:EDIT: The trail ride is over! Goto page 6 for pictures and a complete report on how it went!




Oh yeah! It's almost that time again! I'm talking about MK's (Patriot/Compass) from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana meeting up and doing what Jeeps were born to do! We will be holding this adventure on Tues 9/23/08 at Badlands Offroad Park, near Attica, Indiana.

There is some unfinished business to be done in Badlands. And there is potential for history to be made on this trip:

1.The biggest known meetup of Patriot owners to date. Potentially, we could have up to 8 members on this trip.

2. A large variety of MK capabilities. We will have 4x2's FDII's, FDI's and some upgraded FDI's. This will be a great oppertunity to do some side by side comparisons and offer a very safe environment to test the limits of your Patriot!

This thread will allow us to make final preperations and extend the invitation to other Patriot owners in the area to join us on 9/23. We are here to answer any question so ask away. When the trailride is over, be sure to check back for pictures and a full report of how it went! I'll be taking my usual crappy-camera-action-shots, but hopefully, someone can bring a video camera and shoot a youtube video!

Here are some links that you will need to look over. It's $20 per person. http://www.badlandsoffroad.com/map_hours.asp and an extra $7 if you primitive camp. http://www.atticacamping.com/ratesandhours.html

There is an amazing view of the sunset from the campground, but I'll be staying at a hotel if it gets cold overnight. Also, we have yet to decide if we are going to have a picnic or take a break to meetup at a local resturant. Or.... Perhaps we can do a lil of both. A small picnic lunch on the trails, and a nice dinner once the park closes at 5. Here's a link with options for dining and lodging.

http://www.badlandsoffroad.com/miscpage_003.asp

1 month to go baby!

Yep, I'm definitely looking forward to this. We'll (or just me, don't know yet) will be doing the short version so we can do this in one day.
We'll try to get there when the park opens..
Horse around until lunch time..and either way is fine with us..
Go back and play around some more until park closes..
And supper somewhere (anywhere actually) before heading home. It's about a 3 hour drive for us.
It should be a long but VERY fun day!

Oh, and I'll be bringing my Digital SLR for prosperity!

Can't wait!

I'll be ready too. I'm not sure if my buddies son with the CJ will make it since his construction job has picked up but his dad may come with their Land Rover. One of the guys from work is also comming with his stock Wrangler.

Maybe we can have the picnic on top of one of those pea gravel hills we climb weather permitting of course.;)

Joe, did you get the plates yet?

Joe, did you get the plates yet?


I sure did! They came in last week. Ready to rock! The large one is huge and weighs a ton. I tell everyone that it's the chest plate for the killer robot I'm building.

Joe wrote: "Also, we have yet to decide if we are going to have a picnic or take a break to meetup at a local resturant. Or.... Perhaps we can do a lil of both. A small picnic lunch on the trails, and a nice dinner once the park closes at 5."

http://www.nineirishbrothers.com/

Don't know if I posted the link before, but there is a really nice (good food) Irish Pub/Cafe in West Lafayette, near Purdue University. called 9 Irish Brothers. It is owned by 9 Irish briothers. For those who like fish and chips and who have the time (appx. a 45 minute drive from TRSP), I would highly recommend this place.

My daughter, who goes to Purdue, took my wife and me there for our birthdays last week, but we had to pay. My daughter has been there before, but not us. Heck, neither one of us is close to being Irish, but it was a very nice and relaxed atmosphere.

Will, I was also thinking about having the picnic on "dune mountain" That would be sweet! Looks like I'll be testing the limits of my cargo area this trip. Let's see: large cooler, travel bag with 2 days worth of clothes and swim clothes, 6gal water can, propane cookware, inflatable kayak, hiking gear, and 5 skid plates. Yikes!

For the picnic, I'll bring ham..... lots of sliced ham and paper plates. We'll need someone to bring bread and cheese, and someone to bring a desert.... like twinkies. Another person could bring pop... lost of pop. Additional persons could bring chips, other types of lunch meat.. etc.

Joe wrote: "Also, we have yet to decide if we are going to have a picnic or take a break to meetup at a local resturant. Or.... Perhaps we can do a lil of both. A small picnic lunch on the trails, and a nice dinner once the park closes at 5."

http://www.nineirishbrothers.com/

Don't know if I posted the link before, but there is a really nice (good food) Irish Pub/Cafe in West Lafayette, near Purdue University. called 9 Irish Brothers. It is owned by 9 Irish briothers. For those who like fish and chips and who have the time (appx. a 45 minute drive from TRSP), I would highly recommend this place.

My daughter, who goes to Purdue, took my wife and me there for our birthdays last week, but we had to pay. My daughter has been there before, but not us. Heck, neither one of us is close to being Irish, but it was a very nice and relaxed atmosphere.

It does look light a neat place to go, but it seems to be a good bit away from Attica. And it's in the opposite direction of Turkey Run Sp, which is were I'm going on day two. Isn't there something decent in Attica? As in I won't have far to drive to my hotel or camp when I'm trashed? :puke:

I can bring what ever we need such as soda and other lunch items. I figure that when you are here the day before getting the plates done I'll see what else we need. The store is not that far from the house so if there are things you want to get you can wait and get them when you get here.

We can see about dinner or such in Attica for the evening if anyone wants to. Lafayette is out of my way too since I'll be heading north that evening on Rt.41

Did you get the two front plastic splash guards that go along with the front skid plate too?

I can bring what ever we need such as soda and other lunch items. I figure that when you are here the day before getting the plates done I'll see what else we need. The store is not that far from the house so if there are things you want to get you can wait and get them when you get here.

We can see about dinner or such in Attica for the evening if anyone wants to. Lafayette is out of my way too since I'll be heading north that evening on Rt.41

Did you get the two front plastic splash guards that go along with the front skid plate too?

Last minute grocery shopping is a good idea. Yep, got the splash guards, two weird shaped hunks of plastic. Got those, big front plate, and the two small gas tank plates.

unfortunately i can not get those days off. There are too many people out that week so i have to be here every day. :(

Hopefully next time.

Additional persons could bring chips, other types of lunch meat.. etc.

Call me Additional persons. I'll bring a bag or two of chips and some different lunch meat as another choice (or in addition to the ham!), sliced Cajun Turkey!

If you need me to bring anything else, feel free to let me know, dood.

unfortunately i can not get those days off. There are too many people out that week so i have to be here every day. :(

Hopefully next time.



Any chance we can help?

A hex on those already off?

Kidnap you and your car?

Note to the teacher?

:D

damn, hopefully we'll have such a good time we can do it again before the end of the year!

Never had Cajun turkey before! Sounds awsome!

And don't worry schoat, there will be a winter meetup!

Really want to gross someone out, bring head cheese--but we sell a lot of it at work!!! Yuk.

Really want to gross someone out, bring head cheese--but we sell a lot of it at work!!! Yuk.

Yep, it worked. I am grossed out.

I can't tell what bothers me the most; the odor or just the damned name! *ugh*

(if you're selling a lot of it at work, there must be a demand for it! But God only knows why...);)

For me, it is the LOOK of head cheese. It looks like a HUMMER with warts!

