jeepoch
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Jay
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2019
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 952
- Reaction score
- 2,689
- Location
- Longmont, CO
- Vehicle(s)
- 2019 JL Wrangler Sport S 3.6L Auto 2 door, 2.5" lift, 35s
To the point of the thread - Jeep Snobbery (in a round-about way):
I live in Colorado and had driven the family Dodge Grand Caravan into the ground (almost 300K miles) over the last 15 or so years . Hell, I'd still be driving it if some stupid 16 year old on his phone didn't try to kill himself. When he pulled out into traffic and I hadn't swerved, I would have T-Boned him at forty mph and he would certainly not be around to be on his phone any longer.
Other than the fact that everyone walked away unhurt, except for maybe the kid's father is now likely in the poor farm after all the insurance rate increases (both cars were totaled and he was found to be 100% at fault). I finally got to drive something I always wanted, a Wrangler.
My wife and I are now empty nesters, so without any fan-fare or much fore-thought, I found a new bright white 2019 2-door Sport S for just under $30K. Or rather I should say this Jeep found us, but that's for a different story.
Regardless, back to the point of this thread. When I first purchased the JL, I had no idea about any Jeep culture thing. Totally blind to the 'wave' or any mall-crawler vs Rubicon off-road bad-ass'ism envy. I was pretty oblivious to all of the Jeep social and societal etiquette.
However, I had bought into the Wrangler mantra of being able to drive it nearly anywhere you care to go. At the time, just the enticement of possibly going off-road, while not the primary factor, was nonetheless rather appealing. Still, without realizing it the stock sport with it's open diffs just isn't capable enough to do anything really serious.
Living in Colorado and researching the off-road possibilities opened up a brand new vista for my wife and I. We both are outdoor adventurists at heart and given this new potential freedom to explore was truly a godsend. Jumping a little ahead, we are now seeing parts of our state that only really serious off-roaders (or wilderness hikers) can enjoy.
Unfortunately early on, I quickly learned that while stock sports are better than nearly all other vehicles ever built for getting into the great outdoors (for us our Colorado back yard), it just was not at all capable of going over the vast majority of the even moderately difficult Forest Service trails that meander throughout Colorado.
So I invested in a 2.5" lift, 35" all-terrain tires, wider stance (17x9, -12mm offset) wheels, and a quick disconnect sway bar kit. Essentially I now have everything a Rubicon has minus the lockers.
With this setup and some practice (and joining a Jeep Club certainly helped), we regularly now accomplish the difficult to severe routes with little to no difficulty whatsoever. Off-roading is truly a blast, and anyone not doing it in their Jeep is really missing out on a whole different dimension towards amazing, breathtaking and awesome life experiences.
Sure, looking down and around from a 12,500 ft mountain pass may not be for everyone, however for us the pure joy of the journey in getting there more than pays for the cost of admission. If you can afford a Rubi with the intent of using it for what is was designed for, don't pass on the opportunity. I perhaps will someday trade up.
Truthfully for the two of us, there is no real desire to either cliff-climb or rock-crawl. It's more of the thrill in going wheeling with the knowledge that the occasional obstacle (or two) isn't enough to not go at all. This opens up the vast majority of our state and national forest lands where we can now go. Pure unadulterated fun. We'll sometimes adulterated but I digress and TMI.
Also learning to use your 4wd equipment is just as important. Maintaining good traction while using just enough torque in keeping it, is the secret to accomplishing any difficult obstacle. I've found that driving a Sport with some skill always beats an idiot with a Rubi. I've assisted in pulling some, admittedly stock Rubicon's, up a few hard spots just because the driver isn't able to keep good traction. Obviously with locker's this makes it way more easier, but nowhere near guarunteed. When others realize we don't have lockers they're pretty amazed. The secret is that with adequate traction, even one wheel is all that's necessary. Still, more wheels with traction the better. Don't underestimate the real value of the lockers.
Anyway, our experience is that with a stock Sport, we got the occasional Jeep wave but only if initiated by us. Now however with the more capable lifted and larger tire setup, almost all Jeeper's now wave even before we attempt to. We get many (many) more waves than ever before.
So there is a definitive aspect to some snobbery. The bad-ass looking Jeep's whether used off-road or not certainly appear to get more Jeep respect.
Or maybe it's just all the mountain mud we now accumulate on ours.
Use your Jeep however it is that gives you the most smileage. Don't give a crap whatever anyone else thinks. Drive it to the mall with pride or take it up some deep forest trail to some high mountain lake with joy. Wherever you go, it's your Jeep getting you there. Modify it to your heart's content (or not). With what other vehicle can you do this? There is truly no other vehicle experience quite like a Jeep.
