Latest / Jeep Talk Show / Little Person Drives Lifted 1999 XJ Daily

Transcript

Little Person Drives Lifted 1999 XJ Daily · Jeep Talk Show

0:00
Adios boys and girls,
0:01
it's time for another
0:02
Jeep Talk Show interview.
0:04
We're gonna be talking with Caden.
0:05
Caden is a Vancouver
0:07
Island based content creator
0:09
and entrepreneur whose story starts
0:11
with a 1999 Jeep Cherokee.
0:13
Caden, do you know that
0:14
that is the best XJ ever built?
0:17
The 1999?
0:18
It really is, yeah.
0:20
I daily drove that thing,
0:22
I mean, still to this day.
0:24
So if you guys aren't big XJ fans,
0:28
1999 had the curved intake,
0:32
which gave a few horsepower more.
0:34
That was because of
0:35
the smaller port heads
0:38
that they put on there
0:39
trying to make it warm up faster
0:41
to save a nickel every
0:43
50,000 miles on gas mileage.
0:46
And it had a high pinion Dana 30.
0:49
And if you don't know the significance
0:51
between the high
0:52
pinion or the low pinion,
0:53
you haven't been listening
0:54
to enough of the show here.
0:55
So we won't go into
0:56
those details right now.
0:58
But there was several
0:59
things that made it a big deal.
1:01
And I can't remember,
1:02
does yours have a Dana 35
1:04
or did the original one
1:05
have a Dana 35 in the rear?
1:09
It is a Dana 35 in the rear.
1:10
Oh, you poor
1:12
(beep)
1:12
that thing may blow up on you anytime
1:14
and take out a full city block.
1:16
Yeah, I've already replaced it.
1:18
I remember I was driving to town one day
1:21
to pick up a girl actually,
1:23
and it was making a weird noise.
1:24
I was like, oh, we're gonna get there.
1:26
(laughing)
1:27
If it didn't get there, I
1:28
ended up on a tow truck.
1:30
Yeah, it's a shame it wasn't a Chrysler
1:32
eight and a quarter.
1:34
Then it really would
1:34
have been a perfect vehicle.
1:35
But if you had anti-like brakes,
1:38
you had to have a Dana 35.
1:41
So anyway, not trying to brag here,
1:45
but I have a, my first
1:47
Jeep was a Cherokee, 98.
1:49
Yeah, and it's still in the garage.
1:51
I've been doing it
1:52
daily for about 23 years
1:54
before buying the Gladiator.
1:56
And I still love the XJ.
1:58
I just haven't driven it.
1:59
I mean, you know, new is
2:00
almost always more fun.
2:02
All right, so that XJ
2:04
was his first real build.
2:05
Late nights wrenching, the trail runs,
2:07
the moment he started
2:08
filming it all through,
2:11
see, I'm gonna mess up again,
2:12
to the key, to the cake.
2:14
To make.
2:15
To make.
2:16
Through to the cake media, to the media,
2:19
he's grown into an
2:22
audience of more than 2.6 million
2:24
followers known for his
2:27
deadpan story driven take
2:29
on trucks, truck
2:29
bikes, and off-road life.
2:31
A UVIC grad in
2:34
entrepreneurship and finance,
2:36
he works out of his shop in
2:38
Lady Smith, British Columbia.
2:41
But he'll tell you it all
2:43
began with the old Cherokee
2:44
and a willingness to
2:45
figure things out the hard way.
2:48
Now I was looking at something,
2:49
I think I actually had AI
2:51
look up some information on you,
2:52
and it said that your
2:54
dad was also a builder
2:55
and he was the one that
2:57
helped you with your builds
2:58
and stuff, and I said,
2:59
oh, that makes sense.
3:00
And then I was perusing your Instagram
3:03
and your dad is also a dwarf.
3:05
So you guys both are short
3:08
people trying to do things
3:10
with these full size, I
3:12
mean, I guess you could say
3:13
these aren't full size
3:14
Jeeps, but with these big rigs,
3:17
I have a hard enough
3:18
time, I put a four inch lift
3:19
on my wife's TJ, not
3:21
realizing that that tub
3:23
was gonna make it a
3:24
death trap getting out,
3:26
because you have to
3:27
pivot to get both legs out,
3:29
because if you try to let
3:29
one leg out, I'm six foot.
3:31
And if I let one leg out, that other foot
3:34
is probably gonna get caught on the tub.
3:36
So, I mean, whenever I was
3:40
looking at doing the interview
3:40
with you, I was thinking to myself,
3:42
I can understand how
3:43
people would be curious
3:44
about how you got in to a lifted XJ,
3:48
but I think the danger is getting out.
3:51
Yeah, that's funny you mentioned that,
3:53
because even with my
3:55
videos and everything,
3:56
it was always, oh, how do you get in it?
3:57
But nobody realizes
3:59
getting out is the big jump.
4:01
But yeah, my dad, so
4:04
he's a little person,
4:05
medically we're pretty
4:06
much exactly the same.
4:08
And he always had like
4:11
lifted TJs or whatever,
4:14
and then he got, I
4:15
remember the biggest vehicle
4:17
that got me into
4:18
Jeeps when I was younger,
4:19
is he had a old, and
4:21
it was completely stock,
4:22
but it was a old LJ.
4:25
And it was beautiful Rubicon,
4:28
and it was just such a nice Jeep.
4:31
And then I remember my
4:32
mom made them sell it,
4:33
my mom's average height.
4:34
Oh no.
4:35
As I was doing the math.
4:37
So you lost your mom shortly after that.
4:39
Yeah, unfortunately, my mom or the Jeep,
4:41
and we still got the Jeep.
4:44
It was because in my car
4:47
seat with the roof off,
4:48
I was above like the little side lip.
4:50
So I was just rolling out.
4:52
And so a few regretted moments later,
4:55
he got rid of that.
4:56
And ever since then,
4:57
then I thought it's kind of
4:58
when I fell in love with Jeeps
4:59
and off-roading, and my dad picked up,
5:02
actually my mom
5:03
regained some brownie points.
