Current Sponsors for the 2008 Willys Road Trip...

This years’ trip is going to take us through some areas that we are certain will have limited (or no) cell service. Cell phones have certainly become one of those things that we wonder how we ever existed without them. Lack of cell service was going to be one of this years biggest challenges since that is how we post our daily blogs. Aside from that, if we have an emergency and no way to contact help we could have larger issues than keeping our blog up to date.  Wilson Electronics out of St. George, Utah has come to our rescue with their state-of-the-art cellular phone amplifiers. They have the best technology and solution to the obstacle that we thought was impossible to overcome. Wilson Electronics will be providing us with the cell phone mounts, antennas, signal boosting amps, cables and all of the necessary hardware to make sure that we will have the signal we need throughout the whole trip. While we watch people driving past us making fun of how slow we are going we can hold our cell phones up and proudly grin and show them that we have 5 bars and we’ll shout “can you hear me now”!! 

Anyone with an old Willys knows that achieving top speeds of 40-45 mph can be a challenge, not to mention trying to hold that speed for any amount of time can be equally challenging. This years adventure will take us almost twice as far as we traveled last year for a total trip distance somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 miles. We simply needed to find a way to gain more mileage without increasing our travel time since (unfortunately) we don’t have all summer to take the trip. 

We went looking for ways to keep our old Willys as stock as possible, yet improve the top speed.  We had planned to try out a new Saturn Overdrive, but close to our departure date we ran into a little trouble getting the one we had on order so our search for a replacement quickly became desperate. After a bit of searching on the net and some recommendations from others in the industry we found Herm Tilford from www.hermtheoverdriveguy.com. Since they didn't have any new or rebuilt overdrives ready to ship us Herm immediately began his search for the required parts to build us one...Talk about SERVICE!  We couldn't be thankful enough for his prompt efforts and support to help make us just a little more mobile on our long journey. Although his specialty is new and rebuilt overdrives for Jeeps with the Dana 18 transfer case, Herm carries a large line of other products so be sure to check out his website for a full list of products and services...make sure to tell him that you found his website listed here on JeepBrokers.com

We will also be covering the install as well as a product review on this product so be sure to check it out on our “Jeep Garage” and “Product Review” sections of the website.
 

NAPA Auto Parts Of Snowflake Arizona: Napa is once again sponsoring us for our 2008 Road Trip.  Glade and Travis were gracious in providing us with the essential fluids and replacement parts that we needed along the way for our 2007 Road Trip. They were also kind enough to supply us with various tools, tow straps, jumper cables, electrical diagnostics tools and pretty much whatever we thought we might need along the way.  Thanks AGAIN to NAPA Auto Parts Of Snowflake Arizona.  They can be contacted at 928-536-4251

Adventure Trailers of Upland, CA: After last years trip one thing we found that we couldn't live without our M416 trailer and it was definitely one of our most important pieces of equipment . Without that thing we would have never been able to haul all of the stuff that we had to have to make the trip. We know that next year will not be any different and as many of you know we had a few issues with our hitch this year so we plan to fix the problem before next years trip begins. When we approached Adventure Trailers to see if they were interested in being a part of next years trip we were thrilled when they gave us a big yes since they are the ones that have the solution to our hitch issues.

Those issues we had last year with the hitch were mainly due to the fact that we were still using a Pintle hitch because we didn't have one of Adventure Trailers "Lock N' Roll®" couplers. This year we have a little more time before we head out and before we do the guys in Upland, California are going to get us squared away with one of these systems so we can have just a little more comfort in our ride while pulling a loaded trailer.

We couldn't be happier with the suspension conversion job they did on our M416 for last years trip and we are equally excited to have them on board for next years adventure in our "almost Adventure Trailer". If you have a trailer that you built or bought or if you happen to be one of the many already satisfied Horizon or Chaser model owners these guys have many accessories that will keep you a happy camper out on your next expedition. Check them out at http://www.adventuretrailers.com/index.html to see what they have for all of your camping needs.

The fine folks at Surplus City Jeep Parts are once again kind enough to join our adventure as one of our Premier Sponsors.  Last year they provided us with some of the spare parts for our trailer such as the spare tire, wheel, tube, as well as the tarp and rope kit to keep our gear clean and dry as we traveled. They will also be supporting us with any Willy’s CJ specific parts should we run into any trouble along the way and need replacements. With over 40 years in the business, we are confident that they will have any Willys part or technical advise that may be required on this journey.  These guys don’t just limit themselves to only Willys era Jeeps, but they are certainly superior in the field. They have an outstanding website packed with information on Jeep parts for any make or model.  They also have detailed info on military surplus vehicles, related gear, VIN info and so much more. Check them out at www.cj-jeep.com. Special thanks go out to Chuck Hindale for his efforts and support in this adventure.  Anyone looking for a military trailer like the M416 that we will be towing on this journey, or any other models (like the 101) can call these guys and they will be sure to track one down for you.

