Monday, October 30, 2017

Women's Wheeling Day 2017


Jeep Momma Off Road at Rausch Creek Women's Wheeling Day at Rausch Creek Off Road Park is one of my favorite wheeling events of the year. (Okay, all the wheeling events are my favorite.) This year was my 4th year with over 200 ladies wheeling. 



The first event was in 2013 in which only eight women wheeled. Word spread and this event grew immensely since that first event.  





I came up early on Friday to help stuff the swag bags. There were Enjoy Life ~JeepMomma bracelets along with purple Jeep Talk Show koozie's, among some other vendor goodies.








Then it was off to the meet and greet at O'Neal's Pub. It was fun to meet up with some old wheeling friends, and meet some new ones too.
     




Jeep Momma wheeling at Women's Wheeling Day at Rausch Creek

Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn to help out the organizers of the event, Christie with OK4WD, and Susan with Jeep Girls Rock! What a smoothly run event! 

I was matched up with Mandy again this year. She was the Trail Guide for our group, and I was the tail gunner. We had such a great time last year we decided to team up again this year! 


NORA 4 x 4 Recovery Class at Rausch Creek
Our group of 5 Jeeps started the day out a little different than most of the other ladies. We were part of an advanced winching and hi-lift class. The class was presented by NORA4x4, an off-road driving school in New York. 



NORA 4 x 4 Recovery Class I haven't had much training in off-road recovery, so this was a great bonus for me. Jon our instructor was awesome at explaining and teaching the ins and outs of vehicle recovery. He also shared some cool tips!  

I definitely will be taking more of these types of classes in the future. Vehicle recovery is such an important part of off-roading.    




Once our hour class was complete it was time to hit the trails. Our group of Jeeps had a wide range of drivers. There was the little Red Jeep that could. A stock Jeep hitting the blue trails for the first time! 


Then there was the Silver Jeep driven by JoMarie. How cool to be wheeling with JoMarie. She was a competitor in the Gazelle Rally 2014. A off-road navigation race in Morocco. 

JoMarie is also a photojournalist and blogger ~ USNomads.org  She is a great photographer and I was lucky to get some pictures of me on the rocks. 







Then there was my partner in crime, Amanda. I met Amanda, a fellow Jeep mom, online several years ago. We have met up a couple of times to wheel. She is usually my co-pilot when we are on the trails. We have the most amazing time. 





Jeep Moms Off Road at Rausch Creek

Jeep Moms Off Road at Rausch Creek

After a day on the trails it was off to the pavilion for pizza and salad provided by OK4WD,  plus a very generous raffle. There were a lot of donated prizes from many awesome vendors. 

I was one of the first winners, something that is pretty rare for me. So I was pretty excited when I won a gift certificate from Northridge 4 x 4. I ended up buying myself a Bartact Fire Extinguisher Mount for my Jeep.

It was an awesome event!  I am looking forward to next year's event. The women are absolutely amazing. I have never been a part of a group of women who are so supporting, uplifting and encouraging. Leaving this event leaves many women feeling empowered! I can't express how much I love the Jeep Community. 

                    #JeepGirlsRock!  

  

Monday, October 16, 2017

The Jeep Smile - Axle Problems

Factory Axle Tube Issues


Front End Alignment Importance 

After I upgraded my steering components I took my Jeep to get an alignment. Steer Smarts recommends a professional front end alignment, which I did. 

A front end alignment is important to the life of your tires. It ensures that all four tires are consistent with each other to optimize maximum contact with the surface of the road. It will also prevent uneven wear on your tires. 




Possible Future Problems

After my alignment was complete, I was given a print out for my records. It shows your before and after.  My Jeep was hooked up to the alignment machine which measures the camber, caster, and toe. The caster came out in the green. However, the Camber and Toe were in the red. 



The shop realigned the toe. The camber can't be adjusted unless I get new axle parts. It was off by less than a degree. Which is okay for now, but down the road I most likely will have to make some upgrades to my axle. 

Diagnosis 

Most likely the axle housing is bent or the inner C’s are bent. Maybe from my bigger tires. Maybe from the wheeling I do. I am told it could be because of the thin axle tubes on the Wranglers. This is also known as the Jeep Smile. My Rubicon's smile isn't that "smiley" yet. 

The number in the red is only off slightly. I will just need to keep my eye on it. The great mechanics at Adrenaline Off-Road showed me what to look for. Grease leaking, and the spots where I  would see it. Just another thing I learned about my Rubicon! The knowledge just keeps growing. 

It's a Jeep Thing

More Than Just a Phrase In the automotive culture, certain phrases and slogans become emblematic of an entire community. Among them, "I...