Jeep Wrangler hunting vehicle

[Vince]

Guy,




I blame you for my getting a 2018 JK Willys.
I’d forgotten how much fun they are.

Vince


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Vince2]

I think Jeep is the only automobile manufacturer that still uses halogen headlights.

Yesterday I decided to put in the LED headlights and taillights. LORD I CAN SEE!!!
You have healed the blind. I’d forgotten how bad halogen headlights were until last night.

I’ll be doing more with my Jeep as time passes and I’ll start a thread on it eventually. Bumpers, fenders, rack, lift, etc, etc.

Vince

 

[Vince2]

Got front and rear bumpers ordered. LED lights in just need to add the running lights/turn signals.

Also have a license plate relocation bracket with spare tire delete. I took the back seat out and will be arranging it for travel. It’s going to be the off road version of a 70’s shagging van.

Planning on a roof rack, lights, spare gas cans, extra water cans, new fenders, and a lift so I can put 35” tires on it. Eventually I’ll do an axle swap and end up with 37” + size tires.

I’m off to start my own thread.

Vince

 

[DrMike]

Got front and rear bumpers ordered. LED lights in just need to add the running lights/turn signals.

Also have a license plate relocation bracket with spare tire delete. I took the back seat out and will be arranging it for travel. It’s going to be the off road version of a 70’s shagging van.

Planning on a roof rack, lights, spare gas cans, extra water cans, new fenders, and a lift so I can put 35” tires on it. Eventually I’ll do an axle swap and end up with 37” + size tires.

I’m off to start my own thread.

Vince

Yee Haw!

 

[Guy Miner]

Jeep got some upgrades & repairs yesterday. More to come. Well, it is a Jeep.

Teraflex big brake kit. Larger, better rotors front and rear. I retained the standard calipers but had to relocate them. Sure seems to stop better! Should be more resistant to brake fade. This little rascal is often heavily loaded, and sometimes pulling a trailer:

One of the rear axle bearings was shot and leaking. To get my Jeep out quicker, the shop offered me a brand new replacement axle shaft instead of just replacing the bearing. It was only a few bucks more, so sure, why not? I already had upgraded axle shafts in the front axle, now I have one upgraded shaft in the rear. I'll do the other one, some other day. BTW, the leaky axle shaft had soaked the e-brake assembly, so it was rebuilt too. Parking brake feels better now than ever.

While it was up on the hoist the guys replaced the crankshaft position sensor. It's about a 2-minute job and I could have done it, but since it was going to be up on the hoist anyway, I asked them to replace it. Wow! The Jeep hadn't been its old self for a while. Fuel economy was down. Power was off a bit. Sometimes it would have a miss on hard acceleration. Nope, not anymore! Good grief, it runs GREAT with lots of pep again.

Still to do this year:
Replace my worn winch line. Already have the new one, just need to take time and do it.
Replace my badly cracked windshield.
Replace the ball joints and the front bump-stops.
Probably ought to wash it as well.

It's still awfully fun to drive. More now with the better brakes and the renewed engine vigor!

Guy

 

[lefty315]

Jeep got some upgrades & repairs yesterday. More to come. Well, it is a Jeep.

Teraflex big brake kit. Larger, better rotors front and rear. I retained the standard calipers but had to relocate them. Sure seems to stop better! Should be more resistant to brake fade. This little rascal is often heavily loaded, and sometimes pulling a trailer:

One of the rear axle bearings was shot and leaking. To get my Jeep out quicker, the shop offered me a brand new replacement axle shaft instead of just replacing the bearing. It was only a few bucks more, so sure, why not? I already had upgraded axle shafts in the front axle, now I have one upgraded shaft in the rear. I'll do the other one, some other day. BTW, the leaky axle shaft had soaked the e-brake assembly, so it was rebuilt too. Parking brake feels better now than ever.

While it was up on the hoist the guys replaced the crankshaft position sensor. It's about a 2-minute job and I could have done it, but since it was going to be up on the hoist anyway, I asked them to replace it. Wow! The Jeep hadn't been its old self for a while. Fuel economy was down. Power was off a bit. Sometimes it would have a miss on hard acceleration. Nope, not anymore! Good grief, it runs GREAT with lots of pep again.

Still to do this year:
Replace my worn winch line. Already have the new one, just need to take time and do it.
Replace my badly cracked windshield.
Replace the ball joints and the front bump-stops.
Probably ought to wash it as well.

It's still awfully fun to drive. More now with the better brakes and the renewed engine vigor!

Guy

Don’t wash it Guy, that might be all that’s holding it together!!

 

[JD338]

Nice upgrades Guy! That Jeep sure has been a great vehicle for you.

JD338

 

[Dlallder]

After 11 or 12 years I replaced my trusty Dodge Ram pickup with a Jeep Wrangler this year. I was a little worried that it wouldn't be a big enough vehicle for hunting. With 4,500 miles on it now, and several hunting trips, here's an initial report:

Weaknesses:
A little twitchy at highway speeds. The short wheelbase requires more attention to keeping it in the lane than my much longer truck did, and more than our Ford Explorer as well. This was readily apparent on the trip across Montana to Wyoming. Sidewinds affect the small, tall, slab sided little Jeep too. When I test drove a four-door version, it was considerably more stable on the highway.

