ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[GRN96WS6]

Thank you JB. Glad the little tip was helpful. I've been doing it that way for many years and I try to pass it along because I hear of a lot of stories of ABS modules having issues after a brake job which I think are related. Plus I don't think many people realize that brake fluid should be replaced/flushed routinely.

Wait.... You mean there isn't such a thing as lifetime fluids!?

[emoji51][emoji848][emoji1787]

 

[zmotorsports]

Wait.... You mean there isn't such a thing as lifetime fluids!?

[emoji51][emoji848][emoji1787]

Not as far as I'm concerned there aren't.

Although around here most people don't keep vehicles long enough to have to worry about much more than oil changes. Hell most people I work with or am related to don't even buy tires, they buy a new car instead so when I speak of coolant and brake fluid replacements they think I'm crazy.

But again, I know I'm not crazy as my wife had me tested.

 

[rattle_snake]

..But again, I know I'm not crazy as my wife had me tested.

But, what was the result of the test?

 

[Jagmandave]

Opening the bleeder to replace the pads also ensures that it's not rusted in or frozen, so you CAN bleed the brakes later. Nothing worse than putting a new set of pads in and trying to bleed fresh fluid thru frozen, rusted in place bleeders.

There have been a number of threads lately with people having issues with stuck pins. It looks like there are protective rubber boots on these to keep out moisture and such, why are they rusting up so badly? Don't they get lithium grease on them from the factory or something?

 

[zmotorsports]

But, what was the result of the test?

Ha ha Justin. I'm going to leave that one alone as I don't want to share the results.

 

[zmotorsports]

Opening the bleeder to replace the pads also ensures that it's not rusted in or frozen, so you CAN bleed the brakes later. Nothing worse than putting a new set of pads in and trying to bleed fresh fluid thru frozen, rusted in place bleeders.

There have been a number of threads lately with people having issues with stuck pins. It looks like there are protective rubber boots on these to keep out moisture and such, why are they rusting up so badly? Don't they get lithium grease on them from the factory or something?

The pin being stuck in this bracket was partially my fault and partially Teraflex's fault. Let me explain....

I installed the Teraflex Big Brake kit a couple of years ago when I was working on the axles and also anticipating the LS engine and jumping to 37" tires. My OEM brakes worked well with up to the 35" tires but didn't feel comfortable knowing I was planning on jumping up in tire size.

I feel the Teraflex kit is a nice kit with not only larger pads and rotors but dual piston calipers for the front. Upon opening the package and installing the components I didn't remove all of the pins to verify they were properly lubricated. I simply removed from the packaging and installed.

When I was giving the Jeep a once over and servicing it on Saturday is when I noticed the brake pads were worn and on the passenger side very unevenly. Had they not been worn so unevenly I could have gone more miles. I have around 32k driven miles and about another 15~ish thousand towed miles so I am not unhappy with the longevity of these pads. Had they worn evenly I'm sure I could have gone another 15k at least based on how my driver's side looked. I feel that is pretty good for a heavy Jeep that get's used heavily.

When I was preparing to install the new pads I noticed that one pin on the passenger's side was frozen in the bracket. Upon finally getting it removed I noticed it was dry so I think this one was forgotten upon assembly at the factory. The other three pins on the front end were lubed but I cleaned and re-lubricated them anyways. I feel the protective boots did/do a good job of keeping lubrication in and moisture out but with no lubrication on that one pin enough moisture found its way in to become corroded.

Sorry for the lengthy answer but I think had I checked and verified they were properly lubricated prior to my initial installation a couple of years ago I wouldn't have had this issue. Live and learn on my part. Goes to show even after wrenching for 3+ decades I still need to learn valuable lessons. I guess I should be happy I found it when I did.

 

[lilscorpion]

The pin being stuck in this bracket was partially my fault and partially Teraflex's fault. Let me explain....

I simply removed from the packaging and installed.

Live and learn on my part. Goes to show even after wrenching for 3+ decades I still need to learn valuable lessons. I guess I should be happy I found it when I did.

