This weekend I am taking down the BIGoffroad site.
We are moving the server and the site will get a slight update. BOR will be off line from about Friday at midnight till Monday evening.
In the mean time please use this contact form, or just PM me in the LUVMYJP Forum.
The plate has moved on to Bean Town…I mean “18-1 town”. Yes I’m still bitter about the World Series.
NAXJA Link to get the whole story
Got my third replacement battery for the XJ yesterday. Wal-Mart offers 3 year replacement on any of the “MAXX” model car batteries. Thank goodeness they do.
This years design does not offer the extra side posts. I was using those connections for my headlight harness, air compressor, and winch. I guess those will be red-neck on to the main battery terminals now.
So she’s powered up and ready for the Spring and Summer.
Times are tough, I know. When a worthwhile cause comes across my desk I try and pony up.
Every year the girls in my family get together to walk in Denver’s “Race for the Cure”. I think it’s high time the men of the Paulsen family back something just as worthwhile.
Chris is a Jeepin buddy of mine. While I don’t know his background with this disease I think it a pretty worth while cause. He has dedicated his time to race. Let’s back him up.
Click the image or the link is here.
Not related to Jeeps, but I will do my best to figure out a way to relate it.
All of you with “Trailer Queens” have daily drivers. Your “Queens” probably have cages, would your homebrew cage hold up this well?
When SmartCars were first released I thought they were a great idea. I’m not really all that “green”. I liked them because they looked easy to park and the gas mileage would save me money.
I saw probably more TV coverage than the average person did on these things. FoxNews had them on one of there morning shows, probably about 8-10 months ago. They asked a lot of questions about the frame, tube cage, etc. Some very good safety questions. I was fairly satisfied with the answers. Since I have never seen one in person I was a little hesitant at defending them when someone started bashing them from a angle of them being dangerous.
After seeing this video… I would drive one; and if I was in the market for a car right now I would seriously consider buying one.
This is an amazing video.
Show that Motor Head in your family just how much they mean to you. Nothing says Merry Christmas like Chevy block Orange. Pick these ornaments up here.
Fellow LUV MY JEEP’ers,
I am looking for tech writers & link posters. Topics include anything to do with Jeep, 4×4, Wheeling, new products, camping, etc. If you see a link and want to post it please use this forum area. I’ll do the work and post it on this front blog page.
Once you start posting a few ‘news’ articles I’ll give you a user ID to post your links, tech and news on the front page. Become a Contributor by post some sweet off the wall
links and products. The goal here is to make this a true user based Jeep Site where users decide the daily blog content. The first of it’s kind.
Check out this way cool sleeping bag concept from Lippi.
It’s ideal for summer festivals, a comfortable option for couch potatoes and a fantastic choice for everyday camping.
Lippi Selk’Bag1 Characteristics:
Total Weight: 1950 GSM.
Filling: Polyester Hollow Fibre Bonded, 1X200g/sqm, Good Performance, Elastic.
Shel / Lining: Nylon 210T / 70 Deniers, Soft Touch.
Extreme Temp: -8.4 Degrees Celcius*
Limit Temp: +5.5 Degrees Celcius*
Comfort Temp: +9.7 Degrees Celcius*
Sizes: Small / Medium
Large / Extra Large
* As tested by European EN 13537 standard (EU NORM)
Extreme: Lower extreme temperature where the risk of health damage by hypothermia occurs not feeling cold (related to standard man and in standard conditions of use).
Limit: Lower limit of which a sleeping bag user with a rolled-up body posture is globally in thermal equilibrium and just not feeling cold (related to standard man and in standard conditions of use).
Comfort: Lower limit of the comfort range down to which a sleeping bag user with a relaxed posture such as lying on the back is globally in equilibrium an just not feeling cold (related to standard woman and in standard condition of use).
[site link]
This week at the Consumer Elctronics Show in Las Vegas(CES), Jeep is releasing consumer electronics? Huh?
According to AutoBlog it sports a 3.5″ Touch Screen LCD. It’s going to be packed with features.
Jay Charles has set up a live RC SUV and controls. So…you say. Did I mention that you can control the car via his website?
You got it folks. This hummer has been equiped so you can see and control it’s action via the WWW. Jay and his family’s feet can also be seen trolling around the house. Run it in to the kitchen, living room, etc. No ads up on the site yet, come on Jay get with the times. You should really be making money at this.
