Dealer Sponsored 101 Offroad Experience Word of Caution

[PlayfulBird]

I hear you and I’m hearing from others that my expectations are unrealistic. Perhaps that is true. Perhaps this isn’t my cup of tea. I’m willing to admit that.

No judgement whatsoever! Just trying to help, and put it into a different perspective.

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[JWM PLAYS]

It definitely sucks that you had a bad early experience, I would however consider you lucky that you didnt have any real body damage. Those fenders are fragile and should be expected to break off and need replaced every so often when running trails. I definitely consider them a wear item on the JK/JL/JT if you off road often. Consider moving to black or aftermarket depending on your future use plans.

Fair call. Ultimately, it’s her call as it’s her truck. It’s quite possible that the Jeep life just isn’t for me and that’s okay.

 

[PlayfulBird]

This is a lot less than I expected honestly. No need to replace it, just go get it repainted if it bothers you. The replacement will come in primer so you might as well just paint the one you have.

The first real big scratch is always the hardest and I know it takes me a few days to get over it, but after that it's freeing.

Or keep it and put a trail bandage band-aid on it. Memories

 

[JWM PLAYS]

This is a lot less than I expected honestly. No need to replace it, just go get it repainted if it bothers you. The replacement will come in primer so you might as well just paint the one you have.

The first real big scratch is always the hardest and I know it takes me a few days to get over it, but after that it's freeing.

I think the fact that my hobby is detailing cars and I sometimes spend upwards of 19 hrs working on a car and polishing the paint plays some role in my opinion of this. I’m starting to see that.

 

[JWM PLAYS]

That won't work. Rubicon flares are significantly different. You can replace both with Rubicon flares but not one.




Was there any consensus of Jeepers who were incredulous about the damage you sustained on that trail?
I don’t

Does your wife feel the same way about the events and "souvenir" as you?

That won't work. Rubicon flares are significantly different. You can replace both with Rubicon flares but not one.




Was there any consensus of Jeepers who were incredulous about the damage you sustained on that trail?

Does your wife feel the same way about the events and "souvenir" as you?

Yes I’m aware Rubicon flares are different. I meant if I can find a sport flare.

My wife took the whole thing much better than I did. I think my detailing cars and polishing out micro scratches may have warped my sensitivity to what comes with the jeep life.

 

[Darkamek]

OP what rock rails are those?

 

[JWM PLAYS]

I want to be perfectly honest, you said hey you got recovery gear, bumpers and a winch. When you roll up to a meet, people will think you know a thing or two if you have all that stuff.

I actually wondered this myself. Perhaps they assumed we’ve wheeled before be as we had added so much to it already. I’ve heard more than once that my expectations were unreal and I’m willing see that’s entirely part of it. If it makes her happy to wheel with it, I’m going to have to come to grips with what comes along with it I suppose.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

My wife took the whole thing much better than I did. I think my detailing cars and polishing out micro scratches may have warped my sensitivity to what comes with the jeep life.

Most detailers if not all of the ones I know are OCD to the max.

This scratch is by all accounts in the Jeep world, more of a rite of passage; A proud momento of the first time you guys went off-road and pushed yourselves and your vehicle farther than you thought you were capable.

 

[JWM PLAYS]

Most detailers if not all of the ones I know are OCD to the max.

This scratch is by all accounts in the Jeep world, more of a rite of passage; A proud momento of the first time you guys went off-road and pushed yourselves and your vehicle farther than you thought you were capable.

OCD to the max may or may not be a fair description of my relationship with vehicles. I’ve done many 2-3 day detail jobs.

 

[JWM PLAYS]

OP what rock rails are those?

DV8 rock rails that serve as steps too.

 

[Ted Striker]

I'm sorry that this happened to you and it sounds like it was definitely a different experience than what you expected. I'll say this for Jeep Jamboree though, I had a great experience a few weeks ago in Ouray. They did a vehicle inspection the day before we hit the trails to look over my Jeep and tell me what they thought I could and couldn't do. (FWIW, they said there was nothing I couldn't do since I'm on 37's, 5.13 gears, etc.). But I saw a bunch of stock Gladiators and Wranglers and they made sure that those Jeeps didn't try to sign up for the harder trails. If you ever get the chance, definitely look into a Jeep Jamboree as a rookie experience, it's worth it.

 

[Dryfly24]

No offense intended with what I’m about to say but it’s the truth of the matter.

Keeping a vehicle detailed to almost show quality standards and off roading seldom go together. Even just half way, nicely, street clean standards is virtually impossible if you’re wheeling regularly. Believe me I know this from personal experience.

I like to keep my Rubicon as clean and damage free as possible, but I also like wheeling it as hard as I can without sustaining any real damage. It’s a constant battle between the two and I’ve learned that you can’t really have both. You have to ask yourself honestly how much compromise are you willing to make in either direction.

I had a very similar experience to yours but with a different outcome. I recently attended a meeting at my local 4x4 club to see what they were about. There is an annual run down here that attracts a lot of attention from all over the country going on right now and I thought about tagging along.

Some of the folks that are part of that club have their own YouTube channel and wheel pretty hard. Super nice folks. I got invited to go with them to pre-run a couple of trails. We discussed how my rig was set up, my experience, etc and it was determined that my rig would make it through this particular one they were going on, but the night before I watched them run this particular trail on a previous run they had made on YouTube.

Wow! I knew there was a pretty good possibility of some real carnage on that tail. Way more than I was willing to sustain. ?

Basically, Their tolerance level to such damage was much higher than mine so I bailed. Had I gone, and ended up with a torn fender, broken taillight, busted a ball joint, or worse, whose fault would it have been? Personally, I think it would be mine for putting myself in a situation where I gave up my autonomy or ability to determine for myself what I could or couldn’t do.

They have super easy trails for stock vehicles and newbies, but I would be bored to death on them. They also have level ten trails suitable for only the most heavily modded rigs. Those are the polar extremes.

The gray areas are the middle trails. One man’s five is another’s ten - or one. It all comes down to what you’re willing to risk.

I realized that, so I chose to stay out of those organized events and just continue doing what I do. I wheel alone. There’s risk there too but at least whatever happens it’s on me. I don’t want to feel pressured or blame someone else for getting me into something I don’t want to do.

 

[Dryfly24]

By the way, I just spent most of the day cleaning up my rig from the latest excursion. It’s a constant battle. I want it looking good and staying clean but I also want to wheel. It’s a pain in the ass when your rig is also your daily driver. I think the only real answer is to have a dedicated off road rig you don’t mind beating on.

 

[Gvsukids]

Our first big scrape came on a trail where we came to water holes that were not deep, but as this was my wife's first time off-roading, seeing the sticks in the water scared her. So we backed out of there, and in doing so came across a tree that was laying down and a branch from it scratched the passenger side door. It left a white mark that is still there 2 years later but isn't very visible. Now if we were to be in that situation, there would be less fear for her to tackle that obstacle, but that only comes with time and experience. It's a Jeep Thing, also pertains to the fact that these Jeeps are built to do a lot more than we are capable of.

 

[PlayfulBird]

By the way, I just spent most of the day cleaning up my rig from the latest excursion. It’s a constant battle. I want it looking good and staying clean but I also want to wheel. It’s a pain in the ass when your rig is also your daily driver. I think the only real answer is to have a dedicated off road rig you don’t mind beating on.

For sure get the battle.

Heck I would love to have access and space to detail and polish our Gobi and especially the Black Pearl GC like @JWM PLAYS. Don't mind the time it takes. It relaxes me.

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