5:05
She was going through a
5:06
drive-through one day,
5:07
and there was an older
5:08
guy in a 99 Jeep Cherokee,
5:11
completely bone stock.
5:13
And she flagged him down
5:15
after the drive-through,
5:16
and was like, "I wanna buy your Jeep."
5:18
And so that's the story
5:20
of how I got my first Jeep.
5:21
It was my dad's.
5:23
He left at bone stock,
5:25
always had the visions of lifting it,
5:27
and tires and bumpers and whatnot,
5:29
but never really got around to it.
5:32
He kind of won the practicality side.
5:35
So you're saying mom's guilt paid off.
5:38
Yeah, it did.
5:39
You know, it paid off for me.
5:40
Yeah, I think if he
5:42
kept that extended TJ,
5:45
he would have definitely done the build
5:46
and done it all himself,
5:48
but it kind of worked out in my favor.
5:50
Well, you can still find LJs out there.
5:53
We got a couple of people in
5:54
the Jeep Talk Show community
5:56
that have been building up LJs.
5:58
Yeah, they're beautiful Jeeps,
6:01
and I would love to get one one day.
6:03
Yeah.
6:04
So I think it is really cool
6:09
that your dad is just like you,
6:13
because I mean, I'm sure we've all seen
6:17
the Twilight Zone
6:18
episodes where somebody goes,
6:20
somebody has some deformity or something.
6:23
Facial deformity is
6:24
the one I'm thinking of,
6:25
and they go to this other planet,
6:27
and everybody there has
6:29
the same facial deformity.
6:31
And it's like, you're
6:32
just like everybody else.
6:34
So that's not the case for you
6:35
because you're shorter
6:36
than most everybody here,
6:38
but at least your dad,
6:40
you can share that with your dad
6:41
and see that your dad's successful.
6:44
And frankly, I don't know
6:45
how you work on the vehicles.
6:47
Because if it's, I mean,
6:48
I have a hard time just
6:49
getting out there working on it,
6:51
being a full-size guy,
6:53
actually over full-size guy.
6:54
I didn't realize until recently
6:56
that 5.9 is the average
6:57
height for men in North America.
7:01
So hats off to you for
7:03
actually getting out there
7:04
and doing it.
7:04
I think that your dad
7:06
was the reason for that.
7:09
Yeah, you know, it's funny.
7:11
We always tried to do the
7:12
little things, no pun intended,
7:15
just so that you know if I was.
7:16
I'm staying away from those jokes.
7:19
That's fair, they're for a game for me.
7:22
But yeah, you know,
7:23
whenever I got my Jeep at 15,
7:27
I got my license at 16,
7:29
I bought it off my dad,
7:30
and immediately started
7:31
building it and whatnot.
7:32
And I was always
7:34
gonna go out on the trails
7:35
with buddies and friends and such.
7:39
And so he always wanted me to,
7:40
if something went wrong, not be able to,
7:43
or not have to just kind of
7:44
sit there and wait for help.
7:46
So even now, like truthfully,
7:48
my mechanical knowledge is very limited
7:50
because I really
7:51
quickly found out a strategy
7:53
that as long as I have all
7:55
the tools and a bit of beer,
7:57
all my buddies will do it for me.
7:59
So it was like, yeah, you
8:01
know, a double-edged sword.
8:02
Because I wanna get up there and do it,
8:03
and I do as much as I can.
8:06
But financially and physically,
8:09
the payoff is way exponential
8:11
if you just go buy a
8:12
12-pack and get somebody
8:13
to do it for you.
8:16
But yeah, you know, my dad and I,
8:18
always were out in the Jeep,
8:20
wiring is something
8:22
easily that we can do.
8:23
And it actually
8:24
sometimes works out in our favor,
8:25
you know, getting under
8:26
the console and whatnot
8:28
is a lot easier, and
8:29
getting behind the edges.
8:32
I never thought about that.
8:33
That would be so much
8:34
easier to get under the console
8:36
for things.
8:37
Oh, that's a blessing.
8:39
Yeah, so there is, you
8:40
know, there is some pros to it
8:42
and things that we can
8:44
maybe do a bit better
8:45
than anybody else.
8:46
But yeah, I mean, it's been a lot of fun
8:49
being able to learn, and
8:50
the Jeep was everything,
8:52
kind of where everything started for me.
8:54
So I would think that,
8:56
and I often think about this with women,
8:58
that when they're working on vehicles,
9:02
they have to have a really hard time
9:04
with breaking things loose.
9:06
Now I know you can put up a cheater pipe
9:09
and stuff on there, or do
9:10
the double wrench thing,
9:13
use a torque wrench,
9:14
although I don't think
9:14
you're supposed to break things loose
9:15
with a torque wrench.
9:17
So there's ways of getting around it,
9:19
but there's a lot of
9:20
things that I bitch about
9:22
working on my vehicles
9:23
that are a lot easier for me
9:25
because of my upper
9:27
body strength, you know,
9:29
than what women do.
9:30
So I think it's great that you guys
9:33
actually do this stuff.
9:35
You don't take that as a limitation.
9:38
Yeah, there's always a way around it,
9:40
and leverage is our best friend for sure.
9:44
Yeah, there's always a way around it.
9:46
I'm sure my Milwaukee
9:47
impact is used probably
9:48
where it shouldn't be a
9:49
lot more often than not.
9:52
But yeah, you know,
9:53
there's always ways around it.
9:54
And yeah, I mean, I am very fortunate
9:58
if there isn't a way around it.
9:59
I got a lot of buddies
10:00
that are always willing
10:01
to throw in a hand.
10:02
So I don't know if you've
10:03
already done this video or not,
10:05
but I think it would be
10:06
a really popular video
10:08
to show you getting that
10:10
main nut off the Dana 30,
10:12
the big nut that's on the end of the...
10:14
Yeah.
10:14
The...
10:15
Because that one was a bitch for me.
