Beginnings..... How'd you come to the NWC?

[AwesomeXJ]

So,
Recent events have created a curiosity that I want to try out.

I'm asking you all How did you come to become members of and by extension the NWC?

How'd you get started, what attracted you to , why did you keep coming back?

Please be candid.... Its kind of important.


I'll go:

I used the tech forums for troubleshooting issues with my 89. One day I got an alignment and they said the front axle tube was bent. So I posted 2 help posts 1 on CF and 1 on in the NWC. Out of maybe 6 people that said they'd show up Dave (glue-n-tape) was all to show up. Having never met me before he drove to Vancouver from Beaverton to help me swap my axle over to a non disco axle. and drink beer and eat pizza. He showed me a lot of how to get stuff done on the xj. At the end of the day he hooked me up with some shafts on the cheap and told me about a meet n greet. I showed up at the M&G with Beth and we were welcomed into the group and made to feel very welcome. Everyone was friendly so I started becoming active on the forum and started going on runs. I owe it all to the NWC having members that went out of their way for me and made me feel welcome.

 

[Mnkyboy]

I have been on Comanche club for several years, its a great site but with the rarity of MJs its lacking on the local level.

Through Comanche club I met Darren and learned of the NW chapter so I thought I would check it out.
My first event was the first "Don't fear the Jeeper" show. Darren must have recognized my MJ as I came in and came over to interduce himself, he then interduced me to Dustin who was the current chapter president then to some of the other members.

Everyone I met that day was awesome,I knew the NWC was something I wanted to be a part of so I kept attending the meet and greets and other functions.

 

[crazymoose1990]

I will respond as long as this isn't some kind of witch hunt.

I was working for Atlas Auto Glass for a few years, everyone there rode motorcycles. Dirt and street. I was getting more away from the bike thing and more into quads..

I knew I would need a truck to haul a quad in so naturally I looked for a Yota. I was living in the San Francisco bay area at the time. I don't know if it was geography or people really think Toyotas are worth gold, I searched for several months but no go. Everyone wanted 4,500-5000 thousand for an 89-95 Toyota with a billion miles.

So I bought an XJ and knew a guy down the street from me that worked at California Security his name was Ed (Himmred) and he introduced me to Naxja. I started in the Sierra chapter and switched when I moved up north.

I like the layout of , I like that we have M&G's and there are regular runs, which I would like to start doing more of if funding allows.

I hope we can all be a chapter of fellow 4wheelers again. And everything thats involves.

 

[NW99XJ]

I have been a Jeep enthusiast all my life. My grandfather owned a Jeep/Chrysler dealership when I was young, and used to have a Waggy, (back when they were new) .... My first memory of driving any vehicle was sitting on his lap steering that Wagoneer down the road. I have been involved with the offroad community for many years, and after I bought my Cherokee, I discovered through this random guy I met at the Beaverton Napa Auto Parts counter as I was picking up some parts (cant remember what now...)
He apparently heard me referring to my 99 Cherokee when I was asking for the parts from the clerk. He introduced himself, and mentioned he was building up an XJ too.....told me about this XJ specific site, and to look him up. We talked Jeep for a while, and parted ways.... That site was and that guy was Jason (Crazymoose).... Like most Jeep communities, XJ owners are a bit of a brotherhood. Most of us will go out of our way to help a fellow Jeeper in need. I have been helped by several members here at times when I was at my wits end, and needed a ride, or a midnight session of U-joint pressing.... If it wasn't for the fellowship and comradery that this site has shown, I may have not stuck around. I chose THIS particular chapter because I was born and raised in the NW.... I live here , work here, and play here...... wouldn't make a lick of sense to be a member of another chapter. Our little family here can be dysfunctional at times, but we are still a family, (for the most part) ....I know that if it came down to it, there are several members I can count on without a doubt to help me out if I was in need. I have reciprocated this on many occasions, and will continue to do so. To me, that's just part of being a Jeeper. It's a Jeep thing, and that why we do the "Jeep wave" in traffic..... we're all family, and I like being apart of something bigger than just a "Club."