I'll take turkey, ham, or roast beef thank you. No wart loaf for me; the only thing missing in that stuff is the moo or oink from which it came. My grand parents used to make their own head cheese on the farm.:puke:

Joe, has Jeepster said if he was going to make this get together or not? I hope we can get a few more MK owners to go by then. It will be worth the trip they will find out if even just for the day.

He sent me a pm the other day saying that he can't come. :mad: It's all good though. It's gonna be killer fun no matter how many go. Even if it rains, we'll just put the windows up! :hammertime:

sorry about not being able to make it. got alot going on here at home and i may be changing jobs to boot, so don't want to plan to far in advance. if something should change here, i'll just show up and say "Surprise!!! Where's the FOOD??!":D

and if it RAINS? well that just makes it that much more "interesting", now doesn't it? ;)

I just put in for the 23rd as a day off. Now all I need to do is go buy a towrope since I forgot to get one last weekend. Any suggestions as to how long for a minimum to buy? Or do they come in preset lengths?...

C'monnnn 23rd!!

Hey Randoo, glad to see your going to make it! :smiley_thumbs_up: I have a 20ft 4in wide tow strap and was always told that a 20 footer was the best to have with. Mainly because you want whoever is going to be the pulling to not be in the same hole your stuck in. But whatever you can get is better than none at all.

Hey Randoo, glad to see your going to make it! :smiley_thumbs_up: I have a 20ft 4in wide tow strap and was always told that a 20 footer was the best to have with. Mainly because you want whoever is going to be the pulling to not be in the same hole your stuck in. But whatever you can get is better than none at all.

Thanks Will, now I know what to be on the lookout for. I'll have one by the time I get there.
On a related note: I was hoping to get my wife to come join us since she had never done anything like this either (and she drives crazier than I do!) but she can't get the time off. She (since she IS the boss afterall...) told me to go ahead without her but to take lots of pics. I told her 'Roger Wilco'!:D

Will's tow rope sound much better than mine. I have a standard "walmart" brand braded rope. About 10 long with a metal hook at each end. Costs only $10 I have used those ropes many a times during the winter. They'll snap before any real stress is palced on the vehicles., and the hooks can be salvaged. For mud holes, however, the stronger rope is ideal. Only a few weeks to go!

I have my fingers crossed in hopes that I will be able to take the day off. I really would love to go.

I just put in for the 23rd as a day off. Now all I need to do is go buy a towrope since I forgot to get one last weekend. Any suggestions as to how long for a minimum to buy? Or do they come in preset lengths?...

C'monnnn 23rd!!

Been watching and hoping to make it the 23rd, just will not know till the day before.

Tow Hooks From what I have seen in other 4 wheel clubs metal ends on tow straps are out. They do not allow them on their 4 wheel trips due to the possibility of them coming loose and due to the stretch of the nylon they become deadly missiles. Which means you would not hook a nylon strap to your winch hook and than to another vehicle.

You do use a nylon tow strap around a tree and than hook your winch hook to it because if the hook comes loose from the winch cable the stretched strap will slam the freed hook into the tree.

Cables also stretch so be careful how you attach them and what you hook them to and no one should stand close to or in line with tow cables or straps..

After reading that, I removed the hooks from mine and the loop fits over my tow points on the jeep fine.

I was told that is why they have open hooks on the jeep and other off road vehicles. The hooks on the straps are left over from when they used chains to tow and due to the safety factor I do not understand why they still sell them.

Hope to see you all soon.
WWW

Tow Hooks From what I have seen in other 4 wheel clubs metal ends on tow straps are out. They do not allow them on their 4 wheel trips due to the possibility of them coming loose and due to the stretch of the nylon they become deadly missiles. Which means you would not hook a nylon strap to your winch hook and than to another vehicle.

You do use a nylon tow strap around a tree and than hook your winch hook to it because if the hook comes loose from the winch cable the stretched strap will slam the freed hook into the tree.

Cables also stretch so be careful how you attach them and what you hook them to and no one should stand close to or in line with tow cables or straps..

After reading that, I removed the hooks from mine and the loop fits over my tow points on the jeep fine.

I was told that is why they have open hooks on the jeep and other off road vehicles. The hooks on the straps are left over from when they used chains to tow and due to the safety factor I do not understand why they still sell them.

Hope to see you all soon.
WWW[/QUOTE]


Yep, that's right. And what I use for that very reason also. Hope to see you there on the 23rd.

I just put in for the 23rd as a day off. Now all I need to do is go buy a towrope since I forgot to get one last weekend. Any suggestions as to how long for a minimum to buy? Or do they come in preset lengths?...

C'monnnn 23rd!!

If you ever plan on attending a Camp Jeep/Jeep Jamboree event, I think they mandate a towing capacity of 20,000 pounds with looped ends (WITHOUT METAL HOOKS). If possible, it might be wise to buy that, so you wouldn't have to make an additional purchase sometime in the future.

13 days to go! Final preps!

1. Is anyone deciding to camp or stay overnight- somewhere near by?

2. Please re-verify what you are bringing for the picnic on dune mountain

3. Who will be bringing a camera and or video camera?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Yes, Badlands campground. If the weather sux, then Attica INN.
2. Lots of sliced ham and paper plates.
3. Camera only- med/low quality. Able to take action shots.

For me:

1) Just staying the day. Will be heading back (3 hours) because I work the next morning.

2)Sliced Cajun Turkey and Lays chips. (if need be, I can replace the chips with bread instead)

3) Digital camera here. I don't have a movie camera either.

2.5) As for drinks, I assume it would be best to make it a BYO type of thing?

So I'm new... have room for one more? I'm comin' out of the chicago suburbs.

I have a movie camera!

Anyway, let me know if you guys are open to one more Patriot joining your club.

What kinds of trails do you guys ride?
Any additional equipment suggested for this ride??

So I'm new... have room for one more? I'm comin' out of the chicago suburbs.

I have a movie camera!

Anyway, let me know if you guys are open to one more Patriot joining your club.

What kinds of trails do you guys ride?
Any additional equipment suggested for this ride??

Of course there's room for more, Westsidewillie! Nice name!

The links to were and when we are going are posted at the beginning of this thread. The offroad environment at Badlands consisits mostly of sand dunes- well, its more like ultra fine pea gravel. Check out the pics from the last trip posted in this forum catagory. The dunes are a very safe terrain for stock 4x4's, but there are some more challanging areas for FDII's and upgraded FDI's
Bring that video camera! See if you can figure out a way to rig it so it easily attachs and detaches to you dash. (4x4 dash cam!). It's ok if you can't.

Of course there's room for more, Westsidewillie! Nice name!

The links to were and when we are going are posted at the beginning of this thread. The offroad environment at Badlands consisits mostly of sand dunes- well, its more like ultra fine pea gravel. Check out the pics from the last trip posted in this forum catagory. The dunes are a very safe terrain for stock 4x4's, but there are some more challanging areas for FDII's and upgraded FDI's
Bring that video camera! See if you can figure out a way to rig it so it easily attachs and detaches to you dash. (4x4 dash cam!). It's ok if you can't.

Yeah I'll definitely find a way to mount it up there. It's small, so it shouldn't be too bad.

I'll bring a buddy of mine if I have to and he can control the goods.

I have the stock 4x4 with the Customer Preferred Package 26E. Hell, I just found out there's a flashlight in the back! ahaha, needless to say, those "stealers" at the dealership aren't the smartest folks.

If you could think of anything that's a necessity before this trip to be added to the jeep, that'd be great. Are skid plates necessary?? Splash guards?

This is my first jeep...first "offroad' capable jeep. It has the CVT2 transmission and the 17inch wheels. Is it going to cut it??

In other words...I'm one offroading virgin

If you have the resources to install skid plates, then go for it. But it's not critical for this trip. Just bring a lil something to contribute to the picnic and you're good to go!

Hey W3, don't feel alone with being an "Off Roading Wirgin";)
This will be my first ever attempt at anything remotely close to going off road (at least intentionally that is).
If you read back on some of the earlier posts, I was told I should make sure to bring a tow rope. Some have made up their own flags (we need red flags mounted high up on our Jeeps) but they sell them at Badlands so I'll just get mine there.

I know it's at the beginning of this thread but for the lazy souls among us (ME), here is the website to the Badlands.

http://www.badlandsoffroad.com/default.asp

Joe, I will be going to the grocery store the evening before so if we need something that no one has offered to bring, let me know. I'll be glad to grab anything that we lack. At this point I have the Cajun Turkey covered and either some chips or bread, depending on what's needed. I'll also be bringing my Diet Pepsi..I'm an addict...I can't help it.

Is there a list of what everyone is bringing (food and drinks and anything else) Can't transport wood, Darn beetles? Be nice to see it all together and what might be needed. I still hope to come, just wish I knew for sure.

Is there a list of what everyone is bringing (food and drinks and anything else) Can't transport wood, Darn beetles? Be nice to see it all together and what might be needed. I still hope to come, just wish I knew for sure.

Good idea about a list. Joe, you want to start one up and we can just cut-n-paste our names to it in each progressive thread (that relates to whutcha brung..)?

wwworth, hope you can make it!

Yeah, thall be easy enough. Ill work on the list later tonight.

Ok, here's the list. Rather than quote me- Simply copy and paste this list on your own reply with additions and subtractions. I put in a few stuff that was already mentioned, but feel free to make corrections.


*Campers*
Firemothjoe (artificial fire logs)

*Picnic*
Sandwiches
Ham Firemothjoe,
Turkey Randoo (cajun),
Cheese
Condiments
Bread

Drinks
Diet pepsi Randoo,
Non-diet Will H,
Juice Firemothjoe,
Bottle Water

Sides
Chips Randoo,
Salads
Desserts
Other Firemothjoe (paper plates),

*Cameras*
Pics Firemothjoe, Randoo
Vids Westsidewillie,

WHAT?! No dancing girls on that list?? What kind of organizer ARE you, bub??!;):D

Looks like a great start there Joe. This should give us plenty of time to see who can bring what and there probably won't be any surprises this way. And like I alluded to earlier, I'll be waiting until the night before and then make my trip to the store so anything we lack, I'll grab at that time.

Good job (other than the dancing girls faux pas)!

Picnic*
Sandwiches
Ham Firemothjoe,
Turkey Randoo (cajun),
Cheese (Will H)
Condiments(Will H)
Bread (Will H)

Drinks
Diet pepsi Randoo,
Non-diet (Will H)
Juice Firemothjoe,
Bottle Water (Will H)

Sides
Chips Randoo,
Salads
Desserts
Other Firemothjoe (paper plates),

1. Just staying the day along with two other guys coming; one with a Wrangler and another with a Cheerokee.

2. I have labeled above what I can bring along.

3. I have a digital camera that I can bring also

They do have flags there for sale if anyone needs one.
Westsidewilly if you want to follow us down Tuesday morning you are welcome to since you are most likley to be comming this way. I'm NW Indiana by the Illinois border not too far from 80/94.

Omg! Firemothjoe went two days without posting! Did anyone miss me? Or even notice that I was gone? I've just been through Ohio's first Hurricane! 70mph winds all day long on Sunday! Widespread devastation, over 2million without power. Due to an amazing combination of readiness and luck, I've suffered no loss or damage whatsoever! So, I am most certainly still on for the trailride next week. Come hell or high water (knock on wood).

Chicago got pummelled as well, and I managed to escape flooding/damage. In fact, even took the patriot through some small "lakes" if you will. It was fun, considering I just got the darn thing.

Skid plates are ordered and should be ready to go for Tuesday. Me and my buddy will only be staying the day as he's leaving for Afghanistan at the end of the month and I have work on Wednesday.

Omg! Firemothjoe went two days without posting! Did anyone miss me?

Huh? Were ya gone?;)

Glad to hear all you guys up north didn't get too badly inundated.
(We got a boatload too- 5.5 inches on saturday alone..but it's nothing that a few trips with a shopvac in the basement didn't take care of.)

WIlly..glad to see you're coming and with a buddy.
It's an old saying but it's true..the more the merrier!
I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and seeing what this 4WD toy can do.:smiley_thumbs_up:

Still attempting to keep my parents home from flooding; I've been there the last two days. Just came home for a quick cleaning and back to the lake. They are in Munster, Ind. Every thing is still a go so far though.

Hope your Patriot has pontoons on it, Will!! With Munster being right down the road from you, it must be a mess out your way.

We got about 8.49 inches of rain, here in La Porte County. Only found one Prius-type vehicle in the middle of a cornfield near our house during the height of the storm.

Dayyummm....you guys got a boatload more rain than we did in my neck of da woods! I sure hope everything's almost back to normal for you guys now and totally back by next week so more people can show up at Badlands.
Remind me not to whine about 5.5 or 6 inches of rain again. :(

And speaking of weather.... we now have a long range forcast.... so far- PERFECT WEATHER

http://mobile.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?brand=mobile&query=attica%2C+in

Highs, in the upper 70's and clear. We'll see if it stays that way!

And speaking of weather.... we now have a long range forcast.... so far- PERFECT WEATHER

http://mobile.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?brand=mobile&query=attica%2C+in

Highs, in the upper 70's and clear. We'll see if it stays that way!

YESSSS!!

Ah man...I was almost hoping for a little overcast and slight rain. It would have made for some good times on the trails. But then again, our picnic would have sucked.

Ah man...I was almost hoping for a little overcast and slight rain. It would have made for some good times on the trails. But then again, our picnic would have sucked.

Haven't been to Indiana?

If you don't like the weather around here, just wait a few hours. It will change.

Expecting the forecast to be correct more than a few hours out around here is not suggested. :)
The forecast is different each day so that the weather forecasters around here can say they are 100% accurate... A forecast for Thursday on Wednesday is usually wrong, but more than likely it was correct on Monday, and completely off the Thursday before.

Really hard to predict weather these days cause it changes from time to time...
Bad weather really messes up plans...

True, but after just cheking the link again. It sayes that Sat-Wed. Clear, 70s/50s.

When they group a lot of days together like that, that ususally relflects a trend that is hard to miss. Right now, the weather is forcasted to be perfect. Which means- at worst, we'll get some drizzel. But at best... PERFECT!

Well, I threw the hitch on last night...and received a HUGE tow hook that looks pretty bad-A.

I did it last night and my digital camera (still shot) sucks in the dark, so I'll take pics during lunch here and post them tonight.

Skid plates have been backordered apparently. Son of a gun. I'll have to take it easy on the mud/rocks if we're headed that way.

Can we get a check-in of all the people that are going? This should be a good time.

Still in. Making finial preps right now. This will be a three day trip for me! Willie, here's a list of picnic stuff if you wanna jump in and grab something.

Picnic*
Sandwiches
Ham) Firemothjoe,
Turkey) Randoo (cajun),
Cheese) Will H
Condiments) Will H
Bread) Will H

Drinks:
Diet Pepsi) Randoo
Non-diet) Will H
Juice) Firemothjoe,
Bottle Water) Will H

Sides:
Chips) Randoo,
Salads)
Desserts)
Other) Firemothjoe (paper plates/paper towels),

PB + J is a specialty of mine.

Grape Jelly, hope you don't mind.

Oh, and I saw you have a midwest group...can I join, even though I'm not from those states?

The purpose of the regional forums is to discuss issues in your regions. Up to you if ya wanna talk to the Colorado guys about off-roading out there.

Just finished a little last minute shopping. Got my non-deadly, hookless 20' tow strap. and picked up some moderatly healthy desserts.

Don't know if this has been mentioned or not... but y'all may wanna bring some kinda folding chair for breaks or picnic. Or you could just sit in under your tail gate. Here's the list as it now stands.

Picnic*
Sandwiches
PB+J, butterknife) Westsidewillie
Ham) Firemothjoe,
Turkey) Randoo (cajun),
Cheese) Will H
Condiments) Will H
Bread) Will H

Drinks:
Diet Pepsi) Randoo
Non-diet) Will H
Juice) Firemothjoe,
Bottle Water) Will H

Sides:
Chips) Randoo,
Salads)
Desserts) Firemothjoe
Other) Firemothjoe (paper plates/paper towels, trash bags),


Looks like the only thing left is salad... pasta or otherwise. This will probably be an expensive item. So it's cool if nobody signs up for it. If someone does being salad, then we'll need to add plastic silverware.

Joe, it's up to everyone else on this, but I think there is plenty of food already being brought. Probably more than we'll get consumed at lunch.

On a totally-not-mentioned note yet: what time are we to meet up there? The place opens at 9 as I recall. If we are meeting when they open up, I need to get an early start. Just wanted to clarify..

Joe, it's up to everyone else on this, but I think there is plenty of food already being brought. Probably more than we'll get consumed at lunch.

On a totally-not-mentioned note yet: what time are we to meet up there? The place opens at 9 as I recall. If we are meeting when they open up, I need to get an early start. Just wanted to clarify..

You're probably right about all that Randy! We can't forget about Dinner as well!

As far as what time to meet up, let me present this option: Last trip, we all commited to a time, and we arrived hrs apart from eachother! I'll likely be there first this time because I'm camping out there on the night before. Just get there as early as you can and wish to. It's your $20. When you arrive at the enterance, look to the left, if you see a camo tent but no Patriot then I'm at the park. Sign in at the office and continue West to a large parking area at the bottom of the hill. I'll wait there until a second Patriot arrives. We'll dottle around a bit and then return to the parking area periodically to look for more mk's! If you wanna go looking for us, then head South and stay in the sand dune areas without climbing any hills. There's a 60% chance you'll bump into us that way.

The worst part is that my cell phone doesn't work at all in Attica :( x 10

I'm planning on getting there around 9:00AM. The other guys I know are still going too. Westside, your welcome to follow us on down there if you wish.

Joe, looks like the Suburban tow vehicle will be there for cooler storage.

I'm planning on getting there around 9:00AM. The other guys I know are still going too. Westside, your welcome to follow us on down there if you wish.

Joe, looks like the Suburban tow vehicle will be there for cooler storage.


Will -- I'm up for meeting at a place to get there by 9am. Let me know where you're thinkin' and what time we need to be there by.

Also, let's hope 80 opens up down there by NW Indiana by Tuesday. I see that its still closed down as of this afternoon, and everything is rerouted to 394. Any idea if its goin' down from the flooding??

I'm shooting for a a 9AM arrival too. It's about 3 hours so I plan on leaving around 6.
I'll look for you guys where Joe just stated.

Will -- I'm up for meeting at a place to get there by 9am. Let me know where you're thinkin' and what time we need to be there by.

Also, let's hope 80 opens up down there by NW Indiana by Tuesday. I see that its still closed down as of this afternoon, and everything is rerouted to 394. Any idea if its goin' down from the flooding??

As of now 80/94 is open so the traffic is not all screwed up anymore:smiley_thumbs_up: We will be leaving my place at 7:00AM so if you were on the road at 6:00 you would be fine. We are taking route 41 to go down there. If you come down 294 to 80/94 and take 394 South to route 30 East you would go right by my place. If you want to meet up somewhere along the way I'm right at the state line.

Last look at the weather... Perfect! A little warm and sunny... but no humidity and it WILL be excellent! I'm heading out tomorrow. A direct email would be the best way to reach me from this moment on. Once I reach the Badlands campground tomorrow night, I'll be completly without voice or data signal, so the only way to talk to me will be in person! Looking forward to seeing everyone. Goodluck and safe journey!

Wish I could have made it out.

Everyone have a safe and fun time. I wish I could make it, but senority issues at work prevent me from attending.

Remember, Have Fun Out There!

Will,

I think we'll just meet you there, rather than tryin' to find a point to meet.

If I see a Pat on the way down, I'll be sure to honk.

-Joey

No problem, I'll have a Jeep Wrangler following me. Firemothjoe just left my house with his new front and rear skid plates installed. He's camping there tonight and will see us all there. We also went and did a little shoping at the new Cabela's we have here.:smiley_thumbs_up:

Just got all the little details taken care of here too.
Food bought.
Car cleaned.
MP3 player charged and added a couple of songs.
Camera batteries all charged up.

Since we just had our CPM and TPM flashed at the dealership earlier this week, I'll gas up just before hitting the road and check the mileage when I get there. Hopefully there will be a station right near where I get off of Interstate.

Everyone travel safely that is hitting the road.
For those who couldn't make it this time..I sure as hell hope it's fun enough that we can try to pull this off one more time this year and then ya'll can make it!
Book report to follow on Tuesday night. Pics shortly thereafter.:pepper:

Once again I will be unable to attend thanks to that ever present thing I refer to as work.
I haope you all have a wonderful time and are safe. I expect a full report that be like salt in a wound. Does anyone have a chainsaw for ant trees that are blocking the trail? Damn hurricane Ike!

Awesome time yesterday....

I'll post some photos I have later on tonight when I get home from work.

PS - I'll need Joe, Will, and Randy to private message me their emails so I can send the pics for easier download. I have 20+ pics and it'd just be easier this way. I'll post a few on here, not 20+.

PPS - I didn't have time to put the vids on the computer last night...let alone post them on Youtube. Tonight possibly.

