(Ok, I know this isn’t an actual Waggy... but I liken it to the next-closest thing in a semi-modern form. At least, that’s how I’ve made it to be.)
To many, the WJ Grand Cherokee is a throw-away vehicle. Most examples you’ll see on the road are on their 8th owners, have a value similar to a nice dinner for two at Applebee’s, and are in such appalling condition it can be a true testament to reliability in the face of absolute neglect. Either that, or they’re beat to hell as purpose-built off-roaders. Think of them as the muddy equivalent of a JDM drift missile.
That’s not to say my example, a 2003 Overland, is perfect. Far from it. But I do my best to keep it as nice as can be and modify to fit my needs when repairs become necessary.
Four years into my ownership, of which I’m somehow only the third to grace the Carfax, this little Jeep keeps surprising me. It may not be worth much in the monetary sense, or even in the physical sense to most, yet until I decide to call it quits and order a new Gladiator, I can’t think of a vehicle that personifies ‘me’ more than this Onyx Green box on BFGs. In fact, I’ve bought three cars since the wanna-be Waggy, all with the intention of replacing the old girl. None matched the usability of the WJ and found new homes.
This past weekend, I really put it to the rest when a surprise last-minute invite to the 2020 Rooftop Tent Rally at James River State Park in Virginia. I’d already decided to leave the city for the weekend and head for the mountains to go mountain biking with my Dad. A coworker had also invited me to ride dual sports on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Since loading either the moto or the mountain bike requires using a hitch mount, this was already turning out to be a challenge.
But then the invite came- wanna go camp for three days at an overland convention? Sure, sounds fun. But two days before departure, I now had to figure out how to Tetris three days’ worth of camping gear where the weather promises to be both cold/rainy and ideal/warm, a dual suspension 29” mountain bike (fitted vertically, no less) and all the associated gear, AND a motorcycle and it’s gear. I wasn’t sure I could make it all work.
After driving over 1100mi and toting enough gear for ALL the fun things, this old Jeep provided nothing but leather-lined, mile-munching comfort, off-road capabilities when the road ended in a soggy field, and enough storage capacity for 5 days and 3 activities’ worth of crap (with plenty of surplus room, I might add, not including the unused roof). And those glorious V8 sounds still netted me over 18mpg for the entire trip.
Sure, it may not be as desirable or worth as much as a Waggy (or any more than the motorcycle or mountain bike it often hauls, sadly). It’s certainly not new, and will certainly be needy for the rest of its life. And it can even be a love-hate relationship at times.
But I just can’t help being surprised that this nearly 20yr old product of ‘old Jeep’ is still hanging in there, and is more usable than many of its contemporaries, to boot.
It’s the old dog teaching me new tricks, this time.