What started your passion for the off-road Jeep lifestyle?

[Trail JK]

I just read a cool story from JK_Dave off his build thread about his first experience off-road and how the fun memory of that day stayed with him. I thought it would make a cool thread to hear how you started in the sport or came to realize the enjoyment of the off road wayalife. I'm not sure if there is a similar thread out there or not but I did a quick search and didn't see one.

My first experience in an off road vehicle was in 07 on safari in the South African bush. To this day that trip remains one of the most epic of my life. I thoroughly enjoy exploring off the beaten path and taking photographs of views that most my never see. Not to mention that feeling of wow, I can't believe the day we had or obstacle we just did!

Here are a few pics from the safari...

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I hope to hear your story too!

 

[BABOOZLE]

Mine is not nearly as epic as yours but mine started when I got my YJ. I am stationed in Charleston, SC and I was buying and selling vehicles as a hobby. I ended up getting a XJ which I built up a little. I realized I wouldn't come close to getting my money out of it because Cherokees are a dime a dozen and they are real cheap. I ended up doing a straight trade with a guy that had a 95' YJ. Win for me because wranglers hold their value. But after working on it, customizing and driving I became hooked. Also finding JK Experience on YouTube made me want to do that more than anything. Now I own a 2010 JKU. Definitely hooked.

 

[piginajeep]

I was trying to impress a hot blond in a white TJ. Our first date we went "mudding". We were then late for the movie because of it. I then had to remove the chrome off my TJ because she laughed at me..


Our 10 year anniversary is coming up!!

 

[Lil Nasty]

My mother wanted a jeep when I was a kid. My father want to make it cooler. I would help him work on it. 85 CJ7 that we lifted and put bigger tires on. We built a 304ci V8 for it but he sold the motor instead of putting it in the jeep. He would put me on his lap and let me steer while he worked the gas and brakes.

 

[Trail Bud]

I got hooked when we were doing a search and recovery for a missing guy. By the time we hiked to the area we were spent. So a local jeep club volunteered to take us out to the different search areas. They would haul us out in multiple jeeps through snow and over boulder fields. It was great! I'll never forget that. Later the following year in the spring I ordered mine.

 

[Jegar]

Great thread and great stories! My interest was pretty accidental. I always thought Jeeps looked pretty cool and were probably a lot of fun, but speed, corners, and maneuvering were really my "dream." Some years ago, I had the opportunity to ride along a race driver at a Porsche race class. They later demonstrated the Cayenne Turbo, that did this really cool climb and crawl maneuvers over rocks, in addition to insane track performance. But, are you kidding me? For what possible reason would someone want to crawl up a rock in a field, especially at $110,000? I started seeing all kinds of built-up Jeeps, many with tops down and doors off, in the area. The drivers and passengers all had smiles. So, started mentioning to the hubbie, "I think having a Jeep would really be cool." So, over this just past Memorial Day weekend, he arranged for a surprise test drive. A Copper Brown Willys Wheeler had just rolled in to the dealership the day previously, and I was in love. Signed the commitment contract that day. During the transaction, hubbie kept mentioning that there was a version called "Rubicon," that did the "crawl thing" like the "tennis shoe" (what I call the Cayennes's). My response: "Yeah, but what would I want to go on rocks for?")..........35 BFG KM2's on black, rock-rashed Rubi wheels, 3.5" Metalcloak Game Changer Lift (probably ended up 4.5"+), gussets, additional oil pan/ engine skid and lower control arm covers, front E-locker (limited slip rear), Poison Spider front/rear diff covers, bolt-on Poison Spider rock rails over my Rubi rails, Warn zeon winch, shortened front bumper, etc. etc., later: "Oh, yeah! Rocks! Rocks!"

 

[Panda]

Some of you know it was my late brother who got me started off road with four wheels, we were best friends through life we did everything together, fishing, camping, dirt bikes so we ended up getting 4x4 trucks just to explore and get to more out of the way camp sites then when he bought a hummer h2 he joined a club/forum and got more and more serious I would ride with him on the more serious trails my truck wouldn't go, he ended up trading the h2 for an h1 and we had a blast in that thing he did a lot of Moab in it and even stuffed it through slick rock yup a 100k vehicle with full forest pin striping, he was planning to try the rubicon trail the year he passed 2011 my plan back then was to get a jeep to keep up with him on these trails but unfortunately I didn't get my jeep until after he passed but my mind always goes to him every time I complete an obstacle or trail

I would like to add I have a few new brothers now (you know who you are) thanks to wayalife [emoji209][emoji485]

 

[jmy]

When I was about 4-5 years old, my parents had some friends with a yellow CJ and I remember them running the Jeep through the woods safari style with the top up and doors and windows off. Then...when I was in college my girlfriend got a new Jeep, 95 YJ with a soft top, no A/C and manual transmission which she couldn't drive very well. I traded vehicles with her and started driving it everywhere and was hooked immediately. Ended up with a new 95 YJ of my own about six months later!

 

[chester]

Mine is kinda of lame but funny. Me and a buddy were on this empty lot messing around he has a Jeep I had a Ford Explorer 2wd. I of course kept getting stuck he would pull me out. One day he said drive my Jeep instant love. Long story short I traded in my Explore for a Rubicon. I have never been happier. I do miss the Explorer but now I can do some real wheeling.

 

[Jk909]

I am Armenian but during the genocide my family fled from Armenia and went to Ethiopia. My grandfather was adopted by the king of Ethiopia (Haile Selasslie) who sent him to school in Italy to become a doctor. When he received his degree he returned home to work with the king and his people. They lived an adventurous life hunting and taking safaris to Kenya. He bought a brand new Willis jeep that was sent in a crate to Ethiopia. He always said nothing compares to a jeep.

Sometimes when I'm going down the road I still see him in the passenger seat. To us it really is a way of life.

 

[spinuck]

Cool story and pics Rachelle. I grew up in Reno, and as a kid we spent a lot of time out in the desert or Pyramid Lake. We had an 87 Toyota Pick up that my parents would let my friends and I drive. A friend of the family also had a little sand rail. We had fun blasting through the desert (north of Reno) or around the lake, as elementary/middle school aged kids. That's how I learned to drive. Around that time I had heard of the Rubicon trail from friends who knew people that had been up there. It sounded awesome to me, and I definitely wanted to experience it someday.

We had a 85 Wagoneer for a short while. It was not equipped to do some of the trails we do now, but we were able to go out and explore and have fun.

Time passed (rather quickly) and that dream was put aside. Finally a couple years ago I was in the market for a new vehicle. I started looking at Jeeps, and my desire to do the Rubicon was reignited. So in 2012 I got my 13 JKUR. And in June of 13, I was finally able to make it up there and do the trail. That is still one of my favorite places. The slabs area especially. Amazing scenery.

 

[catahoula]

My parents had a few jeeps growing a Levi edition CJ-7 and an old Willys. We would go down to river in Nebraska and camp on the sand bars. Years later my wife and I would always look at them when we were looking at a new vehicle, but never bought one. Then one trip we went to a remote cabin and were given directions and said do not take the GPS route it was not a well traveled road. Well the wife wanted to go that route so we did. As we thought we were closer to the cabin the road was getting narrower and the tree branches were scrapping on both sides of her Honda Civic it was also getting darker too. I was starting to get worried. It turned out to be one of those greenway roads that you are not allowed to get out of your car. No place to turn around so we moved forward. It got to the point she had to get out to "spot" me as I was trying to get around obstacles. A few times she was freaking out because she thought it was going to roll over. We finally made it to the end and sure as shit it came out to a paved road! Still had to go a few more miles on a better traveled road to get to it. After that we went out looking for a better vehicle for our travels and ended up with the jeep.

I also want to add I found this dude and his wife on the internet making cool videos and was hooked!