Oh woww..before yesterday I was a off-roading wirgin. Now I are a off-roading horn-dog. I had an incredible time yesterday with firemothjoe, westsidewilly and Will H. (I'm old and my memory sucks..there was a couple more guys but my mind is drawing a damned blank. WHO else was there in the morning??!!)
I had no idea how the Patriot would do in true off-roading conditions but from what I could tell...it performed admirably! We (me for sure) had a blast going up those sand/gravel dunes. The ESP-Off and the 19-1 crawl ratio let me go up steep embankments that I would never had tried if I didn't see guys like Will H go flying up them.
Pics (hopefully) will follow, as westsidewilly is doing. Firemothjoe is still out there and he has some too.
Willy, THANKS in advance for any youtube videos that might come out from that. Describing what we did pales to actually seeing it so I hope they come out!

I believe Joe said something about doing this again when the weather cools a little more. Bank on Randy coming back!

Congrat's for getting such a 'relatively' big group together! can't wait for pics and vids!

Great time yesterday had by all! Four Patriots one Cherokee and one Wrangler in the group. Lots of good hill climbing and some good mud play. I didn't have a camera so I'm gonna have to wait for pics. Looks like I have to get a new horn since mine is full of mud and water. It kind of sounds like a sick goat or something.

Just got back from Turkey run. Unpacking, arranging pictures and finishing my FULL report. The "boat in a backpack" idea was a self-inflicted disaster that some how turned out ok! Report coming. Stand by.

Great time yesterday had by all! Four Patriots one Cherokee and one Wrangler in the group. Lots of good hill climbing and some good mud play. I didn't have a camera so I'm gonna have to wait for pics. Looks like I have to get a new horn since mine is full of mud and water. It kind of sounds like a sick goat or something.

If you want any of my pics, feel free to email me and I'll send some along.
Just PM your email address Will. It'll be my pleasure to send some your way.

link to the youtube video?

link to the youtube video?

Patman, I think he is still in the process of getting those uploaded.

Stay tuned...

Ok, finally done! Gonna have to post in sections. Hold your replies until you see the orange boat.

The story of what happened on Tuesday has two very distinct versions in which it can be told: a long version and a short version.

For those of you who are short on time, I'll give the short version first. It went perfectly. Imagine the greatest possible outcome of a Jeep Patriot trail ride and you'll probably get a pretty good idea as to how it went down. That's it. Now scroll down and look at the pictures..........

As for the slightly longer version, the tale begins at Will H's house on Monday, the day before the trail ride. I set out from my apartment and drove nearly 5 hours to get to Will's for some much needed Jeep upgrades. He bolted my skid plates on with relative ease. I say relative ease because he saved me the hours of sheer horror of attempting to do something like that by myself or shelling out major mullah to have the dealer do it for me. I couldn't express my gratitude enough but tired in the form of buying dinner or perhaps some merchandise from a quick field trip to Cabelas. (They don't have Cabelas in my neck of the woods). Will is the kind of guy who just likes to help out a fellow Jeeper, never once caring about compensation, or reimbursement for his time and effort. In fact, he seemed to find my insistence of repaying him awkward and unnecessary. I wish I had more friends like that!

As nightfall approached, I set out with my upgraded FDI Patriot for Badland's campground. Along the way, I observed something far beyond I could ever expect to take my breath away. Wind farms. I've seen these things before on TV. But, in person, they are something different all together. To quote an awesome movie, "I did not know such things could be built by the hands of man." I pulled over to gawk at a turbine closest to the road. It stood nearly 300 feet tall, about the height of the Eiffel tower at Kings Island. Each propeller blade, 100 feet long. The blades totaled a diameter larger than a high school gymnasium. And there were hundreds of them. They stretched as far and my eyes could see. All the way to the horizon. How does this relate to the topic at hand? Well, like the Patriot, these awesome creations represent American innovation at it's finest. My faith in that strange farfetched national dream of energy independence was suddenly renewed at that moment. I totaled 7 hrs on the road and one tank of gas on Monday. My tank average was 30.1 mpg exactly. The best My Patriot has ever done.

We all met up as planned on Tues morning for what was sure to be a great trail ride. The weather was warm but no at all hot. Beside an occasional ATV sighing, we had the park to ourselves. We met up as planned, me then Will, and Will's friends and WestsideWillie. No sign of Randoo at first but I knew he'd be there eventually. Sure enough, we found him during a periodical check of the rendezvous point.

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We began at the "mud pit" a section of badlands which is guaranteed to be muddy if there was any mud to be had. Will H literally took on a mud puddle that got him up to his headlights! That was probably the one took out his horn! So much for a trip without damage! I for some reason was also a bit on the brave side. Recklessly brave. Must of be those new skid plates. Those fancy new plates got scraped about a dozen times, 3 of those were strong impacts! Yikes! WestSideWille, with his fresh off the dealer lot Patriot, was also a bit daring! He couldn't get his plates installed in time, but even so, he was far braver then I on my first time out! He kept right in line with the rest of the fleet. We all looked out for each other, though. When someone got scraped or a path turned treacherous, an announcement was made over the radio.

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As mentioned earlier, Will brought along his buddies, one in a trail-rated Wrangler, and the other in a hardcore decked-out Cherokee. The Cherokee made for an excellent recovery vehicle if/when things got ugly. That's six Jeeps in all! Four of them Patriots! The Jeep fleet then moved on to the pea gravel Dunes, the key attraction at Badlands. No time was wasted charging up one mound after another, each time was a battle that could only be won with proper piloting. However, some vehicles had a distinct advantage! It was very fortunate to see an FDII in action! I'm talking about Randoo's rig. That brilliant orange paint job seemed to give off it's own light on a cloudless day! The crawl ratio gave him a flawless victory over every single obstacle. No matter how steep or how deep, the FDII charged though it like nothin.

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I got the bonehead of the trip award by attempting to go up a massive hill, failing, then backing out. I backed over a boulder, then over a bush, and then, trying to avoid the boulder and bush, I nearly tipped over and fell into a pond! When partially sideways and stuck, I opened my door into a bunch of sand! So much for my pretty paintjob! The worst part is that I did this several times before finally letting the hill win! Just wasn't meant to be I guess!

We took a break for lunch and then Will hopped into his buddy's Cherokee and I into the Wrangler for a ride along into the "forest of doom." Keep in mind that I would only give a nickname like that to a location that earns it. Probably not meant for trucks, it was a heavily wooded area with nothing in between the close trees but muddy ruts. Some ruts were two-three feet deep. I'm glad Wranglers have OH-Sh** handles in front of the passenger seat because I was hanging on for dear life as we all bounced around. I made myself useful and started snapping shots wildly. All the motion was about to make me lose my lunch when suddenly the Wrangler got stuck- really bad! So bad that I got sprayed with mud while sitting in the passenger seat! The Cherokee pulled him out with little effort.

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We also visited the ol' rock query. Even with skid plates, no one was interested in totaling their Jeeps, so we mostly just used the area for a photo shoots. Will gets the best stuck award for getting suck so bad, half of his Patriot was off the ground! WestsideWillie pulled him out easily using a badass rear receiver hook. I gotta get one! Especially since it's unlikely that I'll ever have the highly useful front hooks like Randoo and Will's.

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All in all it was an excellent trip! No major damage other then Will's horn. I got a lot of wood scratches which I'm confident can be buffed out. We used about a quarter tank of gas, not bad for 7 hrs of trail riding! The talkabout radios were definitely the way to go. Even when spit up into different groups, we could easily find each other again using the radios. We all left exhausted and dirty. A good day.

