Jeep Africa, Will it Come to be?

[gfiero]

Hello all, my question was regarding the concept vehicle not anything else, sooo... take the other stuff to another stuff location ok. My interest is in a vehicle that will support me for 10 to 20 day trips off and away from roads and civilization. Sleeping inside is important to me as my back has not aged well. having room for a self contained toilet is also a consideration. The perfect vehicle for me would also include a pop top giving room to stand up in to change and stretch. The Ursa Minor and Flippac tops on jeep are a step in the right direction (imo) but leave a lot to be desired. both have manhole type access which does not appeal to me. I have looked at purchasing a used Troopy but if Jeep offered something then I have access to a large aftermarket with great support Locally. 4Wheel part warehouse is just a couple of miles away in Carson.

Spending two weeks in Death Valley, on the North rim or southern Utah is the kind of thing it would be used for. Trips in the planning stages are the emigrant trail, a Traverse of Nevada off road and the Back Country Byways, Specifically Idaho's.

I would prefer the diesel if I have a choice and a 35 gal plus fuel tank.

 

[kayadog]

Allpar has reported that one of the 4 tops offered on the new Wrangler will be a non-removable all steel top that is one step closer to the Africa concept and should also make XJ guys happier.

oops! I see this was already posted earlier in the thread!

 

[Frank]

I thought the Jeep Africa was really ugly personally and non-functional. Big time poser vehicle too. Let's put it this way, if they DO announce an Africa package, then every one would have it. Your next door neighbor would have it, a ************-mobile with jerry cans sitting on the front fender that NEVER get used. I bet half the people wouldn't even know what they were "Oh, those hold fuel??? I thought they were for drinking water. I've been letting the dog drink out of them! DOY!". The Africa concept would only be cool if you did it yourself as a one-off and had uniqueness to it, or if it was a limited edition ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)

Think Jeep Rubicon. I bet better than 75% of the Rubicon owners don't how to lock their lockers or what it even means to do so. I bet an even bigger percentage of Jeep owners in general never take their Jeep off more than a dirt road.

Will the Africa come to be? I anticipate a dealer installed package, much like AEV.

 

[squint]

I really apologize to the OP, but I feel I need to put in my two cents here since I know quite a lot about the FJ cruiser argument.

"A stock rubicon wrangler will not out wheel a stock fj cruiser."

Unfortunately, this is not a true statement. I love landcruisers as much as I do Jeeps, believe me (I am an "offroad fanboy" ). One of my all time favorite vehicles is the FJ45. One of my very good friends has an FJ cruiser with a locker/accu-track and he takes it out all the time with the Rubicons. In fact, I have wheeled with him over 25 times. We have done Terminator, Elvis, Charleau Gap, Sunflower mine, etc, etc- all fairly challenging trails in the grand scheme of things. The FJ driver is just as talented as the Jeep drivers and it always struggles compared to the Rubicons. There is one reason: independent front suspension vs sold straight axle. When you get into rock gardens and deep ruts, the FJ's wheels lift off the ground, gets tippy and loses traction. Even if he added a locker to the front to make things equal in that respect (and believe me a front locker adds a huge amount of traction in certain situations alone) it would still not be equal because of the IFS. I do love the quality of the FJs/Toyota and there are lots of good things to say about the brand. There are those who have converted their FJ Cruisers to SFA and I feel confident they would do everything a Jeep can with that modification, although I have never seen it in person. We have been able to get the FJ though lots of hard trails though(sometimes winching was necessary, and not just for the FJ). It is certainly a well built vehicle and no disrepect at all towards Toyota drivers in any way. When we are on the trail, we are always comparing various vehicles and strategies to driving off-road, but we never argue about vehicle brands. We are just a bunch of folks that love the challenge of the trails and the camaraderie of helping eachother as a team get through to the end. Some of the most fun on the trail is getting the vehicles though that don't have lockers. We don't make fun of those folks and sometimes I envy them for the challenge that they are able to take on and overcome. We all have the same interests. Embracing those commonalities should always be the focus in my humble opinion.

Now, onto the Jeep Africa concept. :drool: I absolutely love it. The rear-end over-hang reminds me of the "wagon look" of the LJ, CJ8, Defenders, Iron Pig etc. More overlander and less rock crawler. I would imagine that Jeep would do very well if they brought this to market and I would be forced to buy another 4 wheel drive. I have always like the functionality of the JK, but not necessarily the asthetics and this would be right up my alley.

 

[MTSN]

Once again, name a trail a rubicon will go an fj won't. You're not being logical .

Simply making it through a trail and making it through without body damage, carnage, winching, swearing, anxiety, etc. are COMPLETELY different things. Just because you can ride a motorcycle through a blizzard doesn't mean it's the same experience as going through with a Subaru on snow tires, so your argument is not logical. I've owned roughly the same number of Jeeps as Toyotas, and I like them equally for different reasons. You are entitled to whatever opinion you want, but the FJ or just about any other vehicle which costs less than $50k new is not as good off road stock as a Rubicon. There is so much objective reporting on the topic from magazines, op eds, user reviews, etc. it's really not even a defensible position. I haven't seen anyone in this thread be a Jeep fan boy whatsoever, but it's clear you have bias towards the Toyota and that is completely fine.

