My New Jeep Is In The Driveway!

Well folks, River Oaks Jeep sold me a Jeep cheaper by a mile in fact, than I could get it locally, so that is who got my business.  I really really wanted to buy it in Baytown, but business is business, or the lack there of.

This thing is awesome!  I do believe this Jeep is capable of everything my lifted and locked 97 Wrangler could do, except I had an additional traction device installed on my TJ and this one has an open differential in the front (I’ll upgrade that in the future with a Detroit TrueTrac).

My new Jeep has 3.73 gears, which with my auto tranny and torque-converter is the equivalent of a manual stick and 4.11’s.  Don’t feel alone if this tech talk goes past you, just suffice it to say that it is geared for off-road in Texas for the most part and can still roll on the highway as a daily driver.  I know from experience that I can run everything with this set-up, from the beaches to the logging roads with ease.

I had to have the beefy Dana 44 rear-end with TracLoc, which since 1997 has been built even beefier that my unbreakable 1997 TJ Dana 44, but stronger is better.  The Jeep I picked out pretty much fit my options list with a couple of exceptions.  It had “tubular side steps”, which look functional, but I’m told they fail miserably when you drop the Jeep on a rock or log, so I didn’t want them and asked if they would remove them.  I planned to buy a set of “Rock Rails” and install them for rocker panel protection, but the dealership called back and asked if I would take a set of Wrangler Rubicon rock rails in exchange!

Heck yes I would.

The Jeep came with a $500.00 side air bag option and although I would rather spend that on the upgraded sound system, I decided I couldn’t remove the air bag option, or add the factory upgraded sound, so I looked the other way on these options.  I can add a small subwoofer and amp later – but, the Jeep has Sirius radio and a one year subscription and yes, it is super nice.  I might have to renew this plan at the end of the year.

My Jeep has a removable 3 piece hardtop and the front panels come off with ease.  The larger back portion and window will take 2 people if I want to remove it.  I opted for the giant 32” tires and this baby is about 6 feet high at the top.  Inside it is real nice with tons of Rand D by the Jeep people to make this 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, the best thought-out and planned version since 1941. I've already got a name for it thanks to Arnold - The Choppa!  "Get to the choppaaaa"!