Wharton Wheeling

[james ungehajer]

All

Me and my friend started off today around 1:00 P.M. to spend some time riding around in Wharton, it was hot, the flies were the main problem today, our first stop was at Atsion to find the Azimuth Mark, the marker was covered by sand but within two minutes we found it, here is a pic of the marker.

We then decided to visit the Boot Hill Gun Club again to view some stones in the area, we found one, as the flies were horrendous here and we wanted to vacate the area as soon as possible. At the Gun Club i took a pic of the tractor beside it, i would like to know the age of it.

We wanted to look for three stones in the area but once again the flies were murder, here is a pic of the one stone that we found.

We then continued further South East on the road as we wanted to view two Atlantic/Burlington County Markers, but first i wanted to show him Constable Bridge, there were no washouts on the road, but sugar sand was the name of the game, arriving at the Bridge i took the following pic.

Backtracking we then went to the first Marker, there is a Beach around the spot where canoeists can take a nice dip in the Mullica, the following is a pic of the Mullica looking upstream.

We then after a short search found the B/A Marker, there is a number 60 on it.

We then proceeded to the next Marker location on the way back to Atsion, we did not find it after a quick search, the flies were back in force, going through the burn area we finally reached Atsion. It turned out to be a nice day besides the flies as we did find a few things, no problem with the sugar sand, i am no longer driving the Taurus, that was traded in to a car dealer, the Taurus would have gotten stuck quickly, i am now the proud owner of a Jeep Liberty Unlimited shown in the following pic.

The Jeep has 16" Bridgestone Dueler Revo Tires on it, and it is loaded with all the amenities, the tires i found out on the Internet that they are highly rated, we then went to our friends house in Tabernacle to finish the day, but first a side trip to show my friend the Goose Pond Gun Club.

Jim

 

[Teegate]

Congrats on the Jeep Jim! Your stone finds are adding up.

Guy

 

[Ben Ruset]

That's a nice Liberty. Is it the Liberty Renegade? I always liked the light bar on the roof.

 

[bobpbx]

Good luck on that vehicle James. I'm glad you took the plunge and got something that will both keep you out of trouble and allow you to go deeper.

You are right about the pine flies. Unusually bad this year compared to the light years in 06 and 07.

 

[Jerseyman]

Congrats, Jimbo, on the new vehicle!! Driving a Liberty on the 4th of July—what could be better than that!!!!

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[james ungehajer]

Thanks everyone for the fine compliments on the new vehicle.

A few questions for you 4 wheelers.

1) I was driving in 4 high yesterday, is that the best gear ?

2) I read in my owners manual that in 4 low you cannot go over 15 mph, i barely thanks to the whoop-di-dos went faster than 5 mph.

3) The tires are 16", on sharp turns the tires will rub against the cab, and they say you can put 18" tires on the vehicle !!!!!!!

Jim

 

[this_is_nascar]

Thanks everyone for the fine compliments on the new vehicle.

A few questions for you 4 wheelers.

1) I was driving in 4 high yesterday, is that the best gear ?

2) I read in my owners manual that in 4 low you cannot go over 15 mph, i barely thanks to the whoop-di-dos went faster than 5 mph.

3) The tires are 16", on sharp turns the tires will rub against the cab, and they say you can put 18" tires on the vehicle !!!!!!!

Jim

Yes, 4-hi is fine. If you're finding yourself making really hard turns in a maneuvering situation, come out of 4-wheel drive then re-engage when you're done. Due to the gearing, you should not be going "fast" in 4-low. Most of the time, I say in 2-wheel drive and if I'm entered thru an unknown puddle or the really deep sand, I'll go into 4-high before entering.

 

[Ben Ruset]

You shouldn't really ever need to use 4-LO for anything in the Pines. You'd need it if (maybe) you got stuck or if you were pulling someone who got stuck out.

4 HI is where you want to be, and honestly only if you need it. I find I can get around pretty well in 2WD.

 

[james ungehajer]

Thanks Nascar and Ben for the advice, Ben it just says limited on the vehicle. The lights have the initials P I A A on them.

Jim

 

[Ben Ruset]

PIAA is a light company. They make aftermarket racing and off-road lights. Sort of like Hella, but less German.

http://www.piaa.com/

 

[Boyd]

Congratulations Jim - nice ride! Now the only thing left to do is move to NJ from that "other state"

Seriously, enjoy your 4 wheeling through the pines and thanks for keeping us posted on your travels.

 

[Trailhead00]

Thanks everyone for the fine compliments on the new vehicle.

A few questions for you 4 wheelers.

1) I was driving in 4 high yesterday, is that the best gear ?

2) I read in my owners manual that in 4 low you cannot go over 15 mph, i barely thanks to the whoop-di-dos went faster than 5 mph.

3) The tires are 16", on sharp turns the tires will rub against the cab, and they say you can put 18" tires on the vehicle !!!!!!!

