what kind of rig for NW wheeling (coming from AZ)

Ive currently got a jeep based buggy that is tailored to the AZ rocks. Im making the move back up to the NW (gig harbor area) and want to know if this rig will be okay up there or should i just sell it and build/buy a new one.

Current specs:
2.5L 4 banger
ax5 5 speed manual
atlas 5:1
37" stickes on beadlocks
FJ80 front w/ 5.29s, high steer, ARB
T100 rear w/ 5.29s, lockright
dual triangulated 4link rear w/ aluminum links and 16" air shocks
upper triangulated 4link front w/ 16" air shocks
air bumps
back half'd
full cage
seats/harnes
no top, windsheild, doors (or any protection for that matter from the weather)
etc......

so this thing is a crawler, not a gofast machine. So should i sell it and build/buy something else? or should i take what i have and deal with the sloppy NW weather and muddy trails?

front:


rear:


rest:

Buy a windshield, get a bikin top, some soft doors and a rear windscreen. You'll be fine.

Most rigs around here based on YJs and TJs that are 4 cyl are underpowered for street driving with large tires. As a trailer rig, you should be fine. Might be too low geared with the 5-1 tcase, but I think you'll be fine with the 5speed.

Nice looking rig.

Like mentioned above something on the roof to keep the rain off. Extended breathers on the axles to keep water out. A good set of rain gear. I cant tell if your tube is painted but any bare steel should get some paint on it.

cisco said:

Like mentioned above something on the roof to keep the rain off. Extended breathers on the axles to keep water out. A good set of rain gear. I cant tell if your tube is painted but any bare steel should get some paint on it.

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thats on my to-do list. The steel is bare right now and i need to get some paint on it. It has been that way for well over a year down here and there isn't a trace of rust on it. It wont be that way in WA and i know it!

Im really tempted to put it up for sale, move up there, get my feet on the ground, and then see what works well and build something.

TreeClimber said:

Buy a windshield, get a bikin top, some soft doors and a rear windscreen. You'll be fine.

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not quite as easy as it sounds. I dont think i could get a windsheild to fit because the tub is beat to hell. A standard bikini top wont fit so it would have to be a custom build and im sure it will be $$$. Soft doors and a wind jammer again wont fit due to damage/cage bars.

This is all you will need up here.


Kiddin' that rig is perfect. Just throw some tin over your head, and call it good.

ShmUDE said:

not quite as easy as it sounds. I dont think i could get a windsheild to fit because the tub is beat to hell. A standard bikini top wont fit so it would have to be a custom build and im sure it will be $$$. Soft doors and a wind jammer again wont fit due to damage/cage bars.

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Lexan for a windshield, skin the top in steel, build some doors, make sure you have a good heater and you'll be good. May want to pick up a different set of tires for most of the wheeling up here too

There's a lot of rigs up here really similar to yours... You'll fit right in at the Rocks...

ShmUDE said:

not quite as easy as it sounds. I dont think i could get a windsheild to fit because the tub is beat to hell. A standard bikini top wont fit so it would have to be a custom build and im sure it will be $$$. Soft doors and a wind jammer again wont fit due to damage/cage bars.

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Try putting a windshield on. My YJ's been rolled a lot. The last roll was a 360. And still my YJ windshield fits just fine. The factory cowl is remarkably strong.
After you put on the windshield, you can cut off that off-road-roof light thingie, and the bikini top will fit just fine. If you don't want to do that, cut yourself a piece of tin, and tack weld it on. (I prefer the bikini top, as a tin-top is NOISY when it rains).
You'll be surprised how easy it is to make everything fit. My YJ is sooooo out of square, yet everything still fits.

TreeClimber said:

(I prefer the bikini top, as a tin-top is NOISY when it rains).
.

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But tin will offer some sort of protection from falling branches, which is something they don't have in the desert.

more power :awesomework:

Follow Treeclimber's advice....I bet you could get a good windshield frame to fit decent (even if it takes a lil metal-massaging! :redneck, and if you can build a set of 1/2 doors from tube and skin 'em...either tin the top or make a bikini top fit, and slip some sort of 'wall' behind you---make sure your heater works...you'll be fine.
If you are set on something else, then I have a Sami I'll trade ya that's got all the above (except the 'wall' thingy)!!!..........:haha:

As stated above + ditch the stickies. There isnt that much mud in the sence of mudding. But you do get a slime on the trails about an inch deep.

Ugh. I wanna wheel AZ trails!

You might also talk to Tony (treeclimber) about their club (eldorado dust devils) you will find their a lot like your club. (all very cabable rigs that tend to like the "harder" stuff :redneck:

Short wheel base is key up here on the tight trails. 93-115 is good. Anything over that becomes a PITA.

As far as your windshield just do this. Lexan over the cage.


Put something on the top to keep the rain off your head and mud.

Might want to upgrade the 4cyl. to something with some power. Some of the hills around here take some throttle to get up.

I'd keep your rig , just get more power. It looks like its pretty well set-up other wise.

ShmUDE said:

or should i take what i have and deal with the sloppy NW weather and muddy trails?

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Depends on how comfortable/dry you want to be...If it was my rig I would skin the top with sheetmetal, make sure I had a good heater & go wheeling.

Keep it man, the upgrades you have to do to make it ready for the NW compared to the upgrades you have to do to a new rig to make it reliable, capable, and trail ready...Not comparable. The upgrades to your rig take a sloooow weekend to complete, the upgrades to a new rig to get it ready, or find one that is hopefully capable enough and already built and reliable...a LOT more than a weekend, that's for sure!! Buy, build, tweak, alter or custom fab a windshield for it, do something for doors, and put some **** over your cage to keep you dry (like everyone has said) and you'll be good to go. I always get such an adrenalin pump from wheelin' I don't even know if my heater works, never tried it. I have a '92 YJ and in the winter snow wheelin' I put a windshield on it, half doors, and I have an aluminum skin over the top front half of the roll cage (that is always on) and wear a columbia ski coat and I rock it like that while all my club buddies have their hard tops and full doors on, then get mad when they blow a big chunk out of their hardtop on the tight ass trees where we go in the winter. Also, the stickies are probably not needed, but I'm not sure what is ideal in the slimier Washington area. I live in Bend, OR and it's dry, so Krawlers, MT/R's, Creepy's, and Pitbull Rockers work sweet. In Washington I'd assume it'd be Iroks, swamper SX's, or SXII's if you can fit them, or maybe still the Pitbull Rockers.

Keep your rig, wheel it, and change what you don't like to suit WA wheeling. If you like building rigs, sell it and start new but for gods sake don't build a jeep.

The people telling you to just somehow put your windshield back on have obviously not seen how badly a YJ can be beaten. :haha:

I would aluminum skin the roof and 4" strip of plexi on the top and bottom of the windshield. I like my heater too.