Post by jenningspaige on Oct 24, 2017 7:47:57 GMT -8
Hi! My name is Jennings, or Jen, or JP. I fell in love with Jeep wranglers kind of suddenly 2 years ago. My husband and I lost twin babies to prematurity in 2015, and I was desperate to find something fun to keep my mind off of it. We do have two older children, so off-roading became a fun activity for all of us.
In 2016, I bought a 2006 TJ X with a 2.5” lift and larger tires. We loved the Jeep, but it was awfully small and squirrelly for a family of 4. We couldn’t really use the Jeep like a normal car without the trunk space. So we drove it off road. Due to our need for fun, I drove that thing hard and crazy. I didn’t learn one thing about off-roading before I just drove it into a mostly dry river bed. We had the best time ever! I was hooked.
Two months or so into my crazy Jeep driving, while splashing through sandy water, I wildly misjudged a crossing that looked no more than 2 feet deep like all the others we had crossed easily. Yeaahhh well that time, as soon as the front tires hit the sandy water, the sand sunk down another 2 or 3 feet and totally submerged the engine and whole front end. Water all the way up to the seatbelts up front. Luckily, we had some very mechanically inclined friends who were able to winch it out and back to camp, where they were able to get it running again. Just in case you’re curious, the Jeep will survive a major sinking, although you probably shouldn’t try it. The engine sucked in water and shut down immediately. Anyway, by the next day we’d replaced lots of fluids, a loose AC fan, spark plugs and a couple other little auto zone parts. Then I had to pay to have the transmission flushed (twice) and finally, had a mechanic replace the cruise control sensor that got soaked and ruined. It cost me about $1200 total to undo that little swimming adventure. I would pay it again in a heartbeat for the fun and memories we had. It was only a little terrifying. Two days later we were back out there in the sand and water, just not so deep. It was dumb, but whatever. Highly enjoyable and a good antidote to grief.
I continued to drive that Jeep for awhile after with no issues at all. Then we wanted to free up some extra credit to buy a house, so I sold the Jeep (ironically to one of the guys who helped rescue it from the river, and he still loves it). Even before I sold it, I was so sorry. We were able to buy a house, and then wait until we paid off some debts. I was going to buy the same Jeep back, but my buddy decided he wanted to keep it.
We looked and looked and finally did a little research on what to get and how to drive. We ended up buying a 2014 JKU Sahara about a month ago. He’s blue, his name is Sonic, and he is a BOSS! No deep water for this one. Anyway, that’s me and my Jeep history. I’m now watching videos and learning what to do and what not to do. We watched your SDJC videos on YouTube and decided we must join you for events. We are trying to upgrade what we can so we can play with the big Jeeps. Since this Jeep IS a great commuter car and off-road vehicle, I wanted to keep it somewhere in between off-road ready and still comfortable on road.
So far, Sonic has gotten a 2.5” lift and 33” nitro terra grappler G2 tires. An air compressor and automatic tire deflators. Next we need a new bumper and winch, in case I get behind the wheel and get too excited again.
Sorry for the long post! I’m just so excited to talk to other Jeep nuts and join you on some events. My husband is from San Diego. We now live in Thousand Oaks, but hopefully that won’t matter to be included in your club.
Have Jeep. Will travel. Please be my friends 😎❤️
In 2016, I bought a 2006 TJ X with a 2.5” lift and larger tires. We loved the Jeep, but it was awfully small and squirrelly for a family of 4. We couldn’t really use the Jeep like a normal car without the trunk space. So we drove it off road. Due to our need for fun, I drove that thing hard and crazy. I didn’t learn one thing about off-roading before I just drove it into a mostly dry river bed. We had the best time ever! I was hooked.
Two months or so into my crazy Jeep driving, while splashing through sandy water, I wildly misjudged a crossing that looked no more than 2 feet deep like all the others we had crossed easily. Yeaahhh well that time, as soon as the front tires hit the sandy water, the sand sunk down another 2 or 3 feet and totally submerged the engine and whole front end. Water all the way up to the seatbelts up front. Luckily, we had some very mechanically inclined friends who were able to winch it out and back to camp, where they were able to get it running again. Just in case you’re curious, the Jeep will survive a major sinking, although you probably shouldn’t try it. The engine sucked in water and shut down immediately. Anyway, by the next day we’d replaced lots of fluids, a loose AC fan, spark plugs and a couple other little auto zone parts. Then I had to pay to have the transmission flushed (twice) and finally, had a mechanic replace the cruise control sensor that got soaked and ruined. It cost me about $1200 total to undo that little swimming adventure. I would pay it again in a heartbeat for the fun and memories we had. It was only a little terrifying. Two days later we were back out there in the sand and water, just not so deep. It was dumb, but whatever. Highly enjoyable and a good antidote to grief.
I continued to drive that Jeep for awhile after with no issues at all. Then we wanted to free up some extra credit to buy a house, so I sold the Jeep (ironically to one of the guys who helped rescue it from the river, and he still loves it). Even before I sold it, I was so sorry. We were able to buy a house, and then wait until we paid off some debts. I was going to buy the same Jeep back, but my buddy decided he wanted to keep it.
We looked and looked and finally did a little research on what to get and how to drive. We ended up buying a 2014 JKU Sahara about a month ago. He’s blue, his name is Sonic, and he is a BOSS! No deep water for this one. Anyway, that’s me and my Jeep history. I’m now watching videos and learning what to do and what not to do. We watched your SDJC videos on YouTube and decided we must join you for events. We are trying to upgrade what we can so we can play with the big Jeeps. Since this Jeep IS a great commuter car and off-road vehicle, I wanted to keep it somewhere in between off-road ready and still comfortable on road.
So far, Sonic has gotten a 2.5” lift and 33” nitro terra grappler G2 tires. An air compressor and automatic tire deflators. Next we need a new bumper and winch, in case I get behind the wheel and get too excited again.
Sorry for the long post! I’m just so excited to talk to other Jeep nuts and join you on some events. My husband is from San Diego. We now live in Thousand Oaks, but hopefully that won’t matter to be included in your club.
Have Jeep. Will travel. Please be my friends 😎❤️