SonoranWanderer

I’ll be there. Jeep or truck and overland trailer.

Totally nerding out. With an older system like hughs, your dish is highly physically parabolic as it needs the absolute tight reception and transmission to a fixed position satellite. Starlink on the other hand run a flat dish and uses electronically steered phased-array antenna that allows for signal shaping and directional management to track constantly fast moving satellites. It can and does follow more then one and does handoffs as a satellite drops out of sight and others come into sight. Kind of like your phone but opposite since the "towers" are moving and your dish is generally "stationary". Yes your dish can move while being used if you pay for a ROAM plan. Also the dish can be placed under radio transparent materials and work just fine, e.g. your fiberglass Jeep top, the glass of a car (or truck) sunroof, etc. Trees are NOT radio transparent.

Unless something has changed since I bought both my my Starlinks (residential and mini, separate purchases on different dates), your billing date is always the last day of the month. Your first month is prorated unless you start on the first. Starlink is a LEO constellation (low earth orbit) at about 340 miles above the earth. This means the RTT (round trip time) from your dish to the satellite to the ground based PoP is much lower than say HughsNet which is a GeoStationary satellite system which sits at 22,236 miles above the earth's surface. The ping time / latency is a world apart (pun maybe intended?). Practically speaking I use a Starlink Mini for work almost daily and I am on video conference calls all the time (Zoom, which is very bandwidth adaptive). I also use it to stream TV and audio (unidirectional so less latency sensitive, but none the less). While latency is not an issue, bandwidth can be. Your bandwidth is highly dependent on the percentage of clear sky you have at any given moment. By clear I mean of physical obstructions. The frequencies Starlink uses, while not immune, are still quite resistant to water (rain, clouds) interference. With a perfectly clear sky, the current Mini can exceed 200Mbps download speeds. The current generation residential dish can exceed 400mb/sec down. Upload is is much lower between 10 and 20 Mbps due to the dish's much lower transmit power as compared to the satellites. Download bandwidth is also sensitive to how many satellites your dish is tracking (attached to) at any given moment. More physical interference can reduce the number of satellites you see at any given moment, all the way down to zero, even under a partially open sky.

Related anecdote: the front axle of my JKUR broke (finished breaking?) shortly after the absolute worst washboard I had ever driven on that happened to be on Horseshoe Dam Rd. Right after the washboard I cold plunged the axle into the water and the axle side trackbar mount sheared while in the water. Total damage included tube cracks on both sides of the pumpkin and every rosette weld on the aftermarket tube sleeving broke (and inner tubes spun). Will never know one super nasty washboard incident did all of that or just insured the job was done. Replaced it with a trussed Mopar J8 axle.

Overland Expo West 2026 is May 15-17. I am posting this here as a way to anyone who is interested to coordinate both daytime meetups and colocated camping groups. Overland Expo 2026 tickets are on sale now. Worth noting there is a military/veterans discount available the tickets. A few of us are going to camp in the premium area for Overland Expo West and will use this post to coordinate for anyone who wants to try and setup colocated camping. Create a our own little Offroad Passport Village if you will. We expect that camping pass pickup will be on Thursday May 14th with the premium campground open for setup the same day. Premium Camping Group: 1. @SonoranWanderer 2. @LisaL 3. 4. 5. Friday Attendees: 1. @4WLNRN 2. 3. 4. 5. Saturday Attendees: 1. @Bradywgn71 2. @4WLNRN ? 3. 4. 5.

