Little secret: I HATE OFF-ROADING!!!

digitalwanderer

wandering
Legend
My wife changed her profile picture on Faceballs and posted up asking if anyone is interested in coming:

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Badlands is in Attica, Indiana. About an hour, hour and a half drive south of here to the heart of Trumpland. No masks, no mandates, and people all over wearing Trump apparel. Add to that the fact that my wife does zero prep work for these trips, she thinks we can just hop in the Jeep and go. She doesn't consider the tow straps, tree harnesses, pulleys, boots, gloves, towel, hand tools, boots (I still need hip waders), plus water and some food in case.

I gotta prep the Jeep for it, I get to fix it when we get it home however she breaks it. She doesn't listen to my advice on driving or paths to take even though that's my one bloody job as spotter and I'm expected to just fix/make better any problems that come up.

She STILL hasn't talked to me about it, just posted up on FB asking if anyone is interested. I have NOT responded to it.

This has been an issue for me since we got the Jeep. What's the point of intentional beating the shit out of it for giggles? I still haven't quite fixed the funny noise the tailgate is making from last time. (I think she dented the back gate with the spare tire holder and it's bonging the dent in and out, but I was working on the headlight swap and putting the doors and top back on last time I played with her and didn't get around to it)

Also our kids share my feelings on 4x4ing, but they just tell her no and stay home. My wife keeps trying to make it a family fun adventure and can't understand our reticence and going and being bounced around and uncomfortable vehicle after driving for a long time in it just to hopefully not get it stuck/unstick it and don't break it and then get a really long ride home after getting very tired of being in the damned Jeep all day.

Sorry, had to rant somewhere. The only ones who will see it here will be my kids but that's ok since I'm open with my feelings about it. Hell, I'm open with my wife about my feelings on it but she just really likes driving off-road so it ain't hard to talk me in to it. (Yes, I'm still a sucker for making my wife happy...damn it.)

Ugh, so unsure of what to do! With her new store, (she's still working for CVS, they just put her in charge of a less busy store due to her back problems), and new schedule we have like no weekdays off and it's weird just having weekends. Still adjusting.

REALLY not sure what to do about this weekend except to get ready for it and accept it as gracefully as possible, and over medicate on everything I can find to get through it. :|


Curious, did anyone really think I liked going off-roading? I'd enjoy it if I had a little dirt bike, but the Wrangler is just a beast and chugs through everything. I wanna spit dirt/gravel and jump, not trawl.

Thanks again for letting me rant, even if no one reads it it's nice to get it out. Makes me feel better, muchos gracious.
 
Just hope that while going down a steep incline on a hill that one your rear wheels doesn't pop off and go bouncing down the hill ahead of you like happened to me once when I was out with my grandfather and father hunting back in the 80's. :) We managed to somehow jury rig the wheel back on, but it only made it a few miles before it popped off again. Luckily another group of hunters was out in that area that day and on their way out, they saw us and gave us a ride back to my grandfather's place.

I like "practical" off-roading. IE - for sightseeing or to get to a hunting spot or fishing hole. I'm not a fan of off-roading as a form of "joy riding."

It basically comes part and parcel of enjoying sight seeing in the outdoors as well as hunting (but none of the sitting in a blind waiting for an animal to walk by crap) and fishing (but only as much as I can store and eat). So, hiking is obvious part of it for me and my extended family, although not all of them are into hunting. One of my late aunts would prohibit hunting on any journey we took that had her in it. :) However, she did enjoy eating the fruits of our labor (venison, quail, grouse, pigeons, pheasants, etc.). :p We just couldn't do it with her around.

Regards,
SB
 
I agree with your philosophy. It should be a means to an end, not just joy riding.

Her wheels won't be falling off anytime soon, I've had to learn a lot about 2016 JKUHR since we got her and the thing is tough as nails. Only real upgrades would be the bull bar with fog lights, winch, slightly wider wheels, and LED headlights which I find all very practical and effective.

I've had to put her fenders back on more times than I can count, and one nice thing about her is that with over 10" of ground clearance it's pretty easy to just crawl underneath without a jack to fix stuff. Then again all the bump plate/under armor it has to remove sort of subtracts from the ease. Also had to get a new jack just to be able to lift it high enough.

I'd hate the Jeep if I hadn't put so damned much time/effort in to it. I hate to admit it since I'm against off-roading and all, but I'm sort of proud of the job I've done on her and I am insanely confident in her abilities mainly because I'm very aware of what they are so I don't exceed her limits.

OK, exception. Speed. They recommend you don't go over I think 75mph, or mebbe 85mph. With good reason, it gets damned scary/wiggly/jumpy at those speeds!

So of course I got annoyed with some Corvettes on I-94 in the middle of the Loop in Chicago going to the airport to pick up my wife and I don't know what speed I was going as the speedometer only goes up to 100mph on the Jeep. The needle was bouncing off it pretty high and I scared the two 'vettes out maneuvering them through the traffic. Yeah, I do some stupid things sometimes when I'm bored. I've tried to stop/cut back, but the struggle is real. :p
 
Ugh offroading.

Sure it's fun on a bicycle. But I really hated it with a car.

The risk of damage is too high. The chance to get stuck is too high. The dusts are way too much (when in dry grounds).

Btw maybe she need to get a rivian or other BEV for offroading and she won't be able to drive as recklessly because need to follow your direction as spotter. To avoid the risk of denting the battery pack and cause a violent fire.
 
Btw maybe she need to get a rivian or other BEV for offroading and she won't be able to drive as recklessly because need to follow your direction as spotter. To avoid the risk of denting the battery pack and cause a violent fire.
Uhm, no. She already bought another bloody Jeep, I don't want to buy anymore offroad things unless it's a bike and it's for me.

I might try and convince her to take her new Jeep there, it's a Renegade Trailhawk edition totally unmodded. I think it'd be a lot more challenging, comfortable, and I'd like to try it out on some trails and see how it does.

Then again the optimal would be to skip the whole thing, and I know she'll want to bring Muddy Mudskipper. (Her name for her "2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition". It's actually a really nicely setup Jeep from the factory, literally the Jeepiest stock Jeep you could get.)
 
Uhm, no. She already bought another bloody Jeep, I don't want to buy anymore offroad things unless it's a bike and it's for me.

I might try and convince her to take her new Jeep there, it's a Renegade Trailhawk edition totally unmodded. I think it'd be a lot more challenging, comfortable, and I'd like to try it out on some trails and see how it does.

Then again the optimal would be to skip the whole thing, and I know she'll want to bring Muddy Mudskipper. (Her name for her "2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition". It's actually a really nicely setup Jeep from the factory, literally the Jeepiest stock Jeep you could get.)

googling Renegade Trailhawk.... whoa

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that's a very cute looking jeep!

googling 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition

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aww this one is cute too.

when did Jeep start making cute-looking cars?

in my mind, jeep looks full of angry-looking or strongman fascia.

sorry OOT. but they looks so adorable!

 
The Renegade is right but our Wrangler is the Unlimited which means it's a 4 door, otherwise so is the Wrangler.

Except ours are both black, because of course. <sigh>

It's a 2020 Renegade we got for a steal when new car prices crashed just before they became insane. Our Wrangler is a manual and my wife has got a bum left knee, the Renegade is automatic and a lot easier to get in and out of. Also the Wrangler gets about the same mileage as my car at around 16-18mpg while the lil 1.3 turbo in the Renegade my wife is managing to get 24.2mpg currently.

Also the "Trailhawk" bit of the name means it's an actual trail rated Jeep meaning the manufacturer backs its offroad capabilities. It's built off a Fiat 500 chasis and uses quite a bit of clever computer controls to the transmission/wheels to help it manage when things get gnarly. I think 8-1/2" of clearance and some insane approach/ascent angles since it's short. Quite clever and effective from all reviews so I sort of want to try it out, but I also want to put a little winch on it first. (Yeah, I end up researching the hell out of my wife's vehicles for her just so I can explain it to her.)
 
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And how I had the big Jeep all summer, just put the top and doors back on recently. It's from a few months ago where she wants to go:

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That's the bull bar I put on. One so I could mount some floodlights on it and two to protect the grill. Cheap, easy install, works great. :)
 
Oh boy, she just asked me what I'm doing tomorrow! She posted up on FB about it Tuesday night, but hadn't mentioned or said anything about it. If she'd waited until tomorrow it would have been a definite no. Now I'm just quietly fuming. <sigh>
 
heres a strange idea, just fucking walk your lard ass up the hill
Life is beautiful, no need to have these things that burn up a 8 hours of a mans day of work of energy (in oil) just to do 2 minutes doing the effort for you, you lazy fucking sod

LIVE life, life is a gift

I can say this, but I fail often and are failing now, and have been for a while, Im disgusted with myself.

We only have one shot at life, ..... yet the univese is what 11.5 bill years, we get our one in a million chance and yet here we are are on internet news groups/facebook or whatnot , but man Im like if I am the best of a million sperm to take this chance of life, what the fuck am I doing!!! I am a disaster, yet Ive done more than most ppl, FFS does humanity have the right to exist?
 
Btw climbing a mountain using my pair of legs and hands are annoying as heck.

My friends says it'll be exilirating, it'll be a wonderful experience. But in reality

  1. The tracks are littered with trash
  2. The climb is really really tiring. When coming down its also tiring
  3. The view at the peak is ruined by people, the view looking far away is no different from looking far away from other high places (tall buildings, roof of my house, etc)
  4. The people on the trek are not chatty (making the trek even more boring)
Way more fun to just fly to a mountain in flight simulator.... Or just fly a drone to the climbing trail.

On the other hand, going into trails while riding an electric bike is waaaay more fun.
 
Digi if your buying jeeps you may as well use them. Otherwise why buy an off road vehicle? Having to do all the work to fix them when you don't enjoy the breaking part is kind of a bummer though...
 
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