Body Damage and your Trail Rig

DRaider90

DRaider90

Uwharrie Off-Road Volunteering
Joined
Oct 23, 2007
Location
Weddington, NC
I haven't been wheeling as long as most, only close to 10 years. But in those years I have slowly grown accustomed to body damage as being apart of the wheeling. I have seen the extreme of people getting out of their rig (was a brand new JK) and breaking twigs off trees to avoid "pin stripes", to the people that can roll their rig 5 times and act like nothing happened.

My trail rig is also my daily driver, so I do have to drive it even after the wheeling trip is over. And even though I still don't like the idea of body damage, I just figure its one more story I get to tell. If it weren't for the body damage to back it up, a lot of wheeling stories wouldn't have the same impact. Or maybe that is just my way of rationalizing what my truck has gone through. The truck doesn't seem to mind it surprisingly, the more body damage I get the more it tries to go above and beyond like driving up the vertical walls of the entrenched hill climb on Dutch John. It wasn't funny at the time (I had no steering due to my passengers tie rod end came apart)but I try to laugh at it now :lol:.

So what are others feelings on body damage and their rig? I know most try to avoid it, but it seems if you wheel long enough and keep doing the harder stuff from time to time its inevitable.
 
When I stopped caring about body damage I was able to have alot more fun, but I would reccomend to get a different vehicle for a daily driver.
 
I had fun trail riding in my 99 4Runner when it was my DD...then my wheeling style changed. After a trip to Crozet and a close encounter with my back glass and a tree I decided it was time to change vehicles. I have mangled the body of my current rig in a matter of a year...probably 15-20 trips. But its more fun this way. I can beat on the truck, roll it, roll it over, straighen some panels with a hammer and or come along and roll out the next time without a worry.
 
I take out my fairly new Rubicon JK all the time and that is also my daily driver. I just drive right though the branches but I figure it's just a good opportunity to pick a new paint color if it ever gets bad enough that it needs it.

It's fairly hard to dent the body of a 2 door wrangler since the wheels are further out than the sheet metal so I don't worry about that much.

I do pay attention though so I don't do it intentionally and if it rolls badly I've got full comprehensive insurance since it's still got a loan.

Pin stripes though are just about unavoidable wheeling around here, too many trees.
 
GubNi said:
When I stopped caring about body damage I was able to have alot more fun, but I would reccomend to get a different vehicle for a daily driver.
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The first few dents in all of the clean, straight bodied wheeling rigs I've had bothered me a little, then it just sort of didn't matter after a little while.
 
If the rig is trailered, that part of the brain that says "hey this is a bad idea" turns off. You subconsciously know that you only have to get to the trail head to get it on the trailer and therefor you romp harder than you normally would.

Seen it a million times.
 
I think some of our worst body damage happened parked in camp. :rolleyes:

Definitely makes a difference if you're having to drive it home (and then especially from Moab) but even then it isn't as much the body that's a problem... unless you take the doors off and then can't get them back on. :lol:
 
Black Bear said:
If the rig is trailered, that part of the brain that says "hey this is a bad idea" turns off. You subconsciously know that you only have to get to the trail head to get it on the trailer and therefor you romp harder than you normally would.

Seen it a million times.
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This is the absolute truth. My trail rig is my DD so when I look for the top down at Daniel trail, I think well I have a 2 hour drive home. So I avoid the hard spots or the trail all together.

I need another rig :(
 
DRaider90 said:
I haven't been wheeling as long as most, only close to 10 years. But in those years I have slowly grown accustomed to body damage as being apart of the wheeling. I have seen the extreme of people getting out of their rig (was a brand new JK) and breaking twigs off trees to avoid "pin stripes", to the people that can roll their rig 5 times and act like nothing happened.
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Refferring to me? :lol:
 
witchdoctor said:
if you have to worry about body damage then you are not having fun.
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I think I would disagree about the not having fun if you care about body damage!
I lifted a 97 TJ a couple you years and used it for the trails. It was a 2.4 4 cylinder I paid $3000 for and I didn’t really give two craps about. I beat it into the ground put it on its side twice and never cared.

