She’s Better Topless: Jeep Thread

[utee94 15830]

10 hours ago, Stinkpalm said:

Have had a TJ, a JK, and just bought a gladiator (JT). TJ was rough but loved it. JK was a step up in ride, but still not smooth. The JTs and JLs are smooth. The ride is way more car-like than I ever thought a Jeep could ever be without going the IFS route. Even after having put a lift and 35s on the JT, it’s still a pretty pleasant and smooth ride. 

Which JK did you have?  My brother's lifted Willys JKU on 35s is definitely rougher than my stock Rubicon on 33s even though they're M/T, and overall the Rubicon's ride isn't bad at all.  I'd imagine the Sahara is even better though I've never driven one.

The JLUR I test-drove was absolutely smoother still, though, no doubt about it.  I really liked that Jeep but got a really great deal on the JKUR at 3 year old but only 17K miles on it, and it had clearly never been offroad nor had its doors or top off.  Now, it has done ALL of those things.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by utee94

[Stinkpalm 687]

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

Which JK did you have?  My brother's lifted Willys JKU on 35s is definitely rougher than my stock Rubicon on 33s even though they're M/T, and overall the Rubicon's ride isn't bad at all.  I'd imagine the Sahara is even better though I've never driven one.

The JLUR I test-drove was absolutely smoother still, though, no doubt about it.  I really liked that Jeep but got a really great deal on the JKUR at 3 year old but only 17K miles on it, and it had clearly never been offroad nor had its doors or top off.  Now, it has done ALL of those things.

 

 

It was a 2012 2-door Rubicon. It was certainly a better ride when it was stock, but even after I put the lift and 35s on it, it wasn’t bad at all. Just a small decrease in factory ride, which is to be expected any time you start messing with the geometry. Loved that thing. Didn’t plan on parting with it any time soon (traded it in with only 40,000 miles on it after 8 years) but needed a 4-door with a baby on the way. Really enjoying the gladiator so far, but still miss that manual trans 2-door jk

[utee94 15830]

27 minutes ago, Stinkpalm said:

It was a 2012 2-door Rubicon. It was certainly a better ride when it was stock, but even after I put the lift and 35s on it, it wasn’t bad at all. Just a small decrease in factory ride, which is to be expected any time you start messing with the geometry. Loved that thing. Didn’t plan on parting with it any time soon (traded it in with only 40,000 miles on it after 8 years) but needed a 4-door with a baby on the way. Really enjoying the gladiator so far, but still miss that manual trans 2-door jk

Gladiators look awesome, I dig 'em. 

 

Edit: Oh, and congrats on the impending baby on the way.  Kids love Jeeps!  Our kids are disappointed anytime we have the doors and/or top on. 

Edited July 29, 2020 by utee94

[utee94 15830]

1 hour ago, Stinkpalm said:

It was a 2012 2-door Rubicon. It was certainly a better ride when it was stock, but even after I put the lift and 35s on it, it wasn’t bad at all. Just a small decrease in factory ride, which is to be expected any time you start messing with the geometry. Loved that thing. Didn’t plan on parting with it any time soon (traded it in with only 40,000 miles on it after 8 years) but needed a 4-door with a baby on the way. Really enjoying the gladiator so far, but still miss that manual trans 2-door jk

Also, got any pics?  I always like looking at Jeeps.

[Stinkpalm 687]

7 hours ago, utee94 said:

Also, got any pics?  I always like looking at Jeeps.

I’ll try and upload some pics in the next couple days. Still haven’t taken any “hero” pics of the JT now that I’ve gotten it how I want it. 

[Stinkpalm 687]

A little photo dump for @utee94 

Damn I miss that TJ

[utee94 15830]

Very cool, like the way you've outfitted the JT.

 

I also dig the TJ, of the "vintage" jeeps, that style is my second favorite after only the CJ itself.