After another night under the brightest stars I had ever seen. (Must be a boonie thing). I headed South for day three of my adventure! Turkey Run State park. Last time it was hiking, this time was boating and then hiking. I own an Orange Torpedo. It's a high-quality inflatable kayak that is used by professional outfitters along the Colorado river for its distinct advantages in handling on water. I was about to test another of its advantage- it's ultra light weight. My plan was to launch it up river at the Eastern-most edge of the park, near the Narrows covered bride. Then take it down river to the Western most edge of the park, the Cox Covered bridge. Once I land at Cox, I then deflate the Torpedo, stuff it into its backpack and hike through the park back to the Narrows bridge where my Jeep was parked. A good plan, but my worst fears came true halfway down the river. There were several locations were to water was only an inch deep!! Believe me, there's nothing scarier than scraping the bottom at 10mph in an inflatable boat! But the Orange Torpedo is no pool toy. I made it all the way to Cox bridge with out a single rupture of the PVC hull. I strapped the 35 lb boat to my back, and set out for the 4 mile hike back to my Jeep. The backpack just kept getting heavier and heavier, but I knew there was only one way home, and here I am! Would I do it again? Heck yeah! It's just a matter of time and planning. So let's get planning!

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Note: there are many many many more pics. I had to shrink some down and put them together to properly fit the story. Upload space is also a factor. I'm working on a zip file with all of the raw images for anyone who wants them. PM me with your email. Subject: "I want pics"

I am Jack's jealous 4x2........

I am Jack's jealous 4x2........

Me as well. What was I thinking. :doh:
I should have known that if I got a Jeep I was going to get the sickness.


The picture of the 4 amigos on the rock needs to be sent to Jeep for some advertising. :smiley_thumbs_up:

Really wish I could have made this one.

Yeah, I had a little damage from scrapin' the frame. I also bottomed out on one of the first hills pretty bad, but no damage. Skid plates are a necessity. I couldn't do a trail with the guys cause there was some places where skid plates were necessary. That's all right though...I got to climb a big a**sand hill to get where the guys were. No problems there. The Pat zipped right up it...."Too easy" was the quote of the day.

Overall, I had a blast. I won't be going back to doing that offroading thing until I get those skid plates. I had a couple of close calls, and luckily for me, I scraped the frame, not anything else. Also, it puts your mind at ease. I was nervous a lot of the time because I didn't want to eff my brand new Jeep up. After talking with Will, I may just have to employ him to help me install mine! You up for it, Will??

Anyway, I almost went with the 4x2 for the price...but living in Chicago I went with the 4x4 for snow. I'm glad I did, because I now get to do a lot of fun stuff.

Look for the youtube vids to be posted later on tonight. The internet went out late last night (as it does frequently), so I couldn't upload them to youtube. I have an awesome one of Will getting stuck on a sand hill...but it ends before I pulled him out. It is pretty funny though.

PS...that tow hook I have IS bad-a**. It was only $20 too. I'll see if I can find the link for it and post it up here. It's way bigger than it looks on the picture on the site.

Heck Willy, I don't know about you, but I could have spent all day on the dunes anyhow! Those were a riot and it's safer on the frame to boot! The rock quarry was cool but it was kind of limiting in a way, unless you're a real hardy soul that is..
I thought the biggest limiting factor (and it wasn't much actually) was how warm it got in the afternoon. With windows down, the trailing jeeps got to eat a lot of dust.
If we can manage to come up with another meet this year, it should be cooler and that would make it that much more enjoyable.
Also, I realllllly screwed up when it comes to video; my wife reminded me that her little digital has a movie mode on it. I checked and found that with the memory card she has in it, I could have recorded almost 30 minutes of movies!! :doh:
I believe that (between all of us) I have enough pics to make up a small slide-show presentation of our trip. I will try to get that made this weekend so if anyone wants to see the pics (with small narration notes) of the event, I should be able to send it along as a Powerpoint.

Really wish I could have made this one.

That woulda been cool to have twin SBOs representin'!:banana:

Here's the HOOK!




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http://www.etrailer.com/pc-OR~TR63044.htm

yeah Randy....my interior is covered in dust. I wont' smoke in the damn thing, but there's dust everywhere. Ironic.

Count me in for the next one guys. Looks like you had a blast.

p.s. more pics please

All right...courtesy of Randoo!

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Quite a few comin'

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That's it for now... I still have to resize all my pics to fit.

Ok, for anyone who might be interested, I found the Badlands on Microsoft TerraServer Imagery:
http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=16&X=2386&Y=22284&W=3
This particular view is the southern most part of the area- mostly the rock quarry. Look north (and slightly west) and you'll catch the rest of it. From what I can tell, there is a BOATLOAD of area I didn't get to yet. *evil grin* But I willlll..

Willy may I ask what you resized your pics to, to get those in your post? (or was that the size that came through in the email?)

BTW, on a barely-related note: you guys eat like girls, ya know that? I can't believe how much food I took home! I thought you might have an appetite or something but my wife eats more than you guys did and she weighs a hundred and nothing!! (I'm sooooo disappointed..):p

BTW, on a barely-related note: you guys eat like girls, ya know that? I can't believe how much food I took home! I thought you might have an appetite or something but my wife eats more than you guys did and she weighs a hundred and nothing!! (I'm sooooo disappointed..):p


Oh man Randy, you'll have to watch yourself. I forgot about the time difference (I think everybody did) and I ate a huge breakfast at what I THOUGHT was 9am! I'll be sure to starve myself until we eat lunch next time....hahaha.

Anyway, what you do with those pics. Right click and go to "open with" and click "Paint." Then since it opens up the pic to its actual size (which is huge with my pics), I went to "Image" then down to "Stretch/Skew" and put 25 in both the horizontal and vertical boxes. Click OK...then file>save as and save it with "resize" at the end. So "DCNS001" would be "DCSN001 Resize"...
That way I could keep the original and the resized. And since you save it as a jpg in paint, its way smaller in the amt of space it takes up.

The second pic in post #93 is now my wallpaper:D I managed to do some offroading of my own today, that is if you count driving through all the flooded streets here in Norfolk today:) I got a good 12 foot wall'o'water a few times:D Its all because Im jealous of you all, looks like a great time. 5 Stars from me fellas!

You like that, Weatherman??

Thank Randoooooo

Great pics guys, The one with the four Pats is gonna be my new desktop also.
Willy when you get the parts let me know and we'll get those plates put on for ya:smiley_thumbs_up: I made my appointment to get the horn replaced today; that thing sounds sick I tell ya.

Great pics guys, The one with the four Pats is gonna be my new desktop also.
Willy when you get the parts let me know and we'll get those plates put on for ya:smiley_thumbs_up: I made my appointment to get the horn replaced today; that thing sounds sick I tell ya.

I wish I could have heard it. I bet it sounds like a dying animal..hehe:D

Will, thanks for giving me the info on how to correctly get my Pat set up to run up the hills so well. (yeppp, I forgot to kick it into lockout until Will reminded me.) Up to that point, what little climbing I did was just in drive with ESP off. Go figure.

Glad I could help Randoo.