The WWWRC is obviously not running 24 hours day, but when it is…it is so much fun.
This concept is called the Hilux. By Toyota and tricked out with the help of Arctic Trucks.
When TopGear star Jeremy Clarkson decided to go to the North Pole by car, he chose a Toyota Hilux that was modified by Arctic Trucks for this very special task. It was much harder than originally planned, but they did it - they managed to get to the North Pole in a Toyota Hilux. The model is an extraordinary piece of engineering - it kept going through the harsh conditions, even after suffering damage.
I would probably drive it if someone gave it to me, but it’s no Jeep. How about you would you drive it?
Ok I would totally wheel the crap out of this thing. I saw a SmartCar up close and personal a few weeks ago and actually tilted my head and could see a time when I would drive someting like that.
Now this prototype is very appealing. The engine and transmission were adopted from the Unimog. The OM 352, a six-cylinder diesel engine with a capacity of 5,675 cc, was given a prominent and clearly visible position on the front axle. It delivers 84 bhp - an impressive figure for the smart forfun2. The diesel version of the production car has a 41 bhp engine.
More pictures after the click. Read the rest of this entry »
Rub a couple of cotton balls in Vaseline, then store them in you glove box with some flint and steel. LifeHacker says this makes a great fire starter.
Popular Mechanics says that a cotton ball smeared with Vaseline or ChapStick is “a foolproof fire starter.” The Vaseline works as your fuel, and once you get the Vaseline-soaked cotton ball lit, the flame should continue to burn under pretty much any condition. The Popular Mechanics article is rather light on details, so I also found a post on the Survival and Equipment weblog detailing how to make single-use petroleum jelly candles using cotton balls, petroleum jelly, and aluminum foil. You will, of course, still need a flint or match to get the cotton ball started
Pretty nice little GPS unit on eBay. I used it for a few years, marking way points and such. It’s in perfect working order. Comes in the box with everything it came with new. Check it out.
Once in a while I come across a great link. A ’something for everyone’ kind of link. This is just such and occasion.
Most of the pictures are old school, but there is a photo of the Chrysler JT. It’s the DC version of the Brute from AEV. Nice link. give it a whirl.
UPDATE: Here is a link to the JT in action. Looks like DC was in Moab a few months ago…
Four Wheeler took the H3 for a “trail” run. Don’t bother clicking through looking for some more hard core…or even light core pictures. The picture to the left is the best your gonna get. This link is all about the text.
Print it off nd leave on top of the toilet. It’s an entertaining read. I got a chuckle or two. The writing is top notch, to bad they didn’t have a better rig to review.
My neighbor down the street bought a new H3 about a year ago. It’s been in the shop quit a few times. Not a very scientific evaluation from me I know, but i think we all agree here…
I have truly seen it all. Let’s all take a moment here. We all have a certain responsibility, a set of by-laws let’s call it. If you own Jeep PLEASE stop driving over the curbs at the mall.
Fuel can be added to this fire via the IH8MUD.com Forum. Go cautiously folks this is a Toyota forum. Solving things with more money is frequent occurrence, so offer solutions like…”should have paid $8500 for his lift”…things like that.
Time to Wheel. This thing is too cool. Check out some more pictures after the jump. Who knows the axles and drive train, but from the pictures it has decent clearance. Would you drive it? It might look Read the rest of this entry »
I got the forum up. Check it out. I’ll be updating the colors and thread topics, but knock yourselves out.
Today I’ll be doing some updates to the front page so bare with me until it’s done. So some of the link may not be working. to get to the forum click the image to the left if you can’t find the link during the updates.
The BIGoffroad site is also getting some updates over the next few weeks. I hope these updates will make each site easier to update therefore make more updates possible.
Enjoy, JohnJohn
Doing a little work on the site today, some of the back links and picture links may not work until it’s all completed. Should be up and running tomorrow AM. FORUM and all!
The Family and I spent Saturday up in the mountains northwest of Golden. We left around 10:30 and headed up to Hwy 46 or Gold Gate Canyon Road. We stopped for lunch at Kriley Pond. The parking lot was almost full with cars, lots of folks fishing today.
When lunch was done we headed up to Rollinsvile. It was time to air the Cherokee down and remove the disconnects. A few minutes later we hooked up with Matt from Formatt Fabrications, Tony and his Mom Kay, and Aaron. All were quite equipped for Jenny Creek.
