Jeep Wave Etiquette?

[jzak]

Hey CJers!

So what are the DO's and DONT'S of the Jeep Wave? Do you only wave at other CJ's, or do you give it up to the newer Jeeps? Do you give the full wave, or just a couple fingers? Hand out the window?

My feeling is you should initiate the Jeep Wave when you pass by any Willy, CJ, YJ, TJ, and JK. Cherokee is kind of a gray area. If you've turned your
Cherokee into a serious offroad rig or you got a old grand wagoneer, then i'll give it to you.

Thanks! :grinjeep:

 

[dschwab]

I own a CJ5 and a jk rubicon so wverthing in between gets the hand out the window. I do not typically extend this to Cherokee's simply because when I was younger I never got the return wave. Interesting topic for sure!

 

[SlowPocono]

.... Interesting topic for sure!

I agree with that.

I'm a friendly guy, and I wave to people, but the entire idea that there needs to a special protocol or pecking order is stupid.

I'm aware that remark is going to be unpopular and maybe that makes me a troll, but the original post invited discussion.

I have my Jeep because I like it and I like to drive it.
It pleases me that some other people like it too and that it attracts the attention that it does.

I have no need to belong to any special clique like some schoolgirl, but in general I try to avoid being rude. If someone waves to me, I'll wave beck IF I NOTICE THEM. The biggest concern for me is that I'll be paying attention to my driving down the road and someone will feel snubbed by my failure to return their wave. If it weren't for this whole "waving etiquette" baloney I'd have one less concern.

If this thread continues, I'll write more, later.

 

[Hedgehog]

Wave or not to wave. I occasionally snub the new super fancy jeeps. Not usually on purpose but because I don't expect them to understand. But my very favorite thing is to be driving down the road or highway and notice that someone is checking out my CJ and we just exchange eye contact and a nod of understanding. The whole exchange feels real to me.

 

[Torxhead]

All CJs get the full hand on the road, on the trail everybody gets a hand so that I know they at least see me.

 

[hondo]

i wave at other cjs out the door when the doors are off (99% of the time). and yj tjs jks only when they wave first, to many yuppie mall crawling wanna be's who wouldn't know a cj from a xj. i flip off cherokees
oh i also wave at cops, they give the funniest looks.

 

[Neuner]

i wave at other cjs out the door when the doors are off (99% of the time). and yj tjs jks only when they wave first, to many yuppie mall crawling wanna be's who wouldn't know a cj from a xj. i flip off cherokees
oh i also wave at cops, they give the funniest looks.

Just going to say that. Typically wave out the door just to rub it in.

Stopped waving to TJ/JKs unless they wave first just because most of them are Yuppie Women or teenage girls in my area who don't have a clue. Any of them that are in a properly rigged offroad/rockcrawler is usually leaning and aggressively waving to get my attention.

I'm always giving big thumbs up to anyone driving any sort of classic/muscle car. Typically get good comments or thumbs up from pickup trucks.

The ones that surprise me are those traveling on the other side of the highway flying along extending out a wave while I'm stuck crawling in traffic in the fast lane. Get a kick out of that.

 

[jzak]

Thanks for your input guys! I think it just comes down to who initiates the Jeep Wave. If i get a wave from somebody in a Liberty or Cherokee, i'll wave back, but i'll probably not wave first.

Looks like somebody with a little too much time has thought of this question before. This page exactly outlines Jeep Wave Etiquette:

The Jeep Wave

No sure if i completely agree, but it's a fun anyway. My CJ5 got a rating of 50 with all the Equipment Adjustments. How did everyone else do?

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Here in the Mojave. The only ones that seem to want to wave back are the CJ drivers.
Guess those other 'Jeeps' are only head'd to the mall.
LG

 

[jzak]

Here in the Mojave. The only ones that seem to want to wave back are the CJ drivers.
Guess those other 'Jeeps' are only head'd to the mall.
LG

I Hear Ya! With Jeep sales through the roof now adays, I think most new owners don't understand the ground rules. Maybe they should put a Jeep Wave clause in their purchase contracts, so if they don't wave, we'll repossess their Jeep.

 

[gr8dain]

I drive a Scrambler and have a JKU. The Scrambler is in the process of a frame swap so I have been driving the JKU daily. I personally wave to all CJs through JKs. I notice that the JKs hardly wave back unless they are lifted/modded. But I don't care if they wave back. Whatever. Most of the TJs wave too. And also, I don't pay close enough attention anymore t spot all of them or if they wave back even.

