Episode 509 – The Dog Did It
This Week In Jeep
The Dog Did It
For the third consecutive year, Autotrader recognizes the Jeep Wrangler among the 10 Best Vehicles for Dog Lovers of 2021. Autotrader marks National Dog Day, Aug. 23, by releasing its curated list of the 10 Best Vehicles for Dog Lovers. With many people choosing to hit the road when traveling, Autotrader’s list is more important than ever in helping owners choose a vehicle that is comfortable, durable, and convenient for all family members, especially the furry ones. Dog lovers tend to bring their furry buddies everywhere with them, so it’s a real decision-making factor for many shoppers when they are considering which new vehicle to buy. Whether you tend to bring your pet along for everyday errand running or you regularly take your dog on long trips, it’s important to consider your canine companion and which related features are important to you while shopping for your next vehicle. The iconic Jeep Wrangler’s open-air freedom, go-anywhere 4×4 capability, and rugged interior are both driver and canine approved on many levels. Mopar Factory Authorized accessories include pet kennels, floor mats, and cargo mats to enhance the pet-friendly personalities of the Wrangler. Is your furry friend your Jeeping co-pilot? Post up your favorite fur-baby pic with your Jeep on our Facebook page to honor National Dog Day.
3 out of 4 Jeep Thieves Caught
Just about three weeks ago as we record this episode, Officers, from the Seven Hills, Ohio Police Department was dispatched to check out some calls about a black Jeep SUV driving down the street without headlights. Reports say that juveniles were allegedly getting out of the Jeep and were pulling on other vehicle door handles.
An arriving officer located the suspects on Pinnacle Park Drive. The Jeep Wrangler in question came back stolen out of Lakewood. While pursuing the Jeep, which was traveling 90 mph on Rockside Road, the first responding officer ran over spike strips deployed by the neighboring Parma police department. Oops…
Despite the ill-timed mishap, the Parma officers were able to stop the Jeep.
The Seven Hills Officer was not injured after running over the spike strips.
The four suspects attempted to flee the Jeep once it was stopped, and three of the four juveniles were quickly apprehended. One had to be tased. Am I the only one who smiles a little bit on the inside when you hear that? Charges for all suspects include receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, and failure to comply. A fourth suspect is still at large. Police are investigating.
World Famous OHV Area Becomes Artillery Range
Off-roaders beware! The Johnson Valley Shared Use Area will be closed to the public from Oct. 22 through Nov. 1 for Marine Corps training exercises. The training period has been shortened by about a week, after the Marine Corps finished refining the scope of training to be conducted this fall, according to a news release from the combat center.
When possible, the Marine Corps elects to shorten closure periods to allow for maximum public use and recreation in the Johnson Valley Shared Use Area.
For those who don’t know about this area, the Johnson Valley OHV Area is a 96,000-acre off-highway vehicle multi-use area. It is where the world-famous “King of The Hammers” off-road race is held every year and is known around the world for its legendary terrain. Punctuated by steep red rocky mountains, rolling hills, open valleys, and dry lake beds, it’s no wonder Jeepers from all over the globe have this on their bucket list of trails. There’s even an area where you can see craters from bomb testing back from World War II. Approximately 53,000 acres of Johnson Valley is a shared-use area with the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MGAGCC) located in 29 Palms, CA. Markers and warning signs will clearly define the boundaries between the combat center and the shared use area. When training is complete, the Marine Corps will conduct thorough pre- and post-inspections of the area in coordination with the Bureau of Land Management to ensure the land is safe for public use. To stay up to date with these and future closures of the Johnson Valley OHV Shared Use Areas, we will have the link for you to use in the show notes for this episode at Jeeptalkshow.com
https://www.29palms.marines.mil/Staff-Offices/Government-and-External-Affairs/Johnson-Valley/
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
Over the last couple installments of Tech Talk, we’ve been going over the sort of preparedness one might skip over for your everyday kind of wheeling trip, but that could mean the difference between life and death if wheeling in the wilderness. We’ve gone over how to protect and treat your feet, the one thing that you have to rely on to get you back. We’ve covered hydration and caloric intake and even touched on how to take it all with you. Today we wrap up this multi-part series in self preparedness with the one last thing keeping you from being recovered. That’s communication. If all you brought with you into the wilderness was that CB radio mounted under the dash in that Jeep you had to leave behind 12 hours ago, then you’re in for a much longer hike. Being able to communicate during an emergency is critical. Whether it’s a natural disaster, or during a hike out of the wilderness to get a part for your broken down rig, you absolutely need a way to call for help.
