What's the "Jeep Thing"?
CF Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,090
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From: Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
Year: 1999
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 stroked to 4.6, Thanks to Teasdale'sMachine!
Remember that time when you were a kid and worried that you parents were going to catch you with a certain magazine? Now your worried that your wife will catch you with a parts catalog and a visa in your hand. That's my jeep thing.
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Shepherdsville, KY
Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
There is no better feeling than the rough ride of a jeep. Jeep thing is being able to take it through any obstacle and back to work the next day! Once you have a jeep, you don't go back and you love them forever. That's all I've owned since I started driving. Couldn't imagine owning any other vehicle. I have driven all kinds of cars and trucks but nothing comes close to that feeling you have in a Jeep! I have a sticker on my jeeps; "A girl and her jeep...you wouldn't understand"
Thread Starter
CF Veteran
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 5,482
Likes: 25
From: Virginia Beach by way of Michigan
I have a more cynical view. Fortunately this sentiment isn't shared by every Jeep owner:
The Jeep thing is the arrogant, unproven idea that Jeeps are the only true off-road vehicles and that Jeep owners are somehow superior to drivers if other vehicles. It's a way to build a clique and exclude wheelers with other vehicles.
I have a lot of wrench time on a number of vehicles. I've never seen anyone more stuck up over a Jeep than a guy who's paid a shop to build it for him. When you're on a creeper looking up at parts, it's clear there's nothing exclusive or superior about a Jeep. I've put in far more dirt time driving different and arguably more reliable 4x4s than I have with my XJ.
As a Jeep owner now I feel substantially hypocritical about involvement with most Jeep clubs. Fortunately my club has always welcomed my friends with other vehicles as my guests. Seeing first-hand the capabilities of S-10s and Xtetras absolutely shocks the people with noses in the air over their Jeep thing.
My XJ has been a POS but it's been fun learning and building it and it's certainly the most capable off-road rig I've ever owned. I try to think of it as a hot rod: the increase in performance must be paralleled by an increase in maintenance. I like Jeeps of all types as I am a gearhead and car geek. I just don't do the "Jeep thing."
The Jeep thing is the arrogant, unproven idea that Jeeps are the only true off-road vehicles and that Jeep owners are somehow superior to drivers if other vehicles. It's a way to build a clique and exclude wheelers with other vehicles.
I have a lot of wrench time on a number of vehicles. I've never seen anyone more stuck up over a Jeep than a guy who's paid a shop to build it for him. When you're on a creeper looking up at parts, it's clear there's nothing exclusive or superior about a Jeep. I've put in far more dirt time driving different and arguably more reliable 4x4s than I have with my XJ.
As a Jeep owner now I feel substantially hypocritical about involvement with most Jeep clubs. Fortunately my club has always welcomed my friends with other vehicles as my guests. Seeing first-hand the capabilities of S-10s and Xtetras absolutely shocks the people with noses in the air over their Jeep thing.
My XJ has been a POS but it's been fun learning and building it and it's certainly the most capable off-road rig I've ever owned. I try to think of it as a hot rod: the increase in performance must be paralleled by an increase in maintenance. I like Jeeps of all types as I am a gearhead and car geek. I just don't do the "Jeep thing."
Yeah, Harley guys think their bikes are the best, but many still wave to crotch rockets. You don't see that with Jeep owners. They don't wave to lifted Yota's, Chevy's, Dodge's, etc. Heck, most Wrangler owners don't wave to unibodies. This is an area where the "Jeep Thing" has become a very bad thing. However, I do believe it can be something very good. You guys will just have to wait until the article is done to read what that is.
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Shepherdsville, KY
Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
You make a very good point and this is one area that I do plan to address in the article. So many times Jeep owners get nose-up about their vehicle. Granted, there's nothing wrong with having pride in your vehicle, brand loyalty, or even the occasional jokes about other brands. But when those things become so intense that other people who have a passion for the sport we enjoy are excluded merely because of their vehicle make, then there's a problem.
Yeah, Harley guys think their bikes are the best, but many still wave to crotch rockets. You don't see that with Jeep owners. They don't wave to lifted Yota's, Chevy's, Dodge's, etc. Heck, most Wrangler owners don't wave to unibodies. This is an area where the "Jeep Thing" has become a very bad thing. However, I do believe it can be something very good. You guys will just have to wait until the article is done to read what that is.
Yeah, Harley guys think their bikes are the best, but many still wave to crotch rockets. You don't see that with Jeep owners. They don't wave to lifted Yota's, Chevy's, Dodge's, etc. Heck, most Wrangler owners don't wave to unibodies. This is an area where the "Jeep Thing" has become a very bad thing. However, I do believe it can be something very good. You guys will just have to wait until the article is done to read what that is.
I'm different about that... I sure do love jeeps and thats all I have but I am definitely a Chevy and Dodge girl! Expecially if the truck is lifted up!!!
Toyotas are cool too but I like the older pickups because they are narrow and good for trails. If you're driving a big truck, I'm gonna wave and check that truck out!! Its more about the fun with mud all over than the brand you are driving.
Thread Starter
CF Veteran
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 5,482
Likes: 25
From: Virginia Beach by way of Michigan
I'm different about that... I sure do love jeeps and thats all I have but I am definitely a Chevy and Dodge girl! Expecially if the truck is lifted up!!! Toyotas are cool too but I like the older pickups because they are narrow and good for trails. If you're driving a big truck, I'm gonna wave and check that truck out!! Its more about the fun with mud all over than the brand you are driving.
