rcadden
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- First Name
- Ricky
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- May 4, 2021
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- Fort Worth, TX
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- 2021 Hydro Blue Sahara Altitude
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I've been lurking/reading the forum and got some of my questions answered, but still have a few. I'm a little bit out, but with 2022 order sheets coming in the next month or two, I wanted to see if I could get a few of my outlying questions answered (or at least advice from you experts).
My Situation: Currently rolling in an '07 GMC Sierra w/ a 3-inch lift. While I love my truck, I just don't need all of it. I've never towed anything with it (and don't have plans to buy anything to tow), and I've had a bed cover on that gets rolled up *maybe* once a month, if that. Kids are bigger so I don't need the full sized backseat, so I'm looking at a 4D Wrangler for something more fun with better gas mileage, but that still sits "up" and feels like a truck. I've rented a Wrangler on our past few trips, so I'm familiar with the drive/etc.
This will be my daily driver, and while I'm anxious to have the ability to tackle some trails, I won't be doing any extreme rock crawling or anything (maybe until I get a taste for it, haha). I'm pretty handy/comfortable under the hood - I've replaced the rack and pinion on my truck, installed the lift kit myself, change my own oil, replaced serpentine belt, spark plugs, etc.
Thus far, I've pretty well decided that a Sahara is the best option for the features I want/need, etc. I'm not in a rush, so my current plan is to hold out till the 2022 MY order sheets drop, and then make a decision then. If I had to wait even until January 2022, I'd be fine (assuming my truck doesn't die before then).
My questions:
My Situation: Currently rolling in an '07 GMC Sierra w/ a 3-inch lift. While I love my truck, I just don't need all of it. I've never towed anything with it (and don't have plans to buy anything to tow), and I've had a bed cover on that gets rolled up *maybe* once a month, if that. Kids are bigger so I don't need the full sized backseat, so I'm looking at a 4D Wrangler for something more fun with better gas mileage, but that still sits "up" and feels like a truck. I've rented a Wrangler on our past few trips, so I'm familiar with the drive/etc.
This will be my daily driver, and while I'm anxious to have the ability to tackle some trails, I won't be doing any extreme rock crawling or anything (maybe until I get a taste for it, haha). I'm pretty handy/comfortable under the hood - I've replaced the rack and pinion on my truck, installed the lift kit myself, change my own oil, replaced serpentine belt, spark plugs, etc.
Thus far, I've pretty well decided that a Sahara is the best option for the features I want/need, etc. I'm not in a rush, so my current plan is to hold out till the 2022 MY order sheets drop, and then make a decision then. If I had to wait even until January 2022, I'd be fine (assuming my truck doesn't die before then).
My questions:
- Initially, I have budget and have decided to do 3 "big" mods (listed below). My local dealership has an offroad shop attached that has a good reputation amongst my local Jeep Club, but my big question is, do I let the shop handle these mods, or buy them myself and do the install on my own (given my abilities).
- Lift kit - I've pretty well decided on the Mopar 2". It seems like it has decent reviews and should be capable for the light offroading I plan to do, plus the warranty coverage is pretty important for me. Currently, I plan to let the dealership/shop install this A) for the warranty and B) cause it took me ~6hrs to lift my truck and I kinda want to just drive it.
- I don't plan to change the wheels out just yet, but will stock Sahara tires look stupid with a lift like that? If I'm keeping the stock size wheels/tires and only doing light offroading, there shouldn't be any immediate reason to add anything else, correct?
- Front and rear bumpers - I'd decided on the Smittybilt SRC Gen2 set, but then read about aluminum vs steel and it seems like aluminum would be better for my needs, while still being capable on the trail. I can shop for an aluminum option that looks like the Smittybilt, but is a bumper like that pretty easy to install at home? Seems like self-install would save me at least a couple hundred $$ in labor, no?
- N-Fab NERF side steps - same question - these seem like a pretty straightforward bolt-on. Is there any reason to pay a shop to do this?
- Lift kit - I've pretty well decided on the Mopar 2". It seems like it has decent reviews and should be capable for the light offroading I plan to do, plus the warranty coverage is pretty important for me. Currently, I plan to let the dealership/shop install this A) for the warranty and B) cause it took me ~6hrs to lift my truck and I kinda want to just drive it.
- I can afford a fully-loaded Sahara, but obviously don't want to just check all the boxes for kicks. The way I've got my configuration currently, there's only ~$2-3K difference between the Sahara and Sahara Altitude. Aside from the obvious (body-color top, bundled headliner), is there any mechanical difference between the two?
- Another option that I'm (only slightly) toying with is getting a 1-2 yo Rubicon (approximately the same price as the brand-new Sahara). I'd give up the warranty and the 3 years of free service, but get some extras that would be helpful offroad. I'd also have to spend ~$2K for Katskinz and something to get rid of the fugly red interior accents.
- Are there any factory options that are just a complete waste of money (either because they suck or because there's an aftermarket that's better/cheaper)? The ones specifically that I'm looking at are:
- Headliner
- Full-time 4WD - with a more reliable vehicle, we plan to do more road trips to wet/frozen climates (Colorado, etc) that would make this handy
- Tow package (mainly for the accessory panel - wish you could get *just* the panel on the JL like you can the JT)
- LED lights
- 2.0 I4 vs v6? - I'm used to driving an aging big ol' 4.8L V8 in my truck, so either one is likely to feel pretty zippy. From what I've gathered, the I4 is going to give better MPG overall (esp if I'm mostly hwy) but the V6 is more "known". I've never owned a Turbo, so unsure if that's something that would make it harder for me to do the wrenching?
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