I have been remiss in posting on many updates. It's time for a level set. I figure I'll add a single post that is as complete of a historical timeline (of sorts) to now and then add some follow-up posts about specific events in the timeline. This Jeep started out, at my purchase, as a pure stock 2018 JLUR with a factory rebuilt engine. It was originally manufactured in February of 2018. I purchased it from Bill Luke CJDR in November of 2021 with ~17k miles on the odometer and a factory 12 month, unlimited mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. ========= December 2021 - Shortly after purchase I handed the keys over to Doetsch Offroad in Mesa and had the following work done: 3.5 Inch X Factor "No Limits" System lift Falcon SP2 3.3 Fast Adjust Piggyback Shock Kit (2-4.5” Lift) 37X12.50R17LT BAJA BOSS M/T Method 701 "bead grip" rims 17x9, -12 offset 24 piece Black Splined Lug Nut Kit with Spline Key RCV Ultimate Dana 44 Axle CV Set for Jeep Wrangler JL & JT Rubicon w/FAD Yukon Complete Gear and Kit Package for JL and JT Jeep Rubicon, D44 Rear & D44 Front, 5.13 Gear Ratio Adams front and rear drive shafts w/1310 U-joints JL/JT APEX Front Axle ARMOR KIT W/ JL Shield - Front Axle CAD Skid (truss) Synergy Jeep JL / JLU / JT Heavy Duty Front Ball Joint Set (2) Uppers, (2) Lowers, Knurled (SYN-4170-12) Doetsch Off-Road 2018-2021 Jeep JL/JT NO DRILL 2.5 Ton 2in 7075 Aluminum Tie Rod and Drag Link Steering Kit Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 Fast Adjust Steering Stabilizer Teraflex Big Brake kit (4-wheel) ARB Diff covers ARB Front M210 Diff Cover - black ARB Rear M220 Diff Cover - black Front, axle-side lower control arm weld-on skid plates Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tire Carrier Kit, 18-20 JL ========= December 2021 I had the Jeep dealership (Bill Luke CJDR) perform the steering gear box TSB (aluminum to steel gear box swap) Also had to have the dealership replace the Freedom panel center seal / gasket OBDLink MX+ bluetooth dongle plus Chrysler 6+4 security gateway cable JScan license ========= January 2022 - In addition to Doetsch's work as part of my initial build, I personally installed: JCR Offroad JLHR-WP-PC Winch Mount Plate for 18-20 Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon with Factory Steel Bumper Warn ZEON 10-S Platinum winch (synthetic rope Factor 55 Hawse Fairlead 1.0 (Replace Warn ZEON 's hawse fairlead) Factor 55 Flatlink (Replace Warn ZEON hook) Factor 55 flatlink rope guard Factor 55 Standard Synthetic Rope Spool 2018+ Jeep JL LoD Armor Lite 4-Door Rock Sliders-Black Texture 67 Designs (67D) accessory rail (over the radio) Yaesu FTM-400DR HAM radio (w/ mars-cap mod) Carolina metal masters A-pillar grab bar mount for the radio head Custom bracket to hold the radio body under the driver's seat Rugged Radios (driver's side) cowl bolt antenna mount I use an array of antennas depending on the trip's specific needs) Mic hangs off the D67 accessory rail CB antenna mount behind the spare tire with antenna wire routed to beneath the passenger front seat. I've only had the CB in temporarily for a single trip to Easter Jeep Safari in 2022. SAE quick-connect BatteryTender wire Dominion Offroad - JLJMB - Jeep JL Best 4-Door (Stealth) Hi-Lift Jack Mount Kit & Accessory Bars Premium fabric OEM soft top (curtesy of FB market place, still new in box) ZAutomotive Tazer JL Mini ZAutomotive SGW Extension Cable ========= March 2022 Doetsch reset the rear differential pinion nut and crush sleeve due to deceleration grind ========= April 2022 Tailgate table Sunrider for Hardtop® Jeep 2020-2022 Gladiator; 2018-2022 Wrangler JL (SKU: 5245417) I used it for the Mohave Gladiator originally but kept it for the JL Wrangler after I got rid of the Gladiator ========= August 2022 Hi-Lift JL rear Roll Bar jack and accessory mount rails Replaced the Dominion Offroad - JLJMB - Jeep JL Best 4-Door (Stealth) Hi-Lift Jack Mount Kit & Accessory Bars Replaced rock sliders with LoD Signature Series I had bent both sides of the LoD Armor Lites Reset and retightened driver rear control arm heads. ========= September 2022 Artec JL Rear Axle LCA Bolt-on Skids Cut off the bent up upper sections of the rear shock plastic guards. Solved an annoying squeak. ========= November 2022 Warranty