WILDWOOD, NJ — They came from all over. Some from as close as the beach resort town itself, others from hundreds of miles away. Or more. All of them converging on a chunk of sand merely a stone's throw from the Wildwood boardwalk and right in the shadow of town's convention center.
They call this the New Jersey Jeep Invasion, a three-day event held right on the Wildwood beach this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday featuring scores of Jeep-industry vendors, a beach-themed obstacle course, off-road recovery demonstrations, and all the Jeep styles and designs you can imagine. It is the area's only event, and one of a handful across the country, where you can drive your Jeep right out on the beach to park. Plus, all event attendees had a chance to donate canned food to an area food bank while enjoying plenty of sun and Jeep-related fun.
The NJ Jeep Invasion, now celebrating its ninth anniversary following last year's COVID-related postponement, has grown exponentially from its beginnings of a few hundred vehicles to more than 2,200 Jeeps today. And it is not just newer Jeeps rolling into the event either. Just take a walk through the vast parking area and you'll see pretty much everything Jeep has offered throughout its 80 years — Willys, CJs, J10s, Scramblers, Wagoneers, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, and all the Wranglers you can shake a tie rod at. While many were swarming with aftermarket modifications, it certainly was not required to attend and numerous stock vehicles filled the lots, including a few that looked right out of dealerships and still sporting temporary tags.
Besides Quadratec, many of the Jeep aftermarket industry's top vendors like Rock Krawler, Teraflex, Bestop, Alpine, Rugged Ridge, Stinger Audio and Rock Slide Engineering were in attendance for show-goers to meet, ask questions and talk about products. Additionally, the folks from Rausch Creek Off-Road Park in Tremont, Pa., manned the event's beach obstacle course that featured sand moguls, berms, water holes and dunes. It wasn't a hard-core off-road test, but driving in sand can be tricky at times and the staff pulled more than a few stuck Jeeps off obstacles.
To help educate show attendees, Off-Road Consulting and its owner Kyle Buchter held recovery demonstrations that included many different Factor 55 products, as well as recovery board techniques and pointers on Closed System Winching.
While the event was mainly a homage to Jeep and its community, all New Jersey Jeep Invasion attendees were encouraged to bring some canned food and donate to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey's Southern Branch. This year saw a whopping 9,748 pounds of food donated during the three-day invasion — yet another testament to the Jeep community's generosity.
The New Jersey Jeep Invasion will continue next year in Wildwood with a summer 2022 date to be determined.
