The Jeep Experience, Part 5: Customization (unfinished draft)

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux) 11/10/2020 at 21:06 • Filed to: Jeep Experience, jeep

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(Like many of us, I have a few drafts I never finished; this one I started July of 2018! It’ s incomplete, but whatchagonnado. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

At the risk guarantee of over-generalizing, there are two camps of Jeep enthusiasts. Those for whom the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of Jeep looks like this:

Primitive. Exposed. What’s not to love?

And those who prefer this:

Angry grille, light bar, hard top, silver. At least it’s not a color-matched hard top.

Since this is my Jeep Experience, I have no qualms about expressing my strong preference for the streamlined look, but Jeeps are nearly infinitely customizable, so you can make your own decisions.

Not my cup of tea, but this family in the parade at the Toledo Jeep Fest looked like they were having a great time. You do you.

Ford recently unveiled the new Bronco, and reportedly part of the motivation was the lure of the thriving aftermarket that Jeeps offer, and that FCA is increasingly monetizing. There’s gold in them thar hills.

So, let’s talk Jeep mods.

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We’ll start at the top, literally: cargo racks.

Jeeps are notoriously stingy with internal space. Those wide fenders (something the Bronco is eschewing) make off-roading less expensive (because you’re more likely to rip off a fender when you hit something, less likely to cause real body damage) but make for a narrower cabin.

So if you’re taking a few people on a trip, especially with a shorter wheelbase Wrangler, you can quickly run out of room for gear and luggage.

Cargo racks are good at giving off that overloading vibe that’s popular these days (especially with all that platform for lights!), and certainly they’re useful, but there are some notable downsides.

For me, a cargo rack is particularly problematic because, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I love open air driving, and I love my soft top. If you want a cargo rack that can lift to allow you to remove a soft top, you’ll pay through the nose.

And of course good luck lifting a cargo rack that’s filled with gear.

They also obviously reduce fuel efficiency, although given that you’re driving a box, decent gas mileage is mostly mythical.

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The Jeep roof itself is a platform for extensive customization. From the factory, you have several choices: color-matched hard top (DON’T DO IT), black hard top, premium soft top (twill), or regular soft top. Sometimes Jeep offers a tan soft top like the one below, and currently they’re offering mesh tops, which as far as I know are new to their lineup.

Davis Auto Sports regularly offers some of the cleanest, most beautiful Jeeps I’ve ever seen. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted this one.

Once you start looking at the aftermarket options, the choices are maddeningly complex.

With the JK generation of Wrangler Jeep started adding panels to their hard tops, and some aftermarket hard tops offer similar t-top functionality for previous generations.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is the OEM for Jeep’s soft tops and offers both the standard factory tops and several other varieties. Some aftermarket soft tops don’t require a frame; they mold to the roll cage. There are bikini tops (just cover the front seats), safari tops (basically a standard soft top without any windows), mesh tops that are great for warding off the intense sun but can be annoying in the rain.

A !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is a combination bikini top/hammock: great for drive-in movie theaters, I imagine, but sadly mine sags a bit too much and rubs against my bald head (this problem is exacerbated by my seat lift, yet another aftermarket modification), so I never use it.

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So what makes a Jeep such an attractive target for modification?

Boxiness. Makes it easy to add new elements without curves getting in the way.

Round headlights are easy to upgrade.

Bumpers are designed to be replaceable.

The Wrangler has so many different use cases, that fundamental features like tires & wheels are appealing to configure appropriately. My Jeep is the first vehicle I ever researched tires for.

Out of the box configurability. Without ever adding a single aftermarket part, you can:

remove windows

remove top

remove doors

drop windshield

Off-road. While the Wrangler, particularly the Rubicon, is factory ready for pretty serious off-road conditions, people always want more.

As I mentioned earlier, often placed on the roof (or cargo rack) are lights. Bright lights. Crazy annoying lights. I love what LEDs have done for flashlights, but with great power comes great responsibility.

(There’s a common phrase in the off-roading community: “lockers before lights”. It’s very rare that most people will ever have an opportunity to drive off-road in the dark, but lockers can be useful under a wide range of situations.

But, they don’t show off your off-road creds like lights do.)

I can’t speak much to the lighting aftermarket, but as long as you don’t actually need your lights to work in an emergency situation, as practically no one ever does, you can buy cheap stuff on eBay that will impress your friends appropriately.

Despite my general disdain for lighting as a signaling mechanism (hah!), I do have two modifications on my Jeep: LED headlights (which jumped to the top of my wishlist after driving in a snowstorm and realizing how completely useless the stock TJ lights were) and a circular ring of brake light bulbs that sit behind my spare tire, replacing my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Being aware of the intense interest in aftermarket lighting, Jeep collaborated with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to develop !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a concept vehicle for the 2017 Easter Jeep Safari with an emphasis on lighting (and a drone).

It had one pretty cool hack that I especially appreciated: a lit mast on the rear that changed color based on how fast the Jeep was driving, so when off-roading after dark as part of a group, the Jeeps behind them could have more information as to whether the Jeep was stopped (red), moving slowly (amber), or moving at speed (green).

Noodles > Just Jeepin' 11/10/2020 at 22:32

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When modification goes too far

Those were both Wranglers. Here’s another for your time

Just Jeepin' > Noodles 11/10/2020 at 22:39

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Holeeeee shit.

Noodles > Just Jeepin' 11/10/2020 at 22:52

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They’re all owned by the Rainbow sheikh. Here’s some of his collection

I’ve seen about 30 or so really weird cars online supposedly owned by him that aren’t in the video.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Just Jeepin' 11/10/2020 at 23:04

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The bi g Jeep is in a collection museum. The mid east owes the oil to Dodge Power Wagons actually!!!Without the American oil geologists they never would have found it, took them three years to find the first good well. They used aircraft tires. The L and Rovers couldn’t do it!  And that same guy built a giant WM300 too! 

Just Jeepin' > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 11/10/2020 at 23:24

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https://oppositelock.kinja.com/so-much-4x4-eye-candy-1840627658