As for XJs, if they are modded I wave. Otherwise they are just commuters around here.

When I drive the CJ, I notice a lot more people wave back or even initiate the wave. I guess because it is more noticeable. With all of the JKs around, it is like if Honda Accords had a wave.

 

[PaRenegade]

Seems to be the trendy thing to do lately, create your own version of the Jeep Wave and try to pass it off as something "official".
The fact is the wave started during the war as a way to verify GI's were American's because the German's were capturing our soldiers and using their uniforms and Jeeps to get behind enemy lines, our line. So the wave was a way to secretly know who was friend or foe.

Fast forward to the civilian use of Jeeps and this habit continued and became a thing. But if you drove a Willys Wagon, a Gladiator, Wagoneer, etc. you didn't partake in this ritual. It was always a Jeep model only thing, aka CJ/M*. Most of you long time Jeep enthusiast's know this. Even into the 90's this was a "jeep thing".

Nowadays the notion is made that it's a "brand" wave so even a 2WD Compass can be included. I guess in this politically correct, touchy feely society of modern times; some folks felt left out of what was historically a vehicle model specific tradition for that iconic ride we all love.

So true to history, I wave at any Jeep model and I don't care if it's a CJ2a from 1945, a military M38, or a newer 1986 CJ7 , I usually wave first. Theres no hierarchy to it. It's not about how accessorized it is. And it's not about the position of the hand or fingers.
Now if a Cherokee or a Wrangler waves to me I'll wave back, as will I if a VW bug or a Ford Mustang waves at me. It's a friendly thing.... not a Jeep thing. I'm not a fad or trend follower if you haven't noticed!

 

[Posi]

Everyone that owns a lifted Jeep or truck, or 70s and older car most all wave in my area, and I wave back. The most enthusiastic waves come from the guys in lifted trucks they near jump out at you waving and yelling when they see a lifted CJ.

 

[hondo]

Stopped waving to TJ/JKs unless they wave first just because most of them are Yuppie Women or teenage girls in my area who don't have a clue. .

i think if this were the case around me id be waving at tjs/jks. or do you have a outbreak of ugly women around you?

 

[Fastatv]

I always wave to CJs. I don't wave to the new "big fancy" Jeeps because I don't think they "get it".... and CJs are just cool to me. Every where I go, or stop, someone is asking me to sell mine to them....

 

[Neuner]

i think if this were the case around me id be waving at tjs/jks. or do you have a outbreak of ugly women around you?

We have an outbreak of B!tches and a generation of gimme, whiny, text-while-driving teenage girls in this area. I don't like ugly personalities, so then yes, I guess I'd consider them ugly...

Guess some of us are better looking than others and can be picky.

 

[PistolDave]

I am with Hedgehog on this one, I do not usually wave at JK jeeps because around here about 90% of the drivers of such vehicles would have no idea why I was waving at them. TJ models are probably 50/50, just depends on the kind of mood I am in.

There is a curious phenomenon around these parts that goes like this: If you are driving down a 2 lane blacktop several miles or more outside of town in a truck or SUV of some flavor, and you meet another truck or suv, chances are pretty good that the driver will wave at you. Does not seem to happen if one of the participants is in a car, but between trucks it is common. If the aforementioned trucks are obviously work trucks, ie service bed, bucket truck, etc. it increases the odds of a wave about 50%. I don't know if this is just a small town west Texas thing or if it happens in other areas.

 

[jdcaples]

If a YJ, TJ or JK driver lifts two fingers off the steering wheel as I pass, I return the gesture.

I don't - or very rarely do - make the first move.

I'm 50/50 first to acknowledge another CJ, but I and the other CJ driver always share a moment.

-Jon

 

[steve1973]

I've been driving CJ's for 30 years and have always participated in the wave. It feels as natural as raising your arm to catch a ball thrown your way. My protocol these days is to let any jeep or car or Harley initiate first, then I wave back. If I see a any year CJ, I will initiate if they don't wave first.

I travel for business and have rented JK's from time to time through National, my last this week in Dallas. What I noticed when I was driving is that I was far less "aware" that I was in a jeep and never even thought about the wave let alone did it. Maybe it is because the latest JK's are so much more car like in ride, drive and interior feel that you don't get the Jeep feeling. So for me, I'm not at all bothered when newer models don't wave and fully understand why they might not understand the jeep wave.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HackFabrication]

...Guess those other 'Jeeps' are only head'd to the mall.

Hey.... It can get pretty gnarly at the mall.