2018 JLUS Overland Build

[benhinez]

Long time Jeep admirer, first time owner.

The short story is I've been a long-time jeep admirer ever since my buddy in college had a 2 door soft top that I fell in love with. Living in Colorado, I've RENTED plenty of Jeeps over the years to do the various passes, but have never been able to convince the wife to let me pull the trigger. Now that the kids are getting a little bigger, it was finally time. Picked up a used 2018 JLUS as a third vehicle just for fun. As such, I'm trying to build out an overland-capable rig that fits the needs of my family and maybe a bit of my mid-life crisis (living the good-old college days)...

Basics: Living in Denver, I have easy access to plenty of really spectacular country. The reality is that I work in the city, have 2 kids in elementary and middle school and a wife that scoffs at anything less than 4 stars...I'm an avid outdoorsman who would just as well be completely off the grid. I make an annual pilgrimage to NW Arkansas with my closest friends every year to the Buffalo River. If you haven't been, it's one of the most extraordinary places in the US.

The reality: I spend 99% of the time on surface streets and the highway. I need a rig that can clear I-70 across Kansas (7 hours) without the worry of running into issues or having too bumpy of a ride. However, I also want the freedom of mind to know that I could get off the beaten path without pushing the limits. More than likely going to have the family in tow so creature comfort and ride quality are top of mind. I also want something unique and functional for the increasingly rare occasion that I get to find real nature.

I'm an avid researcher who does a lot of pro/con analysis before shelling out my hard earned cash. Maybe this will help those of you who are like me: not looking to go crazy, want a unique look, want something functional, and are focused on keeping the general peace on the home front.

Hope you enjoy my build...

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[benhinez]

Fresh from the dealership...the rare 2018 JLUS for sale locally under $30k...

3.6L Automatic. 58k miles...fits my budget!

 

[benhinez]

First things first, let's dig stuff out of the garage that we already have in inventory....

I've lugged this Thule rack around for the past 15 years. Started on a '99 Tahoe and last moved to a bed mount on my '06 Dodge ram. It has served me time and time again and will do great for what I'm looking for! I've got about 4 sizes of Thule bars in my garage...these are the longest version that will fit 2 canoes up top...but they're too long! These stick out about 6-7" on each side and can really catch a person's head if they're more than about 6' tall....

This is the extendable rack that adds about 3 feet to the center section. All in, the rack is perfect to mount on the rain gutters of the hard top with my existing foot mounts and still allows me to remove the driver and passenger panels without any hastle....

With a garage full of toys, there's no plan to take the top off anytime soon...

 

[benhinez]

Next up...some aesthetic clean up. This is completely unnecessary and just fits my own taste. Bought some tint film on amazon for $15 and went to town on the lenses. All in, took me about 2 hours to get it to the place I liked the outcome. Topped it off with some LED bulbs to ensure I'm staying compliant with Colorado laws and trying to minimize the risk of getting rear-ended. Not to say that risk is completely eliminated, but I'm trying to cover my bases...

 

[benhinez]

Immediately, I wanted a little more aggressive stance. I realize that this is completely cosmetic and has plenty of pros and cons out there that you can research yourself. However, the dealership threw some brand new tires on this vehicle which makes convincing the boss nearly impossible to spend money on rubber. Hopped down to the local 4WP and picked up some 1.75" spacers to give me the look I want to start without diving into tires/wheels/lift.

I've been running these for about 3 weeks now for about 250 miles. I've had to remove the wheels 3 times to get the torque right. Hopefully this last time will take care of everything with some blue locktite. Will continue to watch the spacers routinely to ensure I'm not losing any torque on the lugs.

 

[benhinez]

Since I'm not going to be doing any major mechanical improvements right out of the gate, I wanted to focus on functionality for our needs. Picked up a new set of Thule bars (56") for the rack so that they don't hang out so much and got to work on adding some lighting. First, I picked up 6 3" utility lights and mounting brackets for the rack. Really impressed with the simplicity that Jeep built into this rig. The factory aux panel and power supplies under the hood made adding these accessories a breeze!

 

[Brian0128]

I like the Thule bars with the rack!

 

[benhinez]

Once I got the rooftop lights installed, I hated the contrast between the halogen front lamps and the new led floods. Swapped out the front bulbs both headlights and fogs with super bright leds. These things are super crisp and are far superior to the dim halogen bulbs. I also didn't like the fact that the floods from the rack left huge shadows around the body so I added 4 rock lights.

 

[benhinez]

After 3 weeks and some ordering shenanigans with Extreme Terrain, I finally received my Raxiom dual a-pillar lights.

 

[Jersey_JLU]

Jeep looks awesome can’t wait to see what you have planned next!

 

[DWEI]

great job man. really diggin the thule rack setup.

 

[stylett9]

jeep looks great so far, but honestly that is a beautiful home.

 

[benhinez]

A few updates since my last post....

Took the jeep across country to visit my parents for a few weeks. Gotta say, the 8 speed did great at highway speeds and the ride was pretty darn comfortable loaded down with tons of gear and 4 bodies in the car. Had the rack packed for camping and the cabin filled to the brim with family "necessities". Got the chance to hit some trails while we were in Indiana and had a blast splashing through some low-water crossings and forging a few small creeks. Definitely no disappointment in my new toy so far.

HOWEVER, after multiple attempts to rectify a rotational deceleration noise, I finally had to pull the spacers off. After driving for awhile, these spacers were making horrible noises and seemed to create balance issues in the front. As I mentioned, these were purely aesthetic, so nothing but a little soreness in the pocketbook for a failed experiment. Never had issues with spacers on my other cars in the past, but these just don't seem to work right. Also very possible that I just wasn't installing them correctly for some reason.

New upgrade posts to follow....

 

[benhinez]

Before we left, I really wanted to get some interior protection going before throwing the rug rats in for a 17 hour drive. Luckily, the stars aligned and I got my new stuff just before leaving.

First, did quite a bit of research on seat covers that matched what I was looking for without spending a wad on something like completely new seats or Katskinz. Finally landed on Oasis Auto on Amazon. They JUST came out with their JL seat covers that are synthetic leather. These fit pretty darn well and definitely held up to the kids. Only downside so far is that they do get SUPER hot in direct sun. Since I've been sitting on leather for years, not a huge change from what I'm used to, but that's the biggest complaint I have so far. We'll see how the heated front seats perform through the covers when the weather turns cold again.

If you're interested, search Oasis Auto on Amazon and click through to the Jeep JL CUSTOM covers. Picked them up for $199.

 

[benhinez]

Got some new Weathertech floor mats in as well. I've put Weathertech in every car for the past 10 years and have NEVER been disappointed. That being said, these are by far the best in terms of mold, fit and keeping all of the debris INSIDE the mat. Also, these things are a MUST in Colorado....

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