Massey Swamp Runner II Build

Vehicles

Notch out another solid dealer build for Wicked Trails 4×4 in their recently completed JKU Swamp Runner for Massey Yardley, of Plantation FL.


Click photo above for full size image

The setup boasts tough looks and good ground clearance through a two and a half inch Rough Country lift stacked on top of a set of 35 inch Terrain Master M/T tires from AMP.   The package yields a respectable 3.5″ lift total over stock.

Dressing up the tires  and adding a rugged and wider off-road stance is a slick set of Mayhem Hammer rims (18×9) with 4.50″ back spacing.   To keep Swamp Runner from bogging down on bigger tires, the vehicle  came with the factory tow package giving this Wrangler the more torquey 3.73 running gears.


The upgrade was built on a kit that sourced quality parts.

General agreement in the industry is 2.5″ is an ideal height for a moderate JK/JKU lift.  It keeps suspension concerns manageable and avoids a lot of invasive rework such as a front drive shaft replacement or exhaust relocation.  In short it’s easier to keep the factory feel of ride and keep the factory warranty with a 2.5″. 

With core objectives achieved, the build team added Rigid off-road LED lights for lots of bright lumens on a trickle of current and set of beefy all metal hood latches to round out Swamp Runner’s  tough looks.

The result, a sharp vehicle with unmistakable trail aggressive looks and capabilities with little sacrificed to street handling.

Jeep Gone Country Weekend

Event Reports

Word of a new off-road course drew in hundreds of Jeeps to Gone Country Weekend at Redneck Yacht Club. Jeepers from all over South Florida decended on RYC in Punta Gorda to test rig and skill against the massive and daunting obstacles that until five weeks prior were a quiet corner of pasture land.

Two very strong course were developed, rated moderate and extreme turned out to be rated a bit shy of their real character. The moderate course while passable on 35″s offered some very serious challenges in climbs and crawls while the extreme course was just down right hellishly brutal.

Of course with entrance, the whole of RYC was available to play in. This included wooded trails and and of course all the mud you and your Jeep can endure. For anyone looking to stay over the weekend the park offers both field and wooded camp grounds (depending on whether you’re that rough it out or RV person).


For those looking for free wheeling and trails RYC opened the wooded back 40.

No Further Wednesday Meet Ups Planned for the Oar House

Event Announcements, Event Reports

Sometimes the trail comes to an end sooner than expected but the ride is always remembered fondly and well storied. The same can be said for the Oar House which closed last week. In the time that we held meet and greets there, the establishment saw a continuous series of full meet nights with great people bring their Jeeps, sharing wonderful stories, planning rides and making new friends.

I’m grateful for all the effort Debbie put into making the Wednesday nights so enjoyable, making the restaurant available to us and for all the people who took time to come out and make the evenings lively. It was a great experience and I met a lot of new people, enjoyed their company and learned a great deal.

A Quick Recovery in West Dade

Wheel Skills

Joined in a recovery party just the other evening with four other rigs to pull a disabled Land Cruiser out of the Everglades.  Not a runt among the pullers  and good thing because the the stuck was a massive Toyota FJ-62.  It was far back in deep mud, buried to the floor pans, abandoned the night before after the driver shattered the passenger side U-joint and axle yokes. Suffice to say that Yota was pretty darn stuck.

Looking at the ground around us (what little of the solid variety there was), I got to thinking how easy we could all wind up in the same serious trouble… or worse (yah there’s always that). Fortunately this  was experienced bunch. They settled on an effective pull plan after one or two test tugs.  They kept from tearing up the ground around them and always had a way out for all the oh-shucks situations that always arise.

Long story short, got the FJ out, dragged it back to the road and we’re all owed a beer or two.

To see what these guys did right check out….

Five Tips for Mud Recoveries

43rd Annual Miami Intl Autoshow

Event Reports

The 43rd Annual Miami International Auto Show has left town. While it was here, it was the best way to see just about every consumer model available under one roof, and at that subjected to the brutality of the general public and the pawing admiration of their kids.


The new 2014 Corvette. Breaking with tradition, tail lights are not round… the YJ of Vettes (maybe not but I know you were think that.)

While the sport-ute and crossover market continues to grow, performance autos like the Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper and Shelby Mustangs enjoy massive popularity reliably drawing crowds.


Under the hood: If the V8 GT isn’t enough Ford has a massive super charged Mustang sure to satisfy your inner gear nut and speed freak alike.

But arguably the most popular and certain most unique feature of the show was Jeep’s capabilities ride. Attendees queued up in lengthy lines to see and experience for themselves what we Jeep owners have know for a very long time, that Jeeps are the most capable, sure footed and best handling vehicles for the money regardless if it’s a luxury SUV, crossover or full blown Wrangler.


