Episode 434 – How about a Virtual Jeep Event?

This Week In Jeep:

Hope For Jeep Events This Summer Rises

It’s been going on for months. Events, gatherings, show-and-shines, expos and even simple club runs are being canceled because of coronavirus concerns. Most of you know where I stand on a lot of this nonsense, so I’ll save you the five minute rant.  This week though we’re finally getting word that the nation is coming to its senses (albeit very slowly) and it seems that events that we had given up hope on, were actually being handled behind closed doors, making efforts to reschedule, instead of cancelling all together. One such event is the fifth annual Florida Jeep Jam. Word came out this week that the event will be happening after all and has been moved to Father’s Day weekend. “With many events all over the country and especially in our area having already been canceled, we didn’t want that to happen to us, too,” stated Mark Hess, executive director of Florida Jeep Jam. He looks forward to hosting the event, formerly called the Jeep Beach Jam, on June 17-20 at Frank Brown Park. Mark said this event is for ALL our Jeep enthusiasts, vendors and especially our local charities that will need our support more than ever this year.” With a top priority placed on the health and well-being of everyone involved, concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic influenced event organizers to reschedule the annual event. Anticipating the largest number of attendees to date, the extra weeks to prepare will help the event planners and community prepare. Over 3,500 Jeepers have already pre-registered from 10 states, and they are expecting somewhere between 7,500 to 9,500 Jeepers to attend.

Another Six-Figure Jeep For Sale

If you’ve listened to the show for a while then you have undoubtedly heard about a little show that a couple of us used to do a number of years ago called the Tony and Josh Show.  And one of the things that you could count on, like the rising of the sun from that show, was that a story of the weird, odd and unbelievable if not utterly twisted or cringe worthy would come out of the state of Florida on a nearly weekly basis. We’ve even had a taste here on this show, in some of our dumb criminal stories that come out of Florida. And even though a lot of time has gone by since the days of the Tony and Josh show, Florida still doesn’t disappoint. This week a famous high end vehicle listing and brokerage company by the name of the Dupont Registry listed a six figure Jeep. Jeeps in excess of $100,000 aren’t new to this show, as we occasionally bring news of one kind or another of how the Jeepers who can call themselves part of the 1% spend their money modifying the rigs we know and love. Sometimes it’s a ridiculous display of poor money management, and sometimes it’s insanely impressive. This specific Jeep from a South Florida company falls somewhere in between those two.  Down in South Florida is a company creating some of the most wicked Jeeps the planet has ever seen. The company is SoFlo Jeeps and their creations are called the E 6×6.  These Jeeps are built for heavy off-road situations, as well as daily driving. They are not, however, just for show… they are the real deal! The E 6×6 Jeeps were created after countless hours of engineering were poured into the drivetrain and suspension systems.  The result is a vehicle that is literally ready for wherever the trails take it. And no the “E” most certainly does NOT stand for “ Eco” or “Electrified.” For power, the E 6×6 relies on a modified 3.0-liter turbo diesel that produces a mean 600 lb-ft of torque. Combine that power with a 5-inch suspension lift and SIX massive off-road-ready tires and you have the recipe for easy-going on any trail. If these Jeeps do happen to find someone else in trouble, don’t worry, because they come packing a built-in 9,500 lbs winch to help pull them out of a sticky situation. On duPontREGISTRY.com, there are currently two incredible examples of the E 6×6 for sale. We’ll of course have a link to the listing, as well as to the company making these things. They each come with all of the aforementioned features, as well as a custom leather interior, custom-made tops, custom 3000-watt audio system and a whole lot more that may justify the price tag of a cool $150k.
https://www.soflojeeps.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SouthFloridaJeeps/
https://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/2020/jeep/wrangler/2239116

Top 5 things that are great about a Jeep and being quarantined!

Number 5; Tire rotation doesn’t require a jack, just move the Jeep a few inches to get it off the flat spots.
Number 4; Now sleeping in my Jeep is like a vacation away from home!
Number 3; Replacing parts on my Jeep is voluntary!
Number 2; My Jeep fuel budget is less than that of a prius!
Number 1; I haven’t broken anything on my Jeep in over a month!

