Making some changes to the Rubicon for some extended commutes

[thekevin]

For the first time since Covid hit we are about to go back in to the office which for me is a 100 mile a day commute. My Jeep is a 21, 3.6, auto, 315's, 2.5" lift. I think I am going to pull the bumper, winch, rock rails back off it and go back to the stock stuff. I think I will also go back to stock springs with new Bilstein shocks and buy different wheels and 285/75/17 tires that are a really mild all terrain in a XL load rating to keep the weight down. It doesn't do terrible on the road now the way it is. I just got back from a 2600 mile round trip to South Florida and I averaged 16.62mpg on 12 fill ups but with 34k miles on the lift I am noticing it starting to not drive as good on the highway. It was wandering some and noticed any time the weight shifted to the front of the Jeep whether it was breaking or turning off cruise control at 75 or 80 mph it liked to dart around on the road some. The lift is a Skyjacker with the dual rate springs and M95 shocks, the shocks are starting to rust around the bottom so I am wanting to swap them out anyway. I am just going to put it in lightweight commuter mode for the time being since I refuse to buy another vehicle while interest rates are so high.

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[Ratbert]

It sucks that so much upper management thinks that RTO (return to office) is a good idea. A lot of people are dealing with that issue by finding another job on sites like indeed.com.

Hell, even if you're not serious about leaving the company still look. I got an offer from a fully-remote company last year and worked it into a 20% raise with my current company and I'm still fully remote. I go to the office when I want, which is about once every couple months.

If you're forced to neuter your rig and your focus is on handling (vs mileage) then I would would return the tires (not necessarily wheels) and suspension to stock. A potentially cheaper alternative would be to take it to a good suspension shop and have them verify that something isn't becoming screwed up with yours.

 

[Sparty]

For the first time since Covid hit we are about to go back in to the office which for me is a 100 mile a day commute. My Jeep is a 21, 3.6, auto, 315's, 2.5" lift. I think I am going to pull the bumper, winch, rock rails back off it and go back to the stock stuff. I think I will also go back to stock springs with new Bilstein shocks and buy different wheels and 285/75/17 tires that are a really mild all terrain in a XL load rating to keep the weight down. It doesn't do terrible on the road now the way it is. I just got back from a 2600 mile round trip to South Florida and I averaged 16.62mpg on 12 fill ups but with 34k miles on the lift I am noticing it starting to not drive as good on the highway. It was wandering some and noticed any time the weight shifted to the front of the Jeep whether it was breaking or turning off cruise control at 75 or 80 mph it liked to dart around on the road some. The lift is a Skyjacker with the dual rate springs and M95 shocks, the shocks are starting to rust around the bottom so I am wanting to swap them out anyway. I am just going to put it in lightweight commuter mode for the time being since I refuse to buy another vehicle while interest rates are so high.

My advice is to drive like you want - life is short. If that means tweaking/upgrading the lift, then go for it. Do what's going to make you smile while driving.

It sucks that so much upper management thinks that RTO (return to office) is a good idea. A lot of people are dealing with that issue by finding another job on sites like indeed.com.

Hell, even if you're not serious about leaving the company still look. I got an offer from a fully-remote company last year and worked it into a 20% raise with my current company and I'm still fully remote. I go to the office when I want, which is about once every couple months.

You're right, but there's a drawback. Once companies realize that 100% remote work IS possible - they're going to go right to a low cost country.....and that's obviously not the US.

You'll see more Mexico, India, Poland, and China based work for these scenarios

 

[JLeco2022]

few people I know went remote full time, 3 months ago their companies closed up shop in the usa and moved overseas, the amount of people who want to work from home is kinda bonkers to me

 

[cander58]

Can't blame you, the aftermarket stuff gets a little silly and causes more problems than it's worth IMO.

But I'd hang on to the rock rails. The effect that has on daily driving is going to be nearly non existent, and it provides some protection jeeps should come with from the factory (on all trims)

 

[thekevin]

I am sure that we are going to lose some people. I have worked there for 17 years and even though we are going back to the office I really have it made with my position. My company is actually cutting back on overseas workers right now more than US employees.

 

[wibornz]

So I Jeep travel a lot, with many multiple 16 hour days at a time. I have 108,000+ miles on my JLUR and it is not a daily driver. It is primary for Jeep travel/Jeep stuff, wheeling and camping. We even live out of it at time. With that said, If you want something to make your commute better do this.


