Quote Originally Posted by Sparling View Post
...and I just wanted to make sure that if I started using this as a trail rig as well, that it would continue to be reliable.
I think as long as you reserve your self to the fact that '**** breaks' and you will have to fix those things, you will be fine. If you don't want to work on it (or pay/beg to have someone do it for you), then it is a VERY bad idea. Lots of folks trailed their DD, but they also seemed to have to do a ton of wrenching and sourcing JY spare parts to keep them running. I know I am one of the worst examples in the club for stuff like this, but you can see the extremes I have had to take my truck to for me to feel that it will be reliable on the trail enough that I will be able to drive it back on the trailer at the end of the weekend. With a little smarts on the trail, and plenty of preparation before hand (parts/tools/PMCS) you will be just fine I believe.

Do you have a reliable temp gauge for your transmission? This is the first step in maintaining an auto. Waiting till it says it's too hot by puking half the fluid out of a seal/weep hole is not the desired method to keeping the temp in check. In stockish form, if it's getting hot just driving 70 down the highway, then you have enough problems that a bigger cooler and deeper pan will solve.