Episode 431 – I Don’t Share My Poop Shovel with Anyone!
Jeep Weather:
Hey Jeeper, Mitch here, today is the 3rd of April 2020, and it’s time for your weekend Going Topless-Jeep Weather Report. Finally, there is warmer temperatures out there plus with social distancing being the new culturally acceptable norm, then taking that top off and getting out on back roads is even more important than before. First place to check out topless is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Get some take out food and explore its 60 miles of beaches. Topless weather starting today at 70, tomorrow 68, and Sunday some clouds at 66 degrees. Next, take your tops and doors off in Phoenix, Arizona. Beautifully sunny this weekend with great hiking trails in the area. Take it all off this weekend as the whole weekend should be 85 degrees. Or… we could get away from everyone to Gilmer, Texas which is nearby to the Barnwell Mountain OHV trails. Make sure you go all Sahara top on your Jeep and have good Mud-terrain tires on since it’ll be raining here all weekend. Today 66, tomorrow 62, and Sunday back up to warm 73 degrees. Don’t forget to use the #JeepTalkShow on social media for us to see those pictures. If you have any suggestions or want to know YOUR local weather in an upcoming episode. Go to JeepTalkShow.com/contact in order to find all the ways to get a message to me. I’m Mitch and its always great weekend to Go Topless if you’re brave enough! Just Go Topless responsibly.
Newbie Nuggets:
To air down or not to air down. That is the question and why and when you would want to. Airing down the tires is simply letting air out of your tires. Now when I first started, the thought of taking air out of perfectly good tires made no sense to me. I thought less air meant a flat was coming soon and then place me in the middle of nowhere with no way to get help – Yikes. I was convinced it was not a good idea. Well, I quickly learned the importance of airing down and now I do it every time. There are a few good reasons to air down. One, it gives you a smoother ride. Sometimes on a rocky road you may want to smooth out the ride to keep the fillings in your teeth from rattling out. Other reasons to air down are to get better traction over obstacles like rocks, mud, sand or snow. Less air in the tire makes a larger contact patch thus giving you more traction. Also, with less air in the tire the tread and sidewall become softer which allows the tire to wrap around the sharp edges of the terrain giving a much better grip. And since it is softer, both the tread and sidewall become more compliant to these sharper objects and will tend to wrap around rather than allowing that object to poke through the tire. Imagine a balloon filled to capacity and another one with less air in it. The high pressure balloon will pop easier than the low pressure balloon. We pretty much air down every time we go out now regardless of the trail. You don’t really need to air down on a fire road or even an easy trail, but I think you’ll find it really helps the suspension and smooths out the ride if you do. Besides when you come across an obstacle you are ready to conquer it if you are already aired down. There are a few ways to air down. One of the easiest is a Deflator. I like the one that Extreme Terrain offers (Rugged Ridge Tire Deflator Kit; Stainless Steel Item J15518). It’s a set of four, is easy to store and very easy use. There are lots of versions on the market with some that are automatic deflators and are calibrated to exactly the PSI you want to air down to. Deflators range in price so do a little research before you buy and see what fits your budget. Now using these deflators makes the job easy and besides, it beats using your thumb, or a nail, or a rock you found on the trail to let the air out and then using a regular old-fashioned tire pressure gauge to check each tire. Yeah, no thank you. The deflators are really cool – they screw on like a valve stem cover except they depress the valve core and continue to release the air until you unscrew them. You can put all four on at the same time and then rotate back through all four tires to check the air pressure using an air pressure gauge. Once the tire is at the pressure you want, simply unscrew the deflator and move to the next tire. Look for a gauge that has a low range (0-60), it will be more accurate and easier to read the 12-14 PSI range than one that has a range of 0-250. A question that comes up a lot is what pressure should I air my tires down to? The answer is: it depends on your tires, the weight of your jeep, the type of tire (A/T vs M/T), the manufacturer and of course what you are trying to do with your jeep. Basically there is no easy answer or “a one size fits all”. You may hear some air down to 12 PSI – or others say they are at 8 or 10 PSI. A general rule of thumb