All Things Jeep Blog & Musings

In an earlier post, we spoke of Mark Smiths rear end, but in this one I'm going to speak about more rear ends.

Rear end differentials, to be precise. Do you know your rear ends? I'm asking because if you need a primer, we got it.

We've been out of our Know Your Rear Ends T-Shirt for a while, just printed a few more up and have now printed the rear end primer on the BACK of the tee, so you can add your rear end to the mix! The tee is just $18 bucks and you and the guy behind you will find it well worth every penny! Enjoy.

Last night I was perusing the Jeep website. There's some pretty decent content over this and my favorite was this pictorial presentation of every Jeep they've ever built. Here you can venture back throught time and see all the Jeeps from the 1941 Willys MB to the new 2008 4 doors. The photos are great.

Pictures / History of Every Jeep Ever Built 

(or did they miss one?)

So you were lucky enough to acquire a Jeep this past winter that came with a soft top and now that it's almost warm, you want to take that soft top down for the first time. Actually, it's not that hard to do. However, it's best if you can get a bit organized about it. Luckily, our good friend Jim put a video together for you. We call it "Going Topless 101". After this, you'll be ready for our GO TOPLESS DAY.

Do you know who Mark A. Smith is? He's pretty much the "grand daddy" of modern day off-roading and the creator of the Jeep Jamboree USA organization. He's been around awhile and has been on every trail out there. He also sports a Jeep tattoo ... right on his butt cheek! Now that's a dedicated Jeeper.

So the folks at Jeep Jamboree USA thought it would be funny to put Mark's behind on a tee shirt. And they did. And you can buy one at our retail site,  All Things Jeep / Jeep Tattoo shirt.

Now obviously, this shirt ain't for everyone. But if you're a True Believer, like Mark, then it might be for you! We hope to meet Mark on the Rubicon Trail this August when we head out there. I'm definitely going to ask him to autograph my shirt! Until then, I'll have to be satisfied with the picture.

Hey, we just got the opportunity to get a great deal on some official Jeep-licensed knives from Master Cutlery. They were simply overstocked on some inventory and offered us special pricing. And we took them up on it so we could pass the deal on to you. These are inexpensive knives but the quality is great. In fact, the company offers a Lifetime Repair/Replacement Warranty on their products. Here's two that are now under $10. You may want to pick one up for an Easter basket, Dad's Day Gift or for your own back pocket.

Jeep Pocket Knives - $9.99 each

Calling all customers and readers of our blog. We need your opinion on a new line of products we've been asked to introduce to the world. We have our thoughts - from very cool to downright silly (we'll let you guess which items are which) but tell us what do YOU think of these following potential products. If you love them, we'll be selling them by late spring. But you need to tell us!

 1. JEEP BEACH TOWELS. You've been asking for these for years. Here are some DRAFT ideas of a design that would go on a big, fluffy beach towel. Lay this baby down in the sand and attract that cute Jeep boy / girl across the way. (no body damage on that left headlight in the final product)

2. Jeep terrycloth Cinch Sack - perfect size for your blanket and sunscreen

3. Jeep Short Wrap - it's a perfectly sized towel, with a velcroed waist so you can almost Jeep naked, (or at least go topless!) For guys to throw on before heading up to the snack stand for food.

4. Longer Jeep Towel Wrap - that's us, hitting the beaches in between packing all your orders. With a matching set, a happy Jeep couple could look REALLY COOL on the beach this summer!

So, seriously, tell us what you think.

It is not often that I fall in love with a product but I will confess... I'm in love with our new Jeep Wrangler neoprene seat covers vendor . Their name is Seatglovers and they are like us. By that I mean they are a small, family run company, they've been in business for about 5 years and they care about their customers (and us, yeah!). They make a quality product. Their prices are great. And they ship incredibly fast. 99% of what we order from them ships out the same day we order it.

We looked for over a year to find a new neoprene seat cover vendor. Our last vendor made great products but took over a month to ship. So we went searching. This is what we found:

Fantastic quality products at high prices.

Poorly made products at bargain prices.

