It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. Ryan Wallace of Rubicon Express offered me his 4" longer wheelbase TJ to drive over The Rubicon Trail during our small and impromptu gathering of industry folks last week.  The rig is a 2000 Jeep Wrangler TJ with a 2.5" long radius arm kit, an AEV highline fender system, and Good Year 37" MTRs.   

I knew this would be a very capable trail rig, but I didn't realize just how easy it would be to pilot on a trail like the 'con. A child could have driven this thing.....I never even had to roll down the window to look at tire placement. Three things became apparent immediately; 4" of extra wheelbase in the back make a huge difference in trail dynamics, keeping the lift to a minimum has big benefits on side hills, and if anyone tries to tell you that radius arms don't work they're full of crap.  I spend lots of time in stupid meetings, cramped flights and crunching spreadsheets in my office, but last week was enough fun to renew my enthusiasm for this sport for at least another year.