Ah **** Mike, odds are that if you had inspected them thoroughly on original install, they would have all been good to go out of the box. It’s only because you didn’t inspect them that one lacked lube.

 

[csp]

And the guy who doesn't have 3+ decades of experience might not know enough to check them right out of the packaging before installing. That's a Tera mistake, not operator/installer.

 

[zmotorsports]

Ah **** Mike, odds are that if you had inspected them thoroughly on original install, they would have all been good to go out of the box. It’s only because you didn’t inspect them that one lacked lube.

Ain't that the truth Matt. Had I looked at them they ALL would have been lubricated.

And the guy who doesn't have 3+ decades of experience might not know enough to check them right out of the packaging before installing. That's a Tera mistake, not operator/installer.

Probably, but I should have still double checked. I have to accept some of the blame but at least it's resolved and back on the road.

 

[zmotorsports]

The wife and I just returned from our annual week long RV/Jeep gathering in the Black Hills of South Dakota and we had a blast.

We saw some old friends there as well as met new ones. The weather was great and foliage was in full change exhibiting beautiful fall colors, largely due to the cold snap earlier in the week before we arrived and the few inches of snow. Most of the snow was melted by the time we arrived and only a few areas on a couple of trails had mud (which I despise).

Jeep hooked up to the coach with protective measures in place.


My wife and I couldn’t get off work until around noon on the day we wanted to leave so we ended up stopping for the night in Rawlins, WY at a KOA just off of I-90.


Truly spectacular colors. Mother Nature sure blessed us with some amazing scenery again this year.








After airing back up on one of the days we headed back to camp via Spearfish Canyon.


On our “off-day” the wife and I took to the pavement and headed to Custer State Park which is one of our favorite drives. They were gearing up for the buffalo roundup that begins later this week but the bison were already gathering.




Shortly after passing the large heard of bison we spotted this young coyote trying to catch lunch. He wasn’t too successful and the prairie dogs were all letting him know he wasn’t welcome around their burrows. He didn’t even seem to be bothered by us pulling off to the side of the road to watch.


We departed the gathering early Saturday morning as I wanted to knock down the entire 650-miles and push on to home.

Upon arriving home Saturday night we discovered that our son had mowed our lawn for us so I could concentrate on getting the coach and Jeep cleaned. We had a lot of high winds between Muddy Gap and Rock Springs, WY which then turned into about 25-miles of hard rain and very wet roads. Enough to get both the coach and Jeep filthy requiring a deep cleaning.

The slightly cooler temperatures at home sure did wonders for my lawn. My couple of spots that I have been struggling with to keep green all summer were finally greening up nicely. Took this picture to show the lawn and didn't realize how big our yard looked. Even with a 40' coach backed up to the shop it barely makes a dent in the back yard.






Backed in and put to sleep until the next trip.


After getting the coach and Jeep cleaned and parked yesterday, I decided to service the wife’s Acura and while the washing supplies were out I gave it a wash and vacuum as well before calling it a day and relaxing.


All in all a great week long trip.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks for sharing the pictures, Mike.

I grew up a couple hours south of the Black Hills, it is such beautiful country! One of my dear friends, whom I consider a 2nd dad, grew up in Lead, SD. His father was actually the head of security for the Homestake Gold Mine once upon a time.

Glad it was fun and you made the trip safely!

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for sharing the pictures, Mike.

I grew up a couple hours south of the Black Hills, it is such beautiful country! One of my dear friends, whom I consider a 2nd dad, grew up in Lead, SD. His father was actually the head of security for the Homestake Gold Mine once upon a time.

Glad it was fun and you made the trip safely!

Thanks Marc.

The trip was great, the coach ran great as did the Jeep. Five-days of off-roading and one pavement day of sight-seeing, what could be better?