Anyone who followed our trip last year knows that our biggest headache came from our transfer case.  After only 20 miles into our 2,150 mile journey, our Spicer 18 started to bleed to death leaving the JeepBrokers duo to wonder just how far we would get before this thing gave up the ghost. Thankfully all we had to do was put a quart of gear oil in daily to keep on trucking, but for the whole trip we were always wondering if we were going to have an explosion underneath us if our Spicer decided enough was enough.

As we progressed across the country we always had our concerns for the obvious since we were loosing so much oil (and yes, we put what we could under the old Willys to keep as much of the spill contained as we could when it was parked at night to be environmentally conscious). To add to the frustration we contemplated  learning the fine art of sign language in order to communicate over all of the chattering coming from the old, and in need of work Spicer.

We knew that something had to be done before next years trip and we wanted the best kit out there to rebuild the transfer case.  When the story and idea was pitched to Novak they came through for us and are now amongst our contributors for the 2008 URT. These guys are true machinists, wheelers and real world practitioners that have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to conversions, swaps and innovative creations which is why we wanted their products. During the rebuild of our Spicer 18 we will be doing a product review on it as well as showing how the rebuild went and what we did to get the job done on our "tech info and how to page" so be sure to check it and Novak out.

If there is one thing that should be on every adventurer’s list but many times is forgotten, is a good, well prepared and complete survival or emergency pack. Whether you are planning for a camping trip, hunting or fishing trip, a weekend with your buddies or even just a road trip, this is something that everyone should consider having in their vehicle.  

Last years trip we had a good first aid kit with some other essentials packed in to go with it like the flash light, matches, knife, compass and a few other items that we were able to pack into the extra space of our first aid kit. Yet there were still things that we felt would be good to have along.  In preparation for this years road trip we went searching for what we felt would be the best kit out there for what we may need on our trip in any situation. What we found was ReadyFreddy.com®. See our detailed review of this product here
 

JPFreek.com Magazine, these guys were in communication with us the whole trip to see how our progress was going on our 2007 trip. They will once again be covering our trip and story for our 2008 West Coast Road Trip. JPFreek.com Magazine is an online PDF publication and is generated to those type of people that live the “outdoor or adventure” lifestyle. They have great product reviews on various types of camping, travel, and adventure gear as well as stories from many different expeditions taken around the globe. They are a rapidly growing magazine that you will soon be seeing and hearing much more about. These guys are here to stay and we look forward to seeing our story and seeing the adventures that other people like ourselves will be experiencing.  www.jpfreek.com

It was an easy choice as to who we wanted to approach and have involved with our trip when it came to the concerns of lettering and decals. The gang at Doty Graphics of Morristown, Indiana was the perfect choice; we have actually worked with these folks on Jeep Jamborees in the past and have seen their work first hand. Knowing the work they do and the product they put out we were happy to hear that they were interested in being part of our trip and willing to be one of our sponsors. 

These folks are not limited to making decals for locals; they can design stickers and club logos for just about any occasion and can ship them to you. If you have any club events that you may need banners or promotional stickers for they can sure get you taken care of or even if you just have a saying or design that you want to put on your Jeep or towing rig it is worth contacting them to see if they can help you out. If you should happen to need their services we would sure appreciate if you would let them know that you found their contact info here.
 

Custom Street Rods by Steve Banker:  Steve Banker has been instrumental in helping us with some of our projects as we prepare for the Ultimate Road Trip 2008. Steve has been building custom street rods for the past 25 years and has had some of his work gracing the covers of street rod magazines. He also happens to have an old Willy’s FC of his own that he plans to restore after he finishes two current projects that he is working on at the moment.

Since Steve is fully set up for any task or project that may come his way we decided to take advantage of his offers to assist and take the opportunity to do some fabricating while we had access to his plasma cutter. If you have the desire for a street rod or possibly some other custom work give Steve Banker a call, he can be reached at 928-205-1307.

Mark Reid and Fiona Baxter from Florida found out about our trip and were generous enough to donate some much needed supplies. They have provided us with a Tom Tom GPS system to help keep us on our designated path.  This is something that we desperately needed last year and we are so thankful and appreciative that strangers to Vance and I were willing to give up such a possession to help us out. THANK YOU for that Mark and Fiona! They have also helped us with other donation items and again, we can’t thank them enough but certainly hope they understand our appreciation! 

One thing that always amazes me and makes us proud to be a part of the Jeeping/outdoor community is the generosity. Many of you know or will come to find out how much time I spend on the road working at or on different Jeep events and it always impresses me how folks will come to aid of complete strangers and donate their time, energy, knowledge and or parts to help one another out and many times without asking for anything in return.  It may not come as a surprise that Mark is an EMT and spends his time helping others in need every day, in addition to that he is a real Estate Broker and can be contacted through his website at http://4079636368.com/ If you are looking for real estate in Florida I would say that this is an individual that is going to be looking out for your best interests and should be the first person you would want to call.  Once again….. Thank you both for your contributions to our trip and adventure!