A boy and his dog (and his Jeep) at the end of the world.

[BroncoHound]

Thank you for your service and thank you for the write up!
Enjoyed reading it all the way through.
Agree on Houston in August. Feels like your walking through pea soup and you can break a sweat walking through a parking lot at 830 at night. 9 years of that was enough for me!
As far as medical school, the people who do well are the ones who know how to stay focused and know they are the only ones responsible for their own success. It’s not easy, but neither are many things in life. From what I’ve read of you, sounds like you’re going to do well.
-Eli (BCM c/o 09’)

Thank you very much for the words of encouragement, Eli!

A brief side story: for a short period of time after I bought that house in Houston in 2014, I lived in it anticipating a shift in my job role from field supervision to the engineering team in the Houston office. I wound up taking an engineering role in Pennsylvania instead so only lived there for about 5 months before renting it out, but that's beside the point.

When I first moved into that house (it was summer of '14), I was rotating to west Texas for work on a 14/14 schedule. As soon as I would step off the plane in Midland, my lips would feel chapped and I'd immediately need to find and chug about a gallon of water. After 2 weeks in the desert, I would get acclimated and then flying back to Houston, as soon as I would step off the plane it felt as if I was wearing a 40lbs rucksack and was borderline drowning in the air because it was so thick and wet and heavy. Houston truly is an enigma. I've been lots of places that get hotter and have been to places more humid (on paper). But I've NEVER been as completely uncomfortable as I have been in Houston, Texas. Baghdad was more comfortable, warts and all.

It's a shame because there are people in Houston I enjoy and certain aspects about Houston I was fond of. But that climate. Woof.

Sponsored

 

[Kirk]

Sounds like you have a pretty major life milestone coming up. If I could offer up a word of advice: if you want to avoid static from the locals, be sure you're moving to Montana for the right reasons and understand your very presence is contributing to hardships for the folks that were born in this area. The housing crisis is a real problem in Montana, where the value of land and homes have skyrocketed due to transplants artificially inflating the market with over-list cash offers sight unseen. It has created a situation where, due to a lackluster state economy and relatively low industry job market, a born Montanan will likely never be able to afford to buy a home in Montana and is quickly getting priced out of the rental market as well. Compounded by the inflated housing market is that many transplants move to Montana with an idea in their head but quickly realize that "Montana life" moves much slower, is quite harsh at times, and requires sacrifice and change to their daily routine and how they view community. These folks then try to terraform Montana into the place they left, creating urban areas and subdivisions and pushing for government programs and intervention and chopping up the land to support this population boom. The effect of this is strangling the thing that makes Montana what it is. Sure, Montana is gorgeous landscapes, but plenty of places have gorgeous landscapes. The true magic of this place is the people and the culture and the attitude. Folks value their independence and their privacy above all else. There is very little in the way of crime, drama, government intervention, and all the silly little sociopolitical idiosyncrasies that plague metropolitan areas in other parts of the country. Moving to Montana, in my opinion, is about adapting yourself to this, in many cases, foreign lifestyle and leaving the things behind that made you want to move away from where you came from. Just about every single bit of vitriol I've seen from native Montanans towards transplants has been due to the transplants trying to turn Montana into the place they came from, and the lions share of that happens to be from southern California.

To summarize, show empathy to your new neighbors that your moving to Montana contributes to a problem where multi-generational Montanans are being forced to leave because they can't afford to raise their families there anymore, and take steps to help your neighbors and fix the problem. And, be prepared to change the way you look at life around you and how a community functions and works. If you do these two things, you'll most likely be welcomed with open arms. Don't, and expect some cold shoulders and closed doors in your new community.

Oh, and get rid of your California license plates as quickly as you possibly can. It's a running joke throughout the state that anything bad that happens in the state can be traced back to California license plates.

