Episode 502 – Too Many Jeepers Dying – Be Safer

This Week In Jeep

Profits Now, and Electrification By WHEN?

So Stellantis is doing well. Despite pandemic hurdles, floods, and lack of inventory, Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company has reported profits for two straight quarters since the takeover. Jeep has always been the cornerstone or crutch of its parent brand but
$7 billion in profits for the first half of 2020 ain’t bad. On the back of the announcement of that profit, Jeep also said that they intend to launch their first all-electric vehicle in the first half of 2023. That’s basically a year and a half from the time of this recording. 

Stellantis went on to promise that Jeep will have at least one BEV or Battery-Electric Vehicle in each of its segments by 2025. If you’re like many, your mind may have immediately gone to filling in the blanks and picturing a fully electric Wrangler.

BUT… Jeep did not specify on which nameplate the full EV technology will be launching under, nor did they specify in which regions this will take place. All we know is it’s going to happen in the first half of 2023. So you have until then to leave the planet.

The Tale Of The Jeep That Never Should

Back towards the end of May 2021, there were some rumblings that Jeep might have been building a minivan. There were renderings that very much looked like the ones previously leaked by Jeep, but when approached by many curious publications, the formal answer came from Gladiator’s senior brand manager, Brandon Grimus. In the official statement he said ((QUOTE)) “I can’t talk about future products, but at the end of the day, we’re not going to make a minivan. Whatever we did in terms of future products, it’s still going to be a Jeep. It’s still going to be off-road capable. It’s still going to be Trail Rated. It’s still going to check all those boxes. We’re always looking for new ideas, and new places, and new directions we could take the Jeep brand. We’ll have to see what we come up with next.” …So that pretty much, more or less, kinda sorta makes it final. Jeep is not going to make a minivan. Not even if they call it the Vangler. Now there may be some historian buffs out there (and I know there are a few of you out there) that Jeep did in fact make a Jeep van. It was of course back in the ’50s and ’60s and was marketed as a work vehicle based on the Forward Control chassis.

The FC Jeeps came with a cargo bed, and different types of ‘Jeep approved’ bodies were available in the open market. This meant conversions to dump trucks, fire trucks, or tow trucks were not uncommon. One such version of this was indeed that of a van. You can find a lot of pictures online, too, where people have converted the Forward Control into a van. In fact, a model called M678 was manufactured by the automaker, which was basically a military van. So despite some of the concept vehicle-like rendering of a moon rover like Jeep minivan impressing the bejeezus out of a lot of us, Jeep is thankful, not now, or ever going to make a minivan.

Newbie Nuggets with Wendy

Being nice 

We always suggest that while jeeping it’s a good idea to be nice to fellow jeepers, help them when they get stuck, and generally just be a good ambassador to the sport. But, what about social media?

I follow several local groups on FB and IG and for the most part, everyone is very helpful and gives great suggestions when the questions are asked. But then there are the “same questions” asked over and over like “I just bought a new jeep, are there any trails nearby”?  And, I am amazed at the responses. Sometimes it’s almost worth getting some popcorn, pulling up a chair, and sitting back and watching… It’s like a train wreck happening right before your eyes, but you can’t look away.

Sometimes the responses are not friendly and come from the admins – I get it they have lots to monitor and it probably gets old answering the same thing over and over again. But usually, there are a few of the followers on that page that tend to get snappy, and then things really heat up. It’s OK if you don’t agree with someone’s post; you also don’t have to respond. It’s OK if you don’t like what they said, you don’t have to respond. For example, I have seen when someone asks for suggestions on what kind of tires to put on their jeep, or what’s the first modification I should do? The responses are all over the place. First off everyone has their own opinion and whatever works for you is great, but may not work for someone else. And it’s OK to share your experience and/or recommendation but do others have to jump on someone else because they have different opinions. The poor newbie is left with a ping pong match between two followers and testosterone flying. Who wants to be a part of that? 

My favorite first-time question I see a lot is “I want to do John Bull (or any black diamond up here in Big Bear), here is my setup, can I make it?” (Visualize a picture of anything stock) and you just wait for it. Someone in the group answers with good info and a nice response. Then others jump on the responder and tell all of us reading WHY that guy was wrong. REALLY? Is that necessary?  Honestly, if one more question is going to set you off – then stop being an admin or stop responding, just walk away, better yet, get in your jeep and go wheeling, you obviously need to do something else.

Newbies should ask questions and feel good about interacting within the community. They need answers and that’s how they learn. Sure sometimes the answers are wrong, but at least they were polite and nice. Newbies need a place to ask questions. Lots of times they don’t even know whom to ask, or where to ask, and I see responses that are out and out nasty.  So when you follow a group and respond, how are you responding? Is it with the idea to help or make suggestions? I think most of us jeepers are doing just that, I see this lashing out in other forums and not necessarily on the jeep sites. But it does happen everywhere. I know in our 4×4 club, the admins try real hard to respond quickly and with the info needed. We had one such follower ask lots of newbie questions about owning a jeep, manual vs automatic, etc. and one admin had to leave for work, so another took over and the follower had no idea that the answers were now being handled by another person. It was seamless to them and perfect for us to help them out.

