I just got back from a short deployment, and went wheeling at Reiter Pit today with a Jeeper... the pics tell the story. And there was a small part of me that was considering getting a used Rubicon someday... yeah right! Enjoy.

http://community.webshots.com/album/134909204lZOtsy

 

so i guess toyotas can't get high centered?

 

Thats so funny! Poor guy. He should definitely get better/bigger tires and maybe some driving lessons it seems. Seems like the Jeep got stuck a lot.

Is the Jeep still stock?

 

That's what I was thinking. Nice job putting the Heep to shame.

 

Sure Toyotas can get high centered. I got high centered once.
see? http://community.webshots.com/photo/...96305236DNxgkb

I just think that it is funny that this "Super Jeep" Rubicon has had to be recovered so many times by my Toyota. His Jeep is stock with the front and rear Dana 44 axles, 4.0:1 transfercase gears and front and rear factory air lockers. Other than that he has OR Fab bumpers, sliders and rear tire carrier. They come stock with 31" Goodyear MTR tires. I am running 31" Pro Comp tires with SAW torsion bars and low profile bumpstops up front and a 1.5" AAL and 1.5" shackles out back.

And yes I have been recovered twice by a Jeep Cherokee on the Feb 03 WATTORA snow run. But it was not by the "Most Capable Jeep Vehicle ever" The Jeep Rubicon.

 

Short wheel base OK but not all the time. Agree with the need for better tires and alittle more 4x4 driving finese.

 

Ugh... Mud.

I'll stick with my SoCal "cover everything in a fine powder" desert dust thank you very much.

Nevertheless, those are very cool pics.

seafarinman, if you don't mind me asking, how do you manage to power the amount of lights you have on your rig? I have two procomp 100 watt lights and they seem to drink a ridiculous amount of juice. At least according to the voltmeter.

Have you swapped out the stock Alt? Or do you just pick and choose which lights to turn on?

 

Ilion,
I actually have the roof mounted lights wired in parallel using a heavy duty wire harness and a 30 amp fuse. All my lights have 55W bulbs. (I swapped out the 100W ones that were in the ProComps up top.) The Hellas on the bumper have their own harness, as well as the small driving lights on the bottom. I am running a stock alternator, but since I never run the stereo offroad, I can run all the lights offorad at night. Now if I try to run all the lights as well as the stereo, the alternator can't keep up. BTW we have the fine powder dust up here but only in the summer.

 

The biggest problem with the rubicons, I have one as well as my 4runner. Is that the transfer skid, or shovel as the rubi owners call it, is way low and tends to cause clearance issues plus with the way it is designed it tends to grab everything. It is easily fixed by replacing it with a better skid that sits higher but it does cost a few hundred dollars.

 

Looks like he missed Off-road 101. He should has crossed that obstacle one tire at a time.

 

Yep, I have found that that is the problem.. the crossmember, while not really being low, is about 20" long! Where the standard 5" crossmember would bump up and over something, the Jeep will hang on it. Wheeling is at the best 50% truck and 50% driver.. Show me a good driver in a basicly stock truck and I will show you a truck most likely getting in and out of a trail. Show me a poor driver in a Rubi with 35's and I will show you a winch anchor.

In defence of the Rubi.. like it or not.. Jeep did make a stock SWB suv with lockers front & rear with pretty much real axles (coil sprung solid axle mind you) and it is a very capable rig right out of the box. That is one thing I wish Toyota had the balls to do.