Episode 580 – Jeeps on Beaches

This Week In Jeep

Jeep Beach Event Faced Permit Issues

Jeep Beach, The largest Jeep Only event in the Southeast USA takes over the Daytona International Speedway every year and hosts one of the largest Jeep-only parades in the world on Daytona Beach. In 2019, all 50 states, and 26 countries were represented in the 200,000 visitors and over 20,000 Jeeps that were in attendance during the week-long event. Since its beginning in 2012, Jeep Beach has donated over $2 million to local charities through the event’s week-long fund-raising efforts. As you can imagine, an event of this size requires permitting of all sorts. And this year, it almost didn’t happen. The point of contention was the issuance of a special permit for the Hard Rock Hotel, which was going to have a static display set up of around 24 Jeeps who were to be showcased as sponsored vehicles for vendors or charities. The problem was, that section of the beach is restricted from vehicular use, and the city council didn’t want there to be any confusion. Despite there being virtually no vehicle access, to begin with, copious amounts of signage and other things are in place to warn off and prevent vehicle use anyways. But that isn’t enough, because in today’s society we have to cater to the fraction of a single percent of morons out there who don’t have two brain cells to rub together to know the difference between you’re allowed to drive here, but you are not allowed to drive here. It’s any wonder how the city isn’t thrown into complete mayhem and chaos at the installation of every single wrong way sign. Despite the council’s best efforts to placate the few select idiots in the area, the permit was issued on the grounds of precedence, since food trucks have been allowed in similar areas for other events. https://www.jeepbeach.com/

New Specialty License Plate In Florida Has a Jeep On It

Speaking of Florida, about 350 some-odd miles north-west of Daytona Beach, is another popular beach destination for Jeepers, who hosts another widely popular all Jeep event every year. The Florida Jeep Jam in Panama City Beach. https://www.floridajeepjam.com/

This year it’s happening May 10th-14th, and they are celebrating their 7 year anniversary. In commemoration of this, The “Explore Off-Road Florida” specialty license plate design has been officially approved by the 2020 Florida Legislature. It reached its 3,000 preorder requirements in January of this year and has been officially released for production. It features a muted orange gradient background representing a sunset, which you can see in the background, as in the foreground a sandy beach kisses the water the sun is setting in, like a Jeep watches with a surfboard propped up on the back. There are palm tree leaves in the upper left corner, and tall grass occupies the lower left and right corners. A colorful, and very Floridian plate if you ask me. You can’t get them right this minute, as we record this anyways, but they will likely be showing up in the county tax collector agency offices in 90-120 days or around June or July. Those who purchased the pre-order vouchers will get a notification from the state as to when you can pick up your plates. For now though, if you have one of these plates, or are going to get one, let us know what your personal plate is going to say by calling our 24/7 voicemail line. We’d love to hear what you got. 

Newbie Nuggets with Wendy

Wheeling 4xe – don’t use technology

In the last couple of training runs, we have encountered the 4xe (X or BY) jeep. It’s been great for us to see the new jeeps, including the new diesel which I mentioned in last week’s episode 577. The 4Xe looks just like any other jeep. Well except for the blue pinstriping, blue interior stitching in the steering wheel, the seats, and seatbelts. Oh and the 4xe logo on the back tailgate. It’s actually pretty cool looking – I love Blue but do I want a 4Xe?

Well, we put it to the test while training, and let me tell you, it performed as well as other jeeps. The student chose to operate it in full electric mode on the first pass through the training course. It was quiet, all though there was a low hum you could hear when outside the jeep. The low gearing and torque of the electric motor make it perfect for crawling. AND one really cool feature is that when you take your foot off the pedal to stop – IT STOPS, on a dime. When doing the same thing with the gas engine you know it takes a moment to really stop, so two footing (left foot on the brake/right foot on the gas pedal) is really not needed when crawling over rocks in electric mode. Of course, you only get about a 21-25 mile range on the highway. No telling how many miles or hrs. you’d get rock crawling. But hey, it only takes 2hrs to recharge with 220v or 12hrs on 110v. I suppose you could tote a gas-powered generator along with you. Whatever! So if you want to experience driving rocks with the electric control, save your battery for the trail, not the road, and make sure you have a full tank of gas, right Bill?

The other things we discovered are all the bells and whistles with new technology. I guess our 2008 JKU is an oldie but goodie these days. Josh, We are behind the times with the new technology offered in these new Jeeps. 

Besides features, you may be aware of like the front and rear cameras, the sway bar disconnect on the Rubicon’s where it automatically re-connects after you reach 15 MPH, there is also a feature for airing up. While airing up, when your tires reach a designated PSI the horn honks. YES, it honks so you don’t have to keep looking at your dash to see if your tires are filled up. No more standing holding the gauge and hoping you hit the exact tire pressure. I’m sure there is a way to change the designated PSI in the system in case you wanted to run a bit lower or higher. This student wasn’t aware if he could change those #s. They also have a clinometer (I called it a tilt-o-meter LOL) to show you visually how much you are tipping – from front to rear and side to side. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t need a meter to tell me we are tipping… But I get it’s cool to “see” your jeep tilting on the dashboard display. BUT guess what? So is driving by the seat of your pants and getting that pucker factor.

So after driving with all the bells and whistles, I had the student turn all that newfangled tech off. The newbie driver wanted to use the front camera to “see” the trail, instead of looking out the window and discovering the trail (or watching his spotter). Again, we need to be driving by seeing and feeling what is happening with our rigs and not through the lens of the front-end camera. The angles on those lenses are distorted as well. And don’t get me started on backing up with the onboard “camera” really? – learn to use your mirrors and back up like a pro-LOL

We also had the student drive the jeep in gas mode. He needed to see how that felt and how much different it was. The engine shifts differently and performs perfectly, and you can hear what’s going on with the jeep. If you are new and only use the gadgets to learn to drive you are missing the best part. Driving is an experience you need to feel (episode 571). You need to be looking down the trail, immediately in front of you on the trail and your surroundings (and perhaps your spotter?), not looking at your panel of tech things. Part of what we love about Jeeping is the outdoor experience. Nature is all around and the cameras and tech are not going to give you that experience. If that’s all you want, stay home, save money and get a video game.

So turn off the tech, get out and drive and learn to wheel. Tech can be helpful sometimes, but in the beginning, leave it alone. And that goes for sticking your head out the window too. Learn to feel what your tires are doing, how they are climbing over rocks, how they feel when going through a deep rut. That’s Jeeping.

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

MAC’S Trail D-Vise   $189.95

https://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/products/trail-d-vise-797979

The Mac’s D-Vise makes those on-the-trail repairs easier and more effective. Simply slide the D-Vise into your Jeep’s trailer hitch receiver, pin it in place, and you have a stout bench vise in the middle of nowhere! Turn its massive clamping force down using your lug-wrench or socket wrench, or better yet, the INCLUDED HANDLE that stows neatly on the side when not in use.

And speaking of size, no other similar item on the market is as compact or as strong as the MAC’S Trail D-Vise. The D-Vise was designed to open far enough to repair axle or driveline u-joints on the trail. Also, to be used for repairs such as welding. Can be pinned in place upright or sideways to accommodate different materials. New ‘Slip-Not’ surfaced jaws, and a separate set of pipe-jaws beneath. Another key feature: the vise can be slightly tightened down in the receiver and the hitch pin cannot be removed without a socket or wrench. Last, but not least, the designers of this amazing product included a bottle opener. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Camp Fireside Chat

Ingenuity is key, and repairs can be expensive, so what have you fixed on your Jeep that cut corners, went the cheap route, or used zip ties and duct tape to fix? (bonus points if it’s still holding) 

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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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