Changing the fluid in your Jeep JK Wrangler’s differentials is an important part of routine maintenance. New gear oil will insure your differentials will be well lubricated and function properly. And, unlike previous Jeep Wranglers, it will not be necessary remove the differential cover in order to do this. Granted, I do recommend that you do so anyway from time to time (every other fluid change) as it will give you a chance to inspect your gears and catch any damage or unsual wear. Click on the link below for instructions on how to service your differentials.

MAINTENANCE: Jeep JK Wrangler Differential Fluid Service Write-Up

On our way home from the 2013 Overland Expo, we decided to take a round about way back to California and do a little overlanding ourselves. Heading south to Gila Bend and then west on Interstate 8, our first detour along the way would be over to an area known as Oatman Flats. Here, we would spend some time exploring the remnants of the old Butterfield Stage Route, the old Fourr’s Cemetery, the grave site of the family that the flats got it’s name from as well as the massacre site that got them buried there. The following morning and final leg of the trip, we passed by the small town of Felicity (aka, the “center of the world”) and checked out the old plank road out in the Imperial Sand Dunes. Click on the link below to see a few pics from our trip, I hope you enjoy.

Oatman Massacre Site & Imperial Sand Dunes Old Plank Road Photos

Before heading back to California from our fun at the 2013 Overland Expo, we decided to do one last run up the Smiley Rock Trail which is located up near the old mining town of Jerome and, good portions of it are a part of the historic, Great Western Trail. Being that we’ve never run this trail before, we talked to a few locals about it ahead of time and unfortunately, must have gotten the information wrong as we ended up running it backwards. Starting on the south end of the trail, we found ourselves crawling our way down Martin Canyon instead of up it. But, for fun, we turned around at the bottom and ran a good portion of it back up as well before cutting out early and heading back home. Click on the link below to see some pics from our trip.

Smiley Rock Trail Photos

After spending the better part of the day at the 2013 Overland Expo, we decided to head down to Sedona and run the Broken Arrow Trail with some of the new WAYALIFE friends that we met at the show. Unfortunately, the Pink Jeeps were out in force so we were able to take too many pics but, click on the link below to see a few that we were able to snap.

Broken Arrow Trail - Sedona, AZ Photos

Since I first heard about it a few years back, I have been wanting to attend the Overland Expo and see what it was all about. Certainly, as anyone who knows me knows, I love gadgets and innovative equipment that can help out on the trail and figured, if anyone would have it, they would. Well, I finally got a chance to make it out this year and, while I did have a great time making new friends and doing some wheeling out in the Sedona area, I must say that I was a bit disappointed in the show itself. While I did see some cool refrigerators, a powerful solar power blanket and a kitchen solutions or two, I can’t say that I saw a whole lot more than that or, at least in terms of what the average Joe could really use and or afford. All jokes aside, I didn’t even see too many, if any, companies soliciting stereotypical snorkels or roof racks or even recovery equipment. What I did see a lot of were crazy huge and expensive off-road motor homes, trailers and kitchen sets. Seriously, if I were new to all this and didn’t know anything about “overlanding”, I would have thought that the term was just another way of saying, “camping for rich people”. Not that there’s a problem with that and, not that I wasn’t impressed with what I saw but, that’s about all I got out of it. Having said all that, here are a few pics that I took while at the 2013 Overland Expo. I hope you enjoy.

2013 Overland Expo Photo Highlights

Installing a set of heavy duty replacement differential covers is one of the cheapest modifications you can do to your Jeep that’ll help it look cool and give it some extra protection. They are also of the easiest to install and can be done in about 15-30 minutes an axle. This write-up outlines what you’ll need to install most aftermarket differential covers as well as show you how to do it. While this write-up is written in regards to a front Dana 44 axle, the process is exactly the same for the rear and even for a Dana 30 or Dana 35. The only thing that is different is the cover being used.

Heavy Duty Differential Cover Installation Write-Up

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Oh, May X 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Leveraging his business and metal fabrication experience with custom ornamental iron at Iron Fence Shop and his passion for off-road adventuring, entrepreneur Joshua Manley has founded an off-road vehicle trailer design/manufacturing company to produce exceptionally durable and utilitarian tow-along trailers for work and recreational needs.

