RME Feature Rig

Featured writeups of Utah's best Rockcrawling rigs.
Introducing: Jeff Stevens' "Dirt Squirrel". If you 4 wheel in Moab, chances are you've had a chance to see Jeff's rig in action because he seems to always be out on the trails. Check out the specs and the photos below and you will see why we chose Jeff's 1987 bodied Samurai for our Featured Rig. Not to mention that he's one of the nicest 4 wheeling enthusiasts out there, Jeff puts just as much work if not more into cleaning & maintaining the trails around Moab as he does his rig. Specs Engine 1.6 liter 8-valve with factory EFI from a ’92 Sidekick Transmission Stock Samurai 5-speed, Petroworks clutch Transfer Case Stock Samurai with a 6.1:1 gear set, Trail Tough t-case bucket, and rear drive shaft disconnect Axles...
Updated! Shane's XJ is built to serve 2 purposes: #1- Be drivable enough to get him to and from work. #2- Wheel anywhere, at any time. It all started innocently enough, the 'average' Jeep project. With an idea to make it perform just a little better in the Rough stuff, Shane started down the road few can resist. Now, the XJ is very capable, but there are still those mods out there that could make it just that much better. Living in Price, Utah allows frequent trips to Moab and the local trails in his backyard. The current setup works great for either place. Here's a breakdown of this well-built Cherokee- Engine- Stock 4.0L I6 with a Large K&N cone filter. Transmission- AW4, Automatic with Overdrive. Transfer Case-...
Introducing Dave Brimleys "Race-Prepped Trail TJ"! RME Interview with Dave Brimley aka RockChucker RME- What is the story behind your rig? Dave- I bought it as a junior in high school. My family has been wheelin' for years. And the bug bit me as a wee lad. It was a bone stock TJ with a smiling front axle from a largish 10' high jump the previous owner "accidentally" hit. Once on accident. Twice on purpose for the cool picture. A three week thrash build to get it ready for the family Moab trip ensued. I made it. But wasn't with out problems. From then on I was hooked. RME was the only website I came too. I watched Greg's RME TJ take shape (I think I donated the rear springs to the cause) as well as Ben and Kami's TJ and Spidey's...
-RME Interview with Bart Jacobs- RME- What's the story behind your rig? Bart- I’ve had some amazing buggies and was lucky enough to compete for 8 years against the very best in the world in the early days of rock crawling, and as a result I was able to do the most extreme courses, runs, and trails available at the time. After quitting the comp scene I got into a pattern of bouncing from buggies to Jeeps, one after another for a long time, because I would get bored. After bouncing between 3 Jeeps and 2 buggies in a 9 year span I arrived at the conclusion that there is no perfect rig and also had to come to grips that I couldn’t afford to have both. I decided that I had done plenty of extreme trails and competitions and could...
Over the last 10 years, the '69 Ford Bronco owned by Chris Holley (RME Username is 'Chris') has seen alot of changes. It was originally purchased while Chris was in High School & served him well as he drove it between work & school. Many things have changed in the last decade and the Early Bronco has been thru quite a few stages. Currently, the Bronco is used for recreational wheelin' and as a UROC Legends Class vehicle. Since that's the case, everything that wasn't a 'must have' has been stripped from the EB for lighter weight. Here's how this classic Ford is currently built..... Engine- Stock Ford 302, 2 Barrel Motorcraft Carb. Transmission- NP435, Granny Gear 4 speed from Fullsize Ford Truck. Transfer Case- Original...
Introducing: DAA's LJ Rubicon. We've all seen the amazing trip reports by DAA and his friends in the reports forum here on RME and we've all wished we were out there with him on those adventures. So what's the story behind DAA's rig? Let's find out... Specs Engine stock 4.0, CAI with air box inside cowl, Edge throttle body and module, Magnaflow muffler. Transmission stock NSG370 six speed manual Transfer Case stock NP 241OR 4:1 Axles stock TJ Rubicon D44’s front and rear w/factory lockers. 4.88 gears. Alloy USA chromo shafts in rear, Alloy USA chromo inner shafts and 30 spline outers, Spicer 760’s in front. Suspension Currie short arms with Johnny Joints on all ends, including front upper axle ends. AEV 3” progressive...
