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Jeep Talk Show

A Show About Jeeps!

Episode 441 – Life is Like a Box of Jeeps

This Week In Jeep: 

Police Slow Speed Pursuit of Jeep Wrangler

This is just insulting!  You may have missed this, but three days ago police were shown in a low speed chase on I-95 in Florida.  The chase, sometimes reaching speeds of posted speed limits, began in Oakland Park and headed northbound from there. Police in a bit of irony removed the Freedom top of the late model Jeep Wrangler to arrest the male driver.  The driver is being charged with aggravated battery, fleeing and eluding.  Personally I think eluding would be a hard charge to prove in court. 😉  The driver of the Jeep is accused of ramming another vehicle and a golf cart in Fort Lauderdale.  In a not so funny twist to this story, law enforcement is checking to see if there is a connection with two dead bodies found in Fort Lauderdale beach earlier in the day. The famous pit maneuver was used to terminate the chase, and the white Jeep drove backwards for a few hundred feet prior to the driver trying to do that whip from backwards to forwards that we’ve seen so many times on TV and in action movies.  Unfortunately this caused the Jeep to flip and end on it’s side. 

Jeep has dropped several colors from the 2020 Wrangler

Jeep is dropping three of it’s available colors for your new 2020 Wrangler.  Bikini, Punk’n Metallic, and Mojito.  Let me man this up for you guys out there, bikini is a blue, Punk’n Metallic is a kind of an orange, and Mojito is a bright green. You know the color they didn’t drop?  Red!  But you knew that didn’t ya? Billet Silver, Black, White, Granite (grey), Hellayella (just yeller here in Texas) blue, and what the hell, another grey.  Apparently Jeep people like to blend in with cloudy dreary days. Well it’s sad to see Jeep offering less color options, but that is a pretty good list of colors.  I say keep the bright colors and ditch the dark colors.  Next week we’ll be hearing from someone who just recently ordered a JL and didn’t get the red one because it wasn’t red enough! Motortrend has a great story on the Jeep colors at Motortrend.com.  Check out our show notes for this episode, 441, for a link to this story. https://www.motortrend.com/news/2020-jeep-wrangler-paint-colors-photos-details/

Jeep Life:

