Episode 568 – Don’t Just Wheel It – Feel It
This Week In Jeep
Jeep Hides Another Easter Egg Right In Front Of Us
So who here watched the Super Bowl? I’m probably the only one.
If you did see Superbowl 56 then you likely saw the usual all-out production attempts that bring some of the best of the best when it comes to visual advertising.
Seven automaker commercials from six brands were advertised during the Super Bowl…. however Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, was notably absent. That doesn’t mean that Jeep did not produce a commercial, it’s just more likely they didn’t want to pay the premium price tag for the airtime during the big game. That being said, “2022 Earth Odyssey” the title of the pre-game commercial that Jeep DID pay for is a questionable work of art. The commercial unto itself is a play on the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the dawn of man scene where primates learn to use tools while intensely building orchestral music plays ominously.
…see what I did there? I described the music in the same way that the closed captioning probably would have. And if YOU would have had the closed captioning on when you watched the ad, you would have seen the little easter egg they left for us all.
Jeep has been really good at hiding easter eggs in things going at least as far back as the 1997 Wrangler TJ. So it’s no surprise that the marketing execs let the closed captioning division have a little fun.
Although the ad has zero dialogue, the closed captions reveal a whole world of fun as the commercial plays on, note by note, scene by scene, different animals contribute to the building orchestral crescendo.
The ad makes perfect sense without the captions, but with them, the 60-second commercial takes on a new flavor, and a little bit of humor cuts through all the ecological virtue signaling. If you haven’t heard about this particular easter egg, or haven’t seen it for yourself, we’ll have a link to one of the many copies you can find on youtube.
Notable mention, eBay motors saw a huge spike in traffic this weekend with an unprecedented level of searches involving vintage Chevrolet Impala Lowriders, the vehicles that played a supporting role in the half-time show.
So I guess that leaves just one question… What’s it going to take to get an XJ in next year’s Super Bowl halftime show?
Jeeper Finds His OWN Stolen Jeep For Sale
In the Silver Spring area of Maryland, this one guy may have a new career as a detective after he found his stolen vehicle listed for sale in D.C. The incident happened on Saturday, Jan. 29th around 2:30 am. The owner of the Jeep, a one mister Brian Willams, claims his son (we don’t know the age) had the vehicle, …had hopped out of the Jeep, only for a sec, only to return to find the Jeep gone. Now, what do you suppose a young man with a Jeep was doing in downtown Silver Spring Maryland at 2:30 in the morning? Regardless, the man filed a police report, posted pics on social media asking friends and family to keep an eye out. But in Montgomery County, there were over 1300 auto thefts alone, not including carjackings. So you can imagine the likelihood of this Jeeper ever getting their ride back. Instead of giving up though, the Jeeper started combing the web and actually found it himself. There was his Jeep, the same marks, dents, bumper and all, listed as “for sale” on the site, “Offer Up.” He screen-grabbed the post, which included several photos, and a price tag on his stolen Jeep. Not only that, but the post was from a legitimate licensed used car dealership in D.C claiming they had a clean title for it and everything. The name of the dealership has not been released, as police are still investigating how the stolen Jeep got there. Police were able to coordinate with the used auto business owner and had the Jeep’s real owner ID the vehicle before he was allowed to pick it up last week.
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
“Feeling” your Jeep, Part 1
When you are a new Jeep owner, or a new driver out on the trail there are lots to learn about Jeeping and crawling. When I work with a newbie I try to explain about ‘feeling’ your Jeep – Josh, get the duct tape for Tony LOL. When you drive through obstacles, big or small, there are moments where you can “feel” your way through. You literally “feel” what your Jeep is doing and after some time and experience, this becomes second nature.
When you first start driving, you are focusing on just getting out there and having fun, but actually, if you think about what you’re doing and driving over and “feel” what is happening, it will make you a better driver.
The first thing I tell students is that there is a width and length to YOUR Jeep. Every Jeep is a little (or a lot) different from other Jeeps. You need to know YOUR Jeep when driving off-road. Until you actually drive and understand the width and length, things may not go as smoothly as you thought. Try to find some terrain where it is narrow, like tall bushes or trees on both sides, or big rocks that you are climbing through (not over yet). Plan to put the jeep in the middle of that path and as you drive through, look at both side mirrors and “see” if you have room on either side. AND if the Jeep went where you thought you were driving it. For instance, as you pass between two shrubs, are you scraping on one side? (typically the passenger side). Look and see. OR are you clear on both sides? If you do that each time you drive, it will help you to learn the width of your Jeep. After a few more runs, it will become instinctual and you will know your width.
When presented with a path that looks very narrow, you will know just how to place your Jeep for your line and understand where you need to be.
Now if you entered that narrow path and you scraped, learn to fix it by picking a slightly different line (maybe move a bit left or right). And if you could run the same path a few times, you will learn to “feel” your way and not even have to look. Although, I always check my side mirrors, just to make sure I am staying on the path I selected.
The next thing about feeling your Jeep is the length. This is probably a bit harder to master only because your jeep length may or may not be the same length as your daily driver. Sometimes the length of the Jeep is shorter than your normal car and sometimes it’s longer. You have to get in the mindset when driving your Jeep that it is different from whatever car you are used to.
