There was never a lot of marketing information released by Willys-Overland concerning the CJ3A. They were more concerned with the passenger wagon and trucks at this point. It was bascially an upgrade to the CJ2A and was treated as such. There were several farm promotions although the war had been over for nearly 4 years and real farm machinery was back in production.
This version featured a one piece windshield for visibility. A stronger frame, springs and drivetrain increased the weight to 3500 #, but these features provided increased durability and farming power. It carried 1,200 # in weight and could tow a braked load of 5500#.The new seats had a bit more padding and double vacuum wipers were standard issue.
The new brochure (CJ3A-M1-250M-9-49) explained that ” thousands of universal Jeeps are at work on farms and ranches everywhere, saving time and earning money for their owners by getting more work done. The “Jeep” is one all purpose vehicle that works for you in every season”. Its’ selectable 2 or 4 wheel drive was ideal for running to town or climbing through muddy fields or up hills. In reality, this could only do field work on a light scale as opposed to a real tractor and was more suited to a general purpose vehicle than anything else. The CJ3A is a great Jeep and an improvement over the CJ2A. Until the CJ3B model came along in 1953, this was the machine to get.
