1947, 1949, & 1951 Jeep Willys

A friend of ours recently sent us some pictures of a snowmobile trail clearing session he and some friends held in Lake George, NY (our backyard!). This marked a very special occasion where three Jeep Willys owners were able to get off-road, one a 1947, one a 1949, and one a 1951. This is old school Jeepin’ at it’s finest. Great work guys!

Featured Jeep: 2004 Grand Cherokee SE (WJ)

From Jason in Maysville, KY:

“The thing I like most about my Jeep is it’s ability to, in relatively stock form, hit the trails and inclement weather like it’s nothing and then return to complete civility back on the road.”

We love the WJ body Grand Cherokee body too! A couple of our www.JeepWorld.com staff drive them as well. We have one that refuses to ever switch to the new WK body style he loves it so much!

Load your family into the Jeep and go!

With airline fares getting pricier by the minute, many families are staying closer to home and driving to their vacation destinations this summer. Instead of cramming your belongings and family into one small space, why not use the Jeep roof-top cargo carrier to free up some room? This handy product allows you to store belongings on the roof during long car trips, while protecting your cargo from the elements. It’s recommended that you use some type of cross rails to stabilize the load while traveling with the Jeep Cargo Carrier. Versions are available from both Mopar and Thule and models vary depending on your needs. All models will fit all vehicles except the Jeep Wrangler.

Here is a list of necessary cross rails by model, many can double as rails for bike, kayak, or ski racks:

Jeep Liberty Cross Rails

Jeep Grand Cherokee Cross Rails

Jeep Commander Cross Rails

Jeep Compass Cross Rails

Jeep Patriot Cross Rails

If you have any technical questions as far as installation or product recommendation, please leave a comment and we’ll do our best to get you an answer below.

Featured Jeep: 1993 Cherokee (XJ)

From Arnold in Dubai, United Arab Emirates:

“What I love most about my Jeep is that it can take me anywhere in the desert, it’s the best for extreme dune bashing. You should try this out.”

That looks like a blast! We’d love to try it out, but we’ve got neither the abundant sand dunes nor the abundant cheap gasoline like what is readily available in the UAE. Have fun!

2008 Jeep Liberty Sport Utility Bars

We hope we didn’t get too many of our readers fired up about carrying a kayak on their 2008 Jeep Liberty a week or so ago. Since then it appears that the Jeep Liberty Cross Rails for the 2008 KK model are now on national backorder with no ETA. From our experience, this means there was a usage issue with the item and Chrysler has ordered a re-design (although they never actually come out and tell us this). Chrysler recently had a similar situation with the Dodge Caliber Sport Utility Bars. You’ll probably be glad to know that the rear doors of the Caliber no longer are clipping the rack and that back seat passengers are free of whacking their heads on the way in and out of the vehicle. We did think it was a little strange that one of the bars for the 2008 Liberty was longer than the other.  Anyone out there running into problems with this product?

Jeep Jamboree USA

Here’s a list of the remaining Jeep Jamboree Events for 2008:

Penn’s Woods 6/20-22 Bradford, PA

Ruby Mountains 7/11-13 Elko, NV

Snowshoe Mountain 7/11-13 Snowshoe, WV

Killington 7/18-20 Killington, VT

Rubicon Trail 8-15-17 The Rubicon Trail, CA

Mark A. Smith Rubicon Trail Adventure 2-Day 8/22-23 The Rubicon Trail, CA

Mark A. Smith Rubicon Trail Adventure 3-Day 9/5-7 The Rubicon Trail, CA

Ouray 9/12-14 Ouray, Colorado

Texas Spur Fall 9/12-14 Llano, TX

Catskill Mountains 9/26-28 Monticello, NY

Northwoods 10/3-5 Crandon, Wisconsin

Maine Mountains 10/3-5 Bethel, ME

Appalachian 10/10-12 Murphy, NC

French Lick 10/10-12 French Lick, IN

Gateway to the Cumberlands 10/17-19 Williamsburg, KY

Borrego Springs (formally know as Salton Sea) 10/17-19 Borrego Springs, CA

Moab 10/24-26 Moab, UT

Ouachita 10/24-26 Hot Springs, AR

Jeep Jamboree Challenge (NEW!) 11/1-2 Pearsall, TX

“Jeep Jamborees are off-road adventure weekends that bring together the outdoors, down-to-earth people, and their Jeep 4x4s. These off-road treks have a long tradition dating back to 1953 when 4×4 pioneer Mark A. Smith organized the first-ever Jeep Jamboree and voyaged across the Sierra Nevada Mountains by way of the old Rubicon Trail. In 1954, Willys Motors — then manufacturer of Jeep vehicles — became involved with the adventure, and Jeep Jamborees have been an off-road tradition ever since.”

