I was surprised to get my new speakers yesterday! After getting all the tools together and junk, I got them installed and I'm rockin in the free world. I have a fair amount to say about them and install pics n junk n stuff, but work is insane and I'll have to post it later. Speaking of posting later, next week will be even more insane with a conference my company is putting on so I don't know when I'll post next. I'd say if nothing else if I should have some stuff up by May 4th. :-)
Jeep Wave Count: 28
Friday, April 24, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Speakers Tomorrow! (???)
Hi everyone. And by that I mean "Hi Aron". haha I look at my Views per Post and it's always 0. I figured that's because no one is reading this thing. But yesterday my buddy Aron called me out for missing a Wednesday. (D'OH!) So people ARE reading this! I guess a "view" gets logged for whatever post you might have an auto-shortcut to in your address bar (you start typing a URL and a previously visited URL auto-populates, you click it, blah blah blah), so you view an older post and scroll up to the latest, and there you have it - an un-logged post view. So who knows, I'm probably speaking to millions of people right now hanging on my every word. ..................................taco. BOOM!
Anyway, so my speakers should come in tomorrow. I'll take some pics of the installation process and give you some opinions on how it sounds. I'm hoping it's going to change my entire life. Everything I knew before about music will be shattered by the ridiculousness of these two 6.5" speakers. Prepare to be shocked and amazed.
Jeep Wave Count: 28
Anyway, so my speakers should come in tomorrow. I'll take some pics of the installation process and give you some opinions on how it sounds. I'm hoping it's going to change my entire life. Everything I knew before about music will be shattered by the ridiculousness of these two 6.5" speakers. Prepare to be shocked and amazed.
Jeep Wave Count: 28
Monday, April 20, 2015
Gas Mileage
I've been trying to track my gas mileage to get a REAL world number. The sticker, as I recall, says a '15 Wrangler gets 17mpg City, 20mpg Highway. I've noticed, not surprisingly, that what you actually see is a bit lower. I often get 15-16mpg in-city and more like 19mpg at best on the highway (over time). Right now I've got 19mg going with a good mix of highway and city, so who knows. I intend to start keeping a spreadsheet of my mileage, mpg, gas costs paid, and even driving time per tank in order to get some real numbers. Regarding drive time per tank, the Jeep offers an interesting feature I've never seen on another car (in my admittedly limited experience I suppose). You can start a timer essentially that'll continue to run until you reset it. So you can fill up, reset the timer, drive till you need to refuel, then check the timer and reset it again. Neat-o.
Anyway, all this to say that someday I'll have a really interesting post on this subject.
Jeep Wave Count: 28
Anyway, all this to say that someday I'll have a really interesting post on this subject.
Jeep Wave Count: 28
Friday, April 17, 2015
Nothing new...
So I'm trying to update every Mon, Wed, and Fri if you haven't noticed the pattern. And so far I have a viewership of 0 so I don't think anyone's caught onto that yet. haha So here we are on Friday and I have nothing much new to say. I did get my hitch extender and look forward to bolting that on this weekend some time, but otherwise I'm not going on any fun trips, nothing new is on order (except my speakers still!), no impending mods, nothing. So short and sweet today. Thanks for watching.
Jeep Wave Count: 24
Jeep Wave Count: 24
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Sound System in a 2015 Wrangler 2 Door
I ordered a hitch extension (see Just Hitched) and some replacement speakers to start beefing up my pitiful factory non-premium stereo. Apparently Kicker saw the need and put out some JK Wrangler-specific replacement speakers that don't require brackets, amps, wiring, nothin. You just pop off the sound bar speaker grill, pop out the old speaker, and pop in the new one. At least that's what I'm told/expecting... And all for under $100 for the pair! These guys.
I was looking for a sub to mount somewhere, but space is SO limited in the 2 door Wrangler. I found some interesting options but ultimately decided I didn't want to mess with amps (that would have to be mounted somewhere) and big flippin speakers (that would also have to be mounted somewhere) as I thought about having to use the cargo area, and also while thinking of what would happen to all these devices if I was to *accidentally* decide to drive straight through a river with the top down / doors off during a typhoon someday resulting in a flooded interior. ...It could happen.
So I'll try out these Kickers and see how it goes. They should have better than paper-cone-bass-response, and I believe, if I like them, that a second set will work to replace the in-dash speakers as well. If I get 4 of 'em jammin maybe I won't feel like I even need a sub anymore. I don't need to levitate, I just need something more than rattle when I crank it.
Jeep Wave Count: 22
I was looking for a sub to mount somewhere, but space is SO limited in the 2 door Wrangler. I found some interesting options but ultimately decided I didn't want to mess with amps (that would have to be mounted somewhere) and big flippin speakers (that would also have to be mounted somewhere) as I thought about having to use the cargo area, and also while thinking of what would happen to all these devices if I was to *accidentally* decide to drive straight through a river with the top down / doors off during a typhoon someday resulting in a flooded interior. ...It could happen.
So I'll try out these Kickers and see how it goes. They should have better than paper-cone-bass-response, and I believe, if I like them, that a second set will work to replace the in-dash speakers as well. If I get 4 of 'em jammin maybe I won't feel like I even need a sub anymore. I don't need to levitate, I just need something more than rattle when I crank it.
Jeep Wave Count: 22
Monday, April 13, 2015
Doors Off!
