Episode 480 – Don’t Buy Jeep Parts From WHO?!?
This Week In Jeep
Grand Wagoneer Unveiling
I’m going to assume that I’m the only one here that watched the unveiling of Jeep’s first full-size vehicle in over 30 years. I spoke briefly about the teaser video released exactly one week ago that set up the buzz for the unveiling of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. If you missed it we will have a link to the video in the show notes for this episode at JeepTalkShow.com. The first minute or so I almost shut it off as it had odd camera angles, sweeping shots moving way too fast to see any detail. But then the 13-minute video settles down, and you get an extremely detailed look at just what the engineering team at Jeep has been able to accomplish. A level of technology, connectivity, and workmanship, that Jeep has not displayed in decades. The grand wagoneer is the pinnacle of what an SUV can be. The highest level of detail has gone into every last corner, stitch, dial and button. Exquisite leather, screens at every glance, ergonomics that a Bentley would be jealous of. And the room. Never before has there been such an expensively crafted SUV that has taken the utmost consideration for the comfort and entertainment of each and every passenger in each of the three rows of seating. A 23 speaker ultra high-end audio system by McIntosh will bring the concert to you no matter how far off the beaten path you go. And with unmatched cargo space, and passenger volume, there’s enough room for everyone. What’s almost more impressive than the quality of workmanship that has gone into these two vehicles, is the all-new Quadra-Lift Air Ride Suspension system. One of the best features of the rig, it’s the ability to change ride height at will. Its towing capabilities as a toy dragger have been highlighted here as well. With load leveling and a feature that drops the ride height all the way to the bump stops and engages a high definition camera with zoom to directly navigate the truck to the trailer with ease, and then lift the Grand Wagoneers height back-up to ride height with you never having to crank anything ever again. Impressive to say the least. So is the best-in-class towing capacity of 10,000 lbs making it more than capable of towing whatever toy you want to take on your next adventure. The starting pricing for the large three-row SUV ranges from roughly $87,000 to $104,000. A fully loaded model will top $111,000, according to Jeep. The Grand Wagoneer will be the sibling to a less expensive vehicle called the Wagoneer, which will start at $57,995 when both SUVs go on sale later this year.
Local Ohio Jeep Club Helping The Community
What happens when you combine a shared love of tricked-out Jeeps and a desire to give back? Well, those interests come together here in Cleveland in a very unique club called the “Jeep Invaders.” “It almost makes me emotional because it’s almost a sense of rescue,” club president Eric Payne said. “They see all the Jeeps coming in to help and you see devotion on people’s faces and they see what we’re doing, it’s priceless.” The Jeep Invaders are a community organization that rides with a purpose.
If you ever see a row of colorful custom jeeps in your area, you can rest assured that something good is happening. Payne says there are no limits to how the Invaders can help. “We’ve done birthday parties, we have done [fundraising for] a women’s shelter, men’s shelter, we could pass out gloves, and hats, give away turkeys…gift cards,” he said. “I mean anything the community needs, the Jeep Invaders tries to meet that service,” board member Colin Jackson added. Founded in 2019, the Jeep Invaders have quickly become a mainstay in community outreach, and this recent year has taken their service for the city to the next level. In fact, just this last Saturday, they were found passing out hand sanitizer and mask-decorating kits for kids on Miles Road.
“During the pandemic, we all have to be so socially distant,” Jackson said. “We can’t gather together and celebrate, so when you get an invasion from The Jeep Invaders of 15 Jeeps riding down your street, whether you’re a 75-year-old grandmother or a five-year-old, one event at a time, we’re bringing a smile to everybody.” With partnerships now happening with the Cleveland Browns, the Urban League, Soup for the Soul, and other organizations, the Jeep Invaders are truly on their way to invade Northeast Ohio. But whether through a big event or a small one, Jackson says they remain committed to their community and to one another. “My hope is that we are able to continue to do that and build that and, more importantly, that we can bring more people along with us for this invasion because we can’t serve the community without the community helping us do this.” Amen to that brother. Hats off to the men and women of this amazing Jeep club really showcasing what being a Jeeper can mean. If you would like to check out Jeep Invaders yourself, we’ll have a link to their social media pages in the show notes for this episode at Jeeptalkshow.com
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
Storage – Part 1
Thanks to one of our listeners, Brent P for suggesting this week’s topic. I love when listeners give us suggestions, we really appreciate it.
