Any Jeepers in here?

[hammerd13]

Anyone ever been to Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Hart, MI? Wife and I are heading up there this weekend to play in the sand. Local buddy has a place up there and a sand rail so we are going to see how the Gladiator handles the sand.

Here's some old video from my 2011 trip to Silver Lake Dunes area. Sorry for the poor video quality, but it might serve as a decent preview. Super-fun!!

Some of those hills can require decent wheel speed/hp. Makes a manual transmission a little tricky in a low-hp rig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P52x6cR5fBU

 

[Grogmister]

We have gone every year for the last 10 years. My wife really likes the trip. We are doing Jeep Invasion at the end of September this year. Staying in a VRBO on Upper Silver Lake this time. Usually stay at the Silver Stands Resort.

Your Gladiator should be a blast. You WILL get high centered on Test Hill! Take a strap and a buddy. Hopefully enough of the town is open that you can enjoy it.

Eat at the Chicken Shack, and then prime rib and lobster at the Open Hearth Grille and Bar. If MI is open for business, your wife may appreciate a drive up to Pentwater for shopping and dinner.

and yes, post pics!

thanks for the ideas and food recommendations.

 

[Grogmister]

Gladiator did great at the dunes. It’s only faults were the drivers! LOL Did “test hill” multiple times and was about 50% successful in the first attempt, never had any issue with the break over. It is a complete different driving mentality up there compared to what I’m use to around home. What a blast it was!!! My wife loved it and I never thought she would even consider doing it. Chased around a new Bronco they had up there “testing”. Here are few pics of our day.

 

[Principal Skinr]

Gladiator did great at the dunes. It’s only faults were the drivers! LOL Did “test hill” multiple times and was about 50% successful in the first attempt, never had any issue with the break over. It is a complete different driving mentality up there compared to what I’m use to around home. What a blast it was!!! My wife loved it and I never thought she would even consider doing it. Chased around a new Bronco they had up there “testing”. Here are few pics of our day. View attachment 89663 View attachment 89664 View attachment 89665 View attachment 89666

So cool! I gotta get up there one day! We had a Gladiator with our Jeep club on the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway last weekend and it was thorougly impressive. It did much better on tight trails than I thought it would and the breakover angle only presented minor issues that line, wheel placement, and good spotting easily overcame. The departure angle didn't get in the way much, either, as the Jeep landed its hitch on a rock or ledge a couple times, so no harm was done and it just dragged it off. Overall, it was a beast off-road, just as the JL is. Plus, it carried gear like no other Jeep in the group could. It shrugged the weight of tools and gear off like it was nothing. We had to load it up because the Jeep TJ originally carrying the gear was hitting the bumpstops.

I came away a huge fan of this badass Jeep truck!

 

[mechmc17]

Cousin wrecked her Jeep over the weekend. Distracted by her phone, reached to pick it up and rolled over. Thankfully she’s doing ok, but this is a good reminder to all to ignore the phone when driving! Especially millennials and gen Z, which she’s a member of.

https://i.postimg.cc/W4PgD9NX/0833-A981-9441-48-C5-B89-E-00-BDF96-D27-C2.jpg

 

[eldirector]

Ouch!

Yeah. Fondling your phone (phondling?) is now kinda illegal anyway. Worse, it has always been dangerous.

Glad your cousin is doing OK. No call, txt, or notification is worth a life, let alone worth replacing a vehicle.

 

[lovemachine]

I finally got around to installing a Teraflex leveling kit onto my JKUR. I’ll post up a picture later.

 

[Grogmister]

Cousin wrecked her Jeep over the weekend. Distracted by her phone, reached to pick it up and rolled over. Thankfully she’s doing ok, but this is a good reminder to all to ignore the phone when driving! Especially millennials and gen Z, which she’s a member of.

https://i.postimg.cc/W4PgD9NX/0833-A981-9441-48-C5-B89-E-00-BDF96-D27-C2.jpg

glad she is ok. I saw a rental Jeep and rental UTV leaving on the back of a hook. The rear wheels on that Jeep were in bad shape. Not sure what happened but there were a lot of sirens and lights for a bit.

 

[Principal Skinr]

Cousin wrecked her Jeep over the weekend. Distracted by her phone, reached to pick it up and rolled over. Thankfully she’s doing ok, but this is a good reminder to all to ignore the phone when driving! Especially millennials and gen Z, which she’s a member of.

https://i.postimg.cc/W4PgD9NX/0833-A981-9441-48-C5-B89-E-00-BDF96-D27-C2.jpg

Glad she's ok. I had a young cousin who was killed in a car accident over the same kind of deal. I pray my kids don't make the same mistake.

 

[Principal Skinr]

After watching several Jeeps bump front diffs on rocks on our last adventure, then watching a Gladiator with a rancho front diff glide plate slide right over them, I bit the builet and bought then installed the rancho plate on my JL. It only lost the thickness of the plate in grond clearance, which is very little.

 

[Principal Skinr]

Also went to the Centerbrook Drive-in Saturday night and watched "The Empire Strikes Back." Had a blast! Played around with the drone a little, too!

 

[Talkinghalls]

I have a 2008 Jeep liberty (Mall Crawler).

 

[Principal Skinr]

I have a 2008 Jeep liberty (Mall Crawler).

My brother had one. We took it off road at the Badlands! Lol! It surprised everyone there. Bone stock. It performed better than we thought it would. It was new at the time. His wife wanted to kill him when he got home and she saw dirt and mud all over her new Liberty!

 

[x10]

I've got a 4 cylinder Mercedes diesel engine that needs a home, anybody know someone who wants a diesel conversion?

 

[Talkinghalls]

My brother had one. We took it off road at the Badlands! Lol! It surprised everyone there. Bone stock. It performed better than we thought it would. It was new at the time. His wife wanted to kill him when he got home and she saw dirt and mud all over her new Liberty!

Man that would be a blast!
But unfortunately I'd probably wake up with a screwdriver in my ear thanks to an unhappy wife.

 

[deo62]

I'm a thinking' Durotracs

 

[Principal Skinr]

I'm a thinking' Durotracs

VERY nice!

 

[Principal Skinr]

I took my JL in for the clutch recall today and they let me have this as a loaner. LOVE IT! It is a Mojave. Very cool. The orange trim and stitching look amazing with the Sting Gray.

 

[Grogmister]

Damn nice loaner vehicle. They must think your wanting to trade so they gave you a great option. I can’t believe they have a Mojave as a loaner. I love the interiors on them. Enjoy it while it’s free!

 

[Principal Skinr]

Damn nice loaner vehicle. They must think your wanting to trade so they gave you a great option. I can’t believe they have a Mojave as a loaner. I love the interiors on them. Enjoy it while it’s free!

Lol, they know how to tempt me. But I told them up front it would not work! It isn't really in their loaner fleet. It was off the lot. Another dealer traded it with them for I think a Rubicon. It had 15 miles when I drove it off the lot.

Yeah, the interior on this thing is really cool. Color combo is great.

If anyone is interested, it can be purchased at Westgate. I've treated it as it deserves, following break-in procedure exactly and driving it very gently. A guy that works for me is chewing on it. He fell in love with it at first sight. I doubt there are many Mojaves around these parts. The suspension makes the steering feel better than any Jeep I've ever driven.