 

[gearhead1960]

Mike,

Custer State Park has some great memories for us. We stayed in the newer lodge which are great accomodations if you aren't doing the RV thing. When we arrived, we were excited to spot a buffalo (us being naive Easterners) and by the time we left, we were ready to be done with the buffalo as they tend to be pretty pesky.... We even had the lovely experience of being trapped on one of the hiking trails by them until we could contact the Park staff to run them off with a pickup truck.... That area definitely has some serious sights to see. One of my favorites is Needles Highway with the Eye of the Needle stop. We also enjoyed Sylvan Lake (sight of filming for the National Treasure sequel).

Glad you enjoyed your time off!

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,

Custer State Park has some great memories for us. We stayed in the newer lodge which are great accomodations if you aren't doing the RV thing. When we arrived, we were excited to spot a buffalo (us being naive Easterners) and by the time we left, we were ready to be done with the buffalo as they tend to be pretty pesky.... We even had the lovely experience of being trapped on one of the hiking trails by them until we could contact the Park staff to run them off with a pickup truck.... That area definitely has some serious sights to see. One of my favorites is Needles Highway with the Eye of the Needle stop. We also enjoyed Sylvan Lake (sight of filming for the National Treasure sequel).

Glad you enjoyed your time off!

Agreed Mark. We were going to make Sylvan Lake our lunch stop that day but they were setting up for what looked like a wedding about to take place and it was a freakin' madhouse around there so we kept on driving. Ended up stopping at Blue Bell and sitting under some trees to enjoy our lunch. We watched a group of horseback riders coming back from a ride while we ate lunch.

We took the pigtail highway going down through Keystone and around the east side of the park and returned via the Needles highway. We didn't stop at the Eye of the Needle because we've done it several times and it was over-flowing with visitors as it was so we just drove on through.

The bison are pretty majestic to see but I agree they get a bit troublesome when trying to get somewhere, especially with all of the visitors who have never seen one before.

I'll take your word on the lodge, we travel by way of RV for a reason and don't do lodges or hotels. If it comes down to traveling by way of hotels and/or lodges or staying home, I'll stay home if I can't take the coach. I'm a bit funny that way. My goal is to rack up as many miles on the ole' girl as I can. I guess it's my way of measuring our fun. The RV barometer if you will.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

The bison are pretty majestic to see but I agree they get a bit troublesome when trying to get somewhere, especially with all of the visitors who have never seen one before.

I'll take your word on the lodge, we travel by way of RV for a reason and don't do lodges or hotels. If it comes down to traveling by way of hotels and/or lodges or staying home, I'll stay home if I can't take the coach. I'm a bit funny that way. My goal is to rack up as many miles on the ole' girl as I can. I guess it's my way of measuring our fun. The RV barometer if you will.

Buffalo are big, fast, and temperamental. I helped with the ones up at Fort Robinson many moons ago.

100% agree about staying in hotels, in my last job I travelled over 100k miles per year, I despise hotels, and still don't like staying in them over 4 years later. It just feels like work to me now, even when we are travelling for fun ...I ran across a W900L Kenworth with a 3406/13sp combo and an unfinished 30-34' living "box," lots of new parts (ac, holding tanks, etc), just needs the interior "finished".....

 

[zmotorsports]

Buffalo are big, fast, and temperamental. I helped with the ones up at Fort Robinson many moons ago.

100% agree about staying in hotels, in my last job I travelled over 100k miles per year, I despise hotels, and still don't like staying in them over 4 years later. It just feels like work to me now, even when we are travelling for fun ...I ran across a W900L Kenworth with a 3406/13sp combo and an unfinished 30-34' living "box," lots of new parts (ac, holding tanks, etc), just needs the interior "finished".....

Sounds like a nice project Marc. The Super C's are really catching on lately. Please post up some progress pictures on your thread as I'd love to see it through to completion.

