Tons of Jeeps Trek Through Breathtaking Italian Alps at Camp Jeep 2019
The Wheel Network beautifully captures the magic of Jeeps in their natural habitat at the world’s largest annual off-road gathering.
This year’s Camp Jeep took place July 14 through 16 in San Martino di Castrozza, Italy with the mighty Dolomoites mountain range as a backdrop. Geared towards the European Jeep Owner’s Group, the event is filled to the brim with off-road trips and shenanigans, off-road competitions, activities and prizes for kids and owners, and team-building exercises fill the itinerary. For three days, Jeep owners got the chance to bond, play, and camp with owners and enthusiasts from around the world. As an American, there was never a greater desire to be a European citizen. Watching Jeep owners traverse through the lush Italian forests as newly made friends and the scenery that befell the festival was a tease.
Thankfully, The Wheel Network captured the bewitching festivities on their YouTube channel. While there was a hefty amount of attention was paid to the Jeeps of the participants, the announcement of the new Gladiator ate up an equal amount of the spotlight. Even on the original Italian website for the event made a special announcement that they’d showcase and provide information or test drives of the new addition to the Jeep family. Though, the footage of the Gladiator’s special appearance came toward the end of the video. Before that, it was just a wholesome montage of people in their Jeeps bonding with their machines and fellow Jeepers.
San Martino di Castrozzo was the perfect place to host such an event, as there are endless roads drivers could test their vehicles (or, if they weren’t owners yet, test Jeeps) and skills. If the owner was new to the off-road world, there were specialists on-site to provide real-time lessons and tips. After a long day of trail blazing, Jeepers could count on coming back to camp to relax. Live music, amazing food and plenty of activities kept attendees busy. Prizes could be won (Jeep related, of course), or aftermarket parts could be bought from stands that had cool accessories to choose from.
Camp Jeep even held an awards ceremony for Jeeps that made appearances to the event. There was an award for oldest Jeep, newest Jeep, coolest Jeep chosen by the attending people, and coolest Jeep chosen by staff. On the very last day, Camp Jeep even offered Yoga sessions (or classes, in case there were people who weren’t familiar but curious). After all, two consecutive days of hard-core off-roading or playing tug-of-war against a Jeep Wrangler would make anyone sore.
And of course, came the star of the show: the Jeep Gladiator. It wouldn’t be a Jeep gathering if the chance to showcase the new kid on the block to a group of people who are the epitome of a target audience. The Gladiator is definitely a force to be reckoned with, as it is a vehicle that combines the capabilities of a Jeep Wrangler with the carrying capacity of a pickup truck. Though, the staple things that make a Jeep a Jeep remain intact. It’s designed to keep the freedom of the open air in mind with the traditional removable doors and drop-down windshield. Though, since the Gladiator only comes with a hard top, adjustments had to made — now, the roof can be removed. It’s not as open as the Wrangler, but it’s amazing that FCA kept what the people loved about Jeeps in mind.
Aside from telling folks about what makes the Gladiator so amazing, Camp Jeep allowed people to test drive one of two versions of the beast: a stock version, or a beefed up version that had a snorkel, a lift, tall tires, and a slew of other amazing upgrades.
The intent behind this was to show the Jeeple that either stock or modified, the Gladiator can and will be able to handle the obstacles that it’s designed to face. All while making it seem simple. After all, with a decent V6 making 285 hp and 210 ft. lbs of torque and a eight-speed automatic transmission or six-speed manual, it has plenty of power to crawl over rocks and cross all the rivers.
The video posted by The Wheel Network is four minutes of Jeeps doing Jeep things, and owners looking excited and mystified by the parts of the world they’re better able to see in their Jeep. Even though there’s little actually said in the video, the content said more than enough. People who own and take their Jeeps off-road are a down-to-earth, friendly breed of people. And in this day and age, that’s hard to find. Jeep on Jeepin’ on.
Photos: Screenshots
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