RecessRampage
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Ugh, just had a pretty lengthy trip report, hit the wrong button (the what's new button was right above the photo insert button lol) and lost it. Anyways, here's how it went.
First time Jeep buyer/owner, ordered on 11/14/2023 through DC Cummins in KY (I live in NYC) and received a text message on 1/5/2024 with a video of MY jeep in their lot! I thought, what better way to get to know my jeep than to break it in and drive several hundred miles? So, I checked the weather (FWIW) and flew to KY (more accurately, flew to Cincinatti then took a 70 minute uber ride to Paris, KY) with the intent of driving 755 miles back home. There were some high wind warning/advisory that day in eastern KY and WV so I decided to take the route through OH and PA to avoid that.
Ultimately, it was a drive through rain all day but in central PA, I did get caught in a mild/minor snow storm that basically brought me to a crawl and so the trip that I hoped would take me 12-13hrs ended up taking me 16hrs. As I got home at a little past 1:30am with minimal breaks in between, here were some key takeaways:
1) Trucks drive fast - I know truckers keep America going but boy, I was surprised as to how fast they drove in whatever conditions. Heavy rain or snow, even at night, they were buzzing by like it was a bright sunny day. Honestly, I was a little scared, especially during the snow storm where my visibility was very poor but more on that in a sec.
2) Speedometer twitches. I'm sure this probably has a lengthy thread on here about this but I never noticed this in any of the cars I've driven but with the jeep, I noticed it a lot and I actually thought it was cute/funny. What an interesting quirk! lol
3) Screen is too big - I got the 2024 model so I have the 14.1 inch screen and this just felt unnecessary. It also makes the buttons on the far right side of the screen harder to reach (you still can and they are probably buttons you don't need to access much but still, why was this considered a good idea?)
4) Snow accumulates in the headlight area. This seems to depend on people (not sure why but according to this forum, I've read varying experiences) but as a first time jeep driver, I had no idea why my visibility at night time in the snow was so bad. I mean there were times I really couldn't see anything in front of me (lanes, cars/trucks that just passed me, etc) and I was really afraid.
(pic above from dash cam)
I finally got off the first exit after the visibility got so bad and discovered that the snow accumulated in front of the headlights which coupled with the snow storm made the visibility nonexistent.
It took me a second to realize this because it's not like there was no light. Just the light was not nearly as bright - so once I realized this and scooped out the snow from the headlight area, it was very bright and clear again. I ended up having to do this every few miles - basically, being that in the middle of nowhere PA, the exits are spaced out every 5-10 miles so at every exit, I got off, scooped out the snow from the headlight area and started driving. Repeated that few times until eventually the snow became rain.
5) Having gone through all this, what I can say is that I LOVE my Jeep. The jeep handles like a gocart which is a positive for some people and probably a negative for others; ie the handling is a bit stiff which, to me, makes it feel like I'm driving. (to put it in perspective, a ferrari on the race track also feels this way so... lol)
But honestly speaking, I actually didn't know how I would feel and there was a part of me that was worried that after driving for 780 miles altogether and for 16hrs, I may not love the Jeep as I hoped I would. The reality is that I actually loved and enjoyed driving this more than I thought I would. I'm in absolute love with the jeep and now, I can't wait to take this off road - I have already signed up for the Jeep Academy in Coal Mtn, PA as well as the Hunter Mountain Adventures but as I learn more, I really hope to get out there often.
First time Jeep buyer/owner, ordered on 11/14/2023 through DC Cummins in KY (I live in NYC) and received a text message on 1/5/2024 with a video of MY jeep in their lot! I thought, what better way to get to know my jeep than to break it in and drive several hundred miles? So, I checked the weather (FWIW) and flew to KY (more accurately, flew to Cincinatti then took a 70 minute uber ride to Paris, KY) with the intent of driving 755 miles back home. There were some high wind warning/advisory that day in eastern KY and WV so I decided to take the route through OH and PA to avoid that.
Ultimately, it was a drive through rain all day but in central PA, I did get caught in a mild/minor snow storm that basically brought me to a crawl and so the trip that I hoped would take me 12-13hrs ended up taking me 16hrs. As I got home at a little past 1:30am with minimal breaks in between, here were some key takeaways:
1) Trucks drive fast - I know truckers keep America going but boy, I was surprised as to how fast they drove in whatever conditions. Heavy rain or snow, even at night, they were buzzing by like it was a bright sunny day. Honestly, I was a little scared, especially during the snow storm where my visibility was very poor but more on that in a sec.
2) Speedometer twitches. I'm sure this probably has a lengthy thread on here about this but I never noticed this in any of the cars I've driven but with the jeep, I noticed it a lot and I actually thought it was cute/funny. What an interesting quirk! lol
3) Screen is too big - I got the 2024 model so I have the 14.1 inch screen and this just felt unnecessary. It also makes the buttons on the far right side of the screen harder to reach (you still can and they are probably buttons you don't need to access much but still, why was this considered a good idea?)
4) Snow accumulates in the headlight area. This seems to depend on people (not sure why but according to this forum, I've read varying experiences) but as a first time jeep driver, I had no idea why my visibility at night time in the snow was so bad. I mean there were times I really couldn't see anything in front of me (lanes, cars/trucks that just passed me, etc) and I was really afraid.
(pic above from dash cam)
I finally got off the first exit after the visibility got so bad and discovered that the snow accumulated in front of the headlights which coupled with the snow storm made the visibility nonexistent.
It took me a second to realize this because it's not like there was no light. Just the light was not nearly as bright - so once I realized this and scooped out the snow from the headlight area, it was very bright and clear again. I ended up having to do this every few miles - basically, being that in the middle of nowhere PA, the exits are spaced out every 5-10 miles so at every exit, I got off, scooped out the snow from the headlight area and started driving. Repeated that few times until eventually the snow became rain.
5) Having gone through all this, what I can say is that I LOVE my Jeep. The jeep handles like a gocart which is a positive for some people and probably a negative for others; ie the handling is a bit stiff which, to me, makes it feel like I'm driving. (to put it in perspective, a ferrari on the race track also feels this way so... lol)
But honestly speaking, I actually didn't know how I would feel and there was a part of me that was worried that after driving for 780 miles altogether and for 16hrs, I may not love the Jeep as I hoped I would. The reality is that I actually loved and enjoyed driving this more than I thought I would. I'm in absolute love with the jeep and now, I can't wait to take this off road - I have already signed up for the Jeep Academy in Coal Mtn, PA as well as the Hunter Mountain Adventures but as I learn more, I really hope to get out there often.
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