10:19
And I did use a long
10:20
cheater pipe to get that.
10:22
Those things, it's so scary whenever
10:24
you're doing something
10:24
like that, something's gonna come off,
10:26
something's gonna go
10:27
flying, and I'm gonna get hit.
10:28
I know I'm gonna get hit.
10:30
But so don't really do that.
10:33
I don't want you to get hurt.
10:34
But I think that'd be a funny video.
10:37
That would be a good video.
10:40
Especially if it was pre-loosened,
10:41
they go, "Son of a bitch, he got it."
10:44
Yeah, just really easily pull it down.
10:46
Yeah, I don't know what
10:47
everybody's complaining about.
10:48
Yeah, what are you guys bitching about?
10:50
I got the small people power.
10:53
So let me ask you, I was
10:56
looking at your YouTube video
10:59
prior to the interview today,
11:01
and did I see correctly
11:03
that you haven't really had
11:04
any videos on your YouTube
11:06
channel in quite a while?
11:07
I think a year was the last one.
11:09
Yeah, my YouTube has
11:11
been super dead lately.
11:12
All my fault, I've been
11:15
prioritizing more short-form content
11:17
on TikTok and Instagram.
11:19
YouTube though, it's where I started.
11:21
I started social media
11:23
when I was 11 years old.
11:24
I started making little vlogs
11:26
and that sort of thing on YouTube.
11:29
And then when I was in about grade 12,
11:31
I kind of realized,
11:32
okay, my life is starting.
11:34
I got to figure out what I want to do.
11:37
And so that's when I
11:37
started wanting to do social media
11:39
and stuff kind of more as a
11:40
career and a more legit thing.
11:42
And that's when I
11:43
started prioritizing more,
11:45
like TikTok, Instagram,
11:47
YouTube Shorts as well.
11:49
But that being said, I'm
11:51
working on getting back
11:52
to the long-form style videos
11:54
and incorporating more automotive stuff,
11:56
bring back the Jeep, more off-roading.
12:00
And yeah, because you
12:01
are, it's unfortunately
12:03
kind of been dead like
12:04
the last year or two.
12:06
Well, it's difficult too.
12:07
I don't know that everybody
12:08
that hasn't tried doing video,
12:11
I mean, I'm just
12:12
sitting in front of a camera
12:13
recording the video for the
12:16
flagship episodes that we do
12:19
and even that is difficult.
12:20
But when you start
12:21
working on things in the shop,
12:24
you have to stop and
12:26
get the camera set up
12:27
so that you're catching that.
12:29
And then sometimes, I
12:31
don't know about you,
12:31
but for me, I haven't done it that often,
12:33
but I will do something and go,
12:36
(beep)
12:37
it.
12:37
I didn't get that on video.
12:39
So now let's put it back.
12:40
Yeah. Set up the camera.
12:43
(laughing)
12:45
So it takes a lot longer.
12:47
And if you're not
12:48
enjoying working on your Jeep,
12:50
it really makes it worse.
12:52
It really makes you not like it at all.
12:58
Yeah, it really does.
12:59
There's nothing worse
13:01
than trying to get something
13:02
or a bolt loose,
13:03
let's say for an example.
13:05
And it's like, you're
13:05
working, working, working,
13:06
finally get it done and then realize,
13:07
oh, you forgot to hit the record button
13:09
or something like that, right?
13:10
It always happens.
13:12
I've done that with interviews before.
13:14
Fortunately, not very often.
13:16
You're nervous now, but I
13:17
just looked up, it's recording.
13:20
(laughing) But I've done that
13:21
with interviews before.
13:23
Recently I completed an interview
13:25
and then I realized it wasn't recording.
13:29
So I noticed, and I
13:31
just noticed this today
13:32
when I was checking out your stuff.
13:34
Oh, let me, before I get there.
13:36
So the media aspect, I'm
13:38
assuming that your media
13:40
has to do with social media and YouTube.
13:44
Is that what the media portion of,
13:46
say your last name for me again,
13:48
because I'm staying away from it.
13:49
I'm not gonna say it right.
13:50
Tonight, yeah.
13:51
Tonight media, is that?
13:53
Yeah, social media is
13:54
everything to do with that.
13:55
So all my social platforms.
13:58
Okay, so I noticed today that you were,
14:02
that you're around four, 15,
14:04
four, 17K on both the Instagram
14:07
and I didn't look at the TikTok,
14:09
the Instagram and the YouTube.
14:13
So what do you attribute
14:18
such a high subscriber count
14:21
to both of those?
14:23
You know, I think one of the things
14:25
that kind of draws
14:25
people in is also, you know,
14:27
the visual hawk of living life at three
14:29
and a half feet tall
14:30
and driving jacked up trucks or jeeps
14:33
and kind of living lifestyle that I do.
14:35
I think that in
14:36
itself is a bit intriguing.
14:38
But at the end of the day,
14:39
I've always kind of
14:40
tried to showcase the world
14:42
in a bit of a unique lens,
14:45
but I didn't show,
14:46
you know, the struggles
14:46
that I go through every single day,
14:48
whether it's medical or
14:49
just living in a world
14:51
built for average
14:51
height people at my stature.
14:54
But I think at the end of the day,
14:55
you know, another thing
14:56
I try to show is like,
14:57
I'm just cadent, you know,
14:59
I might be half the size,
15:00
but I'm no different
15:01
than any other 21 year old.
15:03
Yeah, I don't think,
15:05
I think that there's a
15:06
curiosity there obviously
15:08
about how you do things.
15:11
And I'm sure that
15:12
curiosity has been there
15:13
from various movies and
15:15
stuff that we've seen.
15:17
I mean, I'm brain farting
15:18
on the one that Spielberg did
15:20
that had a lot of short people at it,
15:22
but obviously "The Wizard of Oz."
15:25
So we have this interest and think about,
15:28
oh my God, how difficult it's that.
