Welcome to Juszak4x4.com. This site is our family blog, where we share stories, photos, and videos from our off-road adventures. Our family—Chris, Laurie, and Lee—lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, and many of the trails we explore are in northern Colorado. We also enjoy road trips and will occasionally share experiences from out-of-state trails.
Our offroad journeys
Chris has been off-roading on and off since the late 1990s, starting with backroad exploring in northern California with his uncle Mark. In 2024, Lee developed an interest in off-roading, initially as a way to reach harder-to-find geocaching spots. While Lee gravitates toward challenging trails, Laurie prefers the scenic routes, giving our family a good balance of adventure and exploration. At the time, we owned a ’22 Ram 1500 Rebel, which was capable but not ideal for tighter trails and rock obstacles. That led us to add a ‘97 Jeep Wrangler Sport to the mix—already modified, but still a work in progress.
Right now, this Jeep is more of a hobby/extra/backup vehicle that we’re hanging onto for future options. We have two sets of wheels/tires that we swap out for different weather and trail conditions, which add some additional versatility to our current options. We can also take the ’97 out if we’re risking body damage that we’re not comfortable with for our newer vehicles.
Our ’97 Wrangler (TJ series) is on a 3.5″ suspension lift, plus 1″ body lift. It has upgraded Dana 44 axles (4.1 gearing) with locking differentials, front and rear, manually disconnectable sway bars, front 12klb Warn winch, skid plates, and body rock sliders. This ’97 is a Sport trim. The Rubicon trim did not come out until ’03, but our Sport has been upgraded in every functional way for off-roading to match or exceed the Rubicon trim, except for its original transfer case. If we were to consider some performance upgrades, we would consider replacing the transfer case and regearing to 4.88.
Since the two-door Wrangler is not practical for longer trips, we added a ’25 Toyota 4Runner Off Road Premium (ORP), which serves as our reliable road trip and light-trail vehicle.
This is our second 4Runner. Our previous 4Runner was a 4th gen Limited with the V8 engine, which we sold after we got the Ram, and we traded in the Ram when we got the ’25 4Runner. Our new 6th gen 4Runner is very similar in comfort and drivability to our old 4th gen, with a lot of technology upgrades.
Our ’25 4Runner has its air dam and running boards removed, and some modifications, including a small lift, slightly larger-than-stock tires, upgraded skid plates, GMRS radio/antenna, etc. We’re planning to add rock rails, rear-diff plate, stronger roof rack, and a roof-top tent. The 4Runner has enough space to put a sleeping cot in the back, straddling over the backseat when it is folded down.
To round things out, we purchased a ’25 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, and upgraded it for rock crawling, while maintaining drivability for longer trail outings such as trips to Moab.
We take the ’25 Wrangler out for most trails – especially when more difficult mandatory obstacles are expected. It’s also just a really fun vehicle to drive, so this is the go-to trail vehicle. The ’25 Wrangler has 3.5″ lift, full-belly skid plates, frame-welded rock rails, and additional modifications aimed at making it a more capable trail vehicle. We will likely make additional modifications over time, and note those modifications here.
Today, we rotate between these three vehicles: ’97 Wrangler, ’25 Wrangler, and ’25 4Runner, depending on the road, weather, and trail conditions. Most of the photos and videos on this site feature the ’25 Wrangler, but you’ll see the others make appearances as well.
Capturing the rides
We like documenting our rides for both memories and trail reference. Our primary setup is an Insta360 X5 mounted on the Wranglers, which allows us to capture full 360-degree footage. This gives us flexibility to focus later on the trail or highlights without needing to manage the camera while driving. It’s more versatile than a traditional dashcam or action camera, though we also mix in photos and video from other devices.
We share our videos on YouTube @Juszak4x4 and embed them here along with trail notes and pictures. This also combines our love of off-roading with some background and interests in technology. If you’re interested in learning more about how we capture, edit, and share these videos, we keep some notes posted here: Video creation notes
Club rides
Many of our outings are with the Larimer County Four Wheel Drive Club, which we joined in September ’24. The club welcomes a wide range of vehicles, from stock 4x4s to dedicated trail rigs, and runs everything from scenic drives to serious rock crawls. Regular monthly rides are scheduled on Sundays, with additional trips organized through meetings, email lists, and a private Facebook group.
If you’re local and curious, stop by a monthly meeting in Fort Collins (third Wednesday of each month) and join a ride. Riding with a group adds both safety and fun—especially on trails that aren’t ideal for going solo, such as snow runs in the winter.
Contact
If you need to contact us, you can use the contact form on Chris’ personal blog here: https://www.geohub.com/contact/