JLU Rocklander Build

[SherpaJLU]

Well, I figured it was probably time to dive and make a build thread for my Jeep. As a kid, I grew up in an all-Jeep family, but as I got into my first car-buying years, I ended up in a late 90’s 4Runner. Dozens of overlanding trips and a handful of off-road companies later, I finally found my way back to Jeep. I couldn’t be more excited to slowly build my dream Jeep and test out new products for my businesses along the way.

GOALS:
After a years of co-driving in Ultra4 I have a bit of a bug for hardcore rock crawling, but I can’t shake my love for remote camping. I am hoping to build something that can handle the bigger trails while not compromising all of its on-road driveability. Let’s call it a “Rocklander” or something.

THE START: SEPTEMBER, 2024

CURRENT: JANUARY, 2026

THE BUILD:

Sherpa Products:
Sherpa QDHD (Quick Detach Heavy Duty) Roof Rack System
Billet Starlink Mounts
Billet Grab Handles

Suspension:
ICON 2.5” CDEV Shocks Front & Rear
EVO 4.5” Plush Ride Coils Front & Rear
RPM Steering Aluminum Adjustable Links (Front) Lower Upper
ICON Adjustable Links (Rear) Link
ICON Rear Adjustable Track Bar Link
RPM Steering Front Adjustable Trackbar Link
Timbren Active Bump Stops Link

Armor:
ICON Impact Pro Series Front Bumper Link
ICON Impact Pro Series Rear Bumper Link
Motobilt Skid Plate System Link
Motobilt Crusher Series Rocker Guards Link
Genright Aluminum Tube Fender Package Link
Artec FAD Skid Link

Wheels & Tires:
ICON Alloys Recon Pro (17 x 8.5 / 5 x 5, -6mm Offset, 4.5" BS) Link
37x12.5r17 Kenda Klevar MT2 Link

Steering:
RPM Steering 2.5 Ton JL HD 2'' Aluminum Steering Kit (Tie Rod & Drag Link) Link
ICON Centerline Steering Stabilizer, Adjustable Link
Front Trackbar and Sector Shaft Brace Link

Drivetrain:
Yukon Gear & Axle 5.13 Gears
Yukon D44 Hardcore Diff Cover Link

Lighting:
Baja Designs DOT LP6 Headlights Link
Baja Designs Rock Lights Link

Recovery:
Warn VR EVO 10-S Winch Link
Factor55 Flatlink E Link

Extras:
Motobilt Spare Tire Carrier Link
PRP Enduro Trail Bucket Seats Link
Motobilt PRP Brackets Link
American Adventure Lab QD Inner Fenders Link
ARB Twin Air Compressor (Cargo Area)

Overlanding:
FSR Aspen Lite RTT Link
Kammok Crosswing Awning Link

Sponsored

 

[SherpaJLU]

Within a few weeks of owning the Jeep, I slapped on a 2.5” lift and 37’s and took her out on her first trail, Holy Cross.

In the months to follow, the Jeep made it out to Sand Hollow and several off-road parks in Texas while chasing down the Unlimited LJ Adventure crew. The end of 2024 was a blast and I knew I had made the right decision to get back into a Jeep.

 

[SherpaJLU]

In prep for KOH 2025, I knew that I wanted to make some tweaks, add some armor, and my new shocks finally showed up. This is when I added all of the ICON and Motobilt armor to the Jeep and it has been a lifesaver. It was also the first time I really got to see how the new electronic CDEV shocks would perform. Gotta say 30-40 mph in big whoops was kinda fun. Going to need to beef up the axles to keep up with the shocks. The PRP buckets also made a huge difference over the uncomfortable stock seats. This is something I wish I had done in my previous vehicles.

 

[SherpaJLU]

In 2025 the Jeep made it out to its first Easter Jeep, a handful of Jeep Jamborees, and a lot of group trail runs. I had a few bucket list trails that I have always dreamed of doing and I got those crossed off the list. The Rubicon, Pritchett, and Behind the Rocks did not disappoint. Before taking these on, I added a set of 4.5" EVO Plush ride springs to get the belly off the ground.

I am much happier with the ride height now, even though it has me dreaming of adding 40's a little sooner than expected. Since doing the larger lift there have been some serious death wobble issues that surfaced. I took this as an opportunity to beef up all of the steering and front links.
The RPM 2.5 ton steering kit, adjustable links, and trackbar made a huge improvement on steering feel.

 

[ObiMatt87]

Great-looking build! You have put a ton of effort (and $$$) into it and clearly have made it a sweet ride for conquering all. Love it. Nicely done!

 

[SherpaJLU]

The Sherpa QDHD Roof Rack

During this time, we finally got to release the Sherpa Equipment Company QDHD rack system. This was somewhat of a crazy vision I had a couple of years ago and brought to the team. During our initial market research it became clear that many didn't want to add a roof rack because because of two reasons.

1. They generally weren't that strong when only attached to the gutter of the fiberglass top.
2. They wanted to still be able to take their tops on and off. Roof racks complicated this.

We set out to solve both of these problems and the QDHD (Quick Detach Heavy Duty) was born.

This rack features all billet mounting with our patent-pending adjustable knobs that allow you to take the rack on and off the vehicle quickly. It ties through the top into the roll cage for strength. When the rack is on with your top, it has integrated rubber seals to prevent leaking. The front section is also designed to come off quickly for those who like to remove their freedom panels.

