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Who actually takes their JL offroad?

jessedacri

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You ought to read Tigerman's story over in the TJ forum. He rolled several times landing on all fours just above where it looks like your photo was taken. He salvaged his TJ to cherry. Admirable!

Picture 4.jpg
Woah, yep, that's Lookout Trail next to Rowher 4x4 route (the trail I am ascending in my pic) in Santa Clarita. Lookout's trailhead is about 1500 feet out of frame of my photo. I've taken the initial ascent for Lookout and ended up backing down because I felt sketchy in my 2-door. There's lots of deep obstacles and ruts placed on 25-29 degree vertical ascents and descents. Sketchy stuff - glad he was okay.
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Hypalon Man

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One the way up To Imogene, it’s fun to drive up Yankee Basin...fun trail and several beautiful waterfalls. I’ve done most of these trails in a Jeep..and last summer on my KTM 500 Excf. The Jeep is much slower but easier on the body of a 60 year old..
We went to Hurricane Pass and back on a commercial rig. Seemed doable in a JL Sport.
Nice ride beautiful scenery and good place for lunch.
 

aldo98229

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I take my JL to the trail on occasion. These days I do mostly moderate level off-roading.

I used to do more hardcore off-roading when I lived in California. But trail conditions here in the PNW are more unpredictable due to more extreme weather, rapid changing vegetation, remoteness, wildlife, gated access, etc.

Besides, I refuse to beat up my fancy $50,000 JL loaded with electronics and bright shiny paint.

Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? TgGmfGDHeFW_4A7nf4WODhXvA-A&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1
 
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twisty

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I bought mine thinking I was over the semi hard core trail scene. I put on 35s and rock rails after about a six months, I always planned for bumpers but still not going for a hard trails. Did a lift kit and the 35s looked to small so 37's, now I need a gear change., RCV's , yukon rear shafts, ADS 2.5 suspension, more.

Might as well try a reasonably tuff trail now with all this stuff. I had a TJ before and it was a well set up animal, my JLUR blows it away in every way but nimbleness.

I wonder how many just dont know how capable these jeeps are. I get why most dont use them for tuff trails, it really makes sense and the just goes to show you the genius of the JK's and JL's. Mass appeal.
 

quietpeen

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I bought mine thinking I was over the semi hard core trail scene. I put on 35s and rock rails after about a six months, I always planned for bumpers but still not going for a hard trails. Did a lift kit and the 35s looked to small so 37's, now I need a gear change., RCV's , yukon rear shafts, ADS 2.5 suspension, more.

Might as well try a reasonably tuff trail now with all this stuff. I had a TJ before and it was a well set up animal, my JLUR blows it away in every way but nimbleness.

I wonder how many just dont know how capable these jeeps are. I get why most dont use them for tuff trails, it really makes sense and the just goes to show you the genius of the JK's and JL's. Mass appeal.
Now that you have a lift and 37’s try a semi hard trail and see how well it performS, and i bet you find its still plenty nimble.

I’m in the same boat though, i want to re-gear to 5.13’s, replace the front with rcv 2 piece shafts, and do chrome-molly axle shafts in the rear
 

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HardSell

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My JL_2018 (HULK)took me and taught me how to climb ...
That's really knarly terrain. How did the FJ Cruiser do? Did he use his auto climb feature to do that?
 

Jeep Generation

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Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? 6
Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? 87331321_658387491597241_3171535141722524655_n
Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? 87705987_2844098768946542_415505901501548656_n
Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? 84334256_185951235997629_7481319079526891435_n
Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? Capture3_1.26.1
Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? IMG_6875.JPG


Here are some recent shots of our JLUR off-road.
 

Geronimo

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What are your favorite trails in Ouray? We were thinking about going back in September but it would be our first Jeeping venture. 18JL Sport no upgrades.
Your JL Sport would be well suited for nearly all of the big named trails. They are not technically difficult trails or require heavy mods. Majestic scenery is the objective in Ouray. Imogene, The Alpine loop, Black Bear pass, Yankee Boy, Corkscrew , Poughkeepsie gulch. are all trails we love and there are more.

