"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges."

My trail rated badges come from trees and rocks.

:-)

There is no "trail rated" badge on my Willys pickup. Yes, a stupid gimmick. Especially considering that 95% of the Jeeps sold nowadays will never leave the paved road, much less be shifted into 4WD.

Best regards, Dave Rose Cactus Cowboy Big Wonderful Wyoming '49 Willys Pickup (parts truck) '62 Willys Pickup 4WD 226 '98 XJ Sport O|||||||O

Well, it could be useful if it had a little foldout handle and could be easily detached for frying the morning bacon. Other than that, it reminds me too much of the garish foot tall letters of the Mopars of the late 60's announcing to every cop on the planet that you were driving a hot rod.

I must take issue with your assertment that Jeeps sold now days will never leave the paved road. It might be true that sometimes the first owners will keep them shiny, but eventually a teenage kid will acquire them and then they will go off and have fun in them. My kids are going through their teens and they and thier friends do this a lot.

Also, as the owner of a 49 pickup I am saddened that you are using a perfectly good 49 as parts. This points out something else that makes me take issue with all the 'these jeeps are driven by posers' yak. Today's grocery getter will be worth a lot to us true practicioniers in 30 to 40 years, Let the soccer mom baby sit the heap of spare parts for now. Think of all the free storage we are getting in the suburbs of America.

I have four badges on mine (and one in the back), each about 33" across.

Steve

Steve writes:

I had a couple of those type of badges, too -- got a little too intimate with a couple of trees. Bent both bumpers and the left-front fender flare. I've replaced them, though, so no more badges 'til next time.

Scotty '99 TJ Sahara 4.0L I-6 '99 XJ Sport 4.0L I-6 '03 BMW Z4

*** CAUTION: Reading this reply may make you drowsy ***

I have a 01 TJ without the "Trail Rated Badge". I guess this is why I'm spending big bucks to make it off road worthy. Gee, if only they had that badge. Stupid? YES!

Andy

Wow, talk about the long-term view. ;)

B

Hello John,

I'm in the car business. My comment about most Jeeps not being used off road is based on what people tell me and what I see. "95%" highway/town use is an educated guess. When I appraise vehicles as potential trade-ins, I test the 4WD in gravel behind the dealership. You'd be amazed at how many customers state that they'd "never used" 4WD. (At least they didn't suffer the shame and embarassment of driving a minivan). :-) For the majority of Jeep buyers, the Trail-Rated badge is meaningless.

I'm not sure how you got the impression that my '49 Willys pickup is "perfectly good", and deserving a higher use than as a parts truck. In fact, the frame and firewall are badly butchered from a PO trying to stuff an Olds 350V8 and automatic transmission in the truck. A very crude and dangerous SOA conversion was done on the front axle. The rear spring shackles were 'extended' by booger-welding steel plates onto them. Many parts are missing. The grille is from a later model truck. The vehicle is far from complete or correct for the model year. Here's a photo of my '49:

And photos of my '62:

Best regards, Dave Rose Cactus Cowboy Big Wonderful Wyoming '49 Willys Pickup (parts truck) '62 Willys Pickup 4WD 226 '98 XJ Sport O|||||||O

OK, as long as we're on the subject:

everyone needs a hobby...) Capt. Purple

Nice. If I wrote a spoof it might include:

Officer: Let me see your badge. Ben: You don't need to see his badge. Officer: We don't need to see his badge. Ben: He can go about his business. Officer: You can go about your business. Ben: Move along. Officer: Move along. Move along.

-Muuurgh