 

[Bevo&Pevo 5195]

Finally managed to get my CJ over to the engine tuner for some magic.  Abracadabra!  What ever rabbit he pulled outta his hat is working.  I was having some shifting issues and over fueling.  Now 'ol Trusty Rusty runs like a spotted ass ape.  Shifting is 100X better and no more black smoke from over fuel.  Other than tracking down a ATF leak I'm saying my LM7 TH350 swap is done.  Just in time to enjoy the rest of the summer.

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Bevo&Pevo

[utee94 15830]

Looks awesome, glad it's running well now, too!

I mentioned my best friend in high school had a CJ5.  Not sure I mentioned it was a V8 Renegade model, in yellow.  Looked exactly like this one, same soft top and doors and all:

 

Here's a CJ7 version but in color (my friend's had a stock front bumper not this aftermarket one):

I've told him and his dad, if they ever decide to sell it, they must come to me first, for first right of refusal.  

[Bevo&Pevo 5195]

thats cool right there.

[BabaBooey 131]

On 7/30/2020 at 12:00 AM, Stinkpalm said:

I’ll try and upload some pics in the next couple days. Still haven’t taken any “hero” pics of the JT now that I’ve gotten it how I want it. 

How are you liking the Gladiator? Went and test drove the Rubicon edition a few days ago and was quite surprised how much I liked it since I've never driven a jeep before. Half my brain can't justify dropping that amount of $ on a smaller vehicle than what I have now (F-150), but on the other hand, I REALLY want one. 

[Stinkpalm 687]

It’s been awesome so far. Haven’t had a chance to get it off the pavement much just yet, but I’m quite happy with it. Coming from two door wranglers, it’s been nice having all the extra room for camping trips when I’m hauling flyfishing and mountain biking gear that normally had my Jeep stuffed to the gills. That said, if you’re coming from a full size truck and actually use it regularly for it’s intended purposes, you may feel like it’s not enough “truck”. The bed it shorter as well as shallower than an F-150, so it can definitely be limiting at times. I got the max-tow option which claims to tow up to 7,600 pounds, which is more than enough to tow my flats boat (hell I used to pull it with my 2-door), but again if you do a lot of towing it might leave you wanting. None of that really bothered me as my wife drives an FX4, so I had a full size available when/if the gladiator just won’t do. Jumping to gladiator just meant less times that I had to steal her truck for jobs around the farm.   But all that said, I haven’t had any issues hauling gear with it and am extremely happy with it. Zero buyer’s remorse.

[Rip76 4943]

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Rip76

[utee94 15830]

4 hours ago, Rip76 said:

 

Looks good.  New ride?

 

[Rip76 4943]

2 hours ago, utee94 said:

Looks good.  New ride?

 

Yeah I got it last May.  Thank you.

[bigshark88 388]

I have been searching for a year to get some TJ half doors.  I came close one time.  

 

Has anyone ever successfully pulled this off?  I want to score two half doors for an 06 TJ.  Looks like I'll have to get them paint matched on my own.  

[utee94 15830]

I've never searched.  Where are you?  In Austin there's a Facebook group called Austin Jeep People where you can post up your searches and look for advice.

 

 

[smuggs 9353]

Did a little impromptu overland with the boy after everything thawed out this past weekend.

 

[NoRagrets 1125]

Any thoughts on the new plug in hybrid?

im thinking about it for my wife. Would be a fun around town weekend vehicle and fun for trips to the hill country.

have not heard good things about the 2.0 4 banger turbo.

[utee94 15830]

6 hours ago, NoRagrets said:

Any thoughts on the new plug in hybrid?

im thinking about it for my wife. Would be a fun around town weekend vehicle and fun for trips to the hill country.

have not heard good things about the 2.0 4 banger turbo.

I'd hold out for the 392 Hemi.

 

 

https://www.jeep.com/wrangler/rubicon-392.html

 

 

[cknight 184]

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

I'd hold out for the 392 Hemi.

 

 

https://www.jeep.com/wrangler/rubicon-392.html

 

 

Not for a $75k starting price I wouldn’t!

[LebongJames 1811]

Chrysler has lost their mind thinking they are a luxury brand.

