It really was all that Cindy and I could do to not get out, hit the trails and test out the new Ohlins shocks that we installed on our Jeep 392. Fortunately, we were finally able to make some time, planned a route across Nevada and the following are some of the pics that we took from our trip.
For better or for worse, this trip turned into a last minute kind of thing but then, so many of our trips are like that. Needless to say, we got a late start but made sure to ditch the pavement the first chance we got.
Being monsoon season, the winds picked up, the skies darkened up and you really could smell rain in the air. So, we decided to hop back on the highway and make our way to one of our favorite saloons.
Here we are, Middlegate Station!
It'd been too long since we've last imbibed at this fine establishment - CHEERS!!
By the time we hit the road again, the wind was howling and the rain was pouring down down all the way to our home for the night.
We started out the following morning by getting in an early morning hike.
We also tried catching up on the local news.
Epic views from the top.
Back on the trail, we continued to make our way further to the east and enjoy all beauty that Northern Nevada has to offer.
And... that's when this happened.
Fortunately, we weren't too far from a main road but still very far from anything or anyone.
And... that's about when I started to realize that I literally packed nothing for this trip. Being so used to driving our 392 stock and thinking we'd just be exploring easy trails, I didn't pack a tire plug kit (not that it would have helped), I didn't pack a bottle jack (never needed it stock), didn't pack my inReach satellite communicator and only had the most basic of my tools and really, just by chance. It literally was the most rookie thing I've done in a very long time. Of course, to make matters worse...
Obviously, we had our factory scissor jack to work with but from very real and personal experience, I have found them to be dangerous to use on a lifted Jeep running 37" tires or bigger. The problem with them is, you have crank them up really really high to get your tire off the ground and this makes them very unstable. ANY shifting of the Jeep WILL cause them to buckle and collapse and that's the reality I was struggling with here.
Making the decision to carefully go higher... listen to the jack creak... hope that it'll hold.
Fortunately, I got real lucky and was able to get the tire high enough to remove. I got even luckier in that I had a torx bit to remove the stupid plastic spare tire lock as for some reason, our 392 didn't come with a tool kit LOL. Here's me getting the spare installed.
With the spare mounted on the tailgate, we decided that it would be better to just head for home as doing anymore real testing would be pushing our luck.
Needless to say, I hope you can be patient and understanding for our delay in getting a proper test and review of the Ohlins shocks we installed. I can tell you that we do have a new tire on order and hope to get back at it as soon as we can.
And, if there's a lesson to be learned here - ME SPECIFICALLY REMINDING MYSELF HERE, you may not always get so lucky and it pays to always go prepared. Period.
For better or for worse, this trip turned into a last minute kind of thing but then, so many of our trips are like that. Needless to say, we got a late start but made sure to ditch the pavement the first chance we got.
Being monsoon season, the winds picked up, the skies darkened up and you really could smell rain in the air. So, we decided to hop back on the highway and make our way to one of our favorite saloons.
Here we are, Middlegate Station!
It'd been too long since we've last imbibed at this fine establishment - CHEERS!!
By the time we hit the road again, the wind was howling and the rain was pouring down down all the way to our home for the night.
We started out the following morning by getting in an early morning hike.
We also tried catching up on the local news.
Epic views from the top.
Back on the trail, we continued to make our way further to the east and enjoy all beauty that Northern Nevada has to offer.
And... that's when this happened.
Fortunately, we weren't too far from a main road but still very far from anything or anyone.
And... that's about when I started to realize that I literally packed nothing for this trip. Being so used to driving our 392 stock and thinking we'd just be exploring easy trails, I didn't pack a tire plug kit (not that it would have helped), I didn't pack a bottle jack (never needed it stock), didn't pack my inReach satellite communicator and only had the most basic of my tools and really, just by chance. It literally was the most rookie thing I've done in a very long time. Of course, to make matters worse...
Obviously, we had our factory scissor jack to work with but from very real and personal experience, I have found them to be dangerous to use on a lifted Jeep running 37" tires or bigger. The problem with them is, you have crank them up really really high to get your tire off the ground and this makes them very unstable. ANY shifting of the Jeep WILL cause them to buckle and collapse and that's the reality I was struggling with here.
Making the decision to carefully go higher... listen to the jack creak... hope that it'll hold.
Fortunately, I got real lucky and was able to get the tire high enough to remove. I got even luckier in that I had a torx bit to remove the stupid plastic spare tire lock as for some reason, our 392 didn't come with a tool kit LOL. Here's me getting the spare installed.
With the spare mounted on the tailgate, we decided that it would be better to just head for home as doing anymore real testing would be pushing our luck.
Needless to say, I hope you can be patient and understanding for our delay in getting a proper test and review of the Ohlins shocks we installed. I can tell you that we do have a new tire on order and hope to get back at it as soon as we can.
And, if there's a lesson to be learned here - ME SPECIFICALLY REMINDING MYSELF HERE, you may not always get so lucky and it pays to always go prepared. Period.
