Fried Turkey? Element Fire!
Join us for this Thanksgiving special on the Flagship II Episode of the Jeep Talk Show. While we’re skipping the Turkey talk, we dive deep into all things Jeep. Discover why it might be too late this year, but learn about the innovative “Element Fire” dry fire extinguisher – perfect for keeping safe during next year’s turkey frying adventures. Subscribe now to never miss an episode!
Jeep Commander Returns To North America
Three rows meet affordability in Mexico’s new Commander, positioned between compact and mid-size SUVs in Jeep’s lineup
The last Jeep Commanders rolled off Jefferson North’s assembly lines back in 2010, fading into the misty ether of discontinued SUVs. But guess what? The Commander has returned, but it’s just not where you might expect. If you’re in North America and feeling nostalgic, you’ll have to head south of the border to get your hands on one.
Designed to slot between the Compass and Grand Cherokee, the Mexican Commander starts at $734,900 MXN ($35,556 USD) and offers seating for up to seven people. That’s a huge saving compared to the Grand Cherokee L, which begins at $1,382,000 MXN ($66,865 USD).
We continue with our series of things both new and old Jeepers should know.
Watch, or listen to past flagship episodes to catch up on the items we’ve already covered.
Re-Gearing
You may have heard about regearing your Jeep, but perhaps you’re not quite sure what that means. Your Jeep has a front and rear axle. The thing the wheels and tires attach to.
The factory axles come with 3.73 gears, and Rubicon, and max tow may have 4.10 gears. The higher, numerically the number the more turns the tire/wheel makes. Why is that important? Well, when you have larger tires this changes the overall “gearing” of the Jeep. This usually means bad gas mileage and a sluggish feeling in acceleration, and your Jeep may hunt for the right transmission gear to use while going over overpasses. Strong headwinds as well.
The larger, in diameter the, the tire the higher gear ratio you need to install to get the overall gearing back to the factory.
Re-gearing is generally $900 an axle and new gears are around $250 an axle. Check with your local shop for exact prices.
Many people add lockers (watch prior episodes) while upgrading gears as this will save you from paying another $900 per axle to install the lockers.
Check with your installer if you’re not sure you have lockers already. Rubicon comes with front and rear lockers.
Side Steps
You may have seen Jeep with steps on the driver and passenger side. We here at the Jeep Talk Show recommend you DO NOT add side steps to your Jeep. Jeepers install lifts, and larger tires to increase ground clearance, an important part of going off-road. When you add side steps, you add something that hangs down and will impede your ability to drive over obstacles.
I’m not going off-road, you may say. You may change your mind, or you may find yourself in a situation where you may need to drive off-road. Flooding, snow, earthquake. It would be a shame to have an otherwise capable off-road vehicle that you cannot use because of what you’ve added to it.
If you must have steps check out Rockslide Engineering. Great off-road capable rock sliders to protect the side and doors of your Jeep, plus a step will drop down when you open the door, and then retract when the door is closed.
We do recommend a nice set of rock sliders on any Jeep, but nothing that decreases ground clearance.
Hard top or Soft top
Both Janet and I live in Texas. Janet may be more knowledgeable about ice and snow than I am. S.E. Texas goes many years between ice storms, and snow is very rare. Soft tops are fine for this area.
If you live in an area with lots of snow and ice a hard top may be your best choice. Many people have both. It’s common to order a new Jeep with a factory hardtop, and then purchase a soft top. We like Bestop.
Soft tops will have more road noise when it rains it will be loud. The top can act like a drum with wind, or bouncing on the highway. It’s not a horrible experience but certainly different if you’ve never experienced a soft top (rag top) on a jeep or car.
Soft tops are easy(ish) to remove and put back on and give you that much-sought-after open-air experience.
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
I’m happy to announce that I have installed the Unofficial Use Only door pockets.
The nets from the factory were fine, but after installing the OEM+ Unofficial Use Only door pockets it’s night and day difference. The Gladiator doors now look what I’d expect factory-designed doors to look like.
This isn’t something that you stick, or bolt onto the factory door pocket nets, you completely remove the nets and replace them with the UOO door pockets.
Two-door Jeeps are $100 for door pockets and $150 for the four doors. Yes, you heard that right. Better and cheaper than other door pocket replacements out there.
Must-Have Stuff for Your Jeep!
Element E50 Fire Extinguisher Stick 40050, 50-second discharge NO MAINTENANCE $89.95
WORLD’S SMALLEST AND LONGEST LASTING FIRE EXTINGUISHER has been internationally tested and certified for A, B, C & K fire classes