Edited February 25, 2021 by LebongJames

[utee94 15830]

There are lots of folks out there doing Hemi swaps on Wranglers already. Buying a brand new one for $75K is probably cheaper.

[NoRagrets 1125]

Caveat: it has to qualify for the business deduction, so it has to be 6000 lbs. I think only the diesel and hybrid will hit that.

https://www.jeep.com/tax-benefits-for-businesses.html

[utee94 15830]

13 hours ago, NoRagrets said:

Caveat: it has to qualify for the business deduction, so it has to be 6000 lbs. I think only the diesel and hybrid will hit that.

https://www.jeep.com/tax-benefits-for-businesses.html

Ah well in that case...

I like the idea of the hybrid, obviously it's new enough that there's not much real-world experience with them.

Also, as you just noted, the document you linked says it includes the 3L Ecodiesel, and not the 2L turbo. I like the specs on the diesel but can't say I've heard much about either of them, to be honest.

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by utee94

[smuggs 9353]

@MadBurgerMaker  - Right now I don't have anything additional for front seat storage. Space is pretty tight, you're right. I've seen some dash-mount accessory track bar options that look interesting but I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet. With the Bronco coming I hope Jeep does an interior refresh on the JL/JT and adds some storage features. I really like the way the Bronco is laid out - simple, clean and plenty of real estate for accessory mounting.

 

[MadBurgerMaker 404]

 

7 hours ago, smuggs said:

@MadBurgerMaker  - Right now I don't have anything additional for front seat storage. Space is pretty tight, you're right. I've seen some dash-mount accessory track bar options that look interesting but I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet. With the Bronco coming I hope Jeep does an interior refresh on the JL/JT and adds some storage features. I really like the way the Bronco is laid out - simple, clean and plenty of real estate for accessory mounting.

All I've really seen are some tray like things that fit between the seats and are super shallow (like half an inch deep) or bags that hang off the grab bar.  There's also an overhead storage console thing, but that obviously won't work for a plugged in phone.  I use Android Auto so wireless AA capability for uconnect would instantly solve this, admittedly minor, problem for me.  This is interesting, but requires you to run a hotspot on your phone which means you might as well just plug it in since you've got it out already:  https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/android-4-1-proxy-gateway-for-android-auto.3813163/

 

Anyhow, that's a nice lookin Jeep you've got there.  Makes me want a soft top again with the rear window sections off like that.

[utee94 15830]

Summer's here, and I think we're going to go with a soft top this time around.  I installed a hoist in our garage last year so it's pretty easy for me to pop the hard top, but my wife wants to be able to open it up herself, and close it back up, at a moment's notice.

The one I'm looking at is this one, the Bestop Trektop NX Glide.  I like the "sunrider" feature where you can throw back just the top, and expose the front and back seats, or push it all the way back and make it fully convertible.

https://www.extremeterrain.com/bestop-trek-nx-glide-soft-top-blk-twill-4dr-0717-jk.html

 

 

 

[Catpfish 618]

Just a head's up.  It's not really a moments notice.  It can take about 5 minutes and it requires pushing and pulling to get the pins to line up where the arms lock down along the door frame.  This is also a 2 door so it might be a little different on a 4 door.  Also, if your wife is short, it might be a little difficult to get it up and over the roll bar.

That said, it's a great top.  My only issue with it is that it's a little tight around the corners and the lip that the door closes on and sometimes work itself loose in colder weather due to "shrinkage"

 

 

[utee94 15830]

26 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

Just a head's up.  It's not really a moments notice.  It can take about 5 minutes and it requires pushing and pulling to get the pins to line up where the arms lock down along the door frame.  This is also a 2 door so it might be a little different on a 4 door.  Also, if your wife is short, it might be a little difficult to get it up and over the roll bar.

That said, it's a great top.  My only issue with it is that it's a little tight around the corners and the lip that the door closes on and sometimes work itself loose in colder weather due to "shrinkage"

 

 

Thanks.

I was comparing it to pulling the hard top, which isn't all that difficult since I have a hoist, but it's not something we can do in the HEB parking lot.