And not much in the middle until we found these guys. Now, not everyone will love neoprene replacement seat covers. They can be a little warm in the summer heat. But they hold up really well, can be thrown into your washing machine to clean them, and they really upgrade the look of your Jeep. In fact, I think that putting a new set of seat covers on your Jeep is probably the most basic thing you can do to upgrade the look of your Jeep and maintain the longevity of the interior of the Jeep.

So, I got myself a set of solid black neoprene covers for my 07 Unlimited Jeep and will be putting them on this weekend. I'll post a photo after I do. For now, here's a quick shot of a red/black set for the 4 door. Sweeet.

This has been one of those long winters here in the Northeast. Where even Skiers and hard core snow enthusiasts are saying, ‘its been good, but I'm ready to see greenery'. Its also time to get the Jeep ready for the wheeling season. This year in addition to the regular maintenance where putting a new front bumper on the Scrambler. The old (tire, bent and abused) ConFerr heavy-duty bumper is being retired in replaced with a Rampage Rock Rage bumper.

Here is my spring maintenance list:

• Change oil
• Check steering for play
• Grease ball joints
• Inspect and grease front axle u-joints
• Inspect and grease front & rear drive shaft u-joints
• Check font & rear differentials for fluid leaks add (or change) as necessary
• Disassemble and repack front hub, rotor and bearings
• Inspect and tighten (if needed) leaf spring u-bolts
• Inspect leaf spring bushings
• Inspect motor mounts and tranny mounts
• Inspect brake pads and lines
• Test winches (I usually spool the cable and check for cable kinks or damage
• Check radiator and coolant levels
• Replenish supplies pulled from crash kit during last year

So come on Spring, let's go it's almost April!

Hellloooo people out there. Guess what. Longer hours for our local Go Topless Meet & Greet. We can now be there in Lancaster from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. So if you are driving from Maine or Connecticut or Nebraska, you can stay the whole day!

Also, guess what? Dogs can't come into the farmstand building. But as long as you keep my friends on leashes and clean up after us (thank you and tell me, who really IS the master), we can come along. Oh boy, oh boy... a Jeep ride. Can't hardly wait.

Also, guess what. Every time we go to this farm stand in the summer, I get my very own bowl of vanilla ice cream. My tail is wagging already.

*** GO TOPLESS DAY - MORE DETAILS ***

Gee, everywhere I look retailers are playing up the green stuff for St. Pattys Day! Since when did St. Patrick's Day become a retail holiday? I thought you just ate corned beef and cabbage and drank lots of beer (dyed green if you are in college.) But the employees here are pushing for a green sale. We don't have that many green items. But I"ll cave. We've put together all the green stuff we could come up with and put it here, under GREEN STUFF. And yeah, it's on sale.

Our winter was (and still us) brutal here in New England. Snow- cold - sleet - snow- cold - rain - snow - freezing rain - slush - snow - cold. (Did I say snow?) It's fun for skiing, sledding, skating. But we want to take the top off the Jeep and go for a ride. I know...whine whine whine. Sorry, I have a new Jeep to break in. And the '83 Scrambler is permanently topless so it's in the garage until the warm weather shows up again. So we have picked a special day -- no matter the weather, our Jeep's top is coming off for May 3rd. And we want yours off too! 'Cuz May 3rd is Go Topless Day!

Here's a few more details, but again, many more will follow.

What: GO TOPLESS Day

More What: Online Contest and a local Go Topless Meet & Greet

When: May 3rd 2008

Where: www.allthingsjeep.com & Oak Ridge Farm Stand in Lancaster, MA from 10 AM to 5 PM (we've extended the hours).

Meet & Greet Details: The celebrations will include prizes and giveaways for everyone arriving in a topless Jeep. Food, drink, and homemade ice cream will be available for sale at the farm stand.

Online Contest Details: Anyone in the world can enter. The best photos taken on May 3rd will win prizes. Everyone that submits a photo to us of him or herself in a topless Jeep will win a Go Topless Day commemorative decal. The best 5 photo entries will win $50 Gift Certificates to www.allthingsjeep.com. We'll post the best photos on our website!

Online Contest Rules will be available on the website. So as they say, "Mark your Calendar!"