is to air down until your sidewall begins to bulge. Another rule of thumb is to air down about 75% of the overall height of your normal sidewall. For example, if you have 10 inches of sidewall at regular HWY pressure, you can air down to the point where you have 7 ½” of overall sidewall. For rock crawling and harder surfaces, a higher pressure may be needed to keep the tire bead seated on the wheel rim. If you have bead locks you can go lower because the tire will stay seated. However, it’s not a good idea to have to low a pressure that you roll or pinch the sidewall when you’re in a tight spot that puts a lot of weight on a small part of your tire and/or sidewall. But, if you are jeeping through mud, snow or ice a lower PSI may be needed so that you get a larger contact patch and distribute the vehicle weight better. In last weeks episode I mentioned you don’t want a lot of wheel spin as it can damage the trails and airing down really helps to eliminate major wheel spin by distributing the weight over a larger tire area. Here are some examples of different tire pressures we tried. Our first tires were a BF Goodrich AT that we aired down to 12-13 PSI and we did OK. That particular tire had a stiffer sidewall and harder rubber compound and we noticed sometimes the tires wouldn’t grip enough to get over some obstacles. Now years later we have the Nexen Roadian MTX and we only have to air down to 14 PSI. Same tire size as the BF Goodrich, but the Nexxen sidewall is much softer and the tire compound & design are more tacky and provide more tread contact patch. So it really depends on your tire and performance. Each tire brand could be different along with the tire size and weight of the vehicle. You almost need to try it and see what works best for you and your tire. I would suggest starting with a higher PSI in the beginning and if you notice slippage or no traction on an obstacle, then perhaps lowering the PSI will help. Trial and error is your best bet. I can tell you that when I’m spotting jeepers and I notice someone struggling with wheel spin on an obstacle I ask what they are aired down to. Most of the time they are not aired down enough. It really does make a difference. When you are done wheeling, it’s now time to air-up before getting back on the highway. Driving at highway speeds with low air pressure is not generally recommended for most tires. It’s more difficult to control the vehicle at HWY speeds and with low pressure the sidewalls bulge and straighten with every revolution of the tire causing the sidewall to constantly flex, causing a lot of sidewall heat which could cause a blowout. Airing up is as simple as adding air back into the tire. How do you do that if you are out on the trail? There are several options and costs to consider when looking for compressors. One brand is Viair. It’s reasonably priced and it saves you from using your old bicycle pump to put air in and your buddies won’t have to wait on you. There are lots of brands but we started out with the Viair 450c (https://www.viaircorp.com/). It is a continuous output 100% duty cycle. This means you can run it until you are aired up without shutting it off to cool. Less expensive models are typically 33% duty cycle which means you‘ll need to shut them off occasionally as you air-up to let them cool which means it will take you longer. The compressors come with the necessary gear to attach to a tire and fill it up. You will need that tire gauge we discussed earlier to make sure each tire is set to the correct PSI for your tire and vehicle weight. Once all four tires are filled, you are ready to hit the road. We have used the Viair system for years and my Husband Bill set up a hose system for us that connects to all four tires at the same time so each tire pumps up evenly and we don’t have to keep checking each tire. It’s been a great set up. Other options for airing up are compressed Co2 gas. We were introduced to Powertank (www.powertank.com) and let me tell you the difference is night and day. We still use the “all four tires system at one time” but instead of 20 minutes to fill the 37’s we are down to about 5 minutes or less. It’s such a great set up. Keep in mind that you’ll still need access to an air compressor when the tank gets low but we seem to get about 6-7 air-ups on one 15 gallon tank. The initial setup will cost you but you have options to research. We do keep the Viair compressor on board, just in case we run out of Co2, but I hope we never have to. Just take the Co2 tank to a beverage dispenser vendor and get it refilled. It costs about $15 – $25 per re-fill but the time savings on the trail is huge. AND you can run air tools off the tank should you need a trail repair. Josh, Tony, Tammy, what PSI are you airing down to when you are off road and what type of systems do you use to air down and air up?