Parkers FJ40 has been thru the stages of the buildup process, and continues to get better. He has wheeled in UROC competitions, Rolled on Virgin Granite in Delta and covered some of the hardest trails Moab has to offer. As it last sat, here's the specs...... Engine- L98 Tuned Port 350, bored .030 over, Aftermarket Camshaft, Howell EFI, Painless Wiring Harness, Custom chip, HPC Coated block-hugger headers, and a 3" Raven exhaust to expell the fumes. The block has been Ceramic Coated as well, in a shade of green that sticks out anywhere! Transmission- GM SM420 4 Speed w/ 7.05 to 1 First gear ratio. Transfer Case- Stock Land Cruiser 3 Speed, (but not for much longer!) Axles- The Toyota has 2 Dana 60's. The front axle...
Engine Toyota 2F, Inline-6, 4.2 liter, light machine work. Carbed. Transmission Non-US Toyota 1-ton 5 speed Transfer Case Split-Case out of later model Land Cruiser, running CV shafts F&R Axles Front: 4.88/ARB, 30 spline Longfield chromo's Rear: Non-US Full-Float, 4.88/ARB Suspension Hybrid stock/OME springs in SOA setup. FJ60 rear springs, FJ40 front springs. Stretched ~4". Shackle reversed front Rancho 9k's Tires & Wheels 35" MTR's on 15x10 MRT Beadlocks Steering Saginaw with modified pump, and RL hydro assist. All-Pro hi-steer arms FJ80 TRE's CrOut DOM steering rods. Protection Custom front and rear bumpers, sliders and skid Winch - Warn 9.5ti winch Interesting Facts 28 Gallon LongRange Fuel tank Helton...
Brad is a Georgia native who originally built his TJ to tackle the deep Mud pits & slick trails the South has to offer. He moved to Utah to go to school at BYU and found why the Rocks of the West can be so addicting. Here's a breakdown of how he setup his Wrangler so it would be capable anywhere he takes it. Engine- 4.0L, Straight Six. Mods: A K&N Air Filter and a York Air Compressor, for operating the ARB on the Trail, then airing up after it's over. Transmission- Stock NV3550, 5 Spd. Manual. Transfer Case- NP231 modified with a Currie SYE. Axles- Front: Stock Dana 30 w/ 4.56's. Rear: Stock Dana 44 w/ 4.56's and an ARB Air Locker. Suspension- Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex kit. Tires & Wheels- 35x14.5x15...
Von began his buildup with the finished product in mind. He knew the Truck would see extremely hard use in the Competition Circut, as well as the Technical Trails he planned to run with it in the near Future. With that plan, he laid out the needed mods and went to work on his Project. Besides the many Competitions, Von had driven his Toyota on Trails like Upper and Lower Proving Grounds, the Helldorados, Pritchett and others. Perhaps the most impressive feat is driving from SLC to Moab, running the above Trails and then heading back, all on the 38.5" SX's!!! Here's the Breakdown of how it turned out- Engine- Toyota 22RE 4 Cylinder, with a Thorley header. Transmission- Stock Toyota 5 Speed. Transfer Case- Single...
Wayne (User Name on RME is WLJ) moved from Wisconsin to Utah and brought his 1972 CJ5 with him. He quickly learned that a Jeep setup for Mud, sporting 12.5 to 1 Compression and a Short Wheelbase isn't the right Combo for the Utah rocks. The CJ was sold and a stock TJ was bought to replace it. 2 years later, there's hardly a part that hasn't been replaced or upgraded! Engine- 4.0L Straight Six. Mods: Rock-It Air tube and K&N air filter, Power Aid Throttle Body spacer, Rubicon Express 62mm Throttle Body, 3-core Radiator and a Flex-lite Electric fan to keep it all cool. Transmission- Jeep AX15 5 Speed and a Hand Throttle. Transfer Case- Atlas II 4.3!! Axles- Front: Currie-built, Ford 9”. High pinion with...
Eric (Ewander on RME) built his YJ to serve his needs, which are- Run local Trails like AF Canyon and drive the 4+ Trails in Moab with ease. Also, Eric's YJ needs to get him to and from the Utah Army National Guard, where he works as a Russian Cryptologic Linguist. The YJ was purchased in '94 and the first Mods were a 4" ProComp lift and a set of 31's, swearing he'd never need a bigger tire. After pushing the ProComp lift beyond it's limits for a couple years, a Rubicon Express 4.5" lift was installed. Eric ran the RE lift for awhile, but the itch for more wheel travel was getting to him. Currently, the YJ sports a Springover with Stock 6 Cyl. leafs inorder to relieve the wheel travel 'Itch.' Engine- Stock 2.5L 4 Cylinder...
Top