About lunch two sandwiches, two sodas, and two handfuls of chips was my limit. Not to say that I could of done another sandwich but what would you guys think?

I'll PM my address so you can e-mail me the photos.

Holy smacks, those are some high quality Pics, Randoo! I knew we'd get some good ones when you broke out the big professional grade monster camera! I'm trying to figure out that spy satellite photo you linked to, but I can't make heads or tales of it! Perhaps when placed over the Badlands' crappy map, it would make more sense to me! Nevertheless, I am up for another Badlands visit- especially if there is new territory to explore! Let's not plan the next trail ride in this thread, rather, I'd say we should discuss takeaways and lessons learned from this trip. Feel free to share.

1. I mentioned this before, but radios are awesome! I felt bad because I only had 3 talkabout radios to go around. (I used to have 4, but one got wet during a resent hiking trip that went HORRIBLY WRONG). If there were 6 radios, then everyone woulda been in contact with everyone. We used the horns to communicate with non-radio holders, but "come here" vs. "get back" all sounds the same in horn language! I propose that, for next time, each driver gets a radio. They come in compact and simple, like the ones I use http://www.shoplet.com/office/db/MTRFV200AAPR.html or in extravagant and awesome, like this one- https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=6404 ...that one can actually transmit your location! Not everyone has to go out and buy a pair, remember I have two extra to lend out. Someone else could buy a pair and split them and the cost with another driver. Simple! Just a proposal!

2. Mud+ brand new car+ mud soaked engine=maintenance cost?? Monkey see- monkey do. Will H went roaring through 3 ft deep mud puddles, and so did Firemothjoe. But Will is a mechanical genius, Firemoth is not! My question is, will gently spraying down the engine at the car wash do the trick, or is there some long term maintenance issues I should keep and eye out for? Besides a dying goat horn that is! :D

Joe, I was finally able to figure out where things were with that satellite photo when I zoomed back out a little and had the Badlands map right in front of me (pointed correctly to the north).
Hey, those radios look like the nuts. The price wasn't near as bad as I thought they might be. If we get another group together, I'll be sure to get a pair for us.
The only thing I can think of for next time mostly effects me and westsidewilly: and that's to remember that there is A TIME DIFFERENCE!!:icon_rolleyes: That and remembering to bring a video camera to throw up some youtube stuff again. Can't have too many of those, can we??
After looking at everyones pictures that were taken this last week, I've come to the conclusion that our trip was very well documented. :smiley_thumbs_up:

Heck yeah it was! So, is this the biggest Patriot meet to date? 4 Patriots, 6 jeeps total. Only thing missing was a bonfire and beer later that night. :( alas, it's forbidden at Badlands. Hate to see what the rules would be if they called it Goodlands.

Joe,
Take the garden hose and an old towel and spray and wipe that engine clean. That's what I do to get the dirt off there is nothing you can hurt under there with the spray nozzle of a garden hose, but use towel or rag to wipe off the grunge.

I noticed that the A/C was not cooling as well as usual when I left and I stopped at the spray car wash in Attica to hose off some of the crud. The mud/soup we were going through restrcted air flow through the A/C condenser in front of the radiator. So take the hose to the condenser and radiator and spray it out until it's clean. You too Willy!

I noticed I got alot of tree branch pin stripes this time around. I'm already waxing them out. I might have a couple of 2-way raidos this weekend.

so Will, did (do) you take your Explorer out to do similar drives, or is it really a Jeep thing? :)

I never took my S10 Jimmy out with the intention of just driving around.

so Will, did (do) you take your Explorer out to do similar drives, or is it really a Jeep thing? :)

I never took my S10 Jimmy out with the intention of just driving around.

Nope it's only a 4X2 Explorer although it's most likley seen more off roading when I have taken it hunting and fishing than some 4X4's. I know for sure that it would not have made it through alot of the stuff we went through at Badlands.

The best thing about the Explorer is it gets 22mpg on the Hwy and that's where it spends most of it's time to and from work. (110,000 miles on it)

CB radios would do just fine and they are relatively inexpensive (cheap:-)).

BTW, I did see an XJ Cherokee in one of the photos, right???? Ah, nice to see it doing things it was meant to do!

CB radios would do just fine and they are relatively inexpensive (cheap:-)).

BTW, I did see an XJ Cherokee in one of the photos, right???? Ah, nice to see it doing things it was meant to do!

It was one bad mamma jamma too! It went places we just drooled over but wouldn't even think about going to.

Oh, I thought of another reason for the handheld radios: a couple of times a person might go walk up/down a trail to see what's up ahead to make sure there would be a place for the Jeeps to get turned around if necessary and having that radio would speed up the process of reporting what they find. If we have another one of these shin-digs, I'll definitely pick up a pair.

On yet another topic related to this trip: Does anyone have plans to send pics in to the Badlands website? The lady at the counter knew we were going to take a bunch of photos and asked if we could send some back to them. Just a thought.

They do have the handheld CB radios that you could use. I like having a CB in the car, in addition to my cell phone, because there isn't total cell phone coverage.

I learned the value of a CB many years ago while coming back to Indiana from seeing my parents in AZ. It was around midnight and my car broke down 20 miles in the middle of Nowhere (acutally Deming), New Mexico. Got a trucker to stop and he assisted until I was able to get a wrecker to tow my car into town--about 2 1/2 hrs. later.

Besides, if you ever go to Camp Jeep/Jeep Jamborees, they encourage you to have a CB radio to communicate with other parties attending.

They do have the handheld CB radios that you could use. I like having a CB in the car, in addition to my cell phone, because there isn't total cell phone coverage.

I learned the value of a CB many years ago while coming back to Indiana from seeing my parents in AZ. It was around midnight and my car broke down 20 miles in the middle of Nowhere (acutally Deming), New Mexico. Got a trucker to stop and he assisted until I was able to get a wrecker to tow my car into town--about 2 1/2 hrs. later.

Besides, if you ever go to Camp Jeep/Jeep Jamborees, they encourage you to have a CB radio to communicate with other parties attending.

I've heard about that Jamboree. There's one in Alton Il, just a couple of hours (2.25 hrs roughly) from me. I will be checking into that next year since they already held it for this year.

On the handheld CBs, are the channels the same as the portable radios I just checked into? Or would that necessitate using two channels, one for the CB and one for the handheld radios? (the frequencies is what I'm wondering about)

Hoosiermud, if you wanna use the handheld cb, then go for it! Will H has a handheld too, and I got a base unit with external anteanna. So there will be no problem staying in touch! However after taking the Pepsi challange after two trail rides, I can honestly say that I prefer the talkabouts. Besides the reasons Randoo mantioned.. They seem to transmit way clearer and further. Also, the talkabouts I use are just $35 a pair. Cmon! Ya can't beat that!

On a cleaner note, I took my Patriot to the car wash. Took a crap load of quarters and over an hour, but the body and engine are spic and span! I ran out of time before I could get to the tires and wheels! Might have to finish the job tomorrow.

Ill email a bunch of photos I took to Badlands when I get home tonight. I also need to mail some pics to Ghost Soldier. If your listening, Ghost, check your inbox Sat morning.

Randoo, the Citizen band(cb) and Family Band are two totally differant animals... I do believe. I'm not at all a radio expert though.

