Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion 2024!

I went to the Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion in Pigeon Forge last weekend and made this video. It was a pretty good time, but as you can see, the traffic was insane. They claimed 65k Jeeps were there last year. I bet there were as many this year. There were some pretty cool rides there, but mostly pavement princess type of builds. I was surprised to see so few older Jeeps. I only saw 1 Jeep Comanche the whole time.

I've always wanted to get me Jeep, are the new ones worth a damn. My dad used to have a Cherokee Chief when I was a teenager and I drove the hell out of it, almost bought a Renegade right before COVID that seemed like a good deal. Now I'm so glad I didn't

a reply to: putnam6

My sister has a newer Jeep. Seems pretty nice, but I'd rather have an old one. Hers turns off whenever you stop, like at a redlight. A lot of cars do that now, just seems annoying to me. I just don't think the price is worth it for a brand new one.

originally posted by: TheInvisibleRedneck
a reply to: putnam6

My sister has a newer Jeep. Seems pretty nice, but I'd rather have an old one. Hers turns off whenever you stop, like at a redlight. A lot of cars do that now, just seems annoying to me. I just don't think the price is worth it for a brand new one.

Yeah, I agreed last time I seriously looked at an actual Jeep was in the late 80s, and wound up getting a Chevy Blazer, good thing that a year and a half later we had our first kid and 16 months after that we had another.

do these guys 4-wheel, and rock climb, with these Jeeps, or just show them off on the street?

Looks like a lot of street pounders to me, but I didn't watch the whole video, so I could be mistaken.

I have no use for on-road...Jeeps.

Hi

I had a Suzuki 413 (hard top).
This was about 22 years ago.

Did I have a licence?.
Nope.
Did I care?
Nope.

I loved that jeep, i even tried to topple it but that wouldnt happen.
I only tried because Id read on the the INFANET that they are prone to topping on their sides.

Loved it untill I blew the big end.
Should have fixed that oil leak.

We are recent Jeep converts. We bought a used one last year for hubby (we call it the ‘Juck’ because it’s one of those 4 doors and a truck bed like you see in the video), and it was love at first drive! Now I want to trade in my 2018 Honda CR-V for a Jeep. They’ve discontinued the Jeep Cherokee as of last April, and that’s what I want. One for play and one for hauling groceries and stuff. 😁

a reply to: putnam6

Congrats.

I like the 80s models, probably because my first truck was a comanche. Loved that truck

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Most will never seen dirt. There were a few with some super swampers on them.

a reply to: alwaysbeenhere2

A lot of people trying to get those suzukis now. They found out then can build a good 4x4 with them.

a reply to: LollieK3

Is that a gladiator? I love them. If I were to get one, it would be one of those.

a reply to: TheInvisibleRedneck

Nice video ! S/F

a reply to: TheInvisibleRedneck

Yes! A Mojave. Prefect blend of a jeep and a truck. Hubby no longer uses my poor car to haul dirt and straw, boards, bricks, etc.

We can still 4-wheel in the mountains, and drives like a dream on the highway.

Do any of you jeep owners do the ducks and wave?

I was into Jeeps pretty hardcore back in the early '90's right when the first YJ's came out. Spent a lot to time building that Jeep up into a serious off-road 4-wheeler. Went to a lot of 4WD competitions with it, even won a few in my class. Wound up building it to the point it wasn't really suitable for on-road use; it was still legal on the road, but with all the suspension and drive train modifications it wasn't real pleasant to ride long distances in. Trailered it to most of the competitions. Had a CJ-8 before that (Scrambler, which is similar to the Mojave now). Wish I would have held onto that one. Had it built up pretty well also.

The real beauty of a Jeep is the short wheelbase; that will get you into and out of most places other 4x4's won't go. The trade-off is wintertime performance. Every "J" series Jeep owner quickly learns that a Jeep has no idea which end is the front...and on ice they're just as happy going backwards, sideways, spinning in circles or any other direction but front facing the direction of travel. It just goes with the territory.

Unfortunately, Jeep quality has gone downhill over the past couple of decades. They fixed some of the issues when they came out with the Rubicon editions, but the departure away from the venerable and bulletproof 4.0L straight 6 (I-6) engine was a huge mistake IMO. Finding older "J" series Jeeps in decent condition anymore is pretty difficult. But the good news is, there is now a huge aftermarket for the Cherokees and if properly built they can actually make a pretty nice off-road 'wheelin' rig. I've been tempted a few times to buy one of the older square Cherokees from the 90's (and there's a billion of them out there) and make a rock crawler out of it.

Probably could have done that instead of going on the cruise. Would have been more relaxing too! LOL! (inside joke from another post).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

My Comanche had a 4cyl that was awesome, but I wanted the inline 6 so bad. I like the new jeeps, buy I prefer the older ones. I think it probably has to so with the new ones being made more for comfort, soccer mom style. They older ones just seem more rugged and durable.