Icons of Philippine Motoring: The Owner-Type Jeep

The Owner-Type Jeep, a legendary vehicle that you’ve seen in countless local action movies, whether as the protagonist’s choice of wheels or a getaway vehicle for the villains he fights.

Many young Pinoys had their first taste of motoring on it, sneaking it out of the garage at night for a joy ride with friends until the wee hours of the morning.

As a personal ride or family transport, it’s been raised, slammed, stretched, shrunk – and even turbocharged as a drift machine. 

This is the owner-type jeep, and it continues to endure the test of time

Like the jeepney, which is another Icon of Philippine Motoring, it traces its roots to surplus military Jeeps that were promptly left behind by American forces after the end of the war.

While many of those units were converted into mass transport vehicles by enterprising Pinoys, some were adopted in their original configuration for private use or ownership.

This is likely where the name owner-type came from (another version contends that the moniker comes from a misspelling of the word awning, referring to the vehicle’s canvas top).

Early owner-type jeeps were largely unchanged from their original military origins

Owner-type jeeps refurbished from military units were initially powered by the original Willys and Ford engines, even retaining their original four-wheel drivetrains.

Soon, local assemblers began to design and build their own versions of the owner-type, using engines and transmissions from cheaper Japanese surplus parts.

A typical owner-type jeep has a body shell made of galvanized iron or stainless steel, with either a plain exterior or decked out in body graphics. It seats up to six occupants, with a driver and passenger in front, and four rear passengers facing each other).

Some owner-types have a front-facing rear bench, and extended wheelbase models even have as much as three seating rows.     

Some owner-types come with extended front bumpers and vestigial doors

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The lack of pillars made the owner-type jeep literally a breeze to drive, with the canvas top held up by the windshield and rear bars. While ingress and egress were easy enough for the front occupants, rear passengers had to squeeze through between the front seats.

Steering used a recirculating ball and nut gear which was good for building upper-body strength. The canvas roof offered little protection against the summer heat or torrential rains.

And there was an utter lack of amenities and safety equipment: no power features, no seatbelts, no ABS, no airbags.

An imaginative craftsman fashioned a wooden body for this owner-type jeep

But where owner-types fell short in refinement, they presumably made up for in driving joy. Being light, they were easy to operate. Losing the top gave you an open-air vehicle best enjoyed in the company of a group.

Having no sophisticated driver aids meant that one exclusively relied on reflexes and wits behind the wheel, while any superficial damage was easily hammered back by the neighborhood body shop.

Some owner-types were made to resemble a contemporary Jeep with bigger dimensions, full metal pillars and roof, even air-conditioning.

More experienced motorists on their modern cars will fondly look back on the days when they were learning to drive in an owner-type jeep. As with the jeepney, the owner-type is a testament to the Filipino’s natural talent behind the wheel.

Look back on more motoring history at Philkotse.com.