Toyotas are cool too but I like the older pickups because they are narrow and good for trails. If you're driving a big truck, I'm gonna wave and check that truck out!! Its more about the fun with mud all over than the brand you are driving.Sorry, I should have clarified: SOME Jeep owners get up-nosed, not all. Unfortunately, those who do act that way are the ones who people associate the rest of us with. It's kind of along the same lines as being a Jeep owner, and being a Jeeper. Just 'cuz you own the Jeep doesn't mean you're a Jeeper. In the same vein, there's "The Jeep Thing", and what many non-Jeepers see as "The Jeep Thing". Two totally different subjects.
And yes, I will be posting the article on here. It's February's addition, so it'll be written next week, and then posted on the 1st.
CF Veteran
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,456
Likes: 74
From: North Riding of Yorkshire, UK
Year: 1997
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
You make a very good point and this is one area that I do plan to address in the article. So many times Jeep owners get nose-up about their vehicle. Granted, there's nothing wrong with having pride in your vehicle, brand loyalty, or even the occasional jokes about other brands. But when those things become so intense that other people who have a passion for the sport we enjoy are excluded merely because of their vehicle make, then there's a problem.
Yeah, Harley guys think their bikes are the best, but many still wave to crotch rockets. You don't see that with Jeep owners. They don't wave to lifted Yota's, Chevy's, Dodge's, etc. Heck, most Wrangler owners don't wave to unibodies. This is an area where the "Jeep Thing" has become a very bad thing. However, I do believe it can be something very good. You guys will just have to wait until the article is done to read what that is.
Yeah, Harley guys think their bikes are the best, but many still wave to crotch rockets. You don't see that with Jeep owners. They don't wave to lifted Yota's, Chevy's, Dodge's, etc. Heck, most Wrangler owners don't wave to unibodies. This is an area where the "Jeep Thing" has become a very bad thing. However, I do believe it can be something very good. You guys will just have to wait until the article is done to read what that is.
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Model: Cherokee
As Wayoflife from another forum says... "Jeep, It's a way of life". How many people do you know that would take a sawzall to thier $30,000 or $40,000 dollar vehicle? A jeep owner would. How many people are willing to buy said expensive vehicle, and with in a month take the new rims and tires off of it for a new set? A jeep owner. As soon as you buy the jeep your hooked.
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 85
Likes: 0
From: Spijkenisse
Year: 1988
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 Lo
As Wayoflife from another forum says... "Jeep, It's a way of life". How many people do you know that would take a sawzall to thier $30,000 or $40,000 dollar vehicle? A jeep owner would. How many people are willing to buy said expensive vehicle, and with in a month take the new rims and tires off of it for a new set? A jeep owner. As soon as you buy the jeep your hooked.
CF Veteran
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,592
Likes: 0
From: oregon
Year: 1993
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 ho 99 intake ps pump 1" tb spacer 62mm bored tb eletric fans and more
to me the jeep thing is hard to put into words but heres my best try at it.
the jeep thing isnt so much mines better than yours but that its part of me. each and every jeep that gets changed reflects its owners. some wild some crazy some simply some not. but when they all gather they all smile they all look at each others rig as though they are learning who someone is. a true jeeper knows his limits and often tests it. the jeep thing is stopping to help a random stranger stuck of broke on the trail. its seeing someone with the same passion wether its a jeep or not.
I also think another part is the feeling you get everytime you see it. that smile or cring you get knowing you have to fix something on it. the fact that it becomes part of you family. its often loved and hated at the same time. it knows you as well as you know it. almost like its alive. until you feel it, until you swap blood and oil, most people dont understand. because its a "jeep thing" no two peoples jeep thing means the same but somehow someway theres always a "jeep thing"
the jeep thing isnt so much mines better than yours but that its part of me. each and every jeep that gets changed reflects its owners. some wild some crazy some simply some not. but when they all gather they all smile they all look at each others rig as though they are learning who someone is. a true jeeper knows his limits and often tests it. the jeep thing is stopping to help a random stranger stuck of broke on the trail. its seeing someone with the same passion wether its a jeep or not.
I also think another part is the feeling you get everytime you see it. that smile or cring you get knowing you have to fix something on it. the fact that it becomes part of you family. its often loved and hated at the same time. it knows you as well as you know it. almost like its alive. until you feel it, until you swap blood and oil, most people dont understand. because its a "jeep thing" no two peoples jeep thing means the same but somehow someway theres always a "jeep thing"
CF Veteran
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,095
Likes: 3
From: Cove, OR
Year: 1993
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
The sticker that reads [ It is a Jeep thing, and you wouldn't understand! ] probably should be replaced by the sticker that reads [ It isn't just a Jeep thing, and we do understand! ]
Many people that seriously wheel their 4x4s don't drive Jeeps, that is a fact. While I now own two Jeeps, in the past I have wheeled many other makes, some guys wheeling other makes think the [ It is a Jeep thing and you wouldn't understand! ] stickers are arrogant, and divisive, and disrespectful of their vehicles.
Many people that seriously wheel their 4x4s don't drive Jeeps, that is a fact. While I now own two Jeeps, in the past I have wheeled many other makes, some guys wheeling other makes think the [ It is a Jeep thing and you wouldn't understand! ] stickers are arrogant, and divisive, and disrespectful of their vehicles.
Old School CF Moderator
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 9,652
Likes: 3
From: Chattanooga
Year: 2001
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
Odd thread...but..
For me the history of the unsurpassed reliability and utility of Jeep is what has me hooked. Knowing that in almost any sort of condition my Jeep will get me where I need to go is a good feeling. Being able to traverse terrain from rock gardens and mud holes, then being able to drive home and to work the next day is a great thing.
For me the history of the unsurpassed reliability and utility of Jeep is what has me hooked. Knowing that in almost any sort of condition my Jeep will get me where I need to go is a good feeling. Being able to traverse terrain from rock gardens and mud holes, then being able to drive home and to work the next day is a great thing.