15:30
I mentioned I put a four
15:32
inch lift on my wife's TJ
15:33
and I didn't realize that,
15:35
because I'd already done it on the XJ,
15:37
but I didn't realize that
15:38
a four inch lift on a TJ
15:39
is drastically different than a six inch
15:42
or six and a half inch lift on an XJ.
15:45
So fortunately my five foot two wife
15:48
is able to get in and out of the TJ.
15:52
She doesn't complain about
15:53
it at all, but she's five two.
15:55
So whenever you start doing it,
15:58
and your height is three
15:59
and a half, is that right?
16:01
Yeah, three foot six.
16:02
Yeah, three foot six.
16:04
Do you ever do three foot six and a half,
16:08
kind of like all us other people do?
16:11
Yeah, right if you have a
16:14
three seven or whatever,
16:16
but once you're
16:17
below, once you're around,
16:19
like if you're starting
16:20
with three, there's no saving.
16:22
I know, but I think it's universal.
16:25
Everybody wants to be taller.
16:27
That is very true, that's very true.
16:29
Oh, this is, you
16:32
probably heard this one before,
16:33
been asked this before.
16:34
So I saw Seinfeld, where I
16:37
thought it was just hilarious
16:38
where they had a well known short actor
16:42
fighting with Kramer on there.
16:44
And he had this big
16:45
thing about heightening,
16:46
by putting on lifts and shoes.
16:48
And he was gonna be ostracized
16:50
from his group of short people.
16:53
Is there any truth to that?
16:55
Is that anything that you just don't do
16:58
because this is not right?
17:00
Yeah, I mean, I think there's always,
17:02
especially within the
17:03
little people community,
17:04
the question of what's exploitive
17:07
or what's not exploitive,
17:09
whether it's for acting
17:11
positions, another thing,
17:14
there's controversy, there are like
17:16
limb lengthening surgeries, and there are
17:19
potentials like that.
17:20
And that is very controversial
17:22
within the little people community.
17:23
Is it?
17:25
Personally, I haven't had it,
17:26
but another thing that's
17:27
funny, like my dad had it,
17:30
but it wasn't for the
17:31
height aspect of it.
17:32
It was because it made
17:34
his limbs straighter,
17:36
which is another
17:37
common issue that we have,
17:38
especially with my condition.
17:40
Like I've had 15 surgeries
17:42
and my dad's had more than 30.
17:45
So his wasn't for the height,
17:46
it was the kind of
17:47
medical benefits from it
17:49
with his dysplasia and stuff.
17:51
So like even those
17:52
procedures are kind of a hot topic.
17:54
Some people are pro,
17:55
some people are anti.
17:57
But yeah, I mean, for me,
17:59
it's like, I always try to,
18:01
especially in social media and whatnot,
18:04
I'll portray my size, my stature,
18:06
but I'm never gonna dance
18:08
around in an elf costume
18:09
when it comes to Christmas time.
18:10
You know what I mean?
18:11
Right, oh yeah.
18:12
So let me ask you this,
18:13
and you let me know if
18:15
these are too personal.
18:15
Now you're only 21,
18:17
so maybe you haven't
18:18
been to the bar very often,
18:20
but do the ladies--
18:21
Well, I'm lucky because I'm Canadian.
18:24
So we get in at 19 in my province or 18.
18:28
We'll answer it over.
18:29
All right, so if you've been to a bar,
18:31
do the ladies buy you drinks?
18:34
Yeah, I mean, I think it's not an issue.
18:39
I think a lot of people would imagine
18:42
that it would always be an issue.
18:44
And of course, there are some people
18:45
that just aren't
18:46
interested because of it,
18:47
but it's never been an
18:49
issue too big for me.
18:50
That's really cool,
18:51
because I'm sure that's fun.
18:53
It's like guys going to the dog park
18:56
with a cute dog to meet women,
18:58
but you're the cute person
19:00
that they get to meet you.
19:02
So that's a bit even better benefit.
19:05
All right, so how do
19:07
you get out of the XJ?
19:09
We were kind of starting on that,
19:10
but is there a mechanism?
19:12
Do you put like a Tarzan rope,
19:14
the little thing that swings out and you,
19:16
"Ahhh!" and jump?
19:19
You know, it's
19:20
actually, it's not too bad.
19:21
So with my Jeep, I'm
19:22
just a four inch lift on 32,
19:25
so it's not crazy.
19:27
I could, it's actually
19:27
the only vehicle I own
19:29
that I can reach the door handle.
19:31
So I don't have any fancy way to get in.
19:33
To get out very similar,
19:35
I rely on my upper body a lot
19:38
because my lower body is so weak.
19:40
So I'm able to just put a hand
19:42
kind of on the arm rest
19:43
and the bottom of the floor
19:44
and kind of lower myself down.
19:47
Well, I'm sure you've
19:48
built up your strength
19:49
and your upper body too because of that.
19:51
Yeah, exactly.
19:53
And you know, it's funny,
19:54
like getting into my Jeep
19:55
is easier and even getting
19:57
out is easier than a small car
19:59
because I don't have
20:00
to step over anything.
20:02
I don't have to like
20:03
kind of step and lower down.
20:06
So it's funny, a lot of people are like,
20:08
"Oh my gosh, you know,
20:08
you should drive a
20:09
smart car or something."
20:10
But it's like, those are
20:11
actually harder to get in
20:13
than the lifted Jeep
20:14
because you rely more on my legs
20:16
than just pulling myself up or down.
20:19
Hey, new to the Jeep Talk Show.
20:21
We've been doing this for
20:22
16 years since December, 2010
20:25
with 1500 episodes available on YouTube
20:28
and everywhere you can find
20:29
great audio only podcasts.
20:31
Real Jeep Talk mods, trail stories,
20:34
and the community
20:35
that makes it worthwhile.
20:38
Want to help keep it going?
20:39
A Patreon membership starts cheaper than
20:41
one who reads order.
20:43
Or if money's tight, no problem.
20:45
Just hit the like, drop a
20:46
comment or tell a friend.
20:48
It only takes a
20:49
moment to support the show.