Very well said

 

[djfiii]

Sounds like you have a pretty major life milestone coming up. If I could offer up a word of advice: if you want to avoid static from the locals, be sure you're moving to Montana for the right reasons and understand your very presence is contributing to hardships for the folks that were born in this area. The housing crisis is a real problem in Montana, where the value of land and homes have skyrocketed due to transplants artificially inflating the market with over-list cash offers sight unseen. It has created a situation where, due to a lackluster state economy and relatively low industry job market, a born Montanan will likely never be able to afford to buy a home in Montana and is quickly getting priced out of the rental market as well. Compounded by the inflated housing market is that many transplants move to Montana with an idea in their head but quickly realize that "Montana life" moves much slower, is quite harsh at times, and requires sacrifice and change to their daily routine and how they view community. These folks then try to terraform Montana into the place they left, creating urban areas and subdivisions and pushing for government programs and intervention and chopping up the land to support this population boom. The effect of this is strangling the thing that makes Montana what it is. Sure, Montana is gorgeous landscapes, but plenty of places have gorgeous landscapes. The true magic of this place is the people and the culture and the attitude. Folks value their independence and their privacy above all else. There is very little in the way of crime, drama, government intervention, and all the silly little sociopolitical idiosyncrasies that plague metropolitan areas in other parts of the country. Moving to Montana, in my opinion, is about adapting yourself to this, in many cases, foreign lifestyle and leaving the things behind that made you want to move away from where you came from. Just about every single bit of vitriol I've seen from native Montanans towards transplants has been due to the transplants trying to turn Montana into the place they came from, and the lions share of that happens to be from southern California.

To summarize, show empathy to your new neighbors that your moving to Montana contributes to a problem where multi-generational Montanans are being forced to leave because they can't afford to raise their families there anymore, and take steps to help your neighbors and fix the problem. And, be prepared to change the way you look at life around you and how a community functions and works. If you do these two things, you'll most likely be welcomed with open arms. Don't, and expect some cold shoulders and closed doors in your new community.

Oh, and get rid of your California license plates as quickly as you possibly can. It's a running joke throughout the state that anything bad that happens in the state can be traced back to California license plates.

Thanks for the tips, and 100% agree. I've been going regularly (couple times a year at least) now for ~5 years, and already have a bunch of friends in Whitefish / Kalispell / Flathead and feel like I'll fit right in. Visited for the first time about 7 years ago.

I should add - I'm not a California native. I was raised in Michigan, and my whole family born and raised on / around a rural farm in the middle of nowhere. I grew up shooting a rifle at coffee cans, riding in the back of a trailer attached to my grandfather's riding mower or back of a pickup truck, wading into the pond on my grandparents farm to catch tadpoles, etc. Everyone usually took at least the first week of hunting season off from school to head out into the woods, etc. and it was common to see deer tied to trucks, or even hanging from the garage rafters as my uncles processed them. Everyone knows everyone. It's cold and harsh in the winters. Multiple generations born, raised, and die all within the same 25 mile radius. Parents were both former Air Force, cousins all Marines that served multiple tours, in-laws all in Intelligence, so come from a largely military family.

Montana isn't identical to Michigan, so it's not exactly apples to apples, but I guess my point is, I'm probably not the typical transplant coming in from California. My career happened to take me to LA for a while, but I'm ready to get back to different way and pace of life and Montana has been calling me since the first time I visited.

 

[BroncoHound]

Thanks for the tips, and 100% agree. I've been going regularly (couple times a year at least) now for ~5 years, and already have a bunch of friends in Whitefish / Kalispell / Flathead and feel like I'll fit right in. Visited for the first time about 7 years ago.

I should add - I'm not a California native. I was raised in Michigan, and my whole family born and raised on / around a rural farm in the middle of nowhere. I grew up shooting a rifle at coffee cans, riding in the back of a trailer attached to my grandfather's riding mower or back of a pickup truck, wading into the pond on my grandparents farm to catch tadpoles, etc. Everyone usually took at least the first week of hunting season off from school to head out into the woods, etc. and it was common to see deer tied to trucks, or even hanging from the garage rafters as my uncles processed them. Everyone knows everyone. It's cold and harsh in the winters. Multiple generations born, raised, and die all within the same 25 mile radius. Parents were both former Air Force, cousins all Marines that served multiple tours, in-laws all in Intelligence, so come from a largely military family.

