Episode 1006 – Elvis Has Left the Building!
Elvis, ahh 392, has left the building
Have you ever spent an unGodly amount of money for concert tickets simply because you had to be the performer? Well, think of this that way. The FINAL V8 Jeep Wrangler will cost $101,890.
The question is, if you knew Elvis was going to die soon, would you have spent ANY kind of money to see his last concert?
If your answer is yes, well you bastard you should have tried to save his life! You make me sick… but I digress.
Unlike Elvis, you don’t have to worry about losing an eye when that over-stressed body suit button loses the battle and rockets into the audience.
The Final Edition 392 Wrangler has bronze accents, Mopar accessories, and special commemorative plaques.
Only 3700 units will be produced in total and it starts at $101,890.
The treatment starts off with decals for the hood and front fender vents, and the 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels feature a bronze finish. A winch, a Mopar grille guard, and Mopar rock sliders come standard, and the Jeep includes a 0.5-inch suspension lift kit that brings ground clearance up to 11.5 inches. Inside, the interior features black Nappa leather and gold stitching, along with a special shifter medallion and plaque commemorating this as a Final Edition model. Jeep also throws in a fold-out table and an 83-piece toolkit
My 2 story house was $108k, but like I once heard on Blue Bloods. You can sleep in your Jeep, but you can’t drive your house to work.
So many Antennas
We’ve spoken about this in the past, but it’s time for a refresher. In a recent prior Round Table recording, I was asked some questions that led to an antenna discussion.
Antennas on Jeep all work the same way and are governed by the same physics principles whether it is CB, GMRS, classic AM or FM news and entertainment.
How long antennas are, or aren’t directly related to the frequency they are used on to transmit or receive.
GMRS General Mobile Radio Service radio antenna length is .5258 feet (or 6.31 inches)
CB Citizen band radio antenna length is 9.072 feet (or about 109 inches)
FM news and entertainment antenna length is 2.36 feet
AM news and entertainment antenna radio length is 311 feet.
Now I know you’ve seen antennas for CB, GMRS, and especially for AM/FM good time radio that were longer or shorter. Usually shorter.
Antennas can be shorter but things are done to them so that your radio THINKS it’s the right sized antenna. That doesn’t mean it works better, it actually works worse.
This is why I’ve said before, when you put that stubby, or 50 caliber bullet antenna on your Jeep, you are making radio reception worse (much worse) than the factory antenna.
If you haven’t noticed, the factory Jeep antenna is much shorter than the 311-foot antenna you need for AM New/Entertainment radio.
Most of us don’t use AM radio any longer, but if there is an emergency and you’re fleeing to safety you might need that factory antenna to hear the lies the government tells us anyway. Oh wait, yeah keep that short antenna.
Find a place to store your factory antenna in, or on your Jeep so you can swap it if necessary.
Finally to wrap it up, the antenna “wire” coax length. An old wives tale, or in this case, CB’rs tale is that the coax should be in multiple of the lengths of the antenna, 20 feet, etc… WRONG! The coax is designed to be invisible to the antenna system. And if your antenna is installed properly the length of the coax should have no effect on how well the antenna performs. The shorter the coax the less signal loss and the better overall performance of the radio and antenna.
You’ll have to cut your coax to length and then replace the connector on the end, usually on the radio side, but either is fine. No twisting wire splices, there has to be a connector soldered to the coax end.
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
Holding up fingers as you pass other Jeepers
Have you passed other Jeepers on trails and wondered how many were in their group? It’s helpful to know because if their group has more jeeps than yours and you pulled over, it would be helpful info to know when the last jeep passed.
How do you let the other group know how many are in your group? We hold up the number of fingers for the number of jeeps.
In a nutshell, you are telling the other on-coming group how many are in your group so they 1) stay put and let us pass and 2) they can count the jeeps as we pass and once all are through, then they can continue on their ride. Sometimes the trail is very narrow and there isn’t room for both groups to pass each other. Someone has to stop, pull over, and let the other group through. If you are alone (I don’t always recommend that) and you come across a group, you may be the one backing up to make room for the other group.