 

[kastein]

I'm not even from the NWC, but...

I bought a 96 XJ as my first daily driver in fall 08 right after getting my first job out of college. I was looking for a fullsize Bronco, a K5 Blazer, or a Wrangler. Oh, how things would be different... :laugh2:

It was a giant POS and I was the sucker who bought it. I shouldn't have paid that much for it, if I'd realized how many things were broken, I wouldn't have. But I did, and it proceeded to teach me all sorts of repairs I never pictured myself learning when I bought a running, driving vehicle.

One day I looked under it and realized that the pinion seal on my front axle was leaking diff lube. Except I didn't know it was called a pinion seal, didn't know it was a dana 30 front axle, didn't know what the driveshaft was called... so I stumbled around on google completely blind for a few hours. Eventually I figured out that it was the front differential, and that the pinion yoke seal was leaking, and started googling for how to replace it. I found the FAQ section on here but the darn forum wouldn't let me download the PDF without registering and signing in, so I did. Then started helping others in the tech forums with what little I knew, mostly generic things that people ask but are applicable to any vehicle.

Went to a M&G at the then-president of 's (lobsterdmb) house and someone suggested I "go red". I had no idea what they were talking about, but decided to become a paying member a few days later after I figured it out.

It's been a long road to this point and now I have a crapcan XJ, two crapcan MJs, and two halves and one quarter MJ sitting in the yard, making my neighbors hate me, and far too many posts in the tech forums. Worth it.

Oh, and I never did replace that darn d30 pinion seal, either. That axle went to the scrapyard with that seal still in it, and the XJ went to the junkyard with the seal that came in the replacement axle (also leaky) still in it. I installed my first d30 pinion seal about two months ago and it wasn't even on any of my rigs. Mine all still leak.

As for what brought me to the NWC, some may find this hard to believe but I read probably 10-20 times as much as I post here.

 

[RedJeep2.0]

I went wheeling once with some Toyota guys, and then with some jeep guys.
I ended up getting a jeep. And wheeling with NAJXA members (there not around anymore)

But a few of them still have jeeps, just are in to bigger things lately (few years)

If it wasn't for the guys that brought me in 7-8 years ago, I know where I would be.
In a Toyota drinking and wheeling, cutting my own trails and illegal wheeling.


I stick around not because of the Internet side of but the wheeling and camping (I.E. the real side of .... face time)

I think that if NWC was more about the camp fires and less about the people who never show, THE NWC would be strong like it used to be (back in the ken,Karl, and Dustin Presidency days)


I'm getting off topic


A group of Friends that were members brought me in.

 

[BPB]

I joined Naxja in 2005 I think because of all the tech info. The first Naxja run I remember was Torx' "best thanksgiving run EVER" since then I have been around the nwc. I like most of the people here. Between my schedule and broken jeep I haven't had my mj on many runs. I hope to change that soon.

 

[GlueNTape]

I would like to apologize in advance for all the guys I have brought into the NYC. Cough.. Scott..cough lol..

I bought a piece of shit Cherokee after my divorce in 2006. It sounded like an airplane with the high idle.

I used naxja as a tech resource to fix it.

After some moths I found the NYC. I was already a member.. With the money I saved.. It was worth it.

The first time I went wheeling was with the NYC.. I followed Dustin in his rig.. With my beat up 91 on 31's... The whole time just amazed.. Thinking holy crap.. We just drove up that.

My kids were young.. 6 and 3.. I had DVD players strapped to the seats... So they could watch movies why we wheeled..

It seemed like every event was rod, Dustin, Ryan and myself.. At least for camping back then.

The people have made me stick around.. Issues come and go.. Forums blow.. Wheeling rocks..

I am bummed I am not more involved right now.. This club is what you make it.. Right now I just need to make family, work and my health a priority..

Looking forward to some wheeling this summer.. Bummed I had to be in china for nw fest.

