When you own a Jeep Wrangler, every other Jeep Wrangler owner in the world is your friend.
No kidding. And this camaraderie is identified by something called “the Jeep Wave”.
It’s all in good fun.
Warning: Owning, registering, insuring, or driving a Jeep implies knowledge of and intent to abide by the following rules, regulations, and guidelines. Failure to obey the letter or spirit of the rules may result in your being ignored by other Jeep owners as you sit along the side of the road next to your stalled vehicle in a blizzard surrounded by Saturns, Yugos, and Hyundais.
— Jeep Nation
The Jeep Wave Rules
Apparently, there’s a whole “Jeep hierarchy” where the Jeep hand wave is based on things like:
- The model year of your Jeep
- Whether your Jeep is a daily driver or an offroad monster
- And other classic Jeep or nostalgic factors
But, to be honest, most of us don’t pay so much attention to those things — we just wave.
That said, if you take your Jeep (and all that you’ve “done” to it) seriously, then you’ll appreciate the defining characteristics of who should wave first — and why. It’s quite comical, really.
Here’s the official Jeep Wave Calculator.
I, for one, do the Jeep Wave simply for the sake of being social — regardless of the type of Jeep Wrangler I’m passing.
Why Don’t All Jeep Drivers Wave?
While I tend to wave to all Jeep Wrangler owners indiscriminately, I’ve started to notice an interesting trend…
More times than not, I just get a blank stare whenever I wave at the “new” Jeep Wrangler owners out there.
It seems that the masses who have jumped on board in recent years to buy “a cool new Jeep” (like the new 4-door Wranglers) just don’t really seem to “get it”. And by “it” I mean pride for the Jeep name, knowledge of the Wrangler’s abilities both on and off-road, and what it means to be a loyal Jeep owner. Either that, or they simply have no interest in being part of the worldwide fraternity of Jeepers.
Since most Jeep Wrangler owners wave freely out of pure respect for the fellow Jeep owner, I’m hoping that the newest graduating classes of Jeep Wrangler drivers out there will quickly come around and show some mutual respect for both the Jeep name and fellow Jeepers.
Otherwise, you’ll be sorry. (Remember that “warning” above?)
In the end, there’s no friend like a Jeep friend — whether you know ’em (or even like ’em) or not!
When it comes to other Jeeps, I only wave if they look like “Jeeper Jeeps” and not just “owner” Jeeps. There is a difference … I guess what has happened with the wave is two things — the recent influx of new Jeep types and owners who either don’t know or don’t care about the Jeep lifestyle, and; selective waving to only those Jeeps that appear to get used for what a Jeep was meant. Which incidentally is a direct result of D/C [Daimler-Chrysler] expanding on non-traditional Jeep designs aimed more at the street than the trail … I find that in general the wave has been dying a slow death. A lot of Jeepers won’t wave at stock Jeeps. But then again, the wave in its true inception had to do with the sharing of kudos between diehards as they passed along a road or trail.
~ All Things Jeep
Do Drivers Of Other Vehicles Have “A Wave”?
I’ve always wondered if other vehicle owners do something similar as the Jeep Wave.
I believe the answer is Yes.
Yesterday, I spotted a Mini Cooper driver waving to another Mini Cooper driver. Then I learned that there is indeed a Mini Cooper wave.
And I’ve also spotted drivers in Hummers giving the “Hi” sign to other Hummer drivers.
And of course, motorcyclists wave to one another all the time. Hubby and I have a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and we frequently go on long-distance trips on the bike. Motorcyclists (with all brands of bikes) definitely do wave to one another. As with the Jeep Wave, there is a motorcycle wave protocol as well. (Just for fun, check out these top 10 reasons for not waving to other bikers.)
Don’t ya love it?
{{Jeep Waves}} to all!
Here’s how to determine your Jeep Wave score — to see where you fall in the hierarchy.
And here’s a fun video explaining the Jeep Wave:
Since we’ve been married, my husband and I have owned 5 Jeeps (3 Wranglers and 2 Grand Cherokees). And when we’re not driving our own Jeep, we’re usually renting one (a 4×4 Wrangler on vacation). We keep a Jeep Bucket List of places that we’d like to go next, and we're always crossing more states off our list of 'Places That We’ve Jeeped in the USA'. As our daily driver, we keep the soft top on our Jeep Wrangler year round (and the back window permanently rolled up) so the dogs can enjoy the ride. Yep… even in the winter! I've been sharing my best Jeep ideas with others by blogging full-time since 1998. When I’m not Jeeping or writing about Jeeps, you'll find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites).
