I didn't always drive Jeeps, I did go throught the need to go fast stages, but always came back to Jeeps. Nothing was really more satisfying than driving the Jeep.
| A brief history of my Jeeps and what started WanderingTrail.com. I've been a tinkerer, dreamer, mechanic, lover of projects all of my wife. Don't know where it really comes from, probably my Mom, and the desire to get out of a household environment I didn't enjoy. So I built things, designed things, read books about things, lived at the library and any of the local mechanic shops when I was growing up. Okay, got chased away from quite a few, others got free labor when they realized I actually did know what tools were what. Yep, back before OSHA would have thrown a fit and a few other agencies would have paniced. I learned lots of mechanical things. It came easy, and it was something I enjoyed. I knew I was never going to college after High School, but I never wanted to stop learning. Three degrees, two power plant operators licenses, one Ships Engineers License, and lots of certificates later, I'm still learning (sometimes it's that the BluRay player tray can hold a sippycup). WanderingTrail really got started when I went to install a lift kit on my 2003 Jeep Rubicon and after seeing what people wrote about thier installs and asking questions, I tore into the lift and immediately ran into problems. All of them solveable, but all of them time delaying and requireing a special tool, or a few other steps that could have been done easier, earlier in the disassembly. I went back to these people and got the inevitable "oh yea, I had those problems also, but I didn't write anything up because the manufacturer gave me a good deal, or I was writing it to promote his stuff." I wasn't shocked by this, I've seen it alot. Free products generally get awesome free reviews. I decided that I wasn't going to be that way. I bought stuff from friends in the off road world, and manufacturers I've never met. I've always been brutally honest about the products and most of the time they were really good products and sometimes customer service was the saving grace for a company. I've had companies tell me I need to take it to a professional installer because I was qualified to install their product (Note: I was on my cell phone with the company owner while his customer service rep said this, he was HOT!). That incident was due to a change in the Jig and a few old sides got mixed with new sides and they didn't line up. Simple mistake, but customer service failed. Another time I sent the owner of a picture of a box that I received that looked like it had been cooked. He knew exactly what happened and said he would get another one out to me right away and have a tag to send that one back. FedEx woke me up the next morning with a box and a tag for the other one. Cross country overnight a heavy box. We all make mistakes and only a few things have caused me to not buy from the same company again. These are the Jeeps I've driven over the years and I wish I had more to write up on a few of the older ones, but that was before digital cameras and cheap computers. |
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The First
Jeep - 1986 CJ-7 Laredo |
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All the
bells and whistles edition. Dana 44, T-5 World class Transmission,
A/C, and cruise control. I had set this one up for rock crawling.
I had pretty much rebuilt it from the ground up over the years.
I eventually installing a Mopar fuel injection kit, a 4" Procomp
Suspension lift, 33x12.50 BFG Mud-terrain's, ARB lockers and a Warn
XD9000I winch were the big items on it. I spent a lot of time off-road
in California and then Washington State. Unfortunately I needed
better transportation for moving across the country, so it was traded
for a Toyota Pickup. I wish I actually had pictures of this one, but sadly all I had left was a model I made of it. |
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| The Second
Jeep - 1984 CJ-7 Renegade |
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4 cyl. (No
power accessories at all). I did have aspirations of building it
up. Even had my hands on a complete Chevy 350, and a NV4500. It
was fun for a while, but was gotten rid of to please my ex-fiance.
That was the beginning of the end of that relationship. |
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| The Third
Jeep - 1991 YJ Wrangler Sahara |
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something to tinker with, so I found a mechanically abused YJ.
I spent the next year fixing it up and taking it off-road in Wisconsin
and Illinois. Until I rode in my first TJ off-road in '97. What
can I say I was hooked? BYE BYE YJ. |
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| The Fourth
Jeep - 1998 TJ Wrangler Sport |
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After
waiting 20 days for a friend to fix his CJ I took it off-road for
the first time and backed it into a tree. Thanks to my spotter.
I easily went everywhere that the 33" and 35" tire equipped
and lifted older Jeeps went, sometimes much easier than they did.
I began to modify the Jeep slowly. Just some body armor and finally
mounting my trusty old Warn XD9000I winch. Unfortunately this got
mounted after $150 tow for a friend after he slipped off of a berm
and landed on his transfer case and axles. Well along the way I
got married (she loved the Jeep the second she drove it), moved
to Hawaii and needed 2 vehicles, so again the Jeep was sold for
2 vehicles. |
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| The Fifth
Jeep - 1999 TJ Wrangler Sahara |
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| Well that
lasted for about a year before we both decided that we wanted a
Jeep again. So we found a Black '99 TJ Sahara automatic. It is the
first automatic I bought, but much more fun to drive off-road, I
can actually enjoy the view more. Hawaii is a little expensive for
shipping, so the buildup will go slowly. This is the one that I
intended on keeping. Quick update - as you can see by the
web site things change and I had really gotten to hate standing on
the brakes all the time just to keep it from running away.
