This Week In Jeep:

Police Slow Speed Pursuit of Jeep Wrangler

This is just insulting! You may have missed this, but three days ago police were shown in a low speed chase on I-95 in Florida. The chase, sometimes reaching speeds of posted speed limits, began in Oakland Park and headed northbound from there. Police in a bit of irony removed the Freedom top of the late model Jeep Wrangler to arrest the male driver. The driver is being charged with aggravated battery, fleeing and eluding. Personally I think eluding would be a hard charge to prove in court.

Ep 128: News and Stuff

June 11, 2020www.trailchasers.com

We talk about our day trip to the high desert, go over some news, and discuss a bunch of other random stuff.

Thanks to Dan with The 4×4 Podcast, and Chris of Petterson Media for filling in as hosts this week!

This Week In Jeep:

New three row Jeep we reported on may NOT be the New Wagoneer

We recently reported about the possible new Jeep Wagoneer having three row seating. Well the seating is still there but it looks like this will more likely be the Grand Cherokee redesign! It’s not the first time jeep, or would be jeep owner has complained about not having the seats necessary for the entire family. Now it’s possible that many a man, or woman, has used this as an excuse to get away from their demanding brood for some alone time. We may not have long to wait and see what the Grand Cherokee and Wagoneer to offer as it is speculated for information to be released later this year. Head over to Autoblog for more information on this story.

Jeeps in the news

It seems a blue Jeep Wrangler may have been involved in a hit and run of protestors a few days ago. Visalia police are investigating reports that two protestors were hit, both only receiving minor injuries. The first protester was apparently challenging the Jeep that was flying a USA and Trump MAGA flag. The Jeep accelerated into the protestor attempting to block the Jeep. As the Jeep continued forward a second protester was struck, apparently unaware the Jeep was headed towards her. The Jeep Talk Show doesn’t recommend running over people with your Jeep, but you have to ask, why are people standing in the road? We’ve all seen news reports where protesters break the law and attack vehicles and occupants. I think it’s best not to put you or your Jeep in the middle of a protest if you can help it.

Steal Jeep, Go Directly To Jail

A man from Port St. Lucie is accused of attacking and robbing an 80 year old man. After assaulting the elderly man, James Simpson, 40, decided to steal credit cards and the victims 4 door JL (JLU). Simpson told the police that he decided to drive himself, in the stolen Jeep, to the jail after seeing himself in surveillance video on the news and social media. James Simpson faces multiple charges, attempted murder, aggravated battery on a person 65 or older and home invasion robbery. Take my credit cards but leave my Jeep!

Jeep Life:

Overland Expo Update and More Great Trail Ideas

First EJS 2020 now the Overland Expo 2020 Series has been postponed until 2021. They say postponed but technically the 2020 series has been cancelled. THey had weekends planned for Expo West in Flagstaff originally scheduled for May but they postponed til the end of July now it’s been cancelled. The Expo Central was in August in Loveland Colorado and Overland Expo East in Virginia in October. The Expo’s media release reads…It is with a heavy heart that we announce all in-person Overland Expo events have been postponed for 2020. The safety and health of our attendees, exhibitors, and staff are of the utmost importance to us. After months of deliberation, research and consultation with local officials, we have decided to postpone all in-person Overland Expo events until 2021. Like you, we eagerly anticipate each Overland Expo event. The events are more than a place where overlanders congregate to share experiences, products, and wisdom; they are a way for the community to come together, connect, and celebrate our shared love of the overlanding lifestyle — and have fun, too. We hoped that the world would look different by late summer and early fall. However, we still have not received approval to move forward with mass gatherings in the counties in which these events are based. We considered all the options to host an event that would adhere to the highest level of safety without compromising the event experience. Ultimately, we concluded we could not in good conscience host a gathering of tens of thousands of overlanders in an environment with so many unknowns. We fear hosting any one of our in-person events could threaten the health of those in the overlanding community and beyond. The only responsible choice is to refrain from hosting live events in 2020. I am pretty bummed as I was planning on attending all three events this year. I guess as a typical Minnesota Vikings fan says there is always next year. On a brighter note… This past weekend we took the 69 CJ5 to Toll Road Gulch Trail near Buena Vista. A fun and easy trail around Poncho Pass to the town of Bonanza population of 1 there is a sprinkling of full time residents in the hills around the town but now all that remains are several historic buildings. Bonanza is a ghost town. The West is full of ghost towns. Another fun way to enjoy your Jeep is to explore these many ghost towns. Bonanza means prosperity in Spanish. It’s a former silver mining town. A local resident Tom Cooke was up in the high country searching for horses back in the day when he discovered ore deposits. A town quickly sprung up. There was never an accurate population account of this mining camp at the time. However, there were 36 saloons and 7 dance halls back in the day. There are 2 ways to get to this town and one is from Toll Road Gulch Trail which we were on. This trail is narrow in some sections and I questioned if my School Bus of a Jeep would have fit. Ron fellow Jeep Talk Show listener who guided us on this trail said my Jeep would have made it but it would have been tight. There were some amazing views of Mount Ouray and the lower range of the Collegiate Peaks. Now in June in colorado you take your chances when off roading up in the mountains. Some of the trails could still be snowed over and this one was so we never made it to Bonanza. However there is another way to the town and I am hoping to take the gravel road up there this weekend. The best way to find ghost towns near you is to use Google. I also have another tip for great maps of off-road trails in Colorado and Utah is www.latitude40maps.com Next week I plan on sharing 7 Overland routes in the Northern Hemphisher.

Interview with:

Nate – I spent all of my adult life building off-road vehicles. Over the last few years that passion has merged with my love for photography. It is only natural that I record my projects and share them with you all on YouTube! Dirt Lifestyle is a community by off-roaders for off-roaders. From racing to rock crawling and everything in between. We truly love the outdoors here at Dirt Lifestyle and we look forward to sharing our passion with the world! https://thedirtlifestyle.com https://www.youtube.com/dirtlifestyle https://www.instagram.com/dirtlifestylenate/ https://www.facebook.com/dirtlifestylenate/

This is the video we discussed in the interview.

Must Have Stuff:

1Pair 5 Inch Round Led Driving Light 80W 8000LM 16pcs X 5W high intensity LED; Spot Beam ; Theoretical Lumens Output: 8000 Lm ; Color Temperature:is cool white Waterproof Rate:IP 68; Life Span: 50000+hours ; Housing use high-purity die-casting aluminum; Package included: 1 pair 80w LED driving light Please do not look directly into the light. These are extremely bright and can be used to steralized stupid people on or off road. At 160 watts for a pair you’re going to need a heavy duty wiring harness and make sure you don’t leave this on with the engine off.
You can find them at Amazon for $95