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What kind of vehicles do you guys all drive when your going hiking? Im thinking about investing in a 4wd high clearance Jeep or something of the sort so I could get to some places where I definitely couldnt get to with what Im driving now (73 mustang):) I saw a Jeep Grand Cherokee today for $2600 and I was thinking about checking it out. What "hiking vehicle" is easiest to drive and which gets the best gas mileage (even though I know most wouldnt be too fuel efficient.)

outdoor_lover wrote: ↑Aug 14 2024 6:49 pm The split second after he passed, I felt a major blow to the front end, like I had hit something.

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Has anybody ever had this happen? I'm thinking it was a perfect moment between the high winds and the semi pushing air in front of him. The effect when that semi passed me was really concussive.

Yes, this is common, vehicles produce a air wave, and big trucks produce a bigger air wave than small cars. I haven't had one pop my hood open, but it usually does buffet the vehicles noticeably when passing on single lane roads. After you get the initial push away it tends to suck the vehicles toward each other. Glad you were able to pull off, and I agree with Chums - check your hood latch sensor.

@outdoor_lover

Yikes! Other friends have experienced that, but I've thankfully never been there at the time. I don't like those wind blasts from fast-moving trucks, especially when there's already a heavy cross wind blowing.

@chumley @nonot @big_load Well I tested it this morning and the dummy light works just fine. And it's not just a dummy light, it's a BIG dummy light. And I played with the hood a bit to see if I could soft close it to where it appeared to be closed, but I could yank it open and the dummy light still stayed on. But when I'm under the hood, I always give it a really good yank after I close it to make sure, because I keep a bar of soap just under the hood. The hood keeps it in place. Not sure if I actually saw the dummy light first or the partially open shaking hood. That was over 2 months ago, and it all happened very very fast. I'm just thankful the safety latch held or I wouldn't have even been able to pull over. There were those reflective delineator posts about every 20 feet along the shoulder (probably for snow) so I couldn't just instantly pull off or I would have hit those.

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@outdoor_lover I've always wondered about signs and such from yesteryear that just seem to live forever despite the vocabulary having long-since been retired from common use. Has anybody used the word "ajar" in a spoken sentence in the last 50 years? Lavatory? Let's move on from the 1920s, shall we?

@chumley
i must be really dense, because you lost me, unless you're referring to my use of the term "dummy light"?

@outdoor_lover your light says "hood ajar". It's used in vehicles all the time besides being an antiquated term.

@chumley Ok, I guess I didn't think anything of it because I play a lot of online Scrabble. So I see and use "ajar" a lot. What does your truck say?

outdoor_lover wrote:What does your truck say?

To me? Mostly just "shut up and quit bitching about dumb feces".

chumley wrote:Has anybody used the word "ajar" in a spoken sentence in the last 50 years? Lavatory? Let's move on from the 1920s, shall we?

On the way to the lavatory he noticed the bonnet on his Range Rover was ajar.

@outdoor_lover
Glad your hood latch seems working properly. I did remember since my original post that on a drive to the south rim, into a 60mph gusting headwind, I passed by a truck going the other way (also a 2 lane road) and it ended up blowing out a roof seal on my truck (around the roof rack/above the door). A hood de-latching would be scarier.

Might be some fake news in here but word on the street is Stellantis is in trouble and has halted production of the Jeep Wrangler etc. Sounds like the REI CEO's aren't the only morons out there.

RedRoxx44 wrote: ↑Sep 12 2024 6:02 pm Might be some fake news in here but word on the street is Stellantis is in trouble and has halted production of the Jeep Wrangler etc. Sounds like the REI CEO's aren't the only morons out there.

Yeah, Wrangler sales suddenly nosedived. I'd take one if they were giving them away with Happy Meals, but I couldn't really justify owning a second off -road vehicle.

No too surprising if it's true. Jeeps are an absolute money pit, even if new. People are probably getting tired of them breaking down or being in the shop constantly. My Grand Cherokee constantly had trouble. Thank God for a warranty or I'd gotten rid of way earlier than I did and as soon as the warranty was up, I most certainly got rid of it.

I've had pretty good luck with my earlier Jeeps. My 91 Wrangler I did some hard off roading in it; broke leaf springs in Death Valley, broke a motor mount at Warner Springs outside of San Diego, had the steering go out in it and the transmission seal blow out in it, and tipped it on it's side once. Always got home. Had a regular Jeep Cherokee and I always liked it because it had a relatively narrow profile, good for mining roads. Did have to have it towed by a friend once because put a hole in the radiator in the back country. This Jeep I have now has been pretty good, got it with 7K on it and now has over 70K, I have spent a lot of money on mods for it to get it to where I want it.
I can beat up on Toyotas too. My 07 FJ broke the front shock in the middle of nowhere and got it home, granted with a notable side lean. Broke a rear shock later. Then sheared off the motor mount from the frame again near Death Valley. Dinged the underside several places in Parashant. Just all having some fun.

@RedRoxx44
For all the miles you've done, that's not bad.

I grew up a mile away from the Jeep factory and my high school was a prep school for working the assembly line over at Jeep. So I know what kind of people build Jeep, lots of them come from my alma mater. Let's just say attention to detail and professionalism wasn't a skill most of my classmates picked up before they started working there. Add in healthy use of recreational drugs, prescription meds for back pain all washed down with alcohol and that is the guy making your Jeep. One local news station did an undercover story once about Jeep workers. Followed them on their lunch break. It was impressive how much beer and weed they could consume in a 45 minute lunch.

Who was at Peralta yesterday?

chumley wrote:Has anybody used the word "ajar" in a spoken sentence in the last 50 years?

When is a door not a door?
When it's.... ;-)

Subaru Tops Charts, While Rivian and Jeep Hit Bottom: 2024 Consumer Reports Auto Report Card.

@Pivo
I've always thought that the initial quality surveys are pointless. I guess, technically, they're not pointless because if you're an automaker that can't solve making a brand new car work, then I guess that's a significant problem.

But of far more interest to me is customer satisfaction surveys for vehicles that are more than 3 or 5 years old. How reliable is the vehicle after it's driven 50,000 miles? 100,000?