20:50
You love the Jeep Talk Show.
20:53
So what did you have to do to the XJ
20:58
so that you could see over the dash?
21:01
I mean, my wife, the
21:03
TJ, again, five foot two,
21:05
my wife was having a hard
21:06
time seeing over the hood.
21:09
And then the TJ with the
21:11
seats that came in the TJ,
21:12
maybe all of them, it's
21:13
not ones that you can raise
21:14
and lower like we can
21:15
do in the Gladiator.
21:17
So I literally found a
21:18
lift kit for the Jeep seats.
21:21
I think it was Rough Country
21:23
and it's basically
21:23
like a one inch, two inch,
21:25
or one and a half inch spacer.
21:26
So you take the seat out
21:28
and you put the
21:29
longer bolts in the spacers
21:30
so it raises the seats.
21:32
So she has a four inch
21:33
lift for the Jeep suspension
21:35
and she's got like a
21:36
one and a half inch lift
21:37
for the seats, the front seats.
21:40
So. Okay, yeah.
21:41
That's really cool.
21:42
I didn't even know they were made.
21:44
Oh, it was this wild
21:45
Google searching that I found it
21:47
and it was perfect for her.
21:49
She can see much better now.
21:52
And this bit, I've had them for years.
21:54
In fact, my oldest
21:56
daughter got a TJ, a 2005 TJ.
21:59
And she says, "Why can I,
22:02
passenger or driving it,
22:04
"why can I see better in mom's Jeep?"
22:07
And I told her and she
22:08
goes, "Can I get those on mine?"
22:09
So her 2005 has them as well.
22:12
So what did you do with the XJ
22:14
so that you could sit up high enough?
22:16
I mean, I'm assuming you're
22:17
not using Jedi mine tricks
22:19
to steer and know where you're going.
22:22
Yeah, not yet.
22:24
We haven't got those yet.
22:26
But yeah, so I use a custom seat,
22:29
very similar to like a kid's car seat.
22:31
Ours is fully custom.
22:33
We build it from the ground up
22:35
with like 3D printing and whatnot,
22:37
but very similar, so that's what I use.
22:39
And then to drive, I
22:40
have pedal extensions
22:42
and a raised up floorboard.
22:45
So it's a very seamless
22:47
way to be able to drive
22:48
and see over and whatnot.
22:50
And then the nice thing is both my mom
22:53
and my girlfriend are average height.
22:55
So we always need to have
22:57
a system that can come out
22:59
if either of them
22:59
want to get in and drive.
23:01
So our whole seat pedals and everything
23:04
comes out in about five minutes.
23:05
So that's exactly what my
23:08
next question was gonna be.
23:09
Can anybody else drive your Jeep?
23:10
Because there's
23:10
pluses and minuses to that.
23:13
No, you can't drop my Jeep.
23:14
(laughs)
23:15
You literally can't drop my Jeep.
23:18
Yeah, well, I have a great excuse
23:19
because nobody knows
23:20
if they come out or not.
23:21
So I can just be like,
23:22
hey, you can figure out
23:23
how to get them out, then fly at her.
23:26
So does it seat belt strap
23:29
in like it would a child seat?
23:31
So it's the same, the seat belt
23:34
is just same over the shoulder.
23:36
The seat itself is just like
23:38
the added seat that we have
23:40
is just strapped down to the
23:42
bottom of the seat brackets.
23:43
Oh, okay.
23:44
So you don't have any
23:46
problem with off camper situations
23:48
or going up a hill or coming down a hill.
23:50
You don't feel uncomfortable,
23:52
like the seat's gonna change
23:55
position at a critical time?
23:57
No, not at all.
23:58
Especially when we're
23:59
going out wheeling or whatever,
24:00
we have the seat sit
24:02
straight down to the seat brackets
24:03
so that it's not moving.
24:05
And then the traditional seat belt
24:07
holds me in place perfectly fine.
24:10
Now I would say obviously, but maybe not.
24:12
This is an automatic AW4
24:14
that you're using in the Cherokee, right?
24:18
Yeah, yeah, my Jeep is an automatic.
24:21
That said, it's not
24:22
impossible for me to drive a standard.
24:27
It is basically just another brake pedal.
24:31
Right, no, that was
24:32
gonna be my next question.
24:33
If you thought you could handle a
24:36
standard transmission
24:37
and come to think of it,
24:38
maybe the TJ is a standard transmission.
24:45
The TJ was automatic as
24:46
well that my dad used to have.
24:49
However, it's funny.
24:51
So he actually, when he got his license,
24:54
he got a restriction when he
24:56
was doing his driver's test
24:58
that he wasn't allowed to
24:59
do any standard vehicles.
25:01
And then when I did mine,
25:03
they didn't put that restriction on.
25:05
So now I make fun of him
25:06
as I'm the only one that's
25:06
allowed to drive a standard,
25:08
but I still have it yet.
25:09
I gotta get one.
25:11
So was there a reason for that?
25:12
Or was that just, it's not racism,
25:15
but is it where they go,
25:17
oh, well you just,
25:18
people making the assumption
25:19
that you can't do something
25:20
and they don't know medically or legally,
25:24
they just make the assumption.
25:26
Because I would imagine you run into
25:27
those assumptions a lot.
25:30
Yeah, a lot of assumptions for sure.
25:33
The story for my dad's limitation
25:35
was just the driving
25:37
instructor, whatever their title is.
25:41
They just didn't see, like,
25:42
oh, how could he have a third pedal?
25:44
So they just like wrote the thing on.
25:47
But for me, when I did mine,
25:49
he asked me is like,
25:50
what would the process be
25:51
if it was a standard?
25:53
And I'm just like, oh, it's, you know,
25:54
the exact same as a
25:55
brake pedal configuration.
25:57
And so then it was like,
25:58
oh, okay, then you're fine.
25:59
Yeah, no, and it's a
26:00
shame that the more people
26:02
don't know how to drive
26:03
a standard transmission.
