Parents with wranglers

[jpthing]

what I'm getting at is that if you ARE going to wheel with young kids a slightly more leaned back position seems far better on their neck.

professionals by definition are generally very reluctant to give any advice that does not precisely toe the party line or deviates from accepted practice. this is one of the results of our overly litigious society.

I'm sure not all of you always wear safety goggles when using an impact gun or a screwgun or even a wrench for that matter, yet experts reccomend you do every time. Of course when grinding or drilling or cutting the goggles are required...it's called common sense...how many of you wear a leather apron and beanie every time you weld? yet this is what the experts reccomend for safety. Without common sense it is possible to follow the instructions to the letter but still do something stupid. Not every possible scenario is always considered in product instructions. And violating instructions is not always dangerous either, they are really just trying to protect their butts. My milwakee drill for example states that it should never be used under the influence of alcahol yet I have had a beer or two on several occasions while using it to drywall the basement. The instructions do not however mention anywhere to be careful when drilling or driving that you are not going to hit live wires or a gas line....so to be safe should I follow the instructions exactly and throw my beer out the window and then blindly drive screws where I know there may be wires? In order to be safe you must take outside information such as accepted practice or instructions but also consider whether or not that makes sense in your specific situation.


thinking outside the box is the basis of all innovation. The first baby carseats were homemade contraptions made by parents yet they led to the great products on the market today.

when using any product outside of it's intended application the ability to think for ones self is a requirement.

It is easy to dismiss any new idea without ever trying it by stating that "it's not done that way". If it was done that way it would not be a new idea, so the logic there is false.

And I'm still pretty sure there are bigger problems facing society than the misuse of belt dressing.

[apeman]

Uhh what happens to the spine and brain of a child when it gets tossed side to side, even at low speeds, regardless if the kid is inclined ...??   Thanks for the brain damage Dad...maybe you should give your head a shake.

[Spinalguy]

what I'm getting at is that if you ARE going to wheel with young kids a slightly more leaned back position seems far better on their neck....snip

i guess what you are missing is that wait until 3 before you wheel a kid. So, i can not even begin to address your car seat set up.
These car seats are good ones:
http://simpsonraceproducts.com/products/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=341&products_id=10350&sort=

http://simpsonraceproducts.com/products/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=341&products_id=10328&sort=


Evil-Jeep, that was well stated.

jpthing, i leave you with this...

give it a try doing the passenger experience once on an easy trail. Keep in mind that your experience will be less impacting as you have developed all of your stabilizing muscles. You also have an 'idea' of what a trail looks like and how a rig behaves. Your toddler doesn't.

But, most kids will enjoy it or sleep But, micro traumas are occurring.
The kid might end up being the grandma that smoked and drank her whole life and lived to a 100, but the kid might not.
Is it realllly worth it?
Having kids leads parents to sacrifices. Vacations, camping trips and wheelin trips present challenges. If arrangements can be made to choose trails that can be hiked by your partner and kid in a backpack, than it probably is a better choice. Getting bumped around in a knapsack tends to be linear movement. A jeep is more like a gyroscope.


don't anyone  feel bad if you have been wheelin with the little ones. Wheelin and kids has been going on for decades. i bet there are guys/gals on this forum that have been wheelin since they were born.
i used shaken baby syndrome as a thought provoker. In no way are you doing that by taking your lil one wheelin. The car seat prevents that.
i think that overall, parents nowadays coddle and protect their kids too much. i'm just suggesting that waiting until 3 is a prudent choice

[specialk]

Thanks for posting up everyone.  Let's move on... please.

[Spinalguy]

If you are going to wheel with children I beleive  you should do what you can to maximize their comfort.

Wow. Maybe IF you take away the IF, there is no need for you to justify your actions.
i'm done.
Good luck.
Hope your kid makes it through life without back aches, head aches, growing pains (a BS diagnosis) and all other crap that you should never experience ever as a kid.

[jpthing]

Thanks for the kind wishes.

My kids are both over three, they are both still in carseats and they both like to go wheeling.

Leaning back the seat a little extra improves their comfort, so I see no reason to do otherwise.