Storage is a big thing to think about as you get into Jeeping. What do you do with all the “stuff” you carry? Tools, chairs, cooler, recovery gear, first aid, and if you travel with kids and /or dogs you need their stuff too.
This topic is so vast I could fill up a whole show just on storage solutions, but to save everyone, I will break it into parts so you have to listen to get all the info. Turns out there is sooo much in the marketplace to choose from that it will make your head spin. In this episode, I’ll share basic ideas on storage suggestions since a lot of us are newbies. And don’t worry, for all you experienced jeepers, in part two, I will discuss the more expensive and slick ways to store your gear.
First, you have to decide what you are actually doing with your jeep. If you are on basic fire roads and only go out a few times a year or this is your daily driver you may not need to store a lot of stuff. But IF you are rock crawling and out blazing trails you will need some type of storage system to keep all things secure. Keeping things secure is a priority when Jeeping. If you have done some crawling you know that stuff doesn’t stay put. It’s easy to bounce off a rock and BAM there goes the cooler. Or better yet, there goes your kid flying in the back seat LOL. So deciding on what to store and how to store it is all part of the fun.
Now for the newbies, it really doesn’t have to be fancy expensive toolboxes and containers. In the beginning, you have many more important things to spend your dollars on like, lifts, rock sliders, and skid plates and not being a Rat Bastard (subscribe to the show LOL). So what containers you actually use to store the items in is really up to you.
Here’s an idea of what we have done. When we started we had the Viair air compressor (still have it BTW) and it came in its own bag. We used that bag for everything to do with airing up and down – gauge, tire deflators, etc. That was an easy solution and the bag has compartments to separate different items. Next, we needed some basic tools onboard like 10mm socket, wrenches, etc., and thus we started with a small toolbox and have moved up to a bigger toolbox because we have added more tools we found out we needed through the years. This plastic toolbox from Home Depot holds all things tools and is budget-friendly. The bigger tools, like tire irons, breaker bars, etc. fit in the back under the seat. Bill is now looking to upgrade his toolbox with a cool thing he saw when we wheeled with Chad and Vicky, UH HUH!. I believe Chad saw this item from Jeep Momma. It’s called the Blue Ridge Overland Gear tool bag. This system will definitely make it even easier for Bill to find the exact tool he is looking for. It comes with a bigger outer bag (12x12x5.5) that has six removable smaller bags that you can fill with like items making it super easy to grab what you need. The clear window system allows you to see everything inside or you can label it with what’s inside. Putting similar tools together like all your wrenches, Torx bits, nuts, and bolts, or whatever you have makes the job at hand seem to go faster because you are not digging for the one tool you need. I liked that it was all in one place, which our ‘toolbox” is too but we have to dig through all our tools to find that one tool. I’m sure when it’s filled it will be a heavy bag to lift, but you can open it up, lay it flat and take out the smaller inner bag of what you need, and leave the rest in the jeep. I can’t wait for this upgrade down the road.
The other bag we have is our recovery bag from Factor 55. This bag is designed to hold everything related to recovery; tree savers, soft shackles, snatch block, D rings, and straps of different lengths. When we need to assist someone, I can go to this bag and have everything I need in one place. It’s a substantial heavy-duty canvas/oilcloth bag with a zippered top and easy access. We saw it in the Factor 55 booth at an overland outdoor show and decided it was a good purchase. Prior to this, we had the straps wrapped up and everything else loose on the floorboard behind the driver seat. It’s so much better to have it all in one place.
