Episode 484 – Coming To a Trailhead Near You
This Week In Jeep
American Auto Shows Are Back
Thanks to this stupid virus, 2020 was a year of cancellations. Cancel culture aside, the automotive world is overdue for a comeback. To kick this off, the International Auto Show will return on April 14th, 2021 in Atlanta Georgia. For many the International Auto Show isn’t a big deal, “oh wow a new Prius, yay…”… but for us gear heads, it’s always a bit more. For instance, this will become one of the few auto shows held in America since the Chicago Auto Show wrapped up in February of 2020. That being said, hosting an auto show in a pandemic isn’t business as usual as visitors will be required to wear facemasks and have their temperatures taken. Thank goodness we can do that without sticking something in an orifice anymore. Anyone with a reading that exceeds 100.4° F (38° C) will be prohibited from entering. Those aren’t the only changes as displays will be spaced out to allow for better social distancing among attendees. The show will also have crews in place to continually sanitize display vehicles as visitors transit in and out of them. Since most major auto shows have been postponed or canceled, this will be one of the few opportunities to check out the latest vehicles. In case you are wondering, YES Stellantis will be there and ‘en force. Jeep will be showing an assortment of new vehicles including the Wagoneer / Grand Wagoneer, Grand Cherokee L, Wrangler 4xe, and Wrangler Rubicon 392. So if you’ve wanted to see these vehicles in person and don’t want to wait for the dealers, then Atlanta is where you’ll want to be the week of April 14th.
Electrifying News – I’m All Charged Up Over It!
We mentioned it more as a rumor months ago. That Jeep was planning on putting charging stations offroad in certain parts of America. This was right about the time that monolith thing popped up and I think the buzz was more about that than anything else for a while. Well, it turns out that the rumors are true, and Stellantis has authorized Jeep to team up with a charging station installation and management company called Electrify America. The goal is to create a network of Jeep-branded electric vehicle charging stations at major trailheads around the U.S. These Jeep electric vehicle charging stations will be a welcome sign for buyers of the new Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid and a potential future Wrangler EV owner who may want to actually have the ability to enjoy them off-road. Additionally, all Jeep models will be available with some sort of electrification option by 2022, but I foresee that as more hybrid options than full EVs for now. The automaker will serve those customers with its new charging stations, which will be located by trails that have earned the Jeep “Badge of Honor” status, which allows owners to earn rewards after traversing them. The first Jeep electric vehicle charging stations will be placed at trailheads in Moab Utah, Big Bear California, and the Rubicon Trail in Pollock Pines, California. In total, the automaker plans on installing 35 Level 2 chargers across the country, which will get their electricity from both solar power and the grid. Wrangler 4xe owners will be able to charge at the stations for free when using Electrify America’s mobile app, but the chargers are exclusively available to Jeep owners. The chargers are even designed to look like trees and blend in with their surrounding environments, with solar panels up top and topographical maps on the sides. I have two Badge of Honor trails here near me, so when these charging stations finally make it to Oregon, I’ll be sure to check them out personally and let you guys know what I think.
Jeep the Mac Is Back Jack!
The 6th Annual “Jeep the Mac” event returns at the end of the month for a weekend of Jeep-focused fun. The weekend of April 23rd will include a group ride across the Mackinac Bridge, ferry passes to Drummond Island for off-road and trail riding, street cruises, and lots of Jeep fun. Registration is open now on the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau website for this event, which draws Jeep enthusiasts from around the Midwest each year.
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
Last week we began a two-part series entitled “Keep the Jeep” with a focus on the kind of security it takes to make sure your Jeep always stays where you parked it. Nobody wants to come back to where they left it, only to find someone has stolen it. Been there, done that, thankfully it wasn’t my Jeep. So to prevent you from ever experiencing that sensation, we went over the top ten things that will come as common sense to most of us. We found out most of us are guilty of forgetting to do one or more off the list every now and again. In this episode, however, we were going to get into a little more technical and mechanical kind of both passive and active security systems to help you, “Keep the Jeep.” Before we get going, I just want to give a shout-out to the listener who wrote in with a suggestion for this segment, and it’s a good one too! I’d like to give them credit, but they didn’t leave a name. Their suggestion? Motion lights! And lots of them. I couldn’t agree more. Thieves prefer to work in the dark and are even more deterred when they are suddenly bathed in bright light. The more things you can do to bring attention to, or… can put in the way of, someone driving away with your Jeep the more likely that person is going to find another victim that will be easier to plunder. One of the most commonly recognized deterrents is the red blinking light. Some manufacturers got cute and decided to go with programmable colors or a blue, instead of red, in any event. A blinking LED light on top of the door panel, or on the dash somewhere, is the universal sign to a thief you have an aftermarket alarm installed and this is not the vehicle to mess with. You don’t have to spend big bucks on getting an alarm installed either to get this level of protection. Amazon sells pre-wired, 12 volts flashing LED’s for about a buck apiece, but if you want the fancy ones? They’re only about 5 bucks. All you have to do is find a place to mount at least one where it can be seen from any angle and give it power. A more advanced install would use a relay to switch the power on when you turn the ignition off. Other passive style systems would include the world-famous CLUB. It’s a locking steering wheel brace that comes in all sorts of flavors, including one that locks the steering wheel to the brake pedal. They range from about 25 to 50 dollars and are worth every penny. Going a step further is the infamous “Kill-switch” …a self-installed switch that interrupts the circuit to something like the fuel pump or ignition wire. Simple, effective, and perfect for older Jeeps. It’s up to you how and where to install it, and what kind of switch you use. More advanced active systems would include something like an aftermarket alarm system. These offer many benefits that the factory-installed security system can’t match. They can work in tandem with the OEM system but most times that gets disabled. In addition to the standard keyless entry door trigger and light flash features, the horn can be integrated as well as an isolated, nearly indestructible battery backup siren that can’t be turned off without a key. Other options would include a tilt sensor, so if the Jeep were to ever be towed, the moment they try to drag it up on a trailer or lift it up with a hydraulic arm, the alarm will go off.
