IF ACCESSING THIS SITE DUE TO INTEREST IN ACCESSORIES FOR THE NEW JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE, SUCH AS SKID PLATES AND ROCK SLIDERS, YOU MAY WANT TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE 4XGUARD WEBSITE--
http://www.4xGuard.com
December 2009 update.--The update is very short. This vehicle was sold this past summer and has been replaced with a 2008 Overland with CRD. I will create a site for that vehicle soon.
The 2005 was a great vehicle and we were sorry to see it go. It served us very well over the course of almoat 4 years, and provided us with lots of great memories. In fact, it's purchase was the first stepping stone along the path that led to our business, 4xGuard,com. If interested in late model Grand Cherokees like this one, be sure and visit our new site to see what it looks like.
December 2008 update.--I am surprised it has been over 2 years since updating this site. To say the least lots has happened to ourselves, our business (4xGuard), and our country. Since this is a "auto" site I will just stick with that which is related to our 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Let me begin by summing up that the last 2+ years have brought unbelieveable exposure to our rig and assocated success of our business. Our rig now has over 7 sponsors, each of which has provided at least a partial subsidy for the installation and testing of their products. We have greatly expanded the number of products carried on our website that are manufactured by others, and have several new 4xGuard products that have been extremely well-received by customers. Now a member of SEMA and regularly attending these and other tradeshows around the country, we are feeling more and more like a viable member of the 4x4 aftermarket community. Here are some pictures of our rig as it is now, with a little over 55,000 sometimes very rough miles.
July 2006 update.--Over the past few months we have been fortunate enough to participate in the Easter Jeep Safari and Grand Slam West events in Moab, Utah, several excursions to southwestern Colorado's San Juan Mountains, and a variety of local trails. Here are a few memorable photos from those trips--
Tipover Challange on Hell's Revenge trail near Moab
Golden Crack on Golden Spike trail near Moab
Poughkeepsie Gulch near Ouray, Colorado
Near Fairplay, Colorado
Near Leadville, Colorado
As you can see we have put our WK "through the paces" in many ways, and in all cases we can honestly say we are impressed with the capability of our rig. As a result of the trip down the notoriously tough Golden Spike trail we (4xGuard)redesigned the Rear Guard. Though our WK suffered what one of the 14 other Grand Cherokee participants said was the least damage of all on the trip, the Rear Guard got bent and bruised too much for our liking (though it did protect the rear bumper from damage). The redesigned Rear Guard, along with the final versions of Front Guard II (steel version), Side Guard and Top Guard complete the product series and are shown as follows--
Rear Guard HC
Front Guard II
Side Guard
Top Guard
More images of these products and from these offroad adventures can be found on our website--
http://www.4xGuard.com
Thanks for looking.
April 2006 update .--Lots of things have happened over the past few months with regard to our Grand Cherokee. Due to interest in the skid plate setup I had on the vehicle we decided to begin a business of producing accessories for the WK Grand Cherokee, including the front skid plate. We acquired the following domain and have begun making and selling these accessories via--
http://www.4xGuard.com
It was about this time our WK drew the attention of the owner of Superlift who encouraged us to explore their new 4-inch suspension system--shortly thereafter we had one installed to our great satisfaction. The rig with the new lift, slightly larger tires and new wheels, along with our 4xGuard light bar, rock rails (rock sliders), roof rack insert, front skid plate and rear skid plate (prototype versions of skid plates shown here) is a striking 4wheeler that is extremely offroad capable as well.
Additional photos from our recent trip to Moab, Utah for some serious 4wheeling can be seen at--
http://www.suvguards.com
November 20, 2005 update .--We just returned from a 5,600 mile roadtrip to the east coast, all of which was done pulling our travel trailer. We traveled the Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Drive, and Natchez Trace parkways, along with numerous other beautiful highways and byways. Both our trailer and Grand Cherokee performed flawlessly--we are very happy in all respects. The following are a couple of camping photos, and one of the WK on a tough section of trail in Superlift's Offroad Park near Hot Springs, Arkansas--
June, 2005 .--We purchased our 2005 WK with the hope of having not only an "about-town" vehicle, but also one capable of handling fairly extreme off-road adventures and pull our 5,500 pound travel trailer. Thus far in the buildup process I feel we have suceeded. In addition to oversize (265/70/17) BFG AT tires, the major improvement is a Daystar 2-inch suspension lift. Together these modifications give the WK a ground clearance of over 12 inches. These pictures show the vehicle after these additions--
Other modifications include a CB, custom skid plate and air intake system, Magnaflow muffler, and WJ (Rogue) wheels.
These our some photos from our first off-road "test" run on the Bill Moore Lake Road north of Empire, Colorado--
Our October 2005 trip across Colorado to 4X4, fish, and sight-see gave us the opportunity to experience the trailer-towing ability of the WK. Here are some photos of our rig, the first on top of Rabbit Ears Pass near Stramboat Springs and the second on top of Grand Mesa near Grand Junction--
Perhaps the highlight of that trip was traveling the Black Bear Mine Road near Red Mountain Pass in the beautiful San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. This notorious old trail is not particularily difficult but very dangerous, claiming a number 4X4s and lives over the years. Here are some pics from that adventure, the first showing the trail just down from the divide, the second showing the town of Telluride in the distance, and the third showing a proud WK owner--me.
Thanks for looking and best wishes--
Russ and Anita
