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nocoast_jt

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Took a trip with some friends to the Black Hills for some wheeling. A couple things I learned about wheeling in the Black Hills: trails are tight...lots of pinstriping, many trails cross one another or intersect, not a ton of info about the trails, the trail ratings are different than CO/UT. I previously took my gladdy through the San Juans in Colorado, but this was definitely the first real wheeling trip. It's different wheeling something with a bed and a big breakover angle. I learned that you have to pick lines carefully, rock sliders are your friend, and this thing needs skids everywhere. Trail damage included a busted steering stabilizer and a boomeranged rear sway bar link...a rock was the culprit in both cases.

Towed this Palomini 179 BHS from Denver to Deadwood. Jeep did great and averaged about 12MPGs...drove 70-80 most of the way. She was drinking DEF quickly while towing!
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 110782E2-468D-403E-87CE-A20F344AE6E1_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 7FE9F4B2-39B4-4EA6-AE5C-D9F6FF6D4C0C_1_105_c



Here are a few pics from Iceman...the first trail we ran.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota B12AF29F-59B3-46D5-8A79-DA2A2CA5816D_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota CA90C007-4B7F-42A1-9670-DEC27810D2D5_1_105_c
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 3B7304BC-3E2F-434C-9FC5-AE831A112F0D_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota C4750D36-A0E1-4961-8176-078E633D3AF8_1_105_c


The trails get maintenance in May but by September the overgrowth will get you. I was able to buff out the majority of tree marks but don't wheel SD if you're afraid of scratches.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 80648104-5BEC-446C-ACC7-940D5D20E46E_1_105_c


First nights camp at the Mystic Hills Hideaway campground. There is a bar/restaurant onsite which is super nice after a long day of wheeling.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 383F0A7F-6E59-4D7B-B25E-B4FB6311A563_1_105_c



Day 2 we ran Upper Captain Crunch, Got Milk and Jake. Note: Lower Captain Crunch is pretty much for buggies only.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota F7E163FF-86E5-45A7-816B-FC60474A1A9F_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 130D4E4F-F03B-4684-999F-E9C27FDCF7C9_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 76A99940-9C1E-4A9C-B1FF-6FAA72B0280E
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota D0A9215B-07BC-42C1-86E9-ABBC452F4A8B
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 0C7C419A-9A52-462A-BB52-35A8A196668D_1_105_c


Camp night 2.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota E2589ED0-84BC-4F6E-A9C4-76E283746E6B_1_105_c



Day 3 we ran a bunch of trails along Trail 5; parts of Hal John's, Calamity, and Full Size.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota EB5785B0-EEA8-4CD6-9BC0-3EB1730D2E68_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota CF6AE27D-1CD5-4DF7-8A77-A372346EF78C


Kind of cool to know...this rock/waterfall is hollow!
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota A1302A19-5598-47A7-869B-FAACEEEC2A83

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 555A1BB6-D6E0-42B2-B9E1-BE4A04DC7D27
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota FB7F2F01-E175-4407-80BC-F5442A8CC221_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota E51BCA2A-0473-4925-A90F-491216E7569F_1_105_c


Our trail guide, bleepincolt who is a buddy from high school, showed us some pretty cool areas! Here are a few shots of those and some of my buddies rigs.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 8B2B7EFE-58C6-4CF0-856D-592E88ED4C04_1_105_c

Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota CB0C6053-5A0C-4755-99B2-7ACDC0F41ABD_1_105_c
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota 5218A06D-4695-48EE-997C-121BC63EB7C4
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Jefe1018

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Looks like a blast. What size tires are you running? Those look huge!
 

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So what's your thoughts on how the EcoD did crawling vs say a gasser.
 

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nocoast_jt

nocoast_jt

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So what's your thoughts on how the EcoD did crawling vs say a gasser.
I love the diesel so far. I have wheeled every Jeep engine since the 2.5L 4cyl in the 90's. The 4.0L is a great engine, the 3.8L was. not bad but the tranny was terrible, the 3.6L was great and trans was terrific, the 3.6L with 8 spd is also great. My other rig is a JKU with a 6.0L and 6 speed auto and it's almost too low in 1st gear.

