I grew up in Arizona with a family that camped a lot in the Superstition Mountain Wilderness Area.
Joined the Army and after a couple of years in bought a 1987 Dodge Ramcharger with a bunch of lift, big tires, and front windshield sticker that said Joe Dirt (removed immediately). I sold it to a buddy due to a tour in Korea.
I came back from Korea and bought a 79 Ramcharger (full vert woot!), but it needed a lot of work (bought a new rear axle) and I shipped out to my first tour of Iraq 6 months later. Got back and went to install the new rear axle but it ended up being the wrong one so I got another one and once that was fixed the full time t-case was next for a rebuild.
My unit came down on orders to move to Germany, and I could only take one car: The Liberty "Renegade" 2wd (Don't get me started- Mrs. Dozer traded in her Wrangler while I was in Korea as we were expecting our first daughter). I call it the Mothership. I mean seriously! How the hell does Jeep sell a 2wd Liberty in a RENEGADE package??????
Anyway Trying to sell the RC: It went up on eBay no less than 4 times due to back-out buyers, and one fraudulent buyer who sent me a fake check. After re-posting so many times (people started getting leary of it) it went for $385. I was rudhing to get rid of it at this point since I was so close to moving the entire family to Germany. I had nearly $5000 in this truck.
Well after my second tour to Iraq, the Liberty is paid off and the plan was to buy the wife a Commander. We now have 3, yes that's THREE daughters. I was gonna trade the Liberty in on some truck for me to play with, but the wife just recently told me she'll keep the Liberty (My oldest should upgrade to a booster soon so the fit will be less tight) and I can get a truck I want.
I thought of another Ramcharger, but the aftermarket is not too big for them and I thought of other fullsize trucks of the era, but with all the issues and hackjob stuff I've come across in my past purchases I was thinking against it.
Then I found an old 4x4 mag I had bought back in 03............ Did write up on an M1008 they bought and got to working on. I can pack the wife, all three kids, and the dog for a weekend of camping in an M1009. The oldest one is getting to the point where she could appreciate it, the middle one will do whatever the oldest one does, and the baby don't care as long as she's got Mama's boob close by......... Mama is gonna have a hard time though- she's only been camping twice.......
I should be coming up on orders and I talked to the folks who need talking to,and I should be able to get stationed either at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky or Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Should be headed out that way before August of '09 if I have anything to say about it so we'll see. I'm gonna continue to pick up as much as I can about the M1009 and see how it goes. I've got a couple of options so we'll see.
So how do guys like the setup on M1009s? I've read about a few issues with the Corp 10 bolts, but they can be beefed up a bit. Also how does the three speed tranny work on highway? Does the 6.2 diesel give enough power for wheeling and camping or should the engine tranny be swapped??
Not looking to go rock crawling or do any serious mudding- just some tougher than average trails that I can get back into for the GOOD camp spots.
Thanks for answering my questions guys and be safe.
Joined the Army and after a couple of years in bought a 1987 Dodge Ramcharger with a bunch of lift, big tires, and front windshield sticker that said Joe Dirt (removed immediately). I sold it to a buddy due to a tour in Korea.
I came back from Korea and bought a 79 Ramcharger (full vert woot!), but it needed a lot of work (bought a new rear axle) and I shipped out to my first tour of Iraq 6 months later. Got back and went to install the new rear axle but it ended up being the wrong one so I got another one and once that was fixed the full time t-case was next for a rebuild.
My unit came down on orders to move to Germany, and I could only take one car: The Liberty "Renegade" 2wd (Don't get me started- Mrs. Dozer traded in her Wrangler while I was in Korea as we were expecting our first daughter). I call it the Mothership. I mean seriously! How the hell does Jeep sell a 2wd Liberty in a RENEGADE package??????
Anyway Trying to sell the RC: It went up on eBay no less than 4 times due to back-out buyers, and one fraudulent buyer who sent me a fake check. After re-posting so many times (people started getting leary of it) it went for $385. I was rudhing to get rid of it at this point since I was so close to moving the entire family to Germany. I had nearly $5000 in this truck.
Well after my second tour to Iraq, the Liberty is paid off and the plan was to buy the wife a Commander. We now have 3, yes that's THREE daughters. I was gonna trade the Liberty in on some truck for me to play with, but the wife just recently told me she'll keep the Liberty (My oldest should upgrade to a booster soon so the fit will be less tight) and I can get a truck I want.
I thought of another Ramcharger, but the aftermarket is not too big for them and I thought of other fullsize trucks of the era, but with all the issues and hackjob stuff I've come across in my past purchases I was thinking against it.
Then I found an old 4x4 mag I had bought back in 03............ Did write up on an M1008 they bought and got to working on. I can pack the wife, all three kids, and the dog for a weekend of camping in an M1009. The oldest one is getting to the point where she could appreciate it, the middle one will do whatever the oldest one does, and the baby don't care as long as she's got Mama's boob close by......... Mama is gonna have a hard time though- she's only been camping twice.......
I should be coming up on orders and I talked to the folks who need talking to,and I should be able to get stationed either at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky or Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Should be headed out that way before August of '09 if I have anything to say about it so we'll see. I'm gonna continue to pick up as much as I can about the M1009 and see how it goes. I've got a couple of options so we'll see.
So how do guys like the setup on M1009s? I've read about a few issues with the Corp 10 bolts, but they can be beefed up a bit. Also how does the three speed tranny work on highway? Does the 6.2 diesel give enough power for wheeling and camping or should the engine tranny be swapped??
Not looking to go rock crawling or do any serious mudding- just some tougher than average trails that I can get back into for the GOOD camp spots.
Thanks for answering my questions guys and be safe.
). You should be fine going mostly stock for trail use, too. I've only had mine since June, but I've had no problems with the rear, mainly because I made sure to change the seal and put Lucas gear oil in there as soon as I got it home.