It took us a few extra minutes to actually get to the trailhead. I missed Rollins Pass Road and we ended up getting a good look at Moffit Tunnel, not too bad of an error, the kids enjoyed it. The other two mishaps were a little more costly in time. The first was a detour into a camping area, about 5.3miles up Rollin Pass Road. Next we took the right fork at the road 508 turn. I think I have done that time or two. Anyway, backtracking got us on the left turn at the fork and on to Jenny Creek.
It had been about 5 years since I had been on this run. This was Nicole and the boys first time to Jenny Creek. She is a budding photographer, so I knew she would enjoy the opportunities.
The trail was beautiful as usual. We had a few Jeep issues. Aaron busted a rear coil-over. We all think it was ready to crack from something else. It just reared its ugly head today. He got out without any issue. A few of us got a little close to a 4 foot drop into the creek. Everyone else motored out of the ledge. When I saw the loose soil falling out under the tire I decided I had better pull out some cable. Nicole and the boys felt a little safe with the winch out. I guess you could say I felt a little better too. 
The rest of the day was great also. Not sure if we made a wrong turn or not, but the long hill climb out was nowhere to be found, we turned right and it took us right up to Yankee Doodle Lake. The lake was beautiful.
I have uploaded some pictures so check them out here.
OK my garage is not this bad, but there are some things that need to go. I have posted some items on the for sale page. From drive shafts to kids car seats, this stuff needs to go. If you’re local in Colorado we can work out a meeting place. For you out of stater’s we can work something out for shipping.
The plate is on the move again. It’s back in the states and moving down a world famous highway. That;s right folks the plate is on Route 66,
New Mexico is my guess.
Who knows were it will stop next. Check out the NAXJA thread.
The 89 XJ was having some trouble starting and coupled with some rough idle issues lead me to believe the CPS needed replacing.
Arggh. I hate it when I spend 90 minutes figuring out how to take something off, then when I replace the new one, I figure out the way I should have taken it off. The reinstall only took 90 seconds.
I picked up the part from Advance Auto Parts, they are on sale this week.
I love stock backspacing, remember I run a hub conversion on the front and a 1″spacer on the rear. So maybe I don’t really love stock backspacing just stock rims. Sue me, I like my rig to look stock with mods; does that make sense?
I have a serious dilemma. I really need to increase the reliability of my beads. While on Indy last week I popped 2 beads. I like the look of these steel rims, but they only come in a 4.5″ backspace. I guess without my spacer on the rear I am sitting at about the same in the rear, but the front will stick out another 3/4″. I love the look on my TJ Canyons, heck I even drilled them out to except my hub conversion. Oh well they should bring some decent $$s on eBay.
I took on some cool trails last week at NAXJA CoFest. Here is a picture of me dropping in to Indy down in Penrose. We all ended up exiting via Liberty. Patriot was extra nasty and time of getting late. I plan on hitting Patriot later on this year with a few buddies, and some extra parts.
Here is a link to some of the pictures that were taken
Picked up some FormattFab tube doors and their taillight housings for my 97. Ok there was a little more to it than that. I now have the FIRST set of their tube doors for a 97+ XJ. hehehe
The story of the day is my drive home from their place. Well all I have to do is say it was frick’in cold. It’s good thing I packed some heavy clothes for the drive back. It was raining and about 34 degrees, I must mention the snow started about 2 miles from my house. The driving rain was so bad it was whipping back into the XJ. I needed wipers on the inside of the windshield and the back glass. I had to stop and towel down both just to see. My rear view mirror was dripping at one point. I must say it was a very interesting and painful drive.
I can’t stop without mentioning the quality of these doors. Opening and shutting them is easy and smooth. The doors do add a bit of security for those of you without doors that think you might fall out.
I will be adding a few coats of paint in the next few days. I will post of some pictures up in the FormattFab part of my forum.
Holy smokes it’s been a long time since and update has been posted here.
A few weeks ago the pinon gear got tore up; missing 2 1/2 teeth. I’m not sure how it happened. At first I thought it was the front driveshafts double cardon joint. I had some trouble with that while in Moab back in October. After turning off the hubs I relized it was in the rear. I first went to the thre rear driveshafts double cardon. I has it checked out and re-balanced. It turned out the balance was slightly off, but nothing was worng with the joints.
