JK Forums Run at moab
Brian “ College Boy” Gabriel
Jeep has done a fantastic job over the
years in its product development and
keeping the interest of their customers. When Kaiser owned the brand they
developed the CJ5 to accommodate
more leg and head room for drivers
and passengers. The AMC CJ5 added
a nose to fit the AMC 258 I-6 motors.
When consumers wanted more cargo
room the CJ7s and CJ8 Scramblers
began rolling off of the line. Soon
after came fuel injection with the YJ’s
and coil suspension in 1997 when TJ’s
hit the market. All through the years
though, the Jeep was still the most
recognizable vehicle on the road, even
your grandmother who knows nothing
about cars can point out a Jeep as it
drives down the road. The same boxy,
nimble platform had been maintained.
In 2007 I can remember driving by a
Jeep dealership near home, spitting
coffee all over the dash of my CJ7, and
then nearly driving into the guard
rail. I was repulsed at what I saw in the
parking lot. What was this new “Wrangler” that Jeep had come up with?
“They must be joking…” I thought to
myself. Shortly after that I was on a
trail ride where the first brave soul
had his brand new bone stock 2 door
JK out in the woods at the Rock Run
offroad, park deep in the mountains
of Patton, Pennsylvania. Most of the
trails at Rock Run had only been cut in
the last two years prior and still had
some over growth, not only that, but
they were NARROW! This new wider
platform was going to prove to be a
challenge on most of the loc