 

[CastleRockJeep]

I grew up with my father having jeeps. I learned to drive in my dad 1970 Jeepster:



He currently has a restored '82 CJ Jamboree edition:

 

[Bustedback]

In 2009 I was hired by a California state agency as a heavy equipment mechanic. This agency has a huge fleet 1994-2001 Cherokees that I would service and test drive. This one 94 XJ was a rocket and really fun to drive even though the radio made awful screeching noises after a few miles. So I started searching for an XJ at the government auctions because my boss told me about his buddy that picked up a clean XJ for less than five hundred bucks, all it needed was a battery. I went to the auctions and had no such luck, they were going for premium prices that were out of my grasp. Most of the buyers were from car lots or Russians trying to look like big shots by driving the bids up. The Craigslist search began and I realized it was hard to find a clean, unmolested XJ for a decent price. I could find them with rust holes and hacked electrical systems all day long, but I didn't need a never ending headache. I expanded my search to Grand Cherokees and found a ton of them with bad transmissions, but I finally found one that looked like a clean and reliable Jeep. I have had it for about five years now and have done a bunch of work on it to make it a more capable off road vehicle. My wife finally agreed to go off-roading with me up at the High Lakes above Paradise CA with a couple of Wayalife members. She found out that she enjoyed it, she had a lot of fun! She was hooked. A few nights after that adventure she mentioned that she really liked the JKUs that were on the trail with us. That was all I needed to hear. Within two weeks I traded in her economy car and drove home in a new to me 2012 JKU Sport. She loves driving it and now picks out trails in the trail guide books and looks for Jeep parts in the catalogs. We're now closer and getting out of the house. The Jeep has strengthened our marriage.

 

[newjkjeeper]

I just wanted to be able to go anywhere I wanted when I wanted to. I know. Very lame compared to your guys stories. But that's why haha

 

[wayoflife]

I just read a cool story from JK_Dave off his build thread about his first experience off-road and how the fun memory of that day stayed with him. I thought it would make a cool thread to hear how you started in the sport or came to realize the enjoyment of the off road wayalife. I'm not sure if there is a similar thread out there or not but I did a quick search and didn't see one.

My first experience in an off road vehicle was in 07 on safari in the South African bush. To this day that trip remains one of the most epic of my life. I thoroughly enjoy exploring off the beaten path and taking photographs of views that most my never see. Not to mention that feeling of wow, I can't believe the day we had or obstacle we just did!

Here are a few pics from the safari...
I hope to hear your story too!

Wow, that's is WAY COOL!! I had no idea you had ever done this let alone that this is what got you hooked on Jeeps! I'm eager to read everyone's stories :thumb:

 

[Bullwinckle]

My story's not too big I just grew up around them when my dad and I went fishing, camping and stuff and when I got my first jeep I was really hooked.

 

[Jegar]

I grew up with my father having jeeps. I learned to drive in my dad 1970 Jeepster:

View attachment 165726View attachment 165727


He currently has a restored '82 CJ Jamboree edition:
View attachment 165728View attachment 165729

Gorgeous!!

 

[CarolinaDozer]

Grew up riding in my dad's 1976 CJ5. He had it to run my grand dad's cattle farm. When the farming went it went shortly after. I've been a gear head for years and a mechanic by trade with a soft spot for them ever since. One day out of the blue my wife said let's go look at Jeeps and the kid in me jumped, little diff I know she already had one picked out and when we got there took me straight to it. Dozer? Dad's was canary yellow so it just fit. And them the gear head obsession began.

 

[Dopey84]

Well growing up I had the chance of my first jeep being an 86' jeep Comanche. It was stock 2.8l v6 5 spd long bed completely stock and purchased from a police auction. I taught myself how to drive a stick in it. And was my first time ever having an off-road vehicle of my own.. Well once the v6 went I replaced it with the 4.0 i6 and had it lifted with 35's it was an awesome rig. Over time I sold it and have since had the privilege of owning an 84 grand wagoneer primarily used as my mudd bogger and also a 94 jeep Cherokee all of which were fun rigs to which I now drive my 07' Jku Sahara and can't wait to do my upgrades and builds to it..