Question on badge etiquette

[Zandcwhite]

The badges are definitely not a priority for me, but there are those that really seem to care. I use the boh as a starting point for trails in the area. My badges are all sitting in a pile on my dresser, never to be mounted on a Jeep. I may build a thing to display them on my garage wall one day but I doubt it, I have parts to install. I still prefer if you choose to mount them on the Jeep that the Jeep did the trail or at least it can.



You gotta get her her own Jeep, solves all your problems.

Hers

Mine

No desire to roadtrip and wheel separately, not to mention the gas for both so it's generally one or the other. Again that raises the issue, her Jeep but I drive, where's the badge go? What if we put the badges on hers but then I drive it on the next trail? Am I deceiving people? Or.... are we all over thinking Jeeps free sticker program?

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[arnie_mueller]

I don't think it matters as long as you don't do what one guy in a local club does and that's drive to the trailhead, check in, drive away then add the badge along with the $40k of other mods and then drive to meets and feel importance by showing everyone how expensive your Jeep is.

I asked him, "how was Pritchett" his response was, "oh it was good, look at these really expensive shocks I have on here! oh and look at this really expensive winch line I have!" So I asked, "what was your favorite part of Pritchett?" His response was "oh, the Jeep wasn't really running that well that day and I just wasn't feeling it so we decided to turn around and go back. Check out this really expensive bumper I have though!"

 

[Trails]

The badges go with the driver. Get a new Jeep and do the same trail again, Jeep will not send you a new badge.

I look at it like the flags under the canopy of a WWII fighter signifying enemy aircraft shot down. They go with the pilot. If something happens to the airplane and the pilot gets a new one, the flags go with him, not the aircraft.

That's the best analogy I have seen on this topic. The badges on the Jeep are like the "kill flags" on a fighter plane. They stay with the pilot. The pilot can out the flags on a different plane.

As for BoH trails, several of them can be run in stock Jeeps. Why or how Jeep choose some trails to be BoH and others not BoH is anybody's guess. Heck, there is a guy who runs Hell's Revenge in a Ford Crown Victoria, giving absolutely zero f%cks about it. The video is out there Kind of hilarious.
As an FYI for people who left badges on an old Jeep you sold.. There are 3rd party companies that will reproduce badges for BoH trails. That can be convenient if a badge was lost, never delivered, left on a old Jeep you sold, etc. Does that open the door for "cheating"? Yup it does, ... but as others have stated, if someone wants to "cheat", it's as easy as just checking in at the head of a trail, and not doing the trail at all. Nothing can stop those "cheaters", so I don't lose sleep if someone gets a "reproduced" badge made by a 3rd party company if they actually did the trail. Those companies will also produce badges for trails that you really like, but for some reason are are not BoH trails. Jeep does not own or control any trails.

 

[Zandcwhite]

That's the best analogy I have seen on this topic. The badges on the Jeep are like the "kill flags" on a fighter plane. They stay with the pilot. The pilot can out the flags on a different plane.

As for BoH trails, several of them can be run in stock Jeeps. Why or how Jeep choose some trails to be BoH and others not BoH is anybody's guess. Heck, there is a guy who runs Hell's Revenge in a Ford Crown Victoria, giving absolutely zero f%cks about it. The video is out there Kind of hilarious.
As an FYI for people who left badges on an old Jeep you sold.. There are 3rd party companies that will reproduce badges for BoH trails. That can be convenient if a badge was lost, never delivered, left on a old Jeep you sold, etc. Does that open the door for "cheating"? Yup it does, ... but as others have stated, if someone wants to "cheat", it's as easy as just checking in at the head of a trail, and not doing the trail at all. Nothing can stop those "cheaters", so I don't lose sleep if someone gets a "reproduced" badge made by a 3rd party company if they actually did the trail. Those companies will also produce badges for trails that you really like, but for some reason are are not BoH trails. Jeep does not own or control any trails.

GPS spoofing apps exist. I could create a new account with a new email address and check in at every trail from my couch if I just wanted to collect all the badges.

 

[AcesandEights]

... do you think the badges belong to the driver who hit the trail or on the jeep that went on the trail.

That's an easy one.

Consider your place in nature. Does it wear a badge? All cruelty springs from weakness; the answer is without ego.

Hope that helps indeedy!

 

[gek]

Hers

Mine

No desire to roadtrip and wheel separately, not to mention the gas for both so it's generally one or the other. Again that raises the issue, her Jeep but I drive, where's the badge go? What if we put the badges on hers but then I drive it on the next trail? Am I deceiving people? Or.... are we all over thinking Jeeps free sticker program?

We have to road trip both if she is going to wheel her Jeep too, that said my wife has yet to want to drive hers the 15+ hours it takes to get to Moab, 6-8 hours is about her max range.

There is no way anyone here is overthinking it.

 

[RicRecon]

I’ve ran many more trails that weren’t BoH trails, some more difficult than a couple of the BoH trails I’ve ran, others not much more than cool exploration. I've enjoyed them all.

