Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors

[Kreepin1]

Wife drove the hardest part of Medano Pass in Colorado this Summer. Admittedly it's a pretty easy trail but she took the time to take a harder heart-shaped line right at the summit.

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[Kreepin1]

Also visited Clear Lake at 11,984 feet of elevation. Just spectacular!

 

[rubiRI77]

Been a while since I've updated this. Wilson has been running great. Only irritant is the surge just off idle. That and I'm only getting about 12 mpg on E85, but the lack of fumes with the top off and the low-midrange response makes it totally worthwhile.

I don't think I posted Wilson's weight, 4,760 lbs ready to hit the trail.

Thanks very much for posting the weight, that is very interesting, I have been wondering about this.
Is that gross weight empty or with driver and passenger?

 

[Kreepin1]

Thanks very much for posting the weight, that is very interesting, I have been wondering about this.
Is that gross weight empty or with driver and passenger?

No people or dogs, full tank of gas, I'd guess about 50 lbs. of tools and recovery gear. I was surprised how heavy it is. Sure, I added a winch, steel bumpers, skids and sliders but I also ditched the hardtop, rear seat, carpeting and a bunch of little bits and pieces. But the shocking thing is this is within a few hundred pounds of my CJ-7 which has all that plus Dana 60/70 axles, 43" tires on steel beadlocks (185 lbs. per corner!) and an old school cast iron V-8 and drivetrain.

 

[rubiRI77]

No people or dogs, full tank of gas, I'd guess about 50 lbs. of tools and recovery gear. I was surprised how heavy it is. Sure, I added a winch, steel bumpers, skids and sliders but I also ditched the hardtop, rear seat, carpeting and a bunch of little bits and pieces. But the shocking thing is this is within a few hundred pounds of my CJ-7 which has all that plus Dana 60/70 axles, 43" tires on steel beadlocks (185 lbs. per corner!) and an old school cast iron V-8 and drivetrain.

Very interesting, thank you very much. We have very similar builds, so I should be close to the same. I have aluminum bumpers, but still have the hardtop. Lost the back seat, but gained a bunch of skid plates, so I am guessing close to the same.

This is very good to know because I eventually plan on building it up and trailering again, so that is really good info to have. I previously had a built up TJ with dynatrac 60's , tons of armor, full cage, etc, and I never knew the weight on that, but it felt similar to this when wheeling and it seemed fine on a 7k car trailer.

Anyway, Thanks again for the info.

 

[Kreepin1]

Very interesting, thank you very much. We have very similar builds, so I should be close to the same. I have aluminum bumpers, but still have the hardtop. Lost the back seat, but gained a bunch of skid plates, so I am guessing close to the same.

This is very good to know because I eventually plan on building it up and trailering again, so that is really good info to have. I previously had a built up TJ with dynatrac 60's , tons of armor, full cage, etc, and I never knew the weight on that, but it felt similar to this when wheeling and it seemed fine on a 7k car trailer.

Anyway, Thanks again for the info.

Sounds about right. Figure 5,200 for a built JL, trailer weighs 2,400, less 1,000 lb tongue weight puts around 6,600 on the tires.

 

[Kreepin1]

Been slackin' on the updates. In November I went to the Badlands in Indiana for a pick up game of wheelin'.

Everything went great until I slipped on the LOD Destroyers getting in after this poser shot. Hyper extended my left knee. More on that later.

This guy was stuck but good. Three of us daisy chained and tried to pull him backwards. I tied off to a tree and winched him out. I was a tough pull, should have doubled the line but it was late and my knee was not happy.

 

[Kreepin1]

Just got back from a trip to California. We have a new Granddaughter!

Wilson has been on a strict diet of E85 since the Livernois tune and I was pleasantly surprised by the cost out West. Their 83% ethanol blend was about half the cost of premium I'd be running otherwise. Wilson runs soooo great on this fuel. Game changer.

The tradeoff is in fuel economy...

 

[Kreepin1]

Spent a few days running trails and hiking in the Anza Borrego State Park. It was amazing. The landscape changed completely every 15 minutes; different rocks, different plants. Crazy fun!
Day 1 we went exploring Fish Creek and Sandstone Canyon on our own:

Late in the day found us on the Hapaha Flat road. A bit past this point we came to the "drop off" on Pinon Canyon road which was an extremely steep, dug out climb. Not the kind of thing you try on your own with no cell service. So we headed back to camp.

 

[Kreepin1]

Day 2 we were shown around by a local couple we'd met at a campground last summer. They took us out in the Octillo Wells OHV area. Super tight trails!

 

[Kreepin1]

Day 3 we went on a hike to the Wind Caves:

And then sight seeing in Borrego Springs. These statues are all over the place. Must be 150 of them!

And best for last. Cool old Jeep

With only 47,000 miles on the clock!

 

[Kreepin1]

I have to give a shout out to Eric Thater from Jeep Action Camper http://www.actioncamper.com/ for showing us around. Really great and talented guy!

Here's some pictures of his daily driver. Yes, the hood scoops are functional like everything else he designs!

That top pops up for a sleeping area, the website has more info.

Here's how it looks under the hood:

Speaking of hoods, carbon fiber anyone?

Really slick the way the hood vents were designed.

 

[AdamG]

You’ve been on those TrailGrapplers for a while, how is the noise as they wear? And have you had them in snow?

 

[Kreepin1]

You’ve been on those TrailGrapplers for a while, how is the noise as they wear? And have you had them in snow?

Hmmmm, thoughts on the Trail Grapplers....

Well, I've only got about 7,000 miles on them so they haven't reached the stage in life where mud tires really start to howl. They are louder than Cooper's S/T Maxx by a little bit and quieter than Swampers by a lot.

I will not be driving this Jeep on road in snow but I can tell you they would suck unless you siped them.

I am pleased with them as an all-purpose tire. They are a jack-of-all-trades that do everything "good" and nothing "poor" or "excellent" from commuting in LA traffic to dunes to rock to mud they do it all. As they've broken in the grip on wet rocks has improved which was an issue when they were newer. They have made me a believer in sticking with Load Range C tires on Jeeps that will see significant road miles. At some point I will likely groove and sipe them to tilt the performance towards off road at the expense of on road manners.

 

[blnewt]

Kirk, gotta say, thanks for taking us along for the ride! Such a purposeful build that you just nailed in every aspect!
Love that choice in bumpers and all your fab work to make everything come out perfect. Will be watching this thread as time goes on and great that you provide an ideal space for your dogs to enjoy the journey too, so well done!

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