OldRed, I hope you get-er back. I don't know how people can be so callous and feel they can steal from others. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

 

Howdy. Glad to have come across this forum. Seems like all the Facebook Denver Jeep folks have $60,000 Rubicons. I have a 99 XJ with a RE lift. Camped out in the back of it with my gf last weekend off Switzerland Trail. Good times.

 

Yeah, it's nice to have my rig setup for sleeping in the winter. A -20° queen size sleeping bag and a cold night. Nice and cozy. Have to admit it's a challenge to get settled in, but never get cold back there. During the summer we perfer a ground tent though.

 

That's not a bad idea. I got my sleeping bag a long time ago and it's rated at 15 degrees. I've been toying with the idea of a little 100w electric heater running off a power station. I put reflectix over the windows, although who knows if it did anything.

 

Hey y'all,
My jeep has been recovered! Denver PD found someone sleeping in it about 4 miles south. (Federal and Alameda area). Apparently the officer wrote my number down wrong so they had to send a letter to my house to inform me they had it in an impound lot.
Luckily there wasn't too much damage, no broken windows or anything missing inside, wheels and such still attached. They ran it out of gas and were camping in it. The only damage is to the steering column where they busted it all up to pieces to get it to start without the key.
Anyway, I'm glad to have her back home, and will be taking her out again this spring after I get the ignition switch all fixed.
Thanks for the community support.
I'll be sure to update once I have some work done and am ready to hit the trails.

 

Well I’m glad you got her back. And luckily the damage wasn’t too bad. I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but why didn’t Denver PD go to your house instead of snail mailing a letter? Oh well. Glad she’s back.

On a different note, I ended up selling my XJ and now have an XK Hemi with Quadra drive. It’s bone stock for now but I’m working on getting a lift.

 

Here's my 1999 Up Country (Manual Transmission). Located in Denver, CO

 

glad you got her back! I live close to you too, I was about to say I've seen one like yours at an exhaust shop nearby

 

I think that same one got me as we were driving by, but its been parked there for years

 

Well, I finally got around to fixing the damage done by the thieves who stole my Jeep. They tore apart the plastic housing surrounding the steering column, tore up all the plastic housing (must have been with a pretty good size hammer) that holds the key barrel in place, but luckily the key-barrel itself was still dangling by its security bit. I went to the u-pull it parts place out on 76 in commerce city area, and pulled out two different assemblies that looked similar enough from similar year ZJ Grand Cherokee's (I think a 96 and a 98 respectively). There are way more ZJ's in the lot than XJ's Lucky for me that I bought two, since not all parts were exactly the same but still fit anyway. I had to completely destroy one of them to get the parts off it I needed, but finally three total ignition switch units were combined to give me one complete working ignition set complete with my original key barrel so I didn't have to get it re-keyed. The light surrounding the key slot even works!

One reason that I love these jeeps is that all the major repairs I have had to do, nothing has cost me more than $50 in parts. I spent just under $30 and 3 hours hunting, pulling, then reassembling to get her back to normal.

Long story short, I am now an unofficial expert on the key-ignition switch assembly in the mid-90's ZJ and XJ jeeps. So let me know if you got any problems, I may have some insight!

 

Did they determine if it was the person sleeping in it that stole it?

 

Oh and I revived a thread about trails in Colorado if anyone wants to contribute. Its in the Land Use forum. Nice weather is on the horizon and I'm sure that thread could use some updating.... At least the updated info could be useful for me anyway....

 

Shot it with predator green monstaliner and cut out some tinted lexan windows fir the hatch and side and swapped in all smoked lights . It's all just cosmetic stuff I got tired of the rent a cop vinyl that was in it from before I built it as is . I still need to put in the new radiator and 3 fan set up before I wheel labor day ... Can't miss it now I think it's visible from space in this color.

 

I'm in the middle of installing my mid frame stiffiner, hoping to get them welded in this week.. Everything is cleaned up and prepared to fit up in there and burn them in..
I have a 2 door and waited to long to install them. Started having fatigue cracks in my frame piller and up in the roof. So anyone who intends to put your Xj through the paces, I would not wait to beef the frame up.
Having a beautiful clean Xj like yours, and want to play with it..

Anyway my plan is to go up to Twin Cone so that I can camp overnight and depending on things I might run Red Cone loop come back to 285 via Webster pass.. (I think that's the route?) I'll make sure before I venture out. Just in case anyone is up for a adventure next weekend.

 

That is sick! Hope to see you out and about. But I don't think I would be on the same trails as you. Maybe Wheeler Lake? That's pretty much my Maximum. Would love to see your rig in action though!