We also carry two foldable, collapsible chairs that fit nicely behind the driver seat and we put all the bags there as well and sort of wedge everything in so it doesn’t move when we jeep and it maintains a low center of gravity. If we do not take the dogs and we have additional passengers we put all the bags/gear in the very back.
In the back of the Jeep, we have the Powertank secured to the left side along with a small bag that holds everything we need to air up and down. Bill’s system of tubes and 4 air chucks that connect all four tires at once to air down or air up, gauge, and deflators, if necessary, to help other newbies. This bag is secured to the housing that the Powertank is attached to. It makes it easy to get to it if needed and out of the way when we take the dogs. We also have the Best Top Storage on the door gate. This is a two-bag system that attaches to the rear door. It houses the dogs’ water bowls, water, and our first aid kit and mountain money (that’s toilet paper for the newbies). The problem with this system is that it does slip off its “rail system” when we go over bumpy obstacles and the bags do take up the room into the back area so the dogs have to maneuver around them. I am not happy with this system, we bought it when we were newbies and thought it was a cool idea. It’s not and I know there are so many more options for that rear door storage. It hasn’t been a priority because as I mentioned, there are so many other things to put our money into… UH HUH. So when I find something else to put these items into that makes sense I will change this and get rid of that system.
When we wheel there is usually a cooler bag or hard cooler depending on the time of year. We usually secure that behind the passenger seat if we don’t have anyone with us. The idea is to make all the heavyweight toward the floorboards and not get too “stacked” up high with weight. We wheel a lot over things so we are conscious of the top-heavy effect and try to keep all things stored low.
One last thing to mention is where you store your winch controller. Bill Found a great nylon drawstring bag just large enough to stuff the controller and cable and it fits under the driver’s seat. Most times if you find the need to use the winch, you don’t want to be looking around in the back under all the other stuff. Also, you may be the one stuck and not able to get out of the Jeep and your buddies are asking you for your controller so they can help get you out. If it’s right there within your reach it will be far less frustrating.
Whatever you do in your wheeling having things stored in a way that makes sense to you, organized how you want to retrieve the items, and also think about your wheeling needs, you can decide to make it work with what you have on hand or explore the many options out there and choose things that fit your budget and work. I do recommend just start wheeling and you see what you need and adapt and adjust as you go. Like all things jeep, you will probably be changing and rearranging things because we all know that when you wheel with others, you will see and want things they have. Thanks a lot, Chad!!!
Interview with Peter Corn – Author – The Best Jeep Is 20 Years Old
Tech Talk With Jeep Talk
Ordinarily, this segment of the show is dedicated to my best efforts in helping you help your Jeep. Today I am going to once again do my best efforts to help you help your Jeep but I’m going to be calling out a very well-known auto parts supplier that has been around for a very long time while I do it. They have even sponsored several events that I have been involved with over the years, so I need to make sure they don’t have too much room to come after me. So with that said, I am now calling for a boycott of JEGS.
