JEEP RESURRECTION

So I am on gc.com looking at the list of Yellow Jeeps out there, and something strikes me as odd. One particular cacher has his hands on a lot of Jeeps. Jeep hoarding happens, but the weird thing is many of the Jeeps are listed as having 0 miles on them, and some of them are listed as dropped by him, which means he's not just hanging on to them. I go to where the Jeeps were "dropped" and they are not events, so it is not that the Jeeps are just being shown off at events. They are actually being moved. One of the places the Jeeps were dropped is called Jeep Paint and Body Shop. The Paint and Body Shop I can't look at because it "hasn't been published yet" - (is this how people have "home" caches? I could never figure out how to do that before but I think I am on to something....).

I don't know, I am curious, so I write the cacher and ask him what the deal is. This is what he writes back:

"I, and others, search for jeep tracking #s to find jeeps that have been lost, stolen, or just being hoarded by cachers. When we find a tracking #, off to wal-mart we go and buy us a matchbox jeep, make up a TB tag and send the jeep on its way....(he then explains the process for getting the tracking numbers, which I don't want to post here) I find it interesting and a thrill when I find a jeep that has not been placed into service. I claim it as a find and stick it in my paint shop. From there, I’ll search the stores for a toy jeep, paint it if necessary, attach a made up TB ID tag and put it on the geocaching road....

Something about jeeps will turn an honest cacher into a thief....

.....I’ve had a few people say that when I put out counterfeits, It takes the thrill away from finding a real Jeep. I just refer them to my cache “Yellow Jeep Hangout”. Good luck and happy caching. "

So, basically he has a system for finding tracking numbers from Jeeps that fell out of circulation, and then gives them new life.

Technically, the Jeep TBs belong to Chrysler, who probably doesn't care what happens to them after the contest is over. It's not like someone's personal TB that has the ID number hacked. I don't know, I am sure people could interpret this any way they want. Is it legal? Is it moral? What do you think?

Personally, I think it is ingenius. I like the idea that someone else likes Jeeps this much, and will go out of their way to put them back out in the geocaching community when they get lost, stolen, or otherwise disappear.

It's a Jeep Resurrection! Now that he explained his process, heck, maybe I'll give it a try....or at least try to find that Yellow Jeep Hangout next time I'm out near Dallas!