replacement of UConnect 8.4 radio due to touch screen delamination by Airpark CJDR ========= January 2023 Rokblokz Jeep Wrangler (JL, JLU) 2018+ Quick Release Mud Flaps - Front & Rear - XL FRONT & REAR (solid black) ========= June 2023 After replacing the steering stabilizer passenger tie rod end bracket twice and beating the crap out of the stabilizer, flipped the steering stabilizer Clayton offroad Jeep Steering Stabilizer Relocation Bracket 2007-2020+ RPM Steering RPM-4001 2" I.D. Heavy Duty 6 Bolt stabilizer tie rod center mounting bracket ========= March 2024 2018+ Jeep Wrangler JL Add Genuine Mopar Passive Entry Kit (SKU: PSVENTRYJLBSM) Mine didn't come with the feature, I bought the (missing) OEM parts, installed and reprogrammed the Jeep's computer to enable the feature using JScan ========= July 2024 Replaced worn out the Rock Krawler 3.5" rear springs (Oxendale Jeep) Went back with AEV Heavy Duty 3 inch front and rear springs Also added in limit straps since the AEV HD springs can't stretch like the RK springs did. No adjustment to the control arms. ========= November 2024 Replaced rear axle lock sensor (Oxendale Jeep) Installed trailer brake controller: Redarc Tow-Pro Trail Kit for Jeep Wrangler, Rubicon & Gladiator Installed the control knob in place of the OEM 12v port. Starlink mini mounted over the rear roll bar. ========= December 2024 Replaced the bent up Rugged Radios antenna single bolt cowl mount with an American Adventure Labs (AAL) dual bolt ditch light and antenna mount I think I got the parts at Overland Expo in May 2024 but procrastinated the install for a long time. Replaced the OEM front steel bumper crush can covers with new OEM-like ones from Doorman. Added 50 amp circuit to the rear bumper for trailer DC-DC charger. (Anderson plug terminated) Replaced the rear differential pinon seal (Oxendale Jeep) ========= April 2025 For flat towing the Jeep Installed MOPAR 82216358AB Tow Vehicle Wiring Harness Jeep Wrangler (2018-2025) Connects Jeep lights to the tow vehicle via standard 7-pin plug. Also provides auxiliary power from the tow vehicle. I installed the same harness in my Wife's 2021 4xe January 2024 Have a RockJock CE-9093JLS skid/tow plate that I can swap out with the OEM steel bumper steel skid plate when needed RVibrake3 Portable Flat Towing Braking System - RVibrake3 with Tablet Breakaway Wireless Adapter for RVibrake3 Towed Battery Charger Plus for flat towing Usable with both Jeeps CURT 70001 Rambler Steel RV Tow Bar, 7,500 Pounds, 2-Inch Shank Originally purchased in January 2024 for flat towing my Wife's 4xe, but used here also ========= May 2025 Fly-N-Hi Replaced torn rear spring buckets with aftermarket heavy duty JK buckets Replaced beat-to-crap Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 Fast Adjust Steering Stabilizer with a Fox 2.0 ATS adjustable stabilizer Fixed mounting issues with bolt hole wadling Replaced front trackbar with Teraflex heavy duty track bar Original track bar had wallowed out bushings and damage to the trackbar mount Created custom frame rail brackets for the rear limit straps I replaced the "2-ton" drag link with the Teraflex heavy duty drag link Make my and any shop tech's life easier when centering the steering wheel Refilled AC coolant. Dealership couldn't find a leak at the time, see Oct 2025 (Oxendale Jeep) ========= June 2025 Hooke Road rear cargo area tray (A-Frame style mounted to the hard top pegs) Installed 120 amp load center. mounted to the passenger side roll bar using the Hi Lift trail rail accessory mount. Replaced the original 50 amp circuit for the trailer with a branch from the load center Mounted All-Top 10.6 dual cylinder (Chinesium) compressor to the cargo tray. Powered by the load center through an Anderson plug. ========= July 2025 Wolfbox Tripro 900 rear-view mirror (nose, windshield, and rear-view cameras) ========= October 2025 Oxendale Jeep Replaced cracked radiator. Replaced cracked, coolant leaking AC line. ========= November 2025 Replaced both OEM main and auxiliary batteries H7-AGMEL Duralast Platinum Elite (5 year warranty) AUX14 Duralast Platinum Battery (4 year warranty) Replaced all of the passenger front fender clips ========== January 2026 Reset the Sparticus tailgate hinges and adjusted tailgate latch and guide

