Part 1:
Powered By RIPP Superchargers With Yokohoma Tires, Free Spirit Recreation and Engel Coolers
Let’s get a few bases covered here. I love driving, I drive the country to 40+ Jeep shows a year. But this road trip is different from any of the trips I have taken so far. I’m driving 6,100+ miles, by myself, sleeping in my Freespirit recreation Rooftop tent for 15 nights, and making the entire trek around the country with only half doors without uppers installed on my 2018 Ripp Supercharged Jeep Wrangler JL. I am going to go through 26 states, and rely 100 percent on myself and my Jeep that has seen almost as many miles off the pavement as on, jumped through sand dunes, almost flipped on the rocks multiple times, and is built with the best aftermarket equipment in the industry.
As I head off from Ohio, my first checkpoint brought me into Chicago, IL to meet with a follower from Instagram by the name of @xtreme_JL aka Anthony La Rosa. Because these stops are not pre-planned, I am simply driving and people have messaged me to ask if I can spend 5 minutes to pull off the interstate and meet a fellow Jeeper. We met at the famous Superdawg Drive-In where Anthony introduced me to his wife, showed me his 2018 JL build in-progress and we swapped stories about our experiences at this year’s recent Easter Jeep Safari where he actually had seen my Jeep beforehand. It was really cool to drive through the city lights of Chicago and meet a fellow Jeeper.
Heading towards Madison, WI, the outside temps were dropping to around 45 degrees which means at 70mph with half doors at night, a very chilly Bob. Thanks to Reggie, (@crawlerjku) I have been able to borrow his military issued Marshmallow Suit to keep me warm the whole way. As I near Madison, WI I decide to make my final stopping point a park and ride to deploy my rooftop tent and grab some rest.
The Freespirit Tent I have installed is the Adventure series M55 Tri-Layer tent and can be deployed straight up from the roof which is awesome because all I really need to find is a spot to park my Jeep. I’ve slept in a rooftop tent in numerous places, such as the Silver Lake Sand Dunes in MI, the mountains of Colorado, the woods of Uwharrie National Forest, and by the ocean on the beach of Daytona, FL.
As I sit and think about what I’m doing here, with this particular trip, this is what I want people to take away. Life is what YOU make it. There are opportunities we are given daily, choices to be made and experiences to be had. I prefer to take full advantage of all of it. Let’s get this show on the road!