As for the Africa, I would be one of those people who would love to have one, and I think with a pop top similar what Ursa Minor does would be the ultimate overlanding vehicle. My only concern would be the price considering a loaded JKUR is already in the upper $40k range, but I am sure anything Jeep puts out for sale will be a hit with a lot of people. It seems Jeep has been moving in the right direction with the Wrangler since it offered the Rubicon in 2002, and I have no doubt they will continue to come up with cool stuff (albeit more slowly than we would like) in the future. The fact you can buy ready to go Dana 60s at your local dealership along with high top fender, lifts and beadlocks is mind blowing considering how back in the 90s if you put a sticker on your Jeep they would decline warranty coverage for "modification" it seemed.

 

[da10A]

I was once dreaming of the TJ Dakar concept that never saw production. But as already said might happen, the next model, our JK, came with with the optional 4 doors the Dakar had, which was what had most jeepers exited about that concept.

As for the JK versus FJ subject, there are plenty of videos and articles from unbiased magazines and journalists that give the victory to the JK SAHARA vs the FJ Cruiser hands down. So just imagine against a Rubicon.

I must admit however that I prefer the FJ Cruiser for the on road ride quality and exclusivity which are 2 things that are important to me. The suicide doors and the fact that I have kids is the only reason why I chose the JK instead. Having to open a front door to let somebody in or out was ridiculous to my wife and I at the time.

As for the exclusivity, I was lucky enough to find a triple Anvil JKU 10th anniversary with the red leather.

Cheers.

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[dwvninety]

Been there

Been there? But did you wheel it? It's like saying "I have been to Mount Everest" but it does not automatically means you've reached Mount Everest summit.

 

[Alphonse]

Having owned and wheeled both FJ and JKUR I can say the FJ is very capable but I had many mechanical issues and it inspired much less confidence off-road. The lack of suspension travel frequently kept a tire in the air and made things very scary at times. There is no doubt in my mind my JKUR was more capable stock than my FJ was stock and my JKUR has proven to be much more trouble free mechanically when pushed hard off-road. I owned both vehicles for about 5 years and wheeled them extensively in difficult trails.

Anyone who wants to debate this needs to own and wheel both for 5 years like I did and then post your experience here because I want to hear what you have to say then, lol

My modified 2007 FJ Cruiser with Factory Rear Locker









My modified 2011 JK Rubicon with Factory front and rear lockers:

 

[SulVento]

Just wow.

I was enjoying the early discussion in this thread until it was hijacked and taken completely off track with an IFS / SLA debate. Please gents, start your own thread.

 

[yaya]

I would certainly be interested in the Africa. All the benefits of what we love about the wrangler with the addition of more practical features for Overlanding. For me the big question is what happens to the payload figures?? Otherwise, the diesel obviously takes care of the rest.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Can't wait for Jeep to release the Africa so I bought the next best thing so I can make my own version

 

[kayadog]

That is great! Reminds me of the Alaskan postal CJ-8's I always admired.

I am really curious about what the steel top JL is going to look like. I hope it has removeable doors and something like the Freedom Panels. I never take the back of my hardtop off anyway and having a better mounting point for racks would be nice.

Edit: Looking at it closer I think it is an Alaskan Postal CJ-8.

 

[da10A]

Yeah, the JK soft top is such a design fail that I too decided to never use it again. It would be nice hower if there would be an option for the soft front portion like the new bestop front panel.

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[GetOutThere]

I thought the Jeep Africa was really ugly personally and non-functional. Big time poser vehicle too. Let's put it this way, if they DO announce an Africa package, then every one would have it. Your next door neighbor would have it, a ************-mobile with jerry cans sitting on the front fender that NEVER get used. I bet half the people wouldn't even know what they were "Oh, those hold fuel??? I thought they were for drinking water. I've been letting the dog drink out of them! DOY!". The Africa concept would only be cool if you did it yourself as a one-off and had uniqueness to it, or if it was a limited edition ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)

Ugly is subjective, but I'm curious how you found it "non-functional"?

As for everyone having one just to drive to the grocery store... Who cares? How is that at all relevant to the quality of the vehicle? Hell, the more they sell the better!

 

[da10A]

Ugly is subjective, but I'm curious how you found it "non-functional"?

As for everyone having one just to drive to the grocery store... Who cares? How is that at all relevant to the quality of the vehicle? Hell, the more they sell the better!

I agree completely, heck 90% of the guys here drive overbuilt jeeps just for looks when their stock jeeps could have taken them exactly to the same location. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Numerous jeeps for sale around here sport 3-4 inches of lift, 35-37 inch tires, snorkles, flat fender and the add almost always mention... Never offroaded!!!!!

I drive a 10th anniversary Rubicon and the only time I have used 4wd, is in a snow storm. The lockers I have used to make sure they dont seize up.... Way too much jeep for my use, but who's business is it anyway?!?

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