Whats so great about Jeeps?
- Thread starter The motor guy
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4wd
$50 site donor 2026
I have seen the “wicked” trails you post yourself on LoL
So from '98 to '01 or so I DD'd a TJ w/ both tops, mostly. I also had a 328is w/ the sport suspension on only Summer tires during that time so I figured I had one practical car between the two. The TJ was fine in the snow and reasonable w/ the hard top, but then again 'rationality' wasn't that much of a motivating factor...yet
Penalty box is a good description....man I miss that TJ.
Those are all terrains - not mudders. Not trying to be rude - take it off-road is not your forte.
And yes, its an off Road vehicle they have made tolerable on road, which is why I likely don't own one (yet). If i wasn't for your friend he should have driven one first. Its like complaining a Ferrari is hard to get in and out of after you buy it. A brick on wheels with a short wheel base and solid axles is never going to track like a Camry.
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I thought about buying a Jeep once. But found out it was cheaper to buy a John Deere Gator with a camping tent on top of it for the same result
You could ask the same question of any type of vehicle. I ask myself the same question about ev's and pickup trucks says the guy who owned a unimog. LOL
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I love mine. I have two, a lifted Wrangler, and a new gladiator mine has no death wobble it runs and handles like a dream.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
I have owned 4WD's since I bought my first new LT. None of them compare to my Rubicon in off-road prowess and I go places that leave the FX4 crowd on the frame. The early 4WD LT's rode far rougher than the new Jeeps - but those Dana axles remain for good reasons.
However, I don't feel obsessed or cult like - I just like to explore with confidence - relaxed - be home on time ...
Now obsessed? - I have a good friend who has a JL, JLU, and JT - all Rubicon. The JL 2 door is modified and is both driven around town and/or towed behind a ZR2 Silverado Bison. (obsessed). I am not interested in his rated trails - but have heard hours and hours of what goes on out there with vehicles that should not have been there. (one trip with him is enough).
My daughter is a rural mail carrier and won't have a Jeep. She says here co-workers that have them miss a lot of work cause they have them in the shop. She drives a Honda CR-V that does not have RHD and sits in the middle to drive it. Her last one went over 300k and still ran good and the transmission held up. Suspension gave it up though.
I don't particularly care for Wranglers/CJ's beyond farm/off-road "tool use". They're too wobbly and small.
I grew up seeing men doing every kind of work with pick-ups and vans, so the real Jeeps seemed kinda odd.
I did like the ones my neighbors had...REAL military surplus purchases. Ha, Mr. H. painted his red with a brush.
But I like grey ones...go figure?
While the tread pattern looks similar to most all-terrain tires, Firestone categorizes the DESTINATION M/T2 as a mud tire. The Jeep owner reviews seem to reinforce @Nick1994's impression of the tire.
Not exactly what you're asking but Jeep to me is one of the saddest car makers out there having been mismanaged by so many of organizations that have owned them throughout the years. They have great name recognition and do so many things right in terms of style and packaging but have so many issues. If they could greatly improve their QC, and perhaps if they didn't already have the reputation for poor quality, I think they'd sell like hotcakes in North America.
What is a "mud terrain"? Worst of all worlds? Wouldn't be the first time an OEM bought lousy tires I suppose.
This is a "mudder" - which is what I presumed the OP was talking about when he said "mudder"
I had a 1980 CJ-7 for a couple years.... It was nice around town at 30 MPH. At highway speed the aftermarket hardtop rattled constantly despite me trying all manor of tricks to stop the rattle. No, I never did take it off road. What really killed my enthusiasm for the vehicle was it's 1980-era carb and miles and miles of vacuum lines and solenoids. Any kind of change in temperature or humidity would result in the engine not starting (it was the old AMC 258). In my youth and inexperience I never did get it to run right.
I'd look for a TJ if I ever decided I wanted another one. The newer ones all looked oddly bloated to me; the TJ was the last of the classic-proportioned Jeeps. And they came with the 4.0!
I'd look for a TJ if I ever decided I wanted another one. The newer ones all looked oddly bloated to me; the TJ was the last of the classic-proportioned Jeeps. And they came with the 4.0!
Aye, there's the rub. They already DO sell like hotcakes.
Sales are down 34% from 2018 (yes, all auto sales are down compared to 2018), but also down 11% from 2021, and down 6% last year while auto sales were up from 2023 to 2024. They are heading in the wrong direction compared to other automakers.
You're thinking of bump steer. DW is caster or maybe just roasted bushings/TREs/SREs
As for the thread topic: it's the last not-a-3/4-ton-truck with solid axles front and rear. And you never realize how little sheetmetal they have until you stand next to one and think about it. Both of these are HUGE advantages for rockcrawling.
I really, really wish Ford had gone SFA on the new Bronco. The Wrangler needs a blow-for-blow competitor.
That said, Wranglers are the most easily modified vehicles and thus require little skill or vision. It's like buying a paint-by-numbers kit and then claiming you're an artist. And yes, I have a JL on 37s. And yes, that does make me a lame poseur, too.
If you ever sit in a Wrangler the first thing that stands out is how narrow the passenger compartment is. Then if you just think about it, you realize it's because the body is narrow. The overall vehicle kinda appears as wide as any other mid-size SUV until you consider it's just the fenders that make up a lot of that width.
The nose has effectively been boat-sided for you from the factory, which is fantastic for reducing vulnerable sheetmetal on the trail while also allowing for plenty of room for big tires to stuff. If none of this means anything to you, you may not be a Wrangler buyer.
That said, custom fab is always coolest and I've always enjoyed things like K5s that have been boat-sided. So cool but a lot of work!
The nose has effectively been boat-sided for you from the factory, which is fantastic for reducing vulnerable sheetmetal on the trail while also allowing for plenty of room for big tires to stuff. If none of this means anything to you, you may not be a Wrangler buyer.
That said, custom fab is always coolest and I've always enjoyed things like K5s that have been boat-sided. So cool but a lot of work!
You know, I just KNEW someone was going to challenge my post, which in reality was only a generalization. They sure sold a lot of them in the fifteen years prior to that; right up there almost at Ford Explorer numbers. Again, only a generalization. Will sales continue to drop? Sure, maybe, who knows.
Well, I'm not arguing for the sake of arguing, but I think the drop in sales coincides with their continued slide in quality and the general public's knowledge of their internal issues, which was the thesis of my post about it being one of the most mismanaged car manufactures in business today.