When we were looking to upgrade coaches back in 2006 I wanted to get a Prevost bus shell and convert it myself but my wife thought it would turn into a ten year project (at least). She told me she wanted to enjoy the coach now, not in ten years while waiting for me to complete it. I can see her point as that is a big project. A friend of mine bought a partially completed Prevost bus conversion about 15 years ago. He worked on it pretty diligently for the first couple of years but then slowed a bit. I did some small welding and machining projects for it over a period of about 6 or so years but then after his mom passed and his dad got sick he ended up selling his Prevost conversion project and bought his dad's Newell instead. At that point I felt pretty good about the Dynasty we bought in 2007 and have been enjoying ever since.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Sounds like a nice project Marc. The Super C's are really catching on lately. Please post up some progress pictures on your thread as I'd love to see it through to completion.

When we were looking to upgrade coaches back in 2006 I wanted to get a Prevost bus shell and convert it myself but my wife thought it would turn into a ten year project (at least). She told me she wanted to enjoy the coach now, not in ten years while waiting for me to complete it. I can see her point as that is a big project. A friend of mine bought a partially completed Prevost bus conversion about 15 years ago. He worked on it pretty diligently for the first couple of years but then slowed a bit. I did some small welding and machining projects for it over a period of about 6 or so years but then after his mom passed and his dad got sick he ended up selling his Prevost conversion project and bought his dad's Newell instead. At that point I felt pretty good about the Dynasty we bought in 2007 and have been enjoying ever since.

Mike, I haven't bought this one...yet. Asking price is bit high for the stage it's in and I haven't had a chance to see it in person or drive it around the block to gauge the condition of the drivetrain.

Most Super C's don't fit my requirements...I'm old school trucker and require a transmission I can shift myself, and I need a "hood" out in front of me. When I was growing up we mostly had KW semi's, so they are near and dear to my heart. I understand why new Super C's are spec'd with an automatic, for ease of operation, but I'd rather be able to stir my own going up or coming down a mountain pass.

The wife and I have been discussing this particular unit, and if not this one, considering something like it. After this school year, it will just be the boys at home, and in 4 more years, just the youngest. I've tried to take my kids traveling as much as possible to see this great country. I took for granted all the country I saw from the window of a KW growing up, and now appreciate everywhere I've been!

 

[zmotorsports]

During our drive home from South Dakota on Saturday we experienced a hellacious wind storm. Just outside of Muddy Gap, WY I caught a visual in my mirror of my fuel compartment door flying open. Luckily it didn’t flip it up far enough to contact any paint but it did exert enough force to hyperextend the hinge causing the rivets to release slightly and the hinge have a gap between the backside and the steel compartment framework.

Tonight I drilled out the old rivets and replaced them with new ones to tighten the hinge back up against the structure.

Drilling and replacing one at a time.




All six rivets replaced and ready to touch up the paint.


Completed. Rivets wiped down with some wax & grease remover then I applied some pewter and maroon on the respective rivets.


Glad that wasn’t any worse. Upon inspection of why the compartment door came open the best I could deduce was that one of the strikers wasn’t extending all of the way to grab the receiver. I cleaned and lubed the latch mechanism and quickly found that the striker was extending further so I think that was the cause. I lube my latches annually but this particular mechanism seldom gets exercised because I use the small fuel fill door so I will have to make it a point to open and close the large compartment door more frequently to keep it exercised and moving freely.

 

[zmotorsports]

During our trip to Ouray, CO last month when we stopped for the night in Green River, UT my wife and I both caught a whiff of coolant when we got out of the coach. Seeing as how the engine is in the rear of our coach I thought maybe a hose connection where the bulkhead fittings come out behind the generator compartment. Upon arriving home from the trip I crawled under it and could not see anything leaking plus my coolant level was fine.

Tonight I thought I’d take a few minutes and disconnect a hose from the heater core to check and see if that could possibly be the source.


I added a short length of hose in which to connect my coolant pressure tester to the heater core.






Heater core seems fine. It held 15 psi for over ten minutes.


At this point I’m not certain where my smell is coming from but I’m not losing coolant so I’ll just have to keep an eye on things.

 

[4 FN 27]

Mike I had the same issue. After close examination the problem was the Heater Defroster just above the Geni. Just like your investigating. Had to replace a couple of hose clamps.

I could smell it but couldn’t see anything and no loss of coolant it was such a small leak. Basically cooked off as it weeped.

I called Fleetwood and they emailed me the pics of the assembly and how to get into it.

Turned out to be an easy fix.

Love to hear what you find.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike I had the same issue. After close examination the problem was the Heater Defroster just above the Geni. Just like your investigating. Had to replace a couple of hose clamps.

I could smell it but couldn’t see anything and no loss of coolant it was such a small leak. Basically cooked off as it weeped.

I called Fleetwood and they emailed me the pics of the assembly and how to get into it.

Turned out to be an easy fix.

Love to hear what you find.

Thanks Pat. I'm stumped on this one as I've checked all of my hose clamps as that was my first suspicion. The chassis has rigid pipe run along the framerails and then they transition to hoses from the front of the bulkhead up to the heater core so there's only 4 clamps on the two hoses and none of them seem to have been seeping, at least no crusties visible from coolant. My next suspicion was the heater core but that checks out so I'll just have to keep an eye on things and see if/when something weeps enough that I can detect it. I also went through each hose clamp last night and verified they were tight.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Always frustrating when you can smell it and not see it!

Even more strange that it held 15psi...I wonder if its a heat related issue, opening up the tolerances somewhere causing a very slight leak?

 

[gearhead1960]

Mike,

What's the chance the odor could have come from an external source? Have you caught the odor again? It wouldn't be the 1st time I've caught an odor outside of my vehicle, but turned out to be someone else's vehicle had an issue....

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,

What's the chance the odor could have come from an external source? Have you caught the odor again? It wouldn't be the 1st time I've caught an odor outside of my vehicle, but turned out to be someone else's vehicle had an issue....

Mark, the first time I smelled it that is exactly what I thought but there were no other vehicles around. The second time I thought "ok, that's me". But I'll be damned if I can locate it. Even went through checking the generator over for leaks but we haven't run it during the past couple of outings. This last trip we never smelled it so it's definitely hit and miss.

 

[gearhead1960]

Mark, the first time I smelled it that is exactly what I thought but there were no other vehicles around. The second time I thought "ok, that's me". But I'll be damned if I can locate it. Even went through checking the generator over for leaks but we haven't run it during the past couple of outings. This last trip we never smelled it so it's definitely hit and miss.

Coolant definitely has a distinct smell, so it's hard to miss. I'm sure it will eventually turn up, hopefully not at the worst time.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Coolant definitely has a distinct smell, so it's hard to miss. I'm sure it will eventually turn up, hopefully not at the worst time.....

Me too. I'm usually not one to "wing it" when it comes to letting a maintenance item slip or go unaddressed but I simply cannot locate this one which makes me very nervous.

 

[Bob Heine]

Mike, is it possible the smell was coming from the Jeep? I recall smelling burnt rubber and it turned out to be coming from the boat trailer (surge brake issue).

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, is it possible the smell was coming from the Jeep? I recall smelling burnt rubber and it turned out to be coming from the boat trailer (surge brake issue).

Bob, the smell was at the front of the coach and the Jeep is being towed behind the coach so nowhere in the same general area. I get the normal burning rubber smell when I drive the Jeep after flat-towing from road debris but not coolant.

Thanks anyways. I'll figure out the source eventually.

 

[Full Throttle]

During our trip to Ouray, CO last month when we stopped for the night in Green River, UT my wife and I both caught a whiff of coolant when we got out of the coach. Seeing as how the engine is in the rear of our coach I thought maybe a hose connection where the bulkhead fittings come out behind the generator compartment. Upon arriving home from the trip I crawled under it and could not see anything leaking plus my coolant level was fine.

Tonight I thought I’d take a few minutes and disconnect a hose from the heater core to check and see if that could possibly be the source.


I added a short length of hose in which to connect my coolant pressure tester to the heater core.






Heater core seems fine. It held 15 psi for over ten minutes.