Montana isn't identical to Michigan, so it's not exactly apples to apples, but I guess my point is, I'm probably not the typical transplant coming in from California. My career happened to take me to LA for a while, but I'm ready to get back to different way and pace of life and Montana has been calling me since the first time I visited.

It sounds like you're going to fit right in, David. From my experience, the transplants that seem to thrive the best out here share nearly all of your same sentiments and many similar stories of the places we grew up. Give me a shout when you're headed north next year and maybe we can get together in the woods and share a beer next to a camp fire as my way of saying Welcome Home!

 

[djfiii]

It sounds like you're going to fit right in, David. From my experience, the transplants that seem to thrive the best out here share nearly all of your same sentiments and many similar stories of the places we grew up. Give me a shout when you're headed north next year and maybe we can get together in the woods and share a beer next to a camp fire as my way of saying Welcome Home!

Sure will! Appreciate the offer.

 

[zouch]

i call that a Custom Blend.
had several great dogs that fit into that category. all of them were great road-trippers.

Thank you for the kind words. Bear is 25% Husky, 25% German Shepherd, 25% Collie, and 25% mixed bag mutt. I like to describe his breed as "All American."

 

[Mr.BoJangles_91]

Excellent build thread, thank you sir. You've definitely help me decide on the overall look / build end result that I'm going for. Getting my Duratracs installed on Wednesday.

Love the adventures with the pup. Did the same thing a few years back with mine through Canada. Lots of good memories.

There's Axel the only time I've taken the top off.

 

[4doorturbo]

Part 11 – Steering wheel trim replacement
During my road trip, one thing that was a bit of an annoyance was the glare that kicked up from the brushed plastic steering wheel trim. Not only would sunlight reflect directly off the trim into my eyes, but it would also throw a reflection into the windshield which would hit me from a second angle. So, I researched and found the black steering wheel trim that is found on the Sport model Wrangler and ordered it. The replacement isn’t hard; you only need some trim tools, a 10mm socket, a 26mm socket (I believe but I might be misremembering here), and some small torx bits. It’s delicate work because there are a bunch of little wires under that steering wheel, but it isn’t difficult if you are careful and take your time. All-in, this took me less than 45 minutes probably.

Parts list:
- Steering wheel bezel (Mopar OEM part # 6RN48TXDAA): https://parts.allmoparparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-steering-wheel-bezel-6rn48txdaa

Thanks for the pics and details. I am actually reversing your process; I have the black trim and I want to swap it for the brushed trim to match the rest of the brushed trim pieces inside.

 

[BroncoHound]

Part 13 – Spring mods and Helena
Well today was a mid-May snow day, so I figured it was a good time to post an update on a few things I've done to Evelyn in the past few months as well as a few glamour shots from around the Helena area.

Remember back during the shakedown run where I mentioned that my lower back was sitting directly in the crevice between the cargo area and the rear seat back when sleeping in the back of the Jeep? Well, it turns out the folks who order leather interiors don't have this problem as they have a gap cover. I'm not sure how that relates to the leather facing of the fronts of the seats, but whatever. I sourced and ordered the gap finder and its bracket from All Mopar Parts. Installation is extremely simple with no hardware needed and no tools other than a pair of sockets. Pulling up the Canvasback took longer than installing the gap cover.

I also bought Bear (definitely not myself because no way am I that selfish) an Xprite sleeping pad for the back of the Jeep for Christmas. I'm not a fan of buying a Made in China piece of equipment, but there really is no competition for the Xprite, and I have to admit, it's awesome. The back of my Jeep is, quite possibly, more comfortable to sleep in than my master bedroom.

Next up, I added a 90deg extension to the air line fitting on my ARB dual compressor, since I'm always either taking the hose through the driver's side rear window or out the back of the Jeep and I was tending to snag things on the air line quick connect when it was sticking straight out from the compressor. I found the brass fitting at the local hardware store.