I felt that the crawl ratio was that of a gazelle. |
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| The Sixth Jeep - 1997 ZJ Grand
Cherokee Laredo |
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Christmas 2000 - This is the one that my wife owes me for.
She finally got her Grand Cherokee. The 6th Jeep is a 1997 5.2L
Grand Cherokee Laredo. This one will most likely see just dirt roads
for a long time and the only rocks most likely will be gravel on the side
of the road.
May 2004 - Well the Grand Cherokee left this month along with the now
Ex-Wife, I hope the Jeep comes back....
September 2004 - Just one day before Hurricane Ivan gave Pensacola, FL
a good shot, the ex returns my Grand Cherokee, she bought a Liberty. It
survived the storm in good condition. Of course it needed tires, fluid
maintenance, suspension work, alignment, a wash, wax and interior cleaning,
but at least I have it back.
January 2005 - Well the Grand finally died. I didn't believe that
someone could just ignore a vehicle so bad. Poor Jeep, hopefully
it's good parts show up in another Grand somewhere. |
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| The Seventh Jeep - 2003 TJ Wrangler
Rubicon |
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October 2002 - I had gotten the okay to do locker, axles, transfer
case, transmission, rims, tires and a few other items to the drive train
of my '99 TJ. When the innocent question came up "Do you still
want a Rubicon?" "Yes!" "Then go buy one."
So off went the '99 and home came a 5 speed Patriot Blue Rubicon from
Don Dawson Jeep in Pensacola. I really liked the Auto, but I had
gotten tired of standing on the brakes all the time. I really love
my wife(Ex-Wife to be), but I don't think I am getting anything for Christmas.
I guess we are even for the Christmas presents. The origin of WanderingTrail as a page more than just pictures.
April 2005 - Everything has it's price. The 2003 Rubicon
which was the center of this web page has been sold. So this trail
is closed. |
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| The Eight Jeep - 2005 LJ Wrangler
Rubicon "Sahara Edition" |
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April 2005 - A NEW TRAIL! I had wanted a Rubicon Unlimited
for some time and since I had sold the old one I had no reasons not to
buy a brand new one. I saw the Sahara edition Unlimited's on the
lot and just happened to be in the dealership the morning a brand new
6 speed was being unloaded from the truck. Of course I had to properly
test this one out, so 1 week later I put it on the rocks in Moab, UT.
April 2006 - I said "I do again."
The continuation of Wandering Trail |
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| The Ninth Jeep - 2007 2-door JK Wrangler Rubicon |
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October 2006 - My new 2 Door JK Rubicon is sitting in my garage. This should be interesting. Okay, I was going to buy a full size truck, but we needed to replace the wife's Honda, so instead she asked if I wanted to get a new JK to play with.... Hmm, I had to think about that.
February 2007 - Discovered an interesting thing about the 2 door, you really can't put a baby seat in the back and get a baby into it with any ease. The wife told me to go get a 4 door since I will have to pick the little one up on the way home. I almost feel like a kid at christmas. |
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| The Tenth Jeep - 2007 4-door JK Wrangler Rubicon |
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| April 2007 - The results of the wife coming to me and let me know that putting a baby in the back seat of the new jeep was very hard and that I would need to get a 4 door if I wanted to keep a jeep in the garage. (It did take me a few minutes to realize what she had actually said, I was thinking about the options on a 4-door) I'm still waiting for this one to arrive, now the joke is who's going to get here first. |
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| The Tenth and One Half Jeep Power Wheels Jeep Hurricane |
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| June 2011 - A new Jeep has been added to the garage. A Jeep Hurricane. Okay, it's just a Power Wheels for my son, but this thing is cool. And Yes I have already looked at how to modify it... Hmmm 18vdc battery, LED lights, Horn, Water gun... Muhaha... |
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| The Eleventh Jeep - 2012 4-door JK Wrangler Rubicon |
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| April 2012 - A New 4-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. This time I got my Yellow one. The old 2007 got kind of tired after all the work that was done to it. We had decided that it was time to start replacing the vehicles, but needed to stagger them out. Mine would be the first, but with the requirement that it remains pretty well stock. I haven't done as much wheeling as I used to and decided that it wasn't to much of a request to stay close to stock. Plans for this one are to stay mild with everything. Most of my old parts have already been sold off. |
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| The Twelth Jeep - |
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