We bought a new Jeep !!				File=Jeep.htm
With some old age aches and pains, catching up with both of us, we decided to do our future car
touring, in air-conditioned comfort and protected from the rain. The 350Z was still perfectly OK
for good highway travel, but the Buggy was testing our comforts, off-road. It was a perfectly fun car
while the weather was good, and our joints, knees, hips, back and suchlike, were behaving. However,
Parj had periods when he could barely climb in and out of the Buggy, let alone dig or push it out of
sand hills or flooded creeks. The Pathy was still travelling OK, but was getting over 11 years old, so
we could expect major engine, gearbox, suspension works in the near future, on our off-road trips.
Thus we succumbed to some clever TV ads:- "They bought a Jeep" and bought a new Jeep Wrangler,
2 door auto with 3.6 lt. Petrol engine, to replace the Buggy and the Pathy. This allows us to :-
	a) Travel in air-conditioned comfort, or with the top removed in sunny weather.
	b) Not worry about rain (this was a curse in the Buggy)
	c) Be able to listen to radio or cd's, and talk to each other, at over 60 kph.
	d) Have a brand new car, with 3 year warranty, which we will test thoroughly.
We chose the Jeep Wrangler Sport, 2 door, auto with 3.6 lt petrol engine with 209 kw. (wow!)
The size we chose was perfectly adequate for our travelling modes, in the outback. We use hotels,
motels or cabins as 1st choice, and emergency tents, camping gear, if nothing else is available.
After you take the rear seats out, there is plenty of space in the back, for all our touring gear,
including :-		Personal bags with clothing and toiletries + emergency nibbles.
		Engel 40lt fridge, for beer, wine, drinks, confectionery.
		Air compressor, Epirb, Sat Phone, axe, spade, 2 MaxTrax, Snatch strap
		Wheel and tyre tools and spacers, and general tools, + spare 10 lt., petrol.
		Insect and other sprays :- WD40, window cleaner and suchlike
		Torches, tarps, blankets, hatchet and misc., gear.
Since we expect to eat mainly at restaurants or roadhouses, we don't need to carry extensive food,
cooking gear or tables and chairs. Only emergency supplies, such as biscuits, sausages, nibbles
and fruits, in case we got stuck for a short while. (remember, we have a Sat Phone and EPIRB)
The only addition we are considering is a set of Roof Bars, to carry :- 2 MaxTrax, axe, spade and
fishing rods ? These have to be installed behind the removable section of roof, above the driver and
passenger, and fastened to the "removable" rear roof section, about 1000mm long.
May not even need this, after 1st trial pack ?
Also, may do a bit of fiddling to attach a "telescopic" sand dune flag to the LHS front step. This looks
like an easy fix, for my existing "Scull & Crossbones" flag, for Simpson desert and Stockton dunes.
These are meant to warn oncoming traffic, when cresting over sand dune tops.
We did NOT consider any of the serious gadgets, like winches, diff lockers, Rubicon versions or
suchlike, as Parj & the dealer reckon this Jeep will go anywhere, we want to go, in the next 5 years.
First Impressions		Parj's 1st impressions were extremely good, considering his doubts about
		Yank build and quality. ( you know, throw it away after every 3 years !!)
The Yanks must have learnt from the Germans and Japanese, that quality counts with customers.
I was very impressed with the 5 speed automatic gearbox, which could be controlled in the manual
mode, like the Porsche TipTronic boxes. You can hold them in any gear for pulling or engine braking
with a virtually foolproof system. The engine power was impressive as was the radio and many other
instruments/gadgets, including a built in compass !! We are happy to use our own  Garmin Sat Nav.
The 4WD system is good, as High range 4WD can be engaged/disengaged on the run, and is within
reasonable reach. Have not had much practice (or use for) Low range 4WD yet, but it seems easy
enough to engage. Others have told me it is a practical, workable system, for slow, steep, rough work.
The tyre pressure indicators, are a useful detail, especially after tyres are set to 15 psi, in sand !
The underbody clearance is excellent at over 230 (or 9 inches), never had a scrape yet on rocks.
The Jeep comes with a removable hardtop, and a removable soft top. Our intention is to ignore the
soft top (leave it at home) and use the hard top only. When the weather is good, it is easy to take
off the small section of roof, above the driver/passenger, and enjoy some fresh air driving. This is
about as far as we plan to go, mainly using the vehicle as an air-conditioned hard-top. (wimps !)
The 2 centre consoles are very spacious, lockable and useful for mobiles, cameras, Sat phones etc.
Also, the side door pockets are useful for tissues, tyre pressure guages, specs and suchlike.
The headlights height adjuster, on the dash, is VERY useful, when loadings can vary considerably.
Two complaints were observed :- First the accelerator pedal was located too far behind the brake
pedal. If you adjust the seat for this, the brake pedal is too close. There was no adjustment so we
fixed a 35 mm spacer to the accelerator pedal, which solved the problem. Secondly, the petrol cap
had to be opened by key from outside. A bit agricultural and old fashioned, but tolerable.
Having now done 1000 km,  including :- Freshwater track, Cooloola Beach, plus many Sunshine
Coast hinterland tracks in dry and heavy rain, the Jeep has surpassed all my expectations. It has
handled very soft sand, mud, steep climbs in wet rocky tracks. Will soon do serious testing  at :-
	Snowy Mountains fire trails, near Thredbo to  Victoria.					Late Jan/Feb 2015
	Cape York trip, May 2015, now quite easy, including the more difficult Telegraph track.
	Simpson Desert, later in 2015, when not clashing with our planned USA "Rubicon" trip.
	Birdsville track circuit, anti clockwise from Home, B'Ville, Maree, Broken Hill, Home.
Trip reports of the above will follow soon after each trip.
Large Bootspace, with rear seat out.					Room for Engel 40 lt. Fridge + much more.
Side view, dune flag will be on other side.					Not sure if roof racks will be needed ??
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