Having spent the past three years in research & development and testing of the trailer designs as well as securing patents and suppliers, Manley opened his doors to the public as of January 2013. Manley ORV Company designs and manufactures off road-capable utility and camping trailers based on the “DNA” of the famed US military M416 Jeep trailers, with many modern additions. Available in 3 models – the MORV Original, MORV Utility and MORV Explore – Manley ORV trailers are billed as “Rugged. Reliable. Ready.” for just about any practical or recreational need and can be shipped world-wide to buyers. Featuring VIN numbers and certificates of origin, the new trailers can be easily registered and titled for easy financing options.

“I loved my first Jeep Wrangler - a 2005 Rubicon - but there wasn’t any room for gear or for my dog to come along when my girlfriend and I went camping,” explains Manley as to his motivation for starting his company. “I was on my favorite online forum complaining about my space issues when someone posted a photo of an old military trailer called an M416. I loved it, but all the ones still in existence were too expensive, too far away, or needed extensive restoration. I eventually decided to take fate into my own hands and that’s when Manley ORV Company was born. We utilize the Military M416 “DNA” and then add the strengths, looks and features that today’s consumers want and need. What you get is a great-looking, rugged, very handy pull-along trailer for just about any purpose. Our MORV Explore model even comes equipped with a fold-out camping tent mounted to the rack system!”

Featuring great details like powder-coated metal finishes for long-lasting durability, LED lighting, stainless steel hardware, a patent-pending tailgate design, a patent-pending trailer rack system, and a patent-pending, locking aluminum lid, MORV trailers from Manley ORV Company start at a practical $2995 price tag. They are available to view online and can be shipped worldwide. “We ship our trailers 100% assembled inside an enclosed truck for a very reasonable fee,” Manley added for emphasis.

The exciting new brand was recently featured in FJC Magazine and the Manley ORV article has plenty of product images as well as more details.

Manley ORV Trailer Photos

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Manley ORV Company (www.manleyorv.com) designs & manufactures rugged, off road-capable utility and camping trailers based on the “DNA” of the famous US military M416 Jeep trailers, with many modern features. Available in 3 models – the MORV Original, MORV Utility and MORV Explore – Manley ORV trailers excel for practical and recreational needs on-road and off, and can be shipped world-wide to buyers. Rugged. Reliable. Ready…that’s Manley ORV. Contact us today for more information.

After making some final adjustments on the Off Road Evolution TJ-1 race rig, Mel Wade decided to do a little hooning in the front of his shop. Not everyday that you get to see a straight 6 - 350 HP 4.0L stroked to 4.9L Jeep TJ Wrangler riding on 35″ Nitto Trail Grappler MT’s lay down the rubber like this. Enjoy!

Years ago, I had heard of a short but badass trail down by the Mexican border called Devil’s Canyon that used to be a part of the original stage route that connected San Diego to Yuma. From what I had read, it was established back in the mid 1800’s, improved upon in the early 1900’s to help accommodate the first automobiles but, was soon abandoned after the completion of U.S. Highway 80. This trail did see some use again during the construction of Interstate 8 back in the 1960’s but a major storm in the 1970’s would all but erase it from history.

From what I have gathered, back around 2006, a few guys decided to look into this old route to see if it could be run and, before you knew it, Devil’s Canyon was quickly becoming a hot trail in the San Diego area that everyone wanted to run including me. Unfortunately, this renewed interest in this trail and increase in traffic ultimately lead to its closure just 6 months later. Since then, I had all but forgotten about this trail but when I started getting word that people were running it again and legally, I decided I needed to look into it. After doing some research, I found that the BLM was in fact allowing limited access to Devil’s Canyon BUT, by permit only. And, after going through the arduous process of trying to obtain one myself, I can tell you that it might as well still be consider CLOSED!

