Why a Wrangler? Pic & Story Thread... Share Yours!

[DanW]

Many times, I've come across friends who wonder why I love Jeeps so much. Usually, one ride with the doors off on a beautiful day gives them a clue. I wanted to make a thread where instead of debating styling subtleties, powertrains, and the location of "Easter eggs," we share why we love Jeeps so much. It can be a story, pics, or anything.

I've got too many to post, but I'll start with a couple reasons I've loved my Jeeps so much. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of my YJ (I'll have to dig for them), but I've got plenty of the JK that we've had for 10 years. It has been to Colorado, Moab, all over the Midwest and East, and has been WAY off the beaten path. My kids have so many memories, and my wife and I like to take it on dates. We lived for 5 years without a Wrangler when I sold my YJ, and we regretted it every day until we purchased the JK.

These Wranglers are fun because they transform themselves. I just took the soft doors off my Jeep and am getting ready to put the hard top on for the winter. It feels completely different as it changes configurations. There just isn't another vehicle like these things. They have history, they have tradition, and they are as American as the pickup truck. Maybe moreso.

Share some of the Jeep things that make you interested in one of these unique vehicles in this thread. Then, maybe others will understand and get the chance to enjoy them, too.

I'll post some pics to start it off. I can't wait to hear some of the stories out there, too. I'm sure I'll think of a few, myself. Enjoy!

The next one is on Fins N' Things trail in Moab, Utah, during the 2015 Easter Jeep Safari.

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[DanW]

Just last week, I took this pic from the window of my JK in the Smokey Mountains. He was 10 feet away, and was HUGE. My daughter said she was glad we were safe in the Jeep. I didn't have the heart to tell her that he could have peeled through those soft doors like a kid ripping wrapping paper on Christmas morning! The next shot is of the road leading up to Black Mountain, Kentucky, the highest point in the state.

 

[Stuweeks]

Just last week, I took this pic from the window of my JK in the Smokey Mountains. He was 10 feet away, and was HUGE. My daughter said she was glad we were safe in the Jeep. I didn't have the heart to tell her that he could have peeled through those soft doors like a kid ripping wrapping paper on Christmas morning! The next shot is of the road leading up to Black Mountain, Kentucky, the highest point in the state.

Can you recommend some trails and campsites in the Smokies? I live in Nashville and thinking about taking a trip up there.

Thanks!

 

[DanW]

Can you recommend some trails and campsites in the Smokies? I live in Nashville and thinking about taking a trip up there.

Thanks!

Yes! Not so much campsights, but here are a few of my favorite trails and roads.

1. This is my favorite, and it is across the NC border off of I40. It is Hurricane Creek Road. It takes a few hours, but it is GORGEOUS and has a few spots that require 4wd. You can do it in 2wd in a Jeep, but it 4wd makes it a little easier in a few spots. There was another JK with me and we passed two others. We came across some bear hunters, too, and spoke to them for a minute. Real mountain men! My kids had trouble understanding their dialect, but they were really neat guys and they were clearly experienced bear hunters. I'm not sure they were supposed to be hunting there, though, but I wasn't going to bother them. Anyway, the trail has great scenery. The pic with the two Jeeps and the kids running around was taken on that trail. There are a couple shallow creek crossings that make for great Jeep photo ops, too. There was color in the leaves, so we had the top down and front soft doors off. Look up some Youtube videos, because getting on the trail is a bit of a pain. You must turn off of 40 at a place with no shoulder, so I put the hazard lights on and slowed waaayyyy down before making a fast, sharp right at the end of the guard rail. Google Maps shows the entrance to the road exactly where it is, too, so that helps.

2. Balsam Mountain Road. This is in the Smokey Mountain National Park, on the NC side. You get to it off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it is a one-way dirt road. You can get any vehicle through it, if the weather is good, but we saw a MASSIVE bull elk and the leaves were gorgeous! The fewer the leaves, the better the scenery, but it is fun any season. Here are a couple pics from that road. Getting off the road takes you through the Cherokee community and on a mountain road that is narrow and has a couple fun, but hairy switchback and STEEP dropoffs.

3. Rich Mountain Road off the Cades Cove Loop. We didn't do this on the last trip, but it is one way and winds up exiting the park near Townsend, TN. It is gorgeous, easy (2wd) and one way. It has lots of scenic views and switch backs and there is a high probability of bear sightings.