At this point I’m not certain where my smell is coming from but I’m not losing coolant so I’ll just have to keep an eye on things.

My 8kw Onan has the same issue. Was leaking water pump. Only way I found it was the genny was after I changed oil I opened compartment for oil/fuel filter access and had coolant fly out at me

 

[Full Throttle]

Just add some here.

I bought my 2009 Horizon last Year and smelled coolant just like you everytime I walked out door. My gen has 2k hrs. So if yours is 1k or better I recommend obviously if you water pump is leaking, but new belt and water sensor while you have it drained down.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

What about adding some leak detector dye and using a black light?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M4E0VC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[zmotorsports]

We had some friends give us a call to see if we were home over the weekend as they’re heading to Moab. They stopped by on their way through for the night in their new Newmar Dutch Star. What a gorgeous coach. We’ll meet up with them in Moab later in October for a week of wheeling.





Night shot behind the gate of the compound backed up to the shop. Not much light for a good picture.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I really like the American flag on the jeep!

 

[zmotorsports]

I really like the American flag on the jeep!

Yeah, they are magnetic protective panels. He added them to help prevent scratches in the paint and easily remove/install to clean.

 

[purplezr2]

What is the story with the door behind the tag, appears to be too high for an entry/exit door

 

[zmotorsports]

What is the story with the door behind the tag, appears to be too high for an entry/exit door

Emergency exit door. Most have a designated window as an emergency exit but Newmar lately has been adding a door. It's pretty cool with a small ladder that can be thrown out once the door is opened. This is a bath and a half model with a rear bath and from the inside the door is nearly undetectable as it blends in very nicely with the cabinetry in the rear bathroom.

 

[jbmatth]

Mike,
I have a question and wasn't able to find it in your thread, what off road GPS system do you use, and if you were to purchase a new one would you buy the same? I would appreciate any feedback you could offer.

JB

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,
I have a question and wasn't able to find it in your thread, what off road GPS system do you use, and if you were to purchase a new one would you buy the same? I would appreciate any feedback you could offer.

JB

Funny you asked this JB as I've recently switched over.

I have run Back Country Navigator Pro or the past several years. It worked ok for the most part and was relatively inexpensive as it's a one time subscription for the app. I purchased it mainly because that is what both of our Jeep clubs were using at the time and there were some knowledgeable people who I could ask questions about but it wasn't as user friendly as I wanted as I'm somewhat technologically challenged and want easy, especially when out on the trials.

Unfortunately over the past year or so I have found two shortcomings with Back Country Navigator. First is the person who developed it has done nothing new to it or updates so it's not progressing or improving. I've heard he moved on to something else and you can tell by the lack of support for the features. Secondly the topo maps that upload to it can be overpowering when using it for quick glancing on the trail (again, I like easy to use and view). Sometimes what you think you're following as the trail is actually a ridge line on the topo map. I discovered that on a couple of trails what I thought was a turn was actually a ridgeline and had to recorrect. It wasn't a big deal because it was easily caught but it has happened a couple of times to me. The only time it was problematic was when I was leading about a dozen Jeeps and had to find a place to turn us all around, plus I felt like an idiot. That will usually only happen on trails that are out in the open with no actual roads such as in a rock garden or Moab slickrock as otherwise the trail/tracks are very obvious.

What I found last fall in Moab is many of our group had switched over to GAIA GPS. I downloaded the free app to my phone and played with it while we were there and quickly liked the features. After doing more research and investigating I thought I'd try the GAIA GPS Premium version, it's about $39/year but many times you can find discounts getting it around $30-$32 per year. It is a few dollars but as much as we use it I personally find the features and ease of use well worth the money spent. If you are only looking for a one time trail or use it may not be of benefit but we go on multiple Jeep gatherings/rallies each year and the ability to download tracks prior to the event are great.

