So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

[Quinners]

1054193

We all got hooked at some point in time (that's obvious :lol: ), but why????

For me, it was the Jeep's versatility, off-road capabilities, the ability to have a hardtop or even better be 'topless' (mind out of the gutter boys!! ;-) ), and the list goes on and on...long story short, I smile every time I'm in the Jeep!! You can't bottle that feeling!

So, how did you get the addiction?

Just wondering, Patti[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1054196

To tell you the truth, I never liked Jeep much, the brand that is. Customer assitance/support is a joke, they´ve gone from a working mans tool, to a high price toy. The exact same part at Chevy or ford is cheaper, you often just pay for the name.
Now that I got that out of my system, between me and the wife we´ve had eight of them. With rare (near never) trips to the dealer (not counting the body shop). I´ve always managed to fix them myself. And they generally seem to last a good long time.
Love hate relationship.

Woke up one day and decided I´m a Jeeper. :-D [addsig]

 

[Tug-n-pull]

1054200

My Dad was a big Jeep Fan. He was a WW11 veteran Driveing a Wrecker Recovery Truck on the Red Ball Hwy and all over the Europe learned to love the Jeeps in the war. Use to say he would get in one an just try to break it in half but never was able to. As a small child in the early sixtys he had some sort of wagoneer panel truck type of Jeep. It was a cool ride that I even knew back then. Later he traded for a 1948 I think anyways Willys soft top and by then I was 8 or 9 years old. Out we would go and I was all wrapped in blankets in the winter time playing in the snow with him. Summer in the mountains was a blast back then wild and wide open areas free to travle if you wanted to go and had a jeep to carry you there. As a teenager he sold out all of the Jeep's in our lives. I started to play in the woods with him on trail bikes but we both all ways missed the Jeeps. Years passed with Troopers, and rice trucks but nothing ever gave the feeling of a Jeep. Lost my dad a couple of years ago now and just had such great memories that last year I ask my wife if she would mind if I bought us a Jeep. Figured she would say something like Why in the world a Jeep, but she said yea that would be a lot of fun to have. Now she wants her own maybe a CJ5 cause she is short and I would be to big to drive it! lol. I can not even think of ever being with out a Jeep again! I have heard Quinters say a time or two that driveing a jeep is a life style and that is as true of a statement as I have heard. I have another friend that says a Jeep is a Jeep and it is nothing but a Jeep. You cant haul anything in em to amount to any thing. They are not what you would call a ez ride. They are not that pretty or fast they are not anything but a Jeep. Most people just do not get it. I am just glad that I do! Tug[addsig]

 

[Jeepster05]

1054219

Well all of my life my dad told me stories from his teenage years in his 72 CJ5. I eventually fell in love with jeeps myself. So I looked and looked for a jeep when I turned 14. I must have looked at 50 of em. finally my uncle from florida called me and told me his neighbor has a 90 YJ for sale. So He drove it up to savanna GA so I could pick it up. I love my jeep, it is such a beast.[addsig]

 

[dingus]

1054223

my love for jeeps came when i was out raising hell around town (note: immature, i'm over that now...) in my friend's 4.0HO grand cherokee... we would get people pissed at us and they would chase us in preludes, beamers, you name it. no matter who chased us, we could either outrun them, (actually stayed even with the prelude) or if we needed to, just jump a curb, median, or grassy section, and nobody would ever follow. what a rush! jeeps now, to me, have the reputation for excellent offroading capabilities, and a blast to drive.[addsig]

 

[Matmadus]

1054231

Just always liked Jeeps, but two main things got me in to Jeeps and off-roading, mostly all the stories of my dad and my uncle in his Sammy wheelin every weekend. The other being when I was 7 I saw a jeep YJ well shopping for a new family car with my dad and from that point on I always said I would have one someday. It told me a while and a couple cars and trucks, but I finally got it last year. Now I’m just building it the way I always wanted it to be.