I need to do a "clean weigh", two actually, one with nothing in the Jeep and one with my standard recovery kit (trail ready). I recently weighed mine on the way to camp for the three-day weekend, so I had more in the Jeep than just my standard recovery gear. With that full load (trailer detached) the Jeep came in at 6200 with 3360 on the rear axle. I have the Falcon 3.3 shocks. Under "normal load" I run them at 2-6 on pavement and 1 on dirt. When I attach the trailer I push the rear up to 3. Road wise, it drives great. No issue up to as fast as you want to move (faster than I'm going to admit to on a public forum). I do think with just the recovery kit I'll still be over GVWR (5800) and GAWR-R (3100).

I'm interested in how you feel the difference here. My (JLUR) perspective with AEV 3" springs vs my original 3.5" Rock Krawler X-Factor springs is that I gained a lot of stability and weight bearing capacity, but at the cost of flex. The don't compress as much and don't stretch anywhere near as much. But I expect that's the trade off to be heavy. I also am running AEV HD on all for corners and just gave up the 1/2 inch. I don't carry (I think) anywhere near as much as you and I'm overloaded (GVRW and GAWR-R, maybe part of why I tore the OEM rear spring buckets). Despite being overloaded, I have a slight rake without my trailer (recovery gear loaded) and run level with my trailer attached (340 lb TW plus 180 lb weight shift from front to rear axle).

WeBoost is a signal repeater. It works for mobile phones very similar to how a ham repeater works for ham radios. It picks up a remote cell tower signal, amplifies it and rebroadcasts the signal within a very small range of the WeBoost hardware. It does the opposite for the phone to tower direction. The issue with WeBoost is that it cannot create signal out of thin air. If there is nothing there to receive, you are as dead with it as without it. But usually WeBoost has a more tuned, better positioned antenna than your cell phone, so it is more receptive to weak signals. Keep in mind that it's output back to the cell tower cannot (legally) be any stronger than what your phone already puts out. However it again has a better positioned antenna. It is possible to be able to receive a signal while not being able to effectively transmit back. Going in a different direction, WeBoost is being obsoleted both by Starlink (cell over WifI to Internet over satellite) and by satellite cellular (direct cell to satellite). In the direct cell to satellite you have two well tested options: iPhone native GlobalStar satellite texting (free for two years after phone purchase) T-Mobile satellite service using Starlink (works with most modern phones that have 5G support) Note that #2 is NOT the same as using a Starlink dish and WiFi where you phone attaches to the Starlink hotspot and does cellular over WiFi/Internet. With T-Mobile's service, newer specialized Starlink satellites are acting as sky-born cell towers. T-Mobile supports texting and limited data use for specific apps (like Google Maps) with voice calls over satellite projected for later in 2026. I have tested and have extensively used both #1 and #2 and also have a Starlink Mini where I can do Cellular over WiFi. All three options are more reliable than a WeBoost and over just about anywhere you can think to go within the US. Starlink (dish) has global coverage with some non covered areas (requires international plan). Apple's Globalstar support works in the US, Mexico, Canada, and Japan (so far). Footnotes: T-Mobile offers Satellite only service for users of Verizon and AT&T and other non-T-Mobile providers that you can add to your non-T-Mobile phone. I think it is $10/mo. With a Starlink Mini you can use their "suspended plan" for $5/mo which is "just enough bandwidth" to keep the dish software up to date and have a single mobile over WiFi voice phone call at a time or send and receive texts and low bandwidth data. I use my Starlink Mini enough that I keep it active on the $120/mo Roaming plan. Both Starlink (Roaming plan) and T-Mobile Satellite services work in motion, but much like SirusXM and other satellite services subject to blockage and interference in deep/narrow valleys, canyons, or under trees, etc... Starlink Residential plans do NOT work in motion. Apple native satellite support through Globalstar requires "aiming the phone" to send and receive. The phone guides you through the process and help you keep it aimed during your conversations.

I will bring extra propane tanks. I have plenty in excellent (new) condition. I have three folding hard plastic (Home Depot style) tables also.

10:15 We are heading out. @Jason Baker @Black goat if you are coming you should be able to catch up. We will be on GMRS channel 17. My cell is 208.206.7455.

Family's important, see you on the next run!

Added! See you in the morning.

No you do not need the Red Rock Pass for either trail.

Added!

Added!

Awesome. I also had a great conversation with Rich Smith (he was at the TOR booth at the expo) about starting a cooperation effort up here in the Coconino and Prescott, if I ever get enough free time to actually focus on such an effort.

All of the above said, I actually like creating opportunities for more overland where things like trailers are welcome and intend to do so as time permits.

Thanks. The OP Lite's wheels actually do a really good job of tracking the Wrangler's rear wheels, but it's longer length can create a little bit of challenge on sharp crests and sharp dips, especially where split camber is involved (Jeep off camber one way and the trailer off camber the opposite way).