My wife and I picked up some quick release side mirrors for doors-off (these guys) and pulled those suckers off! I'd been wanting to do this ever since I bought the Jeep, but didn't have the opportunity until this weekend. We had 1 day on Saturday of nice weather before an oncoming week of rain so I stripped it while the strippin was good! And as we pulled up to our apartment after a day of doors-off at about midnight I thought to myself "Man, I really should have taken a picture while the sun was up". Oh well. No pics this time.
So how was it? In a word, windy. My wife might say "cold" or "terrifying". I guess sitting in a door-less car on sharp-ish turns at speed takes some getting used to. I thought it was a blast! I honestly have to say that THIS is what driving should be like all the time. I had my shoes off with my foot hanging out enjoying what felt like a really high speed dune buggy ride or something. I told my wife to try sticking her foot out saying that it felt good, and she said "yeah, it'll feel great when your foot gets knocked off!" haha, no sense of adventure. It was pretty awesome, though my facial hair (kind of long right now, at least 6 inches off my chin) did keep whipping me in the face on the highway. If I do doors-off again (and yeah, you know I will) I'll probably end up shaving or at least trimming it. Hair hurts when it slaps your eyeball at 70mph apparently, who knew?
The doors are a lot heavier than I thought they'd be, and I expected them to be pretty heavy already. Not surprisingly heavy, but more than I thought. We live in a fairly small town home apartment (2 story) with hardwood on the bottom floor, so I had to carry the doors out from the street, up some stairs to our landing, into the apartment, then up another flight of stairs to the carpeted 2nd floor. I got a bit of a workout. Than in reverse that night to put them back on before the rain hit. Oh how I pine for a garage...
We're planning on going to Go Topless Day at Crystal Beach in May (info here!) and I plan to strip the thing pretty bare for that. I'll be taking off the top (maybe removing it altogether rather than just letting it down), take out the back seats, take off the doors, all of it! That'll be a fun weekend that I'll need to get pics of.
Jeep Wave Count: 22
So how was it? In a word, windy. My wife might say "cold" or "terrifying". I guess sitting in a door-less car on sharp-ish turns at speed takes some getting used to. I thought it was a blast! I honestly have to say that THIS is what driving should be like all the time. I had my shoes off with my foot hanging out enjoying what felt like a really high speed dune buggy ride or something. I told my wife to try sticking her foot out saying that it felt good, and she said "yeah, it'll feel great when your foot gets knocked off!" haha, no sense of adventure. It was pretty awesome, though my facial hair (kind of long right now, at least 6 inches off my chin) did keep whipping me in the face on the highway. If I do doors-off again (and yeah, you know I will) I'll probably end up shaving or at least trimming it. Hair hurts when it slaps your eyeball at 70mph apparently, who knew?
The doors are a lot heavier than I thought they'd be, and I expected them to be pretty heavy already. Not surprisingly heavy, but more than I thought. We live in a fairly small town home apartment (2 story) with hardwood on the bottom floor, so I had to carry the doors out from the street, up some stairs to our landing, into the apartment, then up another flight of stairs to the carpeted 2nd floor. I got a bit of a workout. Than in reverse that night to put them back on before the rain hit. Oh how I pine for a garage...
We're planning on going to Go Topless Day at Crystal Beach in May (info here!) and I plan to strip the thing pretty bare for that. I'll be taking off the top (maybe removing it altogether rather than just letting it down), take out the back seats, take off the doors, all of it! That'll be a fun weekend that I'll need to get pics of.
Jeep Wave Count: 22
Friday, April 10, 2015
E-Wave
Another hobby of mine is board gaming (total addict) and I'm active on boardgamegeek. I posted a call out to Jeep owners and got a reply with a picture of a Jeep wave. In the pic, the driver is obviously waving at another passing Jeep, but heck with it. I'm counting it. An e-wave.
Jeep Wave Count: 18!
Jeep Wave Count: 18!
Just Hitched
When I bought my Jeep, part of the deal was to get a hitch installed at a later time. The sales guy and I agreed on a "hitch". After I left the dealership, I started wondering what that meant. Just a"hitch", or the wiring for a trailer as well? I called my sales guy about it and he said it would just be the hitch, not the wiring as well. I was bummed. I mean, you discuss getting a hitch with someone and you just kind of expect the wiring is part of that package. I tried to just get over it, I could have wiring installed later.
To set the stage for the next part of the story, first of all I'll say that my sales guy was really nice and I liked him a lot actually. He did his job well and he was really cool and forthcoming about everything I got it in my mind to discuss. I do think he was new to his job and he wasn't the most knowledgeable in the world about the Jeep he was selling us. I know that just comes with time. For instance, the Jeep Sport comes in one of four packages- the 33b, the 34b, the 33s, and the 34s. The "b" means "base" I guess, standard no frills, and the "s" means "Sport S". "Sport S" means bigger wheels (16" base, 17" 'S') and some leather in the interior (steering wheel and shift knob), probably along with some other interior things that allow for other options. The 33 and 34 indicate a Standard or Automatic transmission. Point is, these are all things I understood going in. It was a mystery to my sales guy. Gone are the days when you can talk to a professional that knows more than you do apparently. :-/ Great guy, but hard to work with a little. The whole dealership was kind of like that - every department.
