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What is your 4wd pedigree? Prior vehicles and experience thread.

Mikeoso

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My Jeep is the first 4x4 I've personally owned. My prior experience with off road vehicles was all HMMWVs. Of course we weren't allowed to really do what we wanted with them but I got some good experience driving them on and off road, mostly in sandy environments (29 Palms, Iraq)

Having the Jeep is now a fun experience, as I don't have to do any paperwork when I drive it. :giggle:
Semper Fi bro!
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Rogues Gambit

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'21 2dr Bronco Badlands, 2.3t Manual
Wish mine were fancy:

'05 Liberty (Didn't leave the pavement)
'07 H3x (The beast, see above)
'19 Rebel (Went on trails with it, gotta really push it)
 

S2k Chris

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Completely nil.

I grew up in suburban CT, and where I lived there were lots of windy back roads and no place to go offroading at all. So I fell in love with small convertible sports cars, I never understood why anyone would want a big clumsy SUV which were completely unsuited to our narrow roads.

Then I rented a series of TJ and YK Wranglers on various vacations in Aruba, Hawaii (multiple times/islands), and Alaska, and fell in love with the doors off/top down driving, and dabbled in offroading.

I moved out to Chicagoland where my wife and her family had a series of Jeeps, a bunch of Cherokees, Grand Cherokees, and a couple Liberties, she had a 1G Liberty when we got married and that thing was terrible EXCEPT the occasions when it snowed and then it was a tank. 17mpg in a vehicle that small though...

So anyways, I was a fan of Jeeps from vacationing with them, and when it came time to replace my latest boring Acura I figured I'd give a Jeep a go, and I've fallen, hard. Now I take it offroad as much as possible, admittedly not often, but I go top down/doors off all the time (sitting in my work parking lot right now in doors off safari mode). I love the stupid thing, and I'm already plotting a Rubicon when the lease is up on my Sport S.
 

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brazos

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My first 4x4 was a 1958 International Harvester pickup.

1976.

I went to Missoula to study Wildlife Biology at UM, but decided to establish residency in order to save scarce funds.

Took up logging.

That old truck was more tractor than road vehicle, but it was hell-for-stout.

Short bed, and would be considered lifted today. It rode high.

I developed a block heater, for those -30F mornings.

I’d get up, go outside, and fire up my Svea 123 backpacking stove under the oil pan, and then go back inside and have breakfast with my wife.

Hard times, but good times.
 

Uhdinator

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Been in and out of Wranglers for about 30 yrs.........owning 3 different versions. JL being the best.

Bought a new 1989 Blue YJ islander 258ci I6 5 speed soft top at 28yrs old and got the bug.
Learned to wheel it with open diffs and none of the stuff now standard like traction control etc.
Installed lift and learned as i went. You needed 4" of lift for 33's and it rode like it had no springs.

Bought a new 2003 Rubicon HT 4.0 auto TJ. Added 2.5 lift to fit 285/70's (first year Rubi's had 245 tires stock)

Bought a new 2018 Sport 2dr HT 2.0 auto. 2" spacer lift 305/65 tires. i think my sport has better clearance than the Rubi and with traction control does just about as good off road.

One of the things new Jeepers prob don't realize is good about the JL is the drive train is pretty much tucked up between the frame. My Rubi TJ has a pretty sizable transfer case skid that hangs down quite a bit compared to a JL.
 

OldBird

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Started with the Toyota pickup I bought new in 87, upgraded to a 4Runner in 94. Took a break after a couple of cross country moves into urban areas up to 2004 when I bought a new F350 crew cab long bed.

Added a couple of Jeeps in there when I picked up an 82 Cherokee Wide Track followed not too long after with the 86 Grand Wagoneer in my sig. Had fun wheeling those in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah until both sets of twins took me too much time to spend with the Jeeps.

Finally back into the Jeep fold and I'm not going back.
 

Wabujitsu

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My first 4x4 was a 1973 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40. I wish I still had that beast.

I’ve lived in Florida most of my life. I’ve been a swamp-stompin’ backwoods kind of guy the entire time. I learned to wheel with open diffs and 4x2s. I’m glad because of the skills I’ve acquired. 60% of wheeling is skill and balls; 40% is machine.

Upon joining the US Army I rolled in an M561 Gama Goat, and an M151A2 Jeep. Both vehicles were phased out shortly after I joined, replaced by the HMMWV which I have years of experience driving in all types of terrain.