26:05
It wasn't until relatively recently,
26:07
maybe five years ago,
26:09
I was interviewing
26:10
CenterPoint or CenterForce
26:12
about their clutch.
26:14
And I didn't know that they made,
26:16
that there was actually a such thing
26:17
as a heavy duty flywheel,
26:19
which helps keep stalls from happening.
26:21
I could have used a heavy duty flywheel
26:23
when I got my first car
26:25
and it was a standard.
26:26
For sure, that would have been awesome.
26:28
Yeah, yeah.
26:29
So yeah, love doing this show.
26:32
I get a lot of information
26:33
that I just wouldn't find on my own.
26:36
I mean, I guess if I was a builder,
26:37
I would run across this stuff more,
26:39
but just doing the show and
26:41
doing things here and there,
26:43
I just don't run across it.
26:46
So what was, well, you were doing this
26:51
stuff with your dad,
26:52
so you probably didn't
26:53
have a lot of concerns
26:55
about getting in a Jeep
26:57
and driving it off-road,
26:59
but were there any
26:59
concerns for when you got started?
27:02
Because I think
27:02
sometimes we think our dads are,
27:05
you can't measure up
27:07
to what your dad can do.
27:08
I see my dad doing it, but that's my dad.
27:11
He can do anything.
27:12
Did you have some concerns
27:14
about getting into a vehicle
27:16
and driving it, especially off-road?
27:18
Yeah, so I got my Jeep,
27:21
I bought it off my dad when I was 15.
27:24
The nice thing, he already
27:25
had all the pedal extensions
27:27
and everything, so I
27:28
could drive it right away.
27:30
And when I got it, bone stock completely.
27:33
And I remember the
27:34
first time he took me out
27:35
was in the back roads,
27:37
and just simple logging road trails,
27:39
nothing crazy at all.
27:41
And yeah, I was petrified.
27:44
I remember I saw this little dugout
27:46
that nothing to be worried about.
27:50
And I was like, "Oh my
27:50
gosh, how could I do this?"
27:52
And then I remember my dad being like,
27:54
"What the hell are you
27:55
like, what are we stopping for?"
27:57
And I went through it and it was ironic
28:00
because I ripped the
28:01
muffler completely off going.
28:04
And I was like, at that time I knew
28:06
nothing about vehicles.
28:07
I was like, "Oh my gosh,
28:08
I've just totaled the Jeep."
28:11
And then we had to
28:14
like, kind of rig it up
28:16
to hold on for the highway drive home.
28:19
But yeah, I mean, I
28:20
definitely had worries.
28:22
And then the added
28:24
worry, unfortunately for me,
28:26
and it's kind of a risk
28:27
that I've just accepted,
28:28
but I have severe neck instability.
28:31
So my neck was fused when I
28:32
was, I think four years old.
28:34
And then my spine was
28:36
fused in 2021, 2022.
28:40
And so I have spinal cord
28:42
instability and whatnot.
28:43
And so if there was an accident,
28:45
like a rollover or something,
28:47
it probably wouldn't go very my way.
28:51
So I have like first
28:52
getting into off-roading,
28:53
you always have that in
28:53
the back of your mind.
28:55
And I still do, of course,
28:57
have to be a little extra cautious.
28:59
But that being said, I think now,
29:01
I get in and I do trails
29:04
that are just as wicked
29:05
as my dad's stories back in the day.
29:08
Because yeah, I definitely
29:09
did have that in the beginning.
29:11
There was one point and I
29:13
had just gotten my license.
29:16
I was like, "Mom, dad,
29:17
like we're going wheeling,
29:18
that we're going to the lakes."
29:20
Which was, you know,
29:21
it's probably 20
29:22
minutes away from my house.
29:24
So not too far.
29:25
And this was after I had
29:27
it lifted of the 32s on it.
29:29
So, you know, a bit more capable.
29:30
And I had my mom in the
29:32
back seat and she was just,
29:34
she was terrified.
29:36
And again, it was one of those things,
29:37
my dad was driving,
29:38
it probably wouldn't have been an issue.
29:40
But yeah, she was
29:42
terrified when we were going up.
29:43
We didn't even,
29:44
we got maybe six feet off the pavement
29:47
and going through a
29:47
dugout and she got out.
29:50
And unfortunately the
29:51
one downside of your mom
29:52
being average height and maybe in three
29:54
and a half feet tall
29:55
is I'm physically, I'm
29:57
not winning any battles.
29:58
So she got out, lifted me
29:59
out of the driver's seat,
30:01
grabbed my dad and lifted
30:03
my dad in the driver's seat,
30:04
on my own Jeep.
30:06
I was like, "Are you kidding me?"
30:08
Yeah.
30:09
That's the old thing
30:11
that you saw on TikTok,
30:12
emotional damage.
30:13
(laughs)
30:14
Exactly, exactly.
30:16
That was brutal for sure.
30:19
I mean, you know, there
30:20
was definitely concerns
30:21
all around the board
30:22
when I first started,
30:23
but you know, anything you
30:24
kind of get with experience.
30:26
So I think you know this,
30:28
but if you don't, cause you're just 21,
30:31
it will not matter when you're 55 or 60,
30:34
your mom will always
30:36
treat you like a child
30:37
because you are her child
30:39
and you will always be her child.
30:41
It doesn't matter if you're a CEO
30:42
of a multinational company.
30:44
In fact, I wonder how
30:47
Elon's mom treats him.
30:48
Could you imagine?
30:49
Yes, mom.
30:50
Yes, mom.
30:52
(laughs)
30:53
Stay away from that rocket
30:54
when it's being launched.
30:55
Yes, ma'am.
30:57
Exactly.
30:59
All right, so, you know,
31:01
I don't know a lot
31:02
about Canada and Wheeling.
31:03
Are there some good places
31:04
or are there some good places nearby you
31:07
where you can take the XJ off road?
31:10
Yeah, so we barely have any
31:12
of the actual off-roading parks.
