Tire Talk!
Jeep Tires
You have a Jeep, it probably came with tires. One of the most common and perhaps the first Jeep modifications made is tires.
There is a literal SEA of tires available for your Jeep, how do you pick the one that is right for you, your Jeep, and your pocketbook?
Looks?
Come on, you know you want it to look good!
Function?
How will they be used?
Longevity?
Soft, hard?
Price?
Size and other required modifications?
Jeep has made use of the “Jeep Wave” as a product they sell. Oil changes, tire rotations, but before that, it was a thing that Jeep people (while driving a Jeep) did to each other, they waved!
With the recent passing of the lady who started the Duck Duck Jeep craze, I thought about the other special things Jeep people do.
I spoke to Allison both in person and during interviews about the people who didn’t care for the placing of a plastic duck on a Jeep. Some of them were borderline violent in their irritation at the idea of this being done.
Has anyone heard of Jeep people not liking the Jeep wave?
What about the Jeep people that get upset because they don’t get a Jeep wave?
I’ve heard of people saying if you don’t wave, get rid of your Jeep!
For full disclosure Jeep people will rate your Jeep and wave only if it passes their test for what Jeep is worthy of a wave.
Yet others wave to anything that remotely resembles a Jeep, and they’ll do it no matter what vehicle they are driving!
Are you a new Jeeper? Have you been getting waves, and didn’t know about the Jeep wave? Well, now you know what it is. I have no idea why it started, but I believe it’s an extension of what motorcyclists have been doing for years.
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
Patriotic Jeep
With Independence Day coming up, what do you do to celebrate with your Jeep?
- Do you go on out and camp?
- Do you run a trail or two?
- Do you stay home – avoid the crowds
- Do you decorate your Jeep? Maybe just add a Flag?
- How do you add a flag? Pole attachment on the hitch or tire rack or??
- Do you dress up your dog with a festive bandana?
- Do you dress up with patriotic t-shirts
- Do you have the top off and watch the fireworks?
Let us know what you do for this holiday.
Must-Have Stuff for Your Jeep!
Bed Cleat for 2005-2021 Toyota Tacoma and Tundra – Compatible with Jeep Gladiator, Ram Rail System $26.89
Tie Down Bed Cleat PT278-35112, PT278-35160 Compatible with Toyota Tacoma 2005-2021, Toyota Tundra 2007-2021, Jeep Gladiator 2020 2021, Ram 1500 2019-2021 Fits for Deck Rail System Truck
This Jeep Talk Show episode, the flagship episode is brought to you by you, the listener. And we gotta have you guys, you know that. We love you. Even if we don’t love you, we say we do. I’m Tony and welcome to the Jeep Talk Show, the premier show for Jeep enthusiasts and hardcore off-roaders. Whether you’re new to the Jeep world or a seasoned Jeeper, we’ve got you covered with the latest news, tips, and advice to help you get the most out of your Jeep. On tonight’s episode, we’re in our news stories, what tire do you buy? No, don’t panic, it’s not gonna be one of those things exactly which tire to buy. It’s really gonna be a discussion about tires and just how damn confusing it is and how many of the tire manufacturers out there. And I think we have a perfect person to help us in this discussion. And it’s Greg from Unofficial Use Only. And also too, we’re gonna be talking about do you Jeep wave? We recently have been talking a lot about ducking Jeeps. What about this other thing that is kind of unique to Jeepers, the Jeep wave?
In Newbie Nuggets, Wendy discusses what Jeepers do on Independence Day.
And then they must have stuff for your Jeep, additional tie downs for your Gladiator Trail Rail System.
– Are you ready? It’s time for the Jeep Talk Show with hosts Tony, Josh, Wendy, and Chuck. – Well, Howdy, it’s Wendy. And what do you do to celebrate Independence Day with your Jeep? Hmm, we’ll explore that.
– And hi, first time on the show, my name is Greg Henderson. I own a little shop called Unofficial Use Only and I build Jeeps.
– Gee Greg, that reminds me of the book of revelations with the Mark of the Beast where you have to be marked on your forehead.
(both laughing) – The Mark of the Beast. – Yes, but you have to explain it Tony to the people who can’t see us on YouTube because they’re listening. – Well, it’s really simple. All they have to do is go to YouTube and watch, damn it. (both laughing) – But it’s so cool, just for you now. – No, absolutely you’re right. So Greg is with us today and he was wearing a nice Jeep Talk Show sticker on his forehead. And it also could be used for blackhead removal from your nose.
– Yeah, well, I felt left out because I’m sitting here and getting ready for the show and getting ready for the intro. And I see you’ve got the Jeep Talk Show hat and Wendy has a sticker on her microphone. So I had to play along and give myself a sticker. – Absolutely, thank you, I love that. That’s absolutely wonderful. All right, so let’s, we got a voicemail in from Steve-O. He’s from Illinois.
And he has a comment about a recent thing we talked about on the show.
– Hey Tony, Steve-O from Illinois. Hey, just calling about the last episode. You talked about the rock hard. For my four skids for the lower control arms. I put those on. Let me tell you, the pictures online don’t do those things justice. They are solid. I put them on before EJS in 2024.
I have no regrets, pretty much. It took some hits, kept on going. My only complaint with them is the bolts they supply to replace the stock bolts are SAE and not metric.
That I just think is an over said on their part, but it’s annoying because now you got to carry these sockets when everything else in the DMG is. – I got you. – So. – I thought he was going for a joke there because one’s better than the other, but I’m fine with that. – Yeah, he’s just talking about having to carry extra tools. – Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Greg, are you familiar with lower control arm skid plates? – Yeah, I’m very familiar with lower control arm skids.
They really do help in a lot of different ways, depending on the terrain that you’re tackling.
And he mentioned that he had the Rockhard ones and I will say Rockhard is a phenomenal company made in USA.
The original owner is still involved. It’s a really great company. I’ve used their cages and lots of other parts. So they really put a lot of effort into building beefy stuff.
And I’ve never used their lower control arm skids, but I guarantee that they’re just as quality as the rest of their components. – Do you see an issue with bolt-on versus weld-on? I mean, I think the weld-ons are cheaper, but the bolt-ons are a lot simpler for folks like me that don’t have a welder.
– Yeah, and depending on the engineer behind them, they can be almost as strong. You know, weld-on, you’re always gonna get, as long as you have a good welder who knows what they’re doing, you’re always gonna get a much more permanent installation. You’ll never have to worry about bolts coming loose. But yeah, bolt-on skid plates, there’s nothing wrong with them, especially if they’re engineered well. If you’re buying them from a reputable company, there’s no reason to worry about it. I just say if you’re using something with bolts, make sure you’re using a torque wrench. Don’t just think it’s tight enough, because it’s usually not, it’s usually either too tight or not tight enough. Use a torque wrench, and if you don’t know how to weld,
the aftermarket Jeep world has you covered, I guarantee it. – Yeah, do you have a recommendation for some lower-controller arms skids, like for the Gladiator? That’s the one I was looking at for the Gladiator. – No, really, I’ve, honestly, and I do some pretty hardcore wheeling all over the country, I’ve never needed them.
I think tire placement is your most important thing, you know, learning your vehicle and learning how to drive. You can take a stock Jeep. Most people don’t realize how capable a stock Jeep really is. You go out and buy a brand new Rubicon, and it’s more capable than you’ll ever know.
So, you know, the skid plates, I understand people upgrading all of the skid plates and putting stuff on,
but honestly, I’ve never needed them. So it’s hard for me to give a recommendation for something that I haven’t personally used, but if you’re banging into stuff all the time, by all means, by every skid plate you can. – Well– – You know, again, like I said, find a reputable manufacturer and go for it. – Yeah. – Or actually learn to pick a line and drive, and then you don’t have to bang into that stuff. – So sometimes you don’t slide, or, I mean, this really is for accidents, accidental decisions that you’re, you know, like a bad wheeling, or you just picked a wrong line. I mean, the reason why I’m looking at these is because I have taken some damage on my lower-controller arm mount, but it has to do with the line approach. If you’re going over some kind of a boulder and you slip off because you weren’t anticipating that drop-off, or you have, depends on your tires. Your tires aren’t aired down. If you’re on slick rock, you could slide off and then hit and bang, so there’s, there are reasons why that’s gonna get hit, but for the most part, if you’re picking your line and driving, you’re gonna be pretty good about not doing that, like Greg said. I’m not even sure– – Well, I mean, you don’t need a diff skid, you don’t need a diff, a heavy-duty diff cover. There’s several things that you don’t need if everything goes well, but the skids really, really are for when it doesn’t go well. Tell me where I’m wrong on this. – Well, no, you’re not wrong, but with the,
with the diff skid, or not the diff skid, but the control arm skid, so a lot of people hit those all the time because it’s right behind the tire. When the tire comes off of something, if you’re not in the perfect line, you’re gonna tap them, but the really interesting part is the factory control arms, the factory brackets, and I assume we’re talking factory components, but the factory components, they’re not the thickest thing in the world, but they will support the vehicle, and the part that’s most important is where the bolt goes through it, and so the bolt that actually attaches the control arm
keeps those control arm brackets sandwiched. So even if you hit it, you might bend an ear over, but you’re still not gonna cause enough damage to prevent you from getting off the trail.
