4-Lo 'N Go. My Appalachian Adventure.

[MongooseGA]

Dad and I took the TJ up to George Washington National Forest this weekend for a few days of fun and relaxing wheeling. I got 3-4 hours of seat time driving on the trails, and we took a shi*t load of pics. They tell a story, so I'll skip right to them.



This is right before we made the ascent up to the trail.

We ended up doing that part of the trail in 2WD. After a bit of mountain drifting, we made it to the beginning of the trail.



I'm driving here. We got up on three wheels and thought it was kind of cool. Dad snapped the pics.

 

[MongooseGA]

Then we took out our sway bar disconnects for the first time and had fun with our new found 'flex'.

Our first creek crossing.

 

[MongooseGA]

Some more pictures. This is toward the beginning of the trail still.

 

[imported_Jinba ittai]

Wow! That's some suspension on that Jeep! This why I want a Jeep...so I can do stuff like this. I showed these pics to my 7 year old son and he was impressed. I can see taking him off roading one day. You were out in the Blue Ridge Mountains? Pretty country. :xyxthumbs

 

[JasonD]

Oh man, that's awesome. How I would love to spend a weekend with my dad doing that. That's the good stuff right there. Good job.

 

[MongooseGA]

Then we met up with some cool CJ drivers. We chatted with them about they're custom built tire carriers and bumpers, and followed them down the trail for a bit.

 

[MongooseGA]

Some more pics. Some from inside the Jeep as we crossed the stream.

 

[MongooseGA]

At the end of the first day's trail. About 7 miles from top to bottom and back. Dad drove down, I drove up.

Me at dinner.

 

[holland_patrick]

I'll let you take the Baja next time..

 

[MongooseGA]

Some scenery pictures.

The man making the payments:

 

[MongooseGA]

I'm going to host the pictures form today's trail. Those will be up in a minute.



Jinba ittai- We just lifted her about 3-4 months ago and the last time we took her off road, we submerged her in mud. We try to forget about that trip though. because we got stuck hard. The Appalachian/Blue Ridge is beautiful this time of year. Definitely worth seeing, even if you don't make use of the wheeling trails hidden everywhere.

 

[MongooseGA]

We started the morning with a one point five mile ascent to a favorite rest spot called Spy Rock.



This rock was dry

When we got there, Dad passed out because he's old

But I posess youth, so I scouted out the rock and took stupid pictures of myself petting the mountain.

But then I passed out too.

 

[MongooseGA]

Today's trail was fun. Alot longer than yesterday's Shoe Creek trail. It got tight in a few places, and we ended up taking a half mile path that only led to a trail big enough for one person on foot with a small daypack.

 

[MongooseGA]

Some scenery shots.



We came across the black snake at the top of the trail. I coaxed him across with a stick, while my Dad waited in the Jeep, safely. While I was deep in concentration in watching the snake's head, Dad found it necessary to honk the horn and scare the sh*t out of me, causing my snake friend and I to jump.



The flowers that came into the Jeep were cool. The whole trail had plants flinging in the windows, but most of them were just sticks that scraped my hand.

We suffered one casualty this weekend. The stainless steel bracket that came with the case for our Hi-Lift jack broke on the trail. Good thing Dad lashed it in addition to the brackets. New front/rear bumpers will be coming soon so we can properly mount the jack in the rear in addition to the winch going on the front.

 

[imported_Jinba ittai]

The Appalachian/Blue Ridge is beautiful this time of year. Definitely worth seeing, even if you don't make use of the wheeling trails hidden everywhere.

I was down that way a few weeks ago. I drove throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia as well as the Smokies in NC and Tennessee. I've driven some amazing (paved) roads through those mountains but have often seen the wheeling trails and thought it would be nice to go off road. I love that part of the country and often go there a few times a year. I would like to do what you did though and explore those trails in a Jeep. It would add a new dimension to my travels, that's for sure.



Nice that you had good weather. :xyxthumbs

 

[MongooseGA]

Patrick- Give her some more ground clearance and she should be fine. We'll have to trek up to the trail during our national chat room meet

 

[LouisanaJeeper]

looks like fun :up



not the way i would have put a tj together, but seems to do ok



just some respectful suggestions: :xyxthumbs

- shock booties, ditch them, they will rust out the chromed pistons over time by trapping dirt in there. just cut them off



- who did you go with? if you would have gotten stuck bad or rolled or mabey even you broke an axle, jacked it up by the hilift and that hilift handle slipped and cracked your skull, yes has happened (we call em death jacks for a reason haha) how would you have gotten back to where an ambulance could reach?

