Truly… I didn’t realize this when we bought our first Jeep Wrangler, but I quickly learned what owning a Jeep Wrangler meant.
Jeep wave
Every Jeep Wrangler owner waves at each other ALL the time… and I do mean all the time. There are groups on Facebook, stickers, and more all dedicated to the Jeep wave. Why? Folks want to talk about how angry they get when they see another Jeep owner not wave to them, do the wave incorrectly or too enthusiastically. Here are just a few links showing articles, images, etc just focused on the Jeep wave
Community
There are huge Jeep communities that meet up online, in clubs, and at events. Why? Jeeps are used to drive back roads that can’t be accessed by normal cars and there is so much to share among owners. Jeep owners want to drive together and support each other if any issues happen. We have been around the Jeep clubs on the road and in campgrounds. We have talked about joining a club or two but haven’t yet as we aren’t settled in any specific area. Here are some images of Jeep clubs.
Personalization
The Jeep can be COMPLETELY customized and I’ve learned that owners try to out customize each other! There is a whole industry around adding lights, change the bumpers, doors, decorate with stickers, etc with online and physical stores one can shop at. Here are some images of some custom Jeeps here.
- Smaller radio antenna to be able to take photos without the stock antenna getting in the photo
- Steps that attach to the door of the Jeep to be able to easily get to the roof
- Rugged Ridge Eyeglass and wallet holder attached to roll bar
- Rugged Ridge bumper to better attach the Jeep to the motorhome and to add lights and winch
- Grab bar handles for the roll bars for the front and back seats
- Rugged Ridge step rock sliders so that it’s easier for me to get into the Jeep and to protect the Jeep from rocks
- Texas State and Clemson Tiger Paw decals
Why do we own a Jeep? …and do we have a Jeep lifestyle? Our Jeep kinda actually defines our life and our activities. We tend to go to places where we can go off-road and explore the backcountry. Our Jeep also enables us to have great cheaper entertainment for the cost of gas (and normal car expenses). I have truly embraced our Jeep lifestyle and am so glad it became a part of our life.
Imogene Pass in Colorado mountains
Going up to the top along the cutout road (time-lapse)
Imogene Pass in Colorado mountains
Going down from the top along the cutout road (time-lapse)
In all of these videos, I used my Pixel 2 XL to take the video. I originally tried the new time-lapse feature built into the phone but the quality of the video is reduced significantly!! …and once it’s recorded, I can’t change how fast the time-lapse is. I believe they reduced the quality of the video due to the size of the video for a full-length video and the original videos are mostly greater than 20 minutes. This is actually why I have 128GB in my Pixel 2 XL so that I can take many long videos… SO… I decided to video at the normal speed and then control the time-lapse with the software on my computer (with Corel VideoStudio). This approach has worked out really well and I’m able to keep the video at 4k and have the time-lapse at different speeds based on the results of the video (instead of having to decide prior to the activity).
The next big challenge to solve with videoing like this is stability and/or using a gimbal. I have a handheld gimbal (DJI Osmo) and I’ve tried this approach but honestly, I found the perfect solution just by accident! The Jeep has hand handles built into the frame at the front of the side windows. I put a bike handlebar magnet phone mount on each side of the Jeep to hold our phones. When I video, my phone is on the magnetic mount, and “somehow” the Jeep itself is the gimbal (or essentially keeps the camera steady). During the videos, we are bouncing a bunch over rocks and potholes and it is only seen by seeing the Jeep hood go up and down. I was stunned to discover this but also very excited/pleased.
