Why are Jeeps so addictive?

[HYRYSC]

My son asked me that yesterday as I was standing out in my driveway fiddling with my Jeep. I have a C6 Corvette Convertible sitting in the garage and it probably could use a good bath, but I want to spend all of my time playing with the little TJ.
Finding it hard to really explain it frankly. My wife thinks that I am crazy too.

Any answers?

 

[Ericict]

Watching....I'm not crazy, but I am a carrier.
There is always something that needs to be done on the TJ. I get it.

 

[Shuttlesworth]

That same question happens to me all the time. My wife and I are planning to start our family within the next few years, so I am looking for something more practical (definitely not getting rid of my TJ). But when I look at Subaru's, mid-size trucks, full size trucks, SUV's to see what I might like to drive, for some reason the page keeps landing on Jeep JK's, then it turns to LJ's, then I am into Rubicon's. Somehow I end up looking at CJ's and flat fenders trying to tell myself that there "isn't THAT much body work, and a 304 swap wouldn't be THAT hard."

It's a disease of the mind and heart. I look outside and just see this plucky little box waiting for me to take it for a walk. Sure its loud and slow, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Totally unrelated to the subject, a CJ7 is totally acceptable as a family safe SUV? I mean it has a roll bar, right? Just asking for a friend...

 

[BCB75]

I'm having the same thing happen with my boxster. I just love the jeeps and give them so much more time and attention. I like driving the box more though, without a doubt.

 

[Flivver250]

Because Jeeps return the love you bestow on them, with interest. Porche's and Corvettes do not. In all likelihood, the best sex of your life was not with your prettiest lover. That square and ungainly hunk of antiquated iron is a better date.

 

[Chris]

Because there’s so many things you can do to them

 

[Ephry73]

My 6yo asked me the same thing. My response was LEGOs. The fact that you can get your maintenance done without lifting the vehicle and when something breaks you can buy new or used and just slap it on like playing with LEGOs, until you make it pretty again is the addictive thing for me. They do handle the abuse and keep coming back for more.

He enjoys the jeep and I'm hoping the love for simple things and mechanical work rubs off on him.

 

[HYRYSC]

I told my wife and son to name another vehicle where you can get a $2 can of black krylon and improve the looks of it

 

[Viking Jeeper]

I agree. There is just something about owning a vehicle that is OK to use spray paint on.

 

[Ephry73]

I told my wife and son to name another vehicle where you can get a $2 can of black krylon and improve the looks of it

My old 1972 VW Beetle

 

[B00mb00m]

Dude the struggle is real. I was driving the other day and felt kind of uneasy driving to store without my tool box and realized, wow if this were any other vehicle i would dump it and scream all over the internet how big of a piece of shit it is. Yet i continually chase squeaks, squeals, clunks, noises, leaking oils, it never ends. And I love it. Nothing like a warm summers night drive sans doors or tops, the back and forth sway of excessive body roll, the way the OD kicks in and curse words flow at the engineer who programmed these shift points.

 

[HYRYSC]

Dude the struggle is real. I was driving the other day and felt kind of uneasy driving to store without my tool box and realized, wow if this were any other vehicle i would dump it and scream all over the internet how big of a piece of shit it is. Yet i continually chase squeaks, squeals, clunks, noises, leaking oils, it never ends. And I love it. Nothing like a warm summers night drive sans doors or tops, the back and forth sway of excessive body roll, the way the OD kicks in and curse words flow at the engineer who programmed these shift points.

You are absolutely correct! Any other brand gets trashed for having 1/4 of the issues that Jeeps have. Of course most of the issues start off with us making "improvements" that inevitably lead to needing other "improvements" etc etc.

 

[MutantNinjaTJ]

The only thing you can do with the Vette is wash it and drive it, maybe wrap it around a telephone pole like the "Mustang" drivers seem so fond of doing. The Jeep is a blank canvas! Just Sayin!

 

[btn]

They’re a great mechanical outlet. Lots of things to tinker with and upgrade. I like how they’re simple and rugged. Driving them is a blast as well, even on pavement.

 

[MutantNinjaTJ]

My old 1972 VW Beetle

I had a 69 Yellow VW bug in my freshman year in high school and we took that rattle can of Black Krylon and made it look like a Bumble Bee, Ahh good times the 70's were, the parts I can remember anyway!

 

[brewtus98]

I told my wife and son to name another vehicle where you can get a $2 can of black krylon and improve the looks of it

Soooooo true!!!!!

 

[B00mb00m]

They’re a great mechanical outlet. Lots of things to tinker with and upgrade. I like how they’re simple and rugged. Driving them is a blast as well, even on pavement.

I don't think people outside of the jeep world realize how fun it is to drive doorless / topless its better than any convertible car. I see *maybe* 1 JK without doors / top per month around here in summer.

 

[HYRYSC]

I don't think people outside of the jeep world realize how fun it is to drive doorless / topless its better than any convertible car. I see *maybe* 1 JK without doors / top per month around here in summer.

I do love my convertible, but you are right, something about being topless AND doorless is just so much better!!

 

[Modoc Guy]

I've always had tinker-itis with all my vehicles, you know, to "cherry" them out. But the TJ is different. As a matter of fact, I'm on the forum right now to look around for a front Dana 44 to finish my TJ's conversion to a faux-rubicon.

But I find myself spending an inordinate amount of time looking for new goodies to get, or fixes to do, or upgrades to figure out, and the list goes on. I love it! Along with being a super blast to drive around!

Maybe it's more of a sickness? And being sequestered at home, in front of my tool box doesn't help either

 

[qslim]

I think TJs represent that perfect transitional point between old and new. Lots of reliable tech like fuel injection & basic OBD2 architecture that has been around long enough to become ubiquitous to the shade tree mechanic. No plastic covers to remove, no expensive dealer-only diagnostic equipment to figure out what is going on, and lots of accessibility.

I've owned a ton of cars, and since I got my TJ two years ago I've really enjoyed it. Old cars are cool, but damned if they're not a pain in the ass. One of my favorites was a BMW 2002tii, but that Bosch mechanical fuel pump was a shit show if it wasn't dialed in. I once had to send it to German old-timer in San Francisco who had one of the last Bosch rigs in existence to get the thing tuned after months of fiddling with it. $500 bucks and a month later I got it back and it ran like a top until I sold it.

On the flip side, late model vehicles are just impossible for the average joe to dick around with if he doesn't have a ton of equipment and a scrounge of those annoying little plastic pop fasteners that hold all the dumb covers.

The TJ is right at that sweet spot in my opinion, plus you can get all kinds of angry grills for them.