Episode 513 – This Jeeper Will Travel To All 50 States
This Week In Jeep
What Does The “L” Mean?
Over the last few episodes, or so, you may have heard me talking about the Grand Cherokee “L” and didn’t know what I was referring to. Historically speaking, the Grand Cherokee was a stand-alone model with only a handful of special editions but never enough of a change to the model to warrant it getting its own designation.
Until now.
We had several listeners email in with their own guesses and no, it’s not for “Luxury” even though the Jeep Grand Cherokee “L” has options not available on any other vehicle aside from the Wagoneers. The “L” is for long, and this stretched version of the familiar Grand Cherokee is what Jeep is offering families while they await the arrival of the even larger (and more deluxe and pricier) 2022 Grand Wagoneer. Literally millions of two-row, 5-passenger Grand Cherokees have been sold since its inception in 1993. Jeep must have reasoned that offering a variation with the third row of seats and upgraded, updated amenities couldn’t hurt. 
What does hurt though is the stock powertrain of the Grand “L”. The standard 296-horsepower V-6 is going to get noisy when pushed hard and is capable of only 18 to 25 miles per gallon per the specs released at the time of this recording. That’s not going to do much but get groceries and not offer a lot of fun while doing it. HOWEVER, a 360-horsepower V-8 (rated for towing up to 7,200 pounds) is an available option right now, and a plug-in hybrid model should arrive next year. That is if you’re a Jeeper intent on reducing your carbon footprint. There is a choice of three different 4WD systems including an adjustable air suspension system. It’s also equipped with an electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential, hill-descent control, and a low range in the 8-speed automatic transmission.
Also available is a slimmed-down version of the high-end McIntosh sound system that we talked about in Episode 511. This one is a measly 950-watt stereo with no fewer than 19 speakers, satellite radio, a wireless phone-charging pad, head-up driver’s display, navigation, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay. The Grand “L” also has automatic high beams, remote starting, a power tailgate, second and third-row seats that fold down automatically, leather upholstery, and of course, it’s not a grand… without a little wood trim. All Grand Cherokee L models come with state-of-the-art driver-laziness, I mean assistance technology, including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors in the mirrors, lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assistance, and an emergency braking system that also recognizes pedestrians and cyclists, not just other vehicles. This year, starting prices for the Grand Cherokee L range from just over $40,000 for the Laredo trim package to just over $62,000 for the Summit Reserve.
They Call Him “Mr. VanderQuack”
There’ve been a lot of Jeep things, and some of them even I don’t understand, but this current “Jeep thing” is something anyone can understand, and it will change the lives of many children fighting for their lives in the hospital. Currently in circulation via Facebook is a group titled “Mr. Vanderquack’s Mov’n for St. Jude — Jeep Convoy through all 50 states. Barbara Wilson, a local community member and one part of Mr. Vanderquack’s transportation team, said the mission began when a husband and wife decided to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. They bought a giant stuffed duck and equipped it with a GPS tracking unit. On Sept. 3, 2021, he began his journey to all 50 states. Lisa Unverzagt, the organizer of the project, said she has always participated in various Jeep events for St. Jude. She has also highly participated in the ducking of other Jeeps as a form of compliment. One thing led to another and Mr. VanderQuack was born. She made one post in a Facebook group about the large stuffed duck idea and asked if anyone would be interested in helping relay him across the U.S.
From that one single post, they are now well on their way to visiting over 650 cities in all 50 states plus a trip into Canada. You could say the whole event has gone somewhat viral. From that one post, they are now over 2,000 Jeepers working together to coordinate, transport, and convoy Mr. Vanderquack all to raise money for St. Jude.
Mr. Vanderquack began his journey on Sept. 3 in St. Louis, Missouri, and will end it all in Illinois. With a GPS tracking system in place, everyone will be able to see where Mr. Vanderquack is in real-time. At the time of this recording, Mr. Vanderquack was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I could list the order of all 50 states and then some, as some states are visited twice like Washington as Mr. Vanderquack goes international and crosses into Canada from Washington, comes BACK through Washington again to reach Oregon, so on and so forth.
According to Unverzagt, it’s difficult to determine a timeline for the event, but she hopes Mr. Vanderquack will make it to his destination in four to six months. With the participation of so many Jeepers across so many states, taking into consideration each of their own work/life balance, then you add in coordinating a meetup and drop-off points… Well, as you can imagine, there’s no way to lock down one specific date, let alone a window smaller than a few weeks at best. Now with that being said, the organizers and liaisons are all encouraging the Jeep owners to continue to move
Mr. Vanderquack with minimal downtime. Now as with most Jeepers, this duck comes with baggage. In this ducky’s luggage (that goes with him everywhere) is a GPS charger and a travel passport. The custom-made passport affords everyone the ability to record the city and Jeep’s name who participates in moving him. When Mr. Vanderquack is in someone’s possession, they are also able to add a small sticker to his luggage that depicts his travels. So who is this network of Jeepers, well it’s not entirely yet known, and in fact, it could be YOU listening. People are chosen from each state to take Mr. Vanderquack to the next person by the previous person. While each Jeeper has possession of him they take pictures and will post them to Facebook. One Jeeper in the mix of this epic journey is the formerly mentioned Barbara Wilson. She is from the Town of Central High in Southwest Oklahoma. She’s been chosen to carry the giant duck from there in Central High, to Pernell, to drop the duck off to the next person. When he is back home, after his long journey across the continent, he will be auctioned off and all the money will go to St. Jude. According to Unverzagt, the fundraiser would financially help out with the care and treatment of children and their families’ needs. It also generates a fun and childlike way to ask for donations,” Unverzagt said. “It’s a win-win for both St. Jude families and those helping to make it happen.” If you would like to track Mr. Vanderquack in real-time, visit the official Mr. Vanderquack website, which we will have the link to in the show notes for this episode on our website.
