Preparation for the Piney's

[LBJ]

My son and I are getting the XJ ready for the Jeep Jamboree in the pinelands in the spring. Not sure what to expect, we spend most of our time up at Paragon. Our XJ is an 87 with a 4.0, AW4, D30 and D44 setup. We have a 3.5 REkit and 32 All terrains. Will be installing front and rear lockers and alloy axles and a SYE very soon. What kind of waterproofing should we do? Any info appreciated. Does anyone have pics from previous pineland trips?

 

[warpigxj]

check out http://www.the-jersey-devil.com that all south jersey wheeling. it kind of hard to read the holes in the pines cause on day it could deep and the next it not. Check out the pics there is tons there. Just one thing the pine sugur sand does like to kill all things. Any other Question just ask.

 

[Mike in NJ]

My son and I are getting the XJ ready for the Jeep Jamboree in the pinelands in the spring. Not sure what to expect, we spend most of our time up at Paragon.

Although I get down to Wharton State Forest every now and then - it's been a few years since I ran the Jamboree. Their route may have changed since then, but that year was a very wet one. One of the trails they used had plenty of deep holes and then crossed the Batsto River to the NW of the village and that crossing was deep. Of the 30 or so vehicles in that run, only 2 well equipped rigs made it w/o winching.

My '92 was mostly stock back in those days, yet I actually got about halfway across before getting hung up. While I was patiently waiting for the hook and staring at the water up to my door handles (someone behind me said the water was over my rear license plate) I heard a "waterfall" sound and looked down to see a tea-colored stream pouring in around the door jams and I picked up about 4 inches of water. So much for weathersealing!

I had disconnected my air box earlier and taped a towel over the throttle body, so wasn't concerned about hydraulic lock, and that 4.0 never stopped. The only PIA was the fact the carpet (and that damned felt pad) was soaked - which I had to pull out entirely to dry out when I got back. Since that XJ is now my play rig (and now set up very similar to yours) - I've long since left the carpet out, but, back then I had to worry about it.

If you've been running Paragon, there's going to be nothing in the Barrens that's going to hold you back - other than some holes to pay attention to unless you have a periscope! I enjoy riding in the pines, but it's more for the exploration and spooky scenery, not for expecting to find hard-core challenges. Not even sure if rocks exist south of Rt. 70! BTW, Warpig is right about that damn sand - this ain't "normal" mud. When you're done with the weekend spend some extra time underneath to clean things up.

Of course, if it's a wet spring . . . .

You might want to take a closer look at how tight your doors fit!


Mike in NJ atriot:

 

[warpigxj]

to give you a little idea this was oct 3 04

and this was oct 10 04 same hole

i got rid of the carpet too and here a shot of it's first test

not tring to sacry you but if you like rocks mud gets real boring very fast specially if it a big groupe and the trails are deep it takes forever to move back there

 

[LBJ]

Thanks for the insight guys. Think I might just wait for Paragon Jamboree in the fall. Mud I don't mind at all but converting my XJ to an aquarium doesn;t sound like much fun.

 

[GhostDakota]

We're going to the Pines on January 1st.. this Sunday. DEJA.

 

[Mike in NJ]

Think I might just wait for Paragon Jamboree in the fall.

Don't mean to be critical, but what advantage do you expect to get from paying the big bucks for a Jamboree event at Paragon, vs "normal" fees any weekend up there? It isn't like there's a special area of the park they open up for the Jamboree attendees.

If it's the allure to have a complete weekend surrounded by a bunch of Jeep fanatics, led by knowledgable trail guides, and hanging out at the campfire afterwards - then I suggest you look into attending NACFest '06 in June.

That way you won't have to wait until the fall for a Jeep, uh, make that an, "XJ" event!

Mike in NJ atriot:

 

[91G-Dub]

Running in The Pines is all MUD and Water.
Lots of tight areas with close branches that'll do major damage to paint (if you care about apperance).
I've done a few runs in there and like some others have said, lots of sitting around waiting for Jeeps in front of you trying to make it through water holes. My advice would be to stay in the middle of the pack so you can watch everyone ahead of you and pick good lines. Have seen more than one Jeep suck in water through aircleaner. After that engine is toast.
Quite a few years ago I took my 94YJ through there and although I burned out my clutch the major problem was getting all of the stinky smelly mud out after the run.
I went on a trip with Full Size Jeeps through there last August, we picked some pretty mild wheeling and even with that damage happened to a few.