A great break-in trail would be to run Ophir Pass to Teluride and Imogene back to Ouray for starters. Then run the Alpine loop which is a long day trip. They are all so great I hate to leave any off the list.

Get this book! It is what I would call a necessity.

Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails, 4th Edition
 

Amaruq

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Your JL Sport would be well suited for nearly all of the big named trails. They are not technically difficult trails or require heavy mods. Majestic scenery is the objective in Ouray. Imogene, The Alpine loop, Black Bear pass, Yankee Boy, Corkscrew , Poughkeepsie gulch. are all trails we love and there are more.

A great break-in trail would be to run Ophir Pass to Teluride and Imogene back to Ouray for starters. Then run the Alpine loop which is a long day trip. They are all so great I hate to leave any off the list.

Get this book! It is what I would call a necessity.

Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails, 4th Edition
I wonder how much different my old 3rd edition is.
do you need spare fuel to make the alpine loop (2-door tank)?
 

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HardSell

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Your JL Sport would be well suited for nearly all of the big named trails.
My '69 4WD top of Cinnamon Pass, July 1974. The kid I'm holding lives in a paid off house and has a Rubicon for each foot.

Jeep Wrangler JL Who actually takes their JL offroad? IMG_0015.JPG
 
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twisty

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Now that you have a lift and 37’s try a semi hard trail and see how well it performS, and i bet you find its still plenty nimble.

I’m in the same boat though, i want to re-gear to 5.13’s, replace the front with rcv 2 piece shafts, and do chrome-molly axle shafts in the rear
Na, no JLU is going to be a nimble as a short wheel base TJ or JL . Still the JLU makes up for it with 100hp (than the TJ) more, ride quality, creature comforts, on and on.

My shop talked me out of 513s saying it was too buzzy for street work. I'm pretty happy with 488s and it's still a little buzzy but a absolute hoot to drive. Thinking the 513s would have been fine too.
 

aldo98229

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My '69 4WD top of Cinnamon Pass, July 1976. The kid I'm holding lives in a paid off house and has a Rubicon for each foot.

IMG_0015.JPG
Whenever I see old photos like this of RWD cars with no ABS, no airbags, no seatbelts, no cell reception, no navigation, no cargo room, ply tires, six people in five seats, 150 HP and 15 MPG, going up mountain passes...makes me wonder if today we focus too much on the toy and not enough on the experience.
 

txj2go

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My shop talked me out of 513s saying it was too buzzy for street work. I'm pretty happy with 488s and it's still a little buzzy but a absolute hoot to drive. Thinking the 513s would have been fine too.
I don't think people properly consider the tire size when thinking about gears. By my research/calculations the standard JL comes with 31.5" tires and 3.45:1 gears and judging by what people say when they go to 33" tires, this gearing is as numerically low as you want to go. Maybe the better guideline would be 33" tires of the Rubicon with 4.10:1 gears. When increasing tire diameter and trying to maintain similar overall gearing as the stock Rubicon, the results would be- 35" tires should have 4.34:1, 37" tires should have 4.59:1, 40" tires should have 4.96:1. You probably don't want to go lower than these numbers and could go a little higher, depending on your tolerance for engine revs and lower fuel economy. IOW if you are only mall crawling around town you could stick with these numbers or go a bit lower, if you are interested in offroad performance you could go a little higher. It seems common for people to go 35s on Rubicons without changing gearing so there is some leeway for slightly lower numbers than above.

I would guess that most transmissions these days are overdrive and that's why we consider numbers that would have been considered too high in the past. In the days of highest gear being straight through 1:1 the final drive ratios were usually lower. I had a street car with 4.88 gears and Muncie 4-speed and you do get a little more rpm on the highway than you need.
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