Suzys Jeep TJ

Suzy Johnson here. My four-wheeling history began as a child, riding in the back of the Jeeps that my dad grabbed from his Jeep dealership, Burton Motors, in Santa Barbara. Our primary haunts were Pismo and the great trails behind Santa Barbara (before they were designated Wilderness). Like Jenni, I learned to drive in the dunes in one of our 70�s vintage Jeepsters. My parents were also heavily involved in the California Association of 4WD Clubs, going to every district meeting, convention, and Cal 4 Wheel event. This involvement led me to became the editor of the association�s newsletter, the In Gear, in 1992.

I went away to the Air Force when I was 18 and didn�t think much about wheeling until I got back to California. I managed to convince my husband Terry that four-wheeling was fun, so in 1982 he bought a 69 Jeep CJ5 with a Chevy 350 and an automatic transmission that was frozen in third gear. With my brother�s help, the Jeep actually made it to the Dusy trail, but didn�t get very far before it started overheating and coming apart (literally). We had to turn back, prematurely ending my first and only trip to the Dusy. Why we kept the 69 until last year I�ll never know, because it sat idle in the yard for almost ten years. I guess neither one of us could bear the thought of it falling in the wrong hands.

With my husband working shift and weekends quite a bit (he�s in law enforcement), I wanted something a little more reliable that I could drive and camp out of. By that time we had two kids, so I bought a 97 Ford Expedition that proved to be quite capable off-road. I didn�t try the Dusy with it though. We went lots of places until�

I was asked to be a volunteer at the Camp Jeep that was being planned in Buellton in 2004. I thought I could bring the Expedition and park it somewhere. Then I found out that non-Jeep vehicles weren�t allowed and that we would actually be leading runs as part of our volunteer duties. Knowing that the Expedition wouldn�t do, I decided that I had to have a Jeep. With the older two kids out of the house with families of their own, I knew that a Wrangler would be just fine for me, my husband, and our young son Kurt. So one morning, a week before the Camp Jeep pre-runs, I woke my husband up and said we had to go buy a Rubicon. I had already called Ted Miles to make sure they had the one I wanted. Knowing that it was pointless to protest, my husband�s only input was that we get an automatic (I�m so glad we did!). So off to Ted Miles we went, finding a Rubicon with exactly the right equipment. To top it off, it was yellow to match my little Mazda sport compact car that I was trading in. It seemed to be fate.

The Jeep went stock to Camp Jeep, but it wasn�t long before I felt like I was still driving an SUV. So off to Dennis at Xtreme Unlimited it went. We�ve gone quite a few places with the Jeep now, but the Dusy is still waiting for another try. We plan to take care of that this year, along with as many other runs as we can fit in our schedule.

Mark, thanks for asking us to introduce ourselves. We�re looking forward to lots of runs with the club this year.

Terry, Suzy & Kurt
2004 Jeep Rubicon
1997 Ford Expedition