Episode 466 – Help Us Find This P.O.S. “Jeeper”
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Family Pet Dies After Being Thrown From Jeep Window; Police Search For Driver
Ok in all seriousness, It’s rare that I have to start a segment or a story here on the show with a warning, but it does happen every so often. And this week’s first story is going to royally piss some of you off, and it may be quite disturbing to others. So if you are a pet lover, you may want to fast forward a bit. We here at the Jeep Talk Show and The Edmond Oklahoma Police Department are asking the public to help identify a suspect who killed a family pet by throwing it out of a vehicle while driving through a busy intersection earlier this week. A witness told the Edmond police that a motorist threw a black cat out of the window while driving a yellow Jeep at around 6:15 p.m. Monday evening. Edmond police responded to the incident and posted this on their social media: “The cat unfortunately has died from his injuries. The witness on scene said they saw everything but was unable to get the license plate number.” The police also sent out an “animal cruelty alert” and have yet to receive a credible lead. The Jeep is described as a yellow two-door Jeep Wrangler TJ or JK with a black soft top and mud tires. If you live in Oklahoma, or if you know ANYONE in the Edmond area, please get a hold of them and ask for their help. We have posted a picture on our website in the show notes for this episode, taken from traffic cameras of the Jeep. All it would take is for one person to recognize it. If you do please call the Edmond Police department immediately. It’s these kind of worthless individuals who have no business walking the streets, let alone owning a Jeep. There are bad apples in every bunch, but this is beyond reprehensible.
This Week In Jeep:
LEGO / TECHNIC Release 2-Door Jeep Wrangler!
Who doesn’t have at least some fond memories of legos. The little multi shaped interlocking colored bricks have been around since before 1950. Of course it wasn’t until the late 70’s that Lego finally got cool and started experimenting with more than just rectangles. Soon we saw space legos, pirate legos, and all sorts of themed sets all as unique as the last and we saw the birth of legos offshoot, TECHNIC in 1977. Long time listeners of the show will remember Tammy robbing her children’s toy cribs for the legos to sell for Jeep parts. I’m sure there was a raise in the allowance for a pay off in there somewhere, maybe threats of violence or grounding, either way, good times. Of course it was that 1977 offshoot of Lego Technic, that really made the cool stuff. Construction equipment, formula-1 race cars with intricate suspension and steering linkages, all that worked. Technic has really set the bar, and just in time for Christmas, they knock it out of the park with their latest release, a 2-door Jeep Wrangler. WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I WAS KID, DANGIT! The 665-piece set of the yellow off-roader has beefy off-road tires —including a rear-mounted spare (i mean it IS a Jeep, after all)— And these tires are no joke, able to provide traction through the thickest carpet, crawling over the gnarliest Cheeto crumbs, and cross the deepest river of spilled Kool aid this side of the kitchen.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!
It has a button-operated front steering system and an articulating front suspension to help you traverse scattered toys, dog bones, TV remotes, or downed Barbie’s. And if you just so happen to find yourself stuck in …”JUST WHO’S UNDERWEAR IS THIS ANYWAYS!?!?…. , well you’re in luck, because there’s a fully functional, working winch mounted to the front bumper. Up front, there’s the classic seven-slot Jeep grille and a “Rubicon” sticker for the hood. This release, also marks the first time the LEGO company or any of its subsidiaries has released a Jeep SUV – in ANY LEGO line EVER! The Lego Technic Jeep Wrangler will go on sale on January 1 for $49.99 on Lego’s website and at other authorized retailers. Ok, so it’s not just in time for Christmas, but now you have something to use that 50 dollar gift card on afterwards! For those interested, we’ll have the link to Lego Technic’s online store to get one for yourself. https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/jeep-wrangler-42122
Newbie Nuggets:
Better spotter, better driver
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Did you get to wheel? Well we did and it was awesome. We did a double black diamond trail that is not on the maps, or trial rated, we just know it’s a double black diamond and you need min 35’s and lockers. The rock crawling consists of obstacles so close together, as you finish one you have to already be lined up for the next one. This trail is in a canyon with steep walls coming out of a wash and climbs up & over 3 to 4 foot boulders with tight turns and narrow passages. The scenery is beautiful as the walls of the canyon climb upwards of 100 to 200 feet above. There were 9 jeeps including a new Gladiator. All but one jeep were really set up jeeps. Most had either rock Jock suspensions, coil over suspensions and PSC steering which made for a really fun run. And, I’d like to give a shout out to Avid Jeep Talk Show listeners Scott and Becki. Thank you both for listening, we had fun wheeling with you. The coolest thing for me was that Becki was requesting I help spot her through all the obstacles. Now we have wheeled with them before but this time she got to drive the entire canyon for the first time and she did an amazing job. When I would get out and look for my line, she came out and asked what I was doing so she could learn to pick her line. I showed her how I picked my line and gave her options so she could choose what she felt comfortable tackling. To be able to share my knowledge with a “newbie” and help with her confidence…PRICELESS! What was different for me on this run was that I drove the entire trail. What I normally do on a difficult trial is get out and spot for everyone else. But Bill said “I want you to drive this time and I’ll spot everyone through”. Sooo…Bill got to walk most of the canyon this time and he got a chance to break-in his new hip. I did spot a few drivers and helped where needed, but I drove our jeep the entire trail. Now what I wanted to share, is that I now realize spotting has definitely