How old were you when you first started off-roading?

[JeepLife175]

Hey JT fam!

When did you first get into off-roading? Were you hitting the trails when you were young, or did you get into it later in life?

I'm curious how everyone got started. Maybe it was your first Jeep, a friend who took you out on the trails, or a trip that got you hooked.

How old were you on your first off-road adventure? And if you remember, what were you driving?

Share your story below! Always fun to hear how other Jeep owners got into the hobby.

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[DiehardTory]

I'll bite: Want to count farm truck driving at at 10? It was off road in the field to the house & barns; and loaded to the point where the leaf springs were flat 47 Chev 3 on the tree.

 

[Tripp]

I was always into sports cars up until I got my jeep this year at 29. I’ve taken my gladiator to a few trails around me and can’t wait to take it out some more. Having two young kids limits the time I have to go do fun stuff like go off-roading but, there is definitely more in my future!

 

[Rumpofsteelskin]

I'll bite: Want to count farm truck driving at at 10? It was off road in the field to the house & barns; and loaded to the point where the leaf springs were flat 47 Chev 3 on the tree.

Grain trucking with a hi-low rear end? PTO bed lift? Got to get it in before it rains! Power steering, clutch, brakes, and windows meant “as much power as you put behind it”?

 

[GerryAZ]

First minibike at age 10 (followed by dual sport motorcycles); farm tractors and pickups in fields long before that. I was 28 when I purchased my first Jeep (1988 Comanche).

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I’ll say I started very early teens in cow pastures of MF tractors and occasionally with a truck. Other than that it was 4-wheelers out in Swamp Flats and bicycles out on trails I had no business being. Serious off roading as a hobby I’d say started around 2009 with my first Jeep. Jumped in head first and haven’t ever really jumped out.

 

[Bantam]

I grew up on ATV’s, unsure of when I started but it wasn’t long after I figured out how to ride a bike and I was on one of these death traps.

 

[Alaska-HWY JK]

1979 after I sold my 1976 455 4 speed Trans Am. I ordered a loaded at the time 1979 GMC Sierra Classic short box half ton. 400 small block, 12 bolt posi rear. I put a 4” lift on and 14/35/15” Gumbo Monster Mudders on it. I ran the absolute crap out of that thing. Those were big tires up here at that time. 74 Ford F250 highrider for a while that we cut the fender wells out and put 40” Monster Mudders on. Fun. Bunch of 4 wheelers and a Rhino. Now 2007 JK on 37’s, 2005 LJ Rubicon on 255/85/16” and the current 2019 Gladiator Rubicon on 35’s. To much fun.

 

[Stan H]

Well, I aint sure what counts here because we used to off road drive before we was ever allowed on ths blacktop. Thats how we learned to drive.

I’ll say I started very early teens in cow pastures of MF tractors and occasionally with a truck. Other than that it was 4-wheelers out in Swamp Flats and bicycles out on trails I had no business being. Serious off roading as a hobby I’d say started around 2009 with my first Jeep. Jumped in head first and haven’t ever really jumped out.

As far as Jeeps go I'm a lifer. Im in so deep I cant see the top

 

[GI Grandpa]

Hey JT fam!

When did you first get into off-roading? Were you hitting the trails when you were young, or did you get into it later in life?

I'm curious how everyone got started. Maybe it was your first Jeep, a friend who took you out on the trails, or a trip that got you hooked.

How old were you on your first off-road adventure? And if you remember, what were you driving?

Share your story below! Always fun to hear how other Jeep owners got into the hobby.

1974, I was not yet 14 when our neighbor bought a Navy surplus M38A1 like the one in the photo. We rattle canned it red in his driveway and I drove it on the fire roads around us and then helped him plow snow with it in the winter. He did most of the plowing, I moved the plow and shoveled what the plow missed

 

[jjbiggs]

Hey JT fam!

When did you first get into off-roading? Were you hitting the trails when you were young, or did you get into it later in life?

I'm curious how everyone got started. Maybe it was your first Jeep, a friend who took you out on the trails, or a trip that got you hooked.

How old were you on your first off-road adventure? And if you remember, what were you driving?

Share your story below! Always fun to hear how other Jeep owners got into the hobby.

I was 16 . I had an 89 Toyota on 35’s

 

[VA6489]

First Jeep 1954 CJ5 in 1976. Swapped the 4 cylinder for a 225 V6 and trans from a Commando and drove it for years before selling it for a 1970 F250 Highboy.

 

[ltcdwb]

I would guess around 18. I went into the MARINES about three weeks after graduating high school. Ended up making the military a career. I'll put it the same way one of my Seargent Majors did, "Where else can you get out in the wild and drive around in a company vehicle?"

 

[JSFoster1975]

My first experience off road was in a 1989 Nissan Hardbody with 33x12.5 tires riding powerlines at night... ended up driving through axle deep water and didn't even know it (I wasn't driving at the time), but that was a very capable truck due to the short wheelbase and 4" lift. I was probably 17-18 at the time, don't really recall for sure.

 

[WambliSka]

First year in college. My best friend had an early 70s IH Scout II that we used for getting to the off-the-beaten-path beaches for surfing because we hated sharing good waves. We also did a LOT of camping in pristine areas unmolested by tourists.

The trails were either sand or mud or muddy sand. We shared the driving and I was hooked. That’s were I developed my LOVE for getting away from other humans.

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