31:15
We kind of go on Crownland
31:17
where a lot of the logging companies
31:18
will just leave their gates open
31:21
or if they don't, there's
31:22
always, you know, workarounds.
31:24
So I live on Vancouver Island
31:27
and I have to say like it's,
31:28
you know, I've been to
31:29
LA, New York, Florida,
31:31
you know, traveled around quite a bit
31:33
and it's still, you know,
31:34
my favorite place to this day
31:36
for Wheeling as well.
31:39
You know, we've got
31:39
lakes, we've got oceans,
31:41
we got the forest,
31:42
like good rock crawling.
31:43
We've got a bit of everything.
31:45
So yeah, you know,
31:46
it's a very beautiful area
31:48
and you can pretty
31:48
much go from end to end
31:50
of the island that I'm on
31:52
all through back roads and trails.
31:56
So I would imagine, not
31:58
again, not knowing the area,
31:59
I would imagine that
32:00
it's cold a lot of the time.
32:02
Is there a season for
32:04
Wheeling or do you just say,
32:05
screw it, I'm going off road
32:06
and you just make sure
32:07
that you keep something warm
32:09
and a full tank of gas?
32:11
Yeah, a lot of, you
32:12
know, those big stanley's,
32:14
a lot of those with hot
32:15
chocolate and just get in and go.
32:18
I'm on the West Coast, so kind of the
32:19
warmer side of Canada.
32:21
So really, you know, the
32:22
only time that we take off
32:24
is the summer for the
32:26
droughts and fire season.
32:27
But other than that, we're going pretty,
32:30
pretty full round of the year.
32:32
Very, very cool.
32:34
You know, I just looked down at the time,
32:35
I can't believe that
32:37
we've only been talking for,
32:40
it seems like about 15
32:42
minutes, but it's not at all.
32:43
So this is a very
32:44
interesting story that you have.
32:47
And I'm sure I'm not the
32:48
only one interested in it.
32:49
I mean, especially with
32:50
the number of subscribers
32:51
that you have.
32:52
We got to get you back on
32:54
the YouTube and making videos.
32:57
You know, you don't have to
32:57
make, build videos and stuff.
32:59
You could just make
33:01
videos to go on off road,
33:02
set up a camera inside and,
33:05
oh, have you already done that?
33:06
Where you have a camera
33:07
inside and you're all in the chair
33:10
and you're driving off road?
33:12
Yeah, yeah, I've got
33:14
like a suction cup mount.
33:15
So I can put it in the
33:16
kind of passenger side
33:17
of the windshield and have it facing me.
33:19
And then I've usually, if I am going out,
33:22
I've got like the Osmo action cameras,
33:24
kind of like GoPros.
33:25
I'm just gonna mount them all
33:27
around the Jeep and whatnot.
33:28
Okay, so you're already doing that.
33:30
I'll have to check out
33:30
some of those YouTube videos.
33:32
So let's see, was there anything else
33:36
that you wanted to
33:36
mention before we wrap this up?
33:39
No, no, I don't think.
33:40
I just want to say thank
33:42
you for having me on the show.
33:43
It's been a pleasure.
33:44
Oh, I'm glad to have you on the show.
33:47
There's, oh, one more question.
33:49
So it's not just Cherokees with you.
33:51
You have a full size
33:53
truck, Dodge Ram, I think.
33:55
I do, yeah.
33:56
So the Jeep was where everything started.
33:59
And then I always wanted to track.
34:01
So I got my first
34:02
truck, which is a 89 W150.
34:05
So first gen Dodge, and it's
34:07
on a six inch lift with 35.
34:10
And then I've got-
34:11
Now I know you're not
34:12
touching the handle on that one.
34:14
Not a chance.
34:15
So what we've
34:15
actually done is we rerouted.
34:18
The nice thing about the older vehicles
34:20
is they're all mechanical.
34:22
Now you can tap it wherever.
34:23
And so we tapped into
34:25
the door handle cable
34:27
and rerouted it under my fender liner
34:29
in the front wheel well.
34:31
And so now I've just got
34:32
like a lever that I can pull
34:33
and it pops open the door.
34:35
Very nice.
34:36
I think you're gonna say like a remote
34:38
where it actually pops the door
34:40
with like a Bluetooth or something.
34:42
So on the old truck, and then I have a,
34:45
like a, it's actually
34:47
a towel rack from Ikea.
34:49
I don't know if you guys
34:50
have Ikea in the States.
34:51
Yeah, yeah.
34:51
Yeah, yeah.
34:52
So it's a towel rack from Ikea.
34:54
And I use that as a handle.
34:56
It's in my door panel at the bottom.
34:58
So I can lift myself up.
35:00
And then I also have my new truck,
35:03
which is a 2016 Ram 3500.
35:06
And I've done all the
35:08
engine work too and whatever,
35:09
but it's on a four inch lift and 35s.
35:12
And another issue, new vehicles,
35:16
there is like fractions
35:18
of an inch of actual cable
35:21
in the door handles
35:22
that you have access to
35:24
before they go into like
35:25
the actuators and everything.
35:26
Oh, yeah.
35:29
And so our original plan out the window,
35:30
you can't even tap into it.
35:32
And so now I have a door popper.
35:34
So I have the little button on my fob
35:36
and it pops open my door for me.
35:38
Yeah, there's always a way you just,
35:40
and that's kind of the fun too.
35:41
If it was the same
35:42
solution for every problem,
35:44
it wouldn't be as interesting.
35:45
It would be less
35:46
frustrating, but it wouldn't,
35:47
it wouldn't be as, it
35:49
would be less frustrating.
35:50
All right, so that's really cool.
35:52
Oh, I really, my first four wheel drive
35:57
wasn't the Jeep.
35:58
It was a brand new 1983
36:01
Chevrolet short wheelbase
36:03
fleet side truck.
36:06
And yeah, and I put a four inch lift
36:10
and those relief springs
36:11
front and rear for that year.
36:13
And a lot of people during that time
36:17
were doing six inch lifts.
