Well, not exactly dirt road, but at least fun trail therapy! After spending Saturday installing the Engo 12000s winch, and receiving the majority of my new recovery gear, Sunday was a day to play. Arriving at the meeting point at 10a, myself and our buddies at 4 Wheels and a Motor headed off to the Windfield Offroad Club for a easy going day of trails and conversation. The 4WAAM Jeep had a variety of upgrades since the last trip, as well as a new passenger, a dog. Time to test it all out!
Arriving at Windfield, we hopped out and chatted up our hosts. In particular, we spent significant time oogling the current project, a HEAVILY modified Jeep YJ with a 4BT diesel swap. More to come on that later. Once the proper amount of chatting, comparing of rigs, and talking about equipment was complete, the group consisting of my FZJ80, a Land Rover something something (insert chuckle here), and a Jeep JKU headed out to hit the trails.
As I said before, the 4WAAM Jeep had some substantial upgrades since the last trail run and it was time to give them a trail test and work the kinks out. The upgrades can be read about here, along with a slew of other interesting and informative articles. Let me not forget the new passenger, a dog, I don’t even know the dogs name. To hint at where this is heading, let’s just call the dog “Pukie”. 10 minutes into the trails, I see a big red Jeep pulling over and some fairly substantial activity taking place focused on the back seat. Turns out dog + food + water + trails = cleanup. Lol. I have been there myself, Jeep got cleaned, off again. Unfortunately not 20 minutes later there was another incident, and the day was called. As they cleaned up the Jeep and headed home, the survivors headed back on to the trails for some mild mayhem.
The trails at Windfield are nothing incredibly destructive, or in many cases challenging, but I have used my winch more there than all my previous years offroading combined. Thankfully, I have never had to pull myself out, today was no exception. As I followed the Land Rover around, we hit all the major obstacles. Most take the form of very slippery hills with challenging entrances and exits. There is some off camber stuff, but nothing too scary. Good lines are key, and in many cases proper throttle application is the difference between success and pulling a line. Surprisingly, neither of us got stuck, although there were some challenging areas. It still amazes me how effective simply sawing the wheel back and forth is when you have lost momentum in muddy ruts. Never underestimate that tactic! Having run most of the property, we decided to call it a day and head back to the main lot.
Now, to get back to this diesel YJ. When we got back to the garage area, I was offered the chance to drive the YJ. While unfinished, it was driveable, and I felt like a little kid. Having not driven a stick since I sold my TJ in 2013, rusty would be a kind word for my clutch work. In my defense, this rig has a clutch like something you would find in a dump truck so athe lack of finesse may not be entirely my fault! Long story short, after a trip up and down the driveway, I was impressed. What a fun rig it is going to be when complete, and I know they have put a ton of work into it. That work has clearly paid off!
After a cursory wash off of the larger mud chunks, down the road I went. Another good day on the trails with some great folks. Thanks to my peeps at Windfield for being the gracious hosts they are. See you again soon!
Not many pics on this trip but here are a couple to enjoy.
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