Desert Scruff

Here's my dilemma with a 2010 Jeep RU. With hindsight I might have done some things differently but I've ended up with a load that is getting close to the max vehicle weight of 5,700 pounds and springs that are sagging where the bump stops are less than an inch from bottoming out. The Jeep has a 2.5-inch Teraflex lift with new springs. Two of the solutions won't work for me: Dieting and/or a trailer. So heavy duty springs are apparently the solution. Teraflex says it is nearly ready to introduce a heavy duty spring (perhaps by August) for Jeep owners like me. ARB already offers a heavy duty spring. ARB lists its HD springs as 660 pounds in the rear and 90-180 for the front. ARB says the spring rate are 200 in the rear and 135 in the front. Teraflex says the spring rates I have now are 200 rear and 170 front. I know that is the weight it takes to drop the springs one inch. I'm not sure what ARB's 660 and 90-180 pound rates actually mean. I understand what I should really be interested in is the spring load rate. I understand that to be the weight that can be added to a spring before it begins to drop and the spring rate comes into play. I've asked tech support at both companies what the spring loads are but the answer I get is they don't know what I'm talking about. I understand with HD springs the Jeep unloaded will be a stiffer ride. I can live with that since loaded is the way it travels. Any suggestions on how to solve my weight problem?

Since I've been hanging around for nearly a year perhaps it time to introduce myself. I'm Desert Scruff aka John from Washington State. I grew up in the Colorado Desert (El Centro) and roamed around in the desert when you could cross the sand dunes at Glamis and be the only one out there. That was the same for just about anywhere else we drove, camped and hiked, including Baja and Sonora. Oh, the mordita was there but not the danger. I left all that for Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. But the desert is in my heart and several years ago we started going to Utah's southeast corner each spring and fall. Next winter I'll be in the Arizona desert and my old stomping grounds in California. My wife and I drive our Jeep Rubicon to remote canyons and hike to see what we see. In Utah that is often Anasazi ruins and rock art. But picking any wash and going for a hike is wonderful. I enjoy the Offroad Passport Community's friendliness and helpfulness. Thanks for letting me in.

This video showed up with several others from Google. https://plus.google.com/u/0/106709785449474799797/posts/jb3jTrCT5qX?cfem=1

Another question... I just read about a fellow who found he had lost the end of his tail pipe; snapped off at the canister. He rigged up a can to extend the exhause out a little. When he got to his next camp he tried to open his tail gate and it wouldn't budge. The exhaust had gone straight up and melted his plastic taillight, etc. I noticed on my last trip that the tip of my tail pipe was smashed about halfway closed. It was easy to bend it open. I assumed it happened when I dropped off a small ledge. Should I be concerned that what happened to the other fellow might happen to me? Any suggestions on how to avoid that happening? Would shortening the pipe end then routing it to the side solve the problem or create another one?

Thanks for the input. I'll be cutting the boots off.

I guess I could have added that removing the shocks makes me wonder about the rear shocks that have the rod entering on top, the reverse of the front, and if that, without those boots, would allow water/mud to sit and/or enter there?

I have installed Bilstein shocks with the supplied rubber boots. I was talking to the guys at Moab 4x4 who worked on lots of Jeeps and have a good reputation and they say they never install the boots and recommend I cut them off. They maintain the boots trap mud and water and hasten the end of the shocks. They also say the shocks have a self-cleaning valve. I'm wondering what the thinking here is?

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

Let's say you've got a 2010 Jeep Rubicon with full roof rack, swing-arm holders for two 5-gallon fuel cans, recovery gear and the necessary water cans--and a partner who doesn't want to camp too primitive. You plan to spend three days on the White Rim Trail, five days in the Maze, three days exploring in Beef Basin, etc. What camping gear do you need?

Ob1jeeper, so if the Jeep is aired down to say 20 pounds, but you to go out to pavement, drive 5 miles before going offroad again, and kept your speed at, say, 25 mph or under, will that cause any problem--or should the Jeep be aired up and aired down? Is speed the issue more than the distance on pavement?

Jeff, yes it is amazing how many people--and what kind of people--don't know it is the maximum pressure the tire can take. I was getting a flat tire from a nail I picked up on Utah's Yellow Cat Road. I went into a shop in Green River that fixes flats, among other things, and after the repair I noticed the fellow was taking a long time to put air in he tire. "How much are you putting in?" I asked. "Fifty pounds, that's what the tire says," he replied. When I told him 37 pounds was enough he looked at me like I was crazy.

Thanks for the input. I will keep it at 37 pounds on the highway.

The tires show 50 pounds. I was always told to run it at the door sticker recommendation. That just seems high to me.

I'm aware of tire pressure when off the pavement but I have a question when on the pavement. I'm talking about a 2010 four-door Rubicon. The sticker on the door says 37 pounds. Is that what people are running? I've got a heavier Toyota 4-Runner and its stickers calls for only 32 pounds. The Rubicon tires are the original BFG Mud-Terrain KM 255/75 R17.