Tech Talk With Jeep Talk:
Now for a quicky specific to the TJ wrangler guys. Every now and again a tip comes up that has you scratching your head wondering how it is you’ve had your Jeep for this long and didn’t know about this one little thing. You might call it an easter egg, but it’s more of a hidden adjustment in something most of us take for granted. What I’m referring to is the adjustability of your Jeeps washer nozzles. I don’t know why they didn’t do this on the XJ’s but on some of the TJ wranglers, Jeep installed adjustable windshield washer nozzles. In the heads of the nozzle ends are actually two separate pintles that each spray out at roughly 30 degree angles, so that with the nozzle on the passenger side, and the one on the drivers side, you have four points of spray across roughly 120 degrees of windshield.. That is if things are all properly adjusted. And it’s easy to do if they aren’t! …if your washer jets aren’t spraying in the right spots you can easily re-adjust them to spray where the washer fluid will do the most good. And all you need is a paperclip or a clothing pin. Each nozzle has a small, recessed spherical metal nozzle tip that can be rotated to spray all over the place if you want, and in fact some people have fun and aim them towards the side so they can spray their friends or that douchebag in the convertible that just cut you off. Regardless of your intentions or motivations, you can’t do it with your fingers. The hole in the end of these spherical nozzle ends are just big enough to fit a small paperclip or clothing pin into. And with a little force with your make-shift tool shoved into the end of these, you can simply rotate them into a new position. Don’t get aggressive with the penetration or the rotation, if it doesn’t go in or rotate easily, it may be frozen, and you’ll need to work it loose. Soaking the nozzle with a hot wet soapy rag will help dissolve road salts and other gunk that is preventing you from inserting your tool, or rotating the nozzle end. Worst case scenario, you may have to get in there with a Q-tip and some CLR to help break things loose. Once things are able to move around, make your adjustments and test ‘em out. It may take a few tries to get it perfect, but once you have it, they’re set, and you shouldn’t have to mess with them again for quite a while.
Jeep Life:
If you asked what the definition of Jeep Life is you would get a very different answer from every Jeeper. Jeep Life is unique to each Jeep owner. For me the meaning has changed over the years as I experience different aspects of the life from daily driver to weekend warrior to extreme wheeling to light wheeling from mud to sand and rocks to modifications and upgrades. I could go on and on. You get the drift. Since pretty much day one of being a Jeep owner, I have shared my Jeep Life story on my blog then adding the Jeep Talk Show podcast and YouTube. I love the fact that I have inspired others to live the Jeep life in their own way, by sharing my story and experiences. I just never know what little tidbit in my journey will help someone else. Sometimes it really surprises me. My Jeep Life has now turned into #camperlife/overlanding but I still love those rocky trails. I know a lot of our Jeep Lives have been disrupted. Even with the disruption I am going continue to add those tidbits as we all try to navigate this new life we are now living in. As you know lockdowns are happening all over the US which is preventing alot of folks from getting out and living the Jeep Life. While we were in the Moab area last week another one of those lockdowns happened. A sheriff’s deputy from San Juan County just south of Moab had to do something he told us he never in his life time thought he’d have to do. He had to kick us off BLM land, Bureau of Land Management. Only residents of that county were allowed to be on the land. Even though these are Federal Public lands the Sheriff of each county has jurisdiction of the land in a public health situations. The order came just 4 days after we were there. We totally understood, packed up camp and headed back to Colorado. We were seeing this happening all over the West not just near Moab. So before you decide to head out to wheel I would check the area you are going to. I know several Jeepers still are planning on wheeling this weekend. Our adventure has been put on hold, but I sure have learned so much in the past two weeks about Jeep life. Over the next couple of episodes I am going to share some of those tidbits with you. The first and I feel this has been a game changer for us is two very important apps every Jeeper and Overlander should have. They saved us so many times out on the trails and roads. Gaia GPS… This is such a great app. Even those dirt roads and Moab trails are on this app and you will always know where you are on the trail. In the middle of the desert we followed along on Mojave Road which has so many “roads/trails”leading off it, which by the way crosses a dry lake bed (actually it was muddy for us after rains the night before. It went on for miles and it could have been so easy to wander off the right path and end up miles from where you want to be. When we were on the Top of the World trail, our first time, it was easy using this app to make sure we stayed on the right route. BTW the view at the end of this trail is the most amazing view on the planet. I have never been in such awe. If there is just one trail you have time for when you go to Moab this is the one. The view is unbelievable. However this trail can be challenging at the end and during the middle it’s very, very bouncy. I also set the world record for picture farthest from the edge. It’s a pretty scary drop even if you don’t have a fear of heights. The other app essential to us is I-overlander. We are all about free. Campgrounds and hotels can get pricey when you are traveling a lot. I-overlander works great if you are camping in your Jeep or have a camper. I.e. overlanders, vanlife, camperlife etc. the app is a group effort by you and others to share those “secrets” of the cool spots you find. It will show you spots others have used for dispersed camping on public lands such as BLM and National Forest. Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. Dispersed camping means no services; such as trash removal, and little or no facilities; such as tables and fire pits, are provided. Some popular dispersed camping areas may have toilets. Generally, overnight camping is NOT allowed at trailheads, picnic areas, day-use parking areas or any other areas that don’t allow overnight parking. When using a dispersed camping area, the general rule is to be a minimum of at least 100-200 feet away from any road, trail or water source. You need to be aware if you are in a National Forest or National Park or BLM lands. They are all totally different places with different rules. Typically you can’t disperse camp in National Parks. They have specified campgrounds and usually have fees. You can also disperse camp on BLM lands which are west of the Mississippi Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Again these are lands different from the forests and National parks. The ioverlander app also shares local fee based campgrounds, “boondocking” spots and places to get water. Boondocking is camping without any hookups outside developed campgrounds. Federal agencies refer to boondocking as dispersed camping. It can also mean dry camping and off grid camping. Typically boondocking is in Trucker Gas Stations, Walmart parking lots, Cracker Barrel parking lots. On our way to Kingman Arizona it was getting late and there were no places to spend the night. So we pulled over in a gas station and popped up our camper and went to sleep. When we were in the Mojave Desert off the main roads are what I call “off shoots” where you can go to set up your camp site. You can tell these are off shoots because they look well traveled and some spots have “fire rings” from previous campers. Just don’t go making your own off shoot. After awhile you get the hang of it. Mojave Road is a great getaway to learn all this. Next week I will share one of the best kept off roading locations in the States for some amazing technical wheeling. And on later episodes some must have in your recovery kit you would not have thought of.
This Week In Jeep:
Green Jeeps Going Too Far?
Jeep intends to become “the greenest, most sustainable SUV company,” according to the brand’s global president, Christian Meunier in a press release earlier this week. But yet here we are, and as we record this episode, the automaker doesn’t have a single plug-in vehicle here in the U.S. Jeep is betting on the long game however, and the higher ups believe that the U.S. will move to electrification faster than the experts have predicted even with Jeep more or less arriving a little late to the game. Going electric is also giving Jeep an opportunity to improve the capabilities of their trucks and SUVs and make it even more exciting to drive both on and off the road. Or so they have claimed. Most of us know by now the sheer power and torque capabilities of an electric drivetrain. One look at the videos on youtube of the Tesla’s launch mode capabilities will settle any doubt in this regard. But Jeep’s aren’t Teslas, and I for one hope they stick to their offroad first heritage in the years ahead. We’ve also known for many months now that plug-in hybrid versions of the Renegade, Compass, and Wrangler are all due this year. And it looks like the Renegade 4xe is going to be the first to arrive in European showrooms in the coming months. While FCA hasn’t confirmed whether the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (or PHEV) Renegade and Compass are headed to the U.S. or not, it has heavily teased the electrified Wrangler coming here . We’ve of course reported on that a few times over the last year here on the show. What’s interesting though, is that we’ve heard rumors and leaks from inside the FCA camp which are now telling the public that these electrified wranglers will be built using the exact same components as the Pacifica Hybrid min-van. I’m going to pause and let that last part sink in a little bit. Were you paying attention? Did you hear that all you electric Wrangler fans? Yeah, I for one will NOT be getting excited over minivan parts comprising the majority of my offroad vehicles drivetrain. If you’re listening Jeep…?…., this is a blatant cop-out and you should be ashamed of yourself for taking the easy way out. That’s not very Jeep like and you know it. I personally think it would be better for the brand to put off electrification for a year or even two, to have the design teams work on more robust offroad ready electric drivetrain options for the Wrangler. I mean seriously? Minivan drivetrain components on a Jeep? Well if ever there was a mall crawler rated Jeep badge to slap on the side of a vehicle off the showroom floor…. I think the Electric Wrangler is the one. What’s confusing, is that all these rumors of mini-van components for the electric wrangler are focused exclusively to the US market… with zero hints that this manufacturing faux-pas will be carried over to other markets. What is interesting though, is that even if these hybrid or electric Wranglers ARE made with mini-van parts, there are rumors floating around that these systems will be tweaked to give the vehicles some serious performance chops when it comes to acceleration, even if they are more likely to break down with the rigors of offroad abuse. If you’ve ever ridden in a Jeep, you know that most of them have a zero to 60 time measured in minutes not seconds. The rumors going around are saying that these new electric or hybrid wranglers will be capable of 0-60 times in the sub 6 seconds range. Thats serious chops when it comes to street cred. Certainly compared to the typical acceleration of a Wrangler anyways. Jeep had previously declared that there would be four electric vehicles in Jeep’s global portfolio by 2022, but it hasn’t solidified any of those yet. So again, I guess a lot of this is up in the air at this point, but I’m sure we’ll get some more electrified Jeep news in the coming weeks.
