You probably haven’t noticed, but in the background of Schwarttzy.com I have been working on and planning a lot of things. And now I feel that it is a great time to tell you that over the next couple month I will start to integrate many new features to Schwarttzy.com. Once finished the Off-Road map will become more of an Extreme Out-Door Sports Map, because things Like White-Water-Raft, Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking, and more will be included. Do not fret, you will have the ability to hide all other points on maps if you are just searching for “Off-Road” ones. As of today I have created forums, which are located at http://schwarttzy.com/forums/ , register on there and have fun. I will be adding section for users to easily upload there photo’s pertaining to each and every activity. I will also be greatly enhancing the the forum for submitting trails, maps, and etc.

But before I give everything away you’re just going to have to wait but I have “BIG IDEAS” in the works.

Next up on my dream Jeep Wrangler 2006 LJ Rubicon list of parts are the Bumpers and Tire Carrier. The possibilities are endless in this class but I have been able to decide on one particular style. When I began comparing all the bumpers out there I kept seeing the design as this huge bumper that weight a lot and look they would be easy to get hanged up on. While it may be nice to have a massive bumper on the Jeep, it just isn’t my style. Things like gas mileage, vehicle weight, and approach angle mean a bigger deal to me than the little bit of add protection you gain.

Which is why T&T Customs has won me over because I like the approach angle, clean lines, and simplicity of their design. These bumpers are for Hard-Core off-road in mind, meaning they’re meant for some serious abuse. If you can even manage to hit them while off-road. Unlike many manufacturers, T&T Custom’s Front Bumpers has the Winch Mount, D-Ring Mounts, and Guardian tube standard on the front TJ bumper.

The Rear Bumper gets even better than the Front Bumper. T&T Custom’s designed the bumper so that it is flush with body, providing an excellent departure angle. The integration of the Brake lights, Two D-Ring mounts, and back-up lights into the bumper help finish off the design by saving you the time and effort on figuring out how to mount the them when a 37″ tire sits back there.

Hopefully you will agree with my reasoning on why I choose to go with  T&T Custom’s Bumpers, because otherwise you should leave a comment below. And next time I will talk about the Body armor and Sway-bar setup I will go with on my Dream Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon – LJ.

So till then, see ya on the Trails

Eric Schwarz.

A while back I mentioned a part that would be on my dream Jeep Wrangler 2006 LJ Rubicon, which is the Advance Adapter Rubicrawler and you can read that post here. To get on track with the next item in a list of items for my dream Jeep that I plan to update more frequently is from GenRight Off-Road. GenRight is know for their amazing fabrication skills with metal, specifically tig welding.

So what is this part I desire?

The  Hi-Fender Tube Kit – LJ from GenRight. This fender kit is the most important part of my Dream Jeep because I will not be putting a lift kit on my Jeep. Instead this kit allows me to run 35 inch tires on a factory TJ/LJ Jeep Wrangler 1996-2006 with no rubbing. Now if you did read my previous post you know that I decided on 37 inch tires, but fear not a simple 2″ Budget Boost will solve my problem. The beauty of this GenRight Hi-Fender Tube Kit is that I can retain factory suspension while still driving on these massive tires. Now I just said “factory suspension” and in attempt to get all of you on board with me here’s a list of things I will not have to worry about to get 37″ tires on my Jeep-

1. Drive-Shaft Vibrations
2. Lengthening and/or Shorting of Drive-Shafts
3. Reduced Life on U-Joints from Extreme Angles
4. Converting to Double Cardien Joints (But you know this only implies to non Rubicon edition Wranglers)
5. Steering Alignment issues
6. Caster Angle
7. Transfer Case Drop Kits
8. Bumper Steer
9. Exhaust Modifications
10. Sloppy Non-Responsive Steering
11. Extended Brake lines
12. etc.

Which is me just naming a few thing off the top of my Head.

But, The bread and butter don’t stop there, not yet. Unlike other Jeeps out there, my Dream Jeep will have an extremely low center of gravity (it doesn’t sit very high). Meaning when I drive down the off camber trails, this Jeep going to feel nice and secure, where others maybe worried about rolling their Jeep onto its side.

Finally, You may have not noticed it but the kit include the sliders that are in the two images above.

Look for next weeks post on what bumpers I have chosen.

On June 11, 2010 I drove north on I-90/94 to Devil’s Lake State Park to camp, hike, and rock climb in Baraboo, WI. The park is know for it Quartzite rock that rises out of the ground 500Ft. forming bluffs that surround Devil’s lake. The Winnebago Native Americans called the lake “Ta-wa-cun-chuck-dah” which translated correctly means Spirit Lake or Sacred Lake, but for the sake of attracting tourist the translation chosen was Devil’s Lake.