Many people customize their Wrangler without thought to, or understanding of, the side effects or consequences of the changes to the OEM designed performance characteristics. The rear bumper is a prime example and the subject of this post. Many of the aftermarket bumpers require that you remove the OEM hitch receiver as the bumper uses those bolt holes as a mount point. It is critical that you review the bumper's documentation and be aware of any negative towing limit changes. Aside from the bumper manual, also make note if the bumper's integrated hitch receiver is itself directly wrapped around the frame cross member. If it's not, it is not secure enough to handle trailer load stress. Rear bumpers from budget manufacturers like SmittyBilt often only mount to the rear side of the frame cross member (no wrap) and clearly state in the manual that the integrated hitch receiver is not intended for towing, but only for light cargo loads like bike racks and luggage carts. I have personally seen such bumpers fail on the trail under light(*) trailer load stresses. (*) eg overland RTT style trailer

TL;DR: Jeep issued an OTA that pushed bad telematics-box (Uconnect/TBM) firmware that broke its messaging with the Hybrid Control Processor (HCP). That “incomplete communication” caused the HCP to watchdog-reset; when the HCP resets while driving, propulsion drops out. It only affected late model year 23 and newer 4xe. Those of us with older 4xe's were unaffected. (yay!) Photo courtesy of @David P

Good decision.

Side note, I had a great discussion with Todd who owns TrailsOffRoad.com about how to write trailer recommendation for trails at the 2025 Overland Expo West, separate and apart from vehicle recommendations. Expect to start seeing overland trailer guidance in future TOR trail updates. I also had a discussion there with Opus US about design changes I'd make on future models of the OP Lite (my trailer model)

<appears from a puff of smoke> I was summoned. As @theksmith sorta indicated, I am pro trailer, I have one, I'm old and cranky, and I like sleeping well. The added kitchen is a nice bonus. That said my take as with all other aspects of the run is that it's always leader's prerogative. When leading a trail you accept a certain level of responsibility(*) to guide the people who follow you through the most successful trip you can provide. My approach now is to specify trailer requirements similar to how I specific vehicle requirements, for instance, a pintle or triple axis hitch is an absolute requirement; I prefer to see the triple axis as it has more flexibility then a pintle (ball hitches have no business being on dirt). I may specify maximum trailer length (mine is 17 ft including the spare off the back end). and I will specify minimum trailer clearance to be at least as much as the minimum vehicle clearance requirement. If I am leading a run where I allow trailers, I also like to pre-run it with mine. That way I have confidence that it is reasonable and now that I've done it once myself, and during the actual run I'm not focused on how will I solve an obstacle, but instead can focus on guiding others on how they need to solve the obstacle(s). A trail leader also has to account for the pace they intend to set and hold for a trip. Trailers slow things down, that's just the way it is. Me personally I try to set easily attainable day to day distance goals and have fall back positions on such trips. Other trail leaders may plan differently, especially if they themselves don't pull a trailer. (*) TO BE CLEAR, ALL responsibility during any and every trip is still on the individual driver/participant. Its should be inherent that what the trail leader says is at most "sage advice". Pulling a trailer is a whole new level of complexity and responsibility. And many of use have seen the result of trailers being where they don't belong or rather being pulled by people who did not have the proper knowledge, experience, and setup. Case in point, I have both pulled and led trips with others pulling on El Camino del Diablo. I've see a complete trailer failure (busted A frame on a ball hitch) in another group that happened to be running the route at the same time we were, and in one of my own runs, had a participant with a near failure. Both cases were do to improper equipment selection and setup. Having had the near failure on one of my trips due to a participant who was pulling with a vehicle hitch not rated for towing, I am inclined to specify OEM or certified aftermarket hitch. Many Jeep aftermarket rear bumpers require you to remove the OEM Jeep hitch because they use that frame point as a bumper mount. The hitch integrated into many of these aftermarket bumpers is only rated for small cargo loads (luggage tray or bike rack). These rear bumper manuals will tell you, if you read them, to not tow with them (eg Smittybuilt). For what it's worth I pulled my trailer through the Kofa on what was a solid moderate, mildly difficult run (not a club run). I took a mild amount of damage (all repaired) in the process of learning how every part of the trailer's underside and A-frame can be exposed in the weirdest of ways. I'll not hesitate to do it again, but I'm much wiser now in picking lines and looking out for specific vehicle-trailer articulation scenarios (especially counter twist). Like with my Jeep or truck I accept that damage is always possible and regular maintenance and repairs are simply table stakes to participate in this type of activity. See my comment above on possession of knowledge and experience. Let me also remind you how one generally obtains knowledge and experience...

I read this start to finish actually before the last club trip just to be more knowledgeable during the trip. Note for readers, the PDF is printed in a format for making a book, landscape pages intended to be printed front and back, collated, and then folder over on the center spine. This means the reading the PDF flat, the logical text flow is right side on the first PDF page, left side on the second, and so-on until you get to the bottom of the PDF which you then read up, again alternating left and right on the opposite sides of all the pages you read down.