The diesel with 8 speed is awesome. I find myself cruising in manual mode most often. This is because the tranny seems to hold the gears too long. I usually cruise in 3rd, crawl and steeper grades in 2nd, and 1st for truly technical terrain when I need to crawl and maintain my tires on specific rocks.
 
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nocoast_jt

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Look good, what LIFT?
I like to say its stock, but really it's Teraflex 3.5" spacer lift, Rustys trackbars, control arms drop brackets, and some shock extension brackets. Basically the cheapest way to go to run 39s. I'll put a real lift on once I finish my super duty axles.
 

ThatStinging_Jeep

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I like to say its stock, but really it's Teraflex 3.5" spacer lift, Rustys trackbars, control arms drop brackets, and some shock extension brackets. Basically the cheapest way to go to run 39s. I'll put a real lift on once I finish my super duty axles.
Man that is exactly what i wanna do to run some 39's and hopefully get a RK Long arm kit in the future,got so many ideas on what i wanna do but im simply lacking the money :l

Also how is the ride with the wheels tires and the spacer lift ?
Another thing whats the actual height on the tires cause ive heard crazy numbers that they are actually 37.5 and 38 and lowest ive heard is 37",i know BFG's run lower in height and i wanted to see if you could measure your tire height if possible :)
 

Dan in Pasadena

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What do you think that trailer weighs? Looks like it might be a brute.

I know I'll get flamed for this but NO WAY I'd do those trails and scratch the piss outta my truck. Yes, mine is more of a mall crawler but I'm paying for it so I don't care what others say about that. It's a beautiful truck and I don't want to drive a dented up, scratched up turd.
 

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Dan in Pasadena

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What do you think that trailer weighs? Looks like it might be a brute.

I know I'll get flamed for this but NO WAY I'd do those trails and scratch the piss outta my truck. Yes, mine is more of a mall crawler but I'm paying for it so I don't care what others say about that. It's a beautiful truck and I don't want to drive a dented up, scratched up turd.
Thanks for the thumbs up Thatstinging_Jeep! Glad there's at least two of us that feel the same.
 

ThatStinging_Jeep

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What do you think that trailer weighs? Looks like it might be a brute.

I know I'll get flamed for this but NO WAY I'd do those trails and scratch the piss outta my truck. Yes, mine is more of a mall crawler but I'm paying for it so I don't care what others say about that. It's a beautiful truck and I don't want to drive a dented up, scratched up turd.
Cant really relate on bein a mall crawler but i do got to agree with getting the truck scratched up,the first 3 wheeling trips i did in my previous jeep really scratched it up,and of-course i had to buff it out and now on my new ecodiesel im for sure gonna have to invest in some ppf cause man it hurts hearing branches just scratching up the paint
 

ThatStinging_Jeep

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Thanks for the thumbs up Thatstinging_Jeep! Glad there's at least two of us that feel the same.
Yeah man for sure,wish i could win the lottery but.........im 7 months shy of being underage,thats the first thing im gonna do once i turn 18,Buy a lottery ticket :LOL:
 
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nocoast_jt

nocoast_jt

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Man that is exactly what i wanna do to run some 39's and hopefully get a RK Long arm kit in the future,got so many ideas on what i wanna do but im simply lacking the money :l

Also how is the ride with the wheels tires and the spacer lift ?
Another thing whats the actual height on the tires cause ive heard crazy numbers that they are actually 37.5 and 38 and lowest ive heard is 37",i know BFG's run lower in height and i wanted to see if you could measure your tire height if possible :)
The ride is pretty much stock like. After all, it is virtually the same suspension (coils, shocks, arms). The drop brackets helped keep the caster so it rides well. The 3.5" backspacing is definitely a must if you are going to run 39s with this small of a lift. Even now, I rub the fenders. I'll be separating the fenders soon enough to help with this. Also, I love the KMC beadlocks as I've had success with them on other rigs. The holes in the ring allow water to escape, I've never once sheered a ring bolt, and you can get to the backside of a bolt if one was to sheer off.

The 39's are about 37 1/2" now after 5,000 miles and 30 PSI. I like the 39s because they are bigger than a 37 and weigh less in some cases...also I am just a BFG fanboy.
Jeep Gladiator Rock crawling the JTRD (Rubicon Diesel) in South Dakota C397529A-FDA5-4E60-96BB-655C71760684_1_105_c
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