So I finally called to get an appointment to get the hitch installed. Got put on hold. Hung up, tried to schedule through the web. Got a call from the dealership a few hours later. The guy on the other end, I kid you not, told me it was a beautiful day for a drive in a brand new Jeep, when was I going to come by and check one out? This as I sat on my bluetooth talking to him from within the Jeep I'd just bought from them a week ago. He was all, "...oh yeah, you bought the yellow one, right?" Yep. Where's my hitch? I thought he was calling about the hitch appointment, mentioned that, and he said he'd help me with it. He put me down for Thursday.
Wednesday rolls around and I called to verify my appointment. After numerous minutes on hold and being transferred between about 3 different departments, I finally found out the appointment never got made. :-| So I scheduled it for the next day as planned. I asked to talk to someone who knew what I was going to get (hitch AND wiring?), got transferred a few times, people didn't know what they were talking about, who I was, what I wanted, it was maddening. I finally talked to a parts guy that seemed to know what he was talking about and he indicated that "hitch" did indeed mean wiring as well. Well, at least there's that. Score.
I took the Jeep in for my appointment and let the dice fall as they may. The dude I left the car with was kind of short with me. Gone are the days of professional courtesy as well I guess. About 3 hours later I got a call telling me the Jeep was done, and I asked the guy if I got the wiring, and if so if it was a 4-pin or 7-pin set up. There's another story with that debacle, but I digress. It's a long, un-amusing, and similar story. Anyway, he said he had no idea, he didn't really know about that stuff. ?!? Really parts guy? You don't?
Whatever. I went to pick it up, and Lo! A hitch - with wiring! It's 4-pin, but that's ok. I'm not sure I'll ever need the 7-pin anyway.
I was so excited I tried to put my bike rack on as soon as I got home from work. I haven't been able to use the rack for years since I traded in my XTerra for the Eclipse. I popped it on... and, well, hmm...
Just an inch or two off! Dangit! Is nothing easy? Well, at least I have the hitch. I'll just need to pick up an extender. Looks like I can pick one up for about $35 that'll do the trick. The saga continues...
Jeep Wave Count: 17
To set the stage for the next part of the story, first of all I'll say that my sales guy was really nice and I liked him a lot actually. He did his job well and he was really cool and forthcoming about everything I got it in my mind to discuss. I do think he was new to his job and he wasn't the most knowledgeable in the world about the Jeep he was selling us. I know that just comes with time. For instance, the Jeep Sport comes in one of four packages- the 33b, the 34b, the 33s, and the 34s. The "b" means "base" I guess, standard no frills, and the "s" means "Sport S". "Sport S" means bigger wheels (16" base, 17" 'S') and some leather in the interior (steering wheel and shift knob), probably along with some other interior things that allow for other options. The 33 and 34 indicate a Standard or Automatic transmission. Point is, these are all things I understood going in. It was a mystery to my sales guy. Gone are the days when you can talk to a professional that knows more than you do apparently. :-/ Great guy, but hard to work with a little. The whole dealership was kind of like that - every department.
So I finally called to get an appointment to get the hitch installed. Got put on hold. Hung up, tried to schedule through the web. Got a call from the dealership a few hours later. The guy on the other end, I kid you not, told me it was a beautiful day for a drive in a brand new Jeep, when was I going to come by and check one out? This as I sat on my bluetooth talking to him from within the Jeep I'd just bought from them a week ago. He was all, "...oh yeah, you bought the yellow one, right?" Yep. Where's my hitch? I thought he was calling about the hitch appointment, mentioned that, and he said he'd help me with it. He put me down for Thursday.
Wednesday rolls around and I called to verify my appointment. After numerous minutes on hold and being transferred between about 3 different departments, I finally found out the appointment never got made. :-| So I scheduled it for the next day as planned. I asked to talk to someone who knew what I was going to get (hitch AND wiring?), got transferred a few times, people didn't know what they were talking about, who I was, what I wanted, it was maddening. I finally talked to a parts guy that seemed to know what he was talking about and he indicated that "hitch" did indeed mean wiring as well. Well, at least there's that. Score.
I took the Jeep in for my appointment and let the dice fall as they may. The dude I left the car with was kind of short with me. Gone are the days of professional courtesy as well I guess. About 3 hours later I got a call telling me the Jeep was done, and I asked the guy if I got the wiring, and if so if it was a 4-pin or 7-pin set up. There's another story with that debacle, but I digress. It's a long, un-amusing, and similar story. Anyway, he said he had no idea, he didn't really know about that stuff. ?!? Really parts guy? You don't?
Whatever. I went to pick it up, and Lo! A hitch - with wiring! It's 4-pin, but that's ok. I'm not sure I'll ever need the 7-pin anyway.
 |
| Nice, clean wiring harness! |
 |
| oops... |
Jeep Wave Count: 17
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Side Window ID-10T Error
Anyone in the tech biz knows what an ID-10T error is. I made one.
The side windows in a Jeep attach via zippers and velcro. The attachment is pretty rock solid and sealed tight. That is except for the front edge of the side windows - the oncoming wind facing edge. (Note to reader: The last statement is incorrect, I'm getting there...)
