How did it all start?

always had a soft spot for 4wd's but never sought one out until 5-6 yrs ago. a neighbor of mine had a mid 80's ranger on a mid 70's 1/2 ton chevy frame with 39.5" mickey thompson atz's. made me a price i couldnt refuse....what really set me in them was the first snow i had with out it, i couldnt get out in my nova and from then on i have had a need to build/drive a vehicle that coud go anywhere at anytime in any weather condition
 
I don't really know, but if I were to guess I would say I got the Jeep bug way back in 1951. I was just a little guy then. My dad & grand-dad were having a new barn built and one of the carpenters had a little (probably surplus) Willys Jeep. There was a steep bank/hillside directly across from the barn location that was hard just to walk up, and definitely too steep for a tractor. Now I don't know if the guy was just plain simple or not, but he took that little Willys right up on the side of that bank, backed it around, and brought it back down the hill. I can still picture that today as clear as if it were yesterday. The men watching were just shaking their heads. Another incident I can remember was a fellow, again with an old Willys, who pulled (jerked) a tandem dump truck, loaded with coal, out of a deep muddy ditch. Two other fellows had together tried to rescue him with Ford 8N tractors, but couldn't get the job done. That guy beat that old Willys half to death, but he got that dump truck out of the ditch. It was amazing! I thought those Jeeps were something then, and I carried that bug right up until 1984 when I finally got my first CJ-5 (Lil-RED). I still have Lil-RED today. Most folks see me in Granny (another CJ-5) and I guess I'm still hooked on Jeeps. Right now I'm shopping/prospecting for a new trail rig (probably a Wrangler), and from all indications I'll keep driving offroad until I'm pushing up daisies. :)
 
How it all started for me is a little awkward. At the age of 14, my dad bought a set of tires for me. At 14.5, he bought me a 90 GMC Jimmy (K5), and told me to make the tires fit. I haven't rested since. Before all of that, I had an affinity for wheeling a golf cart through trails and mud around my house and at Kerr Lake. Can't tell you how many times I got into trouble for getting that stuck.
 
My first wheel-in was at the age of 16 in my dads 77 Ramcharger. That thing was a beast. It had a slick set of 33" AT's but what it lacked in tires it made up for in motor(440). We were cleaning up some tree's that were leaninig towards the house. I climbed up about half way and tied of the 80' cable we had and hooked it to the hitch. He told me when he gave me the sign to stand in it with all it had. We meaning me was mixed up on the signal and when he told me to tighten up the cable I went ahead and stood on it. It pulled the tree down and about a 10' across section of dirt with the roots. Dad never even got his saw started. After that I tested that ole truck every chance I could until I final killed it. After that I got my first jeep and thats where I've stayed. That brings up alot of good memories.
 
i was wondering when this thread would start, it is really interesting reading about everyone's stories. my first exposure was when my grandfather took me out into the wood in a jeep cherokee and we climbed a huge hill and went back down. i was pretty stoked. when i was fifteen i got a 3/4ton 4x4 suburban and would abuse it. my inspiration at thiat point was this guy up north and was wheeling a suburban all over the place. i saw what he could do in his and i was pumped. this is his suburban now
ai978.photobucket.com_albums_ae262_1tonoffun_6yh012.jpg

the size of a whale but very fun. now i am seventeen i drive a jeep cherokee ironically it is that exact same cherokee my grandfather owned!!!:driver:

i love rocks, despise mud, love snow!

BTW (if you misread that suburban was never mine. that was just my inspiration)
 
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