When responding I always try to offer suggestions depending on the questions. I always try to suggest other groups to help, maybe a specific company or brand if it applies, and always the JTS podcast for lots of information & Trails 411 for great video content. Anything I can do to help someone brand new is good in my book. And I don’t care if it’s the same question being asked by several different people. At least they are asking. We as mentors have to help newbies enter this wonderful world and watching what we say and how we say it on social media is always a good reminder. It’s that kind of effort on our part that helps the jeep community stay together.

Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update

The Jeep Gladiator Mopar Trail Rail system comes with 12 bolts, but needs 14 and 4 tie-down cleats but needs 6.

ou can purchase a Gladiator with the Mopar Trail Rail system, or add it later as I did.  It’s easy to install, very sturdy, and a great add-on to the bed of your Gladiator.  It consists of three rails.  Two running down the inside of the 5-foot bed, and one running across below the rear window.

Most everyone puts the 4 adjustable cleats on the two side rails, but what is the rail in the front for?  Well, you can move those cleats around depending on the load but having cleats on the 3rd rail would be handy.

These Mopar cleats are NOT available except in the Mopar Trail Rail kit, and $350+ is pricey for 2 more cleats!  Fear, not Toyota is here to fix this problem.  The PFCC PT278-35112 Bed Cleat for 2005-2020 Toyota Tacoma and Tundra.  You get two cleats that are almost identical to the Mopar cleats for $25.99 and that includes FREE shipping if you are a Prime member.

I think everyone loves the idea, and convenience of Rotopax, just not the price.  Turns out Rotopax makes a handy mounting plate for the Toyota and Nissan Truck, you guessed it, for their bed rail system.

I purchased and installed the Rotopax Toyota and Nissan Truck Plate for $36.95.  This allowed me to install a Rotopax RX-PM Pack Mount and a 1.75-gallon fuel pack.  With my Bestop soft bed cover, it’s tucked away quietly and hidden.

 

 

I know we have many Gladiator owners out there.  What have you found that fits your Gladiator like it was made for it …but wasn’t?

 

 

 

Toyota Cleats (x2) For Mopar Bed Rails

https://amzn.to/3AcVW50

RotopaX RX-PM Pack Mount – Compatible w/ Mopar Bed Rails

https://amzn.to/2VwQhb4

RotopaX RX-2G Gasoline Pack – 2 Gallon Capacity

https://amzn.to/2TVWhJQ

Toyota/Nissan Truck Plate (Mount For RotopaX)

https://rotopax.com/toyota-nissan-truck-plate.html

Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!

PRODUCT NOT YET AVAILABLE – LifTrax – $399

This is going to be the first time I have ever talked about or highlighted a product here on the show that is currently unobtainable. No, it’s not unobtanium bead lock rings. But you know I like innovation. I’m a former design engineer so form, function, and of course durability and usability are key points for even getting my consideration. This is a product that has a very interesting story. And the product itself is cutting edge and checks all the boxes as far as function, form, and usability. It’s called LiftTrax. And what they are is what the rest of the industry is not…. LifTtrax is an inflatable, flexible 4×4 recovery device that will get you out of a jam. Many years ago a group of friends, who were also engineers and 4×4 enthusiasts, were out 4x4ing and ran into problems that could not be fixed by ridged, hard, inflexible plastic tracks. They looked for an alternative and there was none so they put their heads, knowledge, degrees, and experience together and in 2008 LiftTrax was created. Originally named PillowTrack they were renamed LiftTrax™ in 2010. LiftTrax was doing very well internationally until 2012 when, after much civil unrest in the country where they were being made, the manufactures just disappeared. After much time, paperwork, and legal requirements in 2015 the very last sets of the original LiftTrax were shipped to a customer in Australia. LiftTrax sat dormant for a while and in mid to late 2018 the company was reborn and started the development of the new and updated LiftTrax. They sourced new suppliers, created and tested the new and improved prototype, and were once again ready for production. In 2019 they opened pre-sales but only a few were created and not enough interest was generated to get LiftTrax up and running again. Now they are ready for production to start pending enough interest as there are tens of thousands of dollars of equipment that needs to be purchased to make LiftTrax.  If you think you would purchase LiftTrax they ask that interested parties register to be kept up to date as to when units will begin to ship.

LifTraks – https://www.lifttrax.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Fireside Chat

What is something that is in your Jeep at all times?

Or something that you never get into your Jeep without…

You can join us around the virtual campfire every Thursday night at 9:45 pm when we record the latest episode.  Subscribe to our newsletter to get weekly reminders and how to join via Zoom, or follow us on Facebook (https://facebook.com/jeeptalkshow) for notifications.

Links Mentioned in this Episode 

NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/

Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver

The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/

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Looking for Amazon products we’ve talked about on the show? https://jeeptalkshow.com/amazon

You are invited to our Discord Server!  https://discord.gg/txeYMs45sm

Toyota Cleats (x2) For Mopar Bed Rails

https://amzn.to/3AcVW50

RotopaX RX-PM Pack Mount – Compatible w/ Mopar Bed Rails

https://amzn.to/2VwQhb4

RotopaX RX-2G Gasoline Pack – 2 Gallon Capacity

https://amzn.to/2TVWhJQ

Toyota/Nissan Truck Plate (Mount For RotopaX)

https://rotopax.com/toyota-nissan-truck-plate.html