I really like the GAIA GPS Premium version as there are so many features such as ability to upload multiple map layers and on the fly fade various layers into the background, turn them off or magnify them depending on what you are looking for at the time. I also like how easily it is to share tracks with other people. I recorded a track while on a run in Spearfish, SD last month and one of the club members sent out an email asking if anyone had that track because we weren't following one at the time as we were just out exploring. I had turned on the record button while we were driving and even marked a few waypoints such as an old cemetery, an old mine and a nice lunch spot which could hold about a dozen Jeeps without blocking the trail. I was able to share the track with them easily via email.

The thing that makes GAIA GPS so nice is that it is a cloud based format (I know, no one understands the cloud). You can do all of your pre-trip planning on your home PC such as uploading pre-recorded tracks, upload any map layer or multiple map layers or create a track and then when you save it to the cloud it is available to any device that you have the app loaded onto. That feature alone is awesome, I have various areas saved to specific folders than when we are going to wheel in an area I simply grab the specific folder that I need and it pulls it to my tablet. Once out on the trail and I have no internet I can add waypoints, take pictures and post to those waypoints or make comments at various points around the track and then when we get back to camp or home and have internet access it will automatically save it to the cloud so it will all be available next time or if you wish to share the track with someone.

I've also heard that some like Locust app as a trail navigation system but to be honest, I am so happy with the GAIA GPS Premium version that I'm just going to keep that one and become more efficient at it. I've imported everything I had on Back Country Navigator over to GAIA GPS now and deleted the Back Country App from my devices.

What's funny is we get together as a Jeep club and run trails and everyone thinks their version is the best and whatever someone else is using is junk. Same with radios, I was getting so frustrated during our Spearfish gathering because the club bylaws state each Jeep on the trail is to be equipped with certain items, a CB is one of those. Yet we had a bunch of people who insisted on using HAM radios and GMRS radios and many were getting confused as we had multiple radios and multiple conversations going on. During a night run the leader insisted on using his HAM radio but only he and a couple others actually had HAM radios, the remainder of us had CB radios and were missing turns and information. It was a complete clusterf**k of a trail run. The next morning when we had our driver's meeting and I had asked which channel on the CB were we to be on (as it is up to the trail leader to pick) the CB channel was given and immediately several guys started going off about what frequency they would be on with their HAM or GMRS radio. People were getting confused as to what channel and I could see it becoming another ****-show like the night before. I spouted off and asked if we were a Jeep club or a radio club? I don't think I made a good impression but I quickly pointed out that the bylaws state CB and if you want to change it then go through the proper avenues to get it changed in the bylaws but we should stick to CB's for now so all could enjoy and hear the directions and conversation. Many agreed but I think I may have pissed a few of the senior club members off by my comment.

Sorry for the lengthy response, I'm sure you just wanted to know which navigation app I use rather than my long diatribe response as to why.

Thanks for the question and hope it was helpful.

 

[jbmatth]

On the contrary Mike, I enjoyed the lengthy response and detailed examples as to why not just what. The trip I took a few weeks ago in my Festive was also a cluster, the way it worked out I was the first person to leave and only had way points which I've never used before, and I didn't have cell service. I pulled over followed 3 others that also didn't have service and were lost, we didn't make it far before having to turn around at which point I found the weak link in my car. If we hadn't gotten lost I'm confident I would have made the trip fine based on the "trails" we were running which were just gravel roads. I'll get the app and start playing with it, thanks again.

JB

 

[zmotorsports]

On the contrary Mike, I enjoyed the lengthy response and detailed examples as to why not just what. The trip I took a few weeks ago in my Festive was also a cluster, the way it worked out I was the first person to leave and only had way points which I've never used before, and I didn't have cell service. I pulled over followed 3 others that also didn't have service and were lost, we didn't make it far before having to turn around at which point I found the weak link in my car. If we hadn't gotten lost I'm confident I would have made the trip fine based on the "trails" we were running which were just gravel roads. I'll get the app and start playing with it, thanks again.

JB

You're very welcome JB. Good luck and hope you find the app as good as I do although there was a bit of a learning curve.