Perception vs Reality

[Robmypro]

So the wife and i are getting ready to take the plunge on our first Jeep. We are in our 50s and looking to explore our beautiful state (Colorado) and country. We are not looking to get into serious rock crawling, and plan on doing either day or weekend trips within Colorado, or to neighboring states such as Utah, New Mexico, etc.

I have lived long enough to know that there is perception, and then there’s reality. I am trying to marry those two a bit to make sure we go into this with realistic expectations. For starters, we have a small dog (Alvin) and would like to bring him along. This is sort of a big deal. If he has to stay back (bording) it just limits where we can go. So first question, is this weekend adventure dog friendly?

We also don’t know anyone who does this, so we would initially just do short day trips to get our feet wet, then join a jeep or off road club to meet some people and start venturing out more with a group. Is this the best way to do it?

And then there is the whole off road thing. The youtube videos look like fun, but i know anything worth doing will be work. How often should we expect to encounter issues, whether mechanical or otherwise?

On the family front, i see a lot of videos, but not many include women. How female friendly is this adventure?

I am sure i will have a lot more questions, but i wanted to throw out a few and see what you guys think. Thanks for the help!

Rob

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[Sean L]

So the wife and i are getting ready to take the plunge on our first Jeep. We are in our 50s and looking to explore our beautiful state (Colorado) and country. We are not looking to get into serious rock crawling, and plan on doing either day or weekend trips within Colorado, or to neighboring states such as Utah, New Mexico, etc.

I have lived long enough to know that there is perception, and then there’s reality. I am trying to marry those two a bit to make sure we go into this with realistic expectations. For starters, we have a small dog (Alvin) and would like to bring him along. This is sort of a big deal. If he has to stay back (bording) it just limits where we can go. So first question, is this weekend adventure dog friendly?

We also don’t know anyone who does this, so we would initially just do short day trips to get our feet wet, then join a jeep or off road club to meet some people and start venturing out more with a group. Is this the best way to do it?

And then there is the whole off road thing. The youtube videos look like fun, but i know anything worth doing will be work. How often should we expect to encounter issues, whether mechanical or otherwise?

On the family front, i see a lot of videos, but not many include women. How female friendly is this adventure?

I am sure i will have a lot more questions, but i wanted to throw out a few and see what you guys think. Thanks for the help!

Rob

My Dog loves my Jeep. He's not a fan of the bumpy off road adventures so he stays home for those but anywhere else he loves the ride.

Also My wife doesn't hate the Jeep so that's a plus. There is no room for sexism in the off road world, anyone that says otherwise isn't worth your time. There does appear to be more men than women involved in off roading but that doesn't mean the women aren't out there in their Jeeps on the trails.

 

[S2k Chris]

Check out the Lite Brite YouTube channel, which is primarily female-run (Britney is the camera lady/narrator/"Star") and they bring their dog along now as well.

I think the Jeep/offroad community is more female-friendly than a lot of other automotive fields, but I'm not female so I don't really know.

 

[RC3]

I've been Jeeping for 30 years and I believe it is very family friendly and dog friendly. My wife and 8 yo daughter go with me 90% of the time. We don't have a dog, but I see many of them on the trails. I agree with getting your feet wet slowly and then moving up as you feel comfortable and learn. Since you're in CO, I highly recommend getting out to Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. There you can sample any type of trail from a dirt road to a full on buggy trail. And there will always be someone around to help you learn, whether it be a local Jeep club of a Facebook group in your area.

 

[allieboy]

Check out the Lite Brite YouTube channel, which is primarily female-run (Britney is the camera lady/narrator/"Star") and they bring their dog along now as well.

I think the Jeep/offroad community is more female-friendly than a lot of other automotive fields, but I'm not female so I don't really know.

On the days when I identify as female I do find it very friendly.

 

[Solidaxle]

Hi OP , I love my new jeep JL and in the same age group. Planning move to Colorado and explore your beautiful state. Would you mind sharing what area you live in and would you recommend a certain area to start at in the jeep community. Thank you for any guidance

 

[Roky]

I think you’ll be fine on your questions so far, as mentioned above, wheeling can get a little rough for the little dog, but not so bad you’d have to leave him behind. Start out on some easy fire roads or trails and work your way up to more extreme stuff and let the little guy get his sea legs. As for the wife, if you’re not careful she might get into it more than you, lol. My wife loves it we are out wheeling about every weekend, and sometimes if we play hooky during the week as well. All in all , your gonna have a blast.

