Episode 514 – Where is Mr. Vanderquack Now?
This Week In Jeep
The Gladiator Finally Gets The Doors It Deserves
Earlier this year, Jeep introduced its factory half-door option for the Wrangler. The package these come in, dubbed the Dual-Door Group, has a price tag that might cause you to seriously consider the aftermarket instead. Here’s why. This dual door group package will run you an additional $4,395 for a four-door Wrangler with the nicer of the two half-door door options (and $2,350 to $2,550 for two-door Wrangler models)
What kind of scam is this!? More money for less door!?! Not exactly. You see, as the name implies, you get two complete sets of doors, one in the “half” style with removable upper window sections and another in the “full” conventional style.
So if this all went down earlier this year, and it costs so damn much, why am I talking about it? Well, it’s because the same Dual-Door Group is now available on the Jeep Gladiator. Because the Gladiator is currently only available with four doors, the pricing is pretty much set. Order the Dual-Door Group on a Gladiator with the “base” upper window setup (which means you get vinyl that matches the material of a base soft-top), and it’ll run you $4,590. Step up to the Dual-Door Group with the “premium” upper window setup (which gets you a fancier acrylic woven material that matches the nicer soft-tops), and you’ll need $4,990. True Jeep nerds will call me on it if I don’t point out that this is $595 more than the same set-up on a Wrangler.
Select the option on a new Gladiator, and Jeep will ship it with the regular full doors installed and the aluminum half-doors tucked inside. Just like with older Jeeps, to swap the doors, simply undo the two bolts holding each door to their hinges, unplug the wiring to the door (if your model has power accessories on the doors that is), and lift the doors off the hinges. Remember, not all Jeeps, even brand-spanking-new ones, have power in the doors. Base model Gladiators have manual locks, manual mirrors, and no power windows. Simply reverse that order to install your new half doors, and voila! You have half-doors! Think of the half doors as another flavor of the open-air experience. Somewhere between doorless and not. So just what are these factory Jeep half doors like anyways? They lack the typical upper framing like most half-door designs, and of course, there are no roll-down glass windows. As with most half doors, the tops of these factory Jeep half doors hit lower on the body side, dropping the shoulder line down and enhancing your ability to see the terrain below you to get better tire placement. Of course, on Gladiators and Wranglers, you could always just take the doors off completely, but these half-doors get you halfway to that doorless experience while still offering some degree of protection, and the ability to quickly add on vinyl or acrylic upper sections. The window section panels pop into the aluminum door lowers, forming tent-like weatherproofing in the event of a sudden downpour. Some of you may remember that back in the days of the TJ generation, Wranglers came with half doors standard and full doors cost extra. These days, likely because of decades of success in the aftermarket industry with the sales of half doors for all models of Jeeps, the automaker now insists you fork out a pretty penny for the privilege. That privilege, whatever color it comes in, now extends to the Gladiator pickup. Of course, if the factory option and its insane price tag have you balking at the whole notion of going with some half doors, I don’t blame you. If you do some searching online you can get a set of the most basic bent tube design half doors for under $300. Of course, even some of the nicer options at the other end of the spectrum are only just over a thousand dollars. I think one of the most expensive sets I’ve seen ran just under $1500. Compare that to the nearly five grand a set that will run you from the factory. Jeep may need to do some price restructuring when it comes to some of their extras, but for now, it’s out there, and someone down the road, ten years from now, will be glad the previous owner sprung for two sets of doors.
Phoenix Walmart Service Center Blows Up Jeep
It was a day like any other for Arizona Jeep owner Nikki Smith. That is until her Jeep literally exploded in the parking lot of the automotive center of a Phoenix Walmart SuperCenter on August 29th. Smith said she had frequented the store near Indian School Road and 51st Avenue around three times to get her oil changed prior to the explosion. For some, it may be just another vehicle, but for Nikki Smith, it was her dream ride. It WAS a 2014 black Jeep Cherokee She purchased last year, and since, it has never had any issues. That is until she was left without a vehicle after two recent oil changes under Walmart’s supervision. The first oil change, on August 12, seemed to have gone off without a hitch. After that, Smith drove her vehicle for a couple of weeks before noticing that oil had leaked into parts underneath her hood. Early on the morning of August 28, she returned to Walmart to inform them of the leak. The automotive center kept her vehicle an additional four hours from the time she brought it in. The oil was subsequently replaced and they told her that the next time she came back, they would give her a free oil change. She said she felt like they knew there was something wrong with the Jeep, but they were just trying to fix it without her figuring it out.