You know, you might have to wince yourself off or get pulled off by somebody else if you’re really hung up, but even if you had the skid, you’re still gonna be as hung up. So, you know, it might bend the lip of the ear over, but it’s not enough to ruin your day, and that’s one of the other reasons why I don’t ever need, you know, I don’t use them, but again, if it makes you feel comfortable, by all means, find a reputable company and get some,
because sometimes just that feeling of knowing you’re protected, it makes you feel better, right, it’s just like the duck thing, it makes you feel better, so if it makes you feel better, go for it. – It also depends on what wheeling you’re gonna do. If you’re doing basic new, you know, simple trails, easy, you’re more than likely probably not even gonna hit those or know that you even have them on there. I mean, seriously, you know, when you’re a new driver and a newbie, you definitely aren’t gonna be hitting some of those heavier things, but yes, you’re right, take a look at it and see what kind of wheeling you’re doing, who are you hanging out with? You know, if they’re a bunch of Toyo drivers and they’re out there thrashing and sending it all the time, you’re probably gonna need to get protected, but if you are out with people that slow it down a little bit and kind of look at the lines and try to do it, you may not ever need them, so. – Well, I appreciate that, that’s good information and absolutely good information for any other newbies that might be listening. You don’t have to buy everything they make for the Jeep and put it on there. I mean, the manufacturers will say different, but you don’t have to. – Of course they will.
(both laughing) That’s why they listen to us, Tony, so that we can give them advice both ways, you know? – Yeah, so no, I love learning stuff and I learn a lot here on the show.
Some of my best wheeling ever was, I was fortunate enough to wheel with the Linertyk fringe guys and the guys who worked at Jeep and were passionate about Jeep, and they had this kind of bet when we were in Moab, and the person who never made a noise on an obstacle, never revved it up, never chirped a tire, never slipped a tire. – I like it. – That guy at the end of the trail was the king for the day. – Yeah, I like it. – Right, so you’d have 15 Jeeps do Moab rim, which is a very high rated trail,
and everybody was going nice and slow, everybody was just using the appropriate amount of momentum to get up and over every obstacle, but trying to leave no trace, right? No horsepower noises, no squeaking tires, and I learned so much doing that, and the best part is we were doing a very high rated trail and nobody had a problem, nobody took any damage because everybody was more concerned with the line and the way that they were driving versus showing off for a camera. – I like that, what a great suggestion. – Yeah, I like that, that’s a great idea. – I’m gonna borrow it and use it, by the way, on our runs out here in California. – Yeah. – Not exactly. – Yeah, we did almost all of the Rubicon Trail and never slipped a tire. – I love it, yep. – Nobody had tires bigger than 33s. – Wow. – So not exactly, but kind of similar, like I always taught my kids when I was teaching them how to drive a standard transmission, I said you have to learn your clutch, where it engages and how much engagement you have, you should be able to take off from a dead stop and not use the accelerator, if you learn how to do that clutch properly.
And if you can learn how to do that, then you have less likely that you’re gonna be changing that clutch very often because you got proper clutch control.
And it sounds– – And I could just see some of our younger listeners going, what the heck’s a clutch? – What’s a standard transmission?
(laughing) Oh, they’re wonderful, wonderful things, unless you’re sitting in traffic.
(laughing) – I think driving a standard off-road is pretty amazing. – Yeah, yeah. – Yeah. – Because when you’re in a standard off-road, you never have to touch the brake, you never have to touch the clutch, you pick your gear and you just let it work.
Whole new challenge, I like it. – Yep. – Well, speaking of working, one of the things that we all do, or at least some of us may not do it, but think really hard on it, is Jeep tires. And there are an infinite number of articles, an infinite number of YouTube videos, all having to do about what tire you should buy and put on your Jeep. And I thought this would be a good opportunity to revisit this and maybe have a discussion of not what tire to get, but what you should be looking for.
So, I mean, like I was saying, there’s a literal sea of tires available for your Jeep. And how to pick one that is right for you, your Jeep and your pocketbook is often very difficult. And I would think that probably everybody here has purchased the wrong tire at one point or another. And that could be a $1,500 to $2,000 error, just to know that you shouldn’t do that again. – Well, and I think too, what happens is a lot of people get a brand new Jeep, they wanna upgrade, because their buddies have a bigger tire. – Absolutely. – And then they go on Facebook and they say, so this is what I have, what should I get? Every single person that responds has a different opinion. So we always say, you have to first decide what are you going to be doing with your Jeep? Because that determines the type of tire. Is this gonna be a daily driver with a little bit of off-road? Are you gonna be heavier off-road with a little bit of daily driving? Are you looking at something in between, like an RT that’s coming out now? Are you sticking with the ATs? Are you going for mud terrains?
And then what type of trails are you gonna do? So, like I think Greg said in the beginning, a stock vehicle comes with a pretty decent set of tires, especially if they’re Falcons.
That’s a great tire to get started on. And you can pretty much do medium to easier trails without ever having to upgrade.
– Yeah, but let’s be honest about it. Those things look like crap. I mean, compared to some of the off-road tires that you can get. – I didn’t say what they look like. I said this thing. – Well, that’s the fun of the modification though, isn’t it? I mean, let’s be real about this. I mean, that’s what people wanna do. I’m a Jeeper, damn it, and I’m a serious Jeeper. So I gotta have to have these 39s with mud terrain and everything else. And that’s kind of the trap I’m talking about. – Yeah. – Yeah, 100% tires can go all over the map. And then I really say, the best way to pick a tire, everything that Wendy said, but look at all the manufacturers. It is a big investment. It’s one of the larger investments for new Jeepers, especially, because it usually coincides with, they just bought wheels, they just bought a lift, and they just bought some skid plates, and now they’re buying their tires to round out the package.
99% of new Jeeps are driven on the road 98% of the time. So I always recommend, especially new people, pick the tire that’s gonna last the most. Go on all of the websites, right? If you’re into BFG or if you’re into Falcon or all of the recommendations you find on Facebook, go onto the manufacturer’s website, click on the tire, and look at what it’s best at. There’s very few tires that exceed that tire, and there’s many tires that excel in lots of things.
And I’ll just use one as an example, the BFG All-Terrain. If you look at the BFG All-Terrain, it excels in sand, snow, mud, or no, sand, snow, ice, on the road and in the rocks, but it’s not good in mud.
But four out of five is a pretty good tire, right? And some of the Falcon has that, and Toyo has that, and Nitto has that. And they all have one of those tires that excels in more things than the others.
Because, I mean, we have to be honest, as a new jeeper or even a seasoned jeeper, if your vehicle isn’t only a buggy and doesn’t live its life on a trailer, you’re driving it on the road way more than you’re driving it off-road. So pick a tire that suits you because you don’t wanna have to buy a tire, a brand new set of tires every five or 6,000 miles. And I went down that road. Way back when I bought a set of red label crawlers because that was the best tire there was.
Well, in my head, I wanted all that traction. And then I realized I drove an hour each way to work, and my tires were bald in two months. – Oh, my God. – And those were not cheap tires. Back in 2000, what was that, 2007, 2008,
those were $700 a piece. And those were 35s at the time. So I don’t even wanna know what they cost today, but it can be a very, very expensive mistake. So go on the manufacturer’s website, pick the one that you like the look of that suits all of your needs. There are great tires and there are abysmal tires. So don’t just follow the recommendations online.
– It’s hard too, because your buddy says, “Hey, this is the best tire.” And again, if you’re not looking at what you need that tire for, but general, I mean, just general things. If you’re gonna spend more time on the road, an AT is gonna give you some of that traction you’re looking for off-road.