I recommend reserving a site months in advance of your planned date because the sites fill up quick, by clicking here. Even thought all the sites where booked, the group I was with lucked-out and got the last one of the site that cannot be reserved, Ice Age Campground Site #370. As always when camping I recommend purchasing two bundles of wood for every night that you decide to camp. The site with two vehicles, two tents, and six adults ran us about $67 dollars for a Friday to Sunday visit, and had a 3:30PM check out but didn’t mean we had to leave the park.

On Saturday, are first day out in the park looking at the Devils Lake Map we decided to do a lap around the lake, Hiking the bluffs and stopping at any spot we thought we might be able to boulder. We started in north shore and headed around Devil’s Lake in a clock wise manor on East Bluff Trail, stopping at Elephant Rock and just about every scenic out-cropping along the way. If your like me I got memorized by the beauty that Devil’s Lake State Park possesses and completely forgot about nabbing a Geocaches along the way. Eventually we made it to balanced rock and head to the South shore concessions for lunch and to cool off in the lake. After that reprieve we hopped on the boardwalk and headed to West Bluff Trail headed for camp .

The second day out was aimed at sight seeing, we saw Devil’s Doors and hiked the CCC Trail. The CCC was special to us because at camp after the first day of hiking I realized that the hardest trails we had hiked was medium. Which had me scratching my head if all the trails we did where Medium at best, “What was Difficult like?” Well the trail CCC Trail didn’t disappoint, but nothing that someone determined to climb it couldn’t do. Since we weren’t up for re-hiking trails and the second day out was also are last day there we drove to the place label “Group Camping” on the map right below the CCC Trail and parked in the parking-lot there. When we got there we found out that CCC stands for Civilian Conservation Corps which was part of the “New Deal” that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created to help poor families during the Great Depression. Enrollment was limited to boys 18 to 25 and they where treated in military fashion, Calisthenics at 6:15AM, Barracks Inspection at 7:00aM, and Lights-Out at 10:00PM to get and idea. Rain, Snow, Extreme Heat, or Extreme Cold these boys where out building the trails we hiked, moving and place every block of Quartzite rock.

One thing I wish I would have taken advantage of at Devil’s Lake is the Fishing Tackle and Forestry Pack. At the Nature center you can borrow either the fishing tackle or forestry pack for free, all that is required is an adult signature. The fishing tackle requires that anyone over the age of 16 have an fishing license. Devil’s Lake State Park claims that you can catch bluegill, crappie, perch, bass, walleye, northern pike and brown trout. The Forestry Pack is full of books, games, activities, magnifiers, measurement tools, collection boxes and a bird-calls. Both the Fishing Tackle and Forestry Pack are available for 24 hour check out.

If your like me and live south of the park, be sure to take Route 113 and take the ferry across, which is free.

Let me start off by thanking all the mothers of the world, in their struggles of razing hellions like me. My brother and I personally got are mother her favorite perfume which she is running out of and a watch that came with a matching bracelet. Even though today is Mother’s Day, I still found some time to get out and have some fun which I ended up going Geocaching with my Dad and the dog.

We went to Marengo ridge which is part of Mchenry Count Conservation District, but for us locals we remember it as Kunde Wood’s.  To brush up on the history of this land it was originally owned by Dr. Emerson Kunde who noticed that the land was heavily over grazed by livestock and is famously quote saying “The soil was so hard you could hardly put a pickaxe into it.” He planted many kinds of pine trees believing that these trees had the ability to survive in the poor soil conditions, and now the park is a thriving forest.

Anyway, I went there to enjoy the woods, walk the dog, and most importantly find a few Geocaches (Marengo Moraine, Chicago land Battleship Geocaching Challenge: A1, The Daniel Jackson). My dog, Koby, made it a bit difficult because he gets extremely excited on walks but I managed to find them all. The Battleship one is difficult unless you have the map, which I so happened to be here. Also the Marengo Moraine isn’t a normal Geocach, once you get to the area there will be a post to help you answer the questions to log this one.

The Marengo ridge is unique because it is the farthest west distance traveled by the Lake Michigan Lobe of the Wisconsin glacier. In one part of the park you stand upon the Marengo Moraine an enormous pile of rocks, gravel, sand which is called glacial till. The deposit of rock, gravel, and sand is up to 280ft deep and is 40 miles long. The earliest deposit of glacial till is from 270,000 years ago and the most resent only 15,000 years ago.