Determining the length of the jeep takes some time but as you go through a narrow area and check your side mirrors for your width, you are also “feeling” your tires go over a rock or a rut in the road. What you want to do is “feel” when the rear tires are going over or through something. As you drive on a fire road as an example, there may be a water crossing, ruts, or a few half-buried small rocks. As you place the front tire(s) over and are almost finished, wait to “feel” the rear tires as they go through it. The amount of time it takes, or the short distance you traveled from the front tires to the rear is telling you the length of your Jeep. Now, this is very important as you get into more rock crawling with tight, sharp turns, but it is also important if you have guests onboard and you take a dip or rut and only think about your front tires, and your guests are being bounced all over the back seats when you’ve forgotten about you rear tires. Your front tires help you determine how deep, steep, or rutted an obstacle can be. By listening, or “feeling” how your Jeep goes through with the front tires, then apply that knowledge and anticipate how the rears will travel over the same bump, rut, or rock. You will be able to smooth out the ride and navigate obstacles successfully.
“Feeling” your Jeep is essential to Jeeping. Most experienced drivers rarely have to think about “feeling” their Jeep as it maneuvers through because they have been doing it for so long it just comes naturally.
But a newbie driver has to learn the basics of “feeling” your jeep by driving and experiencing. So go out and try some of these tips the next time you are out off-roading. Doesn’t take much to look out the side mirrors and ”feel” your front and rear tires as they go over obstacles. What you learn will be valuable as you expand your Jeeping horizons and get out and tackle obstacles.
In Next week’s episode, I will share putting that “feeling” together and how to use it next time you wheel.
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
The 2021 Jeep Talk Show Gladiator came with an engine auto start-stop. Gotta save them pennies! Do you have start/stop? Do you love it or hate it? Many dislike it so they disable it.
Disable Start/Stop
- Disable the hood ajar sensor (Free) Warning light on the dash – easy to reinstall
- Armor Auto Parts Smart Auto Stop-Start module $129.95
- Z Automotive Tazer Mini $329
You know you can always just remember to push the start/stop button each time you get in and start the engine.
You may just get used to it! Using it the way it was intended doesn’t cause any warranty issues and you don’t have to remember to remove something before work is performed on your Glad at the dealership.
It does work pretty nice and unless you have a rumbling aftermarket exhaust you won’t notice the engine stopped.
Have you disabled your auto start/stop in another way? Call in and let us know your start/stop story!
Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!
Teraflex Brake Line Anchor Kit – $25.99
https://www.extremeterrain.com/teraflex-front-brake-line-anchor-kit-0718-jk.html
Let’s talk about clearance, more importantly, self clearance, the worst kind of clearance. Clearance is normally a good thing.
Having clearance to land, clearance under a bridge, clearance for your tires… that’s a good one. But what happens when you don’t have clearance for those tires? Well, that’s when self clearance happens, and things will take care of themselves. The tires will clear those stock fender flares to clean off the rig for you all by themselves. That sharp edge of the wheel well will clear away plenty of rubber that gets in the way. You get the idea. Self clearance is usually quite destructive and something you’d want to avoid if at all possible. This is true when it comes to something as out of mind as your brake lines. So long as they’re not broken or ruptured, what’s the problem? As your suspension moves up and down, so does that brake caliper that the brake line is attached to. In many Jeeps, the brake line oftentimes becomes the limiting strap for the droop of an aftermarket suspension system. Obviously, that poses a number of problems, so what most of us do is yank the brake line mount of the inner fender to give us another inch or two of slack. Sometimes this is enough, sometimes extended brake lines are needed, and they more often than not, find their way up against the shock, or worse, kiss the tire. If you’re in a position where with the wheel turned all the way to one side that brake line kisses the tire, and that tire just so happens to have some spin going, it can act like a saw blade cutting into the brake line and opening it up like a beer can at a redneck bonfire party. It’s going to be hard to fix that on the trail, so the best thing to do is to keep it out of the way from the get-go. This week’s Must-Have-Pick of the week for your Jeep is from the world-famous Teraflex, and they call it the Front Brake Line Anchor Kit. And right now on Extreme Terrain, they’re only 26 bucks. This brake line anchor kit is made from stainless steel and molded rubber and can be installed with basic hand tools in less than 30 mins. The design of these keeps the brake line in a specific position, out of harm’s way, but does not limit flex or the line’s ability to move with the suspension, it just keeps it from getting too friendly with the tire.
The kit comes with two pieces, one for each side of the front of your Jeep. And Teraflex thought of everything, they even incorporated a separate channel in the molded rubber for the speed sensor wire. These are meant to work for every JK model year jeep including unlimited and rubicon, 2 or 4 door, regardless of trim, color, or lift, but I’ve already come up with a way to use these on my XJ so I bet you can find a use for them no matter what Jeep you have.
Campfire Side Chat
Let’s Talk Spares… What spares do you carry daily or on the trail?
Fuses? Tire? Headlight? Driveline? U-joint? Girlfriend? Brake line?
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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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