Episode 998 – Texas Trail Jeep
Texas ONLY Jeep!
State-specific Jeeps started with CARB-compliant California, well now Texas is getting a gas-guzzling ICE 2024 Gladiator!. This Special Gladiator COMES in bright RED as all Jeeps should be.
Well this Jeep, Texas Trail should only be in RED
This new version of the Gladiator celebrates Texas, the largest truck market in the United States. Based on the Sport S trim level, the Gladiator Texas Trail stands out with meaty mud-terrain tires, a body-colored hardtop, and Texas-inspired exterior decals.
Buyers will have seven colors to choose from: Black, Bright White, Granite Crystal, Hydro Blue, Firecracker Red, High Velocity, and Anvil.
Power comes from the tried-and-true 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, which makes 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear of the four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and a two-speed transfer case, and it unlocks a 7,700-pound towing capacity.
Available only in Texas, the Gladiator Texas Trail carries a base price of $49,985 including a $1,895 destination charge. For context, the 2021 Texas Trail costs $41,930 including a $1,495 destination charge, and the 2024 Sport S starts at $43,290. Sales will start in May. If you want a special-edition Gladiator but live outside of Texas, a new Jeep Beach Edition model also joined the line-up for the 2024 model year.
I’m going to point out the Jeep Talk Show’s influence here. I’m a Texan, and I have a RED Gladiator with the max tow package AND it’s a Sport S! Thanks Jeep, but give the Jeep Talk Show a little love and tell everyone Jeepers can thank us for this great Texas Gladiator edition!
MotorTrend is no more
The video streaming service MotorTrend+ is shutting down. Content is being moved to Discovery+ and MAX at the end of March, this month. Many of the MotorTrend+ subscribers will receive an email with instructions on how to access Discovery+. MotorTrend+ subscriptions who signed up through a third-party partner will not be moved over.
MotorTrend news, reviews, and shopping tools will continue to be available for free on its mobile apps and websites.
Other shows from MotorTrend include “Roadkill” with David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan (“two guys behaving badly with cars”); “Texas Metal,” following Ekstensive Metal Works, where owner Bill Carlton and his team design and build “outrageous, enviable cars and trucks”; “Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew,” in which Hart and his friends try to transform from car enthusiasts into a legit car club; and “Hot Rod Garage,” featuring Lucky Costa, Tony Angelo and Alex Taylor joining forces to build hot rods “in every shape imaginable.”
MotorTrend and HOT ROD magazines are not affected by this change and will continue to be published.
Streaming services merging. Rumors about Paramount+ merging with Discovery+.
I’ve heard of people subscribing to Paramount+ for Star Trek shows, and canceling when the season is over.
Checking Discovery+ and I see a show I watched until we cut the cord, Graveyard Carz. I’m going to start watching this one again.
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
To Mud or Not To Mud
That is the question. Do you like the mud or not? I think most jeepers have a clear opinion of what they like. It’s either yes or no.
To be fair I need to clarify: I live in So Calif – the Big Bear Mountains to be specific. We don’t have mud – well not really. The pictures on FB and videos on YouTube I see with jeeps in the mud from all over the country are not the kind of mud we have. Our very dry climate makes for a very sticky, clay base that is tough to get off. So my disclaimer is that some of you in the country only have mud to wheel in and I applaud you for that. The mud we get is from snow runoff, water crossings, or the occasional rain storm and it doesn’t happen very often. So with that clarification, I am only talking about the mud we have out here.
Back to our mud: for the record I HATE mud! I know there are lots of listeners here in SoCal who probably LOVE the mud and the idea of mud. When I see the perfect picture of a jeep driving through a mud puddle and that perfectly timed shot of the spray of mud evenly to both sides of the front of the jeep is great and looks like fun, however, I am not doing mud! There are times when it’s unavoidable so we have to drive through it. We drive through very slowly. Trying not to splash too much of that sticky stuff up underneath and all over.
The clean-up is very harsh. What I mean is that after EVERY run Bill and I like to make sure everything is still attached, LOL, and if there is mud, you have to wash the jeep before you can inspect it. That means we have to get the power washer out, hook it up, and clean the Jeep everywhere! Before you can inspect the Jeep. For us in winter, we would also have to drain the power washer so there isn’t any water left to freeze and then expand, and crack something. It’s not worth the extra effort for those few moments of the “thrill” of splashing through mud for us. So mud is NO GO for us.
But I do love the pictures of jeeps in the mud and I love watching someone else go through it and splash around. Maybe it’s because it’s their clean-up and not mine LOL.
So what do you prefer? Mud or no mud? Let us know, I’d be curious to also know what you use for clean-up and if you really, really enjoy it! Who knows, maybe I’m missing something.
(https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver)
Fabrication Freezy, with Larry, JeepingMo
Start videoing
With the big epic trail rides coming, everyone will want to record and document the rides.
As many of you know Duke and I have been clover the country creating YouTube videos of our adventures.
So I thought I would share some of the tools we use to create and publish our content.
The biggest investment will be your camera, Two of the big players are GoPro and DJI.
We migrated to the DJI cameras, for me they provide good stabilization for the trail.
A little movement is good, but it quickly becomes unwatchable if the video is bouncing around.
You will want to buy a couple of extra batteries per camera.
And for the storage of the data, most cameras take mini SD cards.
I suggest buying the largest card your camera will recognize, there is a limit.
Now you can use shotgun mics if you are recording the sound in front of the camera, and they are a Great War to record on the trail, that way you don’t have to manage the batteries for cordless mics also.
If you are going to do interviews, or want to do a vlog-style video on the trail. Wireless mice work great.
Two I would suggest are the DJI wireless or the Rode video go 2 mics. And you can get adaptors for the mics to be used on your phones also.
Both are good. We use the Rode mics, but I know the DJI mics work great too.
I even use Rode shotgun wired mics. But don’t forget your wind sock or dead cat, nothing ruins sound quicker than a little bit of wind.
Selfie sticks are good, but if you’re trying to record the trail there are a couple of ways to go.
There are several mounts that you can buy and several are very specialized.
But I like a good suction cup mount they work great, I have been using them for years.
One thing I have found out over the years. Try to not put your camera in the cab unless you’re recording what’s in the cab. The glair looking through the dash is horrible, and the glass is always dirty.
You will want some storage, I would suggest you buy at least a 2-terabyte drive. You will be surprised how fast that will fill up.
A Google Drive is also great for sharing files with a group of people.
So once you have your footage what is next, there are several video editing programs.
A great one that is free, unless you want to unlock higher functions is DaVinci Resolve.
There are a lot of videos on YouTube for how-to’s. I also use Lumafusion, but it is for Apple only.
There are several other devices and systems, but these will get you started. Don’t discount how good your phones are also. Just get started and keep progressing.
Must-Have Stuff for Your Jeep!
Multi Ports USB Car Charger, 96W 6 Port QC3.0 Fast Adapter Multiple Ports, with Four Quick Charge 3.0 Port, 12V-24V Multi-Device Cigarette Lighter for Smart Phone & Tablets Charging $23.99