Overlanding, just like Jeep Life, means something different to everyone. Historically, “overlanding” is an Australian Outback term to denote the droving of livestock over very long distances to open up new country or to take livestock to market far from grazing grounds. A more modern definition of overlanding doesn’t include droving livestock and the definition seems to have a different meaning for different people. It’s like a fusion of off roading and camping. Like Overlanding and Jeep Life, Off roading has a different meaning to different people. Off Roading is what you make of it. It can be gravel roads out in the middle of nowhere to difficult trails with obstacles. My definition of Overlanding is exploring the great outdoors and historic places in your vehicle while camping on the land whether a weekend, week or longer. There are so many different variations of Overlanding, Jeep Life, and Off Roading. It’s all what you make of it. As I find my desire for exploration growing I have been doing more research to find those cool out of the way places to go explore. I wanted to share some of them with you. Of course there are the known places Moab which some people call the off road Mecca which could be a weekend or weeks of offroading and camping. The historic 138 mile Mojave Road in California, a 2 to 4 day exploration. The Rubicon Trail in the Sierra Nevada. The goal of most all off roaders to traverse this trail. This has a variety of terrain ranging from beginner to expert. Which I was always under the assumption this was for experts only. It can be a 5 hour trip (so says the internet) to up to a week. The Colorado Passes, Black Bear Pass, Imogene, Ophir Pass, and Engineer Pass. These trails in Colorado are dependent on the weather so this would be a summer only trip. And if you are afraid of heights this wouldn’t be a good trip for you.  Coconino National Forest covers nearly two million acres in northern Arizona, it has a  massive network of trails is surrounded by stunning red rock formations. Tillamook State Forest in Oregon. natural playground for 4 x 4’s . Josh is very familiar with this area. Big Bend National Park in Texas which also has the Jeep Badge of Honor Trail, Black Gap.  The Hole in the Rock Trail is a historic trail running east-southeast from the town of Escalante in southern Utah. The Mormon trailblazers who established this trail crossed the Colorado River and ended their journey in the town of Bluff. This trail is one you really need to properly prepare for as it’s in the middle of nowhere with gas and food facilities hundreds of miles away. Then there is the Dalton Highway in Alaska. Crossing the Yukon River and ending at the Arctic Ocean, this road stretches for 414 miles through the wild Alaskan bush and barren tundra. Built in the 1970’s as the service road to the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. The highway has earned fame through the controversy of the pipeline and the reality show “Ice Road Truckers.” With steep grades, avalanche danger, and hundreds of miles between gas stations, this brutal gravel highway is not for the faint-of-heart. Now that you made it to the Prudhoe Bay you might as well turn around and head south. And do the 19,640 Pan-American highway all the way from Alaska to Argentina at the southern tip of South America. Anytime you make plans for one of these overlanding trips make sure you do your research online about the location and pack your gear to the needs of the trip. Each trip will need different gear. I am planning two of these trips in the coming week. We are heading out next week for the Rubicon Trail! I am so excited to finally wheel the place that hooked me on off roading. Then on the way back to Colorado we hope to take America’s loneliest Highway in Nevada a remote section of US 50 which was named this in 1986 by Time magazine. Parts of the highway crosses several large desert like plateaus separated by numerous mountain ranges towering over the valley floors. In the 1850s, the Gold Rush sparked a caravan of wagons to head West along the thruway. According to the Highway 50 Association, the Roaring Road (as it was called) became so congested at times that hopeful miners and their families would have to wait days before they could access it. The area that follows Route 50 for about 400 miles is frontier but Nevada says it’s anything but lonely with Pony Express History and geographical wonders. There’s a website link in the show notes. I am really looking forward to this trip not only because it’s the Rubicon Trail but because my youngest is flying in next week to join us. Fingers Crossed some world event doesn’t change all that like EJS. https://travelnevada.com/adventures/31498/anything-lonely-nevadas-highway-50

Newbie Nuggets:

2 wheels not 4

We just got back from an 8 day trip on the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle and I know several listeners have asked for some background info on us hosts so I decided to give you all a glimpse into something my husband and I do when we are not working or jeeping. We just did over 2600 miles in 8 days, which is a lot less mileage than our normal 3000-4000 mile trips we do. My dad has been riding for over 25 years now and has just over 650,000 miles (or just over 1 million Kilo meters) on 7 bikes, riding through 49 states of this great country, Canada and Mexico. We have ridden with my dad on four trips over the past two years and we love traveling this way. The condensed version is the first day we rode to Las Vegas, The second day we rode into Utah where we stopped at Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP. The following day was up beautiful HWY 12 to Capital Reef NP, Arches NP and stayed in Moab. We then rode south to Show Low AZ which took us down through the Navajo nation where there’s not much to see but desert and the occasional wild horses running down the side of the HWY. The following day was a ride to our friends home in Albuquerque. This ride was pretty exciting due to the 40-50 MPH side winds from the south as we headed east. About 100 miles of this was enough for a lifetime. The following day we rode up to the top of Sandia Peak mountain which is just over 10,000 feet overlooking all of Albuquerque then on to Santa Fe and finally made our way back to Albuquerque for one more night at our friend’s home. From there we took two days to get back home. This trip was supposed to be a Harley Davidson H.O.G. rally (Harley Owners Group) along the Coronado Trial, or what used to be called the Devil’s Highway, but with all the Covid issues, HD canceled the rally. We checked with all the hotels where we had reservations and they were all open, and there were places to eat, so we decided to go even though the rally had been cancelled. I always plan stops in-between destinations to see wonderful treasures, national parks, monuments, places of interest, etc. instead of just riding from point A to point B. It makes for a much more interesting time and Bill loves the adventure. On our first trip to Spearfish South Dakota we saw Mount Rushmore. That’s pretty spectacular. As we made our way back home over several days one of our stops was in Buffalo, WY to visit the Occidental Hotel. It’s the oldest continuously operating Hotel in Wyoming and it’s been restored to the way it was back at the turn of the last century. On our trip to Washington/Oregon we stopped at the world’s largest fish ladder in Wenatchee, WA on the Columbia river. It’s so amazing to me what each state offers and quite frankly so much within your own backyard. There are gems everywhere. Being on the back of the bike is freeing to me. I consider myself a professional passenger and photographer. I have no plans of ever riding my own bike (no driving for me lol) plus I love looking around and just being in the moment. I also blog about it to several friends and post it on Facebook each night of our trip for people to follow along. We just started an Instagram account and will be uploading this trip in a series of posts.  I got to thinking that the trip we took could have been taken in a jeep. Why not? Tammy talks about the jeep life on her blogs all the time and that it doesn’t have to be an intense trail. There will be times when you just want to take a vacation to see parts of this country and why not do it in a jeep! Josh, Tammy & Tony, do you have any adventures you want to share?