Now I have a 2000 4.0 I paid almost 3 times as much for and I drive it totally different. I actually back away after one or two attempts of getting over an obstacle I am a little more aware of where the rocks are when I going over them.

I still have fun when I trail but now that I have a TJ I care what it looks like I do drive it different.
 
I have lost several ds tailights and use to replace em everytime now I dont even bother.The biggest regret I have is that the doors and top will no longer go on due to the tub bein soo bent up.It would be nice to do some winter/snow wheelin and not freeze to death.
 
Back in the day I totally restored the body of mine. New panels, new paint, the whole nine yeards. It looked good. Then one day after a particularly hard spot I had to make a decision. Take the high side with a winch for help and be looked at like a H2 driver or plow through it and keep trucking. I decided the latter. Once that damage is done, it just doesn't matter anymore.

mine currently looks like a bag of smashed assholes with a blue cage. last trip I damn near tore the whole rear quarter panel off. you just have to learn to accept it if you're going to have fun and get to the next level.
 
I always wondered about the guys who would wheel a vehicle that they were still making payments on (or leasing!). To me, it's one thing to wheel your daily driver, which I used to do, it's an entirely different thing to wheel something that isn't "yours" yet.
 
Thats what insurance is for Mangler. Roll down Daniel? No problem, insurance gets you a new jeep. You've got to have the expensive insurance on a loaned jeep anyway, might as well have fun. I took out my JK the first time with the cardboard dealer tags on it still.
 
Hitchhiker said:
Thats what insurance is for Mangler. Roll down Daniel? No problem, insurance gets you a new jeep. You've got to have the expensive insurance on a loaned jeep anyway, might as well have fun. I took out my JK the first time with the cardboard dealer tags on it still.
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If I remember correctly, my insurance policy is null and void when off road... I may be wrong though.
 
Hitchhiker said:
Thats what insurance is for Mangler. Roll down Daniel? No problem, insurance gets you a new jeep. You've got to have the expensive insurance on a loaned jeep anyway, might as well have fun. I took out my JK the first time with the cardboard dealer tags on it still.
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Let me know how that works out for you....
 
I love taking trail virgins with me. The look on their face as a rock drags the entire length of the body is priceless.
 
Clay you should check your insurance. We had a guy in our Isuzu group roll his rodeo on its Lid on Falls Damn. The insurance covered a new roof, two doors quarters and misc. All covered, they Said that URE is a State forest so all roads are considered Fire roads and so you were not a pvt park or an offroad race or park so they covered it. Hope that works for you.
 
The insurance covers anything I drive my jeep on. The insurance is for the bank at that point not me. I called and checked already.

Worst case I still have to fix my jeep anyway which isn't really any different then if it was already paid off so no big deal. I won't be doing anything with a good chance of rolling it intentionally no matter what. I don't bring a trailer.
 
embrace the damage. fully body rigs are going to get it. kinda like full contact fighters and cauliflower ear...it goes with the territory.

regarding insurance...be up front with your ins company. cost me a very minimal amount to use my rig as i like and have full coverage regardless of terrain or location. granted....you can't make a claim for each dent. its a give and take relationship and you have to pick you battles (claims), etc. also....probably not a bad idea to get a little extra insurance to cover aftermarket stuff and custom work (yes...even your fab work is worth money). i put a rider on my policy for my trail rig and its worth every penny.
 
also....probably not a bad idea to get a little extra insurance to cover aftermarket stuff and custom work (yes...even your fab work is worth money). i put a rider on my policy for my trail rig and its worth every penny.[/QUOTE]

Good point, a standard policy only covers the first $1000 worth of "custom equipment" and nothing esle. This include's anything not stock, including your wheels & tires.
 
Well my rig is my DD also but I just don't worry about body damage. It has plenty of beauty marks & 1 of the 4 doors is hard to close. I just try not to bust any lights or windows. If I am wheelin more than an hour from home I trailer it so that if I do break I can get back home.
 
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