Without a doubt, few automotive shows can even come close to the awesome scale and serious cool factor that the SEMA show has every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than just a show case of new vehicle models or concept cars that the auto makers have on display, the SEMA show places its focus on the aftermarket specialty equipment industry and all the parts and accessories they’ll be manufacturing for just about every vehicle under the sun and then some. Of course, nothing turns my head the way Jeeps do and boy were there ever a ton of new and hooked up 2007 Jeep JK Wranglers to drool over at this years show.

Among the many Jeep JK Wranglers I saw at SEMA, about seven or eight of them were sitting on Full Traction lifts including ones at the Superior Axle, Bestop, Toyo Tires, Walker Evans, Body Armor and Land Runner displays. Several other manufacturers such as TeraFlex, Skyjacker, Rubicon Express and surprisingly even Rancho had a long arm kit on display and, as always, there were several tricked out Jeep JK Wranglers on display in the MOPAR alley done by Skunkwerks and AEV (American Expedition Vehicles).

Without question, it think it’s safe to say that the Rancho long arm kit with reverse tri-link in the rear was the talk of the show. And, based on the comments that I’ve seen on all the bulletin boards, this was followed closely by the camper top and front bumpers that AEV is making. For me personally, I really loved the stripped down orange Skunkwerks 2-Door JK that was in Mopar Alley. The way it was broken down to the bare necessities gave it a nice retro CJ look that just grabbed me and pulled me in.

Anyway, I don’t think I need to tell you that the Jeep JK Wrangler was the hit of the show for me and likewise, was pretty much the only vehicle I covered while I was there. If you would like to see pics from the 2006 SEMA Show, I’ve got about 1,000 of them that you can see in my Project-JK.com photo gallery. Simply click on the link below:

2006 SEMA Show Photo Gallery

Eddie

For those of you who were able to make it out to the 2006 Off Road Expo last weekend, I can tell you that you didn’t miss a whole lot. Aside from the usual display of hooked up and modified off road vehicles and killer deals you might of been able to find, there just wasn’t a whole lot new to be seen. Now, don’t get me wrong, I personally think there should have been a lot to see especially since there had been so much buzz about the all new Jeep JK Wrangler and all the cool products that are supposed to be out for it already, but with the exception of Full Traction, Off Road Evolution, Body Armor, Nitto Wheels and Kilby Enterprises, everyone else was a no show.

So was the show a total loss? Not at all. In fact, of all the things you could have seen, the Off Road Evolution 2007 Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited Sahara sitting on a Full Traction 4″ prototype lift and 37″ BFG Krawlers was all the rage. I was at the show both Saturday and Sunday and can tell you that quite literally, people were staring at that JK with jaws dropped and crawling all over it like ants on a half eaten piece of hard candy.

The other big attraction for me personally was the JC Fab Jeep TJ with a Full Traction 6″ Long Arm Kit and featuring the all new Full Traction Rok-N-Lok, manually operated, dual rated sway bar system. Up until now, the only time I had seen the Rok-N-Lok was at the 2006 Moab Easter Jeep Safari and only on a display rack. Seeing it installed and flexed out on a ramp really was impressive and from what I could tell, made a lot of TJ owners drool over it.

Also worth mentioning was a set of modular tube fenders and rocker guards made by a brand new company called Rev111. While I personally thought that their welds were nothing to write home about and their choice of 11 gauge steel for their rocker guards seemed a bit thin for my taste, I will have to say that they had some of the most original, fresh and cool looking designs that I have seen in a long time. Kudos to Rev111 for pushing beyond the envelope of the aftermarket Jeep products industry.

To see more photos from the show, click on the link below:
>> 2006 Off Road Expo Pics

Eddie

Say hello to the newset member of the family, Tessa. She is a ridiculously cute black and white Border Collie that is currently 8 weeks old, full of energy and all ours!

Click on the photo to see more pics of her.

I know this might sound a little crazy, but I swear, stop lights hate my Jeep. Seriously, I’m convinced that if it were up to them, they’d never let my Jeep through an intersection or allow it to make a left turn. In fact, the only time these stupid lights make an exception and let my Jeep go is when other cars are present. Now, I know you’re probably thinking that I’m just an impatient guy and that I’m exaggerating about the amount of time it takes for a light to turn green and, what can I say, I am an impatient guy. However, what I’m talking about here is that if I’m the only vehicle at an intersection, the stop light will NEVER turn green!

No joke, I have literally sat at an intersection almost 10 minutes waiting to make a left turn before finally giving up. Sitting there, I’ve watched cross traffic pass in front of me, stop for a their red light, watched the cars on my street go, stop when their light turned red, watched the cross traffic go again when their light turned green and then repeated the process three more times!! Frustrated, I finally had get out of my lane and go straight with the rest of the cars if I had any hope of going anywhere. And believe me, this is no isolated incident. In fact, this happens to me all the time. I don’t know if it’s the Jeep’s shorter wheelbase, wider tires, weight or what. I have tried positioning myself to make sure my tires made good contact with the sensor pads in the street. I’ve tried to straddle the sensors thinking maybe that would do the trick. And, I’ve even tried rolling forward and back to see if that would trigger the lights to turn green. In the end, nothing seems to make a difference.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s just a Jeep thing that I don’t understand.

