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My Granite Crystal Adventure Jeep

TrailTorque

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Love the build so far, but to address your question about comms I would highly highly suggest getting something whether it's a ham radio, cb, or a race radio anything will be better than nothing.

To give you an idea of how important it is, my wife and I went down to Big Bend one Spring Break to do some back country wheeling and camping, on our very first stop in the park we got out to hike up to Balancing Rock, we came across an elderly lady who seemed very lost. We sat her down and were able to get her calmed down enough to find out that she and her husband had went out to hike up to Balancing Rock and her husband decided to take a right instead of a left despite her protestations. About three hours had past when he left her at the point we found her at.

My wife stayed with her to give her an opportunity to calm down some more and I ran back to the Jeep and got on the radio and got in contact with the park rangers to start the search and rescue. It took the SAR unit about 45 minutes to locate the husband who was suffering from partial dehydration and heat exhaustion. When we got back to the ranger station they were very thankful we had stopped to help and even more thankful we had a cb on the Jeep.

A CB radio is one of the cheapest mods you can make to your Jeep but probably could potentially be one of the most important ones you have. Oh and Big Bend is notorious for having little to no cell coverage throughout the whole park which is something a lot of parks suffer from.
Very responsible man! Good to know there are still people out there like you and your wife! Thank you for helping them! I just purchased my very first Jeep and plan to do a few trips. Until you mentioned it I would have never thought twice about it. I will look into this for sure. If you have any links for the setup you have please share them!
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TrailTorque

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I was a little hesitant to post my little Jeep, but here it is. Ha. I’ve received loads of advice and inspiration from this board. It’s definitely fun to be part of the community.

A Jeep has always been my dream vehicle and last year I ended up getting hit by a car while cycling and broke my neck. So I decided to finally get a Jeep this year, you only get to live so long, so you have to make the most of it(cheesy I know).

My ultimate goal is to put together a rig that is built for adventures and fun. Well she’s already been on tons of adventures, including Colorado twice. She hit 15k miles in the most perfect spot, going through a narrow, tree-lined, trail in the Superior National Forest. Alaska for five weeks in August is next on the list.

I’ve done a bunch of work with my dad (I’m not the most mechanically inclined) and with the help of Zeus Off Road here in the Minneapolis area.

Here’s what I’ve done so far.
  • Mopar Jeep handles
  • Warn VR 10 winch
  • Mopar Cargo Tray
  • ARB Fridge
  • Mopar 7” Lights
  • Maximus-3 Rhino Rack
  • James Baroud Evolution XXL Tent
  • Rigid 10” light bars on the rack
  • Rock lights under the Jeep for mood lighting – ha
  • Vector GGB – Will install this week
  • Vector E-Dock – Hopefully install next week, been pre-ordered since June
  • Garmin In-Reach communicator
  • DV8 Inner Fender Liner (I actually won these off this site!)
What I want to do.
  • Either 35” or 37” and new wheels (after Alaska)
  • On board air
  • Dual battery system
  • Rotopax (wish they would make some mounts)
I’m debating on adding a radio/communications system before leaving. Looking for any advice.

I love this vehicle!
Very cool setup man and great photos!! Definitely some memories for sure! Sorry to hear about your accident with cycling! That must have been a tough recovery! Glad to see you pulled through and are okay. I don’t think you mentioned going on this trek with anyone other than your dog..? Hopefully you had someone else with you lol Judging by the photos I wouldn’t have wanted to get stuck out there or run down by a bear without anyone else around lol
 

coneklr

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Im sorry if I missed it but what mounts are those on the rear for the rotopax? Can you mount two together for a total of 4?
 
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baggio16

baggio16

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If you havent made your way back down yet stop in at my dealership in Fort St John (right on the alaska HWY) you should be passing right by us. Id be delighted to buy ya lunch and pick your brain about your travels. We are a HUGE jeep community up here and our showroom is very doggo friendly!!
How about next summer? :) I'm planning a trip back up into BC and Yukon next next summer. I just fell in love with the area and I need to make it to the Arctic Ocean.