For more information click here.

Featured Jeep: Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

From Jeff in Antelope, CA:

“ This was a little mishap at the Rubicon Trail coming out the Wentworth Springs exit. My wife and I love taking our Jeep to the mountians and exploring the trails. Jeeps are the best off road vehicle built! Life is Good!”

That’s gonna leave a mark!

Jeep News for 6/16/2008

Have you taken your 2008 Liberty off-roading yet?

“Jeep Liberty Limited is the obvious choice for the adventurer in this market, bringing terrain-terrorizing traction to any situation while delivering an adequately comfortable and composed on-road ride.”

Click here for more.

Chrysler ties Toyota in plant efficiency!

“Chrysler tied Toyota for the number one spot in manufacturing productivity, consisting of assembly, stamping and engine and transmission; all in all both manufacturers take 30.37 hours to build a vehicle from start to finish. The most efficient plant in North America is the Toledo Supplier Park plant, which takes 13.57 hours to crank out a Wrangler.”

Read More.

Featured Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty (KJ)

From Dionisis in Greece:

“ I’m proud to be the owner of a 2004 Liberty 2.4L (In Greece they call it … Cherokee). The best of all that excites me apart from the excellent quality and credibility of the verhicle is the perfect 4Wheel Driving System. The photo is from a wild place in Greece Called Mani…”

How to: Carry a Kayak or Canoe on your Jeep

As I sit here in our office, sweating my way through record breaking heat, my mind has been drifting off to thoughts of kayaking on the lake. Many of you must have been thinking the same thing lately, as you’ve been asking us a lot of questions on how to carry a kayak or canoe on your Jeeps. It’s actually easier than you might think. On any Jeep that’s not a Wrangler, you’ll require some type of cross rails and the rack to attach your boat to those cross rails.

Here’s a quick guide to what products you will need for each model Jeep Vehicle:

To carry a kayak or canoe on your Jeep Patriot, we’d recommend the Mopar Sport Utility Bars. These hardy cross rails are designed to hold more weight than your average factory bars and can easily handle your canoe or kayak. For a canoe, use the Jeep Patriot Canoe Carrier. For a kayak, use the Jeep Patriot Kayak Carrier.

Although it seems crazy, and may look a little silly on the road, we have a friend who carries his canoe on top of his Jeep Compass, while taking fishing trips up in the Adirondack Mountains, so we know it can be done. He uses the Jeep Compass Sport Utility Bars by Mopar and the Jeep Compass Canoe Carrier. For Kayaks use the Jeep Kayak Carrier. There are also suitable options available from Thule, which in some cases are more expensive, but tend to be very high quality products.

To carry your favorite vessel on your Jeep Grand Cherokee, it’s the same old story, use a set of the Grand Cherokee Sport Utility Bars and the Grand Cherokee Kayak Rack or Canoe Rack.

If a Jeep Liberty is your vehicle of choice, get a set of the Liberty Sport Utility Bars and the Liberty Kayak or Canoe Rack by Mopar or Thule.

For carrying your Kayak or Canoe on a Jeep Commander, you’ll need the Mopar Sport Utility Bars and the Jeep Commander Kayak or Canoe Racks. Or what the heck, just stuff your kayak inside that big boy!

We’ve had a lot of interest recently on carrying your boats with your Wrangler as well. Unfortunately, we’ve yet to see a solution that wasn’t completely awkward and maybe even dangerous. We know of people who take the top off and use their Jeep’s roll bars and rig up some home made straps to transport their canoes. We also know people that will stuff their kayak into the rear of their Wrangler at an disastrous angle and hope for the best. We cannot recommend either method, particularly for long trips, but if you’re like us you’ll do what it takes to get your boat on the lake or river.

UPDATE (5.15.12) – A new solution for carrying a kayak on your Jeep Wrangler!