Loaded the family and hit the desert in the $300 YJ.

Took the wife and 2 boys on a day trip to the Anza Borrego desert. We were with two of my buddies and 4 of their kids. We had an '00 4Runner with a factory locker, an '02 TJ on 31s, and my Jeep. We hit part of the "infamous" Coyote Canyon trail. In reality it's not hard at all, but most of the vehicles you run into there are stock Kias driven by accountants, so take it for what it's worth.

I was doing a tire test on the new General Grabber AT2 tires I recently put on the Jeep. There were a couple of deep water crossings where the water almost came in through the floor of the tub and plenty of rocks, loose sand, and even a bit of mud. Not to mention the drive out there on the very windy mountain roads. You'll have to tune into a future issue of Jp to see what I think of these affordable treads.

While the little Jeep gave me no problems on the trail, I had forgotten what a miserable ride the factory YJ suspension delivers over washboard and bumpy roads. The 4Runner and TJ were soaking it all up in stride, but we were getting rattled to the point of distraction. Maybe I'll have to bump up my plans for a better suspension on this Jeep sooner than I thought.