I had a local upholstery shop rebuild my front seats. They took out the factory foam and added as much gel memory foam as they could while retaining the the factory seat cover. My seats in my JLUR are all day comfortable. Like it is no problem doing 16 hour days in the Jeep, back to back to back. It cost me $700. I dropped it off mid morning and got it back the same day mid afternoon.

 

[BRuby]

I just got back from a 2600 mile round trip to South Florida and I averaged 16.62mpg on 12 fill ups but with 34k miles on the lift I am noticing it starting to not drive as good on the highway. It was wandering some and noticed any time the weight shifted to the front of the Jeep whether it was breaking or turning off cruise control at 75 or 80 mph it liked to dart around on the road some. The lift is a Skyjacker with the dual rate springs and M95 shocks, the shocks are starting to rust around the bottom so I am wanting to swap them out anyway. I am just going to put it in lightweight commuter mode for the time being since I refuse to buy another vehicle while interest rates are so high.

We actually had a 2023 JL Base as a loaner for a couple of weeks. It was perfectly set up for distance highway commuting.

Here are some details in this thread:

JL Loaner Does Perfectly Fine With Base 245/75-17s

Comparably our stock JLUR was very good on a recent 2000mi trip - but the JL Base loaner would have been ever better. Smoother quieter better geared for highway driving mode more planted better MPGs.

3.6L V6 JL Rubicon - US MPG Hand Calculation Review

 

[thekevin]

Well it's been 6 months and we finally started back in the office last week. My Jeep is getting just under 15mpg on my daily commutes. I think I am going to go ahead pull the winch, bumpers, rock rails and spare tire off and do all factory stuff back on and see how it does with the 35's after I drop all the weight.

 

[Ratbert]

Any chance of getting a POS Prius for that commute and save your Rubicon from the pain of trying to act like one?

 

[thekevin]

I am real back and forth on that. Im a big guy so a little car is going to suck for me and I don't know that I want to spend 2 hours a day in a pos.

 

[Heimkehr]

My Jeep is getting just under 15mpg on my daily commutes.

I think I am going to go ahead pull the winch, bumpers, rock rails and spare tire off and do all factory stuff back on and see how it does with the 35's after I drop all the weight.

Keep us posted on the potential improvements. 15 mpg is a full 10 mpg less than my average, and that's with winter-blend E10 in the tank. Stock JLU. You can get farther down the trail; me, farther down the road.

 

[rcadden]

Before you do all that, I would focus more efforts on your resume. If you've got an office job, there's really no reason whatsoever that you need to drive 100miles/day for work. That's just lazy upper management trying to justify the expense of their building, dude.

With the amount of work you're considering doing to your Jeep, you could spend those hours job hunting and probably get a remote job that pays better with upper management that's not stuck in 2015.

I've been fully remote* for 8 years - long before COVID - and you couldn't pay me enough money to go back to an office full time, much less saddled with a 100-mile commute.

My last job before I went fully remote, I had a 90-mile daily commute. I did the math - I was spending 40 hours a month just commuting. Literally wasting an entire work week just sitting in my car. Plus an absolute *fortune* on gas and tolls and increased vehicle maintenance. Just to sit at a desk and work on my company-issued laptop and go to maybe 4-5 meetings. Big fat nope.

Now I get to take my daughters to school every day, I'm home when they get home, I'm not miserable and tired all the time, I have more disposable income, and I don't have to choose my vehicle based on MPG. And I've more than doubled my income because I have a larger pool of companies that I can work for.

*I do go in to the office (~20 miles each way) on occasion for client presentations and our twice-annual company-wide all-hands events, but that's it. There's value in in-person meetings, but the day-to-day work of 99.5% of office workers can be done anywhere there's WiFi.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I am real back and forth on that. Im a big guy so a little car is going to suck for me and I don't know that I want to spend 2 hours a day in a pos.

Most small cars have more interior space around the driver than the JL does. My company car was a cmaxx and I found it plenty comfortable even when I was 300lbs. When it's free and comes with a gas card I'll drive it. Got rear ended a month ago so now I'm in a did escape. Definitely more interior space than the jeep in that. A used Honda civic will pay for itself in fuel savings in a matter of months and then you can throw the jeep on 37s and not worry about it.

 

[1quick1]

With my very similar build, the jump from 33's to 35's wasn't that dramatic. The biggest hit to steering I had was when I added the LoD front bumper/skid plate and winch. I would start there and go with a stock bumper or an aluminum one if you feel like dropping the $$

My suspicion is you'll make the most noticeable difference there and you'll be able to retain everything else. Also worth mentioning is I use stock Rubi wheels for the weight versus most aftermarket. That could add some weight savings and you could likely get a trade + some cash.

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