Usually, my angst wouldn’t bring me to such a rash decision, but I’m sick and tired of companies saying they can do one thing, but then it’s up to you to figure it out that they can’t. Because they sure the hell weren’t going to take the chance you would spend your money elsewhere by telling you what they are actually capable of doing. JEGS has been good to me in the past. I’ve ordered many things from them over the years with nary an issue. Over the last couple of months, I’ve been doing extensive research and footwork into cam and lifter selection for my partial rebuild. After finally making a decision as to what direction I was going to go, it was time to start filling carts. Yes multiple. I had no less than a half dozen tabs open in my browser, and each one had a different warehouse or parts store up. I would pick the parts, add them to the cart, and proceed to checkout to calculate shipping and get a total cost for comparison. Having the same or similar parts selected in each, and others quickly getting closed due to stock issues, it came down to just three suppliers. After that, it was a matter of going with the one that would get my parts to me the soonest at the lowest price. JEGS came in a good $20 less including expedited shipping than the next site. So all other tabs were closed and I finalized the checkout. The very next morning I was greeted with a confirmation email stating that the order was processed and that tracking information would be available in 24 hours. Perfect. Just as I expected. Here is where my special brand of luck creeps up and ruins things like a bad fart in the shower. Four days goes by with nothing more than promotional emails from JEGS trying to sell me this or that or get in on this sale while I can. Still no tracking information. Four days later I finally called. Granted, on their website, JEGS clearly states that ((QUOTE)) “JEGS, like other businesses, is not immune to the unique challenges offered by the global Covid-19 pandemic. During this time your order may take longer to arrive due to shipper and supplier delays. Rest assured that our team is working as hard as possible to get you the products and services that you have come to expect in a timely manner. JEGS.com is open 24/7 and we are committed to offering the best customer service possible. Thank you so much for your loyalty to JEGS while we continue to strive to meet and exceed your expectations.”
Note that when I said clearly, I mean you have to dig around for it, as it is not front and center on the main page like so many other online retailers have decided to do.
Ok, fine, whatever. The information is at least there, who cares how buried it is, right? At least they stated it and it’s buyer beware, right? … WRONG. When a customer pays for (and you accept the money to) deliver parts within a specified period of time, giving an estimated delivery date, one would expect a company to adhere to their promises. Unfortunately, that’s not how JEGS standards of ethics dictate their operations. Nope, you see it wasn’t until I called, sat on hold for 45 minutes until I was finally connected before I was told that the expected delivery date for my cam was actually 2 months from now and NOT at all what I paid for, and there WAS NO expected delivery date for the lifters, nor was there any notice that they were back-ordered. JEGS will let you order anything you can click on and afford to pay for. However, they leave it up to the supplier, and in many cases even the manufacturer to handle all the shipping details. All of which you are kept in the dark about until you are left sitting there wondering where your parts are. They make it seem like they have stock of said parts, but in all reality, they don’t. JEGS may carry an inventory of spark plugs and air fresheners, but critical parts that a builder is relying on to arrive within a certain time frame, nope. Can’t be bothered to provide truthful information upfront that they don’t have the product or cant get it in a timely manner. All because they would rather take your money now and let you worry about getting it back later. It’s an unfortunate reality that they hide to prevent you, the customer, from going to a competitor. Which is exactly what I had to do. And guess what? The parts are already on their way. Thank you Summit Racing! I will say this about JEGS though, despite not having enough call center personnel to answer calls in a timely fashion, they DO have a decent customer service department. The person on the other end was friendly, understanding, and helpful. Probably because they do this all day long, refunding people’s money after they bought parts that JEGS didn’t have or couldn’t get. They explained the refund process in detail, how long it would take, what to expect, and what they were going to do on their end to make it all happen. It was refreshing to get that level of honesty and empathy, and completely unexpected when compared to the purchasing side of the whole fiasco. So here is the one piece of advice
I can give you. If you are in a position where buying a part from a local parts store isn’t an option because of practicality, price, or selection, and you need to order something online. IF it is a critical part and its arrival coincides with other aspects of the build, do yourself and your Jeep a favor and CALL the company to make your order or at least get real-time status on your part’s availability. Yes, this will delay your instant gratification. Yes, this means you have to spend some time you would rather be using to do …likely anything else. Yes, this means you have to be awake during normal business hours, And yes this means that you will most certainly have to get out of your bubble and engage with another human being. But it will be worth it in the long run. So for now, my business (and I hope yours too after hearing this,) will be going to any other company but JEGS.
Camp Fireside Chat
Over the course of the last year what sort of “supply chain issues” has disrupted your Jeep build?
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Links Mentioned in this Episode
https://www.instagram.com/jeep_invaders
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ratbastard
NEXEN Tires USA
Jeep 4-1-1
https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network
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