When I bought my Jeep, I was given a pretty dinky little instruction manual and a quick demonstration on how to put the top up and down by a guy who wasn't familiar with the 2015 system. I thought I had an understanding of how the side windows attached. There are little L-brackets on the front edge of the windows that got held in place by the pressure generated between the closed door and the door frame. (Note to reader: Another incorrect statement, still getting there)
I drove around town to work and back for the week with no problems. The weekend came and we headed off to Houston for a trip (see previous post). Once I got the Jeep up to 60 or so, the front edge of the side window popped out from between the door frame and door and became a gaping pocket. Wind was rushing in, it was loud, it was damaging looking, it was not right. I stopped and thought, well, maybe the Jeep isn't supposed to go as fast as 60? Ridiculous, but the top was secured correctly! (false statement) I reset the top into the (in)correct position and decided to keep it slower, about 55. We got a few miles down the highway and it popped out again. This went on for 5 hours (should have been a 3.5 to 4 hour drive). Keep it to 55 (75mph speed limit), pull over, fix, keep it to 55......
I was pretty livid. I couldn't understand why the Jeep would be made this way. Every other side - but the WIND facing side - was totally secured! What brainiac engineer made such a stupid design decision!? I was about to sue everyone, buy a new top, sell the Jeep, whatever I had to do. I was not happy as I putted along I-45 at 55mph, looking in the side-view mirror to see the gaping hole in my car. What if it rained!?
So anyway, we finally got to Houston and I was instantly on the interwebs looking for articles, new tops, instructions, whatever I could find. And I found it. After reading over and over to tuck the L-brackets into the door frame, it finally started clicking. To put the final nail in my ignorance coffin I watched this YouTube video, linked here for your viewing pleasure:
I don't know how to succintly describe what I was doing wrong, or how one does it correctly. Basically there is a step where you wedge those L-brackets back around behind the door frame. Doing so seals and secures THE HECK out of the side window. I can't believe I bone-headed it so completely. You look at it once you've done it right and it's really a "duhhhh...." moment. So I connected the windows correctly and can now travel as fast as I please. ...Well, it IS still a Jeep.
Jeep Wave Count: 14
The side windows in a Jeep attach via zippers and velcro. The attachment is pretty rock solid and sealed tight. That is except for the front edge of the side windows - the oncoming wind facing edge. (Note to reader: The last statement is incorrect, I'm getting there...)
When I bought my Jeep, I was given a pretty dinky little instruction manual and a quick demonstration on how to put the top up and down by a guy who wasn't familiar with the 2015 system. I thought I had an understanding of how the side windows attached. There are little L-brackets on the front edge of the windows that got held in place by the pressure generated between the closed door and the door frame. (Note to reader: Another incorrect statement, still getting there)
I drove around town to work and back for the week with no problems. The weekend came and we headed off to Houston for a trip (see previous post). Once I got the Jeep up to 60 or so, the front edge of the side window popped out from between the door frame and door and became a gaping pocket. Wind was rushing in, it was loud, it was damaging looking, it was not right. I stopped and thought, well, maybe the Jeep isn't supposed to go as fast as 60? Ridiculous, but the top was secured correctly! (false statement) I reset the top into the (in)correct position and decided to keep it slower, about 55. We got a few miles down the highway and it popped out again. This went on for 5 hours (should have been a 3.5 to 4 hour drive). Keep it to 55 (75mph speed limit), pull over, fix, keep it to 55......
I was pretty livid. I couldn't understand why the Jeep would be made this way. Every other side - but the WIND facing side - was totally secured! What brainiac engineer made such a stupid design decision!? I was about to sue everyone, buy a new top, sell the Jeep, whatever I had to do. I was not happy as I putted along I-45 at 55mph, looking in the side-view mirror to see the gaping hole in my car. What if it rained!?
So anyway, we finally got to Houston and I was instantly on the interwebs looking for articles, new tops, instructions, whatever I could find. And I found it. After reading over and over to tuck the L-brackets into the door frame, it finally started clicking. To put the final nail in my ignorance coffin I watched this YouTube video, linked here for your viewing pleasure:
I don't know how to succintly describe what I was doing wrong, or how one does it correctly. Basically there is a step where you wedge those L-brackets back around behind the door frame. Doing so seals and secures THE HECK out of the side window. I can't believe I bone-headed it so completely. You look at it once you've done it right and it's really a "duhhhh...." moment. So I connected the windows correctly and can now travel as fast as I please. ...Well, it IS still a Jeep.
Jeep Wave Count: 14
Monday, April 6, 2015
Beach trip!
My wife and I went beach camping this last weekend near Galveston, TX. Lots to talk about! I'll probably break the experience into multiple posts. So in this issue, the trip itself!
I was so excited to try out the Jeep's 4 wheel drive, my wife and I decided to plan a mini camping trip at the beach over Easter weekend. We were going to Houston anyway to visit family and figured we could sneak a trip in. As the weekend approached the weather started looking like it wasn't going to cooperate. The report was that it was going to be cold and rainy. We went to the family get together SW of Houston (2+ hours from Galveston) for Easter and it went on into the late afternoon, so we didn't leave until 5pm. So here we are at 5pm, wouldn't get to the beach until dark, it was cold, and thunderstorms were in the forecast. Heck with it! We went anyway.
We took the ferry to Bolivar and bought a beach parking sticker for $10. It's good for the entire year! So if you're anywhere near Galveston / Bolivar and want to get some cheap beach camping in, I would recommend the Bolivar / Crystal beach parking sticker! I also bought some firewood and a starter log since we would be out in the cold. (we didn't really plan the trip very well and pack such things ahead of time!)