There are a couple of brands that actually do really well. Don Alexander and I and my husband, we do a lot of tire testing. So we know how the new RTs are coming out. Toyo Nexon has it. A couple of others have an RT, which is a mix between an AT and a med terrain. You have the option to sort of decide what’s gonna work for you, but off, if you’re gonna be on highway, most of the time in your daily driver, an AT gives you that sort of look with some of that tread pattern that looks aggressive, not from a stock tire. And then at the same time, you have the ability to get off trail. RTs are now gonna be a cross breed that’s coming out that gives you a little bit of the AT so you don’t have that road noise of a mud terrain. And then at the same time, you got a little bit more of an aggressive tread. And then of course you have your mud terrains. Well, mud terrains generally, like Greg’s been talking about, don’t last as long. So we kind of went with the Nexon brand, the Rodian MTX, and I’m getting about 30 to 35,000 miles off road and daily driving with that tire as a mud terrain. So that’s my opinion, but I’m also running a Nexon AT as well when I wanna do more highway driving. So you have to decide what kind of wheeling you’re gonna do and then look at it, like Greg said. Go check out what the warranties are. Go check and see what the longevity is. What’s the average length of the tire? Because you’re right, it’s expensive. You don’t wanna be buying tires every 5,000 miles. – No, I had a tire and I’m really bummed out because they don’t manufacture them anymore, but there’s actually one sitting in the room over here. The Pitbull, the Pitbull Rockers, it was an expensive tire, but it didn’t matter if it was mud, snow, ice, sand. Even on the street. Now on the street, they made a lot of noise, but in any form of off road situation, they were really an excellent tire. They were more expensive than most, but they were really expensive, but COVID took that company out. So, because it was a 100% US made and manufactured tire.
And yeah, COVID ruined it. They still make them for RC cars, but you gotta find an RC podcast for that. – Yeah, and I’ve had, you know, because she was talking about VEX and it’s a great tire, but the BFG Altering, I’ve had some really good success. I just had a 35s last like 80,000 miles on my Jeep. – Amazing, yep. – Now, mind you, I’m really retentive. I have a video on my YouTube channel about tire pressure. I’m super retentive about tires. So, I chalk test them. I make sure that the load rating is right. I make sure everything’s right and I rotate them with every oil change. But 80 plus thousand miles on a set of 35s. – That’s pretty amazing. – That’s pretty good. – Yeah. – Yep. – Well, and the other thing about tires too, Tony, is that when you are new and starting out and you wanna air down, there are different thicknesses of sidewall. So, that also will impact what your air down ability is. I mean, most people air down for true off-roading around 12 PSI. You can certainly go lower, but when you have a stiffer sidewall and you’re in a newer tire, you’re gonna be hard pressed to get to 12. It’s just 14 or 18 may be what you’re doing. So, you also have to consider what’s the length of time it takes to break in those tires, especially if you’re off-roading and you want that traction. And the reason we air down is to make sure that we do have traction. It also reduces the damage on trails and it makes it easier on the vehicle and whoever’s in riding with you gives you a little bit of a nicer ride as well. So, there are all kinds of variances to look at the tire and some brand might be great, but the sidewall is so darn stiff. – Well, I’m glad you mentioned that, especially when we started with talking about looks and to the fad, and I don’t know if it still is or not, but the fad is to get a very wide wheel and a very narrow sidewall-wise tire. – That’s a great Instagram fad that should die rapidly. – Yes, I agree. – 100%. – Yeah, I agree. – I mean, it’s the same thing for me. All the, everybody who goes out and buys a brand new JL and they’re brand new to off-roading and they’ve never done it. So, they put a four or a five or a six inch lift and some 40s or 42s, stop it, stop doing it. You can do every trail in the continental US on a set of 37s. You don’t need a bigger tire, learn to drive.
And the snowball effect of giant tires is one thing that I think really hurts a lot of Jeepers and definitely hurts their wallets because they see all these Instagram people or these influencers type people that have, they’re running 40s and 42s and 53s and all these giant tires and they think that that’s necessary. The funny part is, is most of those influencers don’t know how to drive. That’s why they have the big tires.
And I know a lot of these people personally and I’m not slandering anybody in particular. – No, of course not. – That’s all of them at once, I got you. – All of them at once. – It’s the broad thing, I just take it right out. But you can, a JL is such an, the new Jeeps, the JL is such an amazing vehicle. If you get a Rubicon, you put a two inch lift on it, you can fit 37s.
You don’t need those giant tires because now you have to look at axles and you have to look at drive shafts and you have to look at all these other things.
I say, go get your Jeep, enjoy your Jeep, start small. Do the smallest modifications you can until you learn how to drive and learn how to wheel and then make upgrades to your choices. Because you can do 90% of Moab in a stock Rubicon. You don’t have to have 42s and Dana 60s and all the other Wizz Bank stuff. I have it, well, I won’t run entire regular 37, but I have all the Wizz Bank stuff, but I’ve learned how to use each individual thing as I’ve grown in the last 25 years of off-roading.
Don’t buy it just because everybody else has it. Buy it because you need it. That’s one thing that we do with our students is they usually come to us with a newer Jeep, it’s more stock, and of course, they’re all talking about, I’ve got to get a winch. That’s always the first thing I hear, which is not the first thing you should be buying. And then it’s all the other things that they think they need to add. And you do need to break it down and say, stop, go out and enjoy the trails. Go see what you’re gonna do and then slowly upgrade. So if you’re gonna start to get into more detailed stuff, maybe you need a rockers, maybe you need a little bigger tire and maybe unique, because we’re starting at 33s usually, and then maybe you need skid plates and then you get into other equipment. But that’s the problem I see is that, unfortunately, they do watch YouTube all the time and that’s great. Those influencers are out there, but I’d rather wheel in 37s or 35s and have the challenge to get through the obstacles, not using lockers, using the driving skill and ability, picking my line and getting everybody else through for the day. And to me, that’s the best challenge. Someone comes along and forward– – Man, I really like you, Wendy. Are you married? – Oh, she’s very married. (laughing) – Yeah, she’s great. But I’m glad you brought that up because I was just thinking, I’ve never been in the situation myself, but I think I’ve heard people that have really built up their rigs, did everything they could do, known to mankind and 42s, coilovers, all kinds of stuff, spent a lot of money on it. And it almost can go anywhere it wants to go. And then there’s that, well, well, that was easy. It can’t go anywhere it wants to go because there’s the driver mod. – Yes. – But they use it. – And then we knew a small story, but in 20, I think it was 2017, I was in Moab and we were doing a trail, it’s called Rusty Nail. It’s a beautiful trail. It’s very technical. There’s some really rough spots on it. But I was in a JK with no lift, stock suspension.
It did have 35-inch tires, but the suspension was 100% stock. And the group of influencers that I was with, the smallest tire above mine was a 42.
So everybody had 42s all the way up to 53s. – That’s crazy. – So the little stick shift JK that I was driving on 35-inch all terrains, I was the only one that never pulled winch and never needed a rope. Every single one of those influencers had to get assistance over some of the obstacles.
I mean, really learn to drive.
Go to a class or a school, find somebody that’s an international four-wheel drive trainer, take a lesson.
I’ve got behind my shop, I have a seven acre off-road park where I teach my customers how to use their vehicle.
Even get with a group of friends and talk to them. And the guy who’s not using the skinny pedal for everything, watch him, pay attention, learn something. It’s amazing what these vehicles are capable of right out of the box. But then the cool part is it’s a Jeep. So every single nut and bolt on the entire vehicle is customizable with something from the aftermarket. Whether you’re finding somebody like me who cuts them in half and reshapes them, or you’re going to your local four-by-four shop, you can find the modifications that make the vehicle yours as you grow with the vehicle.
And I hate to say it this way, but I’m sick and tired of this modern trend we’ve had in the last few years where people go out, they buy a Jeep, they drop a hundred grand into it, and then they don’t know what they’re doing. – Why they need to go to classes, that’s what we do. That’s what we train.
You got to. – Well, get out there, use the Jeep, get some time in it, learn. Like Greg was saying, watch other people ask questions. Listen to this show, because we’re trying to teach you this stuff so that you’re not going out there and spending money on tires,
and then just making that mistake and having to figure it out later.
– We’ll have some listeners call in and say, well, you guys all talked for a while, but what are you recommending? – Well, and we absolutely,
you guys can recommend if you want to, but I’m absolutely not recommending anything. I’m not recommending a specific tire or model or anything because it all depends.
– Yeah, there’s so much out there and there’s mud terrains that are great street tires, right? There’s companies like Nitto that make a mud terrain that is relatively stiff.
It lasts a really long time on the street.
Everybody has different compounds and different tire compounds, but the best thing I can say is, don’t just pick a brand. I have a brand, right? There’s a couple of brands I love, and I use them on all my personal stuff, but I love them because of what they do for me.
