JEEP LIBERTY PRESS ROLL-OUT

The 2008 Jeep Liberty KK Launch...

This August we had the pleasure of once again being involved with Jeep in the new Jeep Liberty KK vehicle launch that took place in Terra Haute Indiana just south of Indianapolis. Last year at this time we were out on the famous Rubicon trail south of beautiful Lake Tahoe in northern California during the launch of the 4 door JK Wranglers. Although it is quite a different setting, it still remains thrilling to have the opportunity to see these vehicles up close and personal before most folks have the chance to go to the dealership to see what the new model is like in person.

Although there have been mixed reviews by many about the Jeep Liberty KJ’s we are now starting to see many more of them out on the trails. Now that they have been out for a few years there are more after market products available for them and many that bought them for other purposes than wheeling are finding out that they do have capabilities even when there were, and are still nay sayers of its capabilities. Many Liberty owners owe a debt of gratitude to Clint Rounsaval of Lost KJ’s online forum and LostZJcom. Clint was out on the trail in his Liberty wheeling it almost as soon as he had gotten it home; Clint was also involved with designing and helping some of the manufacturers out there design things from solid axle swaps, Boulder Bars and even spacer lifts. Clint and I happened to be in Moab in October of 2006 doing a little wheeling on Poison Spider when we ran into some of the engineers for this new Liberty KK as they were out testing it on the trails during the production phase. Of course it was clad in the usual black vinyl covering to keep prying eyes and those with cell phone cameras from getting any spy shots that may not have been invited. We had a chance to chat with these guys for awhile and all headed out of the trail in one group, we followed the new KK’s and they wheeled surprisingly well as stock vehicles.

Now Indiana in the summertime is not exactly the same as spending a month in the Sierra Nevada’s but it worked well since the launch was being held at the Red Bird Off Road Park outside of Dugger, Indiana. This was a great opportunity to see another one of the nation’s great wheeling parks. With less and less public land we have to appreciate the fact that people are involved in a sport they love enough to buy land and allow these places to be turned into a wheeling paradise when we would otherwise be out of luck for a place to wheel. This is actually land that is owned by the state and monitored by the DNR and the park it’s self is operated by volunteers who also happen to be a few of our trail guides.

Some of the great characteristics of this new Liberty are the new additions such as the Hill Descent Control; this function allows the vehicles own braking system to control the speed of the vehicle (depending on what gear your in) as it descends down steep grades. You literally don’t have to touch the brakes; the system does it all for you. Another great idea and part of the system is the Hill Hold; this function allows you to stop on a hill that you may be climbing and need to stop for one reason or another and allows you around two seconds to adjust. What that means is that once you use the brake to stop the vehicle you can remove your foot and the vehicle will stay in place for approximately two seconds without you having to hold the brake. The description mention may make you think; why would I want that but when you actually get to see it used in person it really is a neat and useful function.

Thanks to Jeep for another great product and for the continued progress that they bring to the industry. Also a special thanks to the folks at Red Bird for their efforts and for all of their hospitality, they have a great park and are looking at doubling the size of their operations form 1,000 acres to more than 2,200. Their park consists of tight, treed trails, hill climbs and descents, off camber obstacles and they are now in the process of putting in a rock garden that is not for the squeamish! If you are anywhere around Indiana or this part of the country and are looking for a place to go wheeling I highly recommend you check out Red Bird, you will not be disappointed, in fact Red Bird was the main story in a recent issue of Off Road Adventure Magazine.