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Lets see those power wagons

austins_dreams said:
Traded the wife's Grand Cherokee in on a 2019 Blue Streak Power Wagon this weekend.

I drove it to work this morning and promptly got a flat tire in the parking lot. Haha. Clearly a sign that I need to get the 37's on deck sooner rather than later.

Thanks to @TrailWhale for the assist.
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its ok, I got a flat tire the first weekend I had my 37s on :(

thankfully they make good plugs and its still running strong! :cool:
 
austins_dreams said:
Drove Horse Pasture trail on a recommendation. Solid first outing. But now my to-do list is even longer with things I want to add functionality wise.

It still makes me laugh how large these things are even sitting next to a lifted Gladiator on 37's.
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What kind of trail was this and what things did it make you want to address on the PW?
 
Etoimos said:
What kind of trail was this and what things did it make you want to address on the PW?
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It was really nothing challenging. More like a service road for hunting. But it did have plenty of whoops (is that the right term? haha) and washboards. And naturally, little to no cell service.

Whoops
We ended up running after it was completely dark (in fairness, some poor planning combined with the fact that it gets dark at 5pm here right now). The truck did really well on these. My only minor complaint was lighting. Although I find the stock headlights and fog lights to be very good on road and through flatter trails, the cutoff pattern leaves you wondering whats in front of you when the nose drops into the larger dips in the trail. It looks like a good aftermarket fog light setup could easily address this with a beam pattern that doesn't really have a cutoff (no longer usable on road, which is fine). This is a solution to avoid adding A pillar lights, or auxiliary lights that are very obvious.

Washboards
I noticed the truck gets a little bit jittery over more aggressive washboards. And from what I've read, a shock and spring upgrade can help with this. Probably combined with a trackbar upgrade. I currently have a set of Thuren Overland shocks sitting in the garage (thanks to another forum member) that will go on when the springs come in. I was fortunate enough to ride in another Power Wagon with this exact setup and it seemed to absorb washboards and rougher terrain much better than my stock setup.

Cell Dead Zones
This is an obvious one. Just need to get a decent radio setup in the truck as relying on a cell phone is silly when many trails don't have reception. Still looking into good options for this.

These are all very minor things. And I'm still very impressed with this truck as it sits. But I've always been a car/truck guy. And leaving anything stock is literally impossible for me. Haha.

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Thanks for the detailed reply. Washboard handling issues are on my radar as I drive a lot of those. Did you air down for this trip at all (what was your tire pressure?)? I've got a Gladiator now (the PW is on order) and I have found that airing down and driving at the correct speed for the vehicle makes a big difference. I'm also a "modifier", so I totally understand not being able to leave it stock.
 
Etoimos said:
Thanks for the detailed reply. Washboard handling issues are on my radar as I drive a lot of those. Did you air down for this trip at all (what was your tire pressure?)? I've got a Gladiator now (the PW is on order) and I have found that airing down and driving at the correct speed for the vehicle makes a big difference. I'm also a "modifier", so I totally understand not being able to leave it stock.
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Airing down may have helped here. We (myself and my friend in the Gladiator) figured it probably wasn't necessary for this trail as it was pretty basic.

I have been experimenting with tire pressure since the day I bought it. The dealer filled them to 60psi cold as that's what's on the door sticker. But I've set it everywhere between 47 and 60 to see what gives better results. But that was only on road so far. So I'll have to take your suggestion for the next off road trip. I think they were at 54 (at temp) for this trail. So maybe lower would help.

We weren't in any particular hurry, so it didn't seem like we should have been out running the chassis. But I'm still very new to this. So I'll definitely keep that in mind the next time.

What convinced you to migrate away from the Gladiator platform?
 
Airing down makes a huge difference in comfort.


Finished up my switch install. The green displays show the battery voltage for my starter and auxiliary batteries. Have some driving lights on order. The only then I have wired right now is the power going to my tent.
F9776E88-E79E-48B5-A28A-7A317E78F162.jpeg


3 vehicle recoveries so far this season including that blue Gladiator.

8704A3E0-FE25-4EA6-9491-13754ADF8A57.jpeg5A83581D-722C-4344-BF99-7704AA905D23.jpeg28E61536-76CF-4126-B3CC-8759247D6505.jpegFAB8C1AC-6E6E-45A3-AC3A-540A8EFA2F4B.jpeg
 
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AnthonyD1978 said:
Airing down makes a huge difference in comfort.


Finished up my switch install. The green displays show the battery voltage for my starter and auxiliary batteries. Have some driving lights on order. The only then I have wired right now is the power going to my tent.



3 vehicle recoveries so far this season including that blue Gladiator.

View attachment 29358View attachment 29359
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You got a new tent there?
 
Power Wagons in the wild
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
austins_dreams said:
Airing down may have helped here. We (myself and my friend in the Gladiator) figured it probably wasn't necessary for this trail as it was pretty basic.

I have been experimenting with tire pressure since the day I bought it. The dealer filled them to 60psi cold as that's what's on the door sticker. But I've set it everywhere between 47 and 60 to see what gives better results. But that was only on road so far. So I'll have to take your suggestion for the next off road trip. I think they were at 54 (at temp) for this trail. So maybe lower would help.

We weren't in any particular hurry, so it didn't seem like we should have been out running the chassis. But I'm still very new to this. So I'll definitely keep that in mind the next time.

What convinced you to migrate away from the Gladiator platform?
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I will often air down for easy trails if I know they are going to have a lot of washboard. On my Gladiator (on 35s) I run 34-36psi daily and drop down to 18psi on trails.

I really like the Gladiator, I just need more interior room and bed space. The JT is fine when just kid and one dog goes with me on a trip, but when the wife joins us the second dog also has to come alone. Then there is just not enough room for everyone and everything.
 
max31man said:
Finally took delivery this week! Love everything about her! (Except her thirst...11 mpg average on the 10 hour return trip after picking her up. I guess the 75 mph speed limit and one mile of elevation gain did not do her any favors) Oh well, didn't buy her for efficiency

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Hey man once it breaks in you’ll get a little better gas mileage I avg 15 mpg on a 6 hr trip in the mile high area. I was happy about the 15 mpg when I seen it.
 
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