Storage space is also compromised. For my hunting trips I've removed the rear seat (a very quick operation, only a couple of minutes with no tools needed) and covered the cargo area floor with a rubber mat. Still, I got everything needed for a week-long trip stowed easily. The two animals, mule deer & pronghorn, came home in the coolers shown, with room to spare.

Am thinking that a metal rack attached to the rear hitch & frame would be an excellent way to carry game from the field.

Strengths:
Extraordinarily maneuverable! I haven't had a small hunting vehicle in 25 years or so. The extended cab Dodge Ram couldn't hold a candle to the stubby little Jeep for turning sharp and going around obstacles. I've turned around on dirt roads that would have forced me to back up in the larger rigs. This has proven very useful in town as well.

Traction is excellent. I've had it in mud and snow and loose, sandy conditions. Mine has the mild 3.21 axle ratio, the 6-speed manual transmission and aftermarket wheels with BFG All Terrain tires. Jeep has a built-in traction control system that uses a computer to detect and moderate wheelspin via the brakes. Some of this function can be turned off with a press of a button. I do not yet have a limited slip or locking diff in this vehicle.

Have been very impressed with the traction. It almost never spins a wheel, and when that does occasionally start, the Jeep quickly compensates and keeps the vehicle moving forward. I do have heavy-duty tire chains for all four tires, and anticipate using them as the snow depth increases this winter.

The new engine is pretty darned impressive. The old 4.0 liter inline six is long gone - an excellent motor that I had in two different Jeep Cherokees over the years. The 3.8 V6 is also gone now, replaced by the new 3.6 liter Pentastar V6. It's a little weak at very low rpms, say under 1500 rpm. By 1700 or so though, it's producing excellent torque. Horsepower is pretty amazing to me. 3.6 liters is only about 220 cubic inches, yet it produces 285 horsepower! The engine builds power as the revs climb and can really get with the program when it's time to pass on a two-lane highway. The Jeep would handily outrun my old Dodge pickup with the 5.2 liter "magnum" V8, which had more torque and 50 less horsepower...

Oil changes are very easy. There's no conventional filter to spin off from underneath, just a little filter easily reached from atop the motor with the hood up. Still, a guy does have to crawl underneath to drain the oil. It's a quick job.

Fuel economy - could be a strength or weakness depending on reference point. The Wrangler is about as streamlined as a brick. Cruising along a two-lane at modest speed, it has averaged 20 - 21 mpg. On my recent 2200 mile trip to and from Wyoming, it averaged about 19 mpg, running mostly at 70 - 75 mph on I-90. After my old Dodge, these are good numbers.

Handling is good. Four coil springs make a pretty good ride, though it's a little choppy on some surfaces, courtesy of the short wheelbase. It handles really well though, on twisty roads, showing very little body lean. The weight of the winch out front seems to have induced a little understeer, which I only notice when driving in a "spirited" manner on a twisty two-lane.

The hard top seals well. The newer "JK" Wranglers have a hard top that has two lift-off panels over the driver & front passenger seats. These remove and replace easily. The back 2/3 of the fiberglass top requires but six bolts to be removed, as well as unplugging the rear washer/wiper & defroster. My son and I can remove or replace the rear part of the top in minutes, but I've found I prefer just leaving it in place and removing the front panels when I want that open-air feeling. Temps in the 30's, snow and rain now have me thinking that the top will remain firmly in place until May or so...

The seats are very comfortable. Mama even commented on how nice they are. The instruments easy to read. Stereo sounds good. I haven't even tried the CD player yet. First vehicle of mine to have one! Air conditioning is effective, the heater and defroster even better. I've been comfortable in hot and cold weather.

Mine is a very basic Jeep with hand-cranked windows - my 12 year old niece pointed to the window winder and asked "what's that?" I about cracked up, she'd never seen a vehicle that didn't have electric windows!

Also noted from the younger set, my 21 year old son really likes it, everything about it.

All in all, I'm still very pleased with it, and still a little concerned about the small size - which I see as both an attribute and a liability.

FWIW, Guy

FWIW, Anyone looking at new Jeeps of any kind, may want to look at CONSUMER REPORTS latest write ups about them. Thanks Daniel

 

[RL338]

My old F150 is in need of repairs also. This past week I got to thinking of replacing the old beast , but todays prices are double what I paid in 2002

 

[Guy Miner]

First time out in the snow this season was yesterday with some of my buddies in Douglas County Washington. Elevation was only about 3,000' asl. Not deep snow, just real nice. BLM land that I have hunted a number of times over the last 30 years or so. Saw one real nice muley buck, but couldn't get a photo of him. Same with the golden eagle. Wow... What a great day with friends.

Regards, Guy

 

[RL338]

Looked like some fun in the snow.
By the sounds of it Tuesday morning we might be white here.

 

[DrMike]

Excellent! We were out in the snow this past week in ND and SK. It wasn't nearly that much fun!