I’ve attempted a couple other BoH trails where I was going solo only to run into a difficult situation where I wasn’t comfortable that day to continue on without another Jeep there or at least another person with me. I simply turned back and didn’t check into the app. I’ll get back to those one day and finish them. When I do, I’ll check in and request the badge. Maybe that will be in a different Jeep, doubt it but who knows. Really don’t think this is that big of a deal. I like the recognition of the BoH trails because it’s cool and because it’s for me to enjoy. I’m not doing it for others or to show off.

 

[Zandcwhite]

We have to road trip both if she is going to wheel her Jeep too, that said my wife has yet to want to drive hers the 15+ hours it takes to get to Moab, 6-8 hours is about her max range.

There is no way anyone here is overthinking it.

Hers is built for rocks, full belly skids, 39s, etc. Mine is the desert runner, no skids, 2.5" internal bypass shocks, hydraulic bump stops. If it's moab we take hers. AZ, NV, CA desert we take mine. I have no doubt I could get mine through the Rubicon, but it would be more work, less fun, and there's a higher risk of damage. We've wheeled hers in the desert, but again less fun and not near as stable at freeway plus speeds in the dirt. Right tool for the job so to speak. That's the beauty of having 2, specialization.

 

[Tncdrew]

 

[Ratbert]

GPS spoofing apps exist. I could create a new account with a new email address and check in at every trail from my couch if I just wanted to collect all the badges.

Then sell them on eBay for $30 to $50-ish bucks. At one point I saw a Rubicon Trail badge there for about $200. Pretty sad, but it happens.

 

[Ratbert]

I’ve ran many more trails that weren’t BoH trails, some more difficult than a couple of the BoH trails I’ve ran, others not much more than cool exploration. I've enjoyed them all.

Just because it's a BOH trail doesn't mean that it's challenging. There are plenty of level 2 and 3 trails on the list. Someone had pointed to a level 1 trail in the past here, but I can't find that one.

 

[RicRecon]

Just because it's a BOH trail doesn't mean that it's challenging. There are plenty of level 2 and 3 trails on the list. Someone had pointed to a level 1 trail in the past here, but I can't find that one.

I fully realize that

 

[roaniecowpony]

Then sell them on eBay for $30 to $50-ish bucks. At one point I saw a Rubicon Trail badge there for about $200. Pretty sad, but it happens.

I just bought a Rubicon badge this morning to put on a photo collage as a gift for my spotter on our first run of the Rubicon, who's also a lifelong friend.

 

[wibornz]

I have 58 badges, and have ran many of the dodge trails several times. I think selling the Jeep with the badges is not ideal. The driver has no memory of the trail and will get asked about a trail and then be put in the position of lying about doing the trail or have to explain that he didn't do the trail and bought the Jeep like that.

I would pull the badges off my Jeep prior to selling it. The new owner should not get the credit or the experience that came with running a trail. With that said, If you do pull the badges off a Jeep and put them on a Jeep that is easily recognized as not having the capability to do the trail will put you into a position of explaining how you did Pritchett Canyon with a stock sport 4dr. It will immediately make you look like a liar.

There are all kinds of tire checkers out there with badges on a Jeep that there is no way they ran the trail. The badge from Drummond Island is a great example. You will struggle doing the badge trail with 37s and a winch. Same with the trails at Red Bird in Indiana. The mud is deep and rutted out with Jeep running 37s and above. You are not running it with 35s and no winch.

If you watch YouTubers running the badge trails on Drummond Island on YouTube, it will be hard to find a video where they actually ran the badge trail. 95% of them took the North Loop to Marblehead, not the South Loop. The badge is for the South Loop. They claim the badge and never put a tire on the actual badge trail.

Expect others to call you out if you are displaying badges that a Jeep is not capable of doin the trail. My wife parked at a gas station to grab a coffee. When she came out some dude was looking at the the Jeep, he smirked and said you ran Pritchett Canyon. My wife worked in a prison for 25 years and is not shy. She told him why don't you lay on the ground and check out the skid plates under the Jeep and look at the bead lock rings, while I pull up some pictures off my phone from me wheeling Pritchett Canyon. LOL.


I like the analogy of doing photograph work. It is the photographer not the camera. I also find it funny when someone says you must have a nice camera. It's like someone saying man that meal was fantastic, you must have a nice set of pots and pans. To a certain point and all things considered, a driver can have a huge impact on the capabilities of a vehicle. If you lack in driving abilities, a spotter can easily make up for the lack of driving skills, if you listen to the spotter.

At the end of the day, you spent the money to get the badge, do with it as you please. I find it funny when someone says, it a free badge. Like that dude obviously has not driven 5,000 miles to wheel a badge trail and thought that all that gas, food, lodging, upgrades to do the trails was free. A badge is more a items that says this person put forth a bunch of effort, time and resources to run that specific trail.

 

[Fish]

Hello all,

I am curious to see what everyone thinks about the follow issue I have. I visited and completed several trails between my two JK jeeps. I order the badges after completing the trails but it was some time before they came in. Then as it always happens, life got busy and I ended up selling my last jeep. Fast forward to now and I have another jeep, do you think the badges belong to the driver who hit the trail or on the jeep that went on the trail. Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this matter.

Slap them on a toolbox or cabinet when you sell the jeep. Earn new ones with the new jeep.

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