Parts list:
Cargo area cover (Mopar OEM part # 6JX46TX7AD): https://parts.allmoparparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-cargo-area-cover-6jx46tx7ad
Floor pan bracket (Mopar OEM part # 68335706AB): https://parts.allmoparparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-floor-pan-bracket-68335706ab
Xprite USA mattress pad: https://xpriteusa.com/collections/2...ing-pad-cushion-fits-2018-19-jeep-wrangler-jl

 

[BroncoHound]

Part 13 – Spring mods and Helena, cont'd
Here are just a couple pictures of around Helena; Bear and I have done embarrassingly little exploring since we've gotten settled here; the majority has been little afternoon drives to get some fresh air and clear our heads.

I thought it was really cool that we could see the freeze line of the Missouri on this afternoon:

I found a great deal on a bike I'd been eyeing for a couple years in southern Utah, and now that my robospine is capable of handling the riding position of a standard motorcycle, I couldn't help myself. I'd also just sold my pickup (which broke my heart but had to happen) and bought a cheaper, older diesel pickup to serve as a replacement trailer puller. But being that it was a cheaper, older diesel pickup, it was naturally in the shop getting repairs done. So, Evelyn got called into service to put that tow package to use and Bear and I went on a little spring road trip.

During the winter I had also picked up a couple window screens and a little USB powered fan for spring/fall Jeep sleeping, and this trip was the first time Bear and I got to try them out (along with the new gap covers and sleeping pad). This was some goooooooood nappin'!

Every time I drive through SLC, I can't help but wonder if the "city folk" that live there truly appreciate the skyline they have. I can't imagine any major metropolitan area having a better view from deep inside the city. Seems like no matter where you go in the city, you can always see mountains.

And, back to afternoon drives around Helena:

I had gotten out of bed and went for a 10-mile jog the morning of this little day trip while Bear elected to sleep in. So, he still had to get some PT in. I don't think he minded all that much.

And in other Bud-Arnold-makes-childish-choices-with-his-disposable-funds news...

Turns out the little Sur Ron (well, a Segway x260, so a rebranded Sur Ron X) can wear a little Bear out if being chased for a couple hours while doing hill climbs and single track.

Parts list:
Window screens: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SRNXW51/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
USB fan: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BS1RQ8Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Street bike: https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport-heritage/models/xsr900
Electric dirt bike: https://store.segway.com/segway-dirt-ebike-x260

 

[BroncoHound]

Part 13 – Spring mods and Helena, cont'd
I've always liked spare tire covers on Jeeps and similar vehicles. I can't explain why, they just...fit...to me. But, in todays world of fancy wheels and aggressive tires, it seems spare tire covers have fallen somewhat out of favor. And why not? If you pay the hard-earned money for a 5th fancy wheel and aggressive tire, you want to show it off, right? Right?! For me? Nah, not really. So I got myself a custom cut spare tire cover. The bronze isn't an exact match to the wheels, but it's close enough that it doesn't look out of place, and has the right antique look to it to match the theme of the nautical compass.

Note the Sleeping Giant mountain range in the background. It's one of Helena's premier landmarks and can be seen from my apartment on the complete other side of the valley which is pretty cool.

And now we come down to serious business. After the last couple of road trips and longer drives around the state and such, I've come to realize I really need more external storage so I don't have to empty out the back of the Jeep every time Bear and I want to take a nap or bed down for the evening. So, after waffling on which to buy for nearly a year, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a roof rack. I went with the Rhino Rack Pioneer platform with Maximus-3 mounting.