Anyway it's purchased and en route, I'll probably install next week, and then I'll report back.

 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

Me (and his Grandma) have agreed to get my son a vehicle for graduation.  We have agreed the $30K is pretty much the upper limit. He really wants a Wrangler.  I don't really  have any experience with Wranglers, but from what I can see there's not a lot available.  I've seen a few in the 2015 to 2017 range with less than 75K miles.  Any of the Jeep people on here want to give me some advice.  He's not really going to off road, except may around the ranch.  It's just the cool vehicle for his group now.

[utee94 15830]

1 hour ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Me (and his Grandma) have agreed to get my son a vehicle for graduation.  We have agreed the $30K is pretty much the upper limit. He really wants a Wrangler.  I don't really  have any experience with Wranglers, but from what I can see there's not a lot available.  I've seen a few in the 2015 to 2017 range with less than 75K miles.  Any of the Jeep people on here want to give me some advice.  He's not really going to off road, except may around the ranch.  It's just the cool vehicle for his group now.

Jeeps are fun.  My best friend in high school had an old CJ5 Renegade and we did some crazy things.  

The good news is they tend to hold their value well.  The bad news is, they tend to hold their value well, so "good deals on used Jeeps" are hard to come by.  I haven't been checking prices recently, but I imagine it's even worse right now, with pandemic/supply chain issues driving up the prices on everything from luxury items to building raw materials.

Basic question-- are you thinking 2-door or 4-door (aka "Unlimited")?

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

I'd like to look at both.  He thinks the 2 door looks better, and I agree.  However I tend to look at the more practical side.  My main concern with a jeep is safety.  I know spoken like a dad.

Edited May 17, 2021 by NeverMarryAStripper

[utee94 15830]

11 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I'd like to look at both.  He thinks the 2 door looks better, and I agree.  However I tend to look at the more practical side.  My main concern with a jeep is safety.  I know spoken like a dad.

Heh... not sure "Jeep" and "safety" are words that go particularly well together, under any circumstances.

That said, the 2-door models have the shorter wheelbase but are still high profile boxes, so they're probably less safe from a tipping/rollover standpoint.

As you can probably figure out from looking, the Rubicon is the most expensive trim package, and it includes things like push-button wheel lockers and sway bar disconnect, which is REALLY convenient for offroad rock crawling but  not all that necessary for a highway vehicle.  Sahara is also a more expensive trim package, aimed more at "luxury" than offroach capability.  And the Sport is the base trim package, which is still plenty capable as an offroader if he ever wanted to do that.

Most come with hard tops these days so if you wanted a soft top you'd have to get one aftermarket.  But a quick look at Autotrader does show at least a couple with soft tops.  

I'd also recommend test-driving some, to make sure he likes it.  He might not care, I certainly didn't when I was a kid, but the ride on even the smoothest Jeep, is still not "car-like"  and that's a turnoff for some people.  The more modern ones (called JL) that started in 2018 to present, are  smoother than their predecessors (JK from 2007-2018).  But it's relative.  

We have a 2017 JK Unlimited Rubicon, and my wife loves the way it drives, so it's a bigger deal to some than others.  Just something to consider.

Edited May 17, 2021 by utee94

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

9 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Heh... not sure "Jeep" and "safety" are words that go particularly well together, under any circumstances.

My biggest worry.  I'm going to take him to look at some and drive them.  Them I'm going to show him some other cars/suvs that he could get for the same amount.  Are they fairly easy to work on?  I have a 2011 F-150 with 230,000 miles on it and I love to work on it.  

[utee94 15830]

2 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

My biggest worry.  I'm going to take him to look at some and drive them.  Them I'm going to show him some other cars/suvs that he could get for the same amount.  Are they fairly easy to work on?  I have a 2011 F-150 with 230,000 miles on it and I love to work on it.  

We've only had ours for a year and bought it with only 15K miles on it, so I haven't had to do any work on it yet.  There are some longtime Jeepers around that can probably better answer your questions.

Only thing I've done is added a winch when I replaced the stock front bumper, and I wired it through the engine compartment and onto the battery.  There's decent room to move around in there, at least compared to some of the passenger cars I've worked on.

