When rugged won’t cut it, build a Franken-Jeep
KELOWNA, B.C. — Kelowna businessman Geby Wager has spent the better part of the past 25 years trying to create the perfect vehicle to meet his needs. These needs aren’t simple, as the outdoor enthusiast likes to take his vehicles into environments where few others would dare to venture.
To make matters more difficult, Wager prefers to satisfy his need for adventure during the cold winter months when the mountains of the Okanagan Valley are capped with a thick blanket of snow, and the service roads are made impassable by fallen trees, washouts and the presence of huge sheets of ice.
Severe weather conditions, brutal terrain and sub-zero temperatures are a test for any production vehicle, so Wager began to look at ways he could adapt an off-the-shelf Jeep YJ so that it would be able to get him anywhere he wanted to go, no matter how harsh and impossible the conditions.
He formed Creative Motor Sports, a Kelowna-based research and design business that builds all-terrain vehicles for clients who require dependable go-anywhere transportation.
The result of his endeavours was the development of the CMS Intelligent OffRoad Travel System. This impressive piece of engineering equips a Jeep with extra suspension travel, four-wheel steering capability and an infinitely adjustable air-operated suspension.
The foundation for the system is a well sorted and time-tested independent suspension setup, which CMS has engineered to allow the operator to make a multitude of on-the-go adjustments from the safety of the cockpit using simple joystick controls.
Wager’s demo vehicle is based on a four-door 2009 Jeep Wrangler Sahara which has seen regular offroad duty for more than five years. Other than a few bumps and bruises to the extended fenders, this rolling test bed has proven ultrareliable. This test rig has had an engine swap as the stock 3.8-litre V-6 was replaced with a 6.4L Hemi V-8 rated at 525 horsepower and 525 pound-feet of torque, but Wager insists that the stock engine is more than sufficient to power a Jeep using the CMS system. In fact, the stock engine is preferred for running in the snow as it is lighter, which helps keep the Jeep’s front end floating above the surface.
Wager believes that adjustable suspension systems will become the norm as they offer far superior handling and safety.
“With an independent suspension like ours, all four tires are effectively holding you in place,” he says. “You also retain traction and the ability to steer, and the centre of gravity remains between the wheels.”
Despite the enormous scale of the vehicle, it really doesn’t weigh much more than a stock Jeep, even with the enormous 46-inch Baja Claw tires and air tanks. The CMS suspension is lighter than the one it replaces, and the wheels, brakes and other components have all been designed or selected for their light weight and durability.
The CMS Intelligent OffRoad Travel System is able to handle all types of terrain, but it is the winter season where the equipment excels.
“Snow is our real love, so our products are designed to be as lightweight as possible while still retaining the durability required for extreme off-road use,” Wager says. “These vehicles ride up on the snow, so they are far less harmful on the environment than much smaller vehicles like quads, motorcycles, and mountain bikes.
“In fact, they put less pressure on the surface than does a horse, or even a man walking.”
Another significant advantage of this system is that it can keep the vehicle level, whether climbing or descending a steep grade, which greatly enhances visibility and driver comfort.
At its highest setting, the system offers 60 centimetres of travel (45 cm of ground clearance). When dropped to its lowest setting, a CMS Jeep, 46-inch tires and all, rides low enough to drive under a standard garage door.
An innovative rear-wheel steering system is part of the package. It significantly reduces the turning radius, allowing the Jeep to crab walk around obstacles and through narrow openings along the trail. This system can be locked out at higher speeds or for when driving on the highway, but it also can be used to aid in parking or when navigating through tight traffic.
The typical customer prefers to purchase a turnkey vehicle from CMS, but for those looking to save a few dollars, the company offers the system as a complete bolt-in kit for $75,000.
CMS currently makes kits for the Jeep YJ and the Wrangler, but a TJ version is being considered.
“Our kit attaches to the frame and is then triangulated into the centre,” Wager says. “It’s a relatively simple bolt-in design that can be installed by a person with basic mechanical skills in about a week, and has been engineered to be trouble-free for many years of extreme use.”