When most people think of offroading, they think of big trucks, big tires, and big motors, like this:
I'm not really into "mudding". Mud gets everywhere, and it takes FOREVER to clean off. We enjoy trailriding and rock crawling more, where the formula includes big flex, finesse, and judicious use of the skinny pedal. Its a much more technical form of driving.
The first series of modifications to the Jeep came in pretty quick succession, and included rock sliders, a lift, and then the winch bumper. The first thing I put on was the rock sliders. These are 3/16" thick metal bars that mount to the framerails and protect the rocker panels. The rocker panels are the thin sections of metal underneath the doors, between the front and rear wheels. If you hit them on a rock or tree, you risk bending them up into your doors so they wont open. The rock sliders take the hit so the jeep doesnt.
You can see them in this picture with the step bars sticking out past the doors. Makes it easier to get into and out of a lifted vehicle as well. Also, when in tight parking lots and inconsiderate people open their doors into your vehicle, they soon figure out what else rock sliders are good for.
Here is how they mount underneath. They bolt with 4 bolts to the framerails, and using 6 bolts to mount to the pinch seam. For those unfamiliar with Jeep Cherokee XJs, they are a unibody construction, which means the body and frame are all one single, continuous unit. When putting panels together, they often have a lip bent in so they can be welded together. This is a pinch seam. By utilizin this for a mount, there is more strength in the mount, better load dispersal, and better resistance to leverage forces that might cause bending.
The next mod was the lift. This was a Rubicon Express 3.5" superflex lift kit. It included:
-3.5" leaf springs for the rear
-3.5" lift coils for the front
-4 new gas monotube shocks: taller shocks, better dampening capabilities
-longer stainless steel brakelines: more lift requires longer brakelines, otherwise you can break them when you flex.
-ubolts: never reuse old ubolts. Ubolts hold the rear axle to the leaf springs
-extended bumpstop: Bumpstops are what stop your axle and wheels from compressing so far that they hit the body. When you lift, and have more flex, you need to extend the bump stops to limit wheel travel
-lower control arms: slightly longer and much stronger than the stamped steel factory arms. These locate the front axle.
-swaybar quick disconnects: swaybars help to control body roll (or sway) in corners. They also limit flex. I simply removed the rear swaybar because it practically does nothing on a leaf-sprung rear end. On the front the coils have more flex, so the discos allow you to connect them for road driving, and quickly pull to pins to disconnect them for the trail.
-Tcase drop: when you lift, you change the angles of the driveshafts. This is a band-aid fix to correct those angles
-new stickers: add 5 hp each when applied to the window glass
Also in the picture is a warn Transfer case skid. Armoring up is one of the more important aspects of wheeling. The transfer case is the portion of the drivetrain after the transmission which provides 4-wheel drive. It has an output that connects to a rear driveshaft to the rear axle, and one to the front axle. usually they are aluminum, and easily damaged if hit. The skid protects it from rocks.
My buddy Kirby Kirby helped me install the lift in the parking lot of his apartment complex.
Last thing I added was the front winch bumper from RigidCo. It is all 3/16" and 1/4" steel, can accomodate large winches, has recovery points, and provides much better protection for the front end. You can see the new bumper. lift, rails, and 31" tires in this picture.
I drove around on borrowed tires for about 3 weeks. The Clemson Offroad Club then planned a trip to Tellico, one of the premier offroading destinations on the East Coast, and happens to be located just outside of Murphy, NC, on the TN/NC border. Sadly, it has since been closed by the forest service, as they felt that 4x4s were causing erosion and damaging the area. Repeated efforts from numerous 4x4 groups demonstrated this was not the case, but when you have an agenda, it doesn't matter what the evidence is. 99% of offroaders responsibly enjoy the land. 4x4 clubs even sponsored and paid for semi-annual cleanups and trail maintenance events. Here are some pictures.
This trip was bittersweet. It was a ton of fun, I love camping. However my grandfather had been suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer. Once I left the mountain, I found out that he has passed away that weekend and joined the Lord. This was October 2005. It was a sad moment, as he was the patriarch of my Mom's family, and we are all very close. We had a beautiful funeral, and he was buried in the veteran's cemetary near Black Mountain, NC off I-40. About 1 month later, I met my beautiful future wife at a football game.
Since then, the suspension has gone under several revisions, but the basic components are essentially the same. More posts to come in the near future. Courtney is heading to Shelby, NC this weekend for our first baby shower. Unfortunately I won't make it because of work (the glamorous life of an intern!). There should be an update from her this weekend with our goodies! Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!
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