Who got you into Jeeps and why did it stick??

[ttn333]

Wanted a pickup truck, had my mind set on a Tacoma (Toyota family). But the Glad was just too pretty to pass. To hell with dependability, I wanted something pretty and fun.

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[Jteakus]

When I was in the 6th grade my best friend's older brother let us ride in his Levi's edition CJ5 to go pick up his girlfriend. It was blue with tan seats and Levi's buttons in them. I'll never forget when he turned off the the driveway, cut across the yard went through the ditch and on to the highway at speed. The top was off and the 304 was singing out the fenderwell headers and side pipes. hooked ever since. I got my CJ7 my Junior year of high school, still have it. I'm 53.

Talk about a memory laser-burned in to my brain. I haven't thought about that in YEARS!

 

[MCATDT]

A friend asked if I wanted to go off roading with him. Never did anything like it I was a just a passenger and then he let me drive and I was hooked. Thanks Keith!!!

 

[sdtkeld]

Ford, Toyota, Chevy, etc convinced me to buy a Gladiator because their doors and roof don’t come off…and I was looking for a mid-size pick-up. Serendipity!

 

[Redruby]

My dad hand made a jeep pedal car for me in the early 50’s. Wasn’t until late 80’s or early 90’s that I got a cj5 then a YJ then an LJ rubicon and last year got a 21 Gladiator Rubicon firecracker red added an Alucab and now I’m Overlanding everywhere, just love this Jeep thing

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Growing up in SFL running trails though the Everglades, then Ocala with the ONF, Jeeps were admired from a close distance though we were always in full size 4x4 pickups and ATCs. The CJ8s came out in my high school years and made a big impression that lasted a while. This was magnified with the introduction of the Gladiator which I just couldn't get past.

Then came the perfect storm of the youngest coming of age with the wife wanting to get out of minivans and into a nice car at the same time my faithful F-150 which I worked out of was ready for retirement.
Getting vetoed from a convertible was the final straw to getting a Jeep: I could have my work truck and a convertible and a Jeep which I had subtly pined for decades!

The dream finally became a reality!

My wife was lukewarm on the Jeep rental initially,

We were going to rent a 2020 RAM Bighorn too drive across the state on Thanksgiving weekend in search of wife's Cadillac CTS she had her heart set on. I love the 1500 Bighorn and it was going to be my next work/ personal truck, but the AC went out leaving the car rental. When I brought it back they only had sedans and a trashed F-150... Or... If you wanted... (car rental gal said hesitantly as if she was used to the hard no, "We have a Jeep Wrangler." I was hesitant because we were going to do a lot of driving and I heard they weren't very comfortable, but figured we could trade it if it was, and it was better than getting stuck in a car. Wife was uncharacteristically on-board and wouldn't let me put the freedom panels on all weekend, lol. Every Gladiator we passed on those 823 miles that 3 day weekend called to me.

That weekend she got her Caddy and a year later I got my Gladdy!

 

[Bantam]

I’ve always been a car guy, even as a kid. I could go to car shows and could give the make, model, and year of most any vehicle there (within a couple years, but give me a break, they were 1930-1970 and I wasn’t born until almost the 90’s ?).

Fast forward to driving age and seeing how one could modify the Jeep with the aftermarket support, add in the ability to go mostly anywhere, and it does well in the snow AND it’s fun in the sun. Wins all around. Add in growing up in the town called the “Birthplace of the Jeep” and it just makes sense.
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[Narpet]

In the winter of 1976 there was a true blizzard. We lived in the country in Ohio and my dad worked in the city. Couldn't go anywhere so dad went and bought a CJ7. That allowed him to make it to work every day.

Then, a while later (maybe '78) there was a creek called Caesar's Creek that the local or state government decided to damn up and create a lake. We were hunters/fishermen and my dad wanted me to see that area one last time before it was filled up and changed forever.

We went to the highest point and he showed me what would soon be gone. We could see the almost completed dam. Then he slowly drove over the edge and took me down to the creek. We drove around all day in what is now all under water (including a small town that was buried by the lake).

That was the beginning of a lifelong Jeepster.

 

[Elff]

How did you get into Jeeps, when did you become involved and why do you stay involved?