36:18
I didn't like all the
36:19
space between the large tires
36:21
and the rest of the truck.
36:22
I mean, that's what
36:23
you do to go off road.
36:24
I didn't like to look at it.
36:25
I was new.
36:26
I was actually about your
36:27
age when I was doing this.
36:29
So I put 37 inch tires
36:32
with a four inch lift
36:33
and to leave the tire place,
36:37
I actually had to cut a
36:38
little bit of the fender out
36:39
of the front so I could
36:41
actually turn the tires.
36:42
Straight was no problem.
36:44
Yeah, that's always the issue
36:45
is when you hit a corner, right?
36:47
Yeah, but I remember
36:49
getting, I loved that truck,
36:50
but I remember getting
36:51
out in and out of it,
36:52
the bottom of the
36:53
door, right where the door
36:54
hit the body of the
36:56
truck hit me about mid thigh.
37:00
And it was only a four inch lift.
37:02
So I would have to
37:04
grab the steering wheel
37:05
and pull myself in there.
37:06
21, no problem.
37:08
Now I'd still be able to do it,
37:10
but now it would be a lot more difficult.
37:12
It was so much fun driving
37:14
that truck around up so high
37:16
and it wasn't even as
37:17
high as I could have gone.
37:19
So I can well imagine that getting in
37:21
that full size truck
37:22
is just like, this is so great.
37:25
I mean, I've literally had dreams
37:27
where I'm driving around
37:28
in a lifted full size truck.
37:31
It's so cool.
37:33
I mean, they make
37:34
these jokes about the size
37:36
of your
37:36
(beep)
37:36
and stuff.
37:37
Screw you.
37:38
Drive a full size truck
37:39
that's lifted just four inches
37:41
and see what kind of fun you're missing.
37:43
I mean, just pulling
37:45
into the drive through it,
37:46
McDonald's or something was fun.
37:48
Because people, they'd
37:49
be looking at me and say,
37:50
how do you get in there?
37:51
And I can well
37:52
imagine if you pull up there
37:54
that they really don't
37:55
understand how you got in there.
37:57
Yeah, the best part.
37:59
So on my new truck,
38:00
I've got a 5% $10 round,
38:02
so you can't even see me.
38:04
And so, but I've got
38:05
the disability placards.
38:07
So I can always park
38:08
right in the front and center.
38:09
And yeah, you always get
38:11
the people that don't see me
38:13
when I come to park and
38:14
they're always coming to say,
38:15
oh, I wanna
38:15
(beep)
38:16
for parking.
38:16
Exactly.
38:18
And then I fling open the door
38:19
and you can just see them like, huh?
38:22
Oh, their whole attitude now changes.
38:24
Yeah, everything completely.
38:25
So yeah, it's definitely a cool thing
38:29
and it gets a lot of attention,
38:31
whether it's on the road or parking
38:33
or drive-throughs as well.
38:35
Now with social media,
38:36
it's on a whole other level.
38:37
I can't go anywhere without getting 10
38:40
people honking at me
38:41
on the way there and
38:43
pictures when I'm there.
38:44
So it has been so much fun.
38:47
So I don't know how you are,
38:49
but I don't like people being nice to me.
38:52
And I would imagine that
38:53
you get a lot of people
38:54
being nice to you
38:55
because of your stature.
38:57
I'm hoping that your
38:58
friends that know you real well
38:59
will give you
39:00
(beep)
39:00
all the time.
39:01
Oh yeah, yeah.
39:03
(laughing)
39:03
I never lacked in that department.
39:06
You know, I have to say, like even
39:09
growing up and whatnot,
39:10
you know, my size was always something
39:12
for somebody new or whatnot,
39:13
but the second it was
39:14
like an hour into knowing me,
39:16
the short jokes are coming in
39:18
and we're down to just
39:19
as good as anybody else.
39:22
I wouldn't have it any other way.
39:23
And I bet you wouldn't.
39:24
Oh no, never.
39:25
I wouldn't trade it for the world.
39:27
And you know, my buddies have been
39:28
awesome my whole life.
39:31
All right, so you know how
39:32
the kids love the social media.
39:34
No offense to you.
39:35
I mean, you're 21, you're an adult.
39:37
But the kids love the social media.
39:39
Where can people find you online?
39:42
Yeah, if you search up Caden tonight,
39:44
that's Caden, T-E-N-E-Y-C-K-E,
39:47
pretty much on any
39:48
platform, you'll find me.
39:51
And you've made a
39:52
promise to our audience.
39:53
You're gonna start
39:54
making YouTube videos, right?
39:56
I have, yeah.
39:56
I got my camera right there.
39:58
I'm actually in the
39:59
process of filming one right now.
40:00
So hopefully we can wrap right away.
40:03
Perfect.
40:03
All right, man, thank
40:04
you so much for being here.
40:05
I feel like we've only touched the
40:07
surface of your story.
40:09
And we'd love to have
40:11
you back on in the future
40:12
if you feel like doing it again, so.
40:15
For sure, no, at any time.
40:16
Thank you for having me on.
40:17
It's been a blast.
40:19
Great, thank you.
40:21
You're my friend, you're my new friend.
40:24
XJTalk.com LLC and the
40:27
Jeep Talk Show podcast
40:28
is attended for
40:29
entertainment purposes only.
40:31
The views and opinions
40:32
expressed by the host guests
40:33
and contributors are their own
40:35
and do not represent professional advice,
40:37
endorsements or recommendations.
40:39
We strongly advise consulting a licensed
40:42
or certified mechanic or
40:43
automotive professional
40:44
for any repairs, modifications
40:46
or maintenance to your vehicle.
40:48
By listening to or using any information
40:51
provided on this show,
40:52
you assume full
40:53
responsibility for your actions
40:55
and any resulting consequences,
40:57
including potential
40:58
risks to safety, property
41:00
or legal compliance.
41:02
The Jeep Talk Show and its affiliates
41:03
disclaim all liability
41:05
for any damages or losses
41:07
arising from the
41:08
application of this content.