[utee94 15830]

This one looks pretty slick.  I'd be pretty darn happy to have had something like this as a graduation gift:

 

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=582699918&maxPrice=30000&priceRange=&makeCodeList=JEEP&modelCodeList=WRANGLER&city=Cedar Park&state=TX&zip=78613&location=[object Object]&incremental=all&relevanceConfig=default&searchRadius=50&marketExtension=include&isNewSearch=false&showAccelerateBanner=false&sortBy=relevance&numRecords=25&dma=&listingTypes=USED&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fcars-under-30000%2Fjeep%2Fwrangler%2Fcedar-park-tx-78613%3Fincremental%3Dall%26relevanceConfig%3Ddefault%26dma%3D%26searchRadius%3D50%26priceRange%3D%26location%3D%5Bobject%20Object%5D%26marketExtension%3Dinclude%26isNewSearch%3Dfalse%26showAccelerateBanner%3Dfalse%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26numRecords%3D25&clickType=listing

[utee94 15830]

On 5/17/2021 at 9:49 AM, utee94 said:

Thanks.

I was comparing it to pulling the hard top, which isn't all that difficult since I have a hoist, but it's not something we can do in the HEB parking lot.

Anyway it's purchased and en route, I'll probably install next week, and then I'll report back.

 

Got it installed today, just in time for the rain!

I'll post up some pics if/when it stops raining, it looks sharp.  Quick test and the road noise was minimal, maybe slightly more than the hard top but not by much, I was impressed.

 

 

[topochico 1049]

On 5/17/2021 at 2:41 PM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I'd like to look at both.  He thinks the 2 door looks better, and I agree.  However I tend to look at the more practical side.  My main concern with a jeep is safety.  I know spoken like a dad.

Just a couple of thoughts:

Drive both the JK and the JKU. I went in wanting a JK (it does look better). However, the ride quality of a longer wheelbase is so much smoother. The JK feels choppy and gets pushed around a lot by highway wind. 

Get as stock a jeep as you can find. Never trust someone else's lift kit and who installed it. If it has one already, find a trusted shop to look it over well. Some of those things are installed poorly. Also, research Jeep death wobble a bit. 

They are an absolute blast and a young person is going to love it and look past every fault (loud, slow, poor gas milage etc) and appreciate how fun they are. 

Not sure when the arrival of the Ford Bronco will be, but you may see some increased Jeep inventory as people move into the new Broncos. I think it was going to start in Spring 2021 but chip shortages may have delayed it. 

[utee94 15830]

I actually think the new 2-doors look overly tall, bubbly, and weird.  Especially with a hard top. They look better with soft top and best with no top.

Old CJ models of course look great in a 2-door, but they're smaller vehicles and that's all that was available at the time.  Modern JK and JL jeeps are just too tall and wide to look good in a 2-door.  Just my opinion of course, but I have to defend against all of the libelous slander going on here.

A friend of mine is taking delivery on his new Bronco in a couple of weeks, but he's one of the earliest-- he knows people.  I believe they won't be delivered en masse until Fall 2021.

 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

On 5/29/2021 at 6:28 AM, topochico said:

Just a couple of thoughts:

Drive both the JK and the JKU. I went in wanting a JK (it does look better). However, the ride quality of a longer wheelbase is so much smoother. The JK feels choppy and gets pushed around a lot by highway wind. 

Get as stock a jeep as you can find. Never trust someone else's lift kit and who installed it. If it has one already, find a trusted shop to look it over well. Some of those things are installed poorly. Also, research Jeep death wobble a bit. 

They are an absolute blast and a young person is going to love it and look past every fault (loud, slow, poor gas milage etc) and appreciate how fun they are. 

Not sure when the arrival of the Ford Bronco will be, but you may see some increased Jeep inventory as people move into the new Broncos. I think it was going to start in Spring 2021 but chip shortages may have delayed it. 