Of course, most alarms nowadays have a smart, multi-stage shock sensor, that can detect the difference between a shopping cart strike, and an attempted rifling of your door lock and will sound off a warning or a full alarm depending on what’s going on. There are also systems that can have a built-in proximity sensor. Yup, just like radar. If someone gets too close to your Jeep, it warns them away. But if they stay there for too long, the alarm is triggered. Perfect for soft-top Jeepers or those who go topless much of the year. Be wary of cheap systems with these features though, in the aftermarket alarm world, you definitely get what you pay for. So that discount proximity alert system from amazon? Be prepared for a lot of late-night false alarms. A system I was recently turned on by Co-host Wendy, is one that she herself endorsed. It’s called Ravelco. I looked them up, even did some research and I have to say, as a ten-year veteran of the industry I am honestly and thoroughly impressed. I went through a high-level certification program that taught me the ins and outs of aftermarket auto security. And the engineering that went into this device checks every single box. The Ravelco Anti Theft Device is installed in an easily accessible place beneath or flush-mounted in the dashboard of your vehicle. A removable 16 pin male plug (which when not in use connects to your keychain) makes all the electronic connections. A hidden armored steel cable protects the wires from the rear of the RAVELCO base onto the engine compartment where all the connections are made and camouflaged. When the plug is removed from the RAVELCO, it is impossible to start the vehicle. There are more than 100,000 different pin combinations. And there are NO MASTER PLUGS. An impossible obstacle for even the most persistent or skilled thief. This won’t prevent them from taking the Jeep with a tow truck, but it won’t be worth much to them once they discover it has one of these in it. Now there are systems out there, that even if the thief were to bypass whatever security you had in place if any at all, and were to take your beloved jeep, you can track them via GPS, and catch them in the act. There are a few different asset tracking companies of this specific nature but a company called Lojack has been doing this for about 35 years. They were literally JUST bought out by another company on March 31, 2021, so I’m not sure if the name is going to change or not, but the service remains the same as it always has with real-time GPS monitoring and integration with the Police departments in your area to nail the thief where they are. In the end, nothing can really stop the most determined of thieves. If they want something in your Jeep they’re going to get it. If they want your Jeep bad enough, they will get it, one way or another. So the best security of all? Keep it out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind. Like I said in the last episode, you can’t steal what you can’t see. One last thing, there is no security system that can legally protect your Jeep from vandalism, so if you want to keep that soft top from getting cut, don’t give them an invitation. It’s up to you, to decide how far you will go to protect your Jeep. Good luck, and I hope this helps.
Coming up next week… we interview Monika Kalenski from https://www.mekmagnet.com/
Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!
12V Red LED Anti-theft Security Light Indicator (2pk) $10.89
These are the bright red flashing LED dummy alarm indicator lights I was talking about in Tech Talk. Stop thieves from stealing your Jeep or the things in it. Research shows that if thieves think you have an alarm, they usually move to more vulnerable targets! Designed to be mounted in the dashboard to indicate that an alarm is installed, but custom installations are possible.
Installation only takes minutes for a trained professional. If your Jeep doesn’t have an easy-to-notice flashing alarm light, you need one of these. Good thing this pack comes with two.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
NEXEN Tires USA
Jeep 4-1-1
https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network
Interact With The Show!
https://jeeptalkshow.com/contact
Jeep Talk Show on Facebook
https://facebook.com/jeeptalkshow
Rat Bastards Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ratbastard
The Ravelco (pronounced Ruh-vel-co) Anti Theft Device
LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System
The Club 1000 Original Club Steering Wheel Lock, Red
Jeep The Mac
https://stignace.com/event/jeep-the-mac/
Bonus Segment
You can only hear the bonus segment if you install the Jeep Talk Show app on your iPhone or Android device!
Mackinac Bridge wind alert spurs memories of car that plunged off in 1989