 

[Xingpao]

Sounds like you may be an "overland" family. Lots of reading you can do on what overlanders do instead of "wheeling".

There are tons and tons of fun offroad experiences around you where you won't be out breaking stuff constantly. You don't need a pricey roof tent or fridge necessarily, and you can just customize gear and routes to suit your tastes.

Jeep is the epitome of the American Spirit and you can find plenty YOU like to do and work around that.

The Topless in Tennessee Facebook group has been great for us in our home state and 2 weeks ago we drove up into Daniel Boone National Forest with the dog for two days and stayed in a dog friendly hotel. Just make sure you get some safety gear for communications, first aid, hi-lift, maybe a tire sidewall patch kit, etc.

I used to laugh at Yeti cooler people until I got the JL and bought a huge Orca because that fit what we needed it for.

 

[OldBird]

My JLUR was my 50th birthday present, so I tend to hang with the same group.

Colorado is one of the most diverse places for Jeeping in the world. I lived in New Mexico for 8 years and we have great trails and places to visit there, but we still ended up in Colorado more often, especially the southwest part of the state. You'll have trails ranging from easy to insane, and most hard trails have bypasses for the difficult stuff, but not all of them. You'll have no problem finding places to go in your skill and comfort levels.

My suggestion is to find a club. Ask about how welcoming they are to new wheelers and dogs. For how you described yourself I would avoid the ones that all have built up rigs and hand built buggies, because they'll usually be going to trails that won't interest you, at least for now. Personally I go to clubs more to meet people that I go to smaller runs with, usually like 3 to 5 Jeeps. I'm not big on the runs with 20 Jeeps that can get really bogged down at times, although having that many Jeeps will insure that someone has what you need if something does go wrong.

As far as mechanical issues and things that go wrong, they will. But you minimize that by choosing the easier trails at first (even just dirt and forest service roads if you choose) until you are comfortable with your Jeep and see what happens to other people. You'll have no more mechanical issues on dirt roads than you would on pavement.

Enjoy it, make the most of it, and get out there.

 

[RC3]

My JLUR was my 50th birthday present...

Ha - mine too!

 

[TJ2018]

For starters, we have a small dog (Alvin) and would like to bring him along. This is sort of a big deal. If he has to stay back (bording) it just limits where we can go. So first question, is this weekend adventure dog friendly?

Lots of good advice in the responses above. For us (I'm 55 and my wife is... younger... the JL has been a game changer. While not entirely new to heading off pavement, it's been very tame trails and always on our own. We chose the Rubicon because it will take me further than my sense of daring will. And the dogs just LOVE the Wrangler and I will dare say more than any other vehicle we've ever had. How do I know? Not that I'm a dog whisperer or anything, but simple observation.

All our other cars, trucks, & SUV's have had a higher beltline and the hounds (2 beagles) would need to stand on the arm rests to see out. Now with the JL they can sit and look out without having to stand on anything. And look they do. For HOURS at a time. Especially up in the mountains (God help us if we ever pass a pack of squirrels). And off-roading doesn't phase them a bit. That being said they are good car dogs (some are good... some... aren't...) so if your pup is a good traveler then that will help a lot.

Our weekends are no longer "what do you want to do this weekend" ... it's now "where are we taking the Jeep this weekend?"

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

So the wife and i are getting ready to take the plunge on our first Jeep. We are in our 50s and looking to explore our beautiful state (Colorado) and country. We are not looking to get into serious rock crawling, and plan on doing either day or weekend trips within Colorado, or to neighboring states such as Utah, New Mexico, etc.

I have lived long enough to know that there is perception, and then there’s reality. I am trying to marry those two a bit to make sure we go into this with realistic expectations. For starters, we have a small dog (Alvin) and would like to bring him along. This is sort of a big deal. If he has to stay back (bording) it just limits where we can go. So first question, is this weekend adventure dog friendly?

We also don’t know anyone who does this, so we would initially just do short day trips to get our feet wet, then join a jeep or off road club to meet some people and start venturing out more with a group. Is this the best way to do it?

And then there is the whole off road thing. The youtube videos look like fun, but i know anything worth doing will be work. How often should we expect to encounter issues, whether mechanical or otherwise?

On the family front, i see a lot of videos, but not many include women. How female friendly is this adventure?