This is going to Piss some people off. I just know it.
Fiat Chrysler Automotive is beginning to reveal its playbook for advertising during the coronavirus crisis and addressing a U.S. market where many consumers have been rattled by both gross negligence and overreaction by locals and those in charge. And it’s made the average consumer fearful to spend hard earned cash on virtually anything now from toilet paper to Jeeps because of the uncertainty we have allowed this pandemic to create. So far, with its focus on the bread-and-butter Ram and Jeep brands, the company has provided us with a breath of fresh air in a myriad of fear mongering ad campaigns about this virus. Taking a more practical sense approach Jeeps advertising teams combined empathy, inspiration and social-responsibility messages with selective promotional messages. It’s clean, the images look nice, and it instills more of a feeling of hope and inspiration instead of the fear, over sensationalization and doubt we’re being subjected to constantly. I for one applaud Jeep for their ingenuity with this. It’s a nice change of pace and I wish there was more of it in the media right now.So let me paint the picture for you. For example, Jeep has been posting a few things on social media under a #StayOfftheRoad theme that is a play on the #StayHome meme that has become the battle cry for every municipality in the nation. And I couldn’t agree more, stay off the road by playing more in the dirt. Doesn’t that paint a much nicer mental image than the latest splash art for the current spread projections of the virus in someplace like Chewjekistan? Not enough for ya? Here’s another one. A new post on Twitter, for instance, depicts the view from under the hood of a Jeep, looking out through the front of its iconic grill as if you yourself were the very engine of the Jeep — providing you a view not of a beautiful rock formation or sunset, but of the back of a garage door. Why? Because the Jeep isn’t going anywhere these days. That’s almost sad too, because it’s not the Jeep’s fault it’s owner has been brainwashed to think every single atom of oxygen in the environment is somehow laced with weaponized Covid-19. It’s pathetic really, but the ad does instill a bit of hope, with some text at the bottom saying “With a little patience, the views will get better.” I’d like to think that with a little common sense the views CAN get better. And that the person seeing it will remember their highschool biology, and realize their Jeep is safe and so are they as they get in it and head out in the wild yonder to explore uncharted trails and scenic vistas. It’s an example of Jeep inspiring people to use some common sense for a change. And it’s a far cry from the onslaught of orders we see virtually everywhere now demanding us to stay inside, because if we get an itch to go out into mother nature for some trail time we’re somehow killing someone’s grandma in the next county over. These are wake up calls people, from the brand that is the champion of being “off the road.” The general idea seems to be about conveying a little more optimism and speaking to the conviction of the American people. Instead of telling us if we step outside we’re no better than a serial killer and a menace to society. We as responsible Jeepers with two brain cells to rub together, know that pulling our Jeep out of the garage or driveway and hitting the trails is not the same thing as licking the ice cream containers at the grocery store, or having an uncontrollable sneezing fit in a convalescent home tour. It’s time we take back our trails, and exercise what it means to be a Jeeper. I’m not telling you to disregard orders, or act like there isn’t a care in the world. But if you use some common sense, and we can get others to do the same, we can face this with more logic and reason instead of with fear and emotion, and get back at least somewhat of what we can consider normal life.
Links Mentioned in Episode 431:
Top Pick Of The Week For Your Jeep:
Select Increments Centra-Pod – $74.95
https://www.extremeterrain.com/alterum-centrapod-8795-yj.html
VIAIR:
Jeep 4-1-1 YouTube Channel: