Episode 602 – We’re Giving Away a GEARSPOT!
This Week In Jeep
Who doesn’t want a cool Jeep Cooler?!?!
Jeep and another iconic brand are teaming up for a cool new adventure together. Igloo, the brand making coolers since 1961, and the Jeep brand have joined forces by releasing the first-ever official line of Jeep brand Playmate coolers. In the design of the all-time-classic Playmate style cooler found on virtually any job site around the nation for the last half-century, these all-new coolers feature original artwork geared toward Jeep brand enthusiasts who want to keep their refreshments ice-cold throughout their wheeling or workday adventures.
“The Jeep brand embodies the spirit of adventure while Igloo further enhances the good times had on those adventures — it’s a partnership we’re excited to take together,” said Brian Garofalow, Chief Marketing Officer at Igloo. Igloo designed the new Jeep Stickers Playmate Pal Cooler with custom graphics showcasing the instantly recognizable Jeep seven-slot Grille, and Jeep Brand Mark with what look like adventure-inspired stickers that a Jeeper like you may have collected throughout your travels. This special-edition Jeep Playmate cooler comes in two color options: carbonite and sapphire — each $45 while supplies last. In comparison, right now on Amazon, the standard version of this cooler would run you about $30, so for $15 more, you get a lot of cool Jeep graphics built-in. They come with a 7-quart capacity that fits up to nine 12-ounce cans. If you want to get yourself a dedicated Jeep beverage cooler for yourself, we’ll have the link in the show notes for this episode at Jeeptalkshow.com
https://www.igloocoolers.com/products/jeep-playmate-pal-cooler
Jeep Kills Man at Dealer – Owner Held Responsible
I’m not sure why this story is only now surfacing, since the event in question happened over two years ago from the time we are recording this episode. But here we are.
And in over a decade of doing this show, this has to be in the top five of all time Jeep news stories, if for nothing else but the sheer “you gotta be kidding me” factor to it all.
Ok, so imagine this… you’re a Jeep owner. Maybe a brand new Jeep owner who has a service agreement. Either way, you’re at the dealership for an oil change.
Very routine, very normal.
The dealer’s a bit backed up for the quick lane service, so you drop the Jeep off and opt to return later to pick it up. Again, all very routine, very normal, right?
One would think so.
Unfortunately, you, the owner of this Jeep, upon returning to fetch your recently lubricated vehicle of off-road mastery, find that a terrible accident has occurred, and your beloved Jeep is at the center of it all. Well, that, and a 19-year-old “mechanic” who didn’t have a license or know how to drive a stick. On March 13, 2020, at the Rochester Hills Michigan Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealer, this kid starts your Jeep, removes his foot from the clutch, and… well…anyone who knows how a Jeep with a clutch works, you know what happened next. The Jeep launches forward smashing into the workbench, toolbox, …and the man standing in front of it, instantly killing this married 42-year-old, father of four, and a lifelong Jeep mechanic named Jeffrey Hawkins. The guy had a 1-year-old at the time, who will never get to know his dad.
The giant pink gorilla in the room is of course why the hell an individual who didn’t know how to drive a stick was allowed to work in the service center of a Jeep dealership, and why the hell was he even allowed to move customers’ vehicles without having a license in the first place? All questions the attorney for the deceased is suing to find out the answers to. So one would think that the very routine, very normal thing to do would be to sue the dealership (obviously) for such gross negligence at the very least. I mean who else would ultimately be responsible for this man’s death if not the incompetent 19-year-old behind the wheel? Again, if we were to use common sense and logic in this day and age, we would be wrong. Unfortunately, due to one of the most ridiculous and obscure legal standards, the lawyer for the man killed is suing the Jeep owner. Not the owner of the Jeep dealership, but the owner of the Jeep. That’s you! Imagine getting sued because YOUR Jeep killed someone. Not because it rolled out of YOUR driveway, because YOU left it in neutral or something and it careened through the neighbor’s front door smashing little Billy to bits. No. You’re getting sued because a random 19-year-old kid hired by the dealership you paid to have your Jeep serviced at, got in your Jeep, despite not knowing how to drive a stick, and killed someone with it.
WHAT THE… Are you F-ing kidding me!?!?
So because the accident happened at a workplace, and involved two employees, that apparently means you can’t sue the boss or the owner of the establishment in that situation. And the only recourse is to sue the owner of the vehicle, who in this case, wasn’t even there, and did absolutely nothing wrong, breaking not one single law.
If we have any lawyers listening to the show who can explain this to me, I am begging you to call in and make some sense of all this.
Another “Feel Good” Jeep Story – 3rd Annual “Riding for Residents” Jeep Parade
Residents of Cullman County nursing homes will be treated to a parade of Jeep Wranglers this weekend. The third annual “Riding for Residents Jeep Parade” will take place Saturday, May 7 beginning at 10 a.m. Almost 100 Jeeps will depart the Traditions Bank Arena at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville at 10 a.m. and travel to Monarch Place Assisted Living and then Hanceville Nursing & Rehab Center. The parade will then travel to Cullman and visit Woodland Village Rehab & Healthcare, Woodland Haus Assisted Living, Folsom Center for Rehab & Healthcare, and Cullman Health & Rehab Center. The parade will conclude at Cullman Church of Christ with a Jeep Cruise-In and cookout for all the participants. The Riding for Residents Jeep Parade began in 2020 when nursing homes were not allowed to have visitors during COVID-19 lockdowns. Local Jeep owners organized the 2020 parade to bring joy to residents and staff and held the event again in 2021. The parade is a partnership between USA Healthcare and Cullman County Wranglers.
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
Hot stuff- don’t get dehydrated
I love training and helping fellow jeepers expand their knowledge and abilities. Seeing them progress and their smiles at the end of the day is something I really enjoy. Well, last weekend we did training in Cougar Buttes, which is the high desert area north of Big Bear and at the west end of the King of the Hammers course. The rock crawling class we taught had 8 jeepers of varying degrees of experience from somewhat beginner to lots of experience.
In this particular class, I was also teaching the drivers how to spot, pick lines and really learn about their jeep and its capabilities. So rather than just “helping” get jeepers through obstacles, I was actually talking as I was getting jeeps through. Stopping to show how things were or weren’t working and also showing how when a driver turned the wheel too far the effect was and how it affected how the back tires track.
One area that we spent some time on is a “V” (as in victor) notch that really does need a spotter. It is a climb up and then you literally teeter on both sides to maneuver through the rocks over the ground below. There are times that the jeep is up high enough that you could do an oil change if needed. LOL. The terrain for me was a lot of hopping on top of huge boulders so the driver could see me, then climbing down and maneuvering through the V notch as I brought them through. The jeeps literally are clinging to the side of the rock walls on both sides with their tire sidewalls and it takes very tiny steering movements to get them through. This obstacle is on a slight decline so after I got one Jeeper through I would hike back up and start all over.
The weather was a fabulous 80 degrees, which for that region of the desert is perfect. What I forgot was that I live in Big Bear at 6800’ elevation and although the sunshine was a welcome addition, I hadn’t accommodated for the drastic weather swing of about 50-degree differences. As I was talking and hiking back and forth I didn’t realize I was dehydrating. Yes, you do dehydrate with every exhale of breath. Now I know better, but of course, I’m in my training mode, and I didn’t stop at all to take in more water. Well after I got about 6 jeeps through (about 3 hours later) I realized I was in trouble. My breathing was heavier and I noticed my heart rate was quite high. I was overheating. When I began to see black spots I decided to sit down and get some water. I was probably very close to severe exposure and luckily I stopped when I did. Had I continued I might have passed out from the heat and falling in those rocks could have been a trip to the E.R. Again, it wasn’t that hot, but with everything I was doing, talking, training, hiking up and down rocks quickly, it took more out of me than I expected and I didn’t plan for water consumption.
After getting some water and splashing it on my arms, head, neck, and back, I was starting to cool off. Bill had to take over and finish the rest of getting the jeeps through that obstacle. I made my way back to our jeep and sat with the air conditioning on full so I could cool down. I was overheating and I knew I needed to do something. I always carry hydration powder or electrolytes on board so I drank as much as I could to start re-hydrating.
By this point, it was time for lunch. It was a perfect time for me to put a large ice pack we used in the cooler on my back to give additional cooling. Eating was also perfect timing as the salt in the diet is a great electrolyte as well.
After lunch, I recovered, went on to finish the class and l kept drinking water with electrolytes the rest of the day. We finished the class with no further incidents and all the jeepers had a blast and learned so much.
I am now adding to my suggestions for all jeepers that you plan for hot days or days of wide temperature swings. Sure you can bring coats and layers if it’s cold but hot or humid weather can drain and zap you pretty quickly. There are all kinds of hydration powders on the market. I use Hydrant because they come in small packets that you simply open and add to a water bottle. Lots of choices out there, but make sure you plan to add this to your list of items to have on hand. I am so thankful I had them on board, not sure what I would have done without them.
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
As you may recall I have been looking to replace the YEAR OLD windshield on the 2021 Jeep Talk Show Gladiator. Several listeners have written in and told me that Progressive insurance paid to install a Gorilla Glass windshield on a 2018 Wrangler. Another listener wrote in and told me that the Gorilla Glass is less likely to full crack like the original OEM windshield does.
Working with my agent at State Farm, no it was not Jake, they were able to get me an answer. They have to talk to three different people in State Farm corp, but they found out that State Farm will NOT pay to have Gorilla Glass installed. They will pay for the OEM glass to be used, and I’d have to pay the difference for Gorilla Glass.
Getting a name of a glass replacement business from my local State Farm agent I contacted them. I wanted to see what the price difference between OEM and Gorilla Glass would be. Turns out it’s $220. So I can have the windshield replaced, in my driveway, for $470. My deductible plus the difference of the windshields.
Jeep Talk Show Giveaway
The GearSpot is a unique overhead storage system for your Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Truck. This bag allows you to store your lightweight items in 3 overhead storage compartments giving you the ability to compartmentalize and prioritize items previously cluttering seatbacks, glove boxes, and other random spots in the Jeep. The 3 compartments are easily accessible from the back of the Jeep thru the zippered entry. The bag attaches snuggly behind the soundbar and between the roll cage with 6 straps and d-rings, making installation and removal super simple. The GearSpot also includes an underneath cargo netting for quick-grab items that are accessible from anywhere in the Jeep. It is made from a waterproof boat cover material that is designed to withstand all the elements and won’t fade or crack in the sun over time. If the bag gets muddy out on the trails, simply take a household cleaner and a towel to wipe it clean. The GearSpot can be used with all Jeep tops including hard and soft tops, no tops, and even your favorite sunshade. We suggest a 30-pound weight limit making this bag the perfect place to store your rain gear, first aid kit, winch control, beach towels, dog bowls, snacks, and even your grocery bags. The GearSpot is a US-made product, with US materials and US-owned, and they will always stay that way.
The Gearspot has the ability to fit all Jeeps except for the CJ, but please note- the bag is installed over the back seat, so if you have someone over 5’8 the bag will be in their headroom, however, the bag is easily removed, placed in the back of the jeep and reinstalled in minutes when your back seat is empty.
“Store More In Your 4×4.” – Check them out at www.thegearspot.com
Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!
Goose Gear JKU Sleeping/Storage Platform
https://dasmule.com/products/jeep-jku-sleeping-platforms $695.00
The back of Jeep Wranglers is perfectly suited for plenty of cargo space if you exercise a bit of ingenuity. It’s also a lot easier if your Jeep came with 4-doors of course.
So for all you JKU owners out there, here’s a little something to completely transform the back half of the interior of your Jeep to maximize its potential. The JKU has a back seat unlike the Jeep rear seats of previous generations. Following suit of the rest of the automotive industry, the JKU incorporated a split rear seat, but it’s not cut right down the middle. Instead, a common 60/40 split is there for more versatility. To capitalize on this design feature, a company called Goose Gear has created what they call sleeping platforms. And yes, they could work for just that, and so much more. Goose Gear Jeep Wrangler JK Unlimited Sleep Platforms come in 60% Passenger Side and 40% Drivers Side and can be combined to create a 100% second row delete if you wanted to go that far with it. Both the 40% and the 60% sleeping platform kits are bolt-in replacements for the rear seat delete. With this platform, you get two underneath storage access doors and all necessary hardware to bolt it to the vehicle at factory anchor points without drilling into your vehicle. For model years 2011-2018 you get a 100% drill-free installation, but for model years 2007-2010, it does require the installation of Rivnuts into the floor of the Jeep. Also makes a great platform for securing your own storage or gear including dog crates, other fridge slide brands, etc. The price tag is pretty steep, and honestly, I think anyone could build something similar for much less if they didn’t care what it looked like, and omitted all the nice features this system comes with.
That said, for a price tag of $695 it’s worth checking out for the inspiration alone if nothing else.
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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