Gladiator may be the best Jeep to tow with, but this Wrangler Unlimited is a bonafide, thrill-seeking riot!
Part of what makes the Jeep Wrangler so enjoyable is the pleasure it gives other people. Several years ago, we gave a couple of friends their first off-road experience inside a two-door Wrangler Willys. In early 2018, we put a smile on the faces of dozens of Jeep owners when we showed up to the Austin JeepPeople Polar Bear Run in a JL Wrangler Unlimited Sport. This video of a Wrangler driver pulling a thrill-seeker behind them goes pretty quickly, but we’re guessing the person on the sled is grinning from ear to ear, too.
We found this bit of winter frivolity on the Instagram page of a user named Adam Pfeifer who goes by the screen name oh_that_1_dude (click here to read what we wrote about his badass built Jeep).
The footage opens on a gray Wrangler Unlimited rounding a snowy curve through a forest covered in white. The closer it gets to the camera, the easier it is to see that the JKU – like 99.9 percent of all Wranglers – has some mods on it, including aftermarket wheels and tires and auxiliary lighting.
Those are pretty standard sights on Wranglers out in the wild. One thing you usually don’t see on a Wrangler is the red strap this one has. One end of it is attached to the Jeep; the other end is being held by a gutsy thrill-seeker. They’re getting a ride over the snow that’s more intense than riding doors-off and windshield-down. All that’s keeping them from ripping the back of their jeans on the icy surface under them is the plastic of a blue saucer sled.
It does its job, allowing just the right amount of slide. And the Wrangler does one of the things it does so well: bring happiness to more than just the person driving it.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