As I outlined in another thread earlier today, I opted for the Maximus-3 mounting hardware for five reasons:
1.) Maximus-3 mounting is lower profile, bringing the platform closer to the Jeep than the Backbone mounting. Aesthetically, I like the lowest profile possible, even if it did make installing a bit more difficult and will present some additional challenges in the future if I commit to a RTT. I also like the "floating" aesthetics of the Maximus-3 bracketry a bit more than the Backbone external brackets, which look very similar to a gutter mount.
2.) The Backbone system is a month out from places like Northridge. Maximus-3 shipped the day after I placed the order and was delivered 4 calendar days later. I have some significant life events coming up in about a month that will keep me pretty busy for the next several months, so it worked out well to have the platform installed and useable when I had the free time available to commit to the install.
3.) The HotHeads headliners full rear side window surrounds likely would have made the rear bracket install of the Backbone system more challenging unless I discarded those HotHeads sections.
4.) The ARB dual compressor mounted on the driver's side of the tub which would have also interfered with the Backbone rear mounting bracket.
5.) I wanted to minimize the amount of Made in China parts I purchased. I love the design of the Pioneer platform and love supporting Australian companies, but I really try to steer away from anything that is manufactured in China if I can avoid it. I very nearly bought a JCR rack instead but ultimately nothing else on the market provided the multi-purpose utility and sturdiness that the Pioneer platform does. I made the decision somewhat more palatable to myself by going with the Maximus-3 installation hardware.

All that said, installing it myself was going to be a little challenging and the presence of the HotHeads headliners were going to provide an additional challenge. And, I started opening the boxes at noon on a day where the weather forecast was calling for rain the next afternoon, so I needed to get it done with expediency.

First step is just building the rack and installing the Maximus-3 feet to the rack, which is extremely straightforward with no surprises.

Nice of Maximus-3 to include a set of installation instructions for the JL tire carrier kit with this package. Now it has me wanting a fancy tire carrier. Clever marketing, Maximus-3!

Then I pulled off the freedom panels and removed the trim panels. There are 3 pieces of trim on each side and one center piece of trim that you need to remove before you can drop your sound bar. Total, I think there are 21 total trim screws that need to be removed for all seven pieces, and then 6 screws for the sound bar. The only part of the trim that was a pain to remove for me was the center piece with the dome light. The 2 inner most clips (nearest the dome light) really fought me for a while, and it isn't obvious which direction they want to go to come loose. It's straight down.

Next is measuring for the pilot holes on the roof as per the measurements given by the Maximus-3 instructions and verifying all the spacing and dimensions line up with the Maximus-3 feet on the platform. There's no going back once you start drilling holes, so measure everything about 3-4 times and make sure you understand what's going where before you mark off anything.

Here is the real challenge of installing this rack solo. How do you place the rack on the roof to mark the rest of the drill-through holes without scratching the roof all up? I chose to lay a furniture blanket on the roof, secure it with the door frames and some tape (because it was quite windy), and place the rack on the furniture blanket then slide it basically into place. Once it's in place, you can slide the blanket ends out from under the feet of the rack, align it to the roof, and make your measurements. Then put the blanket back under the feet after you've made your drill marks and gently slide the rack back off the Jeep far enough so you can pick it up and set it aside. This worked like a charm; no scratches to the rack, no scratches to the roof, and no popping in my spine.

The next challenge came from the HotHeads headliners. I've read on a couple threads that folks have really had trouble installing this rack with their headliners in place, and some have chosen to pull them out or cut them all up to accomodate the brackets. I wanted to try and drill through the headliners and compress them with the bracketry. I discovered after getting the holes drilled and getting the rack back on the roof and getting the bolts run through that I was going to need about 1/4"-1/2" longer hardware. Plus, I also didn't really care for the black painted hardware that Maximus-3 sent for these attachment points. I mean, I get it that black looks cool and the rack is black and the brackets are black, but black painted screw heads generally chip and look shitty after they've been messed with a couple times. So, I opted for some stainless hardware to replace.

Here's where the first (and only, if I'm honest) problem arose. I was taking my time with the install, stopping to visit with some friends that came by for a couple hours, and then wound up having a nut that jumped threads on me while I was backing it out, forcing me to shear the bolt to get it out. And, because I'm not that smart (Marine, remember?), when I made the hardware store run earlier in the day to get the new hardware, I didn't buy any extras, and the hardware store was now closed.