I am sure i will have a lot more questions, but i wanted to throw out a few and see what you guys think. Thanks for the help!

Rob

For what it's worth I'm womanless right now, so really cannot offer too much advice there but I will say that adventuring is for all. I was surprised to see quite a few women with their own rigs doing the same offroad obstacles as men do, so take that with a grain of salt.

As for the dog, I've got an 11-year-old 9lb Yorkie that spent most of his time at home for his life, and since I relocated to AZ, and started offroading (when I'm not on my motorcycle), I've made efforts to bring him along. At first, he was pretty grumpy about being in a car all day, let alone being offroad. But it didn't take him long to get used to the vehicle, and more importantly, getting bounced around. He actually sleeps now when I'm offroading. To help him stay comfortable I bought a small dog box/carrier thing that fits in the front seat. Quite honestly in a recent trip through the "back way to Crown King" trail which is rated fairly tough, I was the only one to bring my dog. He was fine the entire trip. Few thoughts from my perspective.

 

[fat_head]

I may be grumpy and shouldn't post...

Have you ever taken your dog in a car before? Why would it be any different in a Jeep? I'm a little baffled by your question.

 

[Robmypro]

My Dog loves my Jeep. He's not a fan of the bumpy off road adventures so he stays home for those but anywhere else he loves the ride.

Also My wife doesn't hate the Jeep so that's a plus. There is no room for sexism in the off road world, anyone that says otherwise isn't worth your time. There does appear to be more men than women involved in off roading but that doesn't mean the women aren't out there in their Jeeps on the trails.

Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear that it is dog friendly. It wasn't really a concern about sexism, but rather her feeling a bit out of place if everyone else are guys. It always helps if a female or two are around for her to chit chat with!

Check out the Lite Brite YouTube channel, which is primarily female-run (Britney is the camera lady/narrator/"Star") and they bring their dog along now as well.

I think the Jeep/offroad community is more female-friendly than a lot of other automotive fields, but I'm not female so I don't really know.

I saw them on one TrailRecon video, but I will check their channel out. Thanks!

I've been Jeeping for 30 years and I believe it is very family friendly and dog friendly. My wife and 8 yo daughter go with me 90% of the time. We don't have a dog, but I see many of them on the trails. I agree with getting your feet wet slowly and then moving up as you feel comfortable and learn. Since you're in CO, I highly recommend getting out to Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. There you can sample any type of trail from a dirt road to a full on buggy trail. And there will always be someone around to help you learn, whether it be a local Jeep club of a Facebook group in your area.

I will definitely check that out. Thanks!

Hi OP , I love my new jeep JL and in the same age group. Planning move to Colorado and explore your beautiful state. Would you mind sharing what area you live in and would you recommend a certain area to start at in the jeep community. Thank you for any guidance

I live in Evergreen, which I really like. No idea what area to start at in the Jeep community as I am brand new to this. But as far as places to off road are concerned, you will probably never run out of places to explore here. Hundreds of trails. Good luck with your move!

I think you’ll be fine on your questions so far, as mentioned above, wheeling can get a little rough for the little dog, but not so bad you’d have to leave him behind. Start out on some easy fire roads or trails and work your way up to more extreme stuff and let the little guy get his sea legs. As for the wife, if you’re not careful she might get into it more than you, lol. My wife loves it we are out wheeling about every weekend, and sometimes if we play hooky during the week as well. All in all , your gonna have a blast.

Thanks! Love to hear that. Appreciate the advice.

Sounds like you may be an "overland" family. Lots of reading you can do on what overlanders do instead of "wheeling".

There are tons and tons of fun offroad experiences around you where you won't be out breaking stuff constantly. You don't need a pricey roof tent or fridge necessarily, and you can just customize gear and routes to suit your tastes.

Jeep is the epitome of the American Spirit and you can find plenty YOU like to do and work around that.

The Topless in Tennessee Facebook group has been great for us in our home state and 2 weeks ago we drove up into Daniel Boone National Forest with the dog for two days and stayed in a dog friendly hotel. Just make sure you get some safety gear for communications, first aid, hi-lift, maybe a tire sidewall patch kit, etc.

I used to laugh at Yeti cooler people until I got the JL and bought a huge Orca because that fit what we needed it for.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I think we are more overlanders but I am going to start slow and see where things lead us. No plans on getting a lot of stuff to start, but just want to do day trips in the beginning to ease into this. But I know how these things play out. The wife was looking for cooking equipment last night. Slow down honey!

