Friday, August 14, 2009

You know you're driving a TJ when...

Hello all, and sorry that it's been a while since I last wrote. Seems like the slower things are here at work, the more I find that I need to get done. But it's Friday now, and I simply don't care that much. I'm ready for the weekend.
Two weeks ago I took the new Jeep on it's first road trip. Okay, it's first road trip with me at the wheel. I couldn't have picked a worse weekend either. It was hot. And by hot, I mean driving through hell would have been a welcome relief. That is, until I got to the west side of the Cascades. It cooled down to 85 then. It was 109 when I left Walla Walla.
Anyway, the road trip didn't really amount to much that I need to talk about. The Jeep drove like a Jeep, and mechanically the trip was event-less. Although I would like to mention that it lacks a bit of power on the top end. Coming home she slowed down to 55 coming over the pass. That was a bit irritating. But other than that all went well.
This morning I was checking out my favorite website (www.jeepforum.com) to find new ideas for what to do to the Jeep. I found a thread titled "you know you're driving a TJ when..." and I had to take a look. Two of the posts were significantly funny to me and I thought I would share them with you.
You know you drive a TJ when everyone on the highway is passing you by, and you just don't care. This is exceptionally funny to me after my little road trip. Normally I'm in the left lane with the cruise set around 80+. This trip I found myself in the right hand lane with the cruise set at 70 (the speed limit) and I was enjoying every minute of the drive, except the heat.
You know you drive a TJ when you get asked how long it is going to take to get somewhere and you have to take into account the wind speed and direction for your answer. This is no joke. When you are driving a 4500 pound vehicle with the aerodynamics of a house and a 190 horse power engine, a strong headwind is going to slow you down. Especially with the automatic transmission. A 3-speed just doesn't have enough gearing options for the lack of aerodynamics.
Anyway, if you'd like to check out some of the posts, they are pretty funny and will really give you an honest documentation of what it's like to own a Jeep TJ. Here is a link to the thread: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=641522
I hope this summer is finding everyone in good health, and happiness. I'll write again soon. :-)