When we arrived at the beach it was indeed dark. We used the Jeep's headlights and fog lights to set up the tent. I really wished I'd had some KC's. Lighting just went up a tick or two on the to-buy list! We got the tent set up and went to trying to light the fire. The wind was pretty strong and though we dug nearly a two-foot deep hole for the fire pit the wind wouldn't let our tiny little flames spread and light, well, anything really. I was so frustrated and almost gave up, but while walking down the beach we ran into some people who had a bonfire just blazing and they gave us some better fire starter than what we had. Boom!
The fire cast a nice light on the Jeep!
We didn't get rained on that night, thankfully, but it was pretty cold. We had our tent and sleeping bags, but we didn't have great bedding. It wasn't extremely comfortable to say the least. We had little trouble waking up pretty early in the morning (and through the night multiple times). We were sitting there trying to decide if we wanted to get moving before the rain hit when we heard *drop drop drop* on the tent canvass. We shifted pretty quick into overdrive to get the tent packed away before it started pouring as the last thing we wanted to do was get wet in addition to the cold we were already enduring. Add a beach full of wet sand... Yeah, we got that sucker put up quick. And funny enough we didn't see another drop until about 2 hours later. Go figure.
Anyway, here's some pics of us on the beach with the Jeep. They're pretty boring terrain-wise. There really wasn't much (any?) need for 4 wheel drive really. There were a couple areas where the sand was really powdery and I know I would have gotten stuck without 4x4 engaged, but the sand was mostly very packed as pictured.
Good times! We've got the sticker now, we'll be back for sure for the summer and, you know, SUNSHINE.
Oh, almost forgot! Once I got out of the city and into the fun-time zone (Galveston and surrounding areas) I finally started getting some Jeep Waves!
Jeep Wave Count: 14!
I was so excited to try out the Jeep's 4 wheel drive, my wife and I decided to plan a mini camping trip at the beach over Easter weekend. We were going to Houston anyway to visit family and figured we could sneak a trip in. As the weekend approached the weather started looking like it wasn't going to cooperate. The report was that it was going to be cold and rainy. We went to the family get together SW of Houston (2+ hours from Galveston) for Easter and it went on into the late afternoon, so we didn't leave until 5pm. So here we are at 5pm, wouldn't get to the beach until dark, it was cold, and thunderstorms were in the forecast. Heck with it! We went anyway.
We took the ferry to Bolivar and bought a beach parking sticker for $10. It's good for the entire year! So if you're anywhere near Galveston / Bolivar and want to get some cheap beach camping in, I would recommend the Bolivar / Crystal beach parking sticker! I also bought some firewood and a starter log since we would be out in the cold. (we didn't really plan the trip very well and pack such things ahead of time!)
When we arrived at the beach it was indeed dark. We used the Jeep's headlights and fog lights to set up the tent. I really wished I'd had some KC's. Lighting just went up a tick or two on the to-buy list! We got the tent set up and went to trying to light the fire. The wind was pretty strong and though we dug nearly a two-foot deep hole for the fire pit the wind wouldn't let our tiny little flames spread and light, well, anything really. I was so frustrated and almost gave up, but while walking down the beach we ran into some people who had a bonfire just blazing and they gave us some better fire starter than what we had. Boom!
 | |
| Tiny Fire |
We didn't get rained on that night, thankfully, but it was pretty cold. We had our tent and sleeping bags, but we didn't have great bedding. It wasn't extremely comfortable to say the least. We had little trouble waking up pretty early in the morning (and through the night multiple times). We were sitting there trying to decide if we wanted to get moving before the rain hit when we heard *drop drop drop* on the tent canvass. We shifted pretty quick into overdrive to get the tent packed away before it started pouring as the last thing we wanted to do was get wet in addition to the cold we were already enduring. Add a beach full of wet sand... Yeah, we got that sucker put up quick. And funny enough we didn't see another drop until about 2 hours later. Go figure.
Anyway, here's some pics of us on the beach with the Jeep. They're pretty boring terrain-wise. There really wasn't much (any?) need for 4 wheel drive really. There were a couple areas where the sand was really powdery and I know I would have gotten stuck without 4x4 engaged, but the sand was mostly very packed as pictured.
Good times! We've got the sticker now, we'll be back for sure for the summer and, you know, SUNSHINE.
Oh, almost forgot! Once I got out of the city and into the fun-time zone (Galveston and surrounding areas) I finally started getting some Jeep Waves!
Jeep Wave Count: 14!
Friday, April 3, 2015
No Wave
No Wave: Not just a music genre! I think I've figured out why I haven't gotten many waves. I found this this morning: The Jeep Wave. I score like a -50. haha Oh well. Either that or Dallas Jeep drivers are just lame.
Jeep Wave Count: 1
Jeep Wave Count: 1
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Baby's first fill up
It finally happened. Actually it took longer than I thought it would, but I had to fill up on gas tonight. I was worried it would be really expensive, and I wouldn't call it "cheap", but it could have been worse.
I thought I'd read Jeeps had 18 gallon tanks. Guess not. I was pretty empty and it only took 14.
Crazy window frame bolt update: You will all be pleased to know I was able to replace the stupid bolts without dropping them into the black hole. Hoorah! It turned out easier than I thought it would be. Maybe I'm getting SmArTeR.
