Original Bigfoot
New Member
Howdy from Farmington, New Mexico. I've been 4x4's since the 1980's. My first 4x4 was a 1967 Jeep Wagoneer. Since then, I've owned a 1977 Jeep CJ7, and several 1960's models International Scouts.
Currently, my wife and I own a 1966 Jeep Wagoneer, a 1969 Jeep Wagoneer, a 2000 Jeep Wrangler (bought new), and 2002 Jeep Liberty (Bought used, but still with factory warranty when we got it).
We use our 4x4's pretty hard. Vacationing means the Death Valley area, backcountry Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, or Colorado. We own a backcountry cabin that requires 4x4 to reach for a good part of the year. So off-roading is not really recreation, it's a way of life. I'm used to trail "fixes", having had to go to such extremes as using my winch cable to hold my front axle in place (and then driving over 500 miles to get home to do some welding), removed busted front axleshafts in order to get home in 2 wheel drive, rebuilt carbs on picnic tables in desert campgrounds, etc. etc. We keep a high lift jack, tow straps, and other gear, in the vehicles at all times. Not to mention military MRE's so we don't get hungry if we get stuck and can't get out for a while. Both the Wrangler and Liberty are outfitted with winches and external cargo racks, oversized off-road tires, skid plated out, and the Liberty has rock rails to protect all that low hanging bodywork.
I'll be honest and say the Liberty has been a source of frustration, because ours at least did not appear to be built for heavy off-pavement use. It's never stranded us with a complete breakdown, but plenty of nit-picky stuff has gone wrong that keeps me busy with expensive repairs...from the falling down window glass, to the front-driveshaft exploding, to sensors and such going bad all the time, I hope to be able to replace the stuff with better solutions so it can become as reliable and durable as my Wrangler has been. In short, my wife loves it, but she doesn't have to fix it!
Currently, my wife and I own a 1966 Jeep Wagoneer, a 1969 Jeep Wagoneer, a 2000 Jeep Wrangler (bought new), and 2002 Jeep Liberty (Bought used, but still with factory warranty when we got it).
We use our 4x4's pretty hard. Vacationing means the Death Valley area, backcountry Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, or Colorado. We own a backcountry cabin that requires 4x4 to reach for a good part of the year. So off-roading is not really recreation, it's a way of life. I'm used to trail "fixes", having had to go to such extremes as using my winch cable to hold my front axle in place (and then driving over 500 miles to get home to do some welding), removed busted front axleshafts in order to get home in 2 wheel drive, rebuilt carbs on picnic tables in desert campgrounds, etc. etc. We keep a high lift jack, tow straps, and other gear, in the vehicles at all times. Not to mention military MRE's so we don't get hungry if we get stuck and can't get out for a while. Both the Wrangler and Liberty are outfitted with winches and external cargo racks, oversized off-road tires, skid plated out, and the Liberty has rock rails to protect all that low hanging bodywork.
I'll be honest and say the Liberty has been a source of frustration, because ours at least did not appear to be built for heavy off-pavement use. It's never stranded us with a complete breakdown, but plenty of nit-picky stuff has gone wrong that keeps me busy with expensive repairs...from the falling down window glass, to the front-driveshaft exploding, to sensors and such going bad all the time, I hope to be able to replace the stuff with better solutions so it can become as reliable and durable as my Wrangler has been. In short, my wife loves it, but she doesn't have to fix it!
