Glad to meet you all

[relhom]

Hi my name is Gayle Mohler and I was at most of your meeting tonight 11-1-09. I am a relative newbie to this. I just bought a 04 rubicon that seems to be stock and in pretty good condition. So now I would like to know what it can and can't do and where I can go to find out. I live by Great lakes crossing. Part of the reason I would like to join is I need to learn how to keep this jeep alive and running for some time (or my wife will kill me). I am no slouch to wrenching or working (tonights subject). I have found out that if you can explain how it used to work I can usally fix it. So my quest is to find out how and why a jeep works. It just seems like it will be easier to get that information with people that break them. I have been in the machining industry for over 20 years with a strong mechanical background. I also have been married now for 20 years so I'm "seen" as stable too. If your events are not to far away I would like to attend and allow us to get to know each other better and see if we can get along. That is about all the information i'd like to divulge at this time. Hope to see you all again soon.

[ouchman]

glad you could make it, and hope to see you again, and if you like wrenching, welcome to jeeps...lol.We are a family oriented group, and welcome others with the love or hate of jeeps. Im Doug, the vp, any questions or comments, feel free to post them, or pm anyone in the club, and if they cant help, they will point you to someone who does. ::woot::  ::woot::  ::woot::

[LPM606]

It was nice meeting you.  Sorry the meeting was little bogged down last night.  I can relate to being in your position - you have the jeep and know it is capable for off-pavement driving, but you're not sure exactly what it can do and you certainly don't want to try on your own and get stuck of break soemthing.  That is why Julie and I joined the club - we had been on some organized trail rides at camp jeep, but never wanted to go out on our own.  Being able to go out with a group of experienced drivers and follow their lead is invaluable.  If you get stuck - you get pulled out, no big deal... all part of the learning curve and the fun.

Hope to see you again!

Ed Schroeder
WLB Secretary

[Paul Hittie]

Sorry Gayle, you have come to the wrong place - we don't break things!!  ::ouch::

Your stock Rubicon will go farther than you are willing to go and do things that you are unwilling to do as a new off-roader - the self-education process is as much spiritual ("I can't really do THAT can I?") as it is technical.  Most of the off-pavement excursions we take will only scratch the surface of what your Jeep can do once you get comfortable with it.  We do a lot of two-tracking that is as much for entertainment and comraderie as anything else, and trips like Silver Lake State Park to play on the dunes fall into that category as well.  We take a handful of trips each year to places like The Mounds, The Badlands in Indiana, Drummond Island, and some of the private off road parks here in MI that can offer whatever level of technical challenges you are looking for, from rocks to mud to hills and even man-made obstacles.  It's all a matter of figuring out what you like and how comfortable you are with pushing the limits of mechanical and/or cosmetic damage to your Jeep.  Mine has to get me to work on Monday, so most of the time I err on the side of getting back in one piece!