Stop the Sit n' Spin

Recently, I had noticed that the behavior of my Jeep TJ had grown to be considerably unruly on slippery surfaces.  When apply the brakes to shave off a few MPH’s when approaching a turn or intersection became treacherous task due to the fact that the little Jeep’s rear end decided to start waggin’.  Actually, this was beyond wagging due to the fact that it was nothing to perform a 180 on snow covered roads at low speeds.  Slightly faster speeds yielded even more fabulous maneuvers like my infamous 540 where I was not trying to be Dave Merra or Tony Hawk, but just a short wheel based (SWB) Jeep driver praying that when I coasted to a stop that I would not be in the middle of the intersection.  I enjoyed playing on a Sit n' Spin back when I was 4 years old, but sitting and spinning in a TJ is not good.

 I racked my brain try to figure out the source of my problem, but I kept coming back to the conclusion that I forgot how to drive a SWB Jeep.  Finally, a snow of relative depth fell in our area recently and I was out in the TJ enjoying the temporally redecorated landscape when I came to a point where I was needing to cross a ridge of snow left behind from a snowplow.  The front end easily crushed through the snow with mo problems, but the back end did not crush and compact the snow.  Instead, the 30X9.5 tires performed superbly as they floated over the mass and barely sinking into the snow underneath.  Upon further investigation, I found that the backend of my Jeep had the extreme propensity to float on top of the surface of a snow while the front end would crush through the surface and find plenty of traction.

 The light bulb went off in my head and I realized my Jeep was suffering from the same problem that my old Nissan 4X4 Sport Truck suffered from when I drove it.  The light rear end would create havoc and essentially make the vehicle impossible to drive.  In the case of my TJ the problem has been compounded with the addition of a Mile Marker single speed winch on the front and the foot shorter wheelbase.

 So off to Lowe’s I went to pick up a $3.50 marval of the modern age called “Tube Sand”  This sixty pound sack of sand shaped like a large hot dog would be my solution to the world’s problems.  I placed this bag of sand in the rear end of my TJ behind the rear passenger seat so that the full effect of the counter weight to the winch could be felt on the rear springs.

 OK, you caught me.  I exaggerated a little because the bag of sand did not solve the world’s problems , but it has cured my TJ's inability to climb paved roads that are covered with aggregate to assist with traction when the pavement is covered with a fine dusting of snow.   Finally, some may ask about how bad has this sixty pound slug in the back of my Jeep has affected the performance.  Off the line acceleration has been reduced by 25%, but the inertia generated from the additional weight has produced two awesome side effects.  First, while cruising on the interstate on my way to work, I have found that it is easier form my Jeep to maintain its cruising speed while climbing moderate grades.  Next, the weight has also helped with gas mileage increasing the MPG’s from 17.5 to 20.  So with all considered, I know the Jeep will never compete with a ricer so I would rather settle for the mileage. 

 With the savings at the pump, I believe the tube will pay for itself in approximately on months of driving.  Now I know when I replace the  rear bumper, I will be looking for the heaviest model that is possible for me to attach to the back of my Jeep.  That way I will be able to rescue a tiny bit if the cargo room that was totally eliminated by this addition.

Till next time,

KYJ