Episode 572 – DJ’s Off-Road Adventures Author
This Week In Jeep
If You Work For Jeep… You’ll Be Getting a Nice Check Soon
Stellantis employees, which include those working at the Jeep plant in Toledo, will be issued a $14,670 profit-sharing check, the company announced Wednesday.
Those payments to the 43,000 North American employees will be made on March 11.
The company said it is the largest profit-sharing amount in 35 years.
“In spite of the many challenges we faced in 2021, we were able to deliver strong second half 2021 and total year-end financials, which were a reflection of your extraordinary contributions and, importantly, results,” the company said to employees in an email to workers.
Say Goodbye to Free Uconnect – as 3G Network Support Dies
With the end of 3g cellular networks happening as we speak, and more looming in the near future, I bet some of you have wondered what Jeep plans to do about all the vehicles with 3g air cards? OTA updates will be impossible, and functionality such as WiFi hotspots will no longer work. So unless there’s something out there already… It’s sort of looking like quite a few Jeepers will be stuck with non-functioning, obsolete systems. Well don’t worry, the Jeep Talk Show has your back. Here’s what you need to do…There is a 4G Adapter that can be purchased online at mopar.com, or by contacting Uconnect Access Care at 1-855-792-4241. On the website, click “Sign In/Register” If you have previously registered, enter your email address and password. If this is your first time registering, click on “Register” and complete the requested fields.
For $14.99 a month (or an annual payment of $149.99), you get all your functions back and other features like a 9-1-1 call. Roadside assistance call. Remote vehicle start, just to name a few. When 3G dies, so will part of your Jeep, so what’s it worth to get that back? Is it worth it to you? Give us a call and let us know what you think.
https://www.mopar.com/en-us.html
EV Jeeps Coming
We’ve been hearing it now for months… “Jeep is going electric!” We have the plug-in hybrid version of Jeeps on the road as we speak even. In other markets, they have hybrid Compass and Grand Commanders. Here we have the 4xe Grand Cherokee, being released later this year, and the Wrangler 4xe, which seems to be already gaining popularity. Maybe if those tax incentives weren’t there the numbers may be different. It’s like the old adage of a kid so ugly, the parents had to tie a pork chop around its neck just so the dog would play with it. If the vehicle is so good, why do you need giant tax breaks as incentives to buy one? (oh that’s not me) Well…I know for a fact this was a major factor in the purchase of at least a couple of those 4xe’s. But I digress. Today Stellantis announced its financial results for 2021, and in that report was an updated production roadmap for 2022-2023. Looking at the image, (which you too can see for yourself in the show notes for this episode on our website) the first two columns show the electrified vehicles that are already on sale, the third and fourth columns are reserved for upcoming launches. For the Jeep brand, the roadmap includes the already unveiled Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid launching this year and a mystery battery-electric model expected to arrive in 2023. Unless Jeep decides to blow everyone’s mind and puts the Wrangler Magneto Concept into production, I’m betting that we’re going to see something like a fully electric Renegade, or possibly a whole new Jeep being added to the lineup altogether. There have been rumors for a while now, that Jeep is working on a subcompact offering. That’s right, a Jeep even smaller than the Renegade.
Ugh. I’m sorry, I can’t… I just can’t. Every time I think about what that thing might look like or how it would perform offroad, I throw up in my mouth a little.
Now that Jeep is under the Stallantis umbrella, it’s possible we may see something built off the same platform as an Alfa Romeo Brennero. Whose lines and shape resemble that more like a modern-day version of the old Honda CRX combined with an inflated condom. See? You just made a face too! Either way, the report says all models in this category will be offered with either a full battery system or an internal combustion engine, so I suppose not all is lost….yet.
Jeep Talk Show Interview
David McBee
Author/Creator of “DJ’s Off-Road Adventures” (Kids Books)
https://djsoffroadadventures.com/
Coming up next week… Brette Crane from visitdrummondisland.com
Jeep Life – With Jeep Momma
What to expect when you go to those 35-inch tires.
One year during Christmas we were playing a Christmas present swap game. My son was trying to decide which present to pick. He was struggling with picking between two of the largest gifts. My sister told him “Bigger isn’t always better”. You could say that about Jeep tires too. Most everyone who gets’s a Jeep eventually wants to upgrade with a lift and bigger tires. It is all a part of the Jeep Addiction. Depending on what you use your Jeep for it might not always be a good idea to upgrade to bigger tires. The Jeep in stock or factory condition is a very capable off-road vehicle. If you do decide to upgrade to those 35s you need to be aware of what could be in store for your future pocketbook. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon typically comes with factory 33-inch all-terrain tires a little more aggressive than the Sport and Sahara. Those tires are just a tad smaller. When I wheeled my stock Rubicon it was very capable on a lot of the trails I wheeled out East. I wheeled mild to somewhat medium trails and my Jeep did just fine. Plus, I would venture to guess a stock Jeep Wrangler could wheel a lot of those mountain roads in Colorado as well as several trails in Moab. You don’t always need to go bigger to be able to have a good time on the trails or to do some challenging trails. You just need to know your off-road skills. Jeeps are very capable. But if you decide to upgrade to a larger tire be prepared to make and pay for more changes than just life and tires. Your pocketbook will be affected down the road. One of those changes is Miles per gallon. I went from 16 miles per gallon to 13 miles per gallon. Not a deal-breaker for me but for some it may be. The other factor is your garage. My 3.5” lift and 35” tires fit in my garage however if I was driving with my top in the Sunrider position I couldn’t fit in my garage. There were many, many times I would forget and would make a huge racket driving into the garage. Not good for that soft-top tearing it up on the garage door.
With the Rubicon, if you add 35” tires you will need to get a lift for sure. I have a 3.5in MetalCloak lift plus I have the factory Rubi rails still on my Jeep. What are Rubi rails? They are the side protection on the Jeep. Just below the doors. I also added Rock Sliders to my Jeep. Fortunately, the rock sliders I got work with the Rubi rails as well. But not all sliders do and you have to remove the Rubi Rails. So when you go to a larger tire size the Rubi Rails will rub your tires when you are at maximum flex with a 3.5” lift. Mine does I can hear it. But I am not at max flex very often. I am not sure how the tires and Rubi rails would do with a smaller lift. Also, when you add bigger tires you are putting more stress on your factory parts which aren’t the beefiest. The factory parts are made to deal with the stress of a smaller size tire. The bigger the tires the more stress it puts on the suspension and those gears. When I lifted my Jeep I just added a lift and the tires. During regular maintenance checkups, we began to notice oil splatter on the underside of my Jeep. It turns out my factory front driveshaft was on its last legs. My 2015 Wrangler Rubicon front driveshaft has a Rzeppa joint. This joint has a boot that protects its guts. Mine had been flexed to its limits. This boot cannot hold up to the stress of the added lift on my Jeep. With all the flexing I did which wasn’t a lot maybe once a month wheeling, it began to crack and split. Then it began spewing grease. You can’t refill the grease on the OEM driveshaft, so it will eventually break. These stock driveshafts also are larger in diameter. So when you lift your Jeep to fit those bigger tires it can cause the OEM Driveshaft to possibly rest on the exhaust which causes more issues. Typically, you will see this issue with 3″ or more of a lift, or after 20K to 30K miles driving, or after off-road use when the suspension stretches. A new front driveshaft can cost anywhere from $600 to $1000 not including labor. Another weak point of the bigger tires is the ball joints. I lifted and added 35” tires to my Jeep in 2016. I would go wheeling to Rauch Creek Off-Road Park, The Cove in Virginia, and Uwharrie in North Carolina. These were all highway miles to and from the parks at least once a month during those three years. Plus, I used my Jeep as a daily driver going to and from work and errands in town. In 2019 three years after my lift, my ball joints failed. I replaced them with an aftermarket ball joint. That cost me about $600 for the parts and labor. I should have taken the advice of my mechanic in Maryland. He suggested I just go with the OEM ball joints. The aftermarket ball joints I got took 500 miles to properly seat. Those 500 miles of driving were the most intense miles of driving in my life. Now the replacement parts don’t stop there. Next week on Jeep Life I will share the top 6 places of your suspension that could fail when you get bigger tires.
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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