My wife and I decided to take the Jeep out for a drive tonight to get some air with the top down. It was a nice drive! We're really enjoying the Jeep a lot. I got this pic, though I wish I'd had my Nikon with me at the time. Cell phone pics being what they are, feast your eyes on this artistic masterpiece:
 |
Silhouette Against Giant Blue Neon Building. I'm fun.
|
After cruising a while we stopped at Kellers, the best hamburger joint in the world ever. It's a drive-in style place so we were at our car the whole time. I happened to park next to some other Jeeps, all of us standing around, but no one said hi. So much for the enthusiastic Jeep community... That is until I left! It happened! haha
Jeep Wave Count: 1!
Getting a handle on things
Since I just bought a Jeep and I'm flipping buh-roke now, I don't have a lot of cash to pimp my ride too much. I'm piecing things together little by little, and for my first venture I decided to pick up some deep ridged rubber floor mats (possible upcoming beach trip!) and some interior grab handles. Real quick regarding the mats, I got the Rugged Ridge mats for both front and back. These guys. They fall a little short of the accelerator and the sidewalls don't lay evenly against the sidewalls of the floor board (not far off though), but those are my only "complaints". They're wonderful. You should get them even if you don't have a Jeep and just look at them. haha
So the grab handles. My wife has to climb up into the Jeep and I figured some handles might be nice for her. So I picked up some Smittybilt JK grab handles. These guys. These handles actually bolt onto the frame and looked pretty good from the pics I'd seen. So I started the installation process.
By the way, first major design flaw (IMHO) discovered in the JK Wrangler: There are these bolts and holes in the frame by the window that you can use for adding mods - like the aforementioned grab handles. There is a piece of plastic covering the frame with access holes to get to these bolts. The problem? The bolt is about an inch long and there's about an inch and a half to two between the plastic and the frame. This means you have to be REAL careful getting that bolt out! If you lose hold of the bolt while trying to take it out - or even harder trying to put it back in, it'll fall between the frame and the plastic into ... I don't know! A black hole in your Jeep that you'll never be able to access! (without ripping out the plastic anyway, which is a lot of fuss to loosen and replace one stinking bolt)
This is what the holes in the handles look like:
So I managed to get the frame bolts out without dropping them, AND get the handles bolted on without dropping them either! Yay! It only took about 30 minutes of totally freaking out while digging my fingers through these little plastic holes! After tightening up the last bolt, I gave the handle a little tug to test it out. And that's when my evening was ruined.
The metal grommet pulled out. Disaster!!! You might say to me "Seriously? This is not the end of the world." And I'd say you were right, except that I have to remove and then replace all those bolts again! For reasons I won't go into, I suspect it was easier to get the bolts back in while putting on the handles than it will be to try to get them back in without them. I knew I was only lucky to have not dropped them into the void during installation, now I have to do it again!? I'm going to drop them, I know it! AHHHH!!!!
Anyway, I managed to get them returned and replaced with some velcro-attaching handles. These guys. So far so good.
Now to just put those darn bolts back. Careful... CAREFUL........
Jeep Wave Count: 0
So the grab handles. My wife has to climb up into the Jeep and I figured some handles might be nice for her. So I picked up some Smittybilt JK grab handles. These guys. These handles actually bolt onto the frame and looked pretty good from the pics I'd seen. So I started the installation process.
By the way, first major design flaw (IMHO) discovered in the JK Wrangler: There are these bolts and holes in the frame by the window that you can use for adding mods - like the aforementioned grab handles. There is a piece of plastic covering the frame with access holes to get to these bolts. The problem? The bolt is about an inch long and there's about an inch and a half to two between the plastic and the frame. This means you have to be REAL careful getting that bolt out! If you lose hold of the bolt while trying to take it out - or even harder trying to put it back in, it'll fall between the frame and the plastic into ... I don't know! A black hole in your Jeep that you'll never be able to access! (without ripping out the plastic anyway, which is a lot of fuss to loosen and replace one stinking bolt)
This is what the holes in the handles look like:
So I managed to get the frame bolts out without dropping them, AND get the handles bolted on without dropping them either! Yay! It only took about 30 minutes of totally freaking out while digging my fingers through these little plastic holes! After tightening up the last bolt, I gave the handle a little tug to test it out. And that's when my evening was ruined.
The metal grommet pulled out. Disaster!!! You might say to me "Seriously? This is not the end of the world." And I'd say you were right, except that I have to remove and then replace all those bolts again! For reasons I won't go into, I suspect it was easier to get the bolts back in while putting on the handles than it will be to try to get them back in without them. I knew I was only lucky to have not dropped them into the void during installation, now I have to do it again!? I'm going to drop them, I know it! AHHHH!!!!
Anyway, I managed to get them returned and replaced with some velcro-attaching handles. These guys. So far so good.
Now to just put those darn bolts back. Careful... CAREFUL........
Jeep Wave Count: 0
"Man, this top is difficult!"
