Reminded why I don't like Jeepers

[Marlin]

There is a Jeep club that meets every saturday about 3 miles from my house. I decided to stop by and say hi. They were amused by the VX, and I asked about trails. They asked if I owned a Jeep, I said no, but that I had two nice 4x4 Zus. They said, no Jeep, no wheeling with us. I said "I thought this was about 4x4 folks having a good time."
One of them piped up, "you couldn't follow us anyway, you wouldn't make it". That was it for me, for those that have met me, I can be quite the smart ***. I dramatically looked around the parking lot, went to a different row and walked back:
"I don't see anything here that can out wheel my VX."
I went on to explain that their 9" body lift means nothing offroad and that ground clearance is based on tire size, most of them were on 33s, a few on 35s. I told them that I was locked and that my little truck has wheeled all over. Short of a buggy or someone on 37s or better, I can go where they go.
I asked if they wanted to measure the clearance from the lowest point on their Jeep as compared to mine. Two of them walked away, a younger guy laughed. I was getting pissed. Such is life, I strongly dislike Jeepers even more. I pointed out that our Zu club is Jeep friendly, we give each other a hard time, but it was all about wheeling and hanging out. At that point, I left after talking to a guy with a dog for a bit.
Eff Jeepers, right in their Iphone carrying, Hollister wearing elitist *****.

Rant over, so glad I am not a Jeeper.

[ND92]

I agree.... Jeepers suck (no offense to anyone on here that owns a jeep, cause your fam)
I had a similar experience, but a few of the jeepers went too far with their heckles and spit on my VX. Their egos grow with every bolt on accessory they buy.

[VXorado]

Way to go.

Your story fires me up because I've been in very similar situations and it's very frustrating for someone to tell your VX doesn't measure up to their Jeep... especially when they base the argument solely on the "Rubicon" sticker plastered on the hood.

That being said, they're not all bad.

[VXorado]

Their egos grow with every bolt on accessory they buy.

It must be really tough buying everything out of a catalog.

[vt_maverick]

From my observations a lot of their owners seem to simultaneously experience both herd/groupthinking behavior and feelings of inadequacy in their own rigs, which is a pretty severe conflict. I really do think most people buy Jeeps (Wranglers in particular) to reinforce their manliness but also to gain membership to a kind of special club (if you've ever visited a Jeep dealership you've probably heard their sales guys talk about it). The problem (and resultant inadequacy) is that you can drop tens of thousands of dollars into your Jeep and at the end of the day 95+% of the public won't be able to discern any significant difference between your rig and a fully stock model right off the dealer lot. And on the other end of the stick there are like a million Jeeps on the road so there's always someone who has a bigger and badder rig, which means you never can quite differentiate yourself. So I think when these guys dog VX's (or really any other 4x4) it's because they're inwardly jealous of the attention drawn by the vehicle's uniqueness. And I would even go so far as to say that many of them probably are angry at themselves that they didn't have the cohones to pick something more out of the mainstream.

Of course those are generalities and there are a lot of good owners out there I'm sure (Kate for example). What I think is telling is how many people come here after buying (or at least considering) Wranglers and concluding that they were just too bland/played out/common/yuppie for them.

[EVO]

Sounds like you met a bunch of LEMMINGS!! LOL!

[Marlin]

Well said ash. I used to count jeeps to and from work on the freeway, too many to count. A fully decked out jeep looks exactly like all the others. The club was a clone of jeeps, I couldn't tell one from the other. Seems sad to spend that much cash on a mediocre performing 4x4 and then act like they are better than someone else.

[JoFotoz]

Kudos to you!

Had a very similar experience about 5 years ago here in San Diego.

Short version...

Fresh back from Moab..red mud all over the "ORW"...went to a local 4x4 meet.

JEEPS...

"Hi, I'm Jo..kinda new to 4x4'ing..thought I'd come meet you all and join in.


A spiders fart would of been too loud...silence..then..."we drive Jeeps"

Me......Buh Bye.

And yes..I peeled out..slowed..drove up to one of those concrete 30 odd inch road dividers...

...climbed it..see-sawed it for effect...

....and didnt look back.


Jo

[Ldub]

LOL...

I had a similar experience a few years back.
I came out of the liquor store & there was a Jeep dood & his wife checking out Suzy. All the usual questions & answers ensued, & he eventually got around to implying that his Jeep would leave my Jap crap in the ditch...

I replied: "oh I'm sorry, I didn't know it was your day to have the bigger wiener"

His better half was gasping for breath cuz she was laughing so hard...he turnede a lovely shade of crimson, I put the passenger seat belt around my purchase, & went home, smiling all the way.....

No group, whether it jeep or hummers or whatever is all bad, but you usually remember the stellar dook nozzles...for whatever reason...

[jeeperkate]

WOW!! I have a jeep and I love my club of wheelers. But, we are accepting of everyone (I think a few VXers can attest)! Sorry to hear there are so many d-bags out there giving us Jeepers a bad name...

[Riff Raff]

Kudo's to you Marlin!!!

I remember I was at a santioned off-road racing event as a spectator and everyone had their ORV's parked alongside the race course with their beer coolers and whatnot. A massive group of Jeeper's (mostly CJ's & Wrangler's) had their rigs parked along both sides of the entry/exit gate of the event. After the main event race was finally over, everybody slowly convoyed the winding dirt road back to the entry/exit gate to return to the main paved road. The large Jeeper Club that was parked along the main entry/exit gate were still partying with their beers and were basically booing, hissing, cat-calling, and laughing at anything that wasn't a Jeep as people exited the main gate with their vehicle.

That day I drove my prestine FJ-40, and as I passed the group of Jeeper's the howling immediately went silent and you could hear a pin drop. I looked out my side window at the now quiet group of Jeeper people, and they all dropped their smiles, lowered their beer cans, and tried not to make eye contact with me as I slowly passed. I smiled and gave them a slow nod in recognition as I passed through the main exit gate. Priceless memory.

[VxSport]

I also have a few....

I was in a off road contest put on by a local shop. It was a good mix of 4x4's, Chevy's, Toys, a L Rover, and I was the only zu and the rest were Jeep's. All the owners of the shop drove bolted up wranglers. I was talked bad about over the cb (over razed) and all in all, had to prove myself and my zu. At the end of the day I placed 9th in a group of 20+ rigs. At that time my zu was almost stock. There were jeep jaws in the dirt after that day. I had easier aproches and better success with less wheel spin.
I don't want a vehicle that looks like everyone else's. Have them bolt on a pair, and stop following everyone else.

[FlyingV77]

Next time just show them you colection of "trail rated" badges that you've colected from pulling stuck jeeps out... that should shut them up

[Marlin]

Sorry Kate, just seems there very few stories about friendly, fun loving Jeepers out there. Guess it doesn't correspond with the "Jeep thing" so I don't understand.
I used to keep an open mind about Jeepers, but with so many bad experiences, I will not approach another Jeep club again. Jeeps are welcome to come visit our Zu club, but I will not be crossing over to their side anytime soon.

[CoastieCosta567]

I love it when you see a big lifted decked out bolty jeep and you see them laughing and talking and the minute you pass by their site, all chatter stops and everyone inside goes flaccid and turn into owls. Man I never seen someone turn their head 180% so far as cheapters do. Ahhh and not to mention, how many of them try to pass you and you hear there cranky tranny tearing up as they think they have a leg up until you take off some humility and let them sniff your butt as you pass them with ease. lol the joy of being a VX or Import owner.