Htchevyii

Well we rolled out of camp at 6:00 AM today and checked into a vintage motel in Winnemucca NV at 6:30 PM. Of the 12-1/2 hours we probably spent around eight on the road and the rest hiking, exploring and having a Basque lunch at a legendary restaurant. We were going to try to camp at the Jumbo Mine, but 40-50 MPH winds convinced us otherwise. The road to it had a lot of elevation gain and switch backs, but the Comanche chugged right along. We also visited the Eureka Mine up a somewhat rough and washed out road. I believe that we traveled at least 150 miles on dirt roads today with speeds ranging from 5 MPH to 55 MPH, depending on conditions, most were on the faster side. There is a 100 degree or so heat wave coming and we've got to get to higher elevation before we die. We've done it before and the black MJ with no AC absolutely sucks. Despite my best attempt at heat insulating the floor, firewall and tunnel, radiant heat just keeps building to an intolerable level. A few pics from the day.

A few pieces of military equipment.

Dixie Valley NV is a weird spot. In 1995, the Navy basically forced homesteaders and ranchers to sell them their land so the area could be used for jet fighter training. Supposedly they flew dozens of subsonic low flights every day, blowing out windows and wearing the people down so they would sell. Many buildings were leveled, but some remain. There is old military equipment scattered over the area, both US and foreign as part of the training. Since it's all electronic with no live fire, the public is allowed in the area. It's weird, cool and creepy all at the same time. It kind of a shame as it's a beautiful place with spring water everywhere, surrounded by dry desert. We will have an upcoming video with more details, but here's a few pics from today.

Oh, a combination of ways. YouTube, the Adventure Taco, 4x4 and ghost town books as well as Google satellite and Gaia GPS. It usually takes something to get the idea started though such as a video, blog post or picture. Most people are pretty secretive of their favorite spots and will only give vague areas, so that's when the detective work begins. Even if we know of a cool spot, we then start researching the area to find more things worth seeing.

We headed out from our home in Northern CA yesterday in the '88 MJ. Our 8 hour trip turned into 9-1/2 after a quick lunch, fuel stops and road construction. We treated ourselves to a rustic cabin, burger and cocktail at the historic Middlegate Station. Today we headed to Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park for some fossilized dinosaurs and the Berlin Ghost town.Then a 50 mile dirt road to more abandoned mines and homesteads. 650 miles so far. We are camping at an abandoned mine tonight. 9 more days of exploration to go!

That one was in his driveway in June of 23.

I think that it could be a great choice for someone who drives around with a tent on their vehicle all of the time on their daily driver or a more aerodynamic vehicle. I am happy with lower profile, that combined with the light weight should have a minimal impact on center of gravity. For our uses, (not daily driven, the aerodynamics of a brick and limited storage capacity), I think that there may be better options. I think that for us, a little taller profile that allowed more bedding storage would be worth the tradeoff. I don't like having to pack up bedding every day and finding clean and dry storage in a regular cab truck packed with 2 weeks worth of supplies isn't ideal. I did order another deflater to try, (the more that foam/air mattress is deflated, the more room inside and the easier it is to close.) Right now, we have one sleeping bag and one down comforter and it barely closes.

Make sure to use the special tool or balancer to correctly center the timing cover before torqueing it down.

We finally received our Carbon Fiber composite tent from Inspired Overland that we pre-ordered several months ago. It definitely should decrease wind resistance and lower COG. It's 4.75" closed and 80 LBS. I'll post a YouTube link if you'd like to see more.

Terrible news. He was such an asset to the community and always willing try and help you .

Looks like it is in the 2nd pic.

It sounds like the solenoid that is supposed to push the drive gear against the flywheel may not be engaging? I take it that you can hear it spin, but it's not cranking the engine? It looks like all 4.0 Comanches and even Cherokees up to 1998 take the same starter. Maybe see if the parts store can bench test or better yet just warranty it. Hello from Humboldt!

Apparently 4 Wheel Parts Wholesalers was bought out and has some items 75% off. I bought some Pro Comp Pro Runner shocks for the XJ for $25.00 EA, regular price was $100. Their website kinda sucks though, I had to pay close attention to get the correct lengths. I'm running Fox Adventure series on the MJ, it gets better stuff.

I used a TJ one. I had to drill new mounting holes. https://www.amazon.com/One-New-Shift-Boot-52078970AC/dp/B01BX3GGBO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uMP4Plx4eFsYCnepFqKhNm_-zbZh9jTsXup97R9DDZaF8SQO-PqD1CBt-WG1nAl15lSLggX47zRNTGhSX3ZW3V0FOppmI1cBx-oEW0mcCIrLzUiePrb0M_q3zOdy-3xq5mfl6KidBC7iGTIzmMR6-HInbUqvESPdLu7Gx1cwtcfE3Xv22eXtHiQ0pORCNtVJ3xpfpGLkQuJ4J4OlbFI4ng._CiYQX7kCJkABLzR-2lVuQvsZC6dDYW9x5ZCmG0byrg&dib_tag=se&keywords=52078970AC&qid=1714103417&sr=8-1

I was fighting mine for a ridiculous amount of time. I swapped the metal/plastic clips for all plastic ones and it went easier.

The included line was plenty long. Good luck with your swap!

The old peeling paint and the full color change made for lots of extra work! @89 MJthe graphics were definitely inspired by the Comanche X.

Some of you may be familiar with our '89 XJ. It is the Jeep that our friends gave us when they were moving out of state. It hadn't ran in 10 years and we did a bunch of work and showed up at their house in it, several hundred miles from home. We chronicled our adventures on NV HWY 50 and the Extraterrestrial HWY on our YouTube channel. Well, the Jeep was just too ugly. Over the last few months, it got stripped apart, body and paint were redone, all weatherstripping replaced, the headliner was recovered and som 80's inspired graphics were installed. I sprayed the new replacement flares and rockers with thinned Raptor Liner sprayed through a HVLP gun. I'm pretty happy with the finish, it just looks like matte black, but is much more durable.

Oh, that's a good one! That's pretty much the only way that I get a big project done.

I think that we've all been there. Being a daily certainly complicates larger projects, but also prevents you from leaving it torn apart for long periods of time when you lose interest. Sometimes, I need to take a brake. Other times, going to a car show re-motivates me. Doing a bite sized project at a time definitely an make it less overwhelming. Sometimes splurging for that trick part that I've been wanting helps as well.

Sweet Comanche, congrats!