I bought a YJ and really liked it but decided it was a lot of work to upgrade it to where I wanted my offroad vehicle to be, Soooooooo I ended up buying the first month run of the TJ Rubicon and that's when the addiction began and ended up professionally rock crawling.
I sold my first jeep due to some major medical issues that resulted in 4 hip surgeries, nerve damage and 2 fake hips
but due to the fact that I am not small, but concentrated awesome, last year I bought my second TJ Rubicon and have been making it my own since then.

I just spent $3000 on 5 Maxxis Creepy Crawlers,

but then I realized they won't fit on my Alfa

I'm actually in the process of taking my TJ Rubicon to the next level. Just installed some Genright Aluminum hotness for the rears

She aint gone be street legal anymore. Look at at that tire poke

Sawzall is coming out for the fronts to install 0" Tube Flat Fenders.

Sadly the original Airbags gave up the ghost, so I bought a brand new set of AirBags with new mounting hardware

Trying to decide what to do with the 315/65R16 Yokohama G303s now.

Gladiator will remain the work horse and Tow Rig/Overlander.

 

[Uparms]

Surf Fishing.

And before these darn things got 4 doors, there was an obscure thought process that allowed me to consider my 4 previous wranglers my 2-door sports car. Imagine and old Triumph or Cobra with a tonneau covering the passenger seat.

I hated that 4 door JK when it came ou. If I could get the same seating space I have in the JT with a semi attractive and functioning ( wide open ) 2 door extended cab JT, I would buy it.

Sick I know.

I do need that space in back for hunting ( and grandkids) . Folded down, I am stocked and stacked with supplies and clothes.

 

[redriderjf87]

No experience with Jeeps in my family, but quickly caught my interest being on the short list of trucks still available with a stick shift and 4wd.

And then once I saw the Fun Factor of Jeeps in general that sealed the deal.

 

[BalancedPete]

Since I was a little kid in the late 70's thru the 80's. Hotwheels Jeeps, Lego Space sets always had some sort of topless vehicle for the figures to ride in, and GI Joe had several Jeep toys. I still have those packed away somewhere. When I turned 16, I searched the paper for jeeps. Found an 84' CJ-7, cherry red with a black soft top, stick, and all manual steering. Parents bought it and I slowly paid them back. Gas was around $0.85! It became the go-to vehicle for every outing, family or with my friends. That first week driving it, and getting waved at by other jeep drivers. "Dad, all these people driving Jeeps are waving at me!!?" I didn't know about the "Jeep Wave". It was so cool once I realized what was happening, it was like being part of this secret club! Driving over stuff like you did as a kid with your toys out in the yard. Top off, doors off, driving down the highway, wind blowing your hair everywhere, look straight up and all you see is the blue sky, it's like flying. There is no other feeling. I learned how to do bodywork, change a tire, change a clutch, do the brakes, pinstriped the shit out of that beast, experienced the Death-Wobble many times and of course, lost my virginity in the little back seat of that Jeep!

I LOVE MY JEEPS!!!

 

[JTBurns]

Jeep was the word we used in 1st grade learning the letter J. As a young kid, I had a cousin in her 20s and I used to help her take the roof and windows off her her Jeep. The original Jurassic Park came out when I was 5 and was also foundational for Jeep love. Great product placement there, I keep this on my desk til one of the kids steal it.

 

[RalphTuttle]

1992. I lived in Tucson, Arizona at the time and wanted a Jeep to go up into the mountains and through the desert. I bought a yellow YJ and loved every minute of it. I sold it when I moved to Southern California a couple of years later. Flash forward to 2017 - when I bought a Wrangler 2-Door for trips to the beach and mountains here in NC. For truck needs I also had a Taco. A few years later the Gladiator was released and from first sight, I needed one. So... ditch the Taco and Wrangler and move up to an Overland Gladiator. Then.... a year later, the Mojave is released - so I traded in the Overland on my current Mojave - which we love.

 

[Dashiki]

I always thought Wranglers were cool as a kid but no one I knew had one.

My wife and I needed a dive truck for our island home and she wanted something unique. We both thought of the Gladiator and bought a ‘21 Willys and have loved it over the last year. We shipped it to the island last week and within 24 hours we were back buying amother one. Went with a Rubicon this time.

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