But, no biggie. I kept going and mounted the other 7 bolts and related bracketry then buttoned up the Jeep for the evening. The next morning I ran to the hardware store, picked up a couple extra bolts and nuts, and resumed my offensive. I couldn't find any of the fancy dual steel/rubber washers that Maximus-3 sent with this hardware kit at the store, and had kindof mangled the one when I was getting it off the sheared bolt, but I managed to straighten it up and get it installed with the new hardware. I can see the chew marks on the washer when I'm looking at it, but I doubt anyone else will notice.

The pressure was off now, because the Jeep was able to be sealed if the rain hit earlier than was predicted. But, Evelyn still needed to be put back together and the weather fortunately held off more than long enough for me to get her put back together and then go for a run afterwards without getting totally soaked. Next step was to relocate the XM radio antenna.

That little piece of trim in the corner just has 1 spring clip and comes straight down to release. You can fit the XM antenna electrical connector and all your extra run of wire behind it no problem.

The taped bind below is how far back from the original mounting point I separated the wiring for the XM antenna and the LTE antenna. If you separate them beyond that bit of tape, you'll just have more extra wire to deal with at the XM antenna. Further back to the last connection and you just won't have enough to get the XM antenna to connect to its harness.

The instructions make it seem like you just have a couple trim screws to remove when you're taking this whole thing apart. There are more than just a couple. This is all of them (21, I believe).

This is the front bracket clearance with the sound bar reinstalled. Even with the HotHeads in place, there is still sufficient clearance.

And the final step (before putting your freedom panels back on, obviously) is clearancing the little trim pieces on the rear roll bar. I used an exacto knife and a couple files and worked in small increments. It's ok to make a mess; remember, the shit on the ground is just going to the trash anyway. I'd rather an ugly pile of crap from small adjustments than a dicked up looking trim piece with way too big a notch sliced into it.

And the fronts, with all the trim put back in place:

Next, you get to stand back and marvel in all of your manly glory. You ASSEMBLED SOMETHING!!!

Yeah, I waited until the helicopter passed in front of this frame before taking the picture. Because helicopters are freaking cool.

I was confident in my measurements and alignment, but it was good to see after the install that the lines were all flowing with one another (the line splitting the freedom panels tracked perfectly with the track line of the center slat in the platform). This tells me everything is 5x5.

And for the final step, we gotta see if the roof is going to collapse in on itself, right? And what better way than to throw 205lbs of out of shape, 40-year old Marine with a bad back on the top and have him jump around like the village idiot for a couple minutes?

Despite my repeated requests, Bear declined to be the photographer for a minute so I could take some YouTube video thumbnail-worthy picture throwing my hands in the air or some some such nonsense. It's tough to get management to do ANYTHING around here.

And, about 3 hours after finishing up the install, the first real test of the install began.

So far no leaks, no moisture! Just around town and with a brief 20-mile jump on the freeway, I don't notice any additional wind noise. We've obviously been getting some weather since the install wrapped up yesterday afternoon, and the Helena area is notorious for near-constant high winds, so there was definitely wind noise during my drive but I wouldn't say it was any more than before the rack install.

I've also read some folks have trouble with their XM radio reception after relocating if they have the HotHeads headliners. The going theory is the sound assassin strips under the headliners on the freedom top panels is interfering with the signal, particularly when driving east. So far in just the past 24 hours it has cut out a couple times (not just going east) but just for a fraction of a second (like when you drive under a bridge at highway speeds) and hasn't had any extended dropping. Also, that happened sometimes in this area prior to the rack install, since Helena is in a big bowl. I'll have to report back on that as I take some trips out of the valley and see how the XM radio responds. I really don't want to have to pull the headliners to remove the sound assassin strips, as I'm sure the headliners will get torn to pieces in the process and make a terrible mess. If it's only the occasional cut-out, I'll just live with it.

Now I just need to find an excuse to go somewhere after the weather clears up so I can load some shit up on that thing and feel financially vindicated!

Parts list:
35" spare tire cover: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpareTireCovers?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=512636821
Rhino Rack Pioneer platform with Maximus-3 mounting hardware: https://maximus-3.com/2018-jeep-wrangler-jl-jlu-roof-rack/maximus-3-jl-roof-rack-system-long

 

[musicforme]

I found your post searching for a particular part number and found so much more. I really appreciate all the details you included in it. My wife is going to hate it when I order my Jeep in the spring with a list of mods at the ready.

Looking forward to any updates you make to the post going forward.

 

[BroncoHound]

I found your post searching for a particular part number and found so much more. I really appreciate all the details you included in it. My wife is going to hate it when I order my Jeep in the spring with a list of mods at the ready.

Looking forward to any updates you make to the post going forward.

Thanks for the kind words (and the gentle nudge that I need to update the thread)! What's your timeline for your new Jeep purchase?

 

[BroncoHound]

Part 14 - A change in direction
Well, it was bound to happen. You make a plan, you work the plan, and then life happens some more. In the immortal words of Mike Tyson, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." During the spring I studied for the MCAT, took the MCAT, received a 521 on the MCAT. It was a good enough score to compensate for my age and lack of medical experience, but having been 12 years since I was in undergrad, it was going to take some work to get accepted into the medical schools I was shooting for and, during the process of studying for the MCAT, I really had to question if my heart was in people medicine which, ultimately, I realized it just wasn't. And so, back the drawing board of evaluating the 3 options I had laid out for myself as the potential 3rd (and hopefully, final) career. Human medicine, veterinary medicine, and rotary pilot. Rotary pilot ultimately won the day, and so I scratched the 6 months of sitting in Helena studying up to the cost of lessons learned and moved to the Treasure Valley in Idaho to attend flight training for helicopters, where I've been since July.

That said, there hasn't been much in the way of Jeepin' being done, as my schedule is pretty full between flight training, ground training, studying, part-time work, and a couple volunteer organizations I've gotten myself hooked up with. I haven't even taken my little e-bike out to the trails a single time (possibly due, in part, to the fact it was like 109degF for 2 straight weeks when I moved down here which REALLY had me reconsidering this decision) though Bear and I have done a little bit of road trippin.

The new-old tow pig that replaced Kort (she's named Betty, as in Betty Blue the old '02) had to go to Bozeman after the move so my buddy Teola could help me get her up to my standards of maintenance and repair and, after loading the street bike up and riding her 500 straight miles back to Boise from Bozeman when i dropped the pickup off, I decided Evelyn would assist with going to get the pickup and bring her back.

Also sometime this summer Bear and I decided to go spend a couple days wandering through the Craters of the Moon state park which was a wild change in terrain and a bunch of fun to camp through, though most of it was foot traffic and it was obscenely hot outside. It was still decent hammock sleeping though.

And, in the fall, with just over 19,000 miles on the odometer, the dreaded rear axle locker position switch failed. I went and talked to the service techs at Dennis Dillon Jeep in Caldwell, and they ordered the new Dana 44 and had the Jeep in and out in 2 days and even sent a shuttle to get me all the way in Meridian (about 25 miles). While it's absurd that Dana won't just sell Jeep a replacement locker position sensor (or, I dunno, maybe just fix the goddamned problem first?) and they instead have to replace the entire axle, it was all done professionally and competently and totally hassle-free under warranty. I've been pretty impressed with the Dennis Dillon service department thus far. While they had the Jeep in, they also performed the outstanding clutch safety recall flash that's supposed to derate if excess slip is detected. I've driving about 4000 miles since the update and haven't really felt any change in the driving characteristics.

Then, over Christmas break, Bear and I road tripped down to see my mother. Turns out I hadn't spent Christmas at her house in 23 years so she didn't really give me a choice in the matter. I WOULD show up for Christmas. When your mother is a retired US Army Colonel and she puts on her command voice, you snap to and start planning a cross-country.

So, Bear and I decided to make a trip of it and camp in Moab the first night down, then Roswell, NM the second night. We got a late start leaving Boise so didn't get into Moab until after dark and wound up camping at the La Sal lookout point just SE of Moab. The next morning I realized I missed the turnout to an EPIC camping spot with an even better view by about 200yds because it was dark but oh well; it was still pretty great to wake up in the rocks. The low that night was 17-18degF and, with my sleeping bag and one of those big Costco blankets, Bear and I were plenty warm in the back of the Jeep.

The next night Bear and I stayed at the Devil's Inkwell Campground in Roswell, NM only because I liked the name on the map and, if I was gonna get probed by aliens during the night, the least I could do is try and sell my soul for the power to fight them off. Sadly, no aliens and no devils made any appearances through the night, but the clear skies and full moon had the coyotes out making noise and putting Bear on alert all night which was hilarious because him being on alert is about as safety-inspiring as Rick Moranis in a nightclub security tshirt.

Thankfully, Bear was able to brave the terrible struggles of this trip and make it to his grannies house in time for Christmas, which utterly exhausted him.

And, I mean, c'mon Mother. Get some updated pictures. This is just depressing to look at. Look at all that hair!

Anyway, the return trip was pretty much just a hammer down straight through slogfest, right as the winter storm was blowing into the western US last week. Had to do a little detouring due to wrecks and got myself slid into a ditch on a Colorado back road making room for a UPS truck, but the Rubicon transfer case and lockers were enough to get me out of the snow bank and back on the harder pack without needing to dig or winch or anything (good thing, too, because like an idiot I left my snow chains at home). So yeah, I guess you could say Bear and I are pretty hardcore offroaders.

So what now? Well, back to the grind of flight training and work but with a commitment to myself to get out and recreate more this year than I did last year. I kinda bogged myself down into this whole "what the hell am I gonna do with the rest of my life" nonsense last year and I need to course correct on that.

That said, I also feel I'm at a turning point with Evelyn. I said when I first bought her, I figured she'd probably be the last 3-peddler daily driver I buy because it's obvious the market, industry, and engineering have all left this technology behind. and the last 18 months of living with Evelyn has really cemented that. This is NOT a well engineered platform. The engine output and transmission gearing are ALL wrong for one another. The transmission is geared to be at super low RPM all the time, yet the engine doesn't make a drop of power until your wring it's throat. It's not nearly as noticeable just commuting to the rescue shelters or airport every day, but it is REALLY noticeable when trying to go anywhere at freeway speeds. The engine and transmission are just constantly at odds with one another and it is WILDLY frustrating and, during a 3300-mile road trip, increasingly exhausting to manage. Add to that my mother wanted to buy me a roof tent for Christmas (I'm the baby boy, after all; see fridge pictures for evidence) but I had to decline because the Jeep can just BARELY get itself up and down the road on it's own accord.

I think, as she sits now, swapping to 4.88 gears might make me content, but not if I add any weight or aerodynamic resistance. So, spend $2k on gears and be happy as she sits now but still not be able to mount a roof tent or really do anything else to add weight to the system, or trade this Jeep in for an....ugh, can't believe I'm saying this...automatic transmission. Maybe the time has come. It's a line of thought I'm still investigating.

So, in summary and closing, I reckon I'm going to go see Kent Shurtleff at Peterson Jeep sometime this week to run the numbers of trading Evelyn in for her exact Doppelgänger except with an Ecodiesel powerplant and slushbox. If the numbers work where I can swap my hard top and rack, wheels, front bumper w/winch, ARB compressor, and most of my other mods without being too far out of pocket by way of this strange market we're in now where used car prices are often higher than new, then I might just be converting to Evelyn 2.0 in 6-103 months whenever the Jeep would be built and delivered. Still not a fully formed thought, and almost entirely dependent on the cost delta being minimal, but it's what I'm presently considering.

 

[musicforme]

Thanks for the kind words (and the gentle nudge that I need to update the thread)! What's your timeline for your new Jeep purchase?

Looking like it'll be around Mid-March to place my XR order. I'm waiting for my comp and bonus numbers at work to come in before placing the order. Doubtful I'll get it by/in June, but the timing would work out well since I'll be on a work sabbatical all of June. I could make good use of the time to break it in when I'm not taking some other planned trips that month with my kids.

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