4. Deal's Gap, also known as The Tail of the Dragon. This is a smooth, paved road with banked turns. It supposedly has more turns per mile than any road on the continent. The bad side is that you might emerge with a motorcycle burried in your grille. It is a mecca for cyclists and they are flat NUTS. Be CAREFUL on this road, but it is tons of fun, too. You'll see busted up motorcycle parts all along the way, and many have met their maker on this road.

5. Windrock off road area, at Coal Creek Mining Company area. This is about 70,000 acres of off road trails for Jeeps, ATV's, and Motorcycles. There are several trails that will get you Jeep Badges of Honor. Some trails are only suitable for highly modified Jeeps. You'll be shocked and impressed, though, with what a stock Jeep will do there, especially a Rubicon. Skid plates will lose their virginity here, for sure! There is a great camping area there, and also near Caryville, TN, in a state forest or park. I've camped in both places. If you don't want to test your Jeep's limits, there are PLENTY of mild trails, too. Scenic overlooks abound. I'll try and dig up some pics.

6. Royal Blue. I've never driven these trails, but they are north of Windrock off I75, and are supposed to be wonderful. It spans about 100,000 acres, if I remember correctly.

 

[Armycop]

My Wrangler obsession started in 1995 when my friend took me up into hills of Arizona in his '94 YJ. After going topless and doorless I had to buy one. So I've owned a TJ Sahara and 3 JKs so far. I've tinkered with every one of them and wheeled them on mild to moderate trails from Missouri to Washington state. I'm currently working on paying off my other toy, a Camaro SS and I'll be in the JL market in about 2 years.

 

[DanW]

Great looking Jeeps!!

Here are a few more from over the years. It is fun to look back at old pics and see how the Jeep has evolved with different mods coming and going.

 

[wanderer]

Here is my story and it actually starts with a cj-7. I am a geologist, fresh out of school in December of 1976 living in southern CA, and needed a truck. My 68 Ford Fairlane 500 fast back was not cutting it in the dirt,espicially on large grading jobs.
At least I though I needed a truck so I bought a bright ( bee sting Yellow don't ask but bees used to chase this truck) Nissan King cab with wide tires. Prepared for work, I thought, I learned that wide tires on a Nissan truck do not an offload vehicle make.

That and more stucks at work than you can count from having an open diff wheel drop through a weak spot in a flimsy wooden bridge to stuck in the mud for 12hours. I was over it .

So I bought a Jeep CJ-7 golden eagle with the 304 v-8 and quadratrac. Didn't get stuck any more had some incredible adventures but the simplest one was asking trip to being bear. I got stuck in a long line waiting patiently to get to the resort and 2 guys come down in a cj-5.
They stop and ask me "what am I doing waiting in line?"
I tell them "there must be an accident up there."
They say "no, just people putting on chains you don't need to wait"
I said "thanks"
They gave me the Jeep wave and I returned it instinctively . Been waving ever since.

I pulled out of line drove on the wrong side of the road for 8 or 9 miles pulled in and parked right in front of the lift ticket stand.. Skied all morning with no crowds.. Other trips included going to Mammoth Heavenly and many other resorts. one trip I drove up to north cal to meet up with my best college friend Dave, to surf in Northern California. Then going down highway 1 alone in the winter with the top down and camping on the beach. Here is a photo of my Jeep CJ-7 golden eagle camping on the beach somewhere south of ragged point.

That my story at least the beginning of it.

 

[DanW]

Wow, nice CJ!

 

[Niteshooter]

My story is similar to wanderer's. I started out with a 82 Datsun (pre Nissan) 4x4 longbox pickup. First thing I did was replace the stock wheels and tires with larger BFG AT's. This did two things, made the truck look great and totally killed it performance wise. The little 4 banger was just not up to the task. Two years later when the King Cab was introduced I traded in my pickup. Problem was it still had the same low powered 4 cylinder engine. Might be fine putting around the city but out on the highway it was hopelessly underpowered and made even worse with those big tires.

So in 84 I bought my first Jeep, a used CJ5. It had the AMC 304 ci V8 and was lifted with handmade tubular front and rear bumpers that the previous owner had fabricated. It was also a handful to drive since it had no power assisted brakes or steering. Also only had drum brakes on all four corners. But the fold down windshield and removable soft top and doors were such a great change from the cars and trucks I had previously owned. It also sounded pretty good once I replaced the stock exhaust system with headers and side pipes. Shortly after I bought it the neighbours ex-boyfriend decided one night to try and burn their house down. This also set the top of my Jeep on fire, my friends from the bottom of the street came banging on my door and I was able to drive the Jeep top starting to burn out of the driveway. As a result the insurance company for the neighbours paid for a new soft top, doors and total reupholstered interior.

