Shop AEV, I swear they have the best engineering.
Altho I've done 33s and had 35s for a few months, I'm back to a stock TJR on skinny 31s and loving it.
Overlanding with "stock" 4X4
- Thread starter Old Recon Marine
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Altho I've done 33s and had 35s for a few months, I'm back to a stock TJR on skinny 31s and loving it.
Explorer I
Thanks @Billiebob! Second reccomendation for AEV and I like what I have seen on their web site. The 3.5 SC lift looks interesting to me and I wonder if there will be any deals to be found later this spring/summer.
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Regardless of everything it's up to you to consider the source on info and decide for yourself, sit back and thank the person for adding their input. No one is trying to twist anyone's arm on this thread. I haven't experienced what @Boostpowered is complaining about on any of the many threads in the OB forum.
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I don’t know about the 3.5/4.5 lifts but I have AEV dual sport 2.5 and 33 inch Patagonia MTs and I love the ride and the look. The best thing I’ve found is the road manners. They are at least as good as stock and I actually think they might be better. I did add the drop brackets to level out the front lower arms which were not included with the 2.5 kit but think it was well worth the $100.
I’m with you man! We just called it camping. Or better , car camping. But the ‘overland’ rigs all decked out look cool! Pricy but cool !
These Jeeps are 70 plus years old, I'll bet they all have non stock components but some look pretty stock and if you talk to the owners most of those only have non stock components did it out of neccessity.
Some pretty stock 70 year old CJ2s on the Rubicon prove most mods done today are for ego.
On the other extreme, some guys need the mods because they want to haul soo much stuff. But they could get there stock with a stock bed truck or F650 or.... they choose to do it with a JKU or F250 or....
40 years later, I prefer the simpler life, packing like a back packer, taking nothing I'm not going to use every day, and picking the route of least resistance. I have never used my winch on a trail, but it gets used often for work. Lockers on the other hand get used almost daily.
Some pretty stock 70 year old CJ2s on the Rubicon prove most mods done today are for ego.
On the other extreme, some guys need the mods because they want to haul soo much stuff. But they could get there stock with a stock bed truck or F650 or.... they choose to do it with a JKU or F250 or....
40 years later, I prefer the simpler life, packing like a back packer, taking nothing I'm not going to use every day, and picking the route of least resistance. I have never used my winch on a trail, but it gets used often for work. Lockers on the other hand get used almost daily.
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Explorer I
Car camping - that's what we used to call it before overlanding was cool :)
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There is nothing in this video that would interest me as a participant. I Like it as a spectator sport and that's it. I feel the same way about Mud Bogging. I spent way too much money in the day building and racing Roundy Round race cars just to see them become a pile of junk after 26 weeks of racing. I cant see putting all your money into something that you will tear up at some point. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when you will wipe it out. Riding the trails and camping out or just getting as far away as I can with my rig, is all that I need to make me a happy camper. Stock or modded, I will go as far as I can with what I have and will enjoy what I can get out of it.
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BAM BAM the Jeep has been all over the country and it's roll cage has changed quite a bit. Seems pretty low in this video the driver's looks like he has to hunch over to keep his head from stick out of the top.
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When I was 16 (about 50 years ago) I had a VW Camper Van with larger tires in the back. Loved that van, my friend Randy also had one. We "drove them to Hell and back again 3x over" and never had a problem. Best times were down in Solano Beach, Ca (before it became a millionaires paradise) we would drive down onto the sand, surf all day and camp out right there. Still miss that van to this day.
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Good evening Recon Marine,
While I do not consider myelf an overlander yet, I have went on some great adventures with my wife to include some sketchy snow with some steep drop offs This was all done with my stock Rubicon. I must say I had every feature on and my heart was pumping real good. Ha ha.
Thanks,
Kirk
Enthusiast III
Sounds like it was beneficial to take a class and learn the capabilities of your vehicle than spend the money on bling.
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Please inform me what the payload capacity of a Jeep? If we are talking payload capacity a Power Wagon is over a Jeep if we are talking ability to go down hard trails then a Jeep is better.
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Not that high. Haha. Put a few people in it and a little gear and you're bumping the GVWR already. Nearly every whiz bang overlanding Jeep out there with everything and the kitchen sink onboard is probably well over GVWR. Then they wonder why they're breaking suspension components on something like the Mojave Road.
Advocate III
I'll save ya a little weight. Curb weight includes all fluids, even fuel.
Advocate III
Anymore I prefer a stock vehicle. Modifying as little as possible, keeping it reliable and easier to maintain. After decades of making modifications, only to have to modify something else to accommodate the previous mod. Sinking a ton of money into vehicles when I could have spent that money traveling and using the vehicle. Instead, I modify where I go. I had fun doing it, but I'm having fun now too.
edit: I should clarify what I mean by "I modify where I go." What I'm saying is that I don't take my Rebel the same places I would have taken my old built JK. Not that I modify the trails to suit my needs.
edit: I should clarify what I mean by "I modify where I go." What I'm saying is that I don't take my Rebel the same places I would have taken my old built JK. Not that I modify the trails to suit my needs.
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Enthusiast III
So you don't take a Bobcat to the trails to clear yourself a path?
Advocate III
I've always been more impressed when stock vehicles go through areas where others say heavy mods are needed. To me, heavy mods are a handicap for poor driving. Also stock varies quite a bit. I'm sure my stock Gladiator can go more places then my stock 1st gen Tacoma. That said, my Tacoma took me to some cool places and fun adventures.
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BAM BAM the Jeep looks mostly stock but has a lot of stuff "under the hood" including a modern FI Chevy V6, tougher axles, e lockers, stuff like that.
Good article over it from about 4 years ago. Still an awesome Jeep. I would love to find a CJ2 or MB Jeep for a project Jeep and go with a something like a Wrangler 2.5L engine in it.
Mighty 1943 WWII Military Jeep
<strong>“When the war was at its hottest and the going got too steep, one thing that you could count on was the mighty little Jeep.” –Private Jesse Wolf, WWII B
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Lower center of gravity, less stress on the drive-train and suspension, lighter weight. If I do get stuck I'm easier to recover.
Everything has trade offs. I'm not out wheeling hardcore OHV parks and rock crawling and whatnot. Anymore the hardest stuff I do is washed out unmaintained forest service roads and the occasional water crossing.
The "Modification cascade" can get out of control quickly. A local friend of mine with a JKU absolutely had to have 37s on her non Rubicon Wrangler. Now she has to look at, upgrading her Dana 30, re-gearing, lifting, ect.