Jeep Life:

Places to Take Your Jeep

In Last weeks episode during Campfire Side Chat we talked about everyone’s favorite kind of wheeling. There are so many different places you can take your Jeep. And there is no one right answer or wrong answer. I have videos on my YouTube Channel, Jeep Momma .com,  of all the places I have wheeled my Jeep. There are two videos that always seem to get those negative comments… “That’s Not a Real Trail” I would have to beg to differ. In my opinion a trail doesn’t have to be difficult with rock obstacles on it to be a trail. And it’s okay if you only like to wheel those easy trails. We all have different likes and dislikes. While we were at the Roof Top Tent rally hanging with Dan Grec with the Road Chose Me he said something that stuck with me.  During his last adventure in Africa he realized to be more inclusive and we need to do this as Jeep community. To be more accepting of other peoples wheeling preferences.  Just because you don’t rock crawl doesn’t mean you’re not a true Jeeper. During the past 6 months I have found I really enjoy those “Not Real” trails. I still like those adrenaline pumping trails, but to be out in my Jeep checking out the natural beauty of nature does wonders for my soul even if it’s on the black top. I wanted to share with you some of the tips to finding those out of the way “Not Trails”. With the hustle and bustle of today’s world… well yesterday’s world, I forgot about those Scenic By-ways my parents used to take. So you can just google scenic By-ways and find some really great black top road trips. There is one in Moab and it parallels the Colorado river and is absolutely amazing. Another tip if you aren’t in a hurry and you use Google Maps to get to your location, go into your settings and click the avoid toll roads and highways. Another source is Trails Off Road . com This website is cataloging trails all over the US. It will give you information such as length, difficulty, location, elevation, duration, plus a map with waypoints that has directions and mileage. Another spectacular black top ride is outside of Gunnison, Colorado  Hwy 92 through the Black Canyon National Park. There’s a video of it on my YouTube Channel. If you are afraid of heights or ledges it’s a pretty intense Ride. Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado is another one. It’s said to be one of the most scenic drives.  Some more backroad ideas head over to the official Trans American Trail website. https://www.transamtrail.com/ The founder Sam has been mapping public backroads and forest roads all over the United States for decades. He still is and is up in the Minnesota area right now mapping. When he originally mapped the roads back in the 80’s all were gravel but now some have been paved over time. This trail was originally designed for motorcyclists but Jeepers have begun to use these trails. It’s a great way to get away from big cities and get a look at America’s country Roads. You can also hope on Amazon.com and search for Backroads and 4 Wheel drive trails. There are guides for Colorado, Arizona, California and Moab. These  Guides have tons of photos that show the scenery as well as trouble spots. There are tips and advice from local experts to help get you through the trails. The trails are BLM approve and are legal routes. These are just a few of the tips I have learned over the past several months as I have begun to adventure outside of the east coast. There are so many other great trails out there I would love for you to share yours!

Tech Talk:

Wrangler Door Hinge Lubricant

Last week in tech talk we covered a solution that will help make taking your doors off a lot easier for as long as you own your Jeep. We went over a couple ways people have found success in removing stubborn Wrangler doors. Then we shared the trick of what to do afterwards, and that was to buy and install a set of these delrin door hinge bushings. The old ones get pressed or pounded out, and these new ones go in their place, giving the door hinge pins something more smooth to rotate against other than rough and potentially metal. However it’s not as plug and play for some people as I may have eluded. If you aren’t one of the tens-of-thousands of people who use the Jeep Talk Show app each and every week, you may have missed the after-show. There, one of our listeners posed a problem after doing this very same mod. Every year, he had just as hard of a time removing the doors as he did before the delrin bushing mod. What we found after a little Q&A was that he was likely using the wrong kind of lubricant. You see there is a special relationship that steel has with delrin, and plain petroleum based lubricants aren’t going to work as well as they might in other applications. They will get absorbed (to a certain degree) by the micro porous composition of the delrin, or simply work it’s way out over time and miles. My suggestion was to switch to a silicone based lube instead. This will play nicer with the delrin and provide a longer lasting solution to those sticky door hinges. Remember, Jeep hinges aren’t like car hinges. Jeep’s door hinges are on the outside, not tucked inside the fender hidden away from the majority of the elements like they are on most passenger cars and trucks. Not a Jeep hinge though. Those are completely exposed bearing whatever mother nature is throwing at it, and then you compound that by travelling down the freeway and thru dusty dirty trails. Yea, that lube ain’t going to stick around for very long in that environment. White lithium may be a temporary alternative, but this too wont last as long as a silicone based lube. That said, there is still regular lubricity that has to take place. This isn’t going to be a one and done type of thing even with the delrin bushings and silicone lube. So removing those doors a couple times a year and addressing those hinges will be needed no matter what. Regular Jeep door hinge maintenance no matter what year your Jeep is what you’ve done to the hinges will include but is not limited to: regular cleaning, removing all old lube and debris from both the hinge AND the door pins. It’s always a good idea to take care of any oxidation that may have occurred with the door pins or the stock bushings. Emery cloth, scotch brite pads, or something like 400 grit sandpaper will all work to get rid of any oxidation, rust, or embedded debris on the metal. And you don’t need a lot of elbow grease here, no pun intended. All we’re doing is knocking down what’s built up on the surface.  A little compressed air and some rubbing or denatured alcohol will finish the cleaning and help dry things out. After that it’s all about the lube. After the show last week, and after we signed off, I had a flashback to the days of being a boy scout, and discovering one of nature’s most perfect lubricants while I built my pinewood derby car. And that is powdered graphite. The structure of graphite is such that its weak covalent bonds allow the layers that make up the cellular structure of the compound to “slide” on top of one another with very little resistance. This too wont last as long as a silicone based lube in this application, but will provide superior lubricity for a time making opening, closing and removing your Jeep door easier than ever, with or without the delrin bushings.

Newbie Nuggets:

Safety while Winching

A winch (spelled with an I, not an E – that would be out of a Pirate movie) is used to help you when your Jeep gets stuck in mud, sand, or high centered on a rock or just having inadequate traction to drive out. A winch helps when you need to “pull” yourself out. There are lots of discussions on winching and plenty of content about the type of winches, and how to winch someone out, but this episode I want to cover the safety while winching.  If you are new to Jeeping and you have a winch, please read the owner’s manual and understand what your winch is capable of, load capacity and how it operates. Using a winch can be very dangerous and should not be taken lightly. In my winching certification class I learned a number of safety tips that I want to share with you today. And don’t worry, in upcoming episodes, we will discuss choices for winches, and how to actually winch a jeep out of a precarious situation.  Winching is essentially pulling you out of the stuck situation. You may be alone and need to winch out or in a group and someone else is pulling you out. Avoiding having to be winched is the ultimate goal as we learn and navigate through obstacles; however, it is OK to be winched if needed. Sometimes it happens, even the most experienced drivers have to be winched from time to time because they bit off more than they could chew. When you are stuck and are unable to move forward or backward it’s now time for a little help. You need to connect to an anchor point in order to pull yourself out. There are things to consider when choosing an anchor point to help you out. Sometimes, the easiest and most obvious way to get winched is using another jeep in front of you. There are other options for getting unstuck, but for this discussion I will use the jeep in front of you as the anchor point. When you are in a group and you are going through an obstacle the jeep in front of you will most likely wait while you make your way through just in case you need help. Most jeepers in a group will place a newbie driver behind a more experienced Jeeper that has the equipment. You may not always need a winch to drive through obstacles, but you may want to add this to your list of “additions” to your jeep equipment. After deciding you need to use a winch and the Jeeper in front of you is preparing to help pull you out, there are some safety concerns to consider. First, get out and see why and how you got stuck. This will help you learn for the next time you try to navigate an obstacle. If you do not have a winch, the jeep in front may use a strap. Either way the safety concerns are the same. Some safety concerns to consider;  –  Winching is inherently dangerous. You can get hurt. You can hurt others. Please be aware and listen to directions (if you are helping). –  If you are helping, or asked to help, have a pair of tight fitting gloves on. Some winch lines are synthetic rope but others are steel rope and gloves help keep you from getting steel splinters and offer a better grip. –  The winch spool can and will break/pinch off fingers so DO NOT put your hands around the spool while operating –  Some winch controllers are wireless remote and most others are connected by a cable to the winch –  The spool needs to be disengaged so the winch line can be slowly pulled out to the anchor point. You can help by walking the line toward the anchor point. It’s best to not allow the line to get dirty/wet, however, in lots of situations this can’t be avoided. Once attached to an anchor point, the spool needs to be reengaged. –  Once the anchor point is attached, the winching process can begin. Your jeep needs to be running because the winch motor takes a lot of battery power. –  A cloth, or towel, or jacket, or some type of material needs to be draped over the line midway to mitigate the “whip” should the line break. Also, this lets bystanders know where the line is. –  Stand away from the swing zone. This is the radius the line could swing should it break at either end. The person in charge should make sure all persons are cleared from this swing zone. If you are not clear- get clear. Synthetic winch rope is much safer than the common steel winch rope. A steel rope can decapitate, dismember or severely hurt you or anyone within the swing zone. Be very careful  –   Once the tension is on the winch line, you will be asked to drive forward very slowly as the winch pulls the jeep forward. It’s important to pay attention to the person in charge. They are controlling the process and can see how the jeep is traveling. –  After you are cleared and you no longer need the winch, the line needs to be re-spooled back on the winch. The line must be spooled correctly and this is where you can get hurt if your hands get too close to the winch while re-spooling.  This is where you will want to have your gloves on. Being winched, or watching a jeep being winched, is all part of the fun and adventure. At some point in your jeeping, you will need to get winched. Hopefully you get to see it done (and done correctly where no one gets hurt) before you need to be winched yourself. Just like everything there are good and bad ways to winch. Being around people using good judgment and following the safety rules of winching is a must.  I hope this helps you stay safe and if you want more info, you can check out our YouTube channel Jeep 4-1-1, (https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver) with more tips, tricks & techniques. So let’s ask the team about winching safety. Is there one thing you would add regarding safety while winching.

Interview with:

Justin Rand, of Rand Innovations LLC – Makers of the Jepr App

Rand Innovations, LLC, developed the Jepr app for the jeeping world. Jepr is a buy, sell, trade app that connects jeepers all over the world to talk and trade in one mobile marketplace. Jepr is similar to Craigslist and Facebook marketplace but for jeeps only. Jepr is better than web-based marketplaces because it eliminates visual clutter, streamlines searching so users can quickly and conveniently find the best deal on aftermarket and new parts, etc. Jepr is the fastest growing app of its kind. Jepr launched in April 2018 and has more than 3,300 active users and is projected to be more than 7,000 active users at the end of the year based on our current growth rate. Jepr is free to download for either Android or iOS. Nominated As One Of The Best Mobile Apps of 2018.

Wheeling Where:

Fifth annual Florida Jeep Jam
June 17-20, Wednesday through Saturday
Frank Brown Park – Panama City Beach, Fl.
More Info: https://www.floridajeepjam.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FloridaJeepJam/

Links Mentioned in Episode 434: 

Six Figure – Six Wheeled – 2020 Jeep – $150,000
https://www.soflojeeps.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SouthFloridaJeeps/
https://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/2020/jeep/wrangler/2239116

Jepr App:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.randInnovations.jepr&hl=en_US
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/j%C4%93pr-app-buy-sell-trade/id1367784785

The Trans-America Trail (info and trip planning guide)
https://www.transamtrail.com/

Offroad Trail Locator – Find Your Next Offroad Adventure Here:
https://www.trailsoffroad.com/

Black Canyon National Park Jeep Momma Freak Out & BC Vintage Jeeps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZG9g1eGQOI&t=4s