Seriously, the whole thing is a joke. Not only do you have to apply for a permit 180 days in advance, you are only allowed to run the trail on one of seven Saturday’s between October 1st and April 30th and it cannot be on a Saturday following a previous run. In addition to that, you are limited in the amount of vehicles that can participate in your run, required to pay $100 just to apply for the permit, need to fill out a 27 page application that includes plans for medical emergencies and evacuation routes and if that weren’t enough, required to provide liability insurance for $500,000 per occurrence/$1,000,000 aggregate! Even if you are willing to jump through all the hoops, that last part is the kicker. Pretty much every insurance company I called told me the same thing - the BLM doesn’t want you on that trail!

So you know, I first started to look into running this trail back in September of 2012 but wasn’t able to get an approved Saturday to run it until April 27, 2013. Of course, there was the matter of insurance and up until Thursday, April 25th, I wasn’t sure it was going to happen. If it weren’t for Off Road Evolution stepping in and helping us out with insurance, none of this would have been possible - THANK YOU OFF ROAD EVOLUTION!!

With that, you can click on the link below to see a few pics from our epic Devil’s Canyon run. As you will see, we decided to make things more interesting and run it from east to west or, from bottom to top. If there was any doubt, it really is a challenging trail and made more for a short wheel base 2-door. While everyone in our group was running a long wheel base Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited, everyone was at least on 37″ tires or bigger and most were running EVO MFG coil overs. I hope you enjoy.

BY PERMIT ONLY: Devil’s Canyon Trail Run 2013 Photo Essay

The first Jeep JK Wranglers came with mirrors that had a way of collecting water from rain or being washed and trapping it inside up against your doors - not a good thing. Later JK’s saw improvements to the mirrors which included a small notch at the bottom of the flange and, while it did help water to drain out, it was still a bit too small and had a tendency to get clogged up with dirt and debris. To fix this, a bigger drain hole is needed and this easy to do mod will help you to make one.

JK Mirror Mod - Fix Your Drippy Mirror Write-Up

JEEP TECH is a WAYALIFE series designed to help people learn how to work on their own Jeeps through short and easy to follow instructional ‘how to’ videos. In this episode, Mel Wade of Off Road Evolution will show you the proper way to install a set of ATX Slab Bead Lock Wheels onto a Nitto Trail Grappler M/T tire. He also provides some great tips and tricks that will help make the install of any bead lock wheel a lot easier. We hope you find this video useful.

Our first trail run since getting back from Moab was one that took us out into the Panamint Valley, up the Argus Range and to an old tungsten mine know as the Defense Mine. The trail is relatively short and for the most part easy to moderate but, if you take on Zero Fall and the Cummings Cutoff as we had, there’s a lot of fun to be had. Unfortunately, we no longer have our son helping out with photos and, being that we spent most of our time filming, we only have a few photos to share. I do know there were others taking photos as well and it is my hope that they post up a few here as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these pics and, if I can, will post up more from video screen shots.

Our last two days on the 2012 JK-Experience would take us over the Mackinac Bridge to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and then to its eastern most point where we would cross the St. Mary’s river by ferry to the largest fresh water island in the United States, Drummond Island. In addition to having an awesome off-road park like Turtle Ridge, Drummond Island hosts over 117 miles of trails that meander through boreal forests, across glacial rock deposits and stone ridges carved out by Lake Huron. It truly is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see and, we were happy to relax, explore and end our JK-Experience there.

We hope you enjoyed our JK-Experience HEARTLAND series and come back soon to watch other films that we make.

The 2012 Off Road Evolution JK-Experience presented by Nitto Tire was also made possible from support of the following sponsors: AdArt, ARB, ATX Wheels, Daystar, Discount Tire, Dynatrac, Dynomax, EVO MFG, Hi-Lift, Hora Zero, Impact, King, Mastercraft, Project-JK, Rancho, Rockstar, Superchips, Skyjacker, Tochmate and WARN.

Cindy and I absolutely love Daylight Savings and to help kick off all the wonderful daylight we now have again, we decided to head out to the Mojave Desert and do some camping. Of course, being that this was an easy trip and St. Patricks Day was on Sunday and we had plenty of carbombs to go around, I suppose in a way it was in a way, a mini-Shamrocked Here are some pics from our trip - I hope you enjoy.

