3,000 miles in a Jeep TJ w/4 cats and three people

3,000 miles in a Jeep TJ w/4 cats and three people.... Here's a bit about
our trip....great vehicle the jeep is!

My girlfriend and I moved from NYC to the Hi Desert of CA last month and we
drove acorss the USA in a 2001 TJ 60th Ann edition with her mom and three
cats...here are some observations...

No problems with the Jeep at all. Gas mileage varied greatly - between 14
to 18 MPG...not too good, but not horrible either; average was more near 18
MPG. Wind was a big factor in the drive - not only did it decrease gas
mileage in the southwest from about OK to CA, but it also created handling
problems - talk about getting blown around! Anything over 70 MPH in the wind
was rather frightening, so we kept our speed at about 65-70 for the entire
trip, especially after seeing a couple of fierce accidents with flipped over
motorhomes. Whether or not the Jeep would get blown over or even blown into
the next lane was beyond us, but we weren't taking any chances. With cruise
on, the car DID downshift quite a bit during strong headwinds and even more
so with headwinds and small hills..


Noise: Noise wasn't too bad except with the windows down....can't complain
about it at all really. We did develop a bit of an air leak at the back
window - my guess is that the weight of the luggage rack was twisting the
back door a bit. When the car rack was unloaded, the air leak would stop.
Actually as of this writing, the luggage rack DID twist the back door a bit
and the air leak is still present till I twist the door back.

Comfort:
No awful complaints about comfort - I sat comfortably in the back seat and
was about to move around, even with the cat carriers next to me. Being 6.0
feet tall, I was able to stretch my legs and put my feet behind and under
the drivers seat. This was done while sitting on the passenger side. Front
seats were nice and comfy, but with a beat back, I preferred the back seat
as I had more room.

Cats: We used three cat carriers - two cats in one and one each in the other
two. One cat carrier sat on the back seat with the other two tied to the top
of that one.From The Bronx to about Palisades Park, one cat meowed, then all
were quiet for the rest of the journey, with just a little meowing here and
there - nothing enough to even bother us. Quite suprised, but happy (!!)
about this lack of noise. One cat pooped in his carrier on the first day,
but otherwise, no accidents.

Overall the trip went great, the Jeep performed like a champ going up and
down hills and the cats were fine the whole trip which is amazing.
So, it can be done, ya can drive across the USA in a tj with cats and
people!
Chris

Must be in the military to move to that God forsaken place, this
time of year.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:LWHughes3rd (AT) aol (DOT) com http://www.billhughes.com/

Christopher wrote:

3,000 miles in a Jeep TJ w/4 cats and three people.... Here's a bit about
our trip....great vehicle the jeep is!

My girlfriend and I moved from NYC to the Hi Desert of CA last month and we
drove acorss the USA in a 2001 TJ 60th Ann edition with her mom and three
cats...here are some observations...

No problems with the Jeep at all. Gas mileage varied greatly - between 14
to 18 MPG...not too good, but not horrible either; average was more near 18
MPG. Wind was a big factor in the drive - not only did it decrease gas
mileage in the southwest from about OK to CA, but it also created handling
problems - talk about getting blown around! Anything over 70 MPH in the wind
was rather frightening, so we kept our speed at about 65-70 for the entire
trip, especially after seeing a couple of fierce accidents with flipped over
motorhomes. Whether or not the Jeep would get blown over or even blown into
the next lane was beyond us, but we weren't taking any chances. With cruise
on, the car DID downshift quite a bit during strong headwinds and even more
so with headwinds and small hills..

Noise: Noise wasn't too bad except with the windows down....can't complain
about it at all really. We did develop a bit of an air leak at the back
window - my guess is that the weight of the luggage rack was twisting the
back door a bit. When the car rack was unloaded, the air leak would stop.
Actually as of this writing, the luggage rack DID twist the back door a bit
and the air leak is still present till I twist the door back.

Comfort:
No awful complaints about comfort - I sat comfortably in the back seat and
was about to move around, even with the cat carriers next to me. Being 6.0
feet tall, I was able to stretch my legs and put my feet behind and under
the drivers seat. This was done while sitting on the passenger side. Front
seats were nice and comfy, but with a beat back, I preferred the back seat
as I had more room.

Cats: We used three cat carriers - two cats in one and one each in the other
two. One cat carrier sat on the back seat with the other two tied to the top
of that one.From The Bronx to about Palisades Park, one cat meowed, then all
were quiet for the rest of the journey, with just a little meowing here and
there - nothing enough to even bother us. Quite suprised, but happy (!!)
about this lack of noise. One cat pooped in his carrier on the first day,
but otherwise, no accidents.

Overall the trip went great, the Jeep performed like a champ going up and
down hills and the cats were fine the whole trip which is amazing.
So, it can be done, ya can drive across the USA in a tj with cats and
people!
Chris

Is that a 4 cylinder, a 6, or something else?

I know what you mean about the wind. I drove from CO to KS during a
high wind advisory in the '84 CJ-7 with no anti-sway bar.

--
Harold J. Hoover

'84 CJ-7
guyloginin@earth*link.net - (Remove * to reply)
http://home.earthlink.net/~guyloginin/
Sedona, AZ USA

Thats a 6cyl with auto trans....my girlfriend vehicle...
Like I said, wind was a bit frightening...LOL

"Harold Hoover" <guyloginin@earth*link.net> wrote

Is that a 4 cylinder, a 6, or something else?

I know what you mean about the wind. I drove from CO to KS during a
high wind advisory in the '84 CJ-7 with no anti-sway bar.

--
Harold J. Hoover

'84 CJ-7
guyloginin@earth*link.net - (Remove * to reply)
http://home.earthlink.net/~guyloginin/
Sedona, AZ USA