[jtstj]

Ok, I will probably regret this but here goes, I admit it, I am a wimpy Mall Cruiser ( for all intent of the word). I just cannot bring myself to take a chance on tearing up my 15,000.00 investment off road. I do love the moderate trails and take my precious jeep on them quite frequently. However, when it comes to the serious off road adventure, I am just plain wimpy.

I do envy you guys with all of your offroad mods and kick "A" Jeeps !! There are some awesome jeeps out there.

Someday maybe I will get the nerve to mod, but for now. My daily driver serves me well and for some stupidly wierd reason, I am very happy with my Jeep being mostly Stock. I feel like a wimp, but I love Jeeps to the point of it really being an obsession. I feel in the minority on this board, cause of all the modded jeeps I see.

I was just wondering if anyone else out there shares in my wimpyness.

[Spiderman]

Glad to see you take it off road though. I doesn't matter what anyone else thinks anyways. It's your Jeep and it's very capable even at stock. I was a little nervous too about doing Mod's, but once I started I was sure glad I did.

[SirGCal]

There's no reason to feel timid about tearing up your Jeep. I tend to get more crazy than I probably should seeing as how my Jeep is also my DD.

If you want to enjoy the off-road a little more worry-free, spend the mod money on things to protect you should something not-planned occur. Get some rocker-panel protection and corner armor. A good, strong front and rear bumper and some quality gas and oil skids. Then worry about lifting and tires. This way you can more protect yourself while you learn more about your rig and still maintain a better MPG for crusing the mall and easier entry/exit. Once you get into the lifting and wheel mods, things really start to change, and if you just don't need the advantages of it, there's no reason to do it. It's alot of money and changes to do, just for looks... Stock jeeps are very capable. Given some body armor, you can get pretty wicked in them.

I wouldn't say it's a wimpyness, just overly-cautious. Which is good. I wouldn't cry if I crumpled up a fender as I could eventually just replace it, but if I snapped an axle, I sure would be in the dog-house for a while... The first thing you really need to conquer is your fear of scratches and dings... Once that's done, the rest is easy... :-)

[jkulbeth]

Brother, there are plenty of us out there that don't push our rigs to the fullest. There are plenty of us that use them as daily drivers and like moderate trails. I love mine as stock, though I might put a 2"BB and 31's when I get some more payments out of the way. But for now, I drive around with big grin because I've got a Jeep and plenty of other people wish they had one.

It's all about being happy with what you've got. Mall cruise or don't mall cruise -- makes no real difference. You, my friend, own a Jeep and that means you've got options where you want to go.

That being said, I found a nice dirt and sand filled ditch the other day with reasonably steep, grass-lined banks and took 'em with my Unlimited. Then I slogged it through a muddy rut just to try it out. Then I went to Sonic and Walmart. Mall-cruise and very mild offroading in one vehicle, plus I think it looks damn good and makes me grin.. Wimpy? Nah. Happy. Hell yeah.

[JeepinJohnny]

When I got my '04 Sport, I swapped the little tires for 31's. I sold the stock tires, so the new ones didn't end up costing too much. Then I put on a 2" BB. You can get the kit for less than $200. This is a very simple setup considering the jeeps on this forum, but it made a world of difference in the looks, and in my satisfaction. I would suggest this setup if you're looking for modest enhancements. You will be pleased!

[Optik45]

Well Crap man, I can understand not taking it to some serious trails. Wheeling does cause stress on jeeps, When you go wheeling you have to understand that you will probably need to fix something but damn Still modify the heck out of it, even if you dont offroad it, its nice to have that option down the road, especially when you buy another vehicle you will have your jeep set to be a toy. Plus a Mod'ed jeep looks better.

[Just Wade]

I am a new Jeeper as well. I have a 2003 TJ SE. It looks pretty nice right now; I am a happy man. I have done some minor off-roading with the stock GY Wranglers on Stock rims on stock suspension . . .

I am making mods to increase security since I live in such a high-vehicle-theft area. I got a four-banger SE that had a few nice options added by the original owner. This allowed me to get it cheap (well, sort of) and still have a good chunk of factory warranty.

I intend to make no real mods until the warranty runs out. It is my daily driver and needs to really be more of a street vehicle for the time being. I intend to add better tires, but not for a while yet.

When the warranty runs out I intend to start making it more off-road-worthy as I can afford it. By the time I pay it off (sigh . . . in 5 years . . . ) I will get another car and start to really play with the Jeep. In fact, in five years I intend to start regularly abusing my Jeep and fixing it in a very repetitive cycle. I also will swap the engine and tranny around that time. But not until I have used up every minute and mile of my warranty!

For now, however, it will just be a "baby Jeep" with stock suspension, wheels and tires.

I love my Jeep like no other vehicle I have ever owned.

I like the way it looks and drives stock. I would not have bought a Jeep in the first place if that were not the case.

Stock is good. At least you and I have real, honest-to-god Jeeps which are much more fun than most stock vehicles.

Dirty and dented with mods will be more fun. I am not in a big hurry to get to that point, but I will for certain!!

Wade

[BNovak]

Buy some armor for the underside and wheel it offroad. I was REALLY hesitant at first to take mine off, and at the pushing of a buddy tackled some pretty nasty shmeg with bald tires on it and no lift!

If you take it low and slow, you've got a really capable trail vehicle even stock - if you are throttle happy, you're bound to break somethin', but just think slow and steady, and let it do the work on the trails.

$300 worth of steel on the underside will give you Cahones of Brass, even on 30's.

either way, it's your jeep, and as long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters!

(mines not a Daily driver though, so i can beat on it)

Happy trails (or parking lots)

--BN

[War Eagle]

I guess I'm a mall cruiser too. The toughest stuff we have down here is probablt pretty wimpy compared to the rockcrawlers. Mud, logging roads and streambeds is about as tough as it gets. There are a few rock trails here but I'll never go on them.

[KoolAid]

My Jeep is my *only* vehicle, and I can hardly afford to gas it and insure it as it is. Mine has seen quite a few "seasonal roads" in the U.P. of Michigan while I was in college, but nothing hardcore. Besides - I like the look of a stock Jeep. I'm with you, jtstj

[JJOHNSTON]

I feel your pain brother, It is my daily driver and only car. The payments were killing and I could not afford to do anything besides put gas in it. Would never think of taking it on some serious trails for fear of breaking something that I could not afford to fix. It is a great vehicle as stock and nothing to be ashamed of especially on this site. The people here are the greatest and alway lend a helping hand with the seemingly sillyist questions. I had no desire to do any major mods until I almost got it paid off and now I can't wait to put some bigger tires and a 2" BB for starts on it. I still don't plan on doing any major off roading but am looking forward to doing some mods myself.
By the way I just paid her off on Wednesday and YES that the a $hitty grim on my face. It is such a great feeling

[GoTopless]

i think i just wheel the hell outta mine out of stupidity

[JJOHNSTON]

Originally Posted by GoTopless

i think i just wheel the hell outta mine out of stupidity

Do you drive it bound with duct tape?????

[GoTopless]

Originally Posted by JJOHNSTON

Do you drive it bound with duct tape?????

that would be a good idea! hehe duct tape fixes anything!

[JeepsterWC04]

I understand completely! I'm the same...

The best thing about the Jeep community is, it doesn't seem to matter at all what state your Jeep is in, or how many mods are on it, just owning one mean's you're in!!