When a new idea is presented, stating that the new idea  is not the "correct" way is an invalid rebuttal...of course it's not the accepted practice...that's what makes it a new idea.

I do not mind if people disagree with me,  but for me, convincing arguments must follow basic rules of logic.

[jpthing]

Uhh what happens to the spine and brain of a child when it gets tossed side to side, even at low speeds, regardless if the kid is inclined ...??   Thanks for the brain damage Dad...maybe you should give your head a shake.

perhaps you fail to grasp the discussion, or are just exagerating but no one is talking about brain damage. The discussion is about damage to muscles, ligaments, etc.

"thanks for the brain damage, Dad" is a great line and it sorta reads like you made a valid point but no...brain damage is not the issue, muscle damage is, and what I am talking about is a method to reduce the likelihood of muscle damage.

If brain damage is a concern to you, you should be aware that prolonged exposure to welding fumes can cause it...just a heads up.

My kids are both old enough, by Spinalguy's defininiton to go wheeling. Yet I am a very bad man for tilting their seats  back to a more comfortable position on the trail?  For serious?  I fear it is you, Apeman who should consider giving your head a shake...or perhaps moving into some fresh air.

[4low]

ya.........so...........uhhhhhhh.........about me pickin' up a wrangler again to replace my truck as a family vehicle...........

I checked out some TJ's, they sure are nice compared to my ol' YJ..........seems like enough room getting in and out of the back........but the whole "practical" thing is still waving around in my face.........yeesh, I hate tough decisions......

[T-BOAN]

Thanks for the information posted on here from different people. I never really took into account the "damage" I could be doing to my little children while taking them out wheeling. It's definately food for thought now . I will wait a few years until they get older .

[Spinalguy]

4low, good to see you still kicking tires.

jpthing, if you or others had gone to the links i provided, you would have found that the car seats i recommend are indeed ADJUSTABLE for tilting

TomaTOE...ToMAtoe.
At the end of the day the microtraumas i am discussing are an assault on the nervous system. Because the highest population of neuroreceptors is found in the neck. Therefore
any damage to muscle, ligament and structure results automatically in NERVE interference or irritation resulting in sub optimal firing of neurons along that pathway INCLUDING the Brain. Damage to muscle pales in comparison to the decreased performance of the nervous system which almost always results in Symptoms.

[Evil-Jeep]

Just a bit of personal relation to what Spinalguy is saying.... I suffered two broken backs and a broken neck between the ages of 16 and 20, while the bones and muscle have healed properly, I have massive nerve damage. The common symptoms I have now include inabilty to properly regulate body temperature on my back, I have no or little sense of touch along my spine, headaches, reduced vision, arthritis, and many more forms of general soreness, I am only 30 now and will only continue to suffer more as I get older......

4low, you had mentioned at one point cost was a factor in your decision, a couple things to consider. Depending on your credit it may be cheaper or equal to finance a newer JK over a TJ. I pay 20 a month more than my wife for my 03 TJ than her 07 JK unlimited, she also still has warranty and less maintenance cost on her jeep.

I would do a monthly payment comparison based on the different interest rates you can get on a newer jk and an older TJ,  then ball park a yearly maintenance and upkeep for the two, factor in the different insurance costs for each and compare the totals.. you may be closer to a newer Jeep than you think.

[4low]

thx for pointing out options with financing. Unfortunately i work in a low pay volatile industry (debt bad, specially with preggo wife), so i wanted to buy outright, and spend no more than 5g's. But if it were an option (financing), you have brought some things i hadnt thought about to light. Thx!

[Spinalguy]

Mike, as that is your budget. i would buy one from the USA. Way more bang for the buck. i have detailed instructions on how to do it painlessly.
Tk

[4low]

hmmm, I hadn't thought about importing....tha'ts a cool idea too. Thanks for mentioning that Tom......

I just re-read my last post, sounds bad. I have good credit,  I just don't want to finance a vehicle and then go to work one day and have the pink slip handed to me, ( I need a new career choice) not to mention the lack of guaranteed year round work.........haha.....ahhhhh........