Daylight Savings Mojave Desert Camping Trip 03/16/2013

Over the years, I have installed and tested out a few different CB Radios of different makes and models and while they all did the job, they all lack options that I wanted and their performance was always just okay at best. In fact, some were difficult to hear, a couple were temperamental and others simply died after a short amount of use. Needless to say, when it came time to look for a new CB Radio for our Orange Jeep JK Wrangler, I decided to do some research and if necessary, spend a bit more money to get a better product. And, what I finally ended up getting was a Cobra 29, or more specifically, the LTD BT version of it.

In addition to coming complete with a PA and having adjustments for RF Gain, Delta Tune and Dynamic, the Cobra 29 LTD BT also features a built in SWR meter and Bluetooth system which allows you to sync it up your smart phone. As far as performance goes, this is definitely the single best CB radio that I’ve ever owned. It sounds great, it broadcasts to everyone else amazingly well and so far, I haven’t had any problems with it.

Because of it’s size, there really isn’t a whole lot of places that you can install a Cobra 29 in a 2007-10 Jeep JK Wrangler especially if you don’t have a sport cage installed. This write-up will show you how I installed mine on top of the dash over the center console.

Cobra 29 CB Radio Jeep JK Wrangler Installation Write-Up

Cindy and I got a chance to head back up to Lone Pine to do some work and on our way up, we decided to make a detour to explore some of the trails out in the Spangler Hills OHV area. Located southeast of Ridgecrest and south of Trona, this OHV area is covered with large boulders that stand straight up like Moai statues on Easter island and is designated as an open area where you can pretty much take your vehicle up and over anything it’s capable of. And, while much of the terrain is more suited for motorcycles and ATV’s, there are some fun trails and rocks that you can take a Jeep on and have some fun. Here are a few pics from our day out at Spangler Hills.

Spangler Hills OHV & Olancha Sand Dunes

Instead of heading down to the madness that is known as TDS, Cindy and I decided to change things up this year and head up north to Lone Pine for some well needed alone time. Along the way, we made a stop over at Pearsonville to say hello to the Uniroyal Gal, explored the shores of the Owens Dry Lake, spent some time at an abandoned airfield, wheeled up into the Inyo Mountains and went hunting for 235 million year old Ammonite fossils before calling it a night. Before heading for home the following day, we decided to take a long cut home to play on some rocks and explore some old mines. Here are some pics from our trip, I hope you enjoy.

Lone Pine Weekend Alone Photo Highlights

As a good part of routine maintenance on your Jeep JK Wrangler, it is highly recommended that you service your NV241 or NV241OR transfer case once every 30,000. Changing out the ATF+4 transfer case fluid will give you an opportunity to inspect it for any signs of abnormal wear going on inside (i.e. bits of metal coming out) and new fluid will help keep things operating smoothly. This is a very simple task, can be done in minutes with the right tools and this write-up should be able to help you out.

Jeep JK Wrangler NV-241 / NV-241OR Transfer Case Service

More times than not, the best line you can take through a technical section of trail will require you to use your tires to climb up and over big obstacles. Of course, by doing this, your rocker panels quickly become the lowest point on your Jeep JK Wrangler and if left unprotected, you leave the door wide open for significant body damage. It is for this reason that I always recommend a good set of rocker guards or, “rock sliders” as a must have upgrade and only second to a set of tow points front and rear.

Designed to mount directly to the frame rails of your Jeep JK Wrangler, the LoD Signature Series Rock Sliders are without a doubt one of the best rocker guards available on the market today. I have personally run a set on my White JK for over a year and can tell you that in addition to them being incredibly strong and capable of taking punishing abuse, they are also very stylish and work great as a side step.

The step by step write-up below will show you just how easy the LoD Signature Series Rock Slider are to install.

LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited Signature Series Rock Sliders Installation Write-Up

In addition to installing things like longer sway bar links and brake line extension brackets, when you lift your Jeep JK Wrangler to a height of 3″ or more, it’s a good idea to extend your rear axle breather hose as well. If you don’t, you may find that the hose will get pulled off the axle when flexing out on the trail. While this is not that big of a deal in and of itself, the hose being separated will allow water dirt and debris to get inside your axle and that can cause big problems. Fortunately, extending your axle breather hose is cheap and easy to do and can be done in minutes by following this write-up.

Jeep JK Wrangler Axle Breather Hose Extension