10 Jp jpmagazine.com OCTOBER 2019
By Stuar t A. Bourdon
[email protected]MAILBAG
You Ask, We Deliver
W ith regard to your June 2019 Mailbag
comments to Scott Middleton’s letter, “JK
3.6 L Swap to Res t,” the response on the 3.6 L
swap into a pre-2012 JK was interesting. I’m
among those that would not have expected
the ef for t to b e nearly as signif ic ant as you
outlined. Thanks for taking the time to write
it up. It made the choice for me easy.
And in response to Jeffrey Knott’s “More
Mud” in the same issue, I would like to
second his comment. I’ve often viewed
Jp as a “Southwest rag” with a national
following. If you’re interested in going more
“national” in line with your reader ship,
I wholeheartedly support more “mud”
rather than “rock” oriented articles. For that
matter, articles going beyond “fair-weather
wheeling” would be interesting as well.
Snow-wheeling is a whole ’nother beast.
Scoping out Jeeps, Wranglers in partic-
ular, I find it interesting to guess where
they’re from. Jeeps built in the Southwest
are notably different from those built
east of the Mississippi. Here, in Michigan,
a rockcrawler with full-width axles and
offset wheels extending them even farther,
stands out like a sore thumb. You would
never take such a rig into thick forest.
Expanding this a bit further, the techniques
for wheeling in rock vs. non-rock terrain
can vary significantly as well.
Just thought I would throw out fodder for
fresh ideas. Thanks for an enjoyable rag.
J. T. Pedersen
Via email
We do get out of the Southwest
“bubble” quite often, but maybe we
should think about doing that more often.
And we invite all Jp readers to keep us up
to date on events in their nec k of the woods
(or city) that might be of interest to Jeep
enthusiasts. Please give us plenty of time
to plan ahead, as we need a few months to
allocate resources, arrange travel, contact
sources involved, and organize a whole lot
of other things in order to do the job the
best way we know how. So, let’s just say
there’s an event in July somewhere—we
need to know about it in Marc h at the very
latest. We need detailed information about
the who, what, where, when, and how
of the event, and any contacts you may
have with the organizers of the event. We
appreciate the help from all Jp readers in
keeping track of new Jeep events and ask
you to send the information to jpeditor@
jpmagazine.com. Write “New Event” in the
subject line of your email to us.
In the meantime, we do have some
suggested reading for those looking for
events and features not in the Southwest.
Check out Part 1 (“Jeeps in the Jungle,”
July ’19) and Part 2 (“Roco Adventure
Week,” Aug. ’19) of a truly epic Jeep adven-
ture in Honduras. Or the North Carolina–
based ’05 Jeep LJ (“Long Game,” May ’19).
There are also the stories on Tennessee’s
Windrock OHV Park (“Warn Takes on
Windrock”), British Columbia’s famous
trail (“Wheelin’ the Whipsaw”), and New
Hampshire’s Jericho Mountain State Park
(“Jeepers Peepers”), all in the April 2019
issue of Jp.4x4 Respect
I just wanted to say I really enjoyed
your editorial about the Internet, different
groups of off-road fans, and how some
people engage in put ting down other s’
vehicles (“I Love the Internet,” Trail Head
June ’19). I agree with you that as Jeep
enthusiasts, we all love Jeeps and think
they are the best; but I also agree that all
4x4 s regardles s of brand, engine swap,
or nationalit y should b e respe c ted. I hope
over time everyone does get better at
getting along. Keep up the great work and
hope to see you in the dirt somewhere.
Thanks for taking the high trail.
Doyle Hancock
Via emailWe’re glad to hear that, Doyle. We love
Jeeps (and of course think they are the
best), but we don’t denigrate anybody’s
of f-road rig—no matter the style, build, or
brand. This world can become so divisive
in almost every aspec t of life that it ’s really
nic e to just go wheelin’ with friends, family,
and even total strangers we just met
who are soon to be friends, sharing thatWrite Us!
Got a question or comment about Jp
Magazine or the village idiots at the helm?
Drop us a line. Don’t forget to include your
full name and where you’re from or we’ll
make fun of you. Actually, we may make
fun of you anyway. Keep it short and to
the point or we’ll hack and chop your letter
as we please. We get a lot of mail, but we
read every letter. Unfortunately, we can’t
print or personally answer every request.
We’re too busy surfing the Internet on the
company dime. Digital images should be
no less than 1,600 by 1,200 pixels (or 2
megapixels) and should be saved as a TIFF,
an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.
Write to:
Jp Magazine, Editor
831 S. Douglas St.
El Segundo, CA 90245
Email to:
[email protected]feeling of respect for all types of 4x4s and
off-road vehicles.More It’s a Jeep Thing
I’ve read a numb er of c omment s over
the last few months about “It’s a Jeep
thing” and really truly believe that the
stories we tell when we’re back home, or
sitting around the campfire after a day of
Jeeping some new trail, are not the only
thing that bring us Jeepers closer together
as a community. I have never come across
another group of people that are always
willing to lend a hand as much as Jeeper s.
O f f-road or on the highway, we help. I
know it’s just a “brand,” but we wave, we
camp, and we overland together, and even
break our rigs against the rocks together. I
have never experienced the open kindness
of fered to me from per fec t s tranger s as I
have since getting my first Jeep.
Paul Kaiser
Via emailThanks, Paul. Your story is one of the
many we’ve heard and seen about the
seemingly unlimited levels of generos-
ity in the Jeeping community, and in the
off-road world in general. Let’s keep that
“wave” of c our te sy going.