December 2023 - The YouTube Comanche

[89 MJ]

December 2023 - The Comanche on YouTube

Owned by @Htchevyii

 

Owners: Trey & Heather, Northern CA

 

Year/Model: 1988 Jeep Comanche

 

Drivetrain: 4.0, AX15 SWAPPED, NP231 (SYE & Adam's driveshaft), DANA30 (Spartan locker and Warn hub kit), FORD 8.8 (Trac-Lok)

 

Cooling: 91+ radiator swap, GMB high flow water pump, JK hood louvers, (Rugged Ridge)

 

Suspension/Steering: Poison Spyder/ ZJ steering, Core 4x4 track bar and control arms, Rocky Road Outfitters drop brackets, 4.5" Rubicon Express coils with a 1" spacer, FOX 2.0 Adventure shocks. Spring over with an AAL in the rear. C-Rok steering box reinforcement, Amazon steering box brace with sector shaft support, Vital All-Terrain Durango type steering box.

 

Brakes: Stock front, Ford Explorer rear

 

Exterior: SEM bedliner, Napier Flares, customized ladder rack, custom rear bumper, Body Armor 4X4 tire carrier (don't recommend)

 

Wheels & Tires: Milestar Patagonia 33x12.50r15 on steel 15x8 wheels

 

    I first saw this particular truck when I was 13. I remember reading about Comanches in Peterson's and thought that they were awesome. My dad's friend who was a younger guy and a  logger showed up one day with it, brand new.  About four years later there was an ad in the paper for a Comanche and my dad and I went to look at it. It turned out to be his friend's truck and he bought it. It had been pretty well used at this point and my dad continued to use it as a logging rig for a few more years. I never missed a chance to borrow it and go hot rod it when I got a chance.

 

    Fast forward a few years and I had a job logging and needed a truck. My dad bought a new F-150 and I bought the Comanche from him. After my logging job was done, the Comanche continued to be my daily driver until the end of 2005 when I bought a new truck. Heather even Drove it for a few years while I drove our 1969 Chevy Nova. In fact, I proposed to her on it's tailgate on the beach.  During most of this time it had a Rancho 3" lift and BFG 31's. The Comanche went back to my dad for the next 7 years, until it was worn out enough, (over 250,000 hard miles) that he was ready to get rid of it.  Of course, I wanted it back.

 

   It sat around neglected for a few years while I worked on other projects. The turning point was COVID and the Gambler 500. We now had much more time on our hands and decided to participate in the Oregon Gambler. Instead of spending money buying some old beater, we decided to put the time and effort into the Comanche. Wow, did it snowball from there! We bought a used roof top tent on Marketplace and we had a new favorite hobby, exploring remote places and camping in the MJ! Now the MJ needed a thorough refresh if we were going to take it on trips thousands of miles from home and Heather was 100% behind whatever time and money that required!  I tried to replace every coolant, fuel and brake hose on the MJ as well as any other part that I felt might fail due to age and leave us stranded.

 

  Fast forward a few years and the MJ has taken us on an epic 3000 mile trip to Mojave, Death Valley, Route 66, Valley of Fire, ETC, a 2000 mile Death Valley trip and too many 1000ish mile trips to count. We now spend our vacations on driving adventures and a little over a year ago, Heather decided that she wanted to capture them for YouTube. That has brought another expensive and time consuming hobby into the equation, but she really enjoys doing it and we have met quite a few new friends because of it. Camera equipment is expensive and we had to replace everything after the dip in the lake a few years ago, (Heather still hasn't fully gotten over that). Sorry for the long post,  lots of things happen in 32 years! I'll try to attach a walk around and a few other videos if you'd like to see more.

 

 

 

 

It can't be the YouTube Comanche without some videos!

 

Check out the walk around video:

 

Some exploration in Northern California:

 

 

And some Eastern Oregon Overlanding videos:

 

 

 

Congratulations Trey and Heather on MJOTM and their recent accomplishment of 1,000 YouTube subscribers! If you've already seen those videos, here is a link to their YouTube channel for more. I can confirm, their videos are fun to watch and make me want to take my Comanche on more adventures. If you like their videos, remember to subscribe.

https://www.youtube.com/@campoutwestus

[fiatslug87]

Congrats! Love what you two do.

[Htchevyii]

Thanks guys!

[Drahcir495]

Well deserved. Congratulations on MJOTM 

[Pete M]

truly built for adventure   

[pizzaman09]

I'm genuinely impressed you started with such a worked over and highly used Comanche.  Nicely done!  Good luck with expanding the YouTube channel!

[Htchevyii]

1 hour ago, pizzaman09 said:

I'm genuinely impressed you started with such a worked over and highly used Comanche.  Nicely done!  Good luck with expanding the YouTube channel!

Thanks! I don't know who was harder on it, the two loggers or twenty something year old me. Never mind, it was definitely me! I remember the time I banged it into second and sheared all of the teeth off of second gear and the mainshaft. That was it for the Peugeot. I got to figure out how to do the ax15 swap in the driveway.

[erandel]

Congrats, man! Nice vids

[NHMJXJ]

Certainly a stand out!  Congrats! 

[Salvagedcircuit]

Well deserved! That truck has certainly been places!

[WranglerMangler]

Congratulations. An extremely worthy candidate. Love your guy’s videos. 

[NorthwestMJ]

Love the channel! Love the truck!

[Htchevyii]

Thanks everyone! Happy Holidays!