My first couple encounters with the soft top didn't go extremely well. In fact, I have yet to recover from the Sunrider position properly (that's like a half-off roof config, like a sunroof). I was surprised to see that you have to zip out the side and back windows and store them separate form the top - the top isn't one single unit. Now that I see how it all works it makes sense, but it is not a top you can just "take off". It takes some planning. Or your entire backseat to store the windows and such. The removable top is much more of a commitment than other convertible tops I've worked with in the past. If you put it down, you're probably going to have it down for at least the rest of the day. You could pull over and wrestle it into a window-less top-up position, but you're still going to be window-less (unless you're carrying them in your back seat). Not a huge deal, but different than I'm used to for sure. The Eclipse top automatically went down and took only 19 seconds I believe it was! haha (I will not be comparing the Jeep to the Eclipse regularly, but I do think the 19 second to 10 minute top operation is an interesting experience comparison)
Jeep Wave Count: 0
Jeep Wave Count: 0
Onward!
With all the "how" out of the way (see previous posts), let's get to the experience of the whole thing. The Jeep culture is pretty adamant about their vehicles. I consider myself a bit of an outsider not fully "in the know" in that community, so with this blog I will try to chronicle what it's like, for me anyway, to own and live with a Jeep. The surprises, the benefits, and the pitfalls.
Here's my little guy in my apartment driveway lookin all buff:
I understand there is a "Jeep wave." If you see another Jeeper you are supposed to wave to them and they're supposed to wave back. So far I've had no waves! :( To chronicle this I will be posting a Wave Count in these posts to report on how many such waves to date I've received. If it ever gets to the point where it's too many to keep track of I'll stop. But for now...
Jeep Wave Count: 0
Here's my little guy in my apartment driveway lookin all buff:
I understand there is a "Jeep wave." If you see another Jeeper you are supposed to wave to them and they're supposed to wave back. So far I've had no waves! :( To chronicle this I will be posting a Wave Count in these posts to report on how many such waves to date I've received. If it ever gets to the point where it's too many to keep track of I'll stop. But for now...
Jeep Wave Count: 0
The Search, Part 2
My wife came to the office one afternoon to pick me up for lunch. Our goal: test drive a Jeep. She and I both hate car dealerships. We got burned once buying a car and have been hesitant to step onto a lot ever since. We talked about how we were going to not buy anything and just test drive. As we kept driving to the dealership we thought, well, if they had something comparable to what we found in Arkansas and they'd give it to us at a lower price, perhaps we'd think about it.
I had done all the research. I knew what option packages I wanted, what the MSRP for that setup was, what the true market value was, what they were going for, what I was willing to spend, I was prepared and ready! I was ready both to know a good deal when I saw it and ready to know when to walk away. As we met the salesman and requested the test drive, I made it clear that I wasn't buying, only trying it out. I had the Arkansas Jeep pretty locked up actually (another more boring story) and I didn't need anything he had to offer - unless, unknown to him, if he'd give me the same thing for less and also save me the drive to Arkansas.
Long story short, in the end he did in fact have a Jeep that matched everything I wanted except a thing or two (actually a tad less of a match than Arkansas) - but he was going to give it to me cheaper! I had all the dollar info for what I wanted in mind, I didn't know how this different build-out compared. I tried to do some quick math in my head and probably just looked comatose for a couple minutes, but I ultimately decided it was a win. The price was good in my estimation and I was getting nearly everything I wanted. My wife and I decided to go for it! He left to get some paperwork going.
About 30 minutes passed, maybe more, and there was no sign of our salesman. We started wondering what was going on, got antsy, it just didn't feel right. Finally he showed up again and told us that the Jeep we had agreed on had already been sold! It had been on another lot in town. But, he had this other Jeep... Um, bait and switch much?
Perhaps I'm a sucker and a poor judge of character, but I really believed this salesman. He was a young guy, nice, personable, and I just believed he wasn't trying to pull a fast one on us. I listened to what he had to say about this other Jeep. It had no options included to speak of. It was a really low base model and had a lower sticker price than the price we had already negotiated for the other Jeep that had already sold! But he said for the same price he'd have the service department throw in all the other options I wanted and essentially I'd get the exact same Jeep - plus an option the original Jeep didn't have to begin with - for the same price that we'd negotiated already.
In the end my wife and I did purchase the Jeep. This was the final tally:
Consider me officially Jeeped! On To Adventure!!!
I had done all the research. I knew what option packages I wanted, what the MSRP for that setup was, what the true market value was, what they were going for, what I was willing to spend, I was prepared and ready! I was ready both to know a good deal when I saw it and ready to know when to walk away. As we met the salesman and requested the test drive, I made it clear that I wasn't buying, only trying it out. I had the Arkansas Jeep pretty locked up actually (another more boring story) and I didn't need anything he had to offer - unless, unknown to him, if he'd give me the same thing for less and also save me the drive to Arkansas.
Long story short, in the end he did in fact have a Jeep that matched everything I wanted except a thing or two (actually a tad less of a match than Arkansas) - but he was going to give it to me cheaper! I had all the dollar info for what I wanted in mind, I didn't know how this different build-out compared. I tried to do some quick math in my head and probably just looked comatose for a couple minutes, but I ultimately decided it was a win. The price was good in my estimation and I was getting nearly everything I wanted. My wife and I decided to go for it! He left to get some paperwork going.
About 30 minutes passed, maybe more, and there was no sign of our salesman. We started wondering what was going on, got antsy, it just didn't feel right. Finally he showed up again and told us that the Jeep we had agreed on had already been sold! It had been on another lot in town. But, he had this other Jeep... Um, bait and switch much?
