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December 30 Potato Ridge RunToday I absolutely had to get out of the house! I'm finally on my "Holiday" vacation, and I took advantage of the nice weather to take the Jeep out and do something bumpy. A last-minute post on the Vegas Valley 4-Wheeler bulletin board offered a run over the Potato Ridge. Since a trail difficulty code wasn't posted, I took a chance and met up with two other Jeeps for a morning trek into the mountains. As it turned out, the trail wasn't too bad, and for the stuff I couldn't negotiate, a by-pass was always nearby.
We met at the Chevron station at the intersection of Rainbow and Blue Diamond. I fueled, grabbed breakfast and waited for the other Jeeps to gather. While I waited, I finally got around to taking the Christmas lights off the Jeep, which also allowed me to put the top back up. This was a good thing since we were going up into the mountains and it was going to get colder. Even without the windows installed, it's a lot warmer with the top up. Jamie was the first to arrive in his yellow CJ7. One look at his Jeep and I started thinking that this trail must be pretty rough. He's got 35" tires, tough rocker panels, solid bumpers and a winch. With all that stuff, I had to be in over my head.
Next Doreen arrived and I started feeling better. Her orange ride is stock, even though it's on 32" tires. She does have a really nice CB set-up, and I think that's what I'm going to be looking for when I get one for my Jeep. Doreen was joined by Brian and his fiancee. They'd come to Vegas to get married, but we were going to hit the trail before that. Not expecting anyone else to join us, we hit the road. After a 20-minute drive, we'd reached the initial part of the track we were looking for.
It started out like your standard hard-ball road, but soon enough we were on a dirt road. We proceeded to the 1st gate where we stopped and aired down. This was also the first place that I put the transfer case into 4-wheel drive. When everyone had all their tires at the preferred pressure for crawlin', we got back in and started up the mountain. It took only a couple more miles on bumpy dirt roads before we got into the rocky stuff. Jamie had just put the 35's on his rig, and there was one obstacle in particular that he wanted to try. This area was a dry stream-bed with some pretty good sized rocks. Just looking at them made me wonder if I'd bitten off more than I was ready for, but with help from Jamie and Doreen spotting, I made it through without more than a bump or two on the bottom. I did drag the receiver hitch quite a bit, but a lift kit and larger tires should take care of that...until I start going over bigger stuff.
 The highlight of the day was watching Jamie try to tackle the big part of the wash. One boulder in particular had stuck him before, but he had bigger tires this time and wanted to give it another go. As he maneuvered into the pass, he caught the side of his Jeep on a projecting rock and tore the soft top. Not a good start, but he shrugged and drove on. Once positioned before the boulder in question, he sized up the obstacle and determined the line he'd take. Everything looked good, but after several attempts, this boulder remained the victor. Brian suggested a few more inches in lift and we all laughed.
As for my Jeep, the number of times I dragged bottom going over the not-so-big stuff has me eager to get a lift kit installed. Sounds like Merry Christmas to me. Though I know it's a vicious circle, it's got to be done. You add a lift so you can clear the stuff that's giving you trouble, and then you start trying to tackle bigger stuff. This leads to another lift, and eventually bigger stuff again. Oh well, they call it a hobby because it costs you money, right? Anyway, the track I took wasn't nearly as hard to negotiate, but it was still a challenge for me.
Really can't wait until I can get the Jeep out again. Maybe tomorrow... November 17 New Jeep TopSo, there it was, early Friday morning and I decided that it was finally time to install the new top on the Jeep. Knowing that I had to work later that day, I got started early. The instructions suggested that it would take 3 hours to install the new top, but that's just an estimate. I collected everything that I'd need, and got lucky when the parking spaces on both sides of the Jeep were vacant.
Step one was to open the box and take an inventory to ensure all the pieces were there. They were...so far so good. Next, I had to get the old top off, and since I wanted to keep the old hardware (just in case), I used the 2nd empty parking space for that. Now it was time to get the new hardware installed, and the left side went on silky smooth. Unfortunately, the right side wasn't quite as cooperative. The brackets didn't line up, or didn't reach around the roll-cage...it was one issue after another, and all on the right side. Finally, after some pounding, bending, and much verbal invective, I got all the hardware on. Whew.
The material portion of the top went on very easily in the beginning... Everything lined up and snapped down like it was supposed to. When I got to the headrail, the difficulty started. There is a strip of plastic that runs the width of the top that has to be snapped into the headrail, and that is what secures it to the front of the Jeep. Not only is it difficult to snap that plastic into the rail, but you also have to try to center it up at the same time. While you're snapping one side in, the other side is coming out. After four tries, it was finally acceptable, but not perfectly centered. Now it was time to secure the headrail to the windshield so the remaining snaps could be fastened. The fit was SNUG! I was surprised at the amount of effort required to pull the leading edge down and try to hook the paddle catches. Unfortunately, as I tried to fasten the left paddle, it popped a rivet and wouldn't hold properly. The right paddle wouldn't catch at all. Once again, out come the tools and I start making adjustments with the pliers. An extra screw temporarily solved the rivet issue, and I eventually got the leading edge closed. I finished up with the window installation, which was as easy as zipping them in. Everything was done in about 5 hours...not bad.
I must say, kudos to Bestop and Jeep Essentials. When I called Customer Service and explained what happened with the rivet, they immediately sent me a new headrail piece, which I received two days later. It's awesome to find good customer service, it practically guarentees I will shop there again for further modifications to my Jeep.
Remember, if it doesn't require a 4-wheel-drive to get there, it probably isn't worth going.
Til next time |
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