I really enjoyed your town. I spent the night there, found some baseball field you guys turned into a dog park and had some beer at Beard's Brewery. You have some really nice people up there. Ended up talking to people for hours there.

I wish I would have stopped at your dealership, I had a really bad experience at the one in Grand Prairie when I was trying to figure out why all my USB ports decided to stop working.

Very cool setup man and great photos!! Definitely some memories for sure! Sorry to hear about your accident with cycling! That must have been a tough recovery! Glad to see you pulled through and are okay. I don’t think you mentioned going on this trek with anyone other than your dog..? Hopefully you had someone else with you lol Judging by the photos I wouldn’t have wanted to get stuck out there or run down by a bear without anyone else around lol
Thanks, it was and is still a really tough recovery. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to bike long distances anymore and racing is almost for sure a no go. The C1 broke in two places and that is healed, but one of the other ones that broke has a piece broken off and is fusing with the ones below it. Ugh. That's not even going into the brain injury. So many problems. Ha.

I carry the Garmin InReach with me. So checked in every night and had tracking built in, so the fam could follow the trip. I was really worried about bears, but I was as bear aware as I could be. All food was stored in smell proof bags and containers, ate far away from the Jeep, etc. One of the places that I camped, had fresh bear tracks next the site, needless to say, I didn't cook that night!

Im sorry if I missed it but what mounts are those on the rear for the rotopax? Can you mount two together for a total of 4?
I'm not sure I would get this again. It was the Rock Slide Engineering one. It did the job, but I'm going to upgrade my bumper spare tire holder to handle RP and jack, and more storage. It can only hold two RP and it did put a little dent in the back door. Might not have had the strap on just right. But it works in a pinch.
 

TrailTorque

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Thanks, it was and is still a really tough recovery. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to bike long distances anymore and racing is almost for sure a no go. The C1 broke in two places and that is healed, but one of the other ones that broke has a piece broken off and is fusing with the ones below it. Ugh. That's not even going into the brain injury. So many problems. Ha.

I carry the Garmin InReach with me. So checked in every night and had tracking built in, so the fam could follow the trip. I was really worried about bears, but I was as bear aware as I could be. All food was stored in smell proof bags and containers, ate far away from the Jeep, etc. One of the places that I camped, had fresh bear tracks next the site, needless to say, I didn't cook that night!
That sucks man but it seems like you’re clearly tough and coming along! Good to see you not letting things slow you down! We’ve got one life!

I’m going to check into that setup. It seems to have worked well for you. Where do you have your setup mounted in the cabin? Yeah my main concern would have been bears as they run those places not us haha
 

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How about next summer? :) I'm planning a trip back up into BC and Yukon next next summer. I just fell in love with the area and I need to make it to the Arctic Ocean.

I really enjoyed your town. I spent the night there, found some baseball field you guys turned into a dog park and had some beer at Beard's Brewery. You have some really nice people up there. Ended up talking to people for hours there.

I wish I would have stopped at your dealership, I had a really bad experience at the one in Grand Prairie when I was trying to figure out why all my USB ports decided to stop working.



Thanks, it was and is still a really tough recovery. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to bike long distances anymore and racing is almost for sure a no go. The C1 broke in two places and that is healed, but one of the other ones that broke has a piece broken off and is fusing with the ones below it. Ugh. That's not even going into the brain injury. So many problems. Ha.

I carry the Garmin InReach with me. So checked in every night and had tracking built in, so the fam could follow the trip. I was really worried about bears, but I was as bear aware as I could be. All food was stored in smell proof bags and containers, ate far away from the Jeep, etc. One of the places that I camped, had fresh bear tracks next the site, needless to say, I didn't cook that night!



I'm not sure I would get this again. It was the Rock Slide Engineering one. It did the job, but I'm going to upgrade my bumper spare tire holder to handle RP and jack, and more storage. It can only hold two RP and it did put a little dent in the back door. Might not have had the strap on just right. But it works in a pinch.