I don’t have a picture of my LC. I found the below picture which is identical to the one I owned.

I traded in a 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser for my current love of my life, my JLU Sport 2.0T with a few upgrades, such as the LSD with rear 3rd gen Dana 44.

C7746CC0-EB36-4D7A-B124-10AC5C5822C4.jpeg
 
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jack0351

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My wheeling experiences were kind of limited until after I joined the Marine Corps. On the family farm it was all 2WD, so you weren't "wheeling" but you definitely had to learn the capabilities of your vehicle. The first ones I drove was a 72 Ford F250 and a Ford 3000 tractor. When I turned 16, I inherited a 66 Mustang, and then bought a 77 K5 Blazer. The Blazer was a POS, but it was lifted and 4x4. But the poor setup the previous owner had caused it to blow the transmission after I enlisted in 93. I was in a 2wd Ranger for two years, although I bought a 79 Bronco that was also less than ideal. Took it out once and discovered there had been some incompetent maintenance done and broke a bunch of things. Like @Sean L , I drove HMMWVs, but not like we wanted to. In 96, I bought an F350 PSD CC 4x4, and proceeded to mod it and take it "muddin." Never too extreme, as it was my daily driver, but I found out I could fit 36s under it. I drove that thing cross country 4 times, and it was the basis for having 4x4 in nearly every vehicle I've owned since. I also used it to load my Harley into for various trips where I wanted both the truck and the bike I still own it and love it, although the suspension is a little rough compared to my current 2013 Ram 3500 DRW 4x4. The Ram pulls my RV, so that one has 4x4 "just in case," but is primarily a pavement queen. But the 4x4 came in handy a few times in CA when I was RVing on the beach and had to pull the triple axle toyhauler around. I went through a couple of other duallys earlier in my RVing days. Now, I'm shopping for my JLU to be my "daddy-mobile." I retired from the Marines not long ago, and will be "Mr Mom" while my wife works as a veterinarian. While the JLU will be mostly a pavement queen at first, I am intentionally doing this so that I can introduce the (expecting in Jan) kid to wheeling at a young age.
 

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DanW

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My first 4x4 and first Jeep was a 1949 Willys Wagon, which I ran all over the desert around Tucson when I was an undergrad in the early 70s. It looked kinda like this one.
1949-jeep-willys-jeep-wagon-barn-find-rare-vehicle-in-vegas-7.jpg


For my second Jeep I found a 1969 C101 Jeepster Commando...very cool.
1969-jeepster-commando-1.jpg


Whn I had kids to haul and less off-roading, I went to a 1974 Grand Wagoneer.
15165439-1983-jeep-wagoneer-thumb.jpg


Following that, I had a long stretch of Ram 4x4 pickups, but my wife was using a 1996 Cherokee Sport
1J4FJ68S3TL334715-1996-Jeep-Cherokee-Sport_classic-front-right-22160782.jpg


This summer she decided my 1997 Ram was too horrible to look at, and ordered me to get a new car. Since I'm keeping the truck, hidden behind the barn, I can have something less utilitarian.
Jeep.jpg


So, there you have it...50 years of Jeeping history
That Wagoneer is awesome!!! You're a purebred, man!!
 

AlamedaJeep

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My Dad had a series of three Wagoneers in the 60s and 70s. All were three speed manuals, the first two had the shifter on the steering column and the third had it on the floor (which I thought was the coolest thing ever).

I was lucky to learn to drive off-road in those when I was 14. Didn’t get to drive on pavement until I got my learners permit at 15 and 9 months.

I followed that up with an original Cherokee, then a Liberty and finally a Wrangler!
 

jeepingib

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86' Chevy 3/4 ton with 32" BFG MTs
91' Dodge Dakota 318 V8 and 30" Cooper MTs
99' Jeep TJ Sahara, 2" lift 32" BFG MTs
01' Dodge Ram 1500 Off Road Pkg 33"GSAs
03' Jeep TJ X, RE long arms, locked 44s, and 35" BFGs
06' Jeep Grand Cherokee, V8 3 in lift and 33s
13' Jeep JK Sport, ran 35" Falkens on a combination of Rubicon springs and fender trimming.
18' JLUR, stock.... for now

20190801_143055.jpg
 
OP
OP
Hawkspring

Hawkspring

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Cool thread. Thanks OP.
But, I have no pedigree....
I drive a Miata.
I’m going to order a 2020.
I have been to the mall.
I loved my ND Miata! No shame in owning the greatest driver’s car of all time.
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