Interview with:

Philip of Be Ready Blade works, and now YouTube channel “The Mundane Rockstar”

Must Have Stuff:

Even if you don’t anticipate going off road I think it’s a good idea to have a set of rock sliders on your Jeep.  The cost of repairing rocker panels, or the bottom of your door will be much higher.   Save yourself some money and give your Jeep that added protection. Tyger Auto TG-JA2J2239B Star Armor Kit for 2007-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK 4 Door $279 with FREE shipping with Amazon Prime. Fits 2007-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK 4 Door (Exclude 2018 Wrangler JL Models) Dual girder system provides maximum wheel-to-wheel protection for underside and rocker panel area from damaging impacts. Keeps Jeep from catching on rocker panel and hanging up on obstacles. Heavy-duty 2inch diameter & 0.120inch wall thickness tubes. One-piece design. Dual stage powder coated textured black finish. Easy Bolt-On installation. No drilling required. (DIY instruction included in the package.) I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes and saying “Cheap Chinese knock offs” well I agree with you and if you want some great American made sliders one of the companies I’ve purchased from is JCR Offroad.  They have a set of sliders for the JKU that is 3/16” thick metal, and is $499 shipped.  If you’re planning on beating the hell out of your Jeep I highly recommend JCR. Oh! And the added bonus of having heavy duty sliders, no more door dings!  In fact check out the doors of the vehicles next to you and look where they chipped their paint slamming their door on your beefy sliders.  Yes sometimes life is good. https://www.amazon.com/Tyger-Auto-TG-JA2J2239B-2007-2018-Wrangler/dp/B01J2W3FYO/ref=sr_1_24?dchild=1&keywords=jeep+jku+sliders&qid=1591924121&sr=8-24

Campfire Side Chat:

This week, Chris, Chip, Bill, Isaac, and more joined us around the campfire to discuss…

Did you lift your Jeep and, if so, why did you want a higher lift later?

You can join us in the Campfire side chat, but following us on Facebook and clicking the link to the Zoom meeting.

Links Mentioned in this Episode: 

Philip, Be Ready Blade Works, and YouTube’s The Mundane Rockstar

https://brbwtx.com

https://www.instagram.com/bereadybladeworks/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6SYue0LX6ykq29BO__BkKA

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2020-jeep-wrangler-paint-colors-photos-details/

https://travelnevada.com/adventures/31498/anything-lonely-nevadas-highway-50

Tyger Auto TG-JA2J2239B Star Armor Kit for 2007-2018 Jeep Wrangler

https://www.amazon.com/Tyger-Auto-TG-JA2J2239B-2007-2018-Wrangler/dp/B01J2W3FYO/ref=sr_1_24?dchild=1&keywords=jeep+jku+sliders&qid=1591924121&sr=8-24