All in all it was a good day, I was worried it might be cold, but that wasn’t the case. Again I wish all the mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.

Till the next Adventure.

North Wall Gym in Crystal Lake Illinois

I would like to mark a changing point in my website with today’s post. I find that Climbing is a great metaphor for something that I have been dreaming about, and that dream is that “I want to replace Mike Rowe.” While that may seem mean it should be taken as complement because I want to be like him. What I like about him is how he brings everything and everyone’s mood down to earth.  He just seems to fit in everywhere, while retaining who he is as a person. He just laughs when in pain or bad a situation. These are some of the reason why I want to be like him, but do my thing.

As for why I choose “climbing” as a metaphor, it’s really simple to explain, I have joined a rock climbing gym in Crystal Lake, IL called North Wall Rock Gym. If you have been inside a martial arts gym where you can openly talk to your Sensei you know the feeling. But if you don’t, it’s basically a place to hang-out, with 25′ ceilings, and grips bolted to the wall everywhere, begging you to climb them. I should mention I do not use the ropes to climb and I do not use a safety harness of any type to catch me if I were to fall. Instead a very thick mat is below me, referred to as a crash pad. This style of climbing without ropes and generally a short distance off the ground is called Bouldering.

Now this sport is very demanding physically and let me be the first to tell you, “I need practice,” but I see it as the next challenge to, well, climb. I have already paid for a month and bought myself some climbing shoes. Five Ten – coyote Lace-up to be precise and I go about three times a week now. Let me tell you these new shoes made a huge difference from the ones I have been renting from them. Now, I was surprised and you maybe be too to find a lot of these people climb in jeans and what seemed to be everyday clothing, but as it turns out shorts and very seemingly loose fitting clothes are not necessary.

My new pair of 5.10 Coyote Lace-up

As for how I’m going to change the website, I would like to begin to blog about all things outdoors that my friends and I do. I may get side tracked with something’s like the phone I want, HTC EVO from Sprint which I have entered to win one, but I will try to make sure everything is at least a least a little bit relative. Like I plan to use that phone for logging trails, taking photos, video, and of course the social aspect of it while outdoors. Which bring me back to why “I want to replace Mike Rowe.” I want to create a TV show that while similar Dirty Jobs, a show Mike Rowe hosts, I too want to go about America meeting average people doing their thing. But where I change it up a bit is that I’m not visiting them at their Job but rather an outdoor sport or hobby they do. Which include things like Hiking, Backpacking, Mountain-Biking, Kayaking, Canoeing, Rock Climbing, Camping, and Fishing just to name a few. Now I’m going to start of slow by taking video, pictures, GPS tracks and posting in a similar fashion to the trail write-ups for all the adventures I have. Also in the works I plan to really get into Youtube with video of what I’m doing outdoors.

With that said I will begin my journey.

The hunt is on to find three Jeep Tiki to win a brand new 2010 Jeep Wrangler Islander. The Three Tikis are named Steel, Trail, and Wave which I suspect their individual names are an indication to where they are hidden in the US. The Jeep Tiki Hunt contest started on April 1st and continues until all three Tiki are found. But in the mean time the date you need to remember is April 26, because that is when the Tikis will be hidden at there respective locations and at which time only 3 clues will be reviled. First three clues released so far are  Steel – People ride waves of a different kind in this area, Wave – Your Jeep, Wrangler Island will take you anywhere but skip this location if you are eremikophobic (afraid of being alone),  Trail – Snow or Sun, the people and Tiki love it here year around. Supposedly Jeep will be releasing more clues on there Facebook and Twitter pages.

So go on over and check out the official website of the Jeep Tiki Hunt at http://jeeptikihunt.com/

So Good-Luck Hunting, and Have fun!

I subscribe to the National Off-Road Association e-mail newsletter that is sent out about once a month, with this months having quite the surprise. If you don’t know what NORA is I recommend you just over to their about NORA page. Instead of the usual list of trails that are being threatened to close, this months announces that in Northumberland County located in central Pennsylvania there will be a new Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) recreation area. This new OHV park in Pennsylvania is 6,000 acres of old coal mining land intended for the public to enjoy. Instead of paraphrasing their email I’ll just quote it below.

“You just don’t see this everyday” says Pearse Umlauf, Founder & CEO of the National Off-Road Association. “We see many trails being closed across the United States, most recently the Upper Tellico OHV area, but it’s very rare to see new trails being open”.

Northumberland County located in central Pennsylvania has decided to do just that; open over 6,000 acres of old coal mining land to the public for the intended use of off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation.