I can’t tell you how many other drivers have no idea why we were putting our fingers up. The look and the responses are priceless. Some think we are doing the Jeep wave, others hold up the same # of fingers, and others just ignore us.
We have started to roll down our window and tell them how many are in our group but there are still so many people that don’t understand the hand signals. One time a group shook their heads in agreement like they understood, but then proceeded to continue on. We knew there was no way we all could pass, so Bill had to shout at them to STOP and say wait till we pass.
For anyone new to jeeping off-roading, there is an unwritten code in the off-road world to let others know how many are in your group. I get it, if you have never been told what this all means, how would you know? Well, I’m sharing this info for you so that YOU will know and YOU can help educate others that you wheel with.
Basically, the lead jeep holds up the # of fingers to represent the # of jeeps behind the leader. Then each person behind that should hold up the number they have behind them, etc., etc. The last Jeep 4 holds up a closed fist to represent there are no more jeeps behind them. Now in today’s sensitive culture, I understand holding up a fist may seem strange, but a closed fist in the off-road world means there 
isn’t anyone behind us. So don’t worry about the snowflakes out there!
I do think it’s our responsibility to mentor others, but when you deal with 4×4 drivers who are not in a Jeep it’s a whole different world. If that driver happens to have off-road experience from riding motorcycles or quads chances are good they probably know what it all means. Today’s new drivers of side-by-sides and Jeeps have to learn as they go. If you are experienced, teach the new drivers the code and let them in on the secret of the fingers. It’s good manners on the trail and you can set an example for others to follow.
(https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver)
Trails 411: https://www.jeep4x4school.com
Fabrication Freezy, with Larry – JeepingMo
My favorite EJS vendors
With EJS starting this week and the vendor show being on the Friday after this show airs, I thought I would share some of my favorite vendors and products that I use and can endorse, and are going to be at the show. And I’ll have a link for the vendors at the show.
And I just want to say that there are a lot of good vendors and products at the show, but I can’t cover them all.
For airing backup, there are two products that I have and use on the trail.
We all know the Power Tank, is a great way to air up without needing a compressor.
If you want to run a compressor, I very much like my MoreFlate model.
Both have worked great and are high-quality products.
Now one that I have covered many times to organize your tools is Adventure Tool Company.
They make high-quality tool rolls and tool storage solutions, they have something new in every EJS that I have seen, so check them out.
If you’re looking for Trail welders, there are a couple of units there also.
Premier power welder is a unit that is installed in your rig and lets you stick weld on the trail.
As an attachment to it is the bun trail spool flux core welder.
Now if you want a portable solution that you don’t need your rig there for, or carry batteries for. Check out the Karnage mig welder that is enclosed with the batteries in the case.
If you need lights, there is Tyri off-road lighting. I have seen their lights on the trail.
They look like high-quality products, I don’t have any Tyri lights. But I know Tony does, and I know he loves them.
Then there is Rockslide Engineering with their products, I love the step sliders we have from Rockslide. We have beaten them and they have done great. If you want a step that you can slide a heavy rig on, rockslide has them.
Now there are many quality products at the show, and you couldn’t go wrong with any of them, so if I didn’t reference them don’t send in the hate mail. But you can call in and tell us about your favorite vendor there.
Now one product that I am installing after the recording of this show is Racing Optics. They make a windshield protectant film for your Jeep windshield.
You can also see videos on most of these products at https://www.youtube.com/@JeepingMo.
So reach out and tell us what your thoughts on the show are.
Must-Have Stuff for Your Jeep!
Laird Technologies – 450-470 Unity Antenna, Black $22.00
6” long, great for 450-470 MHz which is perfect for GMRS or 70cm HAM band.
You’ll need to purchase an NMO mount and coax unless you already have an antenna mount. This will work better than a “Ghost” antenna.
https://www.amazon.com/Laird-Technologies-450-470-Quarterwave-Antenna/dp/B0079555WM