Life Sucks...But at Least Manti is Still Here for Me!

Once again, I have taken way too long to write a new post. Although this time it was not due to my laziness, but rather some horrible life experiences. Events I would not wish upon even my worst enemy! Nonetheless, through these experiences I have really come to see how important the simple things in life are. I have found some amazing friends, and have received a ton of support from family. It is amazing how the lowest points of our lives can teach us so much.

Throughout the last 6 months or so my life has completely turned upside down. I spent a large amount of time trying to find things to do to get away from my problems, but it took me quite a while to realize what needed to be done. A group of friends asked me if I wanted to go camping with them, and from there on I began to realize how vital it is to get out and do those things you really like to do! As I began camping, Jeeping, shooting, and just plain doing what I want to do it seems as though life has been moving forward at an unbelievable pace!

I only hope that we can all find some personal time within our busy schedules. Life is too short to spend our time stressing out and doing what everyone else wants us to do. If you want my advice; take 30 minutes a day, an hour, or just plan an entire day to break from the stress of your day to day life and do whatever it is that you like to do!

Go Jeeping, it's good for you!

Moab 1!

Once again, I am updating this way after I should have. Oh well! This year, with 7 rigs up from Oregon arriving on Saturday, we were ready to haul off to Moab first thing Sunday morning.

On Sunday morning we packed up our backyard camp and headed south from SLC. We got to Moab in the early afternoon, so we quickly unloaded everything, set up the Jeeps, and met up with the group. In order to accommodate the Moab 1st timers in the group, we made Fins-N-Things our first trail. We all had a great time, learned that a new long arm suspension kit needs spring keepers, and headed back for dinner.

Monday was a whole new experience. We began the day on Hells Revenge. Not only is HR without a doubt my favorite trail, but it was also a treat for me to watch one of our guys in his FJ Cruiser. I have never really had any respect for the FJ's, but after this trip I can definitely see why people love them. They're expensive, but really can perform pretty well.

Back to the trail - The highlight of our Hells Revenge run was without a doubt "Hells Gate". I had not done "Hells Gate" before this trip, and loved watching everyone do it. The problem was that I was watching from from the bottom where I was already committed. The line I took really made it feel easy, but it was clear that a slight variation from that line would cause fear and screaming! The trick is definitely to straddle the crack all the way up, hugging the right side a bit, and then pulling left just as it plateaus before the top. All in all, it was a great run with plenty of challenges for all. The only issue we had was a broken leaf spring on a YJ.

We topped off Monday night with a little night trip to "Baby Lions Back" and the back half of "Fins-N-Things". We surprisingly had a break down about halfway through "Fins-N-Things". One of our CJ's ended up blowing a u-joint in his front axle, and because that issue had been around so long it actually broke the inner and outer axles.

Fixes:
For the broken spring, we simply welded it back together, welded a small piece of a spring to the top of it, and made new spring keeping brackets to hold the whole assembly together. Our little trail fix seemed to hold real well. We were able to wheel the rest of the trip with this fix, and then when he got it home the driver was able to order some military wrap springs .
As for the broken front axle on out CJ, there really wasn't anything we could do other than replace the inner and outer axles, and then replace the u-joint with a stronger one. Oh the joys of bigger tires and adrenaline pumping trails.

Moab Bound

Every Jeeper has to go to Moab sometime in their life. Well, It's only a couple of weeks after Easter Jeep Safari and the going is good for a trip to Moab. The trails are clean and dry, the huge crowds have left, and there's nothing left but great proving grounds. Every year we get a good sized group down to Moab for the last week in April, and that week is coming up fast.

I've wheeled all over Utah and Oregon and without a doubt, Moab has the challenge, scenery and fun to beat out any other series of trails I have found. Anyone with the time off and desire should meet me in Moab. We're running our first trail on monday morning. We'll be at the 'Hells Revenge' trailhead by 9:00. Hope to see you there. After the trip I'll post more about each trail and how the week went.

New Light Bar

First off, let me apologize for having neglected this for so long. I have been a little busy lately with school, work, and getting married. Although getting married was well worth the neglect.

Despite all of this lack in time, i have found a little time for a project I've been planning out in my head for a few years now. It was a simple project, but for whatever reason i kept putting it off. All in all, what i wanted so badly to do was to weld a bracket on to my existing bumper (The Decapitator) and hook up some off-road lights on the front of Manti.

I will post pictures soon, but let me tell you how the project went. All it took for materials was a 3-foot piece of 1/2" angle iron, some sand paper, and a can of spray paint. The tools required were a good welder, a small grinder, a drill, and a small circular saw.

All i did was measure how high up on the bumper i wanted to put my bracket. From there, I cut my angle iron at the short (4") length i wanted, cutting the sides at a 45-degree angle. After welding those initial pieces to my bumper, i measured the space between them, and cut my back piece. From there all i had to do was grind down my welds a bit, drill my holes where i wanted my lights to mount, sand the entire bumper, and then paint it.

It was a very simple project, and I'm not sure why it took me so long to do it, but I'm extremely happy with the results. I'm one step closer to Moab next April!

Tires???

One very difficult decision when building a Jeep, are what tires to use. On my '97 TJ, until recently, this has been an ever changing look. I started with my stock 28" street tires, and actually was able to handle those for quite a while. I guess it was me being naive, but for my quick "gravel road"/"construction zone" Jeep trips those little tires did the trick.

I began really wheeling in the Tillamook State Forest about an hour west of Portland Oregon. It only took a couple of trips out there, and a trip to the Oregon dunes, to realize how weak and useless those 28" street tires really were.

I will go into greater detail about the build in the future, but long story short a 4.5" lift was on the books. I began with 33" x 10.5" x 15" BF Goodrich all-terrains. These tires were a perfect mix of low road noise, great snow traction, and good traction in the mud. In fact, I recommend BFG all-terrains to anyone who wants an off road tire, but doesn't actually go off road very often.

Since then I have used and had friends and family use many tires, and here are my opinions. After using the Goodyear MT/R, I found the tire to have moderate road noise, fast road wear, and to be pretty expensive. All in all i was not super impressed. Another popular tire that I have been around for a while is the Toyo Open Country M/T. This tire has more road noise that the Goodyear, but wears less and is a little easier on the pocketbook. I have also been around boggers and other less expensive tires, but those tend to wear fast and have a lot of road noise. The cheaper tires all tend to have the same quality. The last set of tires i would like to talk about are the tires i have remained with and unless there are any amazing new developments, i will continue to buy. These are the BF Goodrich Mud Terrains. Due to the low road wear, moderate road noise, and low price, I have found them to be the one of the best tires out there...especially for the price.

My BFG Mud Terrains have been under my '97 TJ for 5 years now, and have at least a year or two left in them. My next set will be a little larger, but will be the new design. I'll let you know of my thoughts on those after i get a fair chance to test them.

How We Got Here

After 7 years of using, abusing, and building my '97 TJ, my goals are finally in sight. I am going to begin my build reports with those that I have done in the past. There has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears poured into this project. Go ahead and ask any questions about any build or project. I have made my mistakes...now you won't have to!

From The Begining!