by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
Whether it is expressed with candy, flowers, gifts, jewelry, or some other special trinket, love is always in the air come February 14th each year.
And while the whole thing isn’t, say, as extravagant as Christmas as far as gift giving, your Jeep wants you to know it still would like to be on your Valentine’s Day list.
After all, it does do a lot of the heavy lifting for you all year, right? Gets you around to all your destinations. Allows you to have open-air fun on nice weather days. Loves playing in the mud, dirt and rocks just as much as you do.
So instead of just driving around in your Jeep this Valentine’s Day like it was just any other day, make sure and show your vehicle some love.
Here are some top things you can do for your Jeep to make sure it knows how much you care.
Lighting
Maybe it is some auxiliary lighting like the Carnivore 3-inch Cube LEDs, or perhaps it is finally swapping out those dingy factory halogen headlights, but giving your Jeep a nice, new set of glasses for Valentine’s Day is definitely a nice treat.
Not only do LED headlights have a better light output and less battery draw, but they also throw a more accurate beam that is closer to actual daylight, are safer and make for less driver eye strain than current factory halogen headlights. Plus, LED headlights have an almost unlimited lifespan.
Plus, these lights are more affordable than ever. LED lighting has taken the mantle from halogen and really pushed the envelope as far as quality and functionality. And it is not just for headlights either. LED lighting can be found in taillights, fog lights, and even windshield hinge-mounted auxiliary lighting – meaning you have all kinds of options to give your Jeep something it really wants this Valentine’s Day.
Floor Liners
Just like a nice shirt or dress makes for a good Valentine’s Day gift, so does highly protective floor liner protection like Quadratec's Ultimate Floor Liners.
See, the carpeting inside your Jeep is pretty durable right from the factory and can handle a lot of traffic — or whatever Mother Nature can throw at it when the weather outside isn’t the best.
But just because your carpeting has those features doesn’t mean you should constantly put them to the test. Like anything else, the more you expose that carpeting to the elements, the faster it shortens the product’s lifespan.
So for Valentine’s Day, help keep your Jeep’s carpeting looking honeymoon fresh with a nice set of those durable floor liners. They simply fit over the existing carpet in the driver and passenger footwell, and are also available for back passenger floor coverage as well as cargo area protection. What that means is most exposed carpeting areas now will have a ‘shield’ designed to really keep just about anything off it; rain, mud, dirt, gum. Anything. Not to mention, liners will also keep your feet from rubbing against the carpeting and prematurely wearing out the material.
Also, floor liners these days are not just some generic overlay that sits in place and covers the carpeting. Most liners are now custom-designed to exactly fit your specific vehicle’, and are available in a multitude of materials like rubber, thermoplastic and high-density tri-extruded—as well as carpeting—that all are able to trap and hold water or debris in place. Plus, they are simple to remove and clean when needed, making things much easier than continually removing drain plugs to get water out of the vehicle. Or breaking out that scrub brush to attack muddy carpet stains.
Seat Covers
Just like floor liners protect your Jeep’s carpeting, so do seat covers for your seats. And why not treat those seats to a nice, soothing, cover-up this Valentine’s Day. Maybe something like a comfortable pair of Diver Down covers.
After all, the deeper we get into this year, the more you probably plan to keep the top off the vehicle and enjoy some nice weather. So, throwing on protective seat covers is the perfect way to protect against any issues that can easily harm those seats.
For example, even though we wish it could be sunny and nice all year long, it is bound to rain at some point. When it does, your seats could be in danger of water damage if that top is off the vehicle. Additionally, sunlight itself can harm the seats over time and cause the material to fade or dry out.
So whether your Valentine’s Day seat cover choice is weather absorbing and comfortable neoprene, highly breathable polycotton, easy-to-clean ballistic nylon, vinyl, or great looking and soft leatherette, these covers will allow your Jeep seats to last longer and give you a little more insulation for the ride. Not only that, but covers are also easy to remove and clean when needed.
Cleaners, Polishers, and Protectants.
Your Jeep isn’t so different than anyone else on this Valentine’s Day. It wants to look nice and sharp. And, really, it isn’t tough to accomplish once you get some Jeep cleaner, polishers and protectants.
It really is never a bad idea to give your vehicle a good once-over or two. But this time of year, around Valentine’s Day, it is perhaps the best time of all because the winter season can be hard on a Jeep. Snow and mud, and other kinds of road grime build up if not addressed, not to mention salt, and or other chemicals.
So as Valentine’s Day begins the turn, hopefully, for a bit of some warmer weather, draw that Jeep a nice bath and power washers all the grime away with a good cleaning using products like Mother's wash, sprays and polishers. They pretty much have everything you need to take your car from winter dullness to Valentine’s Day fresh.
If you can’t, or don’t want to, wash your Jeep at home, then take the vehicle to any nearby self-wash location. Touchless car wash locations are ok, but why leave things to chance when taking that trip down a conveyor belt. Why not make sure that you get the vehicle as clean as possible going into warmer weather.
Additionally, get all the trash out of the vehicle that you never had time to remove over the past few winter months, and take out any floor liners you have and spray them off to remove all the mud, salt and other debris.
Those with soft tops should pick up some Bestop Cleaner, Fabric Protectant and Vinyl Window Cleaner and make sure that soft top looks as good as new headed into the Spring. Constant winter temperature changes and grime can quickly aggravate that soft top fabric, so utilizing Bestop's protectant can extend the life of your soft top. Also, soft top plastic windows are easily scratched and can get cloudy, so spending a bit of time on those with a vinyl cleaner will get them looking just like new.
Wheels
There are many out there planning to pop open a box of nice jewelry for their Valentine this year. And, well, your Jeep likes nice jewelry too, but not in the ring, earrings, or shiny necklace sense. More like a nice new set of alloy wheels sense. The kind of bling your Jeep will appreciate this February.
See, gone are the days when people kept the factory wheels until some kind of damage happens or swapping to larger tires made the current wheels useless. Jeep alloy wheels like Quadratec's Hardrock design, are now an excellent alternative to factory because they are lighter, have way more customization options and are the perfect choice when adding larger wheels and a suspension lift.
One of the best things about alloy wheels for your Jeep is weight. That’s because not only are these wheels substantially lighter than steel versions, but many aftermarket wheels weigh less than factory alternatives as well.
Most alloy wheels are made with either aluminum or magnesium, allowing engineers to shave a good amount of weight off the wheel versus steel alternatives — all without compromising the wheel’s performance.
Additionally, while it won’t be an enormous difference, shedding some extra pounds will certainly help out your engine a bit and give your vehicle better acceleration, braking and slightly higher fuel economy.
Additionally, aftermarket alloy wheels have a better backspacing and offset than factory, so they can help reduce the chance your larger tires will rub against any suspension components when off-roading.
Finally, alloy wheels have a ton of different designs so you can customize your Jeep’s appearance this Valentine’s Day to match whatever look you like. Believe us, your Jeep will love the extra attention it gets.