Advice on NAXJA said to pull the cover. I did and found the teeth missing. I friend of mine has a contact who does a tremendous job putting in gears. After a few phone calls he was nice enough to come up from Colorado Springs to help me out. Last nigh I put the first 15 minutes on the gears, and then let them sit overnight. The installer said that is the best way to break in a new set.
Why he was working on the gears I was busy with my own project, removing the front and rear doors. The guy at FormattFab are hooking up with a set of their tube doors. I really wish I had removed them a long time ago. The felling of cruising doen the highway without doors in ir trulley very “Jeep Like”. I did save the hinges and plan on atl east getting everything all lined up to put them back on if need be.
The next step is to finish the fender trimming and add a cage.
The past few days have been great.
Air System Install: I spent a ton of time getting all the fittings I need, the local ACE Hardware has been very helpful. I even found a pressure regulator with gauge and valve at Walmart! Who would of thought? I drilled two 1 1/4″ holes in my floor board under the storage area in the center console. This hole will let the main air line in and the other is to let the four air lines out to the lockers. I also ran the switch for the relay. I need to find some firewall rubber inserts to seal up the holes I drilled.
Compressor Mounting: I have decided to try and go a cheap route and not have anything built to hold the compressor. I decided to try cutting down the stock air box and attaching a hinged lid to the top of it; then attached the compressor to that lid. I’ll let you know how that works out.
Tranny Temp Gauge: Since my last XJ was parted out due a bad tranny, I want to make sure this tranny is well maintained and watched closely. I decided to add a tranny temp gauge. I used a simple 2″ AutoMeter unit. Bought the fittings from a local race shop and started the install. I loosely used Jason’s write-up on Jeepin.com. I mounted the gauge in the center console just in front of the t-case shifter on the angled piece(97+). I will post some pitchers soon on the LUVMYJP.com site. I am also thinking about pulling the tranny lines off the stock cooler and just using the aftermarket cooler. When the tranny cooler was installed it was installed so that the cool fluid runs throughout the stock cooler them back to the tranny. This could be heating the tranny fluid before sending it to the tranny. It’s running at 200-210 tops.
Tomken Gas Tank Skid: Pretty easy install. My custom exhaust needed some adjustment. I had to remove the tube past the hanger. I then installed the tank and had a new pipe shaped and welded in place.
Before the weekend I plan on running the air lines run, installing the compressor, JKS SuperNerfs, JKS boomerang shackles,
Today’s progress was good. I took a few minutes and picked up a relay, pressure regulator and some plugs for my on board air set up. I need to have a plate to hold the air compressor and relay. I’ll be build one out of cardboard then headed over to the metal shop to have it fabbed up. After I’m done the plate will fit in the stock air box position. I will be working on the air on Saturday afternoon.
The Tomken gas tank skid is on its way.
I found the Johnney Joint trackbar end locally, so the one I ordered from Currie will be an extra for the tool box. The more I think about this set-up the more excited I get. I think it’s really going to work great. This set up will also work with a standard RE1600 trackbar and HD bracket. Something to think about for those of you with that bar.
The steering on my rig has gotten a little loose in the past few days. I went out tonight to investigate. I grabbed the trackbar and started shacking it, just a small knock, knock. I found that the jam nut was loose. I tightened that down and the knock, knock went away. After looking at the heim it looks like the SkyJacker trackbar may limit my front droop. I haven’t the XJ off-road yet so I’m not sure about that. The heim is mounted horizontally and with 11″ of lift it’s already twisted up.
SOLUTION: I ordered a Johnney Joint from Currie with a 3/4″ welded on stud. This will allow me to run the Rubicon Express Heavy Duty Trackbar bracket. I really like using the SkyJacker trackbar because it mounts to the stock stabilizer mount and makes setting up my steering nice and easy. Now I have to wait a few days until the parts get here.
I meant to get this blog started while building the ‘98 XJ, however with all the work to be done it wasn’t at the top of the priority list. So with the build 3/4 of the way complete I am getting started.
NAXJA Moab ‘04 is looming and there is a lot to complete. The XJ must have the rock rails and onboard air system run. Next weekend I have to work so that leaves only two weekends to complete the XJ. For me that is pushing it.
AIR: I have some remote idea how to complete this, but I really need to enlist the help of some others around here to help sine my knowledge level about OBA systems is limited.
ROCK RAILS: The JKS SuperNerfs will ship in the next few days.
SHACKLES: The JKS boomerang shackles will also ship in the next few days. Those should help level out the rear and make the XJ look and ride a little better.