We found this one that he likes.  It's $30,391 (I told him 30K before TTL was the top).  it's a 2017 and it looks really nice.  My only real concern is it has 89k miles which seems high for a 2017.  He is also considering a base model Bronco Sport.  The base model will sticker just under $30K.  I'm not sure how long it would take to get one though.

[topochico 1049]

What part of the Jeep does he like? Off roading? Looks? If it is just a fun car with the top down, would a convertible satisfy his desires? Miatas, Mustangs and Camaros are in that price range with usually less miles. Plus, taking the top down is so much easier. 

This Jeep is a bit over budget, but less miles if he can drive a stick. 
https://www.vroom.com/inventory/jeep-wrangler-unlimited-2016-1C4BJWEGXGL291324
 

Or this one with less miles and about the same price as the one you posted. 
https://www.vroom.com/inventory/jeep-wrangler-unlimited-2015-1C4BJWDG3FL564636

Miata with 5K miles and only $25K
https://www.vroom.com/inventory/mazda-mx-5-miata-2016-JM1NDAD76G0118152

Mustang 'vert $27k and 33K miles

https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1733433

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

He’s not really going to go off-roading.  The most he’ll do is up at the ranch. He went to Stratford HS and all the cool guys drove Wranglers.  He likes the look of the keep lifted a couple of inches with the bigger tires.  I already nixed a mustang or any other sports car because I remember my high school days driving a  Chevrolet SS.  He likes 4 Runners too, but I think a decent on is out of his price range.

Edited June 1, 2021 by NeverMarryAStripper

[MadBurgerMaker 404]

Ordered myself a Bestop Sunrider just now.  Looking forward to that showing up on Thursday.

 

Any of you JT guys know a good soft tonneau cover to check out?  Ideally, I'd want one that you can't open without the tailgate being down (aside from just cutting it and all that, of course), but I don't know if that's a thing with the soft ones vs metal.  

[utee94 15830]

13 hours ago, MadBurgerMaker said:

Ordered myself a Bestop Sunrider just now.  Looking forward to that showing up on Thursday.

 

Any of you JT guys know a good soft tonneau cover to check out?  Ideally, I'd want one that you can't open without the tailgate being down (aside from just cutting it and all that, of course), but I don't know if that's a thing with the soft ones vs metal.  

I don't know about the JT specifically but I think that's a thing for other pickup brands, so I'd imagine it's available for the Jeep as well.

[utee94 15830]

Ok finally took some pics of the new top, installed. 

before and after 

 

[utee94 15830]

The sunrider function works well and is pretty easy for my wife to do on her own.  She can also fold it back to full convertible on her own but needs some help putting it back up. 
 

I really dig the fastback, I think it looks a lot better than the squared off versions.  Quality is excellent, really glad we went with the twill instead of the vinyl one. Took me about 4 hours to install by myself, but I bet I could do it again in only a couple. 

Edited June 12, 2021 by utee94

[bigshark88 388]

I found TJ half doors. Found two locally in blue had to get them painted. Doubled my budget for the project so that's not cool.

Got rid of my Smittybuilt bikini top. Got a Best top bikini in the box that I haven't installed yet. Put the header back on and quit after that.

Sprayed her down today because I dumped an entire sweet tea in the tub right next to the marine amp under the shotgun seat. I usually take her to the office on sunny Fridays.

[utee94 15830]

I have a free take-off front bumper for a JK if anyone's interested.  It's in very good shape, no wrecks or anything, I just pulled it when I replaced it with an aftermarket front bumper and winch last year.

[tigol 2398]

Bump.

Bought a 2021 Gladiator Mojave.

I'll get some pics when the weather clears up.  My last Jeep was a '97 TJ.  Most of the repair work was done by Bo at Jeep Master's around 2000.  Just Jeeps replaced the clutch around 2007 and I was not happy with them.  Sold it.  I was really broke and it was my daily driver.  Not a good combo.

I'm in the Dripping Springs area now and is there a good shop for adding a winch/bumpers/steps?  I'll start on P. 1 and admit that I haven't read the thread.  Too busy doing Jeep shit.  This truck is fun!