Best investment we've ever made. The minivan had its purpose. With the JL, there are whole other dimensions. Best daily driver I've ever owned by far bar none.
So no rant from me. Just happy bloviation.
Jay
I live in Colorado and had driven the family Dodge Grand Caravan into the ground (almost 300K miles) over the last 15 or so years . Hell, I'd still be driving it if some stupid 16 year old on his phone didn't try to kill himself. When he pulled out into traffic and I hadn't swerved, I would have T-Boned him at forty mph and he would certainly not be around to be on his phone any longer.
Other than the fact that everyone walked away unhurt, except for maybe the kid's father is now likely in the poor farm after all the insurance rate increases (both cars were totaled and he was found to be 100% at fault). I finally got to drive something I always wanted, a Wrangler.
My wife and I are now empty nesters, so without any fan-fare or much fore-thought, I found a new bright white 2019 2-door Sport S for just under $30K. Or rather I should say this Jeep found us, but that's for a different story.
Regardless, back to the point of this thread. When I first purchased the JL, I had no idea about any Jeep culture thing. Totally blind to the 'wave' or any mall-crawler vs Rubicon off-road bad-ass'ism envy. I was pretty oblivious to all of the Jeep social and societal etiquette.
However, I had bought into the Wrangler mantra of being able to drive it nearly anywhere you care to go. At the time, just the enticement of possibly going off-road, while not the primary factor, was nonetheless rather appealing. Still, without realizing it the stock sport with it's open diffs just isn't capable enough to do anything really serious.
Living in Colorado and researching the off-road possibilities opened up a brand new vista for my wife and I. We both are outdoor adventurists at heart and given this new potential freedom to explore was truly a godsend. Jumping a little ahead, we are now seeing parts of our state that only really serious off-roaders (or wilderness hikers) can enjoy.
Unfortunately early on, I quickly learned that while stock sports are better than nearly all other vehicles ever built for getting into the great outdoors (for us our Colorado back yard), it just was not at all capable of going over the vast majority of the even moderately difficult Forest Service trails that meander throughout Colorado.
So I invested in a 2.5" lift, 35" all-terrain tires, wider stance (17x9, -12mm offset) wheels, and a quick disconnect sway bar kit. Essentially I now have everything a Rubicon has minus the lockers.
With this setup and some practice (and joining a Jeep Club certainly helped), we regularly now accomplish the difficult to severe routes with little to no difficulty whatsoever. Off-roading is truly a blast, and anyone not doing it in their Jeep is really missing out on a whole different dimension towards amazing, breathtaking and awesome life experiences.
Sure, looking down and around from a 12,500 ft mountain pass may not be for everyone, however for us the pure joy of the journey in getting there more than pays for the cost of admission. If you can afford a Rubi with the intent of using it for what is was designed for, don't pass on the opportunity. I perhaps will someday trade up.
Truthfully for the two of us, there is no real desire to either cliff-climb or rock-crawl. It's more of the thrill in going wheeling with the knowledge that the occasional obstacle (or two) isn't enough to not go at all. This opens up the vast majority of our state and national forest lands where we can now go. Pure unadulterated fun. We'll sometimes adulterated but I digress and TMI.
Also learning to use your 4wd equipment is just as important. Maintaining good traction while using just enough torque in keeping it, is the secret to accomplishing any difficult obstacle. I've found that driving a Sport with some skill always beats an idiot with a Rubi. I've assisted in pulling some, admittedly stock Rubicon's, up a few hard spots just because the driver isn't able to keep good traction. Obviously with locker's this makes it way more easier, but nowhere near guarunteed. When others realize we don't have lockers they're pretty amazed. The secret is that with adequate traction, even one wheel is all that's necessary. Still, more wheels with traction the better. Don't underestimate the real value of the lockers.
Anyway, our experience is that with a stock Sport, we got the occasional Jeep wave but only if initiated by us. Now however with the more capable lifted and larger tire setup, almost all Jeeper's now wave even before we attempt to. We get many (many) more waves than ever before.
So there is a definitive aspect to some snobbery. The bad-ass looking Jeep's whether used off-road or not certainly appear to get more Jeep respect.
Or maybe it's just all the mountain mud we now accumulate on ours.
Use your Jeep however it is that gives you the most smileage. Don't give a crap whatever anyone else thinks. Drive it to the mall with pride or take it up some deep forest trail to some high mountain lake with joy. Wherever you go, it's your Jeep getting you there. Modify it to your heart's content (or not). With what other vehicle can you do this? There is truly no other vehicle experience quite like a Jeep.
Best investment we've ever made. The minivan had its purpose. With the JL, there are whole other dimensions. Best daily driver I've ever owned by far bar none.
So no rant from me. Just happy bloviation.
Jay
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