There's no doubt, Jeeps are great vehicles, when they're not having problems. The workmanship isn't there, but in my opinion Nissan is lagging in workmanship as well. My best friend's '91 Wrangler was an absolute monster off-road with just BFG AT/KO's and no other mods. The super low gears and short wheel base are a pretty nice combination on the trail. Unfortunately, it died at 90k miles, where my Tacoma went almost 250k, and the guy who bought it said he has 300k+ now and it still drives like a champ!

Of course, so much of what a truck does or can do is up to the driver. In the Mojave desert, SCCX was held up due to a breakdown, and a few trucks were blocking a trail. A guy in a modified Jeep tried to take a bypass. He spun his tires and could not gain traction on this easy but loose hill, and could not get up it. I told him he should put it into 2nd and then try, since he was obviously overtorqued. He grumbled that he knew what the hell he was doing, and I think he was pissed that our "soccer mom mobiles" were blocking the trail. He finally gave up and we moved all the X's off the trail for him.

I've done the same thing, in a Land Rover D90. Tried to go up a hill that was no problem in my Tacoma, just put it in 1st and go. In the Landy, I got half way up and spun tires, lost all traction. I backed down the hill, tried again, and the same thing happened. I couldn't figure it out, until I put it in to 3rd (!) and the Rover went up like it was born to do it. Again, driver error. That guy you came upon on the trail had that same problem; his Jeep had not become an extension of his feet yet.

Jeeps really were a godsend to the 4WD community, without them, there would be no 4WD community. They've had more influence on our hobby than any other vehicle. Throughout their history, they've been affordable, and until very recently, nearly bulletproof.

And in the hands of someone like Jason "Loop Choke", they can do some amazing stuff. Dude knows how to drive.