Using Jeeps

Postal jeeps have long been used as delivery vehicles by the US postal service. As early as 1942, Willys had already foreseen the jeep as not just a military vehicle.





The first jeep was invented because of necessity and was built by hand in just two and three quarter months out of the ingenuity of one man. The US military were searching for a light, high-speed, all-terrain recon vehicle ever since the First World War. In the early months of 1940, necessity came to urgency as the Axis powers began a number of invasions across Europe & north of Africa making the storm of war imminent. This became so pressing that the Army released an urgent call to auto manufacturers requesting for an operable prototype for this dream vehicle in a span of 49 days.





With the help of Karl Probst, Bantam bested the Willys-Overland model. The Army asked Willys & Ford to submit their own prototypes from the Probst plans after testing the vehicle extensively. Willys modification came out superior with its powerful engine and the contract was awarded to them. But due to the production demand Willys shared the manufacturing with Ford.





Not a soul knows for sure where the word "jeep" really came from. There are a lot of theories about it, the most popular being the slur of the acronym G.P. which stands for General Purpose vehicle, the Army designation for it.





The Willys company applied for a trademark for Jeep in 1950. The trademark was then passed down to Kaiser then to American Motors Corporation and now to Chrysler Corp.





Original postal jeep was referred to as dispatcher jeep then shortened to DJ. It was produced in 1955 using the body style of the older CJ. However, the DJ came with an optional column shift and a new engine. Different options for the body were given such as a hard top, a soft top, or a full van body.





Early in the year 1959, Willys released the Jeep Gala for export. It became popular in Mexico, Hawaii, & the Caribbean as a resort vehicle equipped with top fringes, gay trimmings, & candy stripes. In the fall of that year, a comparable model, Jeep Surrey, came out in the US. It had a striped soft top with a matching seat cover resembling a continental tire which targets resorts and tourist spots.

Used postal jeeps can be employed as utility vehicles. Some sites are offering these postal service right hand vehicles for sale for sale.