Hello Wayalife!
I wanted a wrangler my whole life after watching MacGyver as a little kid. I finally got one in 2011. It was a 2010 2 door sport that had previously been a rental in Hawaii. It was as bare-bones as they get, I think. It didn't have cruise control. I added 33s, better hood latches (that hood rattle... unnerving) and a receiver hitch. I also picked up some stock rubicon sliders and put those on. I had a crazy stereo in it as well, but that's only because the stock system is basically complete garbage and I had a bunch of stereo stuff stored in the garage.
I traded that jeep in (3 years and 58,000 miles later) because I found a really good deal on a Stage 1 VW GTI. You see, I missed the 2.0 turbo LNF Chevy HHR Super Sport I traded in for the first Jeep. I've always thought of myself as more of a go-fast guy, and the GTI was the perfect way back into that world. After a little over a year, four $300 tires and a $2000 clutch upgrade, I realized that the opportunities to drive a 290 HP hatchback to its limits are very rare, and living in MN, a GTI is about as useful as a surfboard for four months every year.
I have a pretty good relationship with a particular salesman at a certain used car dealership in Moorhead, so when my phone started ringing and the ID told me who it was, I was intrigued. He had sold me the 2010 2-door, the GTI and sold my wife her Honda Fit. He told me he had something I needed to see, so I stopped by there after work. He walked me out to a 2010 Wrangler Unlimited. Until that moment I didn't realize how much I missed the Jeep. I snapped a couple of pictures, fired it up, shut it off, and went home to do some math. After a couple of days of planning and calculating with my wife, we came to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to trade in both the hatchbacks to pick up the new JK. (She missed my jeep too.) It helps that I have a '97 GMC Savana for band gear, and a company-provided Jeep Compass, so the Jeep is the wife's DD until it's paid off, at which point it becomes my toy, and we find her something a little smaller (pushing for a used WRX...)
Now, we are back in a Wrangler. It has tube bumpers (not my thing), tube steps (not my thing either, but it helps my 5' tall wife get in), black wheels that are OK, but have the wrong backspace for what I want to do, and BFG Rugged Terrains. The wheels and tires are listed for sale locally so I can get something wider and taller on wheels that I like. I have a build-list full of everything I want on Extreme Terrain and 4WD.com. Just waiting for the money to pile up a little bit...
Anyway, that's my long-winded Jeep story! I'm on Wayalife because of the awesome videos. I would love to be a part of a community of Jeep owners locally, but since there really isn't anything organized, I will live vicariously through all of the videos until I can afford to build a capable rig and get in on one of those JK Experience runs! I have a couple of opportunities around here to wheel. My hometown is Appleton, MN, where they have built a fairly large OHV park with something like 35 miles of trails and a little playground. I'll be checking that out in the spring.
Keep the shiny side up!
I wanted a wrangler my whole life after watching MacGyver as a little kid. I finally got one in 2011. It was a 2010 2 door sport that had previously been a rental in Hawaii. It was as bare-bones as they get, I think. It didn't have cruise control. I added 33s, better hood latches (that hood rattle... unnerving) and a receiver hitch. I also picked up some stock rubicon sliders and put those on. I had a crazy stereo in it as well, but that's only because the stock system is basically complete garbage and I had a bunch of stereo stuff stored in the garage.
I traded that jeep in (3 years and 58,000 miles later) because I found a really good deal on a Stage 1 VW GTI. You see, I missed the 2.0 turbo LNF Chevy HHR Super Sport I traded in for the first Jeep. I've always thought of myself as more of a go-fast guy, and the GTI was the perfect way back into that world. After a little over a year, four $300 tires and a $2000 clutch upgrade, I realized that the opportunities to drive a 290 HP hatchback to its limits are very rare, and living in MN, a GTI is about as useful as a surfboard for four months every year.
I have a pretty good relationship with a particular salesman at a certain used car dealership in Moorhead, so when my phone started ringing and the ID told me who it was, I was intrigued. He had sold me the 2010 2-door, the GTI and sold my wife her Honda Fit. He told me he had something I needed to see, so I stopped by there after work. He walked me out to a 2010 Wrangler Unlimited. Until that moment I didn't realize how much I missed the Jeep. I snapped a couple of pictures, fired it up, shut it off, and went home to do some math. After a couple of days of planning and calculating with my wife, we came to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to trade in both the hatchbacks to pick up the new JK. (She missed my jeep too.) It helps that I have a '97 GMC Savana for band gear, and a company-provided Jeep Compass, so the Jeep is the wife's DD until it's paid off, at which point it becomes my toy, and we find her something a little smaller (pushing for a used WRX...)
Now, we are back in a Wrangler. It has tube bumpers (not my thing), tube steps (not my thing either, but it helps my 5' tall wife get in), black wheels that are OK, but have the wrong backspace for what I want to do, and BFG Rugged Terrains. The wheels and tires are listed for sale locally so I can get something wider and taller on wheels that I like. I have a build-list full of everything I want on Extreme Terrain and 4WD.com. Just waiting for the money to pile up a little bit...
Anyway, that's my long-winded Jeep story! I'm on Wayalife because of the awesome videos. I would love to be a part of a community of Jeep owners locally, but since there really isn't anything organized, I will live vicariously through all of the videos until I can afford to build a capable rig and get in on one of those JK Experience runs! I have a couple of opportunities around here to wheel. My hometown is Appleton, MN, where they have built a fairly large OHV park with something like 35 miles of trails and a little playground. I'll be checking that out in the spring.
Keep the shiny side up!
