Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Reliability of the Jeep

Countless times I have been asked if the Jeep is reliable. I have even been questioned by friends, family and neighbors as to the reliability of the Jeep. There have been the select few who have to me, mouthed off and suggested I sell my Jeep to get something newer.

Really?

I bought my beloved Jeep Cherokee aka Princess in September 2007 of of Ebay. My friends and I drove 500 miles to Lakeland, Florida to pick her up in the Lowe's parking lot. It truly was love at first site.

Luckily we decided to bring the trailer as we were not exactly sure of her condition. It turns out she had a cracked head and the speedometer sensor wasn't working. Those two things really were very minor issues resolved in one day. See, my best friend is a Jeep Guru. Between his family and mine we have a combined 15 Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees. A few are parts cars though most are running, drivable vehicles.

In the 3 1/2 years I have owned Princess most of my money invested in her is modifications. Very little has been because of maintenance issues. Yes, the occasional brake adjustments have been made, replacement of the front and back brakes a rotor replacement, starter replacement, the battery. But seriously, most people do this on their vehicles and it's considered typical. The Atypical stuff I've done have been mostly in the mods. Bigger tires, a skid plate, a SYE are just a few of the things I have spent money on.

Unlike my grandfather who has forked out close to $10K in repairs and maintenance issues on his much newer Cadillac Caterra. And my grandfather is one who meticulously cares for his vehicles.

One it is about the quality of the vehicle you have and two it does have to do with how one cares for their vehicle. My Jeep is dependable and I love it. Princess has been the best vehicle I have ever owned. Would I recommend Jeeps to others? Yes I would and I have. My mom and step dad purchased a 1993 Jeep Country from my Best Friend's son two years ago. Years ago my step dad owned a 1987 Jeep Cherokee until he sold it in 2001. Jeeps can be the most loyal vehicles and most owners of them will tell you this.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Dick Cepek Crusher Tires

Recently my owner needed to replace my shoes (tires) in preparation for an upcoming off roading Fall Crawl event we attend each year. This would be an upgrade from 31x10.50x15 to 33x12.50x15.

Quality, Price and Shipping time were the main factors. With a budget of around $850 tire choices were quickly narrowed to a few choices. Research was conducted through searching forums and online magazine sites such as JP Magazine. There was also only a week to purchase the tires to be received in time for the annual event.

After a few days of searching, my owner narrowed the choices down to BF Goodrich Mud Terrain KM2, Pro Comp Mud Terrain and Dick Cepek Mud Terrain Crusher.

Quadratec, Summit Racing, TirePackage.com, 4wdhardware, Tirerack.com, Ebay.com are just a few of the websites researched. It was quickly discovered that the BFG's were on back order until mid November. This would not work as the Fall Crawl was scheduled for the first weekend in November.

Pro Comp's were seriously looked at in terms of quality and price mainly through TirePackage.com and 4wdhardware.com. It was discovered that Tirepackage is affiliated with 4wdhardware.com. Research revealed that while prices were competitive for the Pro Comp Tires, shipping times and customer service were poor.

After some high recommendations to visit Tirerack.com, the choice came down to Dick Cepek Crusher. The purchase which came in just right below the budget was completed late Wednesday night on October 27th, 2010. The tires were quickly shipped and delivered on Monday, November 1st, 2010 by UPS.


Let me just say, these tires 100% proved themselves and impressed several fellow Jeepers at the annual Fall Crawl event held at Harlan, KY. With the weather that included rain, sleet, and snow the trails mostly consisted of pure mud that in some places became soupy and thus, very slick.

For those who have been to the Black Mountain Off Roading Park (Harlan County Campground) know that trail 45 one of the main trails can become a challenge when muddy. There was never once any challenge out of these tires. And the trails the group took including trail 15, 18, 20, 22, Lower Rock Garden and Rail Bed, the Dick Cepek Crusher grabbed the attention of others in the park.

Besides the plethora of mud in the park, the tires grabbed a hold of the rocks like a hand wraps around a rock giving great traction even in the slickest of situations. The trails this tire was taken on ranged from class II to class IV trails.

What was a challenge to several in the group of 10-15 rigs daily, the Dick Cepek Crusher proved themselves worthy. These tires cleaned themselves out very impressively. The first day of off roading the tires were at 15 PSI. On the second day they were taken down to 11 PSI and remained at this the remainder of the weekend.

They are truly an awesome tire. If you are looking for a tire that will prove it's worthy of performing on the trails this one definitely should be considered.







Dick Cepek Crusher Tire

Dick Cepek Crusher Tire


Dick Cepek Crusher Tire priced from $167.











Wednesday, October 20, 2010

How The Jeep Talks Began

The Jeep Talks got started thanks to a creative little boy. That little boy is my youngest son, Hunter who is currently 5 years old. Hunter gave "Princess" a personality at the age of 3.

That creativity then spread to his older brother Caleb, who went right along with the personality.

There have been times that Princess had to stay at her best friend Scuffy II's house to be fixed by his Jeep Guru owner. It would be those times that the boys were sad to leave her and would ask if they could go give her a hug.

Hunter is always the one talking to Princess saying hello, asking how she is feeling and the one who makes sure she is staying clean.

It was just recently that I came up with the idea to create a blog, website and Facebook page for Princess as if she is the one talking. There have been so many people whom I have met through the internet as well as personally who have given some amount of personality to their Jeeps as well. So needless to say, I haven't felt out of place with my idea.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

About Princess the Jeep

Princess is a 1992 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4x4 born in Toledo, Ohio. She originally is from Chicago, Illinois and later moved to Lakeland,Florida. In 2007 she was adopted off Ebay by her current owner in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Princess has a family of four humans, Jennifer, Shiloh, Caleb and Hunter. She is a daily driver taking the human children to school in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon.

She is a graduate of Tennessee Tech along with her owner. Princess is a dedicated Jeep to her family having traveled on countless occasions between Cleveland and Cookeville, TN.

Her favorite activity is off roading. She has traveled to Windrock in Oliver Springs, TN; Aetna Mountain in Chattanooga, TN; Coppinger Cove by the Sequatchie River north of Jasper,TN twice; Golden Mountain Off Road Park in Sparta,TN three times and Harlan, Kentucky four times.

Princess is hoping to travel to Wooly's off road park, Superlift off road park and Moab, Utah in the near future.

She has a 3" Rough Country lift; 31" Maxxis Buckshot Mudder shoes; Rancho shocks; LockRight Locker and SYE. Her owner is currently shopping for new shoes for the upcoming Fall Crawl event her XJ friends hold yearly.