Pete M

oh, and Joshua tree nat park is right by 29 palms! I haven't been to that one yet, but my dad did on a business trip once and said it was cool.

oooo! I forgot about meteor crater! that's an awesome quickie stop too! take regular breaks every couple hours for fuel/food/pee and take a 5 minute "nap" in your seat where you set your head back, close your eyes and calm your brain. taking breaks reduces the fatigue that sets in. can't help you with sleepiness though other than always keep in mind that making it a few more miles down the road isn't worth the lives of your family. most walmarts/rest areas allow you to overnight as long as you're not setting up camp or anything.

yup, that risk is always hiding on the other side of the equation. that's why I'd like to see them take the small detour to see the grand cherokee, I mean canyon. it's totally worth 2 extra hours of driving on a perfectly flat road in arizona, even if it's just for a lunch break and some pictures.

I'm not disagreeing with you on that. But I'm pretty sure the big rocks will still be there for their next trip.

oh, I absolutely agree with Sam about you needing to take a trip to colorado/utah, but given the particular month in which you're driving ... I personally wouldn't risk it. way too much on the line sitting next to you.

it doesn't have to be a whole day. the best hour of time on the rim is your first one. just leave after that. (admittedly there is a TON of activities there, but I doubt your girl is up for much hiking. how pregnant is she?)

out of the way?! one of the prettiest sights you'll ever see is only an hour off of I-40. that's less drive time than going to IKEA from here and my folks seem to do that every few months (and it's not nearly as pretty).

did the previous owner shorten up the rear of the bed? and then change his mind and draw a new line to fit that cap?

fixed it for ya. man, as much as I'd like to suggest the route through colorado (epic mountain views!), the highway passes in February can be... challenging. like towchains-legally-required type of challenging if the weather turns south. if you haven't seen the grand canyon, I'd highly suggest it.

the first thing I would do is determine what year the axle is (via a part number or counting the splines on the axle shafts). if it's an early 27 spline axle, I'd just go find a better axle and invest my money into something that will last. You're going to need welding done anyways, so I would skip on buying short shocks and just get shock mounts welded to the proper location at the same time as your perches. what are the overall plans for the truck?

whoops, forgot to add the pic of what happens to the bushings when owners forces the leafs to the XJ perches.

based on the fact that the stock XJ shock mounts are still lingering around, I'd wager that they didn't bother to move the leaf perches over to the MJ locations and your leafs are being twisted in their bushings. the axle might be perfectly good (97+ 8.25 is a desirable axle, earlier ones are less so), but you'll need the perches relocated and to pop open the cover and see what they did to weld it up. also, that little deely hanging down to the left of the rear diff is your brake proportioning valve. if it's still plumbed in, you'll want to secure the swing arm about level with the ground pointed towards the passenger side. normally it has a rod that attaches to the diff cover to adjust automatically for various weights in the bed.

I think you'll be living like a king with either choice. have you guys stood in them yet? sometimes actually being there can make all the difference as to which feels right. 1165: 1200:

are you set on that particular manufacturer of truck camper? Lance has some decent floorplans.

I wonder what the tow rating is? I mean, do any of us really need "houses"?

done.

not sure anyone would know that particular thing off the top of their head. been surprised before though (I know I'd have to look it up) but I do know that the metal one is superior.

the proper technique is to throw it away and install a later model metal one.

just a weeeee bit envious here

as with all other car purchases, I highly suggest buying from a salt-free state. also, the allwheeldrive option is very nice to have.

in regards to the engine, ours has been relatively uneventful 11 years of service. we changed the timing belt (did the water pump at the same time because it's way up in there anyways), upgraded the boost hoses, upgraded the fuel filter head and that's about it. a nagging issue is that it doesn't seem to heat up to where it should be (and the thermostat is a bit buried) so eventually i plan to add an inline on in the radiator hose. of course other more common KJ issues have popped up like the rear windows and ABS failing. ours is an 06 so we avoided the transmission converter issues common in the 05 CRDs back in the day (I imagine they've all been upgraded by now). other people have had some epic failures, but I don't know what brought those on. I know if you lapse on changing the timing belt it does very bad things if it breaks. while the engine doesn't share much with the v6, the crd was common over in europe so it's not like parts are impossible to find. a quick search the other day showed me that you can get your own rust free one for 4-5 grand near denver (I was actually looking for a 2dr XJ but figured I'd search for other things too while craigslist was on the 'puter). it makes an awesome sound as it goes. we love our little tractor. more CRD info: http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=5

yeah, the 2drs are awesome I'm still trying to find a clean obd2 2dr for my uncle's project. every one near enough to check out in person is either too rusty, too much money, too much of a project or all of the above.

epic!

yup, 3 wires go to the bulb. power for the hazards/brakes/turns is one wire, power for the running lights is the 2nd wire, and they share a ground.

what do you mean by "2 live wires into the same circuit"?