Even the FCC (the Federal Communications Commission – the regulating body for all radio-based communications in the U.S) wouldn’t fault you for using a regulated band to call for help. So having something like a handheld dual band ham radio, or at the very least an FRS or a GMRS type of radio could make all the difference in the world. CB is on its way out anyway. Sure it’s had a good 50 plus year run of being the go-to modus-communicato, but when compared to modern technology, CB radios just don’t have the range or vocal clarity like the other public bands do. FRS or GMRS Radios can be had for less than $40. Obviously, you can spend much more, but this is an area that will require some research, and depending on when you are listening to this episode, the recommendations of the Jeep Talk Show may be out of date. So spend a little time to see what is currently out there that is getting good reviews and has the best range for the price. Regardless of what you go with… keep it charged! Even the best, most top-of-the-line radio won’t do you any good if it dies before you get a chance to even key up. Now I’m not saying you need to ditch the CB altogether. But take this into consideration… One of the nation’s largest recognized Jeep clubs, the Jeep Jamboree will be using only FRS/GMRS radios as of the 2021 wheeling season. The bottom line is that when it comes to reaching out for help, you can do it with a whisper or a shout, and the CB isn’t going to get anyone’s attention when it comes down to a rescue situation. This of course is all under the assumption that you will be out of cell phone range, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t always have that primary means of communication with you and be safe at all times. Always store your radio with the battery pack off or the batteries out of the radio. And keep them both in water-tight bags in your pack to protect them from any moisture should you find yourself in a torrential downpour or facing a water crossing. I will close with a few other considerations. Clearly, in a worst-case scenario, you could be facing multiple days out in the wild. You’d want to have more with you than a jar of peanut butter, some warm water, and a radio. I’m going to leave the common sense stuff up to you like shelter and clothes. You will know where you are in relation to where you need to go to radio for help or get cell phone range, etc. And I’m going to assume you had enough common sense to dress appropriately for the region and season. So if you’re a three-day hike from civilization, one would assume you’d have gone out there with more than a set of flip flops, half a Gatorade, and a candy bar.
If keeping your radio and phone charged is of the utmost importance to you, and a wall outlet or power port is nowhere to be found, consider packing along with a solar charging station. The rugged survival-type devices are built with the wilderness in mind. They are also only about the size of a real thick cell phone and can have some serious amp-hours behind them. Some will also have things built into the case that can be helpful like a flashlight, or compass. And the best part is even some of the high-end ones are less than $50. Next, you’ll want to consider the very real possibility of that hydration pack running out of water. Packing water with you for a multi-day hike could mean several pounds more on your shoulders than you have to carry. So consider one of the most reliable items that are found in virtually every prepper video and pack out there.
The LifeStraw. It’s been around for over 15 years and sold internationally, this little handheld device can filter gross river, pond, stream or puddle water into clean and safe drinking water. These too are cheap enough that you should have one with your pack, one in the vehicle, and one at home. A three-pack on Amazon right now is right around $40 too, so its return on the investment is well worth the minimal cost. The last thing is going to be a bit obvious, but it’s worth saying that along this trek to get help, mother nature may come calling, and pine cones, leaves, or a broad rock isn’t going to cut it if you need to do what bears do in the woods. So throw a half roll of TP in a bag and toss that in your bag too.
