how to prepare your jeep for the rubicon - barlows.us
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How To Prepare Your Jeep For The Rubicon Trail By Nena Barlow Rock rash, mechanical failures and body damage can and do happen on this trail and any driver intent on bringing their own rig should be aware of the risks. If you think you can get through the whole Rubicon trail without a scratch of any kind anywhere, you should probably NOT go on this trip—scraping and scratches happen with even the most skilled drivers. Not only should your rig be in top-‐form maintenance, but if your vehicle doesn’t have the following MINIMUM requirements, we will not even consider it for the trip. We have developed these minimums for the general capability and comfort for a long trip to be enjoyable by the majority of clients. Can a lesser vehicle make it through? Yes, but it will take considerably more time, with a much higher risk of damage. Even if your vehicle does have these, we may still decline to accommodate your vehicle based on other factors, like gearing ratios versus driver experience, vehicle condition concerns, or safety worthiness. VEHICLE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS 33” or taller offroad tires (35" for wheelbase longer than 105”) Offroad means three-‐ply sidewalls with tires in good working order—no dry cracking, sufficient aggressive tread depth and pattern, full-‐size working spare. For most vehicles, this also involves having an adequate suspension lift to accommodate full articulation and turning of the larger tires. Rocker panel protection Unless you don’t mind body damage, you need some side protection, not only for the occasional slip off of a rock, but also for jacking and recovery purposes. The factory Rubicon rocker guards are barely sufficient, but they are better than some cheap aftermarket tube sliders (ask us for recommendations).
Skid plates Factory Wrangler plates are okay—protection for your transmission pan, transfer case and gas tank are adequate on factory Wranglers, but we recommend protection beyond the minimum—see more under “Recommendations” below. Other vehicle makes often have varying protection by trim package. Traction device At least one locking axle differential. Both front and rear are better. Limited slip, locking center differential and traction control are NOT the same as axle lock. Recovery points At least one frame-‐mounted recovery point in each the front and the rear, rated for 5000 pounds or more. Yes, factory Wrangler hooks are sufficient. No, the 3/8” transport loop is not. MORE RECOMMENDATIONS Now that you have covered the minimums, here are a few more things we HIGHLY recommend before your trip. And when we say “before” we mean NOW—not just 2-‐3 weeks before your trip. The worst thing you can do is install a bunch of new stuff on your rig the month before the trip, and use the Rubicon trail as the “shakedown” run. Lower front control arm skids One of the most commonly smashed/broken components of the Jeep Wrangler is the lower front control arm mount. Strengthening these is an inexpensive way to eliminate a common stress and something that can very quickly make your trip unpleasant. Parts are less than $50 and pay a professional 4x4 welder an hour’s time to install them. Sway bar motor protection The push-‐button sway bar system on current Jeep Wrangler Rubicons is wonderful, but should be protected from rock impact to the motor and wiring harness. Some aftermarket bumpers have already incorporated this into their design, but if not, we recommend picking up a simple bolt-‐on plate from OR-‐Fab: http://www.quadratec.com/products/12025_500X_PG.htm Steering system The constant heavy resistance that your steering system will endure on the trail requires that you do two things:
1. Make sure your entire steering system is in top condition before the trip: clean fluid (dark fluid means it’s been cooked), no leaks, tight bolts, and especially good ball joints and tie rod ends.
2. Practice good steering habits: no dry steering! Dry steering is when you turn your tires while the vehicle is NOT moving—this is very hard on your steering components. Try to always have the vehicle in motion, even very slowly, before turning those big meaty tires. Sounds simple? It’s harder than you think…
Axle Gears You will find the constant slow rock crawling of the Rubicon trail much more enjoyable with a vehicle that is geared properly for it. The confusing thing is that we call “low” or “deep” gears the higher number ratio, i.e. 4.56 gears are much “lower geared” than 3.73 gears. The “lower” gear is much more desirable for rock crawling, even though it is a higher number. With an automatic transmission, one can compensate for higher gearing with some good left-‐foot braking, but this gets tiring after all day (or three or more days) of crawling over rocks. With a manual JK, you are going to work extra hard without at least a 65:1 crawl ratio. Many people try to compensate for shallow gearing by overusing the clutch—believe us, a burnt up clutch is the last thing you want to have on the Rubicon Trail. We recommend a minimum crawl ratio of 55 for automatics and 65 for manual transmissions on JK’s. Use this handy calculator to find out your crawl ratio: 4Lo.com: http://www.4lo.com/calc/gearratio.php Regearing is an expensive and difficult job. You need a trusted and highly recommended professional with experience specifically in gear set up. Once installed, you need to give your gears a good 500-‐mile break in—several short trips that allow the vehicle to warm all the way up, then cool all the way down, without any long or hard highway driving. After 500-‐1000 miles, your tech will want to check your fluid for excessive metal, and may need to reinspect the ring and pinion for the proper wear pattern. In other words, this is also an upgrade that needs to be performed months in advance of a big trip. Bumpers While bumpers don’t make or break your ability to run the Rubicon Trail, the odds of any factory bumpers surviving the trail are slim to none. Also, if you have oversize tires, many factory bumpers impede your full articulation and steering capability. Winch? Hi-‐lift? Recovery equipment? The single most important piece of recovery equipment to bring is your brain. Please bring it with you and do as little as possible to impede its proper function while on the trip. Your guide will be prepared with an impressive arsenal of recovery and repair equipment. You are not required to bring anything on your vehicle other than the things listed above under “Vehicle Minimum Requirements”.
We look forward to sharing the trail with you!