Dedication: This page is dedicated to all those who have paid and continue to pay the ultimate price for our freedom. I am humbled to call 8 of them "Shipmates". On 9/11, I and a few thousand of my surviving shipmates, assumed thier watches, when they were welcomed into Heaven as heros. May we NEVER forget, the freedoms we enjoy as Americans is paid for by the blood of those who willingly go into harm's way in pursuit of life, liberty and all who threaten it.

Background: For as long as I can remember, there has been a Jeep in my life. My dad bought a new CJ in 1976. I remember going all over the place in the Beep. It got that nickname because my younger brother, and all around good-guy, was 3 at the time and couldn't say Jeep. He would say "Beep". He also had a hard time with "truck" and replaced the "tr" with a "f"...but I digress.

After us boys left the nest, Aaron joined the Air Force and I joined the Navy. Aaron eventually got out of the Air Force and ended up buying a Jeep. When I got home on leave and got to drive it, I knew I had to have one. One thing led to another and I traded in my '98 Maxima for a black 2001, Sahara edition TJ. I loved the Max, but I have more fun in the Beep.

This is the day I brought it home. So this is the starting point. Notice the plastic bumper ends, stock 30 x 9.50 Goodyear Wranglers, steps, and the bling in the grill.

This was our first off road excursion, the first weekend we had the Beep. I took the kids out to check Corral Canyon OHV Area and ended up sunk to the floorboards in a big mud puddle. I had those bald Goodyears and got the front wheels between a couple rocks. Took a bit of rocking back and forth in 4L to get out. The kids loved it and still remind me about getting it stuck. I remind them you are not stuck until you have to have another Jeep pull you out.

This is another visit to the same mud puddle at Corral Canyon. As you can tell, I learned to value of momentum has when dealing with mud.

This is pretty much what the Beep looks like now. 31x10.50 Firestone Destination AT's, no steps to catch on rocks, bumpers are without plastic ends, installed a CB and 4' fiberglass whip. I also got a set of shocks and springs off a stock Rubicon. It lifted the rear end about an inch and the front about 1/2 inch. Not what I was lookin for but, the ride is better. Especially when I have all 3 kids, one dog and all the water I can fit in the Jeep.

Before anyone gets huffy about the Firestones let me put this out there: I LOVE THEM! They are quiet. The price was nearly 1/3 less than BFG AT's, and they do great on the trails I have been on. So far the wear has been great. Lastly, I believe Firestone got screwed with that whole thing with Ford.

12FEB06: Finally got a chance to update this page. I am pretty happy with the old Beep. As you can see I have done a couple things with it. Namely, I FINALLY got a rack. With a wife, 3 kids, and a dog, there's not much room for much of anything else. This is a Garvin Wilderness Expedition rack. I do like it.

Also I got a Skyjacker 2" lift off a buddy's Jeep when he went to a short-arm 4 1/2" Rubicon Express lift. I like the lift. I expected it to bee too hard or too soft of a ride, but it feels pretty good. I had to drop the transfer case to get rid of a vibration I picked up but other than that, it's runnin like a scalded dog.

I also installed a GPS. It's a Magellan Meridian Gold. Works pretty well. I have used it several times. It's trail proven too. Took it on Sidewinder and worked like a champ. Although the Jeep had to be winched twice, the GPS didn't fail me. After some of those rocks, I expected the mount to break off the dash.