mabey there is another rig there, just not pictured, if so, cool



-"streetlocks" pointless. i know they say they reinforce the lip of the wheel, but they dont do that good a job. everyone in my club runs black steelies cause they are $32 ea and can be replaced easily, new wheel mounted and balanced for two twenty dollar bills



-bushwackers, guess they are ok if you need them for inspection and such, and they do let you trim higher up, but kinda pricey at like $300+



-skyjacker it looks like. some call it skycr@pper haha. sometimes the springs sag alot and its kinda overpriced for what you get



-before you get some bling bumpers and winch, do yourself a favor and armor the under carriage. gas skid, t-case skid, rocker protection (other than side steps), etc, probably reinforce the LCA tabs on the axle before they look like this: pic saw like 3 people who busted their's off completely last season



JDookie, if you want to go wheelin sometime this summer, my club is probably going to do a couple runs. We have alot of heavily modified rigs and usually have some passenger seats open. Hit me up in a PM if you want :up

 

[General Lee]

Awesome pics!. If you didn't see the pics of the TJ I got Saturday check out the thread in this forum where we were discussing the switching of vehicles.



All stock right now, as its brand new but I plan on lifting it and putting on better tires.



Do you mind telling me how to get to where you were? Thats probably the closest place to me that I could do any 4 wheelin.

 

[MongooseGA]

looks like fun :up



not the way i would have put a tj together, but seems to do ok



just some respectful suggestions: :xyxthumbs

- shock booties, ditch them, they will rust out the chromed pistons over time by trapping dirt in there. just cut them off



- who did you go with? if you would have gotten stuck bad or rolled or mabey even you broke an axle, jacked it up by the hilift and that hilift handle slipped and cracked your skull, yes has happened (we call em death jacks for a reason haha) how would you have gotten back to where an ambulance could reach?

mabey there is another rig there, just not pictured, if so, cool



-"streetlocks" pointless. i know they say they reinforce the lip of the wheel, but they dont do that good a job. everyone in my club runs black steelies cause they are $32 ea and can be replaced easily, new wheel mounted and balanced for two twenty dollar bills



-bushwackers, guess they are ok if you need them for inspection and such, and they do let you trim higher up, but kinda pricey at like $300+



-skyjacker it looks like. some call it skycr@pper haha. sometimes the springs sag alot and its kinda overpriced for what you get



-before you get some bling bumpers and winch, do yourself a favor and armor the under carriage. gas skid, t-case skid, rocker protection (other than side steps), etc, probably reinforce the LCA tabs on the axle before they look like this: pic saw like 3 people who busted their's off completely last season



JDookie, if you want to go wheelin sometime this summer, my club is probably going to do a couple runs. We have alot of heavily modified rigs and usually have some passenger seats open. Hit me up in a PM if you want :up

Thanks for the tips. I'll show my Dad.



We went by ourselves. I know it's normally big no no, but our club members assured us the trail is great for beginners (a la us) and has other people on it at all times.



The "bead lock" looking things are completely unfunctional. Maybe considered rice for the Jeep crowd? We thought it looked good, and if we ever have the need to upgrade to functional bead locks, we can.



Buschwackers went on after our last trip in the mud. The stock fenders didn't catch anything, and the 33x12.5's threw up everything. It's not too bad for wheeling, but street driving on wet streets with the top down, we don't want water thrown up on us. We'll probably end up trimming the lip on them or going flat fender down the road.



We ended on the SkyJacker for a few reasons. When we bought the lift/wheels/tires, we got them through a system of "connections". The dealer we bought my car from and his family have 3 or 4 completely built FJ60's and they send all of their own trucks and those they're selling to a certain shop. The guy basically made us a deal and we only ended up paying wholesale price. We had liked the RE 4.5" TeraFlex, but this place only sold the Sky Jacker. I guess if it ends up sagging we can replace it. This is our first modded Jeep. Live and Learn



Skid plates and armor are also on the list of things to get. Dad's going to design some with a welder friend of ours who has a 350 V8 TJ.



General Lee- it's right off of Crab Tree Falls. I don't remember the road names, but it follows Shoe Creek. Great trail for a stock Jeep.

 

[imported_Jinba ittai]

- who did you go with? if you would have gotten stuck bad or rolled or mabey even you broke an axle, jacked it up by the hilift and that hilift handle slipped and cracked your skull, yes has happened (we call em death jacks for a reason haha) how would you have gotten back to where an ambulance could reach?

mabey there is another rig there, just not pictured, if so, cool

So you aren't supposed to go offroad alone, even if you have another person in the Jeep with you? Only in groups? Does it depend on how difficult the trail is?



I'm a complete novice when it comes to wheeling so if I sound clueless it's because I am.