Jim

First of all, congratulations on your purchase. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Like some other people said I can get most places in 2WD. You don't have to drive around in 4WD unless you really need it. Using 4WD all the time you will just eat up a lot of gas.

Wow, you read the owners manual! I didn't think anyone did that anymore. Haha. How many of my problems could have easily been fixed if I just read the owners manual.
Seriously though you shouldn't drive over 15 MPH in 4 Lo. You probably won't be able to go much faster than that anyway. Like some others have also said you will probably never need 4 Lo. Maybe if you are trying to tow someone else or if you are trying to get up over a hill, but that won't really happen in New Jersey. Also good for rock crawling, again not in NJ.
When I have gotten stuck I still don't use 4 Lo because you can just dig bigger holes that much faster. In sand and mud you just want to go slow and steady and you will have no problem.

I'm not sure how big of a rim you can put on there but I like what you have. Those Bridgestone Duelers are good tires and I would get my what I could out of them. Are the rims stock? It is hard to tell from the pic. From I have read the largest tire you can mount without rubbing is a 235/70/16, with minor rubbing 235/75/16.
Looks like a 265/75/16 is the biggest you can get with a lift. My opinion is that anything bigger than what you have will be a waste and will just add more mass and therefore consume more fuel. Unless you just want to do it for looks than its just a matter of opinion.

In my humble opinion the number 1 accessory for any four wheeler is a locking differential. It will pull you out of most situations. It makes a huge difference.

By the way PIAA's are probably the best off-road lights in the world. Not cheap but well worth it.

Good luck with it and enjoy.

 

[james ungehajer]

Yes the tires are P265/70R/16 111S, i do not know if the aluminum rims are stock, the vehicle is a 2002, also i am thinking that the light rack, the grille guard, and the running boards were put on by the previous owner. I was also impressed with the quietness of the ride from the tires on the highway, i expected it to be loud.

Jim

 

[james ungehajer]

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.7049085422611&lng=-74.69677448272705&z=15&type=topo&gpx=

A few questions for Guy ?

Is the marker where i have the pointer on the linked map shaped like the one we found along the Mullica ? or, more like the one at Bullock ? The reason i am asking is that we went up and down the road 4 times and did not see it, hopefully my fear is wrong, but we did find a hole in the vicinity that has the shape of the Bullock Marker ?

I am presuming that the yellow paint on the stone around Boot Hill is the surveyors Mark ?

What surveyor did the survey in the area, and what is the tract called ?

Thanks Jim

 

[Teegate]

James,

That monument was there the last time I visited it and you can see if from the road.

The property at Boot Hill was at one time part of Rockwood.

Guy

 

[woodjin]

Nice ride Jim!! Like everyone else, I agree that 4 hi is the way to go. If you are in 2wd make sure you switch into 4 hi before you attempt a questionable bit of ground. I only use 4 lo when pulling people out.

Jeff

 

[MarkBNJ]

Congrats, James!. Nice ride. You can go anywhere you like in the pines with that, or nearly. I was out with the kids a little East of you for most of the day today, noticed that conditions are quite dry. Mount Rd. was dry. Martha Rd. was dry. Bulltown-Hawkin, Washington-Speedwell, Washington-Batsto, Penn Swampm, Elmwood-Batsto, all dry as a bone. About the only road I saw significant water on was Devious Mt, and the holes were much diminished. But the flies... mon dieu.

I concur with the consensus view on 4WD. Honestly don't need it all that often. Sugar sand and mud is about it. Today I ran into a Mercedes C350 heading up Penn Swamp Rd! 4L would only be for pulling someone out of deep mud or rock crawling. The only other time I have used 4L is when I started spinning one tire in deep mud, because the lockers only work in 4L and I needed to get the other wheel moving.

 

[this_is_nascar]

You shouldn't really ever need to use 4-LO for anything in the Pines. You'd need it if (maybe) you got stuck or if you were pulling someone who got stuck out.

4 HI is where you want to be, and honestly only if you need it. I find I can get around pretty well in 2WD.

Agreed. I use the time in the Pines to "exercise" my four wheel drive componants of the truck, since I really never have the opportunity to do so during my day-to-day driving. It's good to keep those parts lubed by activating them from time to time. On occasion, I do active 4-low and my rear locker, just so I know they'll work if needed and to lube all the gears and other stuff inside. I can only think of a handful of time where I actually "needed" four wheel drive.

 

[woodjin]

Certain area warrent 4 wheel drive more than others. Venturing into the great swamp is usually a good spot to go into 4x4 and leave it there. Also, I agree, it is a good idea to engage 4x4 from time to time.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

Hi y'all. Hope you are enjoying your holiday. Don't you wish the Phillies had more depth in pitching?

When I hit the dirt I put it in 4H and leave it there. I like the feel of it.