So go on the websites, check out what they do, kind of do some research. Don’t just take a couple of people’s answers, because I can tell you all day long, my favorite tires, but it’s not gonna help you unless you get out there and use them. – Right, and different areas of the country can be different as well. I mean, like I don’t live in an area where we get any snow, very seldom do we get ice. So the tire for me may not be the same tire for you and where you live. – Right. – Yeah, so looks, function, we’ve talked about that. Longevity, we’ve talked about that. And longevity has a lot to do, not only with the tire and the tire compound that’s used, but also to help, like how often you rotate the tires, Greg was talking about that. The material being soft or hard, I think those crawlers you were talking about, Greg, they were very, very soft. In other words, the compound was very soft. – Yeah, the red label crawler, it’s a BFG tire, but it’s basically a race spec tire. So it’s a drag slick with grooves cut into it. I mean, you can literally cut it with your fingernail. So they’re very sticky, they grab everything. It doesn’t matter what terrain you’re in, they grab, but they don’t last a long time, especially if you drive them on the street.
But yeah, I will say this though, if somebody from Nitto or Michelin or one of those companies wants to sponsor the Jeep Talk Show, then we can recommend a tire.
– Exactly, I like that word. I didn’t even think about that, that’s a great way of going. – And that’s what I always say, if you need me to tire test, you want me to put them on my rig and do all the rock calling that we do here in Southern California, send them my way, I’ll test them. – And I do the same thing, but I tell everybody, and I’m friends with a lot of those people, and I’ll be honest, I’ve gotten free tires for years.
The problem is, is I’m honest about it. I will not, I don’t care if you pay me money. – That’s a problem for them. – Right, well, I don’t care if you pay me money, I don’t care if you give me free tires. – I’m gonna be honest about everything. If it’s a crap tire, I’m gonna tell the world and I’m gonna tell you.
But yeah, it’s, but again, if somebody from Nitto or Toyo or anybody wants to sponsor the Jeep Talk Show, get a hold of Tony, and we can recommend your tire from here on out.
– Well, until the contract’s up.
(laughing) And the other part that we kinda covered was the price. And I would recommend, and again, this is gonna be expensive, but if you want those sticky tires like what Greg was talking about, you need to have two sets of wheels and two sets of tires. So you can put the tires on when you’re gonna go off-road and you run the other ones, perhaps ATs, whenever you’re driving back and forth to work, you know, or– – And depending on what type of off-road you’re gonna do, because you might not wanna use those red labels on a muddy trail, or you might not wanna take them to Moab because you don’t need that much traction there. You’re driving on 80-grit sandpaper.
So there’s some things like I would happily drive an all-terrain in Moab versus any form of mud terrain. – Yeah, I was gonna say, I think a lot of people do actually do the ATs in Moab, don’t they? – Yeah, and how hard is it to wheel on sandpaper? It’s really nice though. – Right, no, it is. But yeah, you get a lot of people that see the influencers that have these big, meaty tires, so that’s what they put on. And their first trip to Moab, they’re on 40 giant tires with pig tread, and as soon as they go off-road, they lock the wood, they lock their lockers, and well, you don’t need all that.
So learn first is my first recommendation. It’s always do a bunch of studying and not just ask, don’t just ask questions.
– So yeah, it really depends, but I think as far as the mud goes, I started off on mud with my 83 Chevrolet pickup and I was a little bit extra oil-based in 37s, and mud was all I knew back then. I mean, that’s what wheeling was way back then. – Yeah, the thing that got me into off-road, I built a 77 F-350 mud truck, and I eventually learned that I didn’t like cleaning for 10 hours. – Cleaning is horrible. Mud is fun, yeah, mud is so much fun. Cleaning is horrible. – I hate the cleanup, it’s too harsh.
I can put it in the closet like I did when my moms told me to clean up my room, I’d do it, but that doesn’t work that way. – You can’t do that. – And my problem, for people who know my builds, I’m a neat neck, everything has to be very clean and precise and everything has to function.
And oh boy, mud just makes me cry because I can spend five minutes in the mud and to get my vehicle as clean as I want it the next time I show it off, I might spend 30 hours cleaning. – Oh my goodness, I’ve done two. I remember doing two or three on mine. – You have to get underneath, you have to make sure every single little tiny crevice has no mud. – Well there’s so many places. – Because you have to inspect, you have to make sure that things are still tight, and if you leave mud in those little tiny crevices, you’re not gonna be able to check that out and you can fit. It’s a pain. – I remember going out in I-10 and four or five months, it was summertime by the time I was out there and going out in I-10, 70 miles an hour, and huge chunk of dirt coming off it and going flop, flop, flop, flop down the road. And I was like, oh, I thought I cleaned that. (laughs) – Oops.
Yeah, it’s funny, down here in Southern California, we don’t get a ton of mud. Sometimes it rains and you can see in, like up in the forested area, a big bear up here, there’ll be these big puddles where water will settle and of course, everybody’s out to go, let’s go mudding. And we avoid it every time we’re out. Like you cannot believe we will do everything we can to go around from touching anything to do with the wet. It’s not good, we just stay away from it. – Yeah, so when you’re doing your research, you’re gonna find there’s a lot of people out there telling you what tire to buy. I would look for somebody that is, when they’re telling you about tires, they maybe give you a little more work to do. They don’t just say, this is the one to buy.
And also too, maybe the ones that are,
like this is the number one tire, this is the number two tire, they really can’t make that claim if they don’t qualify what it’s being used for. – Well, and like Greg said, do your research. See what it is that you need the tire for. – Well, and that’s what I’m talking about. You can do your research and still get misled. And that’s the reason why I’m saying, be careful what it is that you’re looking at. Because if they don’t give you a lot of choices, if they don’t talk about things we were just talking about, then chances are they’re just being shills for a tire manufacturer. – Right.
– All right, so this is another hard heating piece that we like to do here on the Jeep Talk Show.
(laughing) The Jeep Wave.
So Jeep has made use of the Jeep Wave as a product they sell, oil changes, entire rotations. But before that was a thing, the Jeep people while driving a Jeep hopefully, did the Jeep Wave to each other.
With a recent passing of the lady that started the duck duck Jeep craze, I thought about the other special things the Jeep people do, namely the Jeep Wave. Now, I spoke to several times to Alison, both in interviews and even in person, about people not really liking the Jeep ducking thing. They just, I mean, some of them getting quite violent about it and actually she’s had hands put on her at events,
at least once that I know of, that I talked to her about in person. And I just can’t believe that people get that upset about ducks. And I don’t get the feeling there was some, I don’t know, PTSD thing about ducks. They just didn’t like it. And I don’t quite understand that. Do you guys, have you guys ever heard about anybody getting violent about Jeep Waves? They don’t like it, don’t Jeep Wave me? Who the hell are you? – Just on the show. – I’ve seen this a lot when somebody’s driving down the road and they wave and they wave and they wave and then they flip you off. (laughing) Because you didn’t wave back.
But I think that’s as far as I’ve ever seen. I mean, the waving thing, it was around way before I ever owned a Jeep.
So Corbett’s kind of started it. And we did a deep dive on this.
I wanna say it was back in like 2004. So quite some time ago, 20 years,
there was a deep dive on this and some Jeep people were involved and they were trying to figure out when the Jeep Wave really started.
And it leads back to either motorcycles or Corbett’s. – Good, the motorcycles I had heard, yeah. – Oh, we do all the time on the bikes. – Yep, so bikes wave at each other. And sometimes it gets clicky, right? And you’re on a crotch record and the Harley won’t wave at you or vice versa.
– Well, and there’s specific places your hand goes. Harley’s down low, crotch rockets somewhere else. So you have a different, there’s a whole rule there. – Yep, and that’s, so ever since the beginning,
even back in the 60s, vets waved at each other.
So the vets waved at each other, bikes waved at each other, Jeeps waved at each other.
Nobody could really figure out when the Jeep Wave started, when they were doing the study back in 2004. But it’s been going on since, probably since before I’ve been alive and I’ve been alive for 46 years. So it’s a long standing tradition. The duck thing is relatively new. The duck thing is amazing, it was amazing.
Everybody knows my opinion on it. Please don’t ever put a duck on my Jeep. It makes my head explode.
But, and there’s reasons behind it because every time I go to a Jeep event, there’s hundreds of ducks littering the earth. And that just is a blight on Jeepers. But if it makes you smile, give a duck away, right? So I just, I’m sick of the litter, right? And with the Jeeps that I built, some of them have 30 and $40,000 paint jobs. Please don’t touch my paint.
– It is friendly and nice. And I think it gives people that aren’t, maybe they’re new to Jeeps. It gives them a way of being involved in Jeeps. – Oh, a hundred percent. – It’s amazing how happy some of these people get, right? – And kids too, because kids can get in on it as well. But you’re right. – My kids love it. My kids love it when I get a Jeep. Well, my youngest kid loves it. – It’s almost like a Secret Santa thing when you’re on a run because I’ve had that where, and all of a sudden, where did that, who put the duck here? Like you’re on a run with these people. You have no idea who did it. And it’s like their joy of giving you something. And I love when the ducks come and they’ve gotten to know you a little bit. My favorite one is, sorry, I have him right here. This little horse duck, because I’m into horses. I ride horses.
So someone took the time to get to know me a little bit and thought it was important to get me a horse duck. I love that. So I think that’s kind of cool when somebody takes the time to give it specific to your color or to whatever you’re doing. So anyway. – Right. But for somebody getting aggravated enough, and I get aggravated if somebody leaves my Jeep and I get really aggravated at the end of an event because I’m usually one of the last ones there. And I like, I sent my son out in Toledo and he filled up a full trash bag with ducks that were in the gutters and on the street. – Well, that’s ridiculous. Why are people littering? Because they just, when you think they’re angry, they’re taking them off and throwing them on the ground because they don’t want them on their chance. That’s what you’re saying. – Well, and some people just hop in their Jeep and somebody put it on their spare tire or put it on a fender and they don’t even see it. – I see what you’re talking about. – So when they drive away, it falls off. – Got it. – And at a huge Jeep event like Toledo, right? Where there’s thousands and thousands of Jeeps and 30, 40, 50,000 people. – That makes sense. – It gets out of control.
I mean, even ban them. So I had people sending me pictures after ban them. And when they were cleaning up after all the crowd had gone,
thousands of Jeeps in the lawn. – Can you imagine being- – So there were thousands of ducks. – Yeah, can you imagine being a rubber duck manufacturer and trying to figure out why sales have skyrocketed over the last two years? – Oh yeah. – Whoa. – But the fact that it puts a smile on people’s faces, the best part about it. – Yeah. – I think it’s- – My older son hates it because I’ve made him clean up ducks after an event.
It’s like, oh, we’re going home. Oh, guess what? Now we’re gonna spend three hours cleaning up people’s trash.
Well, and the worst part was like, Toledo was the biggest one for me. It’s when my tide turned on the duck thing. And that was three years ago. But I don’t remember exactly how many we counted, but two hefty bags full. And not the little hefty bags, the big ones. – The big ones? Oh my gosh. – We had, so we cleaned up three hefty bags of trash off the street.
And it took us about two and a half hours. Two of the hefty bags were ducks. One was normal trash.
But we’ve got to leave places better than we found it. – Yeah. – Well, that’s all the whole tread lightly,
and as teachers, we need to be mentors and we need to teach whoever’s with us. I mean, I talk about that in my newbie seconds, where if you’re out on a trail and there’s trash, you’re picking up someone else’s trash. I absolutely hate to do trash cleanup on trails, but we have to to maintain them. So it’s almost a message of– – Yeah, pick it up, throw it in the back. – Yeah, and it’s almost a message of, if you’re gonna go to an event like that and it’s public, you’ve got to pick up and take your trash. Why are people leaving it? I mean, that’s a whole other subject and topic we could talk about for hours. – I think Greg mentioned that it makes jeepers look bad. I mean, if you’re trashing places up, it makes jeepers look bad, no matter how friendly, how nice the whole ducking thing is. And as far as the Jeep wave goes, I can’t, I mean, that shouldn’t leave any trash, which is nice. And I think the only negative thing that I’ve seen or heard, and I think most of them are joking, but I’m not 100% sure, where they say, if you have a Jeep and you don’t return a Jeep wave, get rid of your Jeep.
And I’m like, who the hell are you? – Yeah, well, and people tell, I did a video a couple of years ago about the duck thing, and it’s a very short one minute video that I put out on social media, and I may or may not have torched a duck.
(laughing) And so I torched it in my driveway and I said, stop ducking my Jeeps. And I’ve literally had,
because I don’t censor anything. And if you find that YouTube video and say it’s a short, there’s dozens and dozens and dozens of hateful comments about how I should get rid of Jeeps, and I’m not a real Jeeper, and you don’t know what you’re talking about. And I even responded to somebody, and I’m like, look, that Jeep had a $35,000 paint job. Oh, well, a duck can’t touch your, can’t hurt your paint. Well, then you don’t know anything about cars. – Yeah. – So, but yeah, don’t be hateful, just because I don’t want a duck, doesn’t mean I don’t understand why you want it. – Right. – Right. – I just don’t want it. So don’t get mad about any of this stuff. Like, for me to hear that somebody put their hands on Alison, even if it was just, you know, a push or a shove or a, – It’s wrong. – Put your hand on your shoulder and said, I hate it. You don’t touch people. – No, why can I? – That’s disgusting. – But here’s the other thing. – That’s disgusting. – So let’s say you’re in an event, you collect, let’s say 10 of these ducks. Somebody put 10 different ducks on your Jeep. Then bag it up and donate it to a children’s center or to, you know, a thrift store or something like that. Why would you just toss them? And why would you get mad about it? Just take them and repurpose them. – If you’ll email me at the Jeep Talk Show, I’ll give you Greg’s address and you can just send them straight to him.
(laughing) I mean, have fun with them, right? – Yeah, well definitely have fun with it. I mean, when we were in Moab this year and on a couple of the Jeep Talk Show rides, people know that I don’t like the ducks. So, you know, like Bob, and I’m sure everybody knows Bob. – And nephew Bob. – So, dozens of these little itty bitty ducks in my Jeep,
you know, on my Jeep seat, all over the place. – Yeah, hidden in this secret. – And honestly, you know, I didn’t take the high road. I didn’t donate him to anybody. My son, my youngest son loves the ducks. So he got to take a couple of them. The other 20 went in the garbage can.
I didn’t litter, but I’m not gonna re-give him to somebody else. – Yeah, but you’re still putting in the trash, is what you’re saying. – Yeah, you know your oldest son, Tommy, was enlisted to help hide the ducks, not only in your SEMA booth, but also in the shop back home with the one you’re in right now. – Oh, I’m quite certain of it. – And he was great with it. He thought it was a wonderful idea. – He thinks it’s funny what irritates me, but he’s the same way because he had to clean up, I forced him to clean up all those ducks. So if somebody leaves a duck on one of his Jeeps, he gets mad too.
Just don’t do it. – So let me ask you this, Wendy, I think– – If there’s not a duck in the dashboard, don’t leave one unless you see the human being and say, have you been dumped yet? – Yes, exactly. – If you see the human being, even if you gotta wait five minutes, right? Life is short, enjoy yourself, wait for the person. Because if you present them with the duck, because they don’t have one on their dashboard, it might be the best thing that ever happened to them. They might have been waiting for it for six months. You might make their whole week. – Yeah, you might literally make their whole week by waiting and handing them that duck. But if there are not ducks on their dashboard, don’t just leave it on their hood. – You know what they call a Jeeper that’s never been ducked?
An ugly duck, like they have a name.
(laughing)
I just triggered somebody out there, I knew it, I knew it. I’m not pretty enough. – That’s me, I’m a doobie. How do I get these ducks and what do I do with them? – So Wendy, I think I know the answer for you. Do you Jeep Wave? Do you initiate the wave or do you reciprocate? – I do both.
– And Greg, do you Jeep Wave? – I do it both ways. – Okay, so are you lying? Because I get the feeling you’re like, no, I don’t. – In fact, it’s such a habit that when I’m driving the other vehicles, I feel like, oh no, that’s dang it. I’m not in the Jeep right now. – No, I do the same thing. Like if I’m driving the Dodge Ram, I still wave. And it’s so ingrained in me. But I, because I’m an old school jeeper, so I wave, like my son, he drives a YJ and he’s like, why does nobody wave at me? (laughing) But for me, I wave, I don’t care if you’re in a CJ, a TJ, a YJ, a JK, an XJ, a ZJ. If you’re driving a Jeep, now if you’re driving a, if you’re driving a Patriot or a Compass, I’m not waving. – Thank you, good God. – Or Renegade. – Thank you. – Or Guinness. (laughing) – But all of the other ones,
even if it’s a J20 or a J10, it doesn’t matter. If it’s a Jeep, I’m waving, unless it’s a Compass or a Patriot.
But yeah, I wave at them all. And it’s just habit. Even on my motorcycle, I’ll wave at another motorcycle, but I still wave at Jeeps, because it’s just stuck in my head to always stick my fingers up. – So this is what I have to endure every time I go someplace. – Except for Moab, I don’t do it in Moab. – Oh no, no, I asked about that. – Or on runs, like you don’t do it between Jeeps. – Yeah, if there’s a bunch of Jeeps out there, no. Actually that could just be dangerous. So you need to be paying attention to where you’re going. – You just had your hand up the whole time, because there’s too many of them. – Every time my wife and I go someplace and she’s the passenger, she will say, “You didn’t wave, you didn’t wave. I didn’t see it.” – Well then she should wave. – Yeah, I like that. – If she’s the passenger and you’re not paying attention, it’s the passenger’s job. – I am paying attention. I’m paying attention to where the Jeep’s going. – Well, exactly, but if you don’t initiate it, then have your wife do it. Give her a job, say, “Hey, it’s your job.” – And I had to explain to her that at Moab, you don’t Jeep wave, because you’ll be doing it all the damn time. – Nobody’s gonna wave back, because they’re like, “We’re on a run.” – She was too busy looking at the scenery to be able to say you’re on a run. – If you’re on a run and you’re doing it, like in town, I don’t wave at people. But if I’m on a run, you don’t wave at the oncoming traffic, because when you put your two fingers up, you’re telling them, “There’s two Jeeps behind me.” – Thank you, yes. – And then when there’s six of them, they’re like, “Where are all these extra Jeeps coming from?” – Yeah, Wendy has told us about this, or told all listeners a few times. And when I got back from Moab, this last time, I said, “Wendy, we passed people, and nobody was telling me how many Jeeps was in the run.” – Right, well, because there’s a lot. – It’s my banking of existence to tell me you’ve got to be able to communicate. And that comes from off-roading with the motorcycles and also quads. – Oh yeah, it’s a good idea. – Whole community. – Well, it’s been trail etiquette for the last 50 years. So if you’re on a trail, and you were on a quad, or a dirt bike, or a sand rail, or a Jeep, or whatever, when you come across people coming at you, you always tell them how many people are behind you. That way, they know to take it easy until they’re past that point.
Because, especially if you were into dirt bikes, or quads, or anything like that, because those guys move.
And you don’t want to come around a corner at 50 miles an hour and find a Jeep.
Because it can be bad, really fast. So that’s actually been trail etiquette since, I want to say it was the 60s when they first started doing the hand signals. It might’ve been earlier than that, but when I took some of my classes with the International Four-Wheel Drive Trainers, I think it was in the 60s. I’d have to go back through the books. It was either 60s or 70s when they started making that normal trail etiquette.
And again, 10 years ago when I’d go to Moab, or 15 years ago, so kind of before the JK craze really started to hit, and then the JL.
When you were on the trail, everybody did it. And now, with this huge influx of new off-roaders,
maybe 5% do it? – Well, it’s like any sport. When you make it affordable and or people get into something, there’s no mentors anymore. That I feel like when you’re, if you’re doing a run and you’re a trail leader, that is your responsibility in that driver’s meeting to say, look, maybe you don’t give everybody the authority, but you give the person in the end has to say zero. The person in the front has to tell how many. And somewhere in the middle, if it’s a big enough group, 15 or so, can let somebody when you’re passing know when you’re there. I mean, it’s just simple etiquette. But I think we don’t have enough people that are wheeling and mentoring, and either they don’t want to mentor, they don’t want to think about this, but it’s important. Especially when you’ve got roads that turn and curve, and you’ve got blind spots, and you run into somebody, not literally, but you’re going past them, you need to say. So I’ve found myself as a leader to just roll on the wind and say, there’s seven behind us. And at least they’re notified. And sometimes I have newbie drivers that I’m running into, and they’re like, what does that mean? You wait here and let us all pass. So again, it’s my job to say, I’m going to educate you for a quick moment. I’m not going to put you down. I’m not going to be mean about it. Just going to say, just hang tight while we pass. – Yeah, it’s okay for you not to know what you know. And that’s one of the things we do here. Is we’re trying to let you know, so you feel more comfortable going out there. And I’m sure there’s people that don’t go wheeling because they don’t want to be the fool, but not knowing what’s going on. And that’s why we talk about tires. That’s why we talk about people, how many people are in the run. – Hand signals. – Hand signals. – Right, pucks. – So even though the Jeep Wave isn’t a hard hitting subject, it’s something that I think is important to do. Hey guys, this has been a wonderful conversation, but we’re not doing three hour shows anymore. So we got to move on. – Well, it’s your job as the main host to move us along. – Here we go. – Where’s the noob? Noob, noob, noob, hey noobie, noobie. – Noob, nugget. – It’s time for noobie nuggets. – Well, this’ll move it along quickly, Tony. We’re just going to talk a little bit about what do you guys do for Independence Day? I know that some people, maybe they go out in camp or do you go out in camp? I don’t know. Greg, what do you guys do for Independence Day? Do you do anything special? Do you go on trail runs? Do you stay home and avoid the crowds? So we do a big bear, it’s like noob. I’m not going out in all that mess. – Oh, you’re a big bear? – Yep.
– Oh, isn’t all Jay right there? – Yep, all Jay’s are G. Yep, Quinn and Heather. – Yeah, Quinn and Heather are amazing. I dealt with them a lot when I was at AEV.
But yeah, it all depends, every year is different.
So sometimes there’s a local wheeling trip or something.
I’ve actually found, and I hate to say this because I love off-road so much. I don’t off-road a lot in my own state. – Oh, funny. – I spend more time in Utah and California and I’m in Michigan.
I spend more time at off-road events in other areas of the country. So I don’t tend to go off-road a lot in Michigan, even though we have amazing off-roading.
But some years we go camping, some years, I’ve even had a couple of little shindigs here behind the shop in my little private off-road park.
So it really depends on the year, what we do on Independence Day. – Well, that’s cool. So do you guys, do you add a flag, Tarot Tony? Do you dress up your Jeep? Do you do anything special? What do you guys do? – I don’t, I really don’t have any easy way to put a flag on the gladiator. I definitely put a flag on the front of the house. And I don’t think that I’ve ever gone wheeling on a, I’m gonna say vacation, but a celebration day like that because I think it’s a fricking nightmare. – It is.
There’s just so many people doing the same thing. – Because this is a four day weekend for the holiday coming up here in Big Bear. There are so many groups running. I’m like, I almost want to go to the gatekeepers and just sit and watch because it makes some great video. – Oh yeah. – Probably have to spot some people through to help them. I don’t know, but it’s like, I am not running those trails. It’ll take you forever. But anyway, so yeah. – She is literally five minutes, her and Don Alexander both are literally five minutes from the trail. I hate them severely. – I got to run those trails. Well, what a gorgeous area. – Yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s really beautiful. So I was there
2009 or 10. – Oh, it’s been a while. – And that was the only time, but yeah, it’s beautiful. – Well, if you ever get yourself back here, let me know, we’ll get you out and run some more stuff. We’ve got even more difficult stuff you can do. So as far as Independence Day comes, I think they’ll see a lot of people that put flags on the back. They’ll use like a pole attachment from the hitch. Maybe they’ll do it on the tire rack. Some people I see run in flags, American flags all the time. Like it’s not just for Independence Day. So here’s another question. If you listened to the episode last week about dogs, do you actually dress your dog up? I know people put a festive bandana on their dog or any of that kind of stuff. So, and what about yourself? Do you guys wear patriotic shirts?
Do you wear red, white and blue? I don’t know. Just an interesting kind of question for people. So write in and tell us what you guys do. And the other thing I wanted to know too, is who goes and uses their Jeep and watches fireworks. I think that’d be cool with the top off. – I keep a flag all year, every year, all day, right in the shop. – Yep. – And I actually, so this is fun. I lost a customer over this flag. – Oh, please. – Really? – No. – Yep. I had a customer come in and remind you, they were from all the way on the other side of the country and they shipped their Jeep here and we had a whole plan set up. – But he’s talking California.
– Doesn’t matter. – You’re not gonna say.
I probably could guess what city they were from. – Was their last name Newsom? This blank if you, if that’s all right. – But they did, they flew in. So the Jeep was here for about three weeks.
They sent their, so I, because I’m backed up about a year and a half, I have a $10,000 non-refundable deposit to get me to work on your Jeep. – Sure. – They sent a deposit.
I gave them their first invoice. I ordered like $70,000 worth of parts. – Oh. – They showed up right before we were gonna start working on the Jeep because he wanted to take some video. And he saw that flag.
And then on my wall over here, a friend had a license plate that says Mr. Trump. And the state of Michigan took the license plate from him, said he wasn’t allowed to have it anymore.
So we hung it on the wall, cause it was a funny story. – Sure. – And he saw the flag in the license plate. And he said, I refuse to do business with you.
I want my Jeep and I want to leave. And I said, well, you gotta take all your parts too, because he paid for them. And I wasn’t gonna ship them back. And if I were to ship them back, most of the companies would have wanted a 25% restocking fee. – Oh, easily, yeah. – So he took his Jeep, he took all his parts. He actually went and rented a U-Haul trailer to load up all his parts. And he left. And then he made it about, I think he was gone for about three hours and he called and he said, “Oh, I want my deposit back.” And I said, “Well, it was non-refundable.” – Yeah, so sad. But you know, that’s a simple thing. – That is just incredible. – I know, I can’t believe it. I mean, the amount of work that you do and the quality that you do, who gives a rat? Like, who wants that quality? – It’s like you had an upside down pedogram there on the wall and you’re a Satan worshipper. – No, no. – Well, that actually might’ve worked better for that. – Oh, that’s true. – Yeah, it was the thin blue line flag. That’s the one that set him off. He saw the license plate after he already– – Oh, that’s when he started looking around. Okay, there’s gotta be another reason.
– Yeah, he had already gone ballistic.
And then he didn’t get his deposit back. And no, he was not from California. – All right, Oregon, then. – But yeah, it was– – Probably Oregon.
(laughing) – No, it was probably, what would it be? The initials of the city and state would be SW.
Did you figure that out? – We’ll just leave it at that. – Leave it at that. – Seattle, Washington. – Exactly.
(laughing) – Oregon. But that’s sad though, but it’s like the same thing. You’re gonna get that mad, but he spent the money, so I guess. – It’s stupid.
– But that’s just very sad. – Complete the transaction and then never do business with the person again. – And get the quality of work that you would do. – No, I’m talking about him. If he’s upset with you and doing that, he can express his displeasure respectfully.
– Yeah, the biggest reason he was upset was he wanted to take pictures and video, and he wanted me to take the flag off my wall. And I said, no, this is my shop. – Yes. – You know, I respect police. Yeah, there’s assholes. – Well, absolutely. – But I’ll tell you what, it’s just like everything else in the Jeep community, there’s jerks too. – Absolutely. – In the police community, there’s jerks. It’s like two or 3%. – And then the customers, and the customers takes jerks.
(laughing) – Yeah, and I’ll tell you what, when that one was all said and done,
that was the best jerk I ever dealt with, because I essentially got paid $10,000, and all I had to do was make an order for parts. And then the best part is, the order for parts, I make profit on those parts. – Oh, so good for you, yeah. – Right?
(laughing) So those parts, you know, $70,000 in parts, I made about $15,000 in profit on the parts. So when it was all said and done, I made $25,000 to place an order and then load a trailer. – And not go, yeah. – Have you added any more political stuff in your shop since then? (laughing) – No. – Looking at it as a strategy. – You know what, and just to be fair, because we like to, you know what? That person was entitled to their opinion. – Absolutely, yeah. – I respect that they have that deep feeling and wanted to not work with you. – It takes a lot of courage to say, I’m not gonna do it, because– – And at least they didn’t have the work done and then bash you later, right? Because that could have been another thing. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe in then, I’m not gonna say anything about the quality of your work, which I doubt anybody would believe, but anyway. – I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t hold political bullshit against anybody. I mean, I might think they’re stupid or uninformed. I’m not gonna say that to them. There’s a lot more to a person than politics.
– Exactly. – Yeah, I don’t care who you voted. I mean, honestly, I don’t care who you voted for. I don’t care what you believe. I believe in the character of how you treat me and how you treat the people around you. I don’t care who you vote for. That’s the beauty. It’s one of the best parts about this country is we’re all entitled to our own opinion and we’re all entitled to our own beliefs. It doesn’t matter who you pray to. It doesn’t matter who you worship. It doesn’t matter who you vote for, right? I care about how you treat the person standing next to you. And that’s what matters to me. – Oh, true. – So do you know somebody who doesn’t care about the quality of jokes? Nikki G. – Nikki G. (laughing) I knew you were going there. (audience applauding) – From the mind of Nikki G.
– Hey, this is Nikki G. And I just saw that our local security force called Force One, they do a lot of security for the Walmarts in my area.
I just saw that they have cyber trucks now. Yeah, I didn’t think business was that good for them, but it is. So I’m not saying you should, but if you wanted to boost a TV from the Walmart on Wilkerson Boulevard, now’s the time to do it. Because I only have that thing plugged in with a 50 foot extension cord. – I love it. – That’s not why I’m calling. – Of course not. – I’m calling to tell you that when I was younger, I had a pet pig that I told all my secret dreams and desires to. – Oh dear. – Yeah, I knew it was a big mistake. He was bound to squeal. – Oh no, I did not see that coming. – All right, boys and girls, I’ll chat at you later. Dad, that’s about as good as it’s gonna get. Have a good one. – Uh-huh.
– That was good, Dickey G. That one got me. I didn’t know that was coming. – I started to laugh, but I was afraid I was gonna squeal. All right, so coming up next week, or actually later this week on Friday, because Friday’s are our interview episodes, Randy at Progressive Suspension. I had a really good conversation with him, and I think that the only problem with their shocks that they sell is they don’t have any knobs on the shocks so that you can switch them from– – Custom? – Yeah, from a new one. Yeah, from medium to large or whatever, because it does it all automatically.
Yeah, it’s really cool. I’m gonna have to look into these more. So check out Progressive Suspension and have a look at all their products, but their shocks were very interesting, and I think you’ll really enjoy this interview.
All right, and our must-have stuff for your Jeep. Bed cleats, if you have a Gladiator and you have the Mopar Trail Rail System, I think that’s what it’s called, one of the things you’ll quickly notice is it comes with, I think, four cleats, and the cleats are where you can tie things down to the trail system to keep them in place in the back of the bed. So the sad thing about that is, is that you can’t buy any more. Mopar doesn’t sell them. – What? – That’s right. – Why would they do that? They’re still producing the Gladiator, it makes no sense. – They’re producing the Trail Rail System, and that’s all you can get. If you wanna get more, you gotta buy another Trail Rail System. – What are you supposed to, oh, okay, I see what they’re doing. – I don’t know, they just don’t make them available. It doesn’t make any sense, but anyway, I’m sure there’s a reason for it. So digging around on the internet, I found that the bed cleats for the Toyota Tacoma and Tundra are exactly, are nearly exactly the same thing. I can’t tell the difference looking at them. So I found these on the Amazon, the Scourge, Tomahm and Pops everywhere, mom and pop businesses everywhere. I found them on Amazon for $26.89.
So you can– – Is that for a pair or one? – Yeah, for a pair.
So about $10 a piece, but it’s not, but anyway.
So I just bought two more, and I think I have six, a total of six now. So I’ve got, yeah, I think that’s right, because I’ve got two on every side. They don’t have the trail rail on the bed.
Not the bed, the tailgate, but the other three sides you do. Show me, Greg, I know you went to go get something. – So these will be up on the website soon. I’ve never sold them, but I’ve equipped vehicles with them for years.
So there was a couple of companies that made different tie-down systems. So I came up with these and I just call them upfitter tie-downs.
But essentially it’s a hook and loop. It goes in with your, where your factory hardtop bolts go. And it works on Gladiator, JK, TJ, basically everything with a removable hardtop. But I also supply nuts and bolts. So this also works on your Gladiator rail system. You can put it right in the rail and it fits any type of hook and eye.
When I sell them, they come in a bag just like this. It’s very small.
It’s $25 and you get six of them. – Nice. – So we haven’t launched them on the website yet, but I had 10,000 of these made like six years ago and they’ve just been sitting around. And now that we’re finally launching a website, we’re gonna start selling them. – Very cool. – Because there was a lot of companies making different things like that, but they were hundreds of dollars. So I figured something very, very simple, very cheap. And you can even, because of the size and the shape of it, even if you have rocker guards, you can replace a rocker guard bolt and then have a secure tie down spot. So very simple, but right along with what you’re talking about, the bed cleats, because these will work in the same area with that rail system.
But yeah, there’s a million different ones. And we were just looking for bed cleats for this brute that I’m building and couldn’t find good bed cleats.
The Ram used to have cleats that looked like boat cleats and they were phenomenal. Well, they quit making them. Now everybody makes these ugly stamped steel things. So we ended up taking apart a Ram and getting the bed cleats off of it. But yeah, I feel your pain when you’re talking about bed cleats. So I’m really glad you did some legwork and found something that works and will help Jeep people along. – Yeah. – Yeah. – So this is nice because like I said, you got more tie down points and you can put as many of these little bastards in there that you want to. – I think six is probably enough. And I think it’s four comes with the trail rail system and I bought an extra two. So very handy. We’ve talked about these before, but we get new listeners all the time. And you may be complaining about, well, I got a Gladiator. It’s got the trail rail system in it. – But what do I do? – Now I need more tie down points. I mean, you can tie it from side to side, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to tie it across or to add an angle and you need to be able to do these things. It’s a neat system. – Just like one of the other hosts of the show, Chuck, look at his new Gladiator with his 2000 pounds of junk in the back. He needs some tie down points.
(laughing) So he called me earlier today and he’s like, how much is a Gladiator supposed to weigh? Because he put his on a scale and it was like 7,000 pounds. – What? What has he got in there? Oh my God. – Well, he’s got a, what is it, Decker? – Yeah, he’s got a decked drawer system. – What’s the in the back, I saw, yeah. – And he’s got a full contingent of tools and the rooftop tent and water and gas and, right. So he’s, for the guy who, all he did was complain about plastic Jeeps. And he’s going head over heels for plastic. – Yeah, he is, he is embracing the new. He’s having a good time with that thing. – So he hasn’t seen this yet, but I’ll show it to you guys just for fun. So I’ll move the camera. So he’s going to be here. He was supposed to be here tomorrow, but he thinks he’s going to be here Saturday now.
– I made him a front bumper and how do I turn this around?
So no, that didn’t turn it around.
That did.
So this is, we got it from powder coat today. There’s a kitty. – Kitty cat. – So this, it’s a stubby bumper, but these end caps go on it. – Uh-huh.
– So it becomes a full width bumper, but it looks just like a TJ or a YJ stock bumper. – Oh, wonderful. – But it’s all quarter inch plate.
And this is his 8274 winch plate. – Got it. – Cause he’s putting an 8274 on the Gladiator.
So this one’s a one of one just for him.
And then we’re going to do a rear bumper too, to mimic his scrambler rear bumper. – Oh wow. – I’m going to make a custom roll pan and then we’re going to put the bumper
from a scrambler onto his Gladiator. So he can really go the full scrambler,
you know, full scrambler throw down, I guess. – I like it. – On his plastic Jeep.
– Very, very cool. Yeah, you guys need to check out Greg’s website, look at the products that are on there. There’s going to be lots more coming up. Unofficiallyuseonly.com. I’m really excited about getting the door pockets, the replacement door pockets for the JL and the JT, which those should be coming up very soon. – Yeah. – Yeah, so I was on the phone with them today, the manufacturer, we’re T minus about two and a half weeks before we’re actually spitting parts out. And then it’ll probably take a couple of days after we start manufacturing the parts before we’re shipping those door pockets. But they turned out really, really nice. I’ve got some of the pre samples sitting next to me.
And then the bumper, that one was a prototype, but we’re actually launching that. So I think in another two to three weeks, those will be available on the website too.
So very, very simple mid-width and full width bumper that is completely structural, but looks old school. – And I just wanna say– – We’ll launch a bunch of other products after that. – This stuff isn’t affordable. It’s priced appropriately for poor jeepers.
The Greg has said it’s really important to him not to gouge people in prices, and actually like the door pockets. The door pockets easily, $350, $400 from anybody else. You can’t get these type door pockets, but any kind of things that replace those nettings, not doing that. – Have you seen the one?
– Didn’t you do a must have on that before, Tony, or is this something different? – I did a video of Greg in a shop showing the pockets. – The door pockets. – But they’re really, really nice. – Yeah, just like what Tony’s saying, I looked out and I’m a real jeeper, right? I’m not, I don’t charge a lot for what I do. And it’s, that’s why I’m such a small business.
– It’s okay. – But I’m a real jeeper. And I looked, when we came up with the idea for the door pockets and we really started to delve into them, I looked at all the other offerings on the market and some of them are,
they’re crappy aluminum and they’re $300 plus. – Crazy.
– I mean, even the tooling for this cost over, I think it was, we’re at about $130,000 now to tool this. – Wow. – And I wanted it to be, so we’re calling everything OEM plus. So it’s as good or better than the OEM would sell it to you. So we, the manufacturer we’re using, they actually make parts for the OEM. The Greiner is actually the company that does the grain for the factory door pockets. We’re making everything 100% here in the USA, in Michigan. We’re utilizing the manufacturers that Jeep uses.
And these door pockets, yeah, you know, they cost a lot of money, but to manufacture, but I’m playing the long game. I hope I sell a million of them because there’s 3 million JLs that they fit and it fits, it fixes everybody’s problem. And instead of charging three or $400, like most people would, we’re selling them for 150 bucks for the full set. – That’s right, that’s really nice. – That’s a set of four, that’s not a pair. That’s for all four doors. – Yeah, that’s the full set.
And same with the bumper. We don’t have the production numbers in yet, but most aftermarket bumpers go for, (sighs) today it’s pretty bad because there’s bumpers that cost $2,000. – Exactly.
– I’m really hoping to make this bumper, which is, it’s fully structural, it’s internally gusseted. I mean, it’s stronger than most of the ones on the market, but I’m hoping to come in because it’s so simple, right around the $500 mark.
We might be a little bit more, it might hit 600, but I’m hoping to keep it as cheap as humanly possible.
So most manufacturers, the rule of thumb is, when you make something, you charge at least 100% more than it costs you to make it. And I’m going on the 30% range. I’m charging like 30% more than it costs. That way, it’s a long game, right? – Yeah, it has to be, yep. – And I don’t wanna, I mean, it’s gonna keep me small a lot longer, but if I wanna buy something, I wanna buy the best quality I can, but I want those cheap Chinese prices.
– Oh, that’s how you screw them, yeah. – So if I can start doing that and it works, and I’m hoping that it’ll work for me, but if I can do that and it works, maybe I get some really good quality products in a lot of people’s hands and I don’t break their bank. And then I can create customers for life. So every time I make something else, – Well, you establish that trust and you see that quality and a fair price. And then it’s just like, why would I wanna deal with anybody else? Why would I wanna buy off of eBay? Why would I wanna go to China for these Amazon farmers? Absolutely. – Absolutely. – Right, well, and we’re even looking at Amazon. We’ve talked to Amazon about doing, selling our stuff on Amazon. – Sure. – To make it very easy for people. – Yeah, it’s a good platform. – Right, also we’ve been dealing with Jeep and talking with Jeep and the licensing team at Jeep. And we’ve been given approval to license our products through Jeep. So the door pockets eventually will be, they’ll say right on there that they’re an official Jeep product, the bumper. They said, I can have a license for that. We’re even doing the aftermarket grill, which is the YJ grill. And that will be the only aftermarket grill in the world that’s licensed by Jeep. – Square headlights. I’m hoping that the square headlight thing will put away the grumpy, the angry grill forever. – Oh gosh, please. – So anyway, talking about the tie down bed cleats. – So there’s lots of stuff. – The tie down bed cleats. We have the link for the Amazon link. So you could get these bed cleats for your gladiator. Or if you happen to be using a Toyota Tacoma or Tundra or whatever. So it also works with the RAM rail system. So 26, 98, or 89, I should say, which is weird. I would expect 99 or 95, but 89. Anyway, so you can just go to our show notes for this episode and have a look and make a purchase.
All right, well, it’s been a lot of fun here tonight with Greg and Wendy as usual. And Wendy, I remembered your name. That’s a positive. – I’m so excited, finally. How many years has it been? I can’t remember. – So thanks for listening to this episode of the Jeep Talk Show. If you’ve enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and review for your favorite, on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us improve the show and reach more Jeep enthusiasts like yourself. Also, don’t forget to follow us on social media. We love the Instagram. That’s where you’re gonna find a lot of our stuff. And sign up for our email newsletters to stay up to date for the latest Jeep news and events. Finally, if you have any questions or comments or ideas for future episodes, we’d love to hear from you. Go to jeeptalkshow.com slash contact, and you’ll find multiple ways to contact us. Thanks again for listening, and we’ll see you on the next episode. Guys, thanks a lot.
– Broadcasting Sense 2010.
(air whooshing) – You’re my friend, you’re my new friend. (chuckles)