“The Northumberland County Commissioners deserve a thumbs-up and our full support on this project”, says Off-Road Hall of Famer, Mark A. Smith and Founder of Jeep Jamboree USA. “Years ago in California, El Dorado County officials got involved with keeping the Rubicon Trail open and today it generates an estimated 30 million into the local community. Now that’s an investment worth making”.

Barry Yorwarth a local resident of Northumberland County spearheaded this idea a few years ago. He has been working closely with county officials to help them make this project a reality. “I got the idea back in 2005 when I was the co-pilot for Tom Lawlor at the Top Truck Challenge in Hollister Hills, CA”, says Yorwarth, “I said to myself; we’ve got some land like this back in Pennsylvania, why can’t we do something like this?”. Barry’s dad bought him his first Jeep (CJ-5) when he was just 13 years old. Today Barry owns (5) Unimogs and a few Jeeps. “The park is designed to be open for all motorized users not just full-size vehicles, everyone’s welcome. The county is planning to have onsite camping as well as parking for RV’s”.

“It’s great to see the County Commissioners of Northumberland take such a proactive leap forward” states Pearse Umlauf. “The local communities and residents will benefit tremendously from the development of this park. The park is an economic “center of commerce” for local businesses not to mention the potential jobs it’ll create. OHV enthusiasts from across the United States will flock to this new park just for the opportunity to run new trails. This park will allow individuals to recreate in a safe, dedicated environment.”

The National Off-Road Association will keep you up-to-date on any news and developments on this new OHV Park. Stay tuned.

So with that, I recommend if you have Facebook account join the group at http://www.facebook.com/nationaloffroadassociation and if you want to become a Member of NORA, they have really sweet benefits, you can support them in their cause to keep the trails open by signing up here.

Deby Kortas from Bundy Hill Off-Road has sent me an email about a special event they well be having on Valentines Day weekend, February 13th and 14th. That there will be a special hunt for Cupids arrow on the trails inside their park that will be worth $100 if you are lucky enough to find it. Bundy Hill will be open 8AM to 5PM on Saturday and on Sunday 9AM to 5PM for the hunt Cupids arrow and other things.

If you haven’t heard of Bundy Hill Off-Road yet, they are southeastern Michigan’s newest off-road park. It’s full of trails, sand dunes, extreme rock crawling, gravel hills, sheer drop-offs, bottomless mud pits, and hood-deep water. They are constantly doing work to make sure you can find everything from mild to wild! In addition to this, they strive to keep the park family approved.

Be sure to read the rules of Bundy Hill Off-Road before you go here.

Click here, if you need directions and don’t forget the phone number (517) 917-04WD.

Some day I plan on having a dream Jeep, that specific model is an 2006 LJ Rubicon with 2″ of lift and 37″ MTR tires and one of the parts that it would include is the new advance adapter Rubicrawler.

The Rubicrawler is a gear reduction box that allows you to have more selections in your gearing choice. Your standard Jeep only has 1:1 gear ratio in 4HI and when shifted into 4LO your generally have some where around 2.72 unless that Jeep of yours is Rubicon and in that case it would be 4.0:1. This means that your drive shaft will rotate once time every time the engine does one rotation in 4HI. Where as in 4LO the dive shaft will only rate once every time the engine does 2.72 rotations.

This where the Rubicrawler comes in handy becuase it give you additional choices for gearing. The options are 1:1, two choices of 2.72:1, and 7.40:1 for wranglers produced before 2006, and for you lucky ones with the Rubicons package the options are 1:1, 2.72:1, 4.0:1 and an impressive 10.88:1. Now some of you maybe saying that the 4.0:1 gearing is good enough, I would disagree because I think this allows you to run much better highway gears and still have a very low gear ratio. Instead of gearing my dream Jeep with 5.13 in the differentials, I will choose 4.88 and maintain reasonable gas mileage and still have a lower gear ratio than factory Jeeps.

The factory transfer-case shifter is replaced with a twin stick design in the same location that requires no modifications to the interior. The best part of the Rubicrawler is that it replaces section of the drive train that nothing more than open space. Meaning that you do not have to modify the drive shafts in anyway, or anything on the Wrangler for that matter.

There is one draw back to the Rubicrawler, which is also the reason why it is low on my dream build list, the price. The Rubicrawler costs $1784.75 and that isn’t installed, but hopefully with time demand will increase and reduce the price of the Rubicrawler. Be sure to check out the other things Advance Adapters sell because this isn’t their first great product they have produced.