Okay, so I just got back from the 2005 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada and let me just say that this thing kicked ass!! To be perfectly honest, this was my very first time at SEMA and I really had no idea how HUGE this thing really is. Even though I spent one entire day there, I was barely able to scratch the surface of all there was to see. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure I was at least able to cover the entire Off-Road exhibit hall and a better part of the Tires,Wheels and Performance hall. Cutting corners here and there, I even got a chance to check out some of the action on the proving grounds outside.

So, on to the big questions, what was hot and what was not. Well, what was hot was the all new AEV converted Jeep Commander at the Mopar display. No joke, this thing was like an XJ on steroids and surprisingly impressive to see. Another real looker was the AEV Jeep Brute at the Hi-Lift display. Certainly this was nothing new to see but I always find myself drooling over it. What else was hot were the Warn two story Display with conference room on the second level as well as the Huskyliner Texaco Gastation props.

As far as products go, I have to say that I was really impressed with the all new Superior Axle & Gear/JC Fab Full Floating Rear Axle Kit. Designed with the “backyard mechanic” in mind, this kit is available in 30, 33 and 35 splines, includes new axles, hubs, rotors, drive gears, bearings, spindles, inner lock nuts, outer lock nuts, spacers, thrust washers, retainer rings and caps. Two features about this kit that really peeked my interest was 1.) its ability to retain the use of your stock braking system and 2.) the 7/8″ spindle plunge depth with double O-Rings that apparently provides more than double the strenght of a stock spindle. Believe me, if I had a Rubicon rear end, this kit would be high on the to do list. For more information about this awesome full floating rear axle kit, be sure to pick-up a copy of this months 4 Wheel Drive and Sports Utility Magazine where you’ll find a great write-up on it.

Another product I thought was pretty cool was the Bestop Roofrack. Apparently, it was introduced last year but won’t be available for sale until some time early next year. What I really liked about this roof rack was it’s versitility, ability to accept Yakima and Thule products and best of all, the modular basket system (3 in total) which have been designed on rails to slide on and off with ease. This of course makes loading and unloading of the individual baskets virtually effortless. Unfortunately, the entire setup can be quite pricey when all is said and done, but I suppose you can always just buy one basket and add more as you need or can afford them.

As far as suspension systems go, nothing there was more impressive to me than the Full Traction Long Arm kit. A complete bolt on replacment suspension system for your Jeep, this long arm kit is designed with a 4 link front axle mounting and a true long arm rear 3 link setup that has an upper triangulated bar pivot on a high-misalignment uni-ball joint. If you’re concerned about the strenght of this kit, the lower trailing arm assemblies are made of 2″x.250″ wall DOM tubing and all the bracketry is laser constructed out of 1/4″ plate steel. To top it off, the new transfer case skid plate will pull up your tummy effectively giving you 1.5″ of clearance over the stock skid. I’ve had my eye on various long arm kits for some time now and after getting a close up look at this kit, I’m quite sure it’s what I will be installing on my TJ… that is of course, once I can find the funds to do it.

Last but certainly not least, I really liked the new MasterCraft folding and reclining seats. Like all their seats, these were functional, designed to accomodate a harness, built exceptionally well and looked great. I think the only other thing I would have liked to see in them was some kind of lumbar support adjustment knob like their other seats have. But, they were still comfortable just as they were and I sure as hell wouldn’t mind having a set.

Okay, so what wasn’t hot right? Well for one, the wall to wall bling-bling useless bolt on or stick on crap that really seems to be just about everywhere else. What else wasn’t hot? The seriously lame, slammed to the floor Jeep Commander with its 20″ chrome wheels or the new Toyota FJ that many people seemed to be going ga-ga over. I’ll be honest, I really like the old FJ40’s and there was a really nice display of them outside, but this new “toy” was incredibly huge, had IFS and was just down right fugly, BLAH!!

While I was at SEMA, I had one person tell me that if you were to walk down every isle of the convention and see every single exhibit, you would have to walk approximately 62 miles. Need I say, next time I’m going to need a day or two more and a pair of good walking shoes

Click here to see more SEMA 2005 pics

I know a lot of people think I’m crazy but I can honestly say that I own the vehicle of my dreams. In fact, I have two of them. Now I will be the first to admit that these vehicles are anything but luxurious. They offer little in the way of creature comforts. They have very little trunk space and have a limited passenger capacity. They can be quite noisy at high speeds, have the aerodynamics of a brick and burn gas like there’s no tomorrow. If you haven’t already guessed by now, I am the proud owner of a 2000 Jeep TJ and a 1981 CJ7.

Unlike any other vehicle I know, a Jeep is built to be challenged, to tackle tough roads and to conquer difficult obstacles. They are designed to grow and become more capable than the day they were made. What they lack in appearance they make up in functionality. Their small size forces you to pack light and carry only what you really need. And, with the roof and doors off, they open themselves up to the world around you allowing you to experience it to its fullest. They are in fact more than just a vehicle that’ll transport you from point A to point B… more than just a fashion statement to make you look cool…

More than just a Jeep… it’s a way of life.