In 1987 I bought my second Jeep an 86 CJ7, I just couldn't warm up to the YJ's square headlights.....

It was much easier to drive then the CJ5 which I still owned at the time since it had disk front brakes as well as power assist on the brakes and steering. Plus the interior was slightly larger. But it didn't have the nasty growl of the V8. Living in the city and working a lot I never really got much time to do any off roading so the CJ7 spent a lot of time just cruising to work or after work up our main drag which is Yonge Street. I worked right at the bottom of Yonge for 25 years and after a late shift I enjoyed cruising up Yonge in the summer with the top down. Most summer nights it was 'cruise' night on Yonge with plenty of cool cars crawling along in stop and go traffic. But heck I didn't care with the top down, doors off and windshield down. (I think the windshield down part was from my days of riding motorcycles) I can remember a number of times when a group of girls would run up and ask if they could catch a ride up the street, yup no problem. Think that was one of the neat things about the Jeep, being able to pick up chicks....

I still have the CJ7 today, still enjoy driving it with the top down, doors off and windshield dropped. It is getting old, like me though and I've been thinking it might be nice to have a newer Jeep with a lot more creature comforts. The idea of the JL's drop down windshield really appeals to me, I know you could drop the windshield with the TJ but that involved removing part of the roll cage so I'm really liking this new design. Also the way you can remove just the front part of the hard top like the old T-Topped cars back in the day.

The CJ5 I shipped out west to a buddy in Carstairs Alberta a decade or more ago. He sold it to somebody local if I recall. Would be curious to find out if it's still around.

I've driven a friends TJ and it is so much more refined then my CJ, and the newer Jeeps are even more so. Perhaps in some ways a lot more car like but you know as I get older things like heated seats and steering wheel along with 9 speakers and subwoofer with ample power to severely damage what little hearing I have left are kind of cool...... oh and A/C for when it is just too hot to be topless.

 

[DanW]

Love the folded down windshield on the CJ! Awesome Jeep!

 

[wanderer]

You know what that yellow tuck of mine was a Datsun then. Must be getting old

 

[GOBOGIE]

Enjoying reading all the stories.

 

[MrDinkMan]

Thank you all for sharing! Hope to read more.

I don't have a Wrangler story of my own yet but hope to fill this space soon. I can say that it's been a dream of mine for quite a few years now. I can't wait to join the fervent group of Jeep Wrangler owners. Even just the few stories above ooze with Jeep and Wrangler pride.

 

[Revelation17]

Back in the early 2000s I was in the market for a new vehicle. I was looking at a Wrangler but couldn't pull the trigger based on the reliability concerns (at least as I perceived them at the time). Was also looking at the FJ but never liked it enough. Ended up with an Infinity FX-35 for a couple of years and then back to a boring sedan. Since that point I always looked at Wranglers longingly...like the girl who got away (and didn't turn out to be some psycho hose-beast). I've been wanting a Wrangler ever since. Now that i'm old(er) and have more money and I'm in the market for a new ride I'm pulling the trigger. Most likely a 2019 unless my current car throws a rod or something. I've thought of sabotage so I'm "forced" to get it early but that just doesn't seen like the best move. I'll maybe get a shiny color that will drive my wife nuts like Mojito or Nacho.

I had all of my JK upgrades planned. Made a big spreadsheet of everything. Now that'll have to be redone given the design changes and the need to wait for JL aftermarket parts. I find the planning half of the fun of a purchase (well, hopefully not with the Wrangler - maybe 25%). Very much looking forward the being able to do the "Jeep wave" from a Jeep and not from a Mazda (you get funny looks). Can't wait to get with a group and hit MOAB or someplace else out West.

Pete

 

[digitalbliss]

Just last week, I took this pic from the window of my JK in the Smokey Mountains. He was 10 feet away, and was HUGE. My daughter said she was glad we were safe in the Jeep. I didn't have the heart to tell her that he could have peeled through those soft doors like a kid ripping wrapping paper on Christmas morning! The next shot is of the road leading up to Black Mountain, Kentucky, the highest point in the state.

Awesome! I've seen them like that in cades cove.

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