made me a better driver! And driving has made me a better spotter. What I’m trying to say is this was a really difficult trail that I would normally not have driven and instead spotted everyone else through. Now, when I have driven in the past, I rely on Bill to spot me through. But this run there were times I needed to move the jeep to make room for everyone else, and there was no one around to help me, so I picked my line and I drove it. Usually when I’m spotting, I know how to pick a line and get the jeeps through. But when you are behind the wheel you can’t always see the line so you have to have a mental image in your brain of where you are putting your tires. There were several very difficult spots where I had no spotter, I HAD to move the jeep to keep the group moving so I picked my line and drove through like I knew what I was doing. Which BTW, I do know what I’m doing… I know my jeep (width, length etc.), I know my turning radius (and the new PSC steering is easier now and awesome!!) and I knew I could do it! I believe the confidence and experience of spotting gave me the confidence to drive this difficult trail. I will always LOVE spotting. There is a peaceful process I go through when I view a line and take that jeeper through the obstacle. I just love it, but driving this time was even more exhilarating because I proved to myself that I could do a tough trail and sometimes without a spotter. Now I will admit I am very familiar with this trail and all the obstacles because I have spotted many jeeps through it. That meant I didn’t have to get out and view each obstacle but if I felt the trail had “changed”, as it often does with weather and traffic, I got out and looked for my line. Sometimes you just never know what experience you may have that helps someone else, or even yourself. This was by far my best run yet and my confidence and ability are both improving. Being a good spotter DOES help you drive better and being a good driver DOES help you spot better. All that I have been doing and learning all these years, just kicked in and it was like a well-oiled machine. I picked my line, I drove my line and I just DID IT! I am so proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone on really gnarly black diamond obstacles. And to top it off, there were newbie drivers right behind me using my line as theirs and getting through the obstacles with ease!
Tech Talk With Jeep Talk:
It’s The Difference Of One Word
And it’s all about making that impact. Well that right there probably gives away the topic, but if you still haven’t figured it out, i’m talking about the difference between a cordless Impact Driver, and a cordless Impact Wrench (or Impact Gun). And it’s this one word difference that can make all the difference inthe world when you’re trying to loosen a bolt or nut on the side of the trail and your impact isn’t making that big of a difference. And here’s why. Impact drivers are used to drill long screws into wood or metal, whereas Impact wrenches are used to loosen or tighten nuts and bolts. … Impact drivers have a ¼” hex collet, whereas Impact wrenches have a ½” square drive. Impact Drivers are easy to use, whereas Impact wrenches are more powerful and heavier. Impact drivers WILL usually have enough torque to break loose small stuff, or at least spin it off fast, once you break it loose manually. Impact Wrenches however, have the torque to get the job done both coming off, and going on. They usually have more power for the break loose than for the tightening, but check your tools specs for clarification. To give you an idea of just how vast the power difference is between impact drivers and impact wrenches, let’s look at how much power they output on average. A decent impact driver will output around 2,000 in-lbs (inch-pounds) of torque. While an impact wrench outputs over 1250 ft-lbs, which is roughly 15000 inch-pounds of torque. That is more than 7 times the amount of power. In most cases the power of an impact driver is mentioned in inch-pounds whereas the output of an impact wrench is expressed in foot-pounds. So what’s the best out there? If you want my 2 cents, I wouldn’t carry anything but either the Milwaukee M18 1/2″ Inch Impact Wrench, OR… the DEWALT 20V Lithium Ion Impact Wrench. Both of these tools are in the top three of any professional list you can find, and either one would make an essential addition to your Jeeps tool kit that will make any maintenance job or trail side repair go faster, and much more smoothly.
Must Have Stuff:
Gorilla Automotive 1721 Telescoping Power Wrench $22.51 https://amzn.to/2JPAn5O
The Gorilla Power Wrench’s 21″ telescoping handle provides the leverage needed to remove even the tightest lug nuts with ease. Includes dual sockets that fit virtually all standard Original Equipment lug nuts. 17mm, 19mm(3/4″), 21mm(13/16″), 23mm(7/8″) socket sizes included. Telescoping handle extends to 21 inches for maximum leverage Compacts to 14 inches for easy storage Hardened steel and precision construction A perfect replacement for your standard lug wrench Polybag included for convenient storage
Campfire Side Chat:
For many right now, times are tight. Between what this year has offered for most, and now it’s the holiday season, many are wondering if the heat is even going to be kept on this winter. So for those pinching their pennies, tightening up the belt, and saving all they can, they have probably thought about turning to the junkyard for the next Jeep mod. And save for the JT and JL, there are junkyard mods and upgrades for virtually any Jeep vehicle. So do you have a junkyard mod planned? If not… What was the last one you did? This week’s Zoom People around the campfire was, Bob, Chris, Larry, Travis, and Bill! There is always a seat for you around the campfire! Just subscribe to our Newsletter to get notifications on how and when to join! https://jeeptalkshow.com/contact
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Raspberry Pi
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Officially Licensed Jeep Gear – Use Code: {listen to get code} for 20% off! https://www.gear.jeep.com/
Lego / Technic Jeep Wrangler $49.99 (avail Jan 1, 2021) https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/jeep-wrangler-42122
Jeep 4-1-1 https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
Gorilla Automotive Telescoping Power Wrench $22.51 https://amzn.to/2JPAn5O