Jeep Invasion

[Jim]

Left Franklin NC yesterday morning and drove over to Pigeon Forge TN. If you've never made this trip, let me tell you, it has it's moments. US 441S curves its way up/down through the mountains, providing wonderful views and thrilling moments while navigating a 40' motor home with Jeep in tow The road is all of 8' wide and has curves so tight that I swear there were times I could look in the side window of my toad.

There are several tunnels to go through and it seemed my eyes didn't adjust to the darkness until I was almost out the other side. Inches separate you from the cars coming the other way, and I said a little prayer of thanks when I found myself dropped off on the streets of Pigeon Forge.

We are here for the Jeep Invasion, which is the weekend when thousands of Jeep's descend on the small town of Pigeon Forge. The LeConte Center is host to Jeep aftermarket vendors and the streets are filled with both stock as well as modified Jeeps of every year. We found our spot at Camp Rivers Landing and squeezed into our space. It's tight but we're not spending a lot of time around the coach anyway, so it's OK.

Time for a shower and something to eat, and then we're off to have some fun!

 

[Jim]

This is where we are staying. Man, it is tight in here. There is only a couple of feet between the neighbors septic hookup and our picnic table. But, there is good access to everything in Pigeon Forge so that's what their selling.

On Friday night they're shutting the entrance down for 3 hrs and everyone at the park is invited to free burgers and beer at the pavilion. That should be fun.

 

[MapNerd]

Looks fine to me. I’ve seen way worse! Now go have some fun and bring back pictures of cool Jeeps!

 

[Jim]

Looks fine to me. I’ve seen way worse! Now go have some fun and bring back pictures of cool Jeeps!

Well come on over @MapNerd, I'm sure we can cram you in between me and the 5th wheel next door!

 

[whereRVapp]

I don’t get too worried about septic that close, it’s the fire pits that worry me.

But the Jeep event sounds like a great time! Enjoy the burgers and brews.

 

[Jim]

I don’t get too worried about septic that close, it’s the fire pits that worry me.

But the Jeep event sounds like a great time! Enjoy the burgers and brews.

Yeah, I get it. But when you have to sit in your neighbors lot to watch your own outdoor TV, then their just to damn close.

 

[Tjdave]

Jeeps. I love Jeeps! If we weren't on the West Coast, we would love to be there. Have a great time.

 

[Jim]

Here's a couple pics from the Jeep Invasion today. I took a bunch of pics but it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the RV park for me to upload them now. So I'll upload them to my Google account when I get home next week.

 

[MapNerd]

Man, maybe I need to get a Gladiator in light of all of the concern about flat towing an F-150. Can anyone give me a shot of the rear cab? How much room is back there?

 

[Tjdave]

Man, maybe I need to get a Gladiator in light of all of the concern about flat towing an F-150. Can anyone give me a shot of the rear cab? How much room is back there?

I have a molle bag hanging behind driver's seat and a first aid kit on the floor. Both the wife and I like our seats back pretty far, even though we ar both 5'8". Not as much as the old crew cab PU, but 3 grandkids have never complained. 2 are full sized humans now!

 

[MapNerd]

Thanks @Tjdave. That amount of space actually doesn’t look much different from what the Cherokee offers us now unfortunately. The problem is that my daughter is still in a full blown car seat - She’s almost 8 but she’s tiny and ditching the car seat is all about weight. Unfortunately that huge Recaro car seat pushes her little behind about 4 inches up and 5 inches forward and then when I or my wife sit in the passenger seat, we have to stow our knees in the glove compartment. The boy (9) is on a booster seat which pushes him up, but not forward its not so bad for him.

 

[Akdare]

Our Gladiator is sitting in the driveway; lemme know if you need any measurements...we really like it, but the biggest thing we’ve had in the backseat is our 85lb dog...

 

[Jim]

The burgers and beer were great, so was the entertainment (Rocky Yelton and the Hired Guns). They closed off the entrance to the park and everyone gathered around in the street. I think the key to successful entertainment is to make sure the audience has had ample brew. But hey, what do I know.

And when I wasn't paying attention, this young man tried to pick up my wife. I have to admit, he had some smooth moves. . .

 

[Gizmo]

I would just grab you car seats and head to Jeep dealer and install them. I'm no fan of the Gladiator looks and longer wheelbase but do like my Jeep Rubicon. I will say that my Rubicon doesn't ride as good as our Grand Cherokee but not as rough as our Ford 1 ton diesel.

 

[Jim]

lol, we got "ducked" today!

#duckingjeeps

 

[Jim]

At the Jeep Invasion, "Green Jeep's Only" meet and greet!

 

[Jim]

Major bummer for Rex today. The lots here are pretty uneven, so the nose of the RV is just about to the point of the tires being off the ground. So when he jumped out of the coach, he buggered up his leg. Now he's limping around and we're feeling bad. He's 10 so these are the kind of things we try to make sure don't happen. But it was 2:00 in the AM, raining and I was asleep when I let him out.

So now I'm lowering the front of the coach when when he needs to go out. Sure giving the auto leveler a workout.

 

[FLSteve]

We have been staying at the KOA in Townsend just south of you and I have never seen more Jeep wranglers in one place at the same time in my life. And that includes Ouray, CO and Moab, UT. For every non-Jeep on the road there must of been 10 Wranglers ... and no one missed doing the "Jeep Wave". I think I finally just stuck my hand out the window and left it in the up position.

FLSteve