But after that second oil change, her vehicle would not accelerate past 20 mph and was smoking real bad. So she did what anyone would do, and drove it right back.
Again she was told that in order to fix what was wrong with the car, they needed Smith to run a diagnostic test on her vehicle because they did not have the electronic code reader. SERIOUSLY?
Smith returned the next morning as soon as the center opened armed with the information she thought would solve her troubles. She only spent two minutes inside the Walmart when a mechanic ran inside and told her that her vehicle was smoking and they thought it was going to catch fire. Smith thought she still might have to grab some of her personal belongings and turn off the vehicle. But by the time she reached the driver’s side, the vehicle exploded. It is not yet clear what may have caused the explosion.
And even though one of the employees told her they would put her in a rental car, no such action was taken. She was told that there was nothing that could be done until the insurance claim was processed and the investigation was complete.
Since that conversation, Smith has reached out to the Better Business Bureau and Walmart customer service to no avail. According to Smith, Walmart “has not reached out” to her personally for any reason, even just to ask her if she needed help with anything or to say that they are sorry. A representative from Walmart has mentioned that they are aware of the situation, and will continue working with the customer until the matter concludes. All Smith really wants now is her Jeep back.
CAN YOU BLAME HER?
Just a quick update on a story from Episode 513…
Mr. Vanderquack is pretty much smack dab in the middle between Berlin and Fairburn Wisconsin, or between Green Bay and Madison, take your pick. I’m not sure how many Jeepers Mr. Vanderquack has been passed around to, but he is well on his way across all 50 states, from one Jeeper to another, all to raise funds for St. Judes Children Hospitals. If you missed the story go check it out, it’s pretty cool what they’re doing.
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
2 Wheel Adventure
Wanted to update the listeners since I was MIA for a few episodes. After my semi-annual trade show in Las Vegas, Bill, myself, and my dad took off on an epic Motorcycle tour. 16 days and just under 6,000 miles. We rode to beautiful Michigan and toured the shores of Lake Michigan up to and through the Upper Peninsula, headed down through Wisconsin, and visited the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, WI. We were back there for a HOG Rally that started in Battle Creek MI. The rally was really nice and it was so great to see so much of Michigan. My family is originally from MI so the trip was extra special to share memories with my dad. I also want to give a shout-out to Chris at sevenslats.com, a very loyal JTS listener and Zoom People coordinator. He gave us some great suggestions on what to see and do while in Michigan. Chris the tunnel of trees highway was spectacular and thanks for the tip on Kilwins Ice cream. Definitely the best Ice Cream yet! And Dang my waistline is not very happy with you Chris.
One thing I noticed on the trip to Michigan was the number of jeeps we saw that were topless and had the doors off. We saw so many groups of jeepers heading toward Moab, UT but in Nebraska and Iowa where the humidity is insane, everyone had their tops and doors off. There must be some great wheeling in those states or maybe it’s just how they “air condition” themselves. The beads of sweat must get blown away as you drive your jeep. The faster you drive, the more air conditioning LOL. It was like that on the motorcycle too, once we stopped, it was crazy humid and hot. Not sure how you get used to living with that, but I guess people do. Kudos to all the jeepers in humid regions, I have a new respect for you and also for going topless.
We made our way back through South Dakota and the Black Hills. If you haven’t visited Mt. Rushmore, Needles Hwy, or Iron Mountain Hwy, it should be a must on your list. Amazing territory and in a jeep it would be spectacular. We got to see wild bison, deer, elk, and even Rocky Mountain Goats. The Bison were standing in and at the side of the road. We had to patiently wait while they decided to move along so we could ride past. As we headed toward home, we came back through upper Colorado. Tried to see if Tammy (Jeep Momma) and I could connect but our travels didn’t lend themselves to visit her area. It will happen one day.
Traveling on 2 wheels is a lot of fun and I love being the passenger and taking pictures and just looking around. Kind of like being a passenger in the front seat of the jeep. We don’t have to worry about picking a line, or watching other jeepers, we just get to enjoy the journey and the scenery.
I really love spending time with Bill and my Dad. Trips like this remind me that anything we do with family is precious and to enjoy every minute of it. I hope you have plans to do things like this with your family.
Soaking up some shade on our 2 Wheel rides (Ok.. Dad has 3)
Lake Michigan
Mt Rushmore
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
Tony has his Nexen 35×12.5×17 Roadian MTX tires!!!
Hidden Falls
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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