudge bar and recovery gear has been added to the grand.
So basically....All dressed up and no place to go.
I've spent hours (days?) watching Venture 4WD, EFRT, Trail Recon, The Road Chose Me, and others but the fact is we live in northern NJ, where the only legal wheeling is at a pair of paid off-road parks 3 hours away and that are focused on rock crawling. So with winter here and the camping gear stowed safely in the basement I'm considering a major road trip for whenever the Covid monster allows us to move about the country without facing mandatory quarantines, or putting my old/fragile body at risk of catching this thing. My thought is late-summer or early fall. Driving out to Moab, then the Rim Rocker trail to CO, and take on as many trails in both locations as our vacation time allows; I'm figuring 3 weeks including the drive both ways. I'll be 60 when this happens, and my wife in her 50s; neither of us in prime physical shape, alas (round is a shape, innit?).
Being 2000 miles away from the fun stuff, and brand-squeaky-new to the whole endeavor, the fact is we don't know anybody to get involved with.The local Jeep clubs here in NJ are focused on rock crawling, beach trips "down the shore", and excuses to add 40s, 4" lifts, and so on. Not my cuppa. At all. And with a WK2, it's mostly not even possible. My ideas of vacation paradise are mountains, camping by stunning scenery, and maybe earning a few Jeep Badges of Honor in the process. Treading lightly, wheeling responsibly, and, fates willing, meeting some wonderful people and making a few new friends along the way.
I have no intention to become a You Tube personality (I have a face made for radio, and a voice made for Morse Code), but I would sell my soul to experience the beautiful scenery that those famous folks have brought into my living room this past year. I can't do this for a living as they do since we have responsibilities back here, and honestly, I can't throw $75,000 or $100,000 or more into a custom build.
So with all that said (and sorry for boring you with the details), how can I break this down into bite-sized chunks of planning that won't overwhelm me at every step? Other than Covid safety, and New Jersey's strict quarantine laws, the immediate roadblocks that I see are as follows:
So basically....All dressed up and no place to go.
I've spent hours (days?) watching Venture 4WD, EFRT, Trail Recon, The Road Chose Me, and others but the fact is we live in northern NJ, where the only legal wheeling is at a pair of paid off-road parks 3 hours away and that are focused on rock crawling. So with winter here and the camping gear stowed safely in the basement I'm considering a major road trip for whenever the Covid monster allows us to move about the country without facing mandatory quarantines, or putting my old/fragile body at risk of catching this thing. My thought is late-summer or early fall. Driving out to Moab, then the Rim Rocker trail to CO, and take on as many trails in both locations as our vacation time allows; I'm figuring 3 weeks including the drive both ways. I'll be 60 when this happens, and my wife in her 50s; neither of us in prime physical shape, alas (round is a shape, innit?).
Being 2000 miles away from the fun stuff, and brand-squeaky-new to the whole endeavor, the fact is we don't know anybody to get involved with.The local Jeep clubs here in NJ are focused on rock crawling, beach trips "down the shore", and excuses to add 40s, 4" lifts, and so on. Not my cuppa. At all. And with a WK2, it's mostly not even possible. My ideas of vacation paradise are mountains, camping by stunning scenery, and maybe earning a few Jeep Badges of Honor in the process. Treading lightly, wheeling responsibly, and, fates willing, meeting some wonderful people and making a few new friends along the way.
I have no intention to become a You Tube personality (I have a face made for radio, and a voice made for Morse Code), but I would sell my soul to experience the beautiful scenery that those famous folks have brought into my living room this past year. I can't do this for a living as they do since we have responsibilities back here, and honestly, I can't throw $75,000 or $100,000 or more into a custom build.
So with all that said (and sorry for boring you with the details), how can I break this down into bite-sized chunks of planning that won't overwhelm me at every step? Other than Covid safety, and New Jersey's strict quarantine laws, the immediate roadblocks that I see are as follows:
- We're too inexperienced to overland alone
- 2000 miles away from clubs full of experienced folks, thus no way to "network" with experienced overlanders
- A vehicle that's a bit less capable than a tricked out JK/JL/XJ/TJ, etc.
- No clue how to plan an itinerary, find the right trails to plan for (and know which ones not to try with my WK2)
- How to learn correct and safe spotting and recovery techniques from skilled people
- We don't yet know what we don't know. I am willing to learn and put in hard work but I don't know how/where to even begin. Our Grand Cherokee is our daily driver, so keeping it safe and sound, and unbroken, is high on both of our priorities lists.
