No vehicle on or off the road says “rugged” quite like the Jeep Wrangler. A utility vehicle that goes anywhere the roads go and anywhere they don’t, the Wrangler is built to handle obstacles and elements that other cars can’t. On top of a tough stock model, Jeep owners make all sorts of clever aftermarket additions and modifications to their Wranglers. The goal is twofold: a truly personalized ride and the ultimate off-roading machine.
However, not everyone who fiddles with their Jeep does so to take it on muddy and rocky adventures. In the Jeep community, the term “mall crawler” pops up around mods, and often derisively. What is a mall crawler in the Jeep community, and why’s that such a bad thing? Is it even a bad thing at all? We’ll explain.
Where Did the Term Come From?
Like a lot of subcultural jargon, the term is of indeterminate origin. A mall crawler may earn the nickname by “crawling the malls” in search of accessories. It may get its name from the flashy Jeeps that appeared as promotional head-turners in shopping mall concourses. Either way, we know one when we see one. All-terrain tires for a Jeep that knows no terrain, body armor with no tree branches to protect against, and suspension lifts for a Jeep that will never cross rocks and streams are common components of the mall crawler’s arsenal. The result is a Jeep that looks amazing to bystanders and could make a big impression on the trails. The problem is that it never does.
Why Mall Crawl?
It’s hard to begrudge a Jeep owner who wants to customize their vehicle, no matter where they may or may not take it. Some Jeep enthusiasts have retired from their off-roading days but still relish the feel of a lifted Wrangler and don’t want to adapt to a stock suspension. Others simply feel better driving the highways at night with the high-powered headlights that mud-bound off-roaders rely on. There are lots of performance upgrades we can make to stock Wranglers, and even pavement-bound Jeeps can benefit from some of them.
Is It Wrong To Be a Mall Crawler?
It’s your Jeep. It’s your investment. Do with it what you wish. If you want to keep your Jeep in pristine condition as you make the mods you want to make, it’s not the rest of the Jeep community’s job to give you a hard time—no matter how much they think it is. After all, think about what happens when off-road mavens wear out their Jeeps and look for a replacement. What is a mall crawler in the Jeep community, really? It’s another term for someone who stands to sell a pre-owned but lightly used Jeep for a high price.