Jeep’s new for 2014, Cherokee Crossover makes the 35 degree climb with four passengers, no problem and doing it all day long.

The Autoshow promoters posted a setup video from 2012. Pretty cool time lapse action. From the clip you can get a notion of scale. The convention center is a pretty darn huge space and filling it with all that carpet, wiring, lighting, stage hardware and cars is a feat unto itself… and the video is just a corner out of the whole center.

I guess we’ll have to wait for next year to see this years setup video.

Jeeptoberfest 2013

Event Announcements

Update Jeeptoberfest 2013 has come and gone. We should have pix and story from or field contact… stay tuned.

If you haven’t registered yet, you can at the event on Saturday or Sunday… Hmm getting out of town this weekend does sounds very appealing.

Non-Stop Shoot at the West Palm 4WheelParts Cover Contest

Event Reports, Vehicles

Motive Image dropped by the West Palm 4WheelParts Monster Sale last Saturday afternoon and shot for the Customer Cover Contest. The concrete and culvert crawl challenge in back of the store made for an ideal photo spot enhancing the already rugged qualities of customer rigs and made for a great contrast; immaculately clean 4x4s in a chaotic debris field.

The shoot started a little after 1:30 and with a pause for the raffle with a bunch of really cool stuff given away including gift certificates, the shoot continued to almost 4:00.

In all 15 entries were shot. Now the tough part, the team at 4WheelParts is tasked with the tough job of picking a vehicle to represent the store and go head to head to head with other 4WP locations.


Amazing vehicles such as this JKU with a flawless mat paint job took on the pile turning the lot into what looked more like a trail shoot.


Special thanks go out to the gentleman in the Silver Ford. His spotting skills got EVERYONE over the course with zero breakage. For people new to rocks he made it a great introduction and all in the spirit and tradition of wheelers helping wheelers. Awesome job!


JK “Stomper” showing so serious flex


Ready for the apocalypse… zombie or otherwise, patrolling a wasteland near you


One of two XJs than attended the shoot

For the rest of the vehicles and lots more pics check out the Customer Cover Shoot Contest Set out on the Motive Photo page.

A huge thanks to Pat, Rob, Jason and Kevin at the West Palm 4WheelParts Performance Center for hosting the event and raffles. And a big thanks to all the folks who came out especially the drivers who waited patiently through the shoot and were up to the challenge of crossing the pile.

For the vehicles that entered, feel free to email Motive at “williamamasterson@gmail.com” for a free DVD containing the entire shoot in full resolution.

Again thanks!

Plenty To See at the Morris 4×4 Swap

Event Reports, Vendor Profiles

Great day as the weather held out and Jeeps rolled in.

What’s a Jeeper top do after upgrading (and re-upgrading). Where do the take offs go? Morris 4×4 figured someone had to make it easier to get all those parts out of our garages and in front of other Jeepers.

With the cooler weather in October they opened the lot to the Jeeping community and held a parts swap meet. It was a great way for some folks to clear out the garage and others to get that paused project restarted.

In addition to Morris opening the lot to customers, Morris offered up a bunch of hard to find and out of production items at a discount. Just the ticket for anyone who bought the bumpers some time back but passed on the matching rock rails or that 5th matching rim for the spare.

Throughout the day all kinds of accessories such as Hi-Lift jacks to tire repair kits were raffled off. Naturally there was a lot Jeeps in a wide variety. The sleeper or the bunch was a silver ZJ. Something you’d walk right by, until the motor was turned on. A stock V8 never sounded do aggressive, not without a little intake and exhaust work of course.

And it’s not enough that owners leave their own unique mark on their Jeeps, but the factory has a whole host of special editions.


Oscar Mike Edition (on AEV Pintlers – very nice choice by the owner)


10th Anniversary Rubicon

On hand were manufacture reps from SpiderWeb Shades and Mile Marker.


Attendees checks out the SpiderWeb Shade JK


Getting the folks in Orage to pause for a photo

For more photos and bigger versions, check out the Motive Image Event Photo Page

Some States Re-opening Federal Parks on State Dime

Park & Land Management

This is an update to the Federal Parks closure report (due to the political logjam delaying passage of the current Federal budget.)

Some states are taking park matters into their own hands and ponying up the needed funds to re-open them. No surprise, Utah with some of the best known parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion) is first to act. Colorado looks like it’s going the same way.

Back home here in Florida, Rick Scott our governor has given an unambiguous order to NOT fund any Federal short falls, parks included. So it looks like we’ll all just need to be patient while 536 people in Washington tasked with passing and signing a budget already a week late fiddle at it a bit more.

That’s all the dirt for now.