Jeepin Bubba here for S3 Magazine. The Jeep Comanche you see above has an incredible backstory. Sometime in the 1970s, Ranger Bob was in the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), pursuing a forestry degree. Afterwards, he was hired onto the forestry department, and he worked his way up throughout different parks in South. Tragically though, his career (and life) met an abrupt end.
Ranger Bob’s early career…
As a rookie, Ranger Bob was always given the hand-me-down, beat-up vehicles. On worn dusty seats & through cracked windshields, he’d day-dream about fancy, fantasy forestry trucks. Like something out of a heroic ‘saves-the-day’ TV show. However, something Ranger Bob learned early-on, was people didn’t really like seeing the Rangers come around. Reality was: While campers appreciated the rangers in a ‘general sense’… they were always a little nervous when the badge came around the campsite.
Ranger Bob was an outdoorsman…
But he didn’t want to be an outsider. So he always went out of his way to be a little extra friendly to the folks. Maybe if he saw some guys crack open a cold beer, he’d turn a blind eye. Or maybe he’d let ’em play their music a little on the loud side if it wasn’t hurtin’ nobody. I was told he kept extra firewood in the bed of his truck, just in case anyone was running low. He’d always keep some cold sodas in the back for the kids. A couple extra cans of gas, jumper cables… stuff like that. That’s just how Ranger Bob saw the role of a Ranger. He loved the outdoors, and he loved sharing it with people.
So as the times rolled on…
We’re moving through the 1980s now. The Jeep XJ Cherokee hit the market, and Bob thought those things were pretty cool. Around the campsites, they quickly earned a reputation for their capability. And as fate/luck would have it, the forestry department took-on a few Cherokees of their own. Ranger Bob’s old beat-up pickup was ready for retirement. And he thought, “You know what? It’s time to see if I could put my name in the hat for a new Jeep Cherokee.” Well, the first couple Cherokees came through. And as you can probably expect, they went to the higher ranks. Bob didn’t get the first choice. But he hung in there.
Always conscious of the budgets, Ranger Bob tried to make sure he took extra good care of his truck… even though it’d seen better days. And that didn’t go unnoticed. So when the forestry department decided to adopt a Jeep Comanche (the new Cherokee pickup) into their fleet, it was assigned to Ranger Bob. Finally! It was the late 80s at this point.
And the Jeep Comanche was Pioneer Edition…
Loaded with bells & whistles, it had the 4-liter engine, 4-wheel-drive, and a manual transmission… which was one of the main reasons it went to Ranger Bob in the first place. They knew Bob could work a stick shift, and this Comanche was perfect for the job! It was lightweight, maneuverable, & could get him in & out of anywhere he wanted to go.
The only thing was, it didn’t quite have all the features on Ranger Bob’s ultimate wishlist. But he never complained; he drove it for something like fifteen years. He did, however, keep a little notepad tucked away in the glovebox. And in that notepad, was Ranger Bob’s notes of improvements & customizations that would make the perfect forestry ranger vehicle. He kind of dreamed that maybe one day, he’d get the chance to fix it up exactly the way he wanted (more on that in a minute). But tragically, that dream would never come true. Ranger Bob was eaten by a gator in the swamps of Louisiana, trying to rescue his trust sidekick, Boo Boo the shih tzu.
AI depiction (according to descriptions) of what Ranger Bob might look like today.
They say he saved the dog…
But couldn’t save himself. As for the Comanche, it sat by the maintenance shed collecting dirt daubers & pine straw. None of the other rangers could bring themselves to drive Bob’s pride & joy. Eventually, it went off to auction somewhere, changed hands a few times, and ended up in Georgia. A guy named Ray used it on his tree farm about an hour south of Atlanta. That is, until the old Peugeot transmission failed him. Stuck in 4th gear & not worth fixing, it was useless to Ray.
And that’s when the Comanche came into the hands of yours truly…
Ray & I have a mutual buddy named Nack. And Nack let me know Ray was selling the Comanche. So I dug into my honeypot, my little stashed-away fun money, and I went & bought it! I called it the Mildew Manchi, because this thing had gathered some dirty moss. And sure enough, it only had 4th gear. We drove the Comanche home anyway, smoking that clutch and killing every mosquito within every county all the way back to Buford. We parked the old Mildew Manchi right in that bay… right there at 219 East Marino at Black Bear Off-Road.
I rummaged through the glovebox…
And that’s when I found Ranger Bob’s old coffee-stained, scribbled-in notebook. It was amongst some loose change, straw wrappers, and old registration/maintenance papers that were all kinda stuck together with old nasty spilt soda goo. I was about to toss it all out, when I caught a glimpse of the gold Louisiana Forestry Association logo on the cover of the notebook. Soon, I realized the scribblings were actually parts, ideas, & wishlists for the Comanche. And stuck to the registration papers, were a couple business cards with the name “Ranger Bob”. With my curiosity officially sparked, I did some calling & digging, and that’s when I pieced together this unbelievable story. But there’s more…
Ranger Bob’s Department of Adventure…
Turns out – Ranger Bob had this dream of starting his own department at the forestry – called the Department of Adventure. A department whose purpose was apparently to make sure you were having a good time, and had everything you needed while you were on forestry property. Imagine an officer, mixed with a safari guide, mixed with Mr. Rogers, mixed with I dunno… Mr T. That seems to be what he was going for. Of course, a ‘Department of Adventure’ trail rig would have to meet certain standards. And that was Ranger Bob’s vision: Green paint, 4×4, off-road tires, official amber flashing lights, general camping supplies, fridge/cooler, first-aid, tools, recovery ropes, etc. Basically – a forestry vehicle that you’d be happy to see coming… like you are with an ice cream truck. A forestry department that just did good for good folks… with no other motives. That was Ranger Bob’s little dream.
So in honor of Ranger Bob…
That’s what we’re gonna build here at Black Bear Off-Road: The Department of Adventure Jeep Comanche. It’s a good dream, and we’re gonna make it happen. The plan is to build Ranger Bob’s Comanche in his honor, & style… the way he would have ultimately wanted it. Retro in spirit, and modernized where it makes sense. And then you know what? We’re gonna take this thing to The SEMA Show (more on that here). So now you know the Ranger Bob story… follow along for the rest.
Article by Bradley @jeepinbubba Cohron
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