[addsig]

 

[Natty]

1054272

Quinners - being in the medical field you understand biology...hence knowing that the dominant trait in all males and females which commands us to become infatuated with a Jeep is inherent and alive in all of us here. It's true...I think I read that in Enquirer...or was it Readers Digest...Not sure.
Anyway...I just loved them from the get go. Probably watching too much A-Team...always tons of Jeeps getting blown up. Then I went out to Vegas and rented a Jeep out there for a week. Nice deserts. Red rock. and stuff. A couple of weeks later I traded in my '94 RX-7 for the '94 Wrangler...and been happy since.
And now that it's almost where I want it - lifted the right way and geared correctly- I cannot fathom somebody driving down the road without a giddy grin - like the Kool-Aid guy - when they are cruising. Journey is the Destination. [addsig]

 

[wrangler_x03]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

just ran across this old post and thought id bring it back.

i fell in love with jeeps when i was about 10 years old driving with my mom and seeing this yj drive over the curb and into an open feild cutting up the grass and doing donuts he eventually climbed a big dirt hill from contstruction work and took off.

after seeing that i told my mom i wanted a jeep like that.

then at sixteen still no jeep. lost my liscense at 17 for speeding the day before getting the DL back i bought a 88 cherokee had it about a year and the rear seal started leaking bad and i had no money to fix it.
couple months later parents took me to by me my 2003 tj and now im passing the torch to my 10 year old nephew he loves it when i take him trough a mud hole or just climb the hill in his old back yard.

 

[GreenMonstah97]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

Im a new Jeeper and I can honestly say once I got my jeep that was it. Eventhough its has a couple things go wrong(nothing i cant fix) its still great! i was always a chevy person i was huge into cavaliers just cause they are similar to a jeep...not a lot of maintenace and ran forever. also had a solara and a blazer and monte carlo, but now being that i have 2 big dogs and I live near the beach...its awesome. my jeep is nice and comfortable to take longer rides in and i fit ANYTHING in it, and it goes ANYWHERE. as much as i miss driving a little car I dont think i could ever get another vehicle unless it was a jeep, they are just so versitle. My fiance has had several jeeps and now even my dad is getting into it too going from a grand cherokee to a new commander. All in all, great truck and wouldnt trade it for anything!

 

[wrangler_x03]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

i was always a chevy person i was huge into cavaliers just cause they are similar to a jeep...

dont say that... my fiance has a cavalier and when i drive that thing i hate it its to small and slow im tring to get her to get a jeep but she wants a blazer so we looked at a couple. but cavaliers are no where close to being like a jeep

 

[avan]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

Being a Land Rover owner,I bought the Jeep for my wife to join me on runs in the desert, but then started loving the agility of the Wrangler in the sand and thats its proformance far outstripped that of the Landie

I keep the Landie now for leading trips of groups of less experieced drivers as the Landie keeps me honest in keeping more desate lines through the dunes:
With the Wrangler I can let my hair down and push the limit of my driving ability ( in a safe way of course)

 

[Collin the Hen]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

My dad had a 64 Gladiator a long time ago. It had a stock stepside, was blue, lifted with 33's, and had other cheep yet unique mods like skinny tail lights from a Ford van. :lol: I only remember it from pictures.

I used to get in my grandma's bed that had metal frames and poles and pretend I was driving a "Jeet" when I was a tot.

My grandpa used to take me wheeling in his 76 CJ5.

I saw a guy's 71 Jeep Commando when I was 15 or so and fell in love (He wanted 2500 for that piece! :x) So instead, I bought an 84 CJ7.

I've been bugged... 8)

 

[SteelHeadz]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

I grew up from a Different country where Jeeps here are called Jeepneys there. it was built for 2, 4, 15 seat configurations. varying from a painted sheet metal or stainless steel. some are set up like a low rider with slicks just for racing. some are daily drivers and the 15 seaters are for public transportation. i always thought they were cool. then i decided to move here to the U.S. and saw the diff. kinds of jeeps. it wasnt till 7 years ago when i went back to Las Vegas for a Motorcycle Rallye to laughlin nevada that i got involved into helping my best friend work on his 81CJ7. i kept telling him to drive it more than it sits in the garage. after a week when i got back home here in texas, a Pick-up truck and a flatbed trailer showed up in my driveway on a saturday. on the flatbed sat my best friends jeep. i immediately picked up the phone and called him to see what the heck was going on. he simply asked me to spiffy it up for him and sell it. so i did and bought it. i literally had this jeep striped down to the bare body and worked on it from there. so there is a lot of pride on this jeep including sentimental values. its always watched by the local law enforcement if not by me. its always loaded with at least 2 firearms and all the electronic gadgets i use. i asked my wife that if my time came to hit the bucket, just rent a backhoe and dig a hole in the backyard big enough for the jeep with me in it. The Name SteelHeadz is actually my Business Name for Custom steel Fabrications. this Business started with this Jeep. After designing and building everything on the jeep it became a rolling showroom.