You may just thank me for that one day. Here’s one last tip. Don’t overthink it. Chances are, you will never be in this kind of situation, and if you are preparing for a big, long, out in the wild kind of trip, chances are also pretty good that you’ve already done some homework and have a list or two going with many of these considerations already taken care of. But when it comes to this self-prep-bag, keep it small, keep it light, and keep it to the essentials. You can always upsize it from the gear you have on the Jeep, as the situation may dictate. But remember what I said at the beginning of all this, failing to prepare, is preparing to fail. So don’t just leave it up to chance or luck. Be safe out there Jeeper. And good luck!
Interview with Scott of Spyder MX Action Sports Complex
We interviewed Scott Pitts about Spyder Offroad, a.k.a. Spyder MX Action Sports Complete. Scott works at the park and is an avid Jeeper. Listen to the interview for more information about Scott and the park!
Jeep Life – With Jeep Momma
Tony, Josh, and Wendy… I remember when I first joined the Jeep Talk Show podcast. Tony and Josh were always talking about things on their Jeep that would break and how they were going to fix it. I remember Tony telling me back then that will be me one day as my Jeep, at the time, was new so I didn’t have all those problems. . Well, that time has come. In the past year or so I have replaced wheel bearings, ball joints, a steering knuckle, and an injector to name a few. Now my shock mount bracket has broken. It was the upgraded bracket from my lift which has since been re-designed. Anytime you lift and put bigger tires on your Jeep you are eventually going to have to upgrade in other places. Plus, if you do a lot of off-roading, that puts stress on a lot of those Jeep parts. Now, this is the tricky part. Sometimes when your stock parts wear out or fail you don’t always upgrade to aftermarket parts. One example is the ball joints. I was told by 2 Jeep Specialty mechanics to stick with 
OEM ball joints. But of course, I knew better and thought the dealer did too. I went with an aftermarket set of ball joints. Not a good idea. DO your due diligence and research. Find yourself a trusted 4×4 mechanic that has experience with Wranglers. You would be surprised at some of the messed-up Wranglers we get in the shop and the amount of messed-up information out there. I know Tony has said this before but you even need to be wary of the dealers too. A guy just brought in his brand new Jeep Gladiator. Still with dealer tags. It pulls to one side. The dealer told him it was “road walk” This was a brand new Gladiator with a 2” lift. He brought it to us for an alignment. We got under the Jeep and there was still a stock track bar. So the lift moves the mounting hole over about ¾” of an inch so you need to have a relocation bracket or an adjustable track bar which is preferred to have correct the Geometry. So make sure you find an experienced mechanic who has experience with 4×4’s and lifts. Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. When you add bigger tires to your stock Jeep those stock parts like the axle and steering components and brackets are going to take a beating with those bigger tires especially if you take it off-road. If you go with 35’s your axles will handle it for a time but anything bigger than that and you are most likely going to have failure more quickly. There are a lot of preventative measures you can take to help extend the life of your factory axles and other suspension parts. That is exactly what we will be doing this weekend shoring up those weak spots in my School Bus. We will be adding new lower control arm brackets as the OEM brackets are showing fatigue failure. Plus, new shock brackets. Brackets are one upgrade you don’t hear a lot of talk about. A common failure point that extends as far back as the TJ are brackets. They like ticking time bombs, if you do any sort of wheeling they will fail. They were designed as mall crawler brackets. Typically, most all the aftermarket brackets are weld-on which is what you will want to use anyways. Two companies we love are Artec Industries and RuffStuff Specialties. Typically brackets are not that expensive and could save you a ton of money and heartache. Another tidbit… Since working in the shop I have found people come in with missing bolts on various parts of their Jeeps. I highly suggest you mark your bolts. You draw a line with a marker on the bolt to the bracket it is on to see if it is moving.
Plus, after every wheeling outing get under your Jeep and look it over. Very, very important. Next week on Jeep Life… what you should look for when you are under your Jeep inspecting it after a day of wheeling.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
SpyderMX Action Sports Complex https://spyder-mx.myshopify.com/
NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/
Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/
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