I am sorry to hear about your poor experience in GP! We would love to have you by anytime. Beards is a wicked brewery :) i may be back on vancouver island at that time but please feel free to reach out!
 

OkieMizzou

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A couple of thoughts regarding your questions about comms. I'd recommend running both a CB and a VHF radio - particularly when overlanding. CBs are cheap, easy to install and most people have them. Any organized rally or jamboree will use them as the main form of communication while on the trail. For most situations where vehicles are running close together a CB will be sufficient and it's easy to chat back and forth. However, CB frequencies do operate in the lower kHz range and are limited in distance and line of sight.

Recently, more and more people in the offroad/overlander/trail world have started adopting the "HAM" radios and most often the handheld units. As with many things on the internet, one person will show & tell and then others follow along. And like any viral outbreak, the source of the virus can be traced back to a 'patient zero'. In the case of HAM radio use, someone got on YouTube and sang praise about the ubiquitous BaoFeng UV-5R and the rest was history. Jumping on that bandwagon could potentially get you in trouble with the FCC. Certain frequency ranges and wattage output require a license. Any handheld radio with an output less than a 5w is legal without a license but the frequency being used may not be. There are many people out there using the VHF radio frequency bands that aren't properly licensed. The FRS and GRMS radios (2W output) that are sold at any outdoors/hunting retailer, I.e, Bass Pro, Cabela's, Gander Mountain, REI, etc, are specifically pre-programmed with channels that are authorized for use by the general public. Rather than bore everyone to death here on the forum with a dissertation on radio frequencies I'll just stop right here and let you do your own research.

To sum things up here are my thoughts regarding your original question.

If you're serious about getting the most out of your comms then I'd recommend using both but also get your HAM license so that you can legally use the better frequency ranges. VHF radios can link with repeaters, emergency services, weather services, etc. If you really want to overland remotely that is the way to go. Another advantage to VHF is that there are always HAM enthusiasts listening on the airways which could prove extremely helpful if the need arises.
 
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jbozz

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I was a little hesitant to post my little Jeep, but here it is. Ha. I’ve received loads of advice and inspiration from this board. It’s definitely fun to be part of the community.

A Jeep has always been my dream vehicle and last year I ended up getting hit by a car while cycling and broke my neck. So I decided to finally get a Jeep this year, you only get to live so long, so you have to make the most of it(cheesy I know).

My ultimate goal is to put together a rig that is built for adventures and fun. Well she’s already been on tons of adventures, including Colorado twice. She hit 15k miles in the most perfect spot, going through a narrow, tree-lined, trail in the Superior National Forest. Alaska for five weeks in August is next on the list.

I’ve done a bunch of work with my dad (I’m not the most mechanically inclined) and with the help of Zeus Off Road here in the Minneapolis area.

Here’s what I’ve done so far.
  • Mopar Jeep handles
  • Warn VR 10 winch
  • Mopar Cargo Tray
  • ARB Fridge
  • Mopar 7” Lights
  • Maximus-3 Rhino Rack
  • James Baroud Evolution XXL Tent
  • Rigid 10” light bars on the rack
  • Rock lights under the Jeep for mood lighting – ha
  • Vector GGB – Will install this week
  • Vector E-Dock – Hopefully install next week, been pre-ordered since June
  • Garmin In-Reach communicator
  • DV8 Inner Fender Liner (I actually won these off this site!)
What I want to do.
  • Either 35” or 37” and new wheels (after Alaska)
  • On board air
  • Dual battery system
  • Rotopax (wish they would make some mounts)
I’m debating on adding a radio/communications system before leaving. Looking for any advice.

I love this vehicle!
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jbozz

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Some "action" shots. :)

Glacier NP (wildfires suck)

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Ignore the MPG, that was from hammering home into a headwind. Averaged around 18mpg fro whole trip.
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Token dog photo :)

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absolutely Beautiful....
 

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