 

[TJ_Jeep]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

what got the "jeep bug" in me is that all my friends had trucks and 4 wheel drives non jeep, and when i was little my uncle had little 3 different jeep wranglers and i love to go riding in them. when i was asked what car i want i said i wanted a jeep wrangler because nobody really drives them at my school they all drive trucks and rice rockets, so i thought i would get a convertable 4 wheeldrive, i just love the fact i can take my top and doors off and enjoy the wind ha

 

[Jeeper99]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

I have always liked the outdoors, and always wanted a Jeep. My dad told me about the old Jeep Truck papaw used to have when he was growing up and how much he loved that thing. Then he got a New 97 Grand cherokee. Had that for several years until my sister borrowed it and totaled it. Then he got a 05 cherokee, which was nothing but trouble. I always favored the Cj's, Yj's and Tj's. Just somthing about the look and the way it feels when you get in them and hit the road. As the saying goes. "Only in a Jeep" I would have to agree whole heartedly!

I know I ask alot of questions on here and half the time I feel like an idiot, but I want to learn all I can about Jeeps and the How-To's from you guys that don't mind with Helpful info. JEEPZ.com Rocks!!

 

[SteelHeadz]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

I know I ask alot of questions on here and half the time I feel like an idiot, but I want to learn all I can about Jeeps and the How-To's from you guys that don't mind with Helpful info. JEEPZ.com Rocks!![/QUOTE]

I've noticed that nobody in this Forum has a name that starts with G_, and ends in D. (three letters). so we are not perfect, therefore we need to ask questions, so we can learn. The only people worthy of being called an idiot are the one's who choose not to learn what's right and wrong.I for one enjoys answering questions and helping anyone who is clueless of what to do to fix their ride. although i'm NOT perfect, therefore i'm not always right. and YES, Jeepz.com Rocks!!

 

[southtj]

Re: 1054193

So, how did you get the addiction?

'nuff said. :shades:

 

[SteelHeadz]

Re: 1054193

'nuff said. :shades:

YUP!!!! that would do it!!

 

[TorqueWinsRaces]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

I grew up next door to a family that was BIG into hunting. They have a 1946 Willys that is one of the most awesome 4WD vehicles ever created. They call it Big'N. Big'N has a 289 Ford that makes well north of 500 hp. Big'N sounds like a dragster when the exhaust dumps are installed- as opposed to the mufflers.

Big'N went through several interations over the years due to- Greg burned it to the ground on a hunting trip. Karl was hot-rodding it while hauling ass down an alley by our school (he wasn't old enough to drive yet) and caught a tire on the chain link fence surrounding the school, this sent Big'N into a spin and Karl went through a block wall and into the people's swimming pool who lived on the other side of the alley. As an aside- Karl tried to say the Jeep was stolen but EVERYBODY saw him driving it by the school. He got in soooooo much trouble...oh, BTW, this was about 1977. Fortunately Mr. Koons was a general contractor and was able to fix everything.

So, that brought up the final interation. Today Big'N runs a 5 sec. 1/8 mile in the sand drags. Big'n can leap large dirt hills in a single bound...and pulls wheelies in all 4 gears.

We took the Jeep completely apart and boxed the frame. Then started doing little custom touches EVERYWHERE! Karl was out 4-Wheeling back in the mid-90's and there was a 4WD show. When he got home I told him to wash the Jeep and let's run it down to the show to see how it dos- it won first place in a landslide. That's with ZERO show prep. Just ran it down to the car wash to get the mud off.

I wish I had some pictures to show you guys. Big'n is in Phoenix and I'm up here in Nor-Cal...

So, that is what got me interested in off-road vehicles in general and Jeeps in particular.

 

[76cj7nola]

Re: So, what gave everyone the "Jeep Bug"?!

When I was a kid my friends dad had one and that got it started, I finished my active duty time in the Army and went to a reserve unit and they still had some old Jeeps in commission that I had to use, that finished it. I bought my first Jeep in 1994 it was a used 1992 Wrangler, I destroyed it within 2 years (cracked the housing on the transfer case and transmission and then put the #6 piston through the side of the engine). I then purchased a real Jeep my 1976 CJ7 that I still drive today.............