 

[BPB]

I miss you and rod those were the good old days. John was a regular but always had his own fire.

I think everyone's worst comes out online. Because there was no drama back then, everyone just got along.

 

[SPECFab]

i came to naxja because of mnkyboy after i was in another club that flopped and i ended up paying to support then i went those guys offroad and never felt welcome there and that board has also flopped so now im here
the bs on the board is getting old but atleast there is activity and the outings make it worth sticking around

 

[mudderx]

I joined naxja to last year to see when oktoberfest was so my little wheeling trip to Evans wouldn't interfere with a "big" run. I became a paying member because naxja actually does something for the offroad community in the way of service procjects and cleanup days while other forums just use the land and nobody really seems to care about the future. Here the mentality seems to be a little more, mature . I haven't met or wheeled with anybody on here yet but aside from some personal drama you seem like a good group who actually cares about the future of our sport.

 

[the_weirdo]

I joined the Sierra Chapter of after I bought my XJ in 2006. I had been lurking around the boards for a few months getting tech info. One day I needed some welding help to put on some mini-skids. After posting up in the Sierra Chapter a veteran member told me to come over and he welded some stuff up for me. He gave me some helpful pointers about what to fix or where to put skidplates to protect the Jeep. I paid for the membership the next day. I like the tech content of the site but really liked the members of the Sierra Chapter because they are willing to go out of their way to help the new guys. I kept paying for memberships because I liked that the money was helping to keep trails open (trail closure is rampant in CA).

I recently came to the NWC due to changing jobs and moving up to Seattle. Online, there is certainly a different feel between the two chapters. In person it’s not so different.

 

[Devilfrog]

I bought a 2000 XJ summer of '04 as the family transport ... next fall the head cracked, did an internet search and landed here in '05 ... signed up asked my questions and been here ever since and various amounts of prescence. More so lately, and recently added an 88 MJ to the stable.

 

[Red91Laredo]

I originally found for the tech forums. I bought a $500 '87 XJ back around November(?) 2011 and didn't have a lot of technical knowledge about Jeeps although I had always wanted a Cherokee. The '87 had some issues so I was reading all that I could about repairs and upgrades. I was originally spending more time on CF than , not really posting anything over here, just reading tech threads. Over time I started spending more time on , finding the tech advice to be better and the members seeming to be more knowledgeable about XJ's in general.

At some point, around spring 2012 or so, I bought some swaybar disconnects on craigslist, knowing I wanted to lift my XJ in the future. The seller was CJ of BDC Fab, who turned out to be a super nice guy and told me about the NWC. I knew was a club but hadn't really looked into joining or browsed the NWC forum too much. But I knew I wanted to wheel my XJ eventually and figured it would be cool to know some people to go with, especially if they also owned XJ's.

Between then and now a lot happened. I'd put a lot of work into the '87 but decided to sell it, and found a '91 in much better shape with 90k fewer miles on it for the same money. Spent several months taking care of overdue maintenance, lifting it, and road tripping it all over the NW. The first event I actually attended was the SpecFac M&G back in March. I was pretty amazed to see someone opening their shop up to let people hang out and work on their rigs, and especially to offer to help without asking for anything in return. After that I knew it was worth it to become a paying member, not that I was on the fence about it before, but it really sealed the deal on wanting to be an actual part of this club rather than just being on the forums.

Everyone I've met personally through this club has been great and I hope to attend a lot more events in the future, especially some trail runs. Hoping any drama will sort itself out quickly enough. I don't really have the context for it but to me it just seems unnecessary. I bought a Mustang when I first moved to Portland and tried to meet some local forum members, I met like 2 cool people but in general didn't feel a very friendly or welcoming vibe from that crowd. has been a lot more welcoming. I really like how y'all pitch in when a fellow member needs help with something, and I appreciate the service projects / trail work that the club organizes. I'm pretty busy these days but look forward to being a part of all of what this club is really about as much as my time allows.