Your Weekly Dumb (Jeep) Criminal Story
Over the years a Jeep Talk Show staple has been the occasional dumb criminal story, where we feature a particularly stupid criminal whose crime involved a Jeep. As we have made some particular changes to the show since Episode 500, one such change was to add in these dumb criminal stories a little more often. And this week we are not disappointed. A parking enforcement vehicle was stolen from the city of Milwaukee Wisconsin over the weekend, and crashed into a Muskego squad car not once, but twice and damaged another vehicle during a chase that also involved the New Berlin police department too. The chase ended at Moorland and Janesville roads in Muskego, where a male was arrested shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, a little more than 15 minutes after the pursuit began. According to authorities, the vehicle, described as a Right Hand Drive Jeep Wrangler used by a parking enforcement officer in Milwaukee, was taken earlier on Saturday as the officer stepped out of the vehicle to check on a violation.
Sometime before 6:45 p.m, A New Berlin police officer spotted the vehicle on Moorland Road near the city’s main commercial district off National Avenue, where the chase began. After a short pursuit, the vehicle crossed the city limits into Muskego, on Moorland near College Avenue, where police had set out “stop sticks,” devices designed to flatten the tires of a fleeing vehicle. But the vehicle’s tires remained intact, and the person drove out of sight briefly until the vehicle was spotted again by police, and this time was stopped in the parking lot of the Jetz Convenience Center off Moorland and Janesville roads. Confronted by police there, the driver intent on getting away, crashed into the squad car damaging the poor Jeep. But it was still running and driving, so the thief took off, squeezed the Jeep between another car and the curb in a right-turn lane at the intersection, sideswiping that vehicle, and then again crashed into the same squad car. Now completely wrecked and disabled, the Jeep finally stopped, enabling police to arrest the driver. He however did not go quietly into that good night, and Police had to use a Taser to subdue the driver. At the time of this recording, the identity and any other details surrounding the arrest have not been released.
Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!
Smittybilt (13047B) D-Ring Shackle
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- 3/4 inch D-ring shackle
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- Industry Standard Recovery Item
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
TOPIC/QUESTION: A Cheap Solution To Loud D-Rings
If you’ve spent much time out on the trail, you’ve undoubtedly heard vehicles that have steel bumpers with recovery points typically consisting of a D-ring shackle. These invariably will swing back and forth and clang against a steel bumper, making it ring out like the liberty bell, all day long, up and down the trail. Now there’s no getting around the typical clangs, clunks, and other noises typically found on the trail or in the rocks from any given off-road rig. I’m pretty sure we haven’t reached the stage of stealth wheeling yet, but still. There’s no reason to be “that guy” when out with your Jeep. So if you have loud d-rings there are several options out there to shut them up. The first is going to be choosing any one of the ten thousand options out there for off-the-shelf D-ring Isolators. These are typically a plastic type of material that is molded to snap onto the lower portion of the D-ring, isolating it from coming into the metal on metal contact of the bumper face. These come in all sorts of colors to match whatever theme you have going on, and some are molded with interesting patterns to set them apart from other competitors. The first generation of these was no more than a couple of little plastic “U’s” that you snapped on. Now there are colors, and different materials and some are now even coming with washers to further help the isolation, and that’s where we find our DIY solution that I myself have been rocking for years. I shopped for the isolators just like you and decided I can better spend that money elsewhere. Yes I know they’re pretty cheap now, but over 10 years ago, I needed something else, and it had to cost next to nothing. So I found myself in the hardware store, one of my favorite places to spend some time. I always end up finding solutions for this or that. I ended up selecting some large-diameter industrial washers used for larger pipe fittings. These are about an inch and a half in outer diameter, range in thickness, but the inner diameter only has to be large enough to fit over the threaded stud of the D-ring. The ones I have are way larger than they need to be, but it was the price that I liked. For less than a quarter apiece, I had some washers that could take up the slack of the shackle on its mount.
Typically there is a metal stud that protrudes from the bumper or a plate that is mounted on the bumper. This stud has a hole through it that the D-ring is threaded through. There is usually space left over between the inner edges of the D-ring, and the outer edges of the stud. These are the spaces that will get filled with the washers. My bumper design and the D-rings I have ended up only needing one washer per side, it was a tight fit, but I was able to get everything in. Now comes the part that many may argue about. I torque the living snot out the shackle at this point. The clamping force of that large threaded bar of the D-ring will clamp down on those washers with force. Have you ever wondered why there is a hole in the finger handle of that threaded bar? That’s for you to stick a screwdriver through for extra force. Using a tool, get a couple more turns out of the shackle stud. You want it tight enough to where the D-ring no longer moves freely, but can still rotate if forced to. It may take some back and forth, but you’ll find the sweet spot. And for less than 5 dollars, you now have quiet D-rings, and you didn’t even have to put any colored plastic on to do it. Other solutions that don’t work as well or last as long would be 5-50 cord and wrapping the shackle. This of course may prove to get in the way if you were ever forced to use that D-ring in a recovery situation, but I’ll leave that up to you. Another solution would be tool handle dip. Plasti-dip or Rubber-dip is an air-dried coating that is used to refinish the handles of old tools. It creates a rubberized coating that is bonded to the metal. It may be possible to find a way to get a D-ring dipped multiple times to create a thick, sound-isolating coating. 
This of course would likely be torn off in the course of a serious recovery, but it may look cool until then, and be easy and relatively inexpensive to re-apply.
Let me know if you have a different solution than these for DIY D-ring isolators.
Jeep Talk Show Interview
Interview With FM Jeeping
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR5g8oVc56PiqaW1iAoJLnQ
Links Mentioned in this Episode
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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