My JLUR was my 50th birthday present, so I tend to hang with the same group.

Colorado is one of the most diverse places for Jeeping in the world. I lived in New Mexico for 8 years and we have great trails and places to visit there, but we still ended up in Colorado more often, especially the southwest part of the state. You'll have trails ranging from easy to insane, and most hard trails have bypasses for the difficult stuff, but not all of them. You'll have no problem finding places to go in your skill and comfort levels.

My suggestion is to find a club. Ask about how welcoming they are to new wheelers and dogs. For how you described yourself I would avoid the ones that all have built up rigs and hand built buggies, because they'll usually be going to trails that won't interest you, at least for now. Personally I go to clubs more to meet people that I go to smaller runs with, usually like 3 to 5 Jeeps. I'm not big on the runs with 20 Jeeps that can get really bogged down at times, although having that many Jeeps will insure that someone has what you need if something does go wrong.

As far as mechanical issues and things that go wrong, they will. But you minimize that by choosing the easier trails at first (even just dirt and forest service roads if you choose) until you are comfortable with your Jeep and see what happens to other people. You'll have no more mechanical issues on dirt roads than you would on pavement.

Enjoy it, make the most of it, and get out there.

Thanks! Colorado is insane for roads (on and off). I have sports car and we take it out every weekend. But the off roads are just as good, so i am looking for something to compliment my "on road" toy but for the off road. I cannot believe we have lived here 10 years and it did not occur to me to get into off roading! Definitely see your point on the large groups. I did that with some Porsche clubs and OMG. It just bogs down. About 3 to 5 people is perfect. We also use two-way radios, so figuring they will be used off roading as well. Thanks again for the reply.

Lots of good advice in the responses above. For us (I'm 55 and my wife is... younger... the JL has been a game changer. While not entirely new to heading off pavement, it's been very tame trails and always on our own. We chose the Rubicon because it will take me further than my sense of daring will. And the dogs just LOVE the Wrangler and I will dare say more than any other vehicle we've ever had. How do I know? Not that I'm a dog whisperer or anything, but simple observation.

All our other cars, trucks, & SUV's have had a higher beltline and the hounds (2 beagles) would need to stand on the arm rests to see out. Now with the JL they can sit and look out without having to stand on anything. And look they do. For HOURS at a time. Especially up in the mountains (God help us if we ever pass a pack of squirrels). And off-roading doesn't phase them a bit. That being said they are good car dogs (some are good... some... aren't...) so if your pup is a good traveler then that will help a lot.

Our weekends are no longer "what do you want to do this weekend" ... it's now "where are we taking the Jeep this weekend?"

That is awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience!

For what it's worth I'm womanless right now, so really cannot offer too much advice there but I will say that adventuring is for all. I was surprised to see quite a few women with their own rigs doing the same offroad obstacles as men do, so take that with a grain of salt.

As for the dog, I've got an 11-year-old 9lb Yorkie that spent most of his time at home for his life, and since I relocated to AZ, and started offroading (when I'm not on my motorcycle), I've made efforts to bring him along. At first, he was pretty grumpy about being in a car all day, let alone being offroad. But it didn't take him long to get used to the vehicle, and more importantly, getting bounced around. He actually sleeps now when I'm offroading. To help him stay comfortable I bought a small dog box/carrier thing that fits in the front seat. Quite honestly in a recent trip through the "back way to Crown King" trail which is rated fairly tough, I was the only one to bring my dog. He was fine the entire trip. Few thoughts from my perspective.

Thanks for the tips on the dog. Ours is 14 pounds and is a Chiweenie. But he thinks he is a pit bull. He just wants to be with us, so I am sure he will adjust. We will just take it slow. Appreciate the feedback!

 

[Robmypro]

I may be grumpy and shouldn't post...

Have you ever taken your dog in a car before? Why would it be any different in a Jeep? I'm a little baffled by your question.

No worries. We have gone on longer road trips with him, but there are the unknowns that you wonder about. For example, I wasn't sure if people might say "don't bother, they will just get sick" or "there are too many dangers to deal with for dogs."

Bringing our boy is a key factor in our buying a Jeep and starting this adventure. We didn't want to have to leave him at the bording place all the time. Call it due diligence!

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