 

[AwesomeXJ]

this is great. Keep it coming guys!

 

[BigBlueBeast]

I got involved with NWC because I was friends with Scott and he had an XJ we called the "Tractor". While pocking around TSF with the Tractor and a guy in a Ram pickup. We had tried FB5 and ran into GlueNTape while being owned by the trail. We all gave it a good go at getting the tractor though with no success. Later that evening we ran into GlueNTape again because we had drove up the back side of the Rubicon trail and found ourself with no way to turn around and to take the ride down with a 3" lift on 31AT. I later bought my own XJ and got involved with the NWC. Scotts little brother Jeff rolled my XJ on a Camping trip and I ended up with my XJ. I stuck around because I loved the group and the good times.

I later decided not to be involved due to a couple of unpleasant members. I now live in Las Vegas and have meet a couple guys with the Arizona Chapter.

 

[crazymoose1990]

Wow Las Vegas!!! What a change, how do you like it? I lived there for a year it wasn't for me.
Although it did have its perks. #1 drinking 24/7 #2 I never had a problem meeting women. We will just say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. ;-)

 

[kenny811]

I had been reading post on for a while. Learning what I could about the XJ. Then I went on my first NOOB run 2009 or 2010, had such a great time I kept coming back. And now im here, and im not going anywhere.

 

[88manche]

The free beer, topless girls, and false advertising....

Wait a minuite, thats timbercrawler.

I'll chime in. My first car was a 1971 F100, but my first street driven licensed vehicle was a 1985 cherokee. It was a gutless wonder with the (IMO, maybe i just got lucky) bulletproof 2.5L carb'd engine and an AX-5/231. Me and my dad got it so we could go up in the mountains and go fishing. Like all vehicles, eventually we had to work on it.

We found and decided to get into wheeling. It went from a stock fairly high mile (I think it had like 190K or something on it) to a 3'' lift and 235/75's. Around that time i was working at Baxter auto parts on 82nd and holgate, and I ended up working with Nick (redjeep3/redjeep2.0) i dont remember who got hired first, and I dont remember if he was on here at that time or not, lol.

Things evolve, the jeep grew from 3'' lift /235/75 to 5'' with 33's to 3'', and then it got rear ended by a cadillac and i got $1400 for it, took the spacers out and put the stock tires on and sold it for $600, and bought my comanche for $750. I finished the 4x4 conversion that was started, and profited in my wheeling machine! then i got stupid and sold it.

I've had about 4 cars since I had the 'manch, but I still like to stay connected with my old wheelin' buddies. Eventually I'll get another jeep and build it right, build it better and wheel the living daylights out of it, but thats down the road a little bit.

 

[88manche]

The free beer, topless girls, and false advertising....

Wait a minuite, thats timbercrawler.

I'll chime in. My first car was a 1971 F100, but my first street driven licensed vehicle was a 1985 cherokee. It was a gutless wonder with the (IMO, maybe i just got lucky) bulletproof 2.5L carb'd engine and an AX-5/231. Me and my dad got it so we could go up in the mountains and go fishing. Like all vehicles, eventually we had to work on it.

We found and decided to get into wheeling. It went from a stock fairly high mile (I think it had like 190K or something on it) to a 3'' lift and 235/75's. Around that time i was working at Baxter auto parts on 82nd and holgate, and I ended up working with Nick (redjeep3/redjeep2.0) i dont remember who got hired first, and I dont remember if he was on here at that time or not, lol.

Things evolve, the jeep grew from 3'' lift /235/75 to 5'' with 33's to 3'', and then it got rear ended by a cadillac and i got $1400 for it, took the spacers out and put the stock tires on and sold it for $600, and bought my comanche for $750. I finished the 4x4 conversion that was started, and profited in my wheeling machine! then i got stupid and sold it.

I've had about 4 cars since I had the 'manch, but I still like to stay connected with my old wheelin' buddies. Eventually I'll get another jeep and build it right, build it better and wheel the living daylights out of it, but thats down the road a little bit.