Ill do an experiment and set the talkabout on scan while transmitting from differant channels on the cb. Then vice versa. Ill get to the bottom of this!

Hoosiermud, if you wanna use the handheld cb, then go for it! Will H has a handheld too, and I got a base unit with external anteanna. So there will be no problem staying in touch! However after taking the Pepsi challange after two trail rides, I can honestly say that I prefer the talkabouts. Besides the reasons Randoo mantioned.. They seem to transmit way clearer and further. Also, the talkabouts I use are just $35 a pair. Cmon! Ya can't beat that!

On a cleaner note, I took my Patriot to the car wash. Took a crap load of quarters and over an hour, but the body and engine are spic and span! I ran out of time before I could get to the tires and wheels! Might have to finish the job tomorrow.

Ill email a bunch of photos I took to Badlands when I get home tonight. I also need to mail some pics to Ghost Soldier. If your listening, Ghost, check your inbox Sat morning.

I'm not against the talkabouts. We have a pair that transmits something like 17 miles in open country, blue skies, and no wind! You actually need a license from the FCC to transmit with one. It, also, has the NWS All Hazards Weather Channel.

looks like you guys had fun nice pics nice job i had no idea the pat was so capable

looks like you guys had fun nice pics nice job i had no idea the pat was so capable

Either did we (at least ME for sure!).:D

Ill do an experiment and set the talkabout on scan while transmitting from differant channels on the cb. Then vice versa. Ill get to the bottom of this!

Ok, experiment over. The Cb and Talkabouts won't talk to eachother under any circumstance. It was strange that channel 22 on the CB causes static on the talkabout when it is also on ch22. It is just static, unfortunatly, and does not work the other way around.

Ok, experiment over. The Cb and Talkabouts won't talk to eachother under any circumstance. It was strange that channel 22 on the CB causes static on the talkabout when it is also on ch22. It is just static, unfortunatly, and does not work the other way around.

Thanks for that info Joe. It tells me that if we get together again soon, I'll order that pair of Talkabouts for us to use. I can use those around the home here too. (the wife and I have caravaned our cars before and that would work great to keep in touch in traffic!)

Yep I keep two in my center console for just that reason.

My third radio is kept in my hiking/survival bag. Did you know that 90% of all stranded hunters/hikers are within radio range of their rescuers?

Also, when you get your radios, be sure the batteries are all facing the same way when storing the radio when not in use for an extented period of time. This will prevent the "settings memory" from draining the batteries after after weeks without being used. If you get the small ones I linked to, use the belt clip to pry the bettery cover off. I had the radios for two years before I figured all that out!

Lookie what I did! I made my very first Youtube video, well, it's more like a slide show, but it turned out really well! Check it out. This is EVERY SINGLE pic that I took on the trail ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xjxf1TUv4M

This turned out so well, in fact, that I may give this bad boy it's own thread.

Well Done Joe-Joe!

That had to take a while to make I bet.

Oh, I sent in some pics to the Badlands yesterday. In a followup email, I mentioned that if they wanted more pictures from our trip, to let anyone of us (that went) to know and we would forward them on to her. So, Joe, one of us may be getting an email from her requesting more shots that we posted here. (I didn't send too many. I didn't want to flood them with pics!)

Well Done Joe-Joe!

That had to take a while to make I bet.

Oh, I sent in some pics to the Badlands yesterday. In a followup email, I mentioned that if they wanted more pictures from our trip, to let anyone of us (that went) to know and we would forward them on to her. So, Joe, one of us may be getting an email from her requesting more shots that we posted here. (I didn't send too many. I didn't want to flood them with pics!)


Oopps! I sent them the same massive zipped folder that I sent you! Oh well, I bet they don't get pics too often anyway! And certainly not of fancy smachy New Jeep Patriots!

The slide show actually didn't turn out as good as I wanted. My grand finale at the end got cut off somehow! Oh well. I was just playing around on the windows movie maker anyway. The next one will be better!

Joe,

Cool youtube slide show. I guess now we are famous;) you guys all took some excellent pics. I guess next time we need someone who can take some good video shots. I'm not to good with a camera but I'm willing to put the Patriot through the gauntlet.

Joe,

Cool youtube slide show. I guess now we are famous;) you guys all took some excellent pics. I guess next time we need someone who can take some good video shots. I'm not to good with a camera but I'm willing to put the Patriot through the gauntlet.

Will, I found out that my wifes digital camera can record up to 30 minutes of video (with our memory card), so I'll be bringing that for sure. We'll be able to get everyone at least once up a good hill so we can all have our own potential youtube moment. :D
Also, westsidewilly hasn't had a chance to get his stuff loaded down yet. I can't wait to see what he got!

Guys,

Since we have done two rides now during the week how about we do the next one on the weekend Sat or Sun. This may give more people a chance to come along and have some fun with us. I think if we go in November or December on a weekend it's not going to be as busy as in the summer months. Besides it would be nice to have some other off roaders there to see what the Patriot can do. Anyway it's just a thought.

Also The other day I was out with the guy who has the Cheerokee (Dan) that went with us to Badlands. He said when he was behind all of our group while we were out riding by the Orange trail in those narrow areas. A group of ATV's stopped and was just watching us. He said they seemed amazed we were in there and not getting stuck. Dan thought our patriots were like a bunch of mountian goats that went through anything and was really amazed of how well they even climbed the hills every bit as good as the Wrangler did.

If its a weekend you can count me in for sure. :smiley_thumbs_up:

Well fellas, I've been a little MIA lately, so I'm sorry.

I ended up loading a video of Randy on Youtube, but my internet cut out. I can't search for the vid at work here because of our content filters, but if you search on youtube for keywords: Randy and Patriot and Badlands you should be able to find it.

Work has been absolutely crazy...I've been workin' 11 hour days in hopes to get all this work done. Hopefully I can get the rest of the vid's posted this weekend.

The vids are all ripped onto the computer...it'll just take a good internet connection and some time.

Apologies.

Well fellas, I've been a little MIA lately, so I'm sorry.

I ended up loading a video of Randy on Youtube, but my internet cut out. I can't search for the vid at work here because of our content filters, but if you search on youtube for keywords: Randy and Patriot and Badlands you should be able to find it.

Work has been absolutely crazy...I've been workin' 11 hour days in hopes to get all this work done. Hopefully I can get the rest of the vid's posted this weekend.

The vids are all ripped onto the computer...it'll just take a good internet connection and some time.

Apologies.

Willy, never apologize for working bud. THAT comes first. Always. (remember, that's what pays the bills!)
Thanks in advance for ANY work you've done, even if you don't get around to doing anymore.
Now, I'm off to see if I can find whatcha got loaded!!:smiley_thumbs_up:

found it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtv9c4YpdDU

Weekends would be a lot better for me. Those 3AM wakeups during the week take a toll. Besides my work is so unpredictable, I never know when I am able to take off unless I get it scheduled ahead of time.

Yea, the cooler months, I don't think you will have near the traffic there as in the warmer months. You might even have the 'S'now word.

If a weekend trip is planned I might be able to persuade the wife for a outing. LMK

Weekends generally are never good for me, but, I am all for weekends because I completly understand that I would enable more to come! I will try to be available for the next one.