Time to get the locker all hooked up! I’m stoked for this one. I tried to put it under the hood but all the spots I looked at just didn’t work out. We ended up mounting it under the rear seat in the driver side. I got the rear Ox locker hooked up and running flawlessly. I also picked up the ARB air hose so I can air down and have onboard air. Here is where I mounted the compressor and the locker switch. I also upgraded to a aluminum champion radiator. Hopefully this will help with the overheating issues I’ve been fighting.
Big road trip for the XJ. I work as a linemen in New Mexico but the Jeep was built in Idaho at my family’s shop. Now that the build is complete enough to be road worthy I had to make the 1000 mile trip from Idaho to New Mexico. I made it to Moab and it was HOT. At this point the relay for the fans quit working. I had to limp it to the parts store and with a new relay I was able to do the trail “ Fins and things“.
Then the alternator went out and I ended up changing it out in the parking lot of the parts store. It was 105 that day but I got it done. I left Moab and headed for New Mexico with my tail tucked. I will be back!
The first trail I took on was black bear pass. My buddy invited me and I was stoked to do it. Black bear summit A look at Telluride from the switchbacks. The view of the steps. This was definitely the craziest and most difficult part of the trail. The old power house Camp for the night
I guess I didn’t realize people would be interested in them. The lenses are cracked, bulbs are burnt out and the plug pretty much fell apart when I removed them. But yes I guess they are up for grabs.
I love that part of CO!
Don't know if you ever stay at the KOA in Ouray, but it is a great lil campground, and a good jumping off point for trails.
Dude your XJ is really beautiful!
Southern Colorado is definitely an amazing place to explore and Ouray is one of my new favorite places.
This little Jeep turned from a fun project to a new way of life. It has motivated me to get out to some pretty extreme places I could not access before. last weekend I got stuck in the snow pretty bad and it made me realize I need more recovery gear. So new bumper and winch coming soon.
In this photo I was stuck by myself with no cell service and about 10 miles to the nearest town(Silverton). I dug by hand for a good wile but I just kept falling through once I got moving. I was at a loss and began to fear the worst.
I remembered back to my old river guide days on the snake and how we tied up our boats over night. We buried a log with a rope on it in the sand. That would give us a strong lash point to tie off to. A common term for this is a “deadman”. In this scenario I did the same and wrapped the tail of the rope around my tire. This acted as a winch and I was able to get out of the pickle I was in.
It’s been a dream to do the Alpine loop for year’s and now I’m working in the area and have built an XJ that shines in that terrain. Making my way up to engineer pass. Night one camp at the base of engineer. I had a visitor. WOW!
The bump steer was pretty bad with the old stabilizer but now it doesn’t “dart” near as bad. It feels nice and tight! Old bumper looked pretty good but I need more protection up front. Bumper gone now I have to make the cut. Passenger side tie in brackets. Driver side The bumper is from JCR.
And new bumper installed. Not 100% but almost complete. I need to find some inner fender material to help keep the muck out. Then I need to find a winch. I’d like to find something “low profile” and the one that I’m looking at is from Iron man off-road.
As it sits today... I’ll most likely wait until after the holidays to find a winch.
It’s been awhile let’s get back into it. I got a new Iron Man winch for the bumper. I choose this one because of how slim and compact it is. Other brands sit from 10-12 inch’s tall were this one is only 6in.
