Moonlight Racing 1-31-15

1st ORT in the TJ – Moonlight Racing 1-31-15

Our first trip out in the TJ was an easy shake down run to Moonlight with the boy. I was somewhat concerned as to how well the boy (and wife) would tolerate the rawness of the TJ. The last wheeler (1994 Ranger) was pretty plush with a decent interior, A/C, and sound deadening. So the TJ is a step backward in those departments. But my fears were unfounded and it turned out to be a good day in the woods. The boy had a good 1st outing and was laughing/giggling every time we went down a hill.

The little TJ performed pretty well for its first time out and actually forced me to engage myself a bit more then when I drive the truck. With the truck being as built up as it is, you really don’t have to think about an obstacle (or potential consequences of that obstacle), you just throw and go. With the TJ, I had to pick my lines, and with the selectable front locker and 2low, I tried many obstacles handicapped before I pulled out a cheater (if needed). This was a whole new level of fun, and now I really want to ensure that I have a selectable locker and the ability to disengage the front drive line in future builds. The visibility the TJ provides was a nice extra bonus.

The only real bummer is that pulling the kid in and out of the rear seat got old quickly, and diaper changes were a bit of a challenge as well. But since we’re not using this thing off road daily, we’re willing to live with those challenges for the time being.

No real carnage from the day other than the CV on the rear drive shaft started to give up the ghost, and I managed to cram a bit of mud into a bead on the tire causing it to leak when I tried to air up.

We traveled about 9.5 miles in the park: