Your Jeep Could Catch Fire! The Massive 1.1 Million Vehicle Recall

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What’s Covered: – **Major Jeep Recall Alert**: Over 1 million Wranglers & Gladiators (2021–2025/2026) at risk of spontaneous fire due to wiring/power steering issues. What Jeep says, what to do, where to park, and VIN check advice. – **Jeep Theft Prevention**: Relay attacks on key fobs, scanners in your driveway, RFID pouches, and why the Taser Mini might be the ultimate solution (including its new PIN code security and light show feature). – **Duck Shaming Segment**: Stock Jeeps covered in dashboard ducks? Josh has strong words — no self-ducking allowed! – **Auxiliary Switches Roundtable**: How many switches do you really need? Guests discuss rock lights, lockers, compressors, wiring tips, and keeping it practical. – **Topless & Doorless Debate**: Pros, cons, weather challenges in Texas vs. other areas, armor lining, bikini tops, half doors, and real-world experiences. – **Nikki G Dad Jokes**, random banter, and more Jeep life wisdom. Plus Josh shares a personal update on his mom and why he’s got time back in the studio. **Timestamps** 00:00:00 Show Opening and Host Greeting 00:00:33 Back in Studio B, Personal Updates 00:01:21 Jeep Fire Risks and Spontaneous Combustion 00:02:30 Jeep Warning: Parking Safety to Prevent Fires 00:03:09 Recall: Wiring Fault in Wrangler/Gladiator 00:03:42 VIN Recall Research and Visual Inspection 00:04:49 Potential Sparks and Fires from Wiring Faults 00:05:33 Low Fire Probability but Growing Cases 00:05:54 Reported Jeep Fires and Recall Scope 00:06:43 Past Jeep Fire Case and Investigation 00:07:14 Personal Recall Experience and Holiday Plans 00:07:56 Checking Recalls on NHTSA; Family Concerns 00:09:03 Recalls Impact on Resale Value 00:11:49 Recalls Affecting Vehicle Value and Repairs 00:13:47 Trailer Hitch Fix and Lighthearted Commentary 00:15:14 Pinto Recall Jokes and Historical References 00:16:48 Jeep Recall Not Largest Yet Significant 00:17:07 Voluntary Recall Initiated by Jeep 00:17:50 Jeep Inspection Plans for Recall Issue 00:18:45 Past Fire Experiences and Possible Causes 00:19:59 Jeep Heat Generation and Fire Risks 00:22:07 Inline‑Six Engine Praise and Hurricane Power 00:24:08 Transition to New Segment 00:26:04 XJ Talk and Key Chip Technology 00:32:03 Key Chip Embedded Technology and Remote Start 00:32:36 Dealership Key Costs and Black‑Box Telemetry 00:33:27 2024‑25 Jeep Telemetry Black Box Details 00:34:13 Clarifying Recall Details and NHTSA Role 00:36:02 Insurance Telematics and Privacy Concerns 00:37:35 Unknown Device Query and Safety Reminder 00:38:35 Taser Mini Security Features for Jeeps 00:40:17 Gladiator Light Show Accident and Taser Mini 00:43:01 Criticism of Dashboard Duck Decorations 00:44:44 New Tires and Sticker Campaign 00:50:16 Auxiliary Switches and Their Uses 00:53:12 Lockers, Switch Panels, and Installation 00:55:08 Air Compressor Placement and Switch Location 00:56:21 Switch Complexity and Labeling Concerns 00:56:59 Cost‑Effective Light and Switch Installations 00:58:00 Light and Switch Labeling Practices 00:58:18 Rock Light Configurations and Diodes 00:59:05 Auxiliary Button Controlling Multiple Lights 00:59:38 Rock Light Setups and Additional Devices 01:00:26 FAD Integration and Switch Usage 01:01:14 Project Assembly and Next Steps 01:01:52 Multi‑Light Auxiliary Button Design 01:02:41 Risks of Untrained Drivers on Modified Jeeps 01:04:32 Glenn’s Segment and Future Topics 01:11:47 Jeep Night Events and Community Outreach 01:14:54 Topless vs Doorless Jeep Debate 01:15:54 Dash Ponchos and Interior Protection 01:16:43 Carpet and Armor Light Options 01:17:29 Carpet Heat Insulation Discussion 01:17:55 Hardtop Comfort and Noise Reduction 01:19:19 Hardtop Heat Impact and Ventilation 01:19:34 Hardtop Effects on Handling and Ride 01:21:10 Hardtop Impact on Driving Comfort 01:21:45 Heat Discomfort and Using Jeep Tops 01:22:44 Two‑Week Trip Gear Planning 01:23:50 Glenn’s Questions and Closing Remarks 01:28:31 Personal Updates and Studio Return 01:32:53 Appreciation and Future Show Plans 01:36:57 Call to Action: Subscribe and Follow 01:38:02 Closing Remarks and Gratitude 01:40:30 Recording History, Archives, and Milestones 01:43:48 Call to Action: Subscribe and Follow #jeeptalkshow #JeepWrangler #JeepGladiator #JeepRecall #JeepLife #OffRoad #WranglerRecall #DuckShaming #TaserMini #JeepCommunity #JoshAndTony Visit our website: https://jeeptalkshow.com/ Watch/Listen on Spotify https://jeeptalkshow.com/spotify Join our Discord Server: https://jeeptalkshow.com/discord Subscribe to our newsletter: https://jeeptalkshow.com/newsletter Help Support the show via Patreon: https://jeeptalkshow.com/patreon

Episiode Transcript

[00:00:00:00 – 00:00:03:10]
(Music)

[00:00:03:10 – 00:01:16:24]
boys and girls, it’s time for another flagship episode and looky looky. Can you, can you believe it? It’s Josh. It’s not Josh in the truck. It’s not actually, it’s not, it’s never Josh, just Josh in the truck. It’s Josh and the steering wheel. Because you know, Josh, I don’t know if you got any Jeep talk show stickers, but you need to put a Jeep talk show sticker on the back of that steering wheel. So whenever you’re turning and the steering wheel covers your face, we get some advertising. Not a bad idea. Not a bad idea. Yeah. I’m back here in studio B back in the saddle as it were again. And it’s been a long time since this studio has gotten any action at all. So it’s a, I may sound a little different than what you guys are used to if you have listened to the show for a long period of time, not exactly working on my best equipment right now, but I’ve got some time in my hands with some stuff that’s been going on in the family. And so I’m able to pop in here into the studio once more and get in with, with Tony for another recording. All right, Josh, I know you quite often, it’s not an official grind, your gears, but it’s always kind of turns out that way. Whenever you get, when you don’t like something Jeep is doing. And I hear you’re not, not in favor for Jeeps burning themselves up.

[00:01:16:24 – 00:01:19:13]
(Music)

[00:01:19:13 – 00:02:12:21]
I, if we, if we get pissed, if we get pissed off and burn them up, that’s one thing, but them doing it by themselves, self suicide, we don’t like. Yeah. Spontaneous combustion is never really a good thing, no matter what you’re dealing with, whether it’s a rag in a bucket in your garage or something on the barbecue or your own beloved Jeep for that matter. Yeah. I don’t know if you’ve seen this, Tony, but Jeep has got another recall that has been announced this last week or so. I believe notices have started going out as of the day of this recording. So, and this is kind of a big one too. This is affecting just the Wranglers. We talked recently about a recall that was affecting the grand Cherokees. This one is affecting the Wranglers and it’s kind of a big one. We’re talking over a million units of this somewhere around, I think 1.1, 1.3 million Jeep Wranglers between these. Is it a million with a B or an M? Million with a B. And that’s right. That’s, you know, I’m glad you remember that.

[00:02:14:00 – 00:04:05:14]
And it’s not only affecting the Wranglers, but also the gladiators. And this is covering between, I believe a year’s 2021 up through 2025 or 2026. So, um, it’s kind of a big deal. Uh, and Jeep’s official statement with this is, uh, is coming along like this. Do not park your Jeep in the garage. Do not park your Jeep next to the house. Do not park your Jeep under a tree because Jeeps and well under this category will could catch fire, uh, just spontaneously without the key being in it without the Jeep being on, they could just spontaneously catch fire and, uh, and you don’t want your garage or the rest of your house going down with the Jeep. I mean, losing your Jeep unto itself is, is nothing anybody wants. But God forbid, uh, it takes your house with it. You don’t need, you don’t need that. So losing your second largest investment in your life is one thing, but losing both the second and the first and potentially some family members or pets as well. Let’s steer away from all that. Okay. So what this, what is happening is, is basically there’s an issue with the wiring in the Wranglers and the gladiators. And what is happening is something involving some sort of a power steering hydraulic control or something along those lines is, um, it has an intermittent connection. It has a connect connectivity issue. Now, whether that means a, a lead on a motherboard, uh, whether that mean an actual wire going into a control unit, um, or the contact thereof, I’m not sure exactly the nth degree of how deep this goes. Let me tell you what I found. I was doing a little research on this yesterday after I found out my VIN number is on the recall list. I knew it would be, I kind of had my suspicions. Yep. So in the factory, and this is, this is a, uh, this is going to be a story of AI trying to kill us in the factory. They had the robot putting this thing, plugging this, this cable in and it was inserted with too much force.

[00:04:06:21 – 00:06:40:12]
And it wasn’t just the vehicles manufactured on Monday or Friday’s. This is, this is a machine that does this thing. It’s pissed off all the time. So it was using too much force and could have caused damage to the wiring that may not show itself for a while. And, uh, that’s why it’s catching fire. Now, at least that’s what I read, uh, yesterday doing a little research on it. So it’s, um, I think that I get the feeling that they’re going to be able to visually inspect these things on inspections and see if there’s damage or not, which I haven’t looked at mine yet, but I’m going to have a look and see if I can tell any damage from like, uh, something that you would think that if you’re causing some damage that there, it would be visible on the outside. Potentially. Uh, and if we’re talking about, you know, a wire with a terminal end on it being shoved into a connector housing, I could see that connector housing, uh, where the, the, the end of that, that wire is going to seat, um, getting cracked, uh, potentially getting blown out, uh, potentially that, that pin not seating as it’s as that it’s plugged is being mated with its opposite side. Uh, and so for the short to occur, you have to touch together or a wire has to touch a ground. So, or you get a loose connection and you get that intermittent connection. You can create a spark in there, kind of like, you know, as a spark plug. Now we’re talking about, you know, milliamps, we’re talking about very low voltage. Could that potentially happen? I’m the case. That’s a very, very small chance of a fire. Maybe they’re being over cautious here, which I’m hoping that’s the case. Well, we’ve already experienced at least the numbers as 48, I think it was 46, 48, 50 or 51. Well, they could be going off right now. I don’t know. Just keep on adding to the list. The tally keeps adding up. Uh, but there has been, there’s people out there going, okay, there’s people out there going, okay, I know where the fire starts started here. Get out of these payments. Yeah. Right. So, uh, there has been one injury associated with it. Let’s keep it to that if we can. Uh, and so if you own a, a, uh, 21, uh, to 25, uh, wrangler or gladiator, uh, and you are parking it in the garage or your car port, uh, let’s go ahead and just back that down into the driveway a little bit more. Now the, somebody out there has a, one of these, uh, these recalled gladiators or a wranglers and they also, and they also have a, uh, wrangler four by E. Now that would be a that you get to two fire. It’s Friday night on his wife, the grand Cherokee too. So you got to drive away just full of recalls.

[00:06:42:25 – 00:07:46:27]
So I don’t know if you remember this or not, Josh, do you remember the, I think it was an interview. It’s been a while back. Um, there was an interview I did or I talked to a guy on the show who, uh, who’s gladiator, it had like 2000 miles on it or 3000 miles on it. And it caught on fire and completely burned down. I was trying to research it. Yeah, exactly. I was trying to research it and I can’t find it. I’m, I’m going to keep looking cause I want to talk to the guy because I remember the big deal was, is that, uh, Jeep was going up, not our fault. We don’t know what you did. You probably hooked up a headlight wrong or something, you know, or, or off road lighting or something wrong. And I wonder if it’s the same issue. Because it would be that vehicle was in this year span of that, that, you know, of what this recall is affecting. So very well could be, I don’t know if he would well end with the way that that thing burnt. I mean, it burnt to the ground. You’re trying to do any post-mortem inspection on that. I don’t know if anything would be able to be discovered. Yeah. I think they found a finger in there too. So there’s no talent.

[00:07:48:15 – 00:07:50:02]
That’s where the ex-wife went.

[00:07:52:06 – 00:07:54:12]
I’ve been saying what up Christmas present.

[00:07:56:18 – 00:09:55:02]
So yeah, if you think that your Jeep or your Wrangler or your gladiator may be affected by this recall, you can head over to the NHTSA website, uh, enter in your VIN. I believe they even have a license plate lookup version of that. But I think just, just be advised, you know, this likely is going to affect your vehicle if you have either a Wrangler or a gladiator within those years, it’s pretty much across the board as far as the trim models go as well. So if you think, Oh, well, just cause I have a Rubicon, it’s not going to affect me or I’ve only got the base model. That’s not going to affect me. Uh, think again, so let’s, uh, you know, out of an abundance of caution, make sure the Jeep is not in the driveway, not in the carport, not next to the garage. Let’s go ahead and pull it down in the driveway, down onto the curb, not underneath the tree. Let’s go ahead and make sure we don’t catch anything on fire. Yeah. No, no napping in the, uh, the gladiator Wrangler. And remember this can happen with the keys in your pocket in the Jeep, you know, a mile away. So yeah, it doesn’t necessarily have to be on or recently used or anything like that. This can be a spontaneous issue that just suddenly happens without warning. Yeah. I’d say that’s a scary thing. And of course, I’m going to say, don’t worry about it. Uh, I, I’m going to check and, uh, well, here’s what I’m worried about. When the website thing comes up and I can put in the VIN number, I’ll check it. And, uh, we, we, the, the article idea or may not even be in this issue. And of course, I looked it up and it comes up as the, there is played as part of the recall. Yeah. But I haven’t told her yet. So obviously with most recalls, uh, the dealerships will be taken care of the issue for free. You’re going to have to obviously schedule the appointment while that I’m wondering what the exact fix is. Are they just going to repair that one inch of wire that is going into a connector? Are they replacing the entire vehicle harness? Is it just that part of the wiring harness? I’m wondering how far this is going to go. And if they have to replace the entire wiring harness on the vehicle, can you imagine how long that would take? I mean, you might be out of your vehicle for a week or two.

[00:09:56:20 – 00:11:02:01]
Oh, and with a million vehicles, gee, that, that could really long a run time. Yeah, this could be something that we’re going to be talking about for a while before, you know, all million point one million point three vehicles get, get fixed. So kind of a big deal, kind of a big issue, affecting a lot of Jeepers out there. Uh, but it sounds like it’s something that Jeep is on top of as way have been with all these, all the recalls in the past. They do have a fix, um, that they’re, they’re working on and, uh, and you can get it done for free. Uh, it’s just a matter of going through all the motions and jumping through the hoops. Yeah. I think it’d be fairly easy. I’ve never done a recall before, but, uh, I did do the, the Jeep wave oil program, uh, which I know is different, but as far as taking it to the dealership and then having them service the vehicle, uh, it’s, it’s, it takes longer than changing your own oil. But, you know, you’re sitting there looking at the space, checking out the other, uh, the other Jeeps that are in the, the, the display area there. So, uh, it’s, it’s nice. And, uh, I, I’ve had no problem. And I suspect that, uh, as long as it’s something that they can do a visual inspection of, uh, I suspect that it’ll go fairly quickly.

[00:11:03:12 – 00:15:29:21]
Yeah, I think so too. I mean, if they get a good fix figured out, which I believe by this point, they would have to have an idea of what they’re going to be doing. So, well, I think it’s an unknown. I mean, I think that they’ve had the fires and they probably looked into it and they’re, they know what to look for, but, and I’m, I’m just guessing this is just my opinion. I suspect they will be able to visually inspect it and determine if something more significant needs to happen. So I’m thinking that you go in, they check it and then you either, you either have a compass to drive home in or it’s like you’re, you’re fine. And then they, they, they mark you off. But I think it’s important, especially if you ever go to sell your Jeep, I think it’s important that you have all of the recalls checked off, because, uh, you know, the computers are doing a lot more these days and that might actually be a, a point that somebody uses like, well, I need to get $42,000 off the price of this off your used vehicle here. You’ve got this one recall. Yeah. I’m going to disagree with you a little bit. Yeah. Right. Uh, in the sense that, that I don’t know if they’re even going to bother with a visual inspection, let’s let, and, and let me play doubles advocate here for just a moment. Let’s say you take your gladiator in, they take a look at it. They see, well, this plug looks good. The wire looks good. We’re going to send you on your way. And in two months later or 2000 miles later, whatever, you know, uh, suddenly there’s a fire. Well, now they are more liable than they were before because they said it was good and it wasn’t. And now your vehicle is on fire going down the I 10. So, you know, let’s, let’s maybe think about, well, I have an abundance of caution. Let’s go ahead and just, we’re going to do the repair. If the vehicles inside of this, you know, group of vehicles that is listed as under the recall, we’re just going to fix it. Even if it’s not broken, we’re going to fix it because we don’t want to be liable for a fire after the fact. Do you remember the, uh, was it the WJ’s that, uh, I think you reported on, uh, where the WJ’s, there, there was a lawsuit, uh, where the, the WJ was rear ended and fairly recently, not back when they first came out, it was rear ended a fire ensued. Yeah. And people, people died. Yeah. And I remember that we were, uh, I was anyway complaining that it was a little, you pointed out as I recall, that it passed all the safety inspections at the time that it was created. And now they’re doing a lawsuit, uh, because the gas tank is there and they were struck from behind by somebody doing 80 miles an hour. And at some point bad things are going to happen that you have control over and the fix and the fix was, do you remember the fix? A trailer hitch, wasn’t it? It was, yeah, it was the whole trailer hanging the trailer hitch. So they were basically putting a nice big hunk of metal between the gas can and the doing 80 miles an hour. That’s going to run into the back of you. I remember at the time we were comparing that to the Ford Pinto from back in the day and the reputation that that old Pinto had come with too, is that you even look at the bumper wrong. The thing’s going to explode, right? There was, I believe coming up with a, with a reference to a movie was like naked gun or something like that. Or Oh, they’ve made fun of it. A movie shot or something like that. And it was, you know, a scene in the movie and it’s like this vehicles barreling out of control down the hill and oh my God, and there’s this Pinto, oh geez, it’s going to blow up the whole town. And, and you know, the vehicle comes up and it’s almost going to touch and it just kisses the bumper. I mean, just it was one of those jokes where it was starting, you know, that, that was then being applied to, it was the WJ or ZJ. It was one of the grand earlier generation grand Cherokees that that issue was, uh, was coming up on. And yeah, the fix was something so simple. We’re just going to slap a trailer hitch on there. There you go. Yeah. So my point is, uh, oh, real quick. There was a joke in the seventies about the Pinto. Uh, it was, uh, I forget the exact wording of the joke, but the punchline was a blonde with a black, a blonde with a toxic shock syndrome from using tampons driving a Pinto. And it was like, she was like a three way loser. Yeah. So anyway, my point here is, uh, the, I think that Jeep having a million vehicles, over a million vehicles that they have to, um,

[00:15:30:25 – 00:18:28:23]
basically say it’s okay or repair. They are going to find the ways of getting through this as quickly and as cheaply as possible because they’re going to weigh the liability with the cost of taking a shortcuts. And I’m not saying the shortcuts are wrong or bad, but that’s why I say if there’s a way to visually inspect it, um, that takes the minimal amount of time for the tech. And if it’s, if it’s reasonable to inspect it and that’s a good way to see. And I think if you’re going to jam two things together, you either take it apart and look at it, or you can actually visually inspect it on the outside. I mean, I’ll know more when I check mine. So I suspect that they’re looking at it like a balance. What can we do here? I mean, they could do an abundance of, um, uh, safety and this, like you said, replace the harness, but good God, can you imagine not just the harness cost, the labor cost? Yeah. That’s what I was saying. If that, if they go that far with the repair, I could see this being kind of an expensive deal for Jeep. Now, in the history of automotive recalls, this is the biggest one. No, certainly not. I mean, the Dakota airbag, I think would certainly take a the number one spot there, the Dakota airbag issue with a number of manufacturers. Yeah. And so, um, and is this Jeep’s biggest one? I don’t think so either. Uh, it’s certainly definitely one of the, the more poignant recalls that I can think of over the years. Um, but, uh, but nonetheless, um, you know, will this be the last recall? Is this something that, you know, will be the end of Jeep? You know, now I don’t think anything like that, but it is serious enough that we should, we’re, we’re talking about it. And I think it’s a voluntary recall. I think I read that as well. So I think it’s actually interesting doing a voluntary recall. So I don’t think it was the NTSB, MO, USC actually requiring it. I could be wrong on that, but I think I remember reading that. All recalls once, if, if it is deemed necessary to be a public concern and the NHTSA is involved or NHTSB, whatever. Um, I think at that point it’s, it’s recorded. It’s official. You’ve got more than just the automaker involved in it. And, uh, and they certainly, they’re certainly aware of it, but I think maybe brought it to their attention is what I’m saying. Not the NHTSA brought it to Jeep’s attention. It was Jeep bringing it to there. So I think Jeep’s trying to do the right thing here, even though it’s a high number of vehicles. Uh, and anytime you can keep a Jeep from burning, I think that’s a God’s work. We don’t want our Jeeps on fire. Hell I almost had a fire in my XJ one time when, uh, my high pressure power steering line, uh, uh, got a spring, I got a leak in it and, uh, there was more smoke coming out of that hood than I’ve seen come out of any Jeep and, and that thing was just spraying on the manifold. And, uh, and I was, you know, I was off camber on a trail for low, I’m climbing a rock and all of a sudden I’ve got clouds. What the hell is this now?

[00:18:31:24 – 00:20:54:07]
It’s one of the, you know, it’s immediately shut things down, open the hood. I mean, it’s just a huge cloud of smoke, fire extinguishers and stuff just on the ready. And you can tell from the smell, it’s not steam. Cause that’s usually what it is. Oh yeah. It blew it out. You know, it’s a transmission fluid or power steering fluid. It definitely has a different smell than oil when it starts to, you know, starts to burn. So I knew there was, you know, there was something going on with some other subsystem and it was easy to, to, to locate and temporarily fix. Did you have that silicon tape that we always talk about? It was shortly after that incident, I believe is when I started talking about that. I don’t know if we were still doing the XJ talk show back then, or if we had switched over to the Jeep talk show by then, but it was one of those things where it’s like, yep, after this, that’s going to be part of the, uh, part of the recovery kit, you know, part of the, uh, the kit that goes in the Jeep. So, I did fix it with about a half a roll of electrical tape. I remember. So got it got me down off the mountain, got me back home, but, uh, I’m sure it was still leaking, but at least it wasn’t spraying. It was bold. You know, yeah, you, you wrap a hose and then all the pressure builds up underneath repair and you’ve got this balloon in on a hose. It looks like a snake that ate a rabbit. And, uh, uh, but again, I got home. I still had power steering for the most part. I was able to keep the fluid in there enough to where I could maintain power steering and, and not catch my Jeep on fire. But, but nonetheless, I mean, that’s all it takes, man. A little fluid leak, a little electrical spark, you know, some bad connections and, and you’re, you can end your day real quickly. Well, I mean, the, the Jeeps generate a lot of heat. Uh, there’s a lot of combustibles, including the, the fuel. So, uh, it’s a miracle that they, that they work the way they do. And that’s a stay a testament to the, the automotive industry or even the individuals that build their own vehicles, uh, that, uh, you can do it, you can do it safely. And I’m glad Jeep is actually, uh, uh, uh, you know, going through this, cause you know, it can’t hurt, uh, it can’t help, uh, their stock prices and so on and so forth. So it’s good. Well, exactly doing that great on the stock market as it is. So, uh, yeah, I mean, you know, I was thinking that who they’re going to fire, who they’re going to fire with this mistake because they had, even if the person wasn’t directly involved, they got to fire somebody cause that makes it seem like it’s going to be better. And then I, then I remember they got rid of Tarar as the, as the guy that was in charge of Stellantis. So maybe he was the sacrificial lamb that they’ll use for this one. Oh yeah, yeah, that was under Tararas back in 21.

[00:20:56:05 – 00:25:07:19]
Yeah. Well, I mean, Stellantis stock has not been doing good over the last, I mean, even you go back like five years and it’s just a, a pretty much standard drop. I mean, they had a little bit of a, of a, of a bump back in like 2024, the first quarter of 2024, but it’s been a pretty much steady slides downward since then. Well, like I said, Tararas was doing trying to make luxury Jeeps and trying to price those things out of the marketplace for people like you and me. I’m not going to say, I’m not going to say the Wagoneer or the Grand Wagoneer was the end of, of, of Jeeps, you know, a stock market, uh, uh, prowess, but was it the right direction to go? And they are really nice. They are gorgeous. They are beautiful. They are comfortable. They are an amazing rig. Yeah. But the price point, man, Oh, I know. it’s just, it’s, it’s a little bit out of reach for most. I have seen a few of them in my area. I have not seen a grand Wagoneer. I have seen a, uh, at least two, if not three different Wagoneers, I’m not sure of the exact trim level. I know there’s like two or three sub trims of the Wagoneer, but, um, but nonetheless, I mean, people are buying them. They are out there, but, uh, they’re using those hurricane engines, uh, and I’m too, which is amazing. I have not heard anything negative about the hurricane. I really haven’t either. And to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to, if you’re going to re, if you’re going to resurrect an inline six engine, uh, not even though completely different manufacturers, completely different design and everything, but think about the reputation of the inline six motor and Jeep. It’s got Danny’s DNA in it. That’s what makes it. It goes way back. It’s got decades of, of exceptional, uh, uh, heritage and, and, uh, uh, and review, uh, just so much aftermarket support. Um, I’m not surprised that Jeep said, Hey, let’s take a look at the inline six again. And then somebody said, yeah, let’s slap two turbos on it too. And it’s like, you know, okay, sure. And the guy in the back of the guy in the black goes at a blower. So it’s right. And it’s, it’s okay. How much horsepower can we create? You know? So, um, well those inline six is at least the four O is very tough. So there was a lot of stuff you could do to it because it was so tough. I’m kind of curious cause we’re not, we’re not quite there yet to see what kind of, you know, mileage these things can produce without, without issue. But I would suspect that we’re going to see out of the hurricane, another 200, 300,000 mile motor easily. Uh, now the subsystems, I could see turbos going out. I could see, you know, peripherals, uh, you know, kind of, uh, in the bed as it were and having an issue with, uh, with one thing or another, as you get up to a quarter million miles and above. But that being said, you know, look at the inline six, the, uh, the four liter inline six and, and how long that has been running. And we’ve got, you know, Jeeps out there with the inline six that are pushing a half a million miles or more. So, and still running strong. So it’s, it’s one of those things. I think it’s, it’s such a good design, the inline six engine, even though this is not that motor, uh, from yesteryear, I believe it’s, it’s going to go down in history as, as Jeep’s second best motor. Uh, let me switch gears on you. Oh, and by the way, um, uh, and I don’t mind people knowing this, uh, with the new technology we have here at the Jeep talk show, uh, I can make the show a little more pleasant, uh, for children that may be listening while you’re driving from here to there. Cause you know, Josh, we’ve, it’s clearly marked that this is an explicit show historically has been people complain about. They can’t listen to the show anymore with the kids in the Jeep because of bad words. And it’s like, it’s explicit. We tell you. You know, and it’s okay. I let ones, I let, I let an expletive fly just a minute ago. I usually try and, and, and, you know, letter it out. Well, that, that’s a pile of stuff. This is what the stop right there. I want it. I want to tell you with the new technology that we have, you can be as colorful as you like, because it will all be bleeped out. And I personally, okay, here we go.

[00:25:08:21 – 00:25:58:03]
And I personally think that it’s so funny when you hear somebody talk on, there’s bleeps, especially if there’s 27 beeps in a row. Oh yeah. Right. So the other day you’d made an announcement that you’re going to do, what was, what did you call it? What the fuck? I call it the, you were you, yeah. I was like, I was, I got to tell Josh to tell us, use the word. You don’t have to, you know, rate, you know, rate G. We can, we can PG 13 that automatic. Do you know that the thing actually picked up the and as bad words to the, yeah, I did bleep the. Yeah. So it was really cool. It sounded great. All right. So, so what I’m telling you is be as colorful as you like we’re, we’re cool. Now, I just have to remember the run the profanity filter on it, but for,

[00:25:59:07 – 00:26:01:10]
expect that one box otherwise.

[00:26:02:17 – 00:32:58:19]
All right. Anyway, switching gears. So, uh, uh, you have an XJ, uh, well, this is actually does kind of apply to you because if, uh, if, if you’re new to the show and you don’t know about the, the 37,000 times, Josh’s Honda was stolen from his driveway, Josh is very a keen observer of his Honda disappearing. It always came back. They were always, they always found it. He always got more stuff in it than when it left. I’m using a couple of things from the first time it was stolen. I got a little external battery pack that I use, uh, uh, when I’m out and about and I need to, you know, charge my phone cause I I’m a, I’m a miser and I’m still rocking a phone from like eight years ago. Oh yeah. No, I have the same way. So this is an interesting thing. As technology gets better, uh, apparently it gets easier to steal. So, uh, and I think we’ve talked about this before, Josh, you’re, you’re aware of how they, they can use scanners to scan the key fob. Oh yeah. Code grabbing has been a thing for, for decades. I mean, I remember back when even I was working in the automotive electronic business, the aftermarket world of, uh, automotive electronics and the alarm technology back then, and we’re talking, this was, you know, 25 years ago, uh, or better. And the tech automotive back then, uh, was using things like code scare or code jumping, um, to where the, the, the remote and the brain would communicate with each other and say, okay, we’re going to switch frequencies to this every time you push the button. And it kept going to different versions of a different frequency so that every time you push the button, it wasn’t the same exact frequency code that was going out as the last time. And it would help you prevent, uh, from people grabbing the code from the vehicle and, and being able to, you know, disarm or rearm the system and screw with you. Yep. So this is high tech Jeep theft scanners, antennas, and your driveway. Um, this scares the hell out of me because I have a modern day. It’s a 2021 gladiator, but I have a modern day vehicle that this can be done to. So, and we talked about this a while back. I think you were still with the show at the time, uh, where they, they sell RFID patch it pouches and RFID boxes. It’s like a Faraday pack or an envelope or a box. Yeah. You throw your remote to your phone in there at the, uh, the end of the day and nobody can, uh, can latch onto the frequency. They can’t grab them. Right. And, and quite literally, and you guys have probably seen this, maybe not. This may be new to you, but the guys that are trying to steal your Jeep, they’ll walk around your house, usually close to the front door with these big wire antennas, big loop antennas. And they’re walking around like they’re, like they’re an old man on the beach searching for stuff and buried in the sand, except they’re holding the loop up, uh, up high. Basically they’re sending out, uh, this code to the fob your, your fob probably hanging close to the front door, uh, right there. And it will trigger it and it will respond like, uh, it would respond to your Jeep whenever you’re going to be driving it. And it would get the code and then they would repeat that code, uh, whatever it is, uh, whether it’s a code or some series of frequency changes or whatever, whatever it takes. And the, they would unlock the Jeep, hop in it, start it, drive it away. Oh, cause nowadays, yeah, it’s, it’s all, it’s all proximity sensing and you just get into the vehicle and you push the button. There’s no key that goes into a cylinder anymore. Exactly. And of course that was problematic too. Cause people would use screwdrivers and a hammer, uh, to bypass that. But it was, I mean, getting inside the vehicle is a little more difficult. This is just a clean, uh, open the door. It unlocks, open the door, press the button and back out and drive away. It was happening. We need to go back to the transponder days where your key had a vehicle VIN specific, uh, RF frequency that the, I mean, GM did this back in the late nineties, early 2000s to where, um, you had to have that key to that vehicle and it had to be within proximity of the, um, the ignition. Cause there was a little, there was a little code ring. There was a little, uh, antenna that was built into the lock cylinder. And as that key was inserted, there’s a small little microchip inside of the plastic part of the key. And it would essentially, they would communicate with each other. Um, and it was like, is this the right frequency key? Yes, it is. I will allow the, the electronic signal path to be connected. The key would fit and you can turn it, but then a little display would come up. Theft or right. It was right. Right. So if you didn’t have the right frequency key, even though that key might’ve fit in the ignition, it would not start the vehicle. And so, and it, this is a passive sort of thing. Now, even though the key fobs of today are a little, are somewhat similar in the sense that there, there is an active communication between the key fob and the vehicle itself. And that is what the thieves are using is that active communication between the fob and, and the vehicle itself. They’re snatching that frequency. They’re amplifying it, re-sending it back to the vehicle. And essentially the vehicle is thinking that you just push the button on your, on your, you know, the unlock button on your fob. And that’s all the vehicle needs to see. Oh, okay. The vehicle’s unlocked. I see the code for the vehicle for the fob. I’m going to allow you to start the vehicle and, and there’s no steering lock anymore as far as, you know, the, the, with the ignition go, the ignition lockout, um, as far as, you know, the steering lock and mechanical. Yeah, it’s still there, but it’s, it’s electronically disabled as soon as the vehicle sees that code. So yeah, they save a nickel, not putting the lock mechanism on the steering wheel, which is another reason why they do it. Let’s go ahead and make your fan a blower, uh, computer controlled, but let’s like the ignition, you know, let’s not, you know, get steer away from all the mechanical stuff. We’ve talked about, uh, we’ve talked about subscriptions before, boy, locking the steering wheel would be a great description. Uh, oh, you want to drive your drive, your vehicle. We can unlock that steering wheel for you. You can pay your driver subscription fee this month. Yeah. So the cool thing about that key thing you were talking about where the little chips embedded in the key. Yeah. There’s no battery. I was going to point that out for people. There’s no battery in the key. It’s the, the, the, the transmitting from the Jeep to the, the key, it would power that chip long enough to send back the code. So it, it wasn’t a bad idea. It was pretty cool until you, it wouldn’t work. And you had to go to the dealership and pay 200, $300. So blah, blah, blah, blah. So I remember back in the day, it’s like, Oh, you want remote start with your suburban or your, your Yukon or something like that. Well, I’m going to have to ask you to go to the dealership and go pay $250 to go get a key that we can then embed inside of this box that we’re going to mount upside underneath your dash that will tell the ignition that there’s a key in the vehicle and that will allow you to remote start the rig. And, you know, a whole bunch of rig in my role for something so simple. So I’m going to get off subject here, which is really unusual for me.

[00:32:59:24 – 00:33:07:23]
I’m on, I’m on a task you with researching something that I think would be right up your alley. I was told you’re being on that.

[00:33:09:23 – 00:35:04:20]
Well, you were just mentioned the box that’s installed under the dash. What about the box that they now have in the 20, 24, 20, 25 Jeeps that record every thing that you do and how fast you were going and how you were giving the ability to give it and they sell it. They sell the information to insurance companies. They’re, the Jeep has a and I’ve only scratched the surface of this. That’s why I’m asking you to get into it. Cause like I say, I think you can get really upset about this. There’s like a three step process that you have to go through to remove that box and convince the Jeep it’s okay that you don’t have GPS signal anymore. That box isn’t connected anymore, but it’s okay. You don’t have to flashlights and stuff on the dash. Interesting. Yeah. Interesting. I didn’t think Jeep was doing this, but apparently in the, the 2024 and 2025 they’ve started doing it and I think it has to do with government. It could be another revenue string. I remember the J K J K U series. There was something underneath the center console. It was, um, it was about the size of like a DVD case or CD case. Um, and it was only about three quarters of an inch thick, but it was like an accelerometer type of sensor that let the Jeep know, let the computer and the Jeep know that, um, the Jeep was under acceleration. The Jeep was off camber, uh, things like that. That allowed certain systems to work or not work, uh, maybe tied into the vehicle security system to where if it saw, uh, somebody Jack the Jeep up, um, as the, if the vehicle was, it was armed, it would be like, Oh, Hey, somebody’s trying to steal the tires. Hey, somebody’s trying to tow this thing away. Yeah. And it would, it would, it would trip the, uh, the factory alarm. But I think this really, really is your line of getting pissed off and how you do. It’s hilarious.

[00:35:06:05 – 00:36:23:27]
Years ago, uh, I can’t remember which insurance company started it. It might’ve been progressive. It might’ve been Geico. I can’t remember, but it was a little, it was a little, uh, OBD to fob that you could plug into the computer, plug into that port underneath your dash and it would record your talent to the, to the vehicle telemetry and sent you would have to either upload it once a month or it did to automatically or whatever. And it would let the insurance company know, Hey, he has exceeded the speed limit. A good boy. I’m doing what else is measured acceleration and breaking as well. And so if you were a hard breaker, it would change the cost of your insurance. Absolutely. So if it saw that you’re, you like to accelerate from a stoplight very fast, a lot more frequently than the next guy, well, your insurance rate would go up and, and the same thing with hard breaking, et cetera, et cetera. And having a bad ass Jeep should, you should not be, you should get a badge. I want to drive it. So I’m going to have a few more miles on it than the next guy. Okay. So what? Big deal. Well, we’re going to have to charge you more for that. Well, you, I don’t need you watching how much I drive. I’m just going to pay that flat rate. I don’t need you watching where I go. I don’t need you watching how fast I’m pulling off. A lot of people were feeling the way you felt, Josh. Cause now I don’t need brother watch me. It’s like, you know, now it’s not an option.

[00:36:26:29 – 00:37:37:17]
So knowing where you were and this could be used in criminal cases, the murders and stuff, you know, no, I wasn’t there. You’re smart enough to put your phone in a RFID bag, a Faraday cage type thing so that they can’t track you before that you’re going out to get rid of that final problem with the ex wife. And now they can just use your vehicle. I like the idea of, well, my vehicle just got stolen. Where is it? Well, you know, you, back in the day on star could find the vehicle for you. That they believe they had some, uh, you know, way back there, you had, what was that? Low Jack, low, low Jack. Exactly. Yeah. That was, I was kind of a really based in California, but then it went nationwide like in the nineties and stuff. But, um, but nonetheless that technology has sort of been out there for, for a bit of a, for a long while. Now, I don’t need that being tracked though. And logged and sold when it’s for my benefit. I like it. It goes against me. I don’t like it. It’s that simple. So anyway, find out some stuff about that. And, uh, viewers, you need to stay tuned and hear Josh talk about this. Maybe this will be that thing you were talking about. What is that? What is that thing again? Say it again.

[00:37:39:07 – 00:39:29:04]
There we go. That’s pretty simple. Yeah. All right. Anyway, let me give you a tease, Tony. I’ve got, I’ve got one loaded here. So let me finish up. I’m gonna finish up on this one. All right. So, uh, as, as we’ve been discussing this, uh, method exploits the passive keyless entry system found on a mini newer Jeeps, uh, wranglers gladiators, uh, grand Cherokee, while the exact numbers for Jeeps are hard to isolate relay attacks have become one of the fastest growing car theft methods nationwide. Now I’m probably on another list, but I went over to eBay to see if I could, cause it mentions in the stuff that I was researching that you can get these devices off of eBay. And I’m sure from another country or something, I’d like to have one, uh, just to see how it works. Uh, and who knows, maybe I’ll lose my keys. You’re going to end up on a list. That’s all I’m going to say to that. The FBI may have a few questions for you in a few weeks, but you’re going to end up on a list. You gotta be careful with that. So you highlighted Taser, uh, many there in the show notes and, uh, do you know about the code? Every time I, every time I hear something, you know, pops up in the Jeep world about this technology, I find out that the Taser mini is capable of addressing it. Yeah. And it’s just like, what does this thing not do? What does this thing not capable of? It’s I’m sure I knew it was a cool device when it first came out and its capabilities, but it’s like every couple of few years I keep getting blown away about how the Taser mini has, Oh yeah, by the way, it also does this. Oh yeah. It can also do that. Remember that thing that you bought, you know, like five, six years ago and now there’s this new threat. Oh, by the way, that old device can take care of this new threat. And it’s just, it’s so cool. So it’s like radar. It’s like the radar guns that the police use and the, and the radar detectors that people use. There’s, it’s a back and forth. They’re probably the same company doing both sides. Oh geez.

[00:39:30:23 – 00:39:41:07]
Yeah. But they have a pin code on the Taser mini now. You can actually have to put in a pin code before you can drive away in your Jeep. It’s like two, two factor authentication for driving your Jeep.

[00:39:42:15 – 00:41:33:19]
Exactly. Oh yeah. I mean, if, if nothing else, uh, for all of the other aftermarket abilities that the Taser mini has, it also has a built-in security feature that completely makes this code grabbing stuff obsolete and makes it a moot point. So if you don’t have a Taser mini and you’ve got a newer Jeep and you’re, you know, in the midst of building it or already have built it, look into the Taser mini, look at what it can do for you. There is a ton of stuff that that Taser mini can do that you will actually find rather impressive, not to mention the least of which being able to keep your Jeep in the driveway. I got a call the other night. Uh, my wife, uh, driven the, the gladiator, she loves the gladiator. She drove it over to her mom’s house and I got a call because she was going to be leaving and the, all the lights were flashing on the gladiator. The headlights were flashing the run, the running daylight running lights were flashing and not, not in sequence. I mean, in the sequence, but they were all randomly going off and on. And then it was like all over. It was this, this, this light show. And, and I told her, I said, yeah, on the Taser mini, there is the way of turning on light show. Yeah. I was going to say, I thought there was a feature in there that would allow you to do also in what it would just random disco mode. It’s really cool. You don’t use it for anything, but you can do it. And I, and I forget what it is now, but on the, uh, the, on the, the key fob, I think it’s the, the remote start button. You press that thing two times and then you press another button and then you press the, the, the, the remote start button again, and it turns it on. And, uh, the, the, the, the Taser mini actually allows you to have four or five different light shows or you can do your own. Oh, that’s cool. So she might’ve accidentally pushed some buttons in the purse or something like that and started this whole light show. Admittedly, I didn’t do that.

[00:41:36:20 – 00:42:28:25]
Okay. Okay. It’s aliens. Then did you see a UFO? Or do you have any missing time? I was just talking to somebody the other day about sunspots. So anyway, uh, she got it turned off. She was happy. She drove home. Uh, personally, I think it’d been fun to drive it with the light show. Uh, but she’s right. She’s already worried enough about cops. Uh, but, but anyway, it does, it has a lot of little things that you could do on there. I have not turned on the pin code because I’m afraid that my wife drives the gladiator to infrequently and I’m going to get a call. Uh, I can’t remember the code. Yeah. And it’s not an actual code. It’s all like you’re using the center display. Defrost button horn twice, left turn signal. There you go. Unfortunately it’s all on the steering wheel, but it’s like, you know, this button twice and blah, blah, blah, blah. It’s a, a lot like dating. Um, so, uh, anyway, uh, now let’s, let’s, let’s do, go back to what you were going to talk about the,

[00:42:29:29 – 00:43:47:13]
which I can’t remember. We, we teased this a week or two ago and I was talking about the segment that I, that I kind of want to do. And for those who have been a fan of the Jeep talk show or even way back in the day, the XJ talk show and stuff, you know, that I, I love segments, um, and, and different, different things that, that provide a little, uh, a little color and a little, uh, difference to the show. And we’ve done different things over the years. I mean, like Amazon, you bought what comes to mind and, uh, um, a few others that we’ve done over the years. Well, this is sort of in that same spirit, uh, the you, you, it’s something that I have seen out in the world where you typically the Jeep world, um, if not just out driving around. Uh, and it’s something that it’s like, no, no, no, no, no, you don’t get to get away with this. I’m sorry. We need to bring back a lot more shaming to, to society. That’s what we’re missing in this world. People out there that just do things because they think it’s okay because they think it’s cute because they saw somebody and they want to do something like that too. And so on their stock renegade, that looks like a corporate sized bag of Skittles has puked all over the dash because you’ve got 37 ducks across the dashboard of your stock renegade.

[00:43:49:02 – 00:44:16:29]
That’s not how this works. You’re, you have a bone stock Jeep that nobody freaking wants. And no, you’re not part of this community because you decided yourself to put down an entire collection of ducks across your dashboard to make it look like the entire rainbow has puked across your dashboard. No, I’m sorry. You don’t get to Jeep your own. You don’t get to duck your own Jeep. That’s not how it works. You don’t get to give yourself your own nickname. You don’t get to give yourself your own call sign. I’m sorry, but you, you,

[00:44:18:05 – 00:44:48:20]
you don’t get to do this kind of stuff. So for those of you who are putting colored ducks on your own dashboard, just go eat a bullet. Seriously. Take yourself out of the gene pool. The Jeep community does not need you. We do not want you. You are not doing anybody any favors. And for God’s sakes, throw away the ducks. Throw away the ducks. If you have a stock Jeep, you haven’t done anything to it at all. Well, I put some new highway tires on it the other day. You, you,

[00:44:50:01 – 00:45:25:08]
I’m sorry, but no, you’re, you’re, you’re the one sticker you put on the back window, the all terrain tires that you decided to buy that are 26 and a half inches tall. No, I’m sorry. Your bone stock Renegade, that has 47 colored ducks across the dashboard of all different size, type and shape that you bought off of Amazon in one purchase. No, I’m sorry. It doesn’t work. You don’t get to do that. And if I see it again, I’m going to shame you publicly in some way, form or fashion. I will find a way. I will find a way.

[00:45:26:25 – 00:45:43:24]
So I got to set myself a note to have a little banner, a little ticker at the bottom of the screen. The views expressed by Josh did not necessarily, I mean, those are the rest of the cheap talk show. The bullet was a little too far. I mean, if you had given the caliber to use that, I think it had been a little worse.

[00:45:45:27 – 00:46:16:11]
I just, I, and out here in the Pacific Northwest, I, I think it’s the worst. Maybe you guys have seen this in your neck of the woods as well. I don’t know, but people having fun with Jeeps, Josh. No, in the zero of Liptard central where it’s nothing but Birkenstocks and Subaru’s around here. If you’re going to have a Jeep in the Pacific Northwest, you at least need to follow the rules. Okay. What a great place to have a Jeep too. I mean, beautiful wheeling locations. It’s a shame.

[00:46:17:22 – 00:47:11:23]
Sure. But if I see that you’re, you’re, you’re your stock Patriot out on the trail and you’ve got every color of duck imaginable on your dashboard. No, hanging from the rear, the mirror, you don’t have a single, you don’t even have a Jeep wave sticker on the mirror. So let me, let me give you a little thing here that you can tell me what you would think about this. All right. You’re off road. You’re driving around and that that Patriot or that compass or whatever, with all this stuff on it, uh, they’re off road. They’ve made the mistake to actually go in a hard off road thing. I ask you, can you, can you give me a tow through some of this stuff? It’s just too difficult for me to go through there. Now, be in the Jeep or that you are, you would definitely tow them, but how fast would it be? And would they become airborne? Would you basically be flying a Jeep kite if you were towing them through the rough stuff?

[00:47:12:24 – 00:49:46:17]
Good question, Tony. I, I, so there’s, there’s been situations where I’ve been out on the trail and somebody’s got their outback up there and it’s just like, what the are you doing up here with that? There was all of their blooming onion, by the way, there was something I saw. There was a vehicle up there. It was like a Hyundai or something like that. And, or, or, uh, God, I can’t remember what it was now. And it was like the last vehicle that you would ever expect to see off road. And it’s just like, it’s all wheel drive. It says AWD across the sky. Well, that must mean that I can go do off pro trails and stuff like that. And it wasn’t that they were just like adjacent from a logging road. No, they were actually on a trail. And, and it’s just like, I can’t believe that you took this car, this car, it was a car, this one or minivan. I mean, this wasn’t a truck. It wasn’t a Jeep. It wasn’t a vehicle by any stretch of the imagination that should have been anywhere off of a gravel road. But because it had the letters AWD on it, they thought, well, I could just about go anywhere I want to. And, and of course, no, they got stuck because their vehicle had highway tires on it. It had virtually no articulation. And of course, all wheel drive doesn’t mean that you can get out of a stuck situation. And of course, no recovery points either, because well, why would we do that? Oh, you’re not going to say that it’s all wheel drive. No. And so it’s, you know, it’s wrapping a strap around, or around like the, uh, around the A arm or something like that. Somewhere involved in this situation. I can tell. Seriously. And so, you know, it got them back out to the road, but it was just like, you know, you’ve got no business being here. I don’t know what the you were thinking, but you need to go home. It was, I mean, it was, it was seriously, it was one of those situations where it was just like, I had to educate the person. You’ve got no business being up here. You do not have the vehicle. You are not equipped. You are not personally equipped. You know, you’re, you’re up here in shorts and sandals. You don’t even have a bottle of water with you. And what if I hadn’t come around? What if nobody else had come around and you’re going to spend the night up here? So let me give you an idea that I think might be a good one for you. In those situations for what you need to give, have two sets of stickers. You need that thing that you were just talking about. And then also a trail rated sticker. So whenever you find them and you say you don’t understand what’s going on, you can’t drive this Subaru off road without a trail rated badge. And then you, and then you slap, you slap that on there. Just like Jeep did to the Liberty and other vehicles. Why is trail rated?

[00:49:48:16 – 00:50:30:23]
Are we arrogant? So we just think we’re so superior than everyone else. It needs to be those stickers that like the highway patrol uses that when you park your vehicle off on the side of the road, you can’t get them off. They tear and not super glue on the back of them. You know, that’s a sticker set that I need to get. And it’s like, I was rescued by a jeeper because I was a dumbass. And you know, something like that across the back window, it’s like, yeah, okay, here’s, here’s your sticker. I’ll get, everybody gets one. Here’s your one. But you gotta, you gotta rock this. You gotta rock this shame badge now. All right. So, uh, not related. This is on the segue from dumbass to Nikki G, but all dog, the hell let’s do it anyway.

[00:50:32:09 – 00:50:33:13]
Let’s get to Nikki G.

[00:50:34:07 – 00:50:38:10]
From the mind of Nicki G

[00:50:38:10 – 00:50:43:05]
Hey this is Nicky G and I just found out that my countertops are made out of slate.

[00:50:44:06 – 00:50:46:05]
You haven’t taken them for granted this whole time.

[00:50:48:17 – 00:50:52:07]
I can’t remember the second joke.

[00:50:53:13 – 00:50:55:23]
Hey Siri, tell me a dad joke.

[00:50:59:20 – 00:51:09:04]
I asked my dad to teach me how to drive a stick. Okay, he said, but maybe we should start with a car. (Horn)

[00:51:11:05 – 00:51:12:28]
That sounds like a Nicky G joke.

[00:51:14:11 – 00:51:16:17]
Okay, I can’t be this lazy, can I?

[00:51:17:17 – 00:51:22:04]
I met a guy online that said I could buy any monument I want in Egypt.

[00:51:23:10 – 00:51:25:14]
Yeah, it turned out to be a giant pyramid scheme.

[00:51:28:16 – 00:51:35:20]
I can’t believe I forgot that one. Alright boys and girls, I said you later, have a good one, bye.

[00:51:35:20 – 00:51:55:23]
miss me, Nikki G. I miss me some, and in fact, it actually reminds me of Nikki G something that I, it was a sign or a bumper sticker I saw the other day. And it was basically like, well, here, let me, let me go ahead and just on Nikki G’s joke here. Hey Nikki G, what did the trailer say to the Jeep?

[00:51:57:03 – 00:51:58:20]
Just keep going, I’ll go where I’m toed.

[00:52:00:24 – 00:52:27:23]
That’s a Nikki G. I know, that’s bad. That’s a Nikki G right there. I got it, I got it. I got it, you know, at least measure up to, to that level of, of Nikki G. So I miss me some Nikki G. I’m so glad that he has stuck with us all these years. And at this point, I mean, he’s about ready for a paycheck. I know he’s getting excited about that. He’s like, I could get paid for a joke. He’s been doing this for a long time and we really appreciate

[00:52:27:23 – 00:52:29:14]
(Music)

[00:52:29:14 – 00:53:01:23]
yeah, as I was mentioning to the group that’s here tonight, we saw somebody post that Harbor Freight, they called it Hobo Freight, now has a switch panel for lights and things. And of course, it’s not jeep specific. You can use it for anything you want to hang lights off of. And it made me think I know the answer for me. And I think a lot of you guys know the answer for me is the question being, how many switches do you need? And I think Dusty Dunn actually said on the discord, all of them,

[00:53:03:17 – 00:53:17:17]
because there’s always something to add. John, you just mentioned you were taking lights off. Is there a reason why you’re taking lights off? Because I mean, that’s really what we do. You mainly use the switches for, I believe. Yeah, I’ve decided to kind of.

[00:53:19:10 – 00:53:55:28]
The type of willing I’m going to be doing, I’m going to be, you know, going to an aftermarket roll cage and taking my windshield out because I was at Good Evening Ranch this past couple of weeks, well over Memorial Day, and I seen a couple of guys smash their windshield and their A pillar in. So I’m going to be losing the light bar and the pod lights and all that stuff. So and my lockers are on, you know, my lockers are ox locker cable lockers. So I don’t need a switch for that. So have you thought about losing? Have you thought about going with the solenoids on the ox lockers and making them electrical?

[00:53:57:05 – 00:54:45:23]
I, everybody I’ve wheeled with recently, everybody that had some type of e-locker has had trouble with them. I’m not saying they’re all bad, but I just like the, if it’s in gear, it’s in gear. If it’s not, it’s not, you know, and then I got to drive away function where I can screw it in. If the cable breaks, it’s just one less circuit to have to worry about. Yeah, I love the cable idea. I love the mechanical stuff, the linkage, not those little knobs that you turn to put it in four wheel drive. I think that is counterintuitive on any off-road vehicle. And I really like the mechanical side of things for controlling devices. My problem is, and of course I’ve never done it, which is probably why I have the fear is how do you route that cable?

[00:54:48:05 – 00:55:28:19]
Yeah. So I like the idea that ox locker has the ability to put solenoids on there. So the cable just has to run to the solenoid. Yeah. And then you control the solenoid electrically. And I think that’s a great idea. And I think you can still do what you’re doing where you have a lock or unlock manually, where you’d have to climb underneath there. So I’ve always liked the ox lockers. I think that that’s a cool locker. I’m kind of destined to ARBs for the gladiators, what I’ve got in the rear of the XJ and one other one to install. All right. So let’s see who else we got here. John Lee, how many auxiliary switches do you need?

[00:55:30:00 – 00:56:11:26]
So I think it depends on kind of where. And when I say that, it’s like, so my main panel, I’ve got, I think six, nothing fancy. It’s the old school rocker switches. And I’ve got, you know, rock lights on one, my front lights on another. I’ve got under hood lights to turn on and then front and rear locker. And then the last one is my radio. So I’ve got my my GMRS radio program in one. And then I’ve also got a rocker switches and underneath the seat to control the air compressor. And so like, I mean, to me, as many as you need, like, I don’t think if any time I can get a good collection of them to kind of organize it,

[00:56:13:10 – 00:56:41:29]
it’s better to build that control center. So because the part problem I’m starting to have now is like, you’re starting to add these switches, but they’re like, they’re going everywhere. I can mount this over here. There’s an air switch over here. There’s a switch over there. So I think kind of organizing them into a single place sounds good, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money. I mean, there’s a lot of cool features you can get with Bluetooth and all that kind of stuff. Just plain old fashioned rocker switches with a remote source is really all you need. Relays of rocker switches.

[00:56:43:00 – 00:56:46:13]
Yeah, that’s really all you need. And you can do so much with that.

[00:56:47:15 – 00:57:14:15]
You don’t need to spend 700 bucks for a spot, Bantam, blah, blah, blah. You can spend 250 bucks for a rugged grid set and the right amount of cable to build a good harness to it. And you know, that’s the right way. So do you have any concern? I don’t think that anybody else drives your Jeep. They’re probably scared to, but do you have any concern about somebody else driving your Jeep and you having to give them a crash course and what probably what not switch is not to press?

[00:57:15:29 – 00:57:21:10]
Well, the, the, the locker switch is a little close to the rear. So the sun visor, I found that out the hard way, but

[00:57:23:10 – 00:57:57:02]
the, uh, no, I think I’ve got about those, you can get them on Amazon, so little stickers that kind of tell you what everything is and they’re pretty, they’re pretty descriptive of what they are. I’ve got those on, on all the rockers, which is, but like my gear shifters, I’ve got aftermarket gear shifters in there. They don’t have the gear pattern on it. So you just, you just gotta know what it is kind of thing. So nobody drives that Jeep. I have no idea that you’re a very in tune. You’re the designer. You know where everything is. Although I bet whenever you haven’t driven it in a while, you’re trying to remember where, what panel is that on?

[00:57:58:26 – 00:58:28:24]
What you can, but like I said, I got those little stickers on there. So I kind of know, but I do it. Mine are so cheap. They don’t even have the light up rocker switches. They’re, they’re literally just the plain Jane rocker switches. So at night I just put my hand up there and just count, right? One, two, three, four, and hit it. Cause I know what number it is and hit the switch that way. So I, I’m a big fan of them. I started replacing, you talk about getting rid of lights, uh, Casey Cyclone, the V2 we all use for rock lights. Right.

[00:58:30:00 – 00:59:49:13]
You mentioned aftermarket cage, John, they came out with a, uh, really cool light pod that has two cyclones in it. And it mounts to a roll bar up to like two and a half inches of tubing. And it’s got this button, just like a factory dome light would have. So you can replace your dome light with these two cyclone V2s. I actually sent Casey a message and I was like, Hey, is there any way you can make that up like the factory bar? Cause that would be awesome to run too. You know, just like a pod with two Casey cyclones instead of the factory, like dim led back there. Um, yeah, there’s, there’s always room for, uh, for switches. Oh yeah, absolutely. So, uh, let me ask you this, uh, actually, Rick, uh, are you doing the switches in your, uh, your TJ build yet or have you already done that? Nope. I hadn’t got there yet. Uh, I’ve, I’ve got the, uh, ox beam eight gate, eight panel switch is what I got. And, uh, and I bought the, I went ahead and bought a bezel that goes around that it’ll fit in and goes down there where the, uh, uh, with a cigarette lighter, quote, quote situation, all that stuff is down there. So I’m, I’m, you know, I’m going to be pretty happy with that. Uh, I’ll be, uh, controlling the, my rock lights with it. Um, I also have my rock lights. I’ve got diodes built into my rock lights so that, uh, any, because I can’t,

[00:59:50:17 – 01:01:14:26]
I was having a hard time seeing when I would back up. My rock lights wired in so that when I put it in reverse, all my rock lights come on with my reverse light. So everything lights up all around me when I’m backing up. And then, uh, then, but if I just turn on my rock lights, my reverse lights don’t come on. So that’s what the dial does. And, uh, I like that. Um, but you know, we’re putting these JL Rubicon axles in there. Obviously I’m going to be controlling both lockers with a, you know, one switch for each locker. Um, I’ve also got the FAD. Um, and unless I can figure out how to wire that into my four wheel drive, you know, so that when I put it in four wheel drive, the FAD kicks on and off. Um, I’ll be using one of those switches for that. Um, I’ve also got a couple of fog lights up front or amber lights up front. And then I’ve got some, uh, some drive, uh, DRLs lights that I’ll probably put on another switch. Um, and then I’ll, I’ll, I’ll probably wire one switch. I’m going to put some led lights inside of the cab area because it’s always really dim in there. I’m digging around in there trying to find stuff, but, uh, yeah, that’s, I mean, that chews up a eight game switch pretty quick. It’s amazing. Just doing, just doing that little bit. Yep.

[01:01:16:01 – 01:02:49:12]
So that’s, that’s my plan with all that. So, uh, I think all three of you guys have highly modified Jeeps. And I did a lot of stuff to my XJ, you know, cut it up, put stuff in there, but with the, uh, the gladiator, I’ve kind of wanted to keep it factory. So I have the auxiliary buttons from the factory, the OEM ones. And I recently added the switch panel on the other side for the lockers. That’s aftermarket, but it has an additional, uh, two auxiliary buttons there that I’m, I’ve used one of them. Um, and, um, I’m actually, uh, I actually have all the parts. I just need to sit down and put it together. Actually working on a, uh, a design that allows the auxiliary, one auxiliary button to, uh, operate three lights. So you press the auxiliary button once and then one set of light comes on the second one. The second light comes on our light group, group comes on, uh, press it again. The third light group comes on, or it can, turn groups of lights on together. So, uh, the trick is making it simple, but the cool thing about it is, is I’m not going to have to have, uh, buttons everywhere. I can just use that one button and, but then again, it goes back to knowing how to use it. And it’s fun doing these things to our Jeeps, but we make it potentially make it undrivable by what I like to call civilians, people that don’t want to put the time in to, you know, know how everything works. So that’s why I asked John about, uh, if he was concerned about somebody driving his Jeep.

[01:02:50:23 – 01:03:43:15]
And then, and then the, one of the most important things I forgot about is my five rack duck rotisserie thing. So that once I get that wired in, so that every time I start the Jeep, it’ll rotate one notch up. So that way there’s always a fresh roll of new set of ducks on the dash. Yeah, absolutely. That’s very good. Very good. So, uh, this, so the viewers know that I haven’t been here before, uh, Rick, you have a TJ that you’re working on. You got lots of plans. All of course, a lot of things have already happened to it. But, uh, you’re actually planning on stretching that to, uh, uh, LJ a size or longer than LJ? Uh, well, it’ll be longer than LJ. It’d be 115 inch wheelbase once it’s, once it’s finally done. Yeah. Uh, and, and John, uh, you have a, a JKU standard transmission. Both axles have been changed. What else have you done? Uh, uh, keep it short.

[01:03:44:17 – 01:04:22:10]
Um, keep it to the hot item. Pretty, a pretty, pretty fancy stout suspension with custom, uh, Fox, uh, box shocks set up there, 38 inch widows, B locks, bumpers, uh, frame chop in the, in the rear, uh, just put on a gym, right rear tire carrier, which is pretty nice. Rhino line, hardtop, um, working on a rear seat, delete. And, uh, monster vows right now. Um, but yeah, just a couple of things. And, uh, the other John, we have here tonight. What have you, what have you done to yours? I don’t know. Uh, I don’t recall what you’ve done.

[01:04:23:14 – 01:04:30:15]
He left. Oh, did he, he had to go. Yeah. He had, he had, he had work. He got a phone call, had to go do some work.

[01:04:31:16 – 01:04:40:28]
Uh, all right. Well, uh, I see Glenn is here. Glenn. Uh, the, the question for tonight is, uh, how many auxiliary switches do you need in your Jeep?

[01:04:42:25 – 01:04:49:11]
Say one more time. I couldn’t hear you. How many auxiliary switches, auxiliary switches do you need in your Jeep?

[01:04:51:09 – 01:04:52:21]
Just enough to run everything.

[01:04:54:08 – 01:05:00:29]
Is, but is that the case? Do you, do you install, you know, like 27 switches and then, damn, I need one more.

[01:05:04:03 – 01:06:20:00]
Well, in a TJ, you don’t have a lot of room to put all these auxiliary switches. Anyway. Well, I understand that you can run out of room, but how many do you need? But how many do you want? Well, I mean, uh, the, the lights that I have, it’s, it’s, uh, dual switch. So I have one switch. It’ll do two things for the lights because they’re both white and yellow. Um, I don’t know. That’s fine. Yeah. I don’t have a lot of electronics in my Jeep. Yeah, that’s fine. Uh, I asked, ask Rick, he’s the one to turn me on to using the blood pressure tough to act weight the locker for a TJ Dana 44. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Um, people still look at me funny. Uh, all right. So, uh, let’s see here. Um, I guess that he might have anything else they wanted to add to the Xury buttons. I mean, I think we need a bunch of them. The downside to me is where you put them kind of like what John, uh, John Lee said, where, uh, he’s got several panels in different locations and I can see how that would be, could be cumbersome and troublesome, especially if you were in a situation where your thought is going to the line that you’re taking or, uh, a serious situation you’re in and you need to turn something on.

[01:06:22:13 – 01:06:42:13]
Well, that’s with my YJ with Chapman running in forever today. I purchased the painless, uh, 12 gauge and it’s all connected one big long bar with 12 gauges side by side. And I’ve got all of them except, uh, three or four.

[01:06:43:14 – 01:07:30:28]
And that’s all light. So, I mean, I’ve got, I think eight that are on lights, but my YJ has got more lights than it definitely needs. Um, my JLU, which I daily drive. I’m, I’m similar to you, Tony. I’ve kept it for the most part stock. Currently I’m building a air system, um, to go in the back that honestly I can, I can remove takeout if I’m going on trips that I don’t need, you know, I’m not going on off-road trips, but long distance or traveling, visit family, different things. And I’ve actually got the switch built on it. So I opened up the gate there’s there. I turned the switch on, you know, and now it’s got a plug in it as well. Uh, but I was like, I could run air or a switch up front, but I’m like, there’s no reason everything’s back here. Just keep it as one solid unit.

[01:07:31:29 – 01:08:20:00]
Um, when I did it, when I had the four XC before I total did it, you know, I, I had all my, my four switches connected. And then I ended up buying a wireless. Uh, remote, uh, for one of the, one of the companies, which actually was like, y’all, it was a two way cause I had the rock lights on the, on the gatekeeper, the spots on the gatekeeper, you hit it once they were yellow. You hit it, you know, twice or a white hit it again, the third time when they were both yellow and white, but I kept, you know, my factory appearance, very appearance normal. Um, I don’t have all the extra, but I do love what you’re doing in yours. That was very interesting to have the button to double, double tap the button to change and offer more.

[01:08:21:10 – 01:09:13:15]
So I’ll throw out one thing, one extra thing that some of you may not have heard me talk about before. Um, there’s a, also a possibility that I’ll be able to change the brightness of the LEDs, uh, with a couple of more parts, uh, with long presses on the button. So you press it once, you know, a quick once, twice or three times. Uh, and then you can also do a long press and it will go from full bright, half bright, uh, and the one I’m currently calling a photo shoot, you know, where the light’s on, but it’s not on a very bright, it’s just there for like a DRL. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, because I don’t know if you guys noticed or not, when you’re off road, if people are taking pictures of your jeeps, it, it always looks better with the lights on even during the day. Uh, it gives a little, about kind of a pop. And of course, that’s why we’re all into jeeps is because how they look. Right.

[01:09:14:20 – 01:09:14:26]
Yeah.

[01:09:16:04 – 01:09:50:03]
Um, so anyway, great. I think that the, the, the, I think the, I love lights, I love buttons. Uh, I’m, I’m down to, um, actually I have no free buttons. I have a two switch panels, uh, a total of, uh, eight buttons. Uh, two of the buttons are for lockers, uh, that you can’t use for, for lights. I could probably figure out a way, but I got them there for the lockers that whenever they get installed. And then, um, I was real happy having two extra buttons and I believe it was John Lee that pointed out to me, uh, you’re going to use ARBs. You need some way to turn on the air compressor. So that ate up a button.

[01:09:52:04 – 01:11:38:00]
So, uh, I’ve actually got one free button. Uh, I, I’m sorry, actually I don’t, I don’t have a free button because that’s the, for the air compressor. So, uh, anyway, uh, I’m, I’m already running out of, uh, out of buttons and I don’t really have that many lights. Oh, and the, uh, the air compressor, I did the same thing you did Travis, uh, in the back of the gladiator. I just mounted the, uh, via air compressor, uh, there on the, uh, the, the rail system and I put the switch and it’s just a big toggle switch. I mean, there’s no, I have no reason to turn the air compressor on and off from the cab, uh, I need to have to have the switch back there where I’m on a grab the hose and take it to the, uh, the tires and fill up. It’s, it’s perfect right there. Um, no, no sense in having it run, uh, running while I’m walking to the back. And that’s like, I was building this system. I’ve had the system for a while and, you know, I kept looking at it and figuring out where I was going to mount it, what I was going to do with it, but I’ve built it on a, on a wood, uh, you know, a large wood board, um, that, and I cut it the size to where it will actually fit where my deaf tank is now. If I decide to move it, I can move everything down on the deaf tank skid, which would keep it from what I understand and all the research I’ve done. It’d be completely fine back there. But it’s, it’s the dual by air and a two and a half gallon tank or a two gallon tank. Um, but right now, I mean the clip I bought the connected, I can buy another clip and put alligator clips on it, move it to anybody’s, you know, Jeep and run air tools if need be, or if they’re not close enough or whatever, you got to air up a tire that’s blown out. You can’t get to it. I could literally carry my system down. Clipping some out of it, out of the clips to a battery and run it.

[01:11:39:03 – 01:11:44:17]
Uh, was my whole insight and idea, but it’s, it’s got the power switch right there on it.

[01:11:45:20 – 01:15:33:11]
Very, very cool. All right. I have another question for you guys. I was hoping Steve would show up here. Cause I know he really enjoys going topless. I was thinking about this and it may just be me. I have a, a definite way of looking at things differently than everybody else. Um, uh, mine is kind of like, I love the Jeep. I love having my Jeep. Uh, I don’t necessarily care for the topless nature or the doors off. I think it could be fun, but I think it, uh, pardon the pun opens you up to a lot of problems, uh, because, uh, especially down here in Southeast Texas, uh, during the summer, it may be a beautiful day, no chances of rain. Well, actually there’s always a 20% chance of rain during the summer. And then you catch yourself, uh, getting your, uh, the inside of your Jeep soaked. A lot of people, uh, they don’t care. Uh, it, I mean, you might care, Travis. You have a new Jeep, but I think some of the older, the older Jeeps. So my question is, um, how many of you guys really like going topless? I know Steve takes the top off of his, the doors and everything. And during the summer, it’s a 100% topless. I can’t see doing that. Uh, it’s just too uncomfortable, uh, with the heat and, uh, yeah. So Travis, let’s start with you. Do you do, uh, in the picture behind you, your, your topless and doorless. I just, I just put my soft top on. Um, I prefer it like it is in that picture. 100% no top, no soft top, nothing, but with the soft top, I can throw the top up, which will not eliminate it getting wet, but it will, it helps a lot. Um, I prefer Jeep topless doorless. And I think a lot of that has to do with my weather. Um, you know, compared to Southeast Texas, we are definitely hot and humid. But when you’re moving, I’m not bothered by it. I just, I mean, my first vehicle as a 16 year old, uh, it had no air conditioner in it, it wasn’t broken. It didn’t have one. So yeah, I mean, as long as you’re moving, it’s not so bad, but, uh, you know, you find traffic or something breaks down and it sucks. It sucks. And that’s, I think a bikini top, uh, spider web shade, something is key. If you’re topless, um, without it, like I will not run without that. My spider web shade, like it’s mounted in there. It’s going to be there 110% of the time. It will never get removed. It’s there. I honestly wish they had full bikini tops for the JLs and they don’t. I’m able to use my soft top in that, that avenue. Now I’m able to throw it up. It sticks over. I wish it wasn’t as big and went over the whole rear end. Um, you know, and they, they make those, but I purchased the dual pack, the dual top package with the four XE. I kept the soft top and it’s on the, on the eco diesel. Now I love topless door. Um, that is, it’s my happy place driving, whether it’s traffic, no traffic, highways, mountains, just, uh, it’s, it’s a happy place for me. And that goes back to high school days, driving it, you know, as a kid, uh, the wajay, I just, that’s what I prefer. But we don’t have the crazy weather that you do in Texas. And if it gets wet and gets wet, I could care less. Are you protecting your, are you protecting your infotainment system at all? Do you have something that you can cover it? No, no. And, and I think a lot of that is over marketed BS. Um, you know, if the reality of it is if you’re driving on the highway, it’s going to get wet, but it’s not going to be in a monsoon. Um, it comes in from behind you driving, you know, you’re, you’re driving down the highway, you’re driving down the road.

[01:15:34:14 – 01:17:27:15]
It’s coming in from behind you where it sits parked. It’s it will get moisture on it, but it’s not going to get soaking wet. Um, I’ve, I’ve completely had mine sit now without a top, without a door, without anything on it. And everything’s been fine. I’ve pressure washed the inside of the forex. He never had an issue. Um, and I’m not blowing directly on that infotainment center. Like I know better do that, but the floor, the debt, I mean, the, the, the console, I mean, I’m pressure washing all of that and it’s getting sprayed. It’s getting wet. Never once had an issue. You’ve got the dash ponchos. I think they’re good, but I think people like putting helmets on your kids nowadays, they overreact to too much stuff. You know, it’s like you’re going to learn and maybe I’m wrong and maybe it’ll bite me in the ass one day, but I’m not going to set out to, you know, put it in a fishbowl, but I’m also not real worried about it. If I’ve got the soft top on and I’ve got the rear window, that’s going to stop 98% of all the rain coming in. So how are you concerned about getting the carpet wet and getting that moldy stink? No. Um, the YJ has the original carpet in it from day one and it does not sink. I will pull it out. I will pressure wash it when I’m, when I’m daily drive or when I am driving it, it’s not been sitting for, you know, four years. Um, I’d pull the carpet out and pressure wash it going in pressure, wash it coming out, uh, with the top in the season. So that’s what I did. And I do not have a smell in my YJ and that’s a 1989 YJ that I’ve owned, I think we didn’t keep care of it. Yeah. I think we’ve discussed this before. Do you have plans for armor light flooring for your Jeep? I’ve debated it, but the reality of it is. I haven’t had an issue with the carpet and it does honestly keep some of the heat out.

[01:17:28:18 – 01:18:44:02]
I’m going to leave it in there. Right. Oh, the armor light I like, and I love every aspect of it, especially cause that thing I will just sit out and let just get doused in rain. I mean, it, it doesn’t matter, but the carpet will keep heat because a lot of heat comes in from that engine, that bay, because I’ve had it removed driving it around while I was cleaning the carpet, letting it dry, do a different stuff. There’s a lot of heat coming in from that driving traffic. Yeah. So I like the big fan of the carpet and it’s got the insulation still under it as well. Yeah. So Rick, I think that, uh, you, uh, I think you prefer topless on your, your rig. Don’t you? Uh, during, during the summer, which you can see from my picture there, I’ve, I’ve modified a hard top and turn it into a safari top. I got out of a junkyard and, uh, and that’s how I run all summer. Um, and, uh, and before I had this, I had a soft safari top. And you remember I drove out all the way down to Texas like that and, uh, we’ll all the way, we’ll the whole week or three, four days in Texas and then drove it back and then, uh, and I’ve been caught in the rain several times with that and it really don’t get wet in there. And, and I’ve got the arm. I’ve got the armor, like 40 minute. And, uh, somebody’s going to chime in about the lake,

[01:18:45:08 – 01:19:26:12]
but the, about the drowning it. Yeah. Well, there was a slight incident with a little, with a, with a bat, I baptized it up to the, to the, uh, grab handles and, uh, um, yeah, after that, the, the carpet started getting sour. So that’s when I put the arm light in there. I was thinking you use that stuff. I’ve, I’ve only seen it. I, you know, interviewed the guy a couple of times and saw it at EJS one year, uh, at the, at the, the, the, the display. And it looks really, really nice. How has it been for you? It looks super. Oh, it’s been, it’s, it’s awesome that, uh, you know, talking about heat, man, it, that stuff is like a quarter. It may be, it may be three eighths of an inch thick. I don’t know. I think it’s really thick.

[01:19:27:20 – 01:21:33:28]
Yeah. It’s really, really thick. Uh, it’s a, it’s a workout putting that stuff in there. You sweating like a, yeah. And, uh, but, uh, minutes and, and when I had my hard top on and my, and my hard doors on, uh, you know, when it’s fully enclosed, I’ve got the boom in the top of the hard top. Uh, but I can drive that TJ down the interstate, 75 mile an hour and, and talk hands free on the phone. Oh, really? I was going to say, you need a set of those David Clark’s like they have in airplanes. Yeah. No, no, it’s, uh, I mean, for TJ, that’s a, that’s, that’s pretty good. And, uh, but I, yeah, I can talk, I can talk, I can listen to radio and everything. It’s a, it made a huge, huge impact on the sound, sound and heat quality. And, and just cleaning the, to clean that thing. Uh, you know, I’ve been down there and the Arkansas mud where, you know, it was, it was pretty bad and the whole bottom of that thing had, uh, by the time it all dried, I had probably an inch of dirt in the, in the bottom of that. And you just pop those little, uh, pop the little drain holes open, rinse, you know, rinse it out and a little bit of soap and water. And then, and then, and it’s like literally in two or three minutes. That floor is clean and it’s, it’s pretty good. I’m, I really, I’m a huge proponent of that. So the cool thing, uh, when you, when you drive to a wheeling destination, like EJS, cause that, that probably is the longest drive, uh, that you’ve done with your open air Jeep. Uh, the great thing about driving the EJS or Moab to go wheeling, uh, with it all open like that is you don’t have to take the doors off and store them in your, uh, hotel room or at the campsite. You just go. Yeah. Now I haven’t driven it that far, but now in July, I’m going out to Colorado and the Rubicon and I plan on having a modified version of what you’re looking at now, but I’m, I’m going to have it combined with the soft top. I’m using my half doors with, uh, some soft top, the door, the soft top doors, you know what I’m talking about? Yeah.

[01:21:35:10 – 01:23:15:29]
The upper. And, uh, so I plan on, I plan on running it like that. So it’ll be one thing when you got that hard top on there, it’s like giving a 400 pound kid a piggyback ride. I can tell as soon as I put that thing on, I can tell a huge difference in where that thing rides around. And, uh, it’s old. So let me ask you this. Do you feel like you go topless simply to fit the narrative of the Jeep? Do you do it because people expect that and you’re doing it for. To appease people that may, uh, I don’t know if anybody’s ever given you a hard time about not being topless, you know, that’s not a real Jeep, that type thing. But does any of this have anything to do with what other people think about it? No, it wouldn’t matter anyway. I do what I want to do. Yeah. I mean, I’m going to do, I think some people go topless because they, they think that that, uh, and initially I believe that the idea behind it is so cool. It’s a great, you want to do that. And then when you do it, uh, for some people, uh, it’s like, holy crap, this is hot, holy crap, I got a sunburn, uh, for the bald people, holy crap, my head is burned when it’s extremely, extremely hot. Um, I’ll put a top on like, I’m not gonna, um, um, I’m not doing it for the people. I personally enjoy it, but if it’s, if it’s miserably hot, like what you get in Texas, I wouldn’t be mad at you. I’m like, yeah, it, yeah. AC’s nice. But again, me, I go back to, you know, 92 by my first Jeep. It was a matter of it to Jeep and it was the mindset and it may still be in my head. No, it’s a Jeep. It’s gotta be topless.

[01:23:17:05 – 01:23:48:17]
Uh, so I will say that, but Rick on yours, a ton of cover and a wind jammer and a bikini top that that’s what I will run. Uh, even when I was daily driving the YJ, just the wind jammer is absolutely one of the best things, the best opposite of our made for the older Jeeps and, uh, the ton of cover covered up the back, you know, keeps everything secure out of sight, out of mind as well. Uh, and then a bikini top with the half uppers, um, is a great setup for you and traveling some distance.

[01:23:50:03 – 01:24:33:24]
Yeah, that’s that’s, but the thing is, is, you know, I’m going to be, be going out there for two weeks, so I’ve got to carry a lot of stuff and having room for all of that, you know, almost, almost kind of need some of that space back there, but we’ll, we’ll see. But, you know, I was also going to say, you know, just like I got it in that picture, you know, driving through the hills, the windy curvy roads and the hills down there in Arkansas when our own beautiful days and just, just a little bit of music going and just cruising through the menace, nothing like it. All right. Let’s jump over to John Lee. Uh, generally I forget how you run yours whenever, uh, we’re out doing stuff like at hidden falls or something. Uh, are you doorless and topless? I don’t think you are. Are you?

[01:24:34:26 – 01:28:38:17]
Uh, I’m all buttoned up, but I mean, you mentioned in the weather in Texas. One of the reasons I don’t go doorless in Texas is I live in the Austin Metro and we have this little thing called traffic. And as much as you want to be moving and let the air cool you down and everything, that’s not what happens. You get stuck on the highway and it’s 110 degrees and the heat is radiating off of the pavement straight into your, your face. Like it’s just, it’s not a pleasant experience. I actually had my, my hardtop right aligned or line edge, whatever. And I had them color match it to the paint so that they just, they use the same paint, uh, for Mopar and mixing them with it. So it all kind of goes together. That being said, I am probably about to switch to a soft top because last time we added hidden falls, uh, I smacked the back of the hardtop pretty damn hard and it’s got some cracks and some, some damage. So I’m probably going to end up switching to a soft top before long, but I’ve always liked the route. I run a big 15 pound power tank in the back. I’ve got a, um, a cargo dog netting that you put in the back for suppose to, when you run in topless, but it’s great, almost like a giant Molly. I, I put all kinds of stuff, air tools or anything else up there. And when you’re camping, it’s great because I sleep in the back of it. And so you’ve got all that extra room. Um, so I, I like the hardtop on, I like the doors on. Uh, I do like wheeling with the doors off sometimes unless it’s getting muddy. No, it’s getting, well, you can see, you can see the trail better. Can’t you? You can lean out. You can, but I run really, really narrow fenders. So what I see is my tire. It needs safety glasses. And it’s going to be slinging mud. Like whenever we go on our big trips to Colorado and all that, um, you’ll pull all the rigs up next to each other and everybody else is running full fenders and they’re kind of clean down the side. Mind you can’t even tell what color it is. There’s just mud top, the front, the back, it’s off the bottom. It’s just completely coated because I got those tires that stick way outside the fenders. So, um, I think that if, if maybe if I have better, bigger fenders, um, I might run it doorless a little bit more on the trails, but I think I’m probably going to be plus the JK doors are steel. They’re heavy as hell. So taking those off and on and finding a place to put them all four of them or whatever, it’s just, you know, it’s not the greatest. So it’s just a matter of convenience. Half doors or the half door uppers would be pretty good, right? Yeah, that wouldn’t be bad. I think if I was trailering it more and cause when like we go to EJS or stuff like that, Moab, I drive all the way to Moab. So, um, that’s a, that’s painful. And I think having the things buttoned up where you’re not getting wind noise and everything else makes it just a little bit more bearable. Absolutely. Yeah. It’s just, yeah, I think, I think it’s the idea is nice. And I think the one thing I will say that I wish I had on this and one thing I like about the soft top I’m looking at getting on there is that Sunrider where you get the one hand and you can pop it up. Yes. It’s like Steve. Yeah. The JK, the freedom panels, they actually have like this long screw that you’ve got to undo that goes into this board, the sound bar. Yeah. Yeah. It’s not a very easy process to disconnect all that and take those freedom panels off. So it’s not like the JLs where it’s just a couple of latches and pop them off. It’s, it’s not like that. It’s, it’s a little more of a, of a process. So I, the Sunrider is the only thing I would, I would probably do, but I like mine all buttoned up. I feel like I’m not getting mud everywhere. I’m a little more enclosed and I’m not, when you also have those really big 38 inch Nitto trail grapple or mud tires on there, they like to pick up rocks and throw them. Yeah. And I’ve always got the spirit of, I’m going to be laying my head out or driving along and I’ll suddenly take a rock to the forehead or something. Right. Or in the eyes. And we didn’t have to be a big rock to ruin your vision. All right. So how about, how about you Glenn? I don’t think I’ve asked you if you prefer topless or buttoned up or it depends.

[01:28:40:05 – 01:29:36:12]
Um, so most of the time I won’t run with everything on there. Um, but I do have the brand page top. So it’s kind of like a bikini top, but I can take it, unzip the back windows and everything, and then the top holds back and has a storage bag underneath the top. So the only thing I wouldn’t have if I went out somewhere would be my doors, but I could still button it up if it started to rain and you know, just to see it would get wet, they got actually got wet the other day. My son forgot to tell me it was raining outside and the Jeep was out. And I was like, you couldn’t have told me it was raining. Oh, I didn’t know. Um, so, but I love riding around without the top on. Now I have a question though. Sure. So everybody who runs where I would out doors on, do you still run the AC when you like stopping traffic? Yep.

[01:29:37:23 – 01:29:46:24]
Absolutely. And then after you get out of the traffic, turn it off. It’s if it’s 105 degrees, it doesn’t freaking matter. Oh, it’s on all the time.

[01:29:47:24 – 01:30:02:22]
AC is stopping about six inches before it actually touches you. Well, we need those, we need those jackets that you put on the wind breakers that attach to the vents. So it, you know, acriditions your suit, your spacesuit that’s in your Jeep.

[01:30:03:26 – 01:31:28:11]
But I do prefer riding with the doors off. Um, and depending on our trail rides, if we go out there, the only problem I have is the proper we have property we have, we have to maintain it. So if we don’t get out there on a regular basis, the, uh, prior patches are really painful, uh, when they, you know, you’re driving a slide and then all of a sudden they slap you and it’s like, Oh, damn it. I’d love to have some, uh, some factory half doors for the gladiator and have them, uh, uh, paint matched. And I think that’d be a, a lot of fun. I could have the closed in environment, uh, take the tops of the half doors off and put them in the back there. They’re just canvas with some, uh, metal framing, uh, and, um, take them on, put them on, uh, on and off. I think that’d be a really easy way of doing mostly, uh, topless. And, uh, it opens up a lot of area with, with a half door. And that’s one thing, like, again, when I ordered the Forex, he, I ordered the dual top and they were offering, you know, the half doors at that time. And I, and I said, no, I’m either topless or, or doorless or doors on or all. I’m like, I don’t like a half door yet. I have both full and half for the YJ. I was like, I don’t need them. And now, well, that’s experienced. You knew what, you knew what you do what to expect. Since you had lived it. Correct. But now I, now I do want them. Now I’m like, I want, I want some half metal. Yeah.

[01:31:30:03 – 01:32:51:22]
No, I mean, it is what it is. And I’m like, no, I don’t need them. Um, but I’ve got a customer I’ve sold half metal doors or, or Jeep and half metal doors too, and I keep thinking I want to reach out because they’ve still got the Jeep. You know, I follow his son on social medias and I, they’d never even opened the doors out of the box and they’re, they’re the slate gray. But I’m like, I’m painted. I get the doors. Um, I keep wanting to hit them up, you know, and, and buy those, but I just don’t have the extra funds to do it. So I’m, I’m doorless or, you know, doors on, I prefer doorless wheeling, like John’s got the same issue. I’ve got small fenders. I’ve got KBDs, you know, my tire stick out way beyond. It’s one of the most beautiful things to watch when you’re going straight. You know, the, the rooster tailing flying right beside. Yeah. That is just absolutely amazing to watch. But as soon as you turn that wheel, yeah, just be pretty, and you learn that reality smacks you in the face. Yeah. You like, all right, I’m leaning up close to the steering wheel. I’m getting out of this, you know, rooster tail. Uh, but it’s just one of the prettiest things to see. Uh, so it’s misting or just light rain on the highway. If you’re off road, you know, it is, it’s a different avenue. It’s, it’s fun.

[01:32:53:08 – 01:33:32:00]
All right. Well, I’ll just mention really quick. Uh, thank you guys for being here. We do the, uh, the round table every Tuesday, seven 30 PM. Uh, we don’t always ask questions, but we always have the, the, the round table. Uh, and we always have somebody here. So, uh, if you are watching this and you go, that sounds pretty fun. I think I want to be a part of that. You’re more than welcome. Uh, everybody here, uh, I was going to say they’re not invited, but they are. They’re invited. It’s like you, we don’t have specific people that, uh, can only attend the round table, everybody’s invited. Uh, so, uh, please think about, uh, coming in and being part of it. Jeep talk show.com slash contact. Yeah, Travis.

[01:33:33:12 – 01:34:59:29]
Hey, like, cause it’s kind of like old school, a total segment something in the middle. And if people are old enough to remember the campfire side chat, I used to always jump on and make announcements about my Jeep night. Well, don’t have Jeep night going on, but Ed Campbell, uh, good friends with Matt and he’s been in quite a bit. He’s got a July 18th, um, for 24 cure, uh, cancer research here locally in Charlotte. He’s got a poker run and just wanting to throw out anybody that’s in the Southeast area and wants to run to a poker run, run into you worry and finishing up at outlaw off road. It’s got some of the best raffles I’ve seen in a long time. Um, and it’s all raising money for cancer and 24 cure here in the area. So that’s old school, you know, and how do people, where do people go to get more information? Um, I would suggest Facebook will probably be the easiest way. He’s got it up on Instagram, Facebook and different points. Um, his website and Facebook is fine. Where do you, what do you search for on Facebook? Facebook, uh, Carolina, Carolina, Carolina off road events. Okay. Well, Yeah, his group next time you need to be more prepared. You know, I didn’t even think about it. You know, you know, I want to ask you where can people find out more? I’m not prepared, but hey, they just look up poker run and you already they’ll find it. There you go. Excellent. Caro off road events.

[01:34:59:29 – 01:35:47:10]
When we recorded the round table segment for this episode, Travis, I told Travis, I said, Travis, are you aware that Josh is back? And he, he, you know, Travis, he’s usually very lackadaisial and not, he literally stopped and he goes, no, I didn’t know that. What? Yeah, because he hasn’t been listening to the episodes. Since, since you are not around, he doesn’t find the flagship episodes as interesting. And he, he missed you. And I think that there’s more than just that one person that has missed you. So we really appreciate you being back. I know it’s very difficult for you to do these things. That’s cool, that’s cool. But if nothing else, we’ll be doing them for the vehicle.

[01:35:48:28 – 01:36:21:17]
Yeah, this is, this was a rare opportunity. And honestly, I’ll go ahead and pull the curtain back just a little bit slightly so you guys can have a little bit of understanding here. My mom just had shoulder replacement surgery a couple of days ago. And about a year ago, I moved her into my house because she got a terminal diagnosis of cancer, her fourth cancer diagnosis. And doesn’t exactly have a whole lot of time left on this earth. So in addition to trying to make the best of it and making sure that she can get as much care and everything as she can and needs,

[01:36:23:03 – 01:37:16:20]
she’s having to deal with this now. So a complete shoulder replacement surgery happened on Tuesday. There was complications with the surgery. I’m taking about a week to 10 days off of work so that I can take care of her. She’s gonna need a lot of direct support help over the next week or so. So with that being said, because I’ve got like actual days off, I mean, I’m not working either job. And I’ve got, this is like my second or third day in a row where I haven’t had to work and it’s really weird. I bet you don’t know what to do. No, I don’t. And it’s like, oh yeah, I’ve got stuff to do with mom and whatnot, but there is some downtime and everything. But it’s local, you don’t have to drive anywhere. And that makes a big difference. Exactly, and it’s like, well, I can catch up on some yard work, I could do some crap around the house. It’s like, holy (Beep) let’s clean the studio for the first time in like three years. You mowed the grass and you went, oh, the neighbor painted the house.

[01:37:17:21 – 01:39:57:01]
Seriously, I hadn’t mowed the grass in like two weeks and it was like way overgrown. So it’s just, yeah, the opportunity finally to catch up on some things as I want to. And so, yeah, being able to get back here in the studio for the first time in literally years. The equipment still works mostly. It mostly works. I know, I’m on my secondary microphone. So I’ve got to figure out what’s going on with the primary audio chain, but yeah, nonetheless, trying to make some time here, at least recently, while I’ve got it to where we can do a few things. And obviously being able to do it from the car, that’s opened up some opportunities as well. So you’re gonna be seeing it and hearing a little bit more of me as time goes on. So those who are new to the show, welcome to the Josh. And for those like Travis who have been around for a very long time, Travis, I love you brother. And I hope you can spread the word that I’m back and I hope you can be downloading the show. And I’ll try and get in on a round table here one of these days, see if I can actually pop in and say hi to everybody. So I’ll just mention this. Josh is, didn’t want to leave the show, but had to. Financial obligations are what they are. And so Josh was doing all this stuff, trying to get his mom situated, going to the hospital, medication, getting her home, all this stuff. And he’s texting me. All right, so I’m doing this and I should be able to record with you here tonight. That was for two days. That was two days. I’ll get something to morning. There’s 27 things to do. And he’s telling me, we’re gonna get together. And ultimately we didn’t, I wasn’t surprised. I wouldn’t even have said, let’s record. You had too much stuff going on. But this is the kind of, this is what Josh wants to do. He wants to be on this show. It’s fun. I mean, we have fun talking about stuff. We play off each other very, very well. And it’s a lot of fun. And you’ve been very missed on this show. And I’m amazed that we started with Skype, spotty Skype. We’d have to let the two times warm up because it would get so choppy audio video. And now you can drive around in your job vehicle and using your phone and a headset, be on the show again. So, I mean, you’re getting paid. You’re making money while you’re doing this. And so what the audio and video isn’t like what you have right now. It’s still you. It’s still the content that you have. And we’re glad to have you back, Josh. I think it’s wonderful. Didn’t like it whenever you were gonna leave. Other than I was like, well, I will get more time to talk. That will be a positive thing.

[01:39:58:22 – 01:40:01:16]
(Laughing) Maybe not so much for the audience, but for me.

[01:40:03:05 – 01:42:47:07]
No, I miss the production. I miss the research, getting ready for the show, of course, doing the show, the chemistry that we’ve had for what, God, 13 plus years. It’s so strange. And it was just like, I asked, hey, did anybody wanna do a podcast? And Josh goes, oh, okay. When I was actively DJing at the time, I had some equipment and everything. I know, but it was like, yeah, I can do it. There’s no butt stuff, right? Okay, yeah, I can do it. Yeah, fair. I threw my hat in the ring. And it worked out so well from the beginning. Oh yeah. It was destined to be, it meant to be, Tony. So yeah, you guys are gonna be hearing a lot more of me coming up here. I’ve got a couple segments I’ll be looking at producing, doing some stuff behind the scenes as well. So yeah, we’re gonna be hearing a little bit new flavor of the Jeep Talk Show as we roll into the rest of the later half of 2026. So looking forward to more recordings, looking forward to more involvement and looking forward to possibly getting on a round table and getting to actually shoot a rag with a lot. You get back on a round table, you need to run the round table like you used to do the fireside chat, where you would ask the questions and then you move to the next person and so on and so forth. So we’ll have to get you back there. I think that the round table peeps, the Zoom people would really enjoy that. Oh, it’d be a good time. It’d be some inside baseball too. I’ve been able to be a lot of inside jokes and catching up on some old times and stuff. So looking forward to it. With all the history that we have, there is a lot of inside jokes that we have that I feel actually feel bad for some people that are new listeners, new viewers, because they don’t know. We can help them out along the way. We’ll hold their hand. It’s like, okay, this is what we meant by that. Exactly. But that’s why you gotta listen to the whole show, people. Oh yeah. And you can go back and listen to the past episodes. In fact, Josh, I hadn’t mentioned this to you. I am actually going back. I think I went back to episode 20 and this is before you were on the show. You were on this. I went back to episode 20, pulled the audio into the video editor, put a thumbnail as the background, I mean, or as the video portion of it. So now, and then improved the audio and put the bleeps in for the profanity. And so you can literally go on YouTube right now and then go over there and quote unquote, watch some of the older episodes. And I’m gonna be doing more of them there so you can actually go back in the history. Over 1,400 episodes. I think our next episode is gonna be 1450, 1,450 episodes. And there’s more. I mean, there’s like, but wait, there’s more. There’s, we didn’t, we do 52 episodes or a hundred episodes. It was a hundred, a hundred episodes of Tony and Josh.

[01:42:48:13 – 01:42:54:14]
Yeah, we was even- So that was even- Tony and Josh, we, I think we did like, I don’t know, 20 or 30 episodes of The Walking Dead.

[01:42:55:14 – 01:43:32:18]
There’s all the XJ talk show. There’s all the Jeep talk show. I mean, man, there’s a lot of you and me out there. Yeah, yeah, it really is. All right, was there anything else that you wanted to jump into or over or the shark? No, I was gonna say, I’m just gonna say, it’s good to be back. Looking forward to a lot more of the Jeep talk show coming up. I’m gonna get a lot more involved and try and get back into the role that I was before I left and the level of involvement before I left. So if you like hearing my voice, well, you’re gonna be hearing a lot more of it here in the near future. If you don’t like my nasally drone, then too bad.

[01:43:33:26 – 01:44:32:00]
See, but you can say, it’s just a bleep and it’s funny. (Laughs) All right, man. So many years of doing it. All right, well, that is the Jeep talk show for this episode, this flagship episode. I know it’s a longer episode, but I think it’s fun. Hope you enjoyed it, especially having Josh here and his studio doing that. You’re gonna have to break out the green screen, Josh. I know, I was gonna say, I still have the green screen around here somewhere. I just gotta pull it out and hang it up. I’m doing some amazing things with the green screen now. Yeah, you are. Oh, yeah, that front screen is awesome. I can put a sexy girl dancing behind you, like they used to do with the vaudeville comedians. Ooh, I’ll get back into “Tales from the Strip Club,” the back when I was a strip club DJ. What was the thing that I think you had on there? What was the mind joke? I mean, I had never heard it before, the strip minds. Oh, the bleep minds. Yeah, the bleep minds. (Laughs) I hope the profanity filter grabs that one.

[01:44:33:03 – 01:44:36:00]
Don’t be able to breathe. You’re a hurting cat, but it’s bleep minds. Yeah.

[01:44:37:07 – 01:45:43:15]
All right, so– I guess. We’ll see you again soon. All right, so don’t forget, you can follow us on all over Instagram. We really would appreciate you going over to YouTube. We’re trying to hit that 4,000 hour milestone because I think that that’s when YouTube may start paying attention to us and getting us in front of more people. Lots of new videos out there on our YouTube. And frankly, the fastest way to go over there is just go to jeeptalkshow.com slash contact, and you will see a way to get over to there, jeeptalkshow.com slash YT, as in YouTube. The initials YT will take you straight over there. It’ll pull up a subscribe thing so that you can just make it really easy and subscribe. And don’t forget about our newsletter. We’ve just changed up the newsletter where it’s really fancy. All kinds of QR codes, very futuristic if the 90s are a future to you. And don’t forget to join us here every week for our flagship. And then of course we have our interviews every Friday. You guys have a great day. Josh, thanks for being here and we’ll see you again next week.

[01:45:45:07 – 01:45:47:04]
You’re my friend, you’re my new friend.