Perhaps I'm a sucker and a poor judge of character, but I really believed this salesman. He was a young guy, nice, personable, and I just believed he wasn't trying to pull a fast one on us. I listened to what he had to say about this other Jeep. It had no options included to speak of. It was a really low base model and had a lower sticker price than the price we had already negotiated for the other Jeep that had already sold! But he said for the same price he'd have the service department throw in all the other options I wanted and essentially I'd get the exact same Jeep - plus an option the original Jeep didn't have to begin with - for the same price that we'd negotiated already.
In the end my wife and I did purchase the Jeep. This was the final tally:
- Yellow, check
- Manual, check
- Bluetooth, check
- Side step rails, check
- 17" wheels, check (I didn't include that one in my last post, I forgot)
- Premium sound, no joy
- Price, a couple thousand less than I had in mind going into this whole ordeal
Consider me officially Jeeped! On To Adventure!!!
The Search, Part 1
And so it began... New? Used? Mileage? Model? Options? The first thing I did was compile the list of necessaries. #1, it had to be Yellow. This was a tough sell with my wife. She hates yellow. But it's my favorite color and I have fond memories of one of my first cars, a yellow convertible Karman Ghia. And shoot, I really wish I had a pic to post of that car, but that was before digital and whatever pics that exist are prints stuck in a box somewhere. Oh well. I digress.
So what else? My list wasn't too bad and contained some things I could live without.
I searched the entire state of Texas on a handful of sites for something matching my criteria and came up with nothing! I later found it it was probably because I was looking for a manual transmission which is just hard to find with all the other bells and whistles I was looking for. I did find one matching Jeep though when I expanded my search area to 300 miles - in Arkansas! It had everything I wanted minus the sound system, and I could live with that. Plus, it fell into my budget (though barely)! I was ready to drive up there and look into buying it before it fell out of my hands and I had to expand my search to 600 miles! Before I did that though I thought it would be wise to, you know, at least test drive one first! Which brings us to the next chapter!
So what else? My list wasn't too bad and contained some things I could live without.
- Yellow (necessary)
- Manual transmission (save some $$$ and be purist)
- Premium sound system (spoiled from the nice standard stereo in the Eclipse)
- Trailer hitch (to accommodate a bike rack I already own from the XTerra days)
- Bluetooth (get my hands free on)
- Side step rails (protection and to help people get in and out, especially when/if it gets lifted!)
- If used, under 50,000 miles (because who wants old-n-busted)
I searched the entire state of Texas on a handful of sites for something matching my criteria and came up with nothing! I later found it it was probably because I was looking for a manual transmission which is just hard to find with all the other bells and whistles I was looking for. I did find one matching Jeep though when I expanded my search area to 300 miles - in Arkansas! It had everything I wanted minus the sound system, and I could live with that. Plus, it fell into my budget (though barely)! I was ready to drive up there and look into buying it before it fell out of my hands and I had to expand my search to 600 miles! Before I did that though I thought it would be wise to, you know, at least test drive one first! Which brings us to the next chapter!
Prologue
It was warm and sunny March afternoon in Texas. I had just gotten my teeth cleaned at the dentist. As my dental hygienist walked with me to the door of the dentist office, she noticed my 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder in the parking lot. "Wow, that's yours? That looks fun!" she admired. I was grateful for the compliment, but I knew the truth about this car. I knew how many miles it had and how things were starting to break and re-break after having them fixed. I smiled though and thanked her for the compliment. She said I should take the top down since it was a nice day, and as I hadn't done so in a while due to the colder winter weather we were just coming out of, I agreed that would be a great idea! I started to lower the top when suddenly the hydraulics failed, the top stopped mid-open, the car beeped an alarm, and finally, after nearly 8 years of ownership, the last straw had been laid.
So began my search for a new car. The Eclipse had actually been a departure for me into the world of more "sporty" vehicles. My previous, most beloved cars had been SUVs: a Jeep Cheroke and a Nissan XTerra. Although I had for so long enjoyed sitting low and zipping around town in a sleek little convertible, it was time to get chunky. It was time to sit high. It was time to go slow, but be able to go ANYwhere once I got there. All-terrain fever had struck and I was a goner.
As excited as I was to get back onto the rugged trails and nature that I had missed for so long, I did not at all look forward to losing the top-down option. My wife and I had been spoiled for nearly a decade with little vacations every time we got into the car and lowered the ol' rag top. Inspiration struck! I felt like I was 18 again as I sat in my hot, broken car and dreamed of owning a Jeep. I recalled looking in dumbstruck awe all those years ago at a nice, clean, forest green Jeep Sahara with brown stitched interior. A new Jeep was entirely out of my price range back then, but now things were different. A new Jeep was now only mostly out of my price range...
 |
| After I'd snapped my timing belt once. Ah, memories... |
As excited as I was to get back onto the rugged trails and nature that I had missed for so long, I did not at all look forward to losing the top-down option. My wife and I had been spoiled for nearly a decade with little vacations every time we got into the car and lowered the ol' rag top. Inspiration struck! I felt like I was 18 again as I sat in my hot, broken car and dreamed of owning a Jeep. I recalled looking in dumbstruck awe all those years ago at a nice, clean, forest green Jeep Sahara with brown stitched interior. A new Jeep was entirely out of my price range back then, but now things were different. A new Jeep was now only mostly out of my price range...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)