WILDWOOD, N.J. – Christine Mason eased her white 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited around a sandy turn and revved the engine a bit as she quickly climbed the beach's tallest dune. She paused at the top for a few seconds, perhaps debating how quickly she wanted to descend because there was a salt water pit at the bottom. The internal debate didn’t take long as she gave the vehicle some gas and deftly slid into the pit with a muddy splash.
She laughed and gave a thumbs up as she continued on her way.
Mason was one of many riders enjoying the beach obstacle course Friday morning during the New Jersey Jeep Invasion in Wildwood, and while she’d be the first to tell you she was not an accomplished off-roader, it really didn’t matter.
That’s because the course, sponsored by Quadratec while designed and staffed by members from Rausch Creek Off-Road Park, was not set up to frustrate – merely to provide some entertainment and fun for everyone who chose to navigate their vehicles over the sand. Kind of like the entire event itself.
Fun. Entertaining. And, thanks to dozens of the industry’s top vendors, informative as well.
“We came down for the day this year after checking it out last year,” Mason said following her obstacle course run. “Not much sun today, but it’s definitely exciting to be down on the beach driving a Jeep and surrounded by so many people just like me. Plus they brought in a whole bunch of Jeep companies to answer questions. What more could you want?”
“It is definitely a great time.”
This year marked the event’s fifth incarnation, with the first two up in nearby Ocean City, N.J., on the boardwalk, and the last the three years right on the beach in Wildwood, which made this the first East Coast Jeep show not only at the beach, but actually on the beach.
From approximately 200 Jeeps and several vendors at the beginning, the Jeep Invasion has really found its mark lately and this year saw 1,478 registered Jeeps on the beach Friday and Saturday – with tons more in the surrounding parking lots.
”Why would you want to be on the boardwalk when you could be on the beach, and its not like we don’t have any beach here,” said Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr., as he surveyed the vast crowd. “We always kid everybody – our beaches are so popular even the sand comes to Wildwood.
”We're a fun town with a lot to offer. It’s always been a destination point, but now it is a destination point for a whole new group of people in a different way. Where can you go on the East Coast to be able to do this, and have the cooperation not only from the people, but also from everybody that is here. The community supports these events.”
Those who registered were able to queue up in a Jeep lineup early each morning, and drive out on the beach to park as the event opened. It made for quite the striking scene as hundreds of Jeeps nestled side by side against an ocean backdrop.
Once parked, there were food trucks available for everyone as well as plenty of booths selling t-shirts, stickers and Jeep items. Of course, many participants also chose to set up camp around their Jeeps to relax with hammocks, chairs, tables, and plenty of games. In addition, more than 75 of the top names in the Jeep aftermarket were present and many displayed their show Jeeps and talked shop.
Among them was Jeep Invasion title sponsor Rugged Ridge, whose parent company Omix-ADA is the world’s largest independent Jeep parts manufacturer. They brought along some of their famous Jeep Collection vehicles to display, and spent time both days interacting with show-goers - not just to say hi, but to hear what patrons had to say about the brand.
”It’s critical, because we need that feedback,” said Dave Logan, Omix-ADA’s Sales Training Manager and Curator of the Omix Jeep Collection. “As a wholesale manufacturer, we typically don’t meet with the retail consumer so we’re like one step removed. This gives us some good feedback – it also gives us an idea of what people are looking for. What they like and don’t like. So it gives us the product feedback to kind of decide what are we going to do next.”
The New Jersey Jeep Invasion’s commitment to the community is also something important to Rugged Ridge/Omix-ADA and is another reason sponsoring this event makes sense.
Besides gathering together plenty of Jeeps and dozens of Jeep manufacturers, the Jeep Invasion also accepts food donations for Move For Hunger, which is a national non-profit organization that collects non-perishable food items and delivers them to food banks across North America.
Those who donated food either Friday or Saturday received a raffle ticket for a shot at Jeep parts and gift certificates from Quadratec, as well as many other great vendors at the show.
Last year, the event collected 4,650 lbs of food for Move For Hunger. This year, the goal was 5,000 lbs and thanks to everyone who dropped by and donated, that projected amount was shattered with a final tally of 7,847 lbs.
”There are a lot of aspects to things that we try and do to support the community,” Logan said. “Two weeks ago, we had our Open House expo and all the proceeds from that went to Habitat for Humanity. In addition to that, we also have various charities we donate to throughout the year. Boy Scouts, typically health charities, also the American Heart Association.”
“At every event we do, we support a local charity and that’s what we are doing here today as well.”
The Jeep Invasion’s Obstacle Course, a twisting track built right into the beach by staff members from popular Pennsylvania off road park Rausch Creek, may have been the busiest spot though, as Jeeps of all makes and models lined up down the beach awaiting their turn to play.
Comprised mostly of small and large dunes, as well as carved out water pits, high berm turns, and even a metal teeter-totter device, the course wasn’t out to trick anyone with difficult obstacles, but to give people – some of whom may never have driven their vehicle off pavement – a small sense of the off-road world.
Yet that didn’t mean everyone could cruise-control through the course, and indeed some did have high-center issues on top of a few sand dunes, as well as other problems. But Bernie Gardula, manager of playground, and the rest of Rausch Creek’s playground staff, made sure every vehicle was attended and any problems resolved.
”Some of that sand was pretty loose, so I could see people having problems if they weren’t paying attention or trying to show off,” Mason said. “You just needed to keep up your speed up those hills to not get stuck.
“I saw a few people have problems, but the guys working out there did a good job taking care of them.”
Saturday’s portion of the event also included a Show & Shine contest that awarded prizes for the top-25 Jeeps as well as top-20 LED Lights. The day ended with a large party in Wildwood’s Fox Park, while Sunday morning finished up the Jeep Invasion’s run with a huge Jeep parade.
”We have something that we offer to the public, to the vendors, and if we can make it work, we’ll make it work,” said Troiano Jr. “They are parking on the beach, they are having a good time, and that is all you can ask for.”