We are also working on adding in a few additional accessories that tie into the mounting system for additional storage capacity.

 

[StJJames]

 

[LKG]

In 2025 the Jeep made it out to its first Easter Jeep, a handful of Jeep Jamborees, and a lot of group trail runs. I had a few bucket list trails that I have always dreamed of doing and I got those crossed off the list. The Rubicon, Pritchett, and Behind the Rocks did not disappoint. Before taking these on, I added a set of 4.5" EVO Plush ride springs to get the belly off the ground.

I am much happier with the ride height now, even though it has me dreaming of adding 40's a little sooner than expected. Since doing the larger lift there have been some serious death wobble issues that surfaced. I took this as an opportunity to beef up all of the steering and front links.
The RPM 2.5 ton steering kit, adjustable links, and trackbar made a huge improvement on steering feel.

Damn those doors look good. I've been thinkin about fabbing some panels for mine, this might have pushed me over the edge.

 

[SherpaJLU]

Damn those doors look good. I've been thinkin about fabbing some panels for mine, this might have pushed me over the edge.

Thanks! It was actually pretty easy to get done and it really elevated a set of $300 half doors. The tube look isn't really my thing and this made them easy to replace if scratched or damaged. I bought the Hooke Road doors because they had some sheet metal sections I could bolt through.

Going to be selling these soon because I ordered up a set of Motobilt Half Doors.

 

[win1200riot]

Great story. I've already been thinking a lot about getting back out West. Need another Jeep first but the 26 Moab is in my sights.

Holy Cross is quite the first trail. I didn't make it past French Creek in a '10 Rubi on 33s but did with a '14 Rubicon on 35s. Thought the CA Rubicon trail was even tougher.

Really like the trails in Buena Vista and Ouray area of Colorado but a lot more to explore. Have you been on Wheeler Lake trail south of Breckenridge?

Haven't done Pritchard but have been to Moab three times, yet not for 10 years. As you know, once you see areas like this, it's a lasting impression that draws one back.

 

[SherpaJLU]

Great story. I've already been thinking a lot about getting back out West. Need another Jeep first but the 26 Moab is in my sights.

Holy Cross is quite the first trail. I didn't make it past French Creek in a '10 Rubi on 33s but did with a '14 Rubicon on 35s. Thought the CA Rubicon trail was even tougher.

Really like the trails in Buena Vista and Ouray area of Colorado but a lot more to explore. Have you been on Wheeler Lake trail south of Breckenridge?

Haven't done Pritchard but have been to Moab three times, yet not for 10 years. As you know, once you see areas like this, it's a lasting impression that draws one back.

The Rubicon certainly takes the cake for one of the most incredible trails I've done. I can't wait to get back out there this summer. Buena Vista has always held a special place in my heart. So much so that my wife and I even got married there. I would say it's really where I learned how to wheel and camp in my teenage years. I have done Wheeler Lake in the past but need to get this Jeep out there. The pinstripes from that one aren't fun from what I remember.

Moab is just such a blast. I will say now that I am running out of trails in Moab, Sand Hollow has been calling my name more and more.

 

[AmericanPatriot100]

Have you thought about hitting the trail reconXdirtlifestyle rocklander route!?

 

[Mudnyeri]

I love the ICON stuff. I had an ICON stage 4 on my gladiator. Took me alot of places and taught me a lot about rock crawling because of it. Nice build!!

 

[Aonarch]

Very nice!

 

[SherpaJLU]

ARB Twin Install (Rear Cargo)

Man, I have put this project off for WAAAAYYYYY too long. I have been "collecting parts" to finish this one for almost a year. Most of the time has been spent reading all the different ways that people have mounted ARB Twins and trying to figure out what would work best for us. I opted to skip the underseat option out of fear of noise and decided to go for the rear cargo cubby. I knew that I would be installing a rear baseplate at somepoint and would most likely not use the rear cargo cubby as much as I currently do. It also seemed like a really convenient location for housing some additional power for future projects.

I also really hate electrical projects, and I don't know why. So this time I used it as an opportunity to dive in and learn as much as I could about electrical and invest in some proper tools to do solid work. For this project, I went with 4AWG and 8AWG wire. 4AWG for the compressor and 8AWG because I wanted to go ahead and run some extra power from the engine bay so that I didn't have to do it in the future.

After a little bit of poking around on the Jeep, I realized that I could drill a couple of holes in the plastic cubby and it pops out really close to the rear frame crossmember. So I opted to drill there and pass the wires out to the crossmember and over towards the passenger side frame. From there, I simply ran the wires along the top of the frame. The front was pretty easy because I have the American Adventure Lab inner fenders. I just ran the wires up through an opening just above the passenger front shock tower and into the battery area.

With all the wiring run, it was time to start the actual wiring. On the compressor side, I opted to really slim down the wiring harness. On the main (large) plug, there are two reds and a black. I joined these two positives together (that is the reason for the 4AWG wire) and connected the compressor negative to my larger negative wire. On the other end, I added a 60AMP inline fuse and finished it off with a battery lug terminal.

NOW for the part I couldn't find any info on prior to my project. I wanted to turn the compressor on and off using the Jeep OEM aux switches. In order to do this, it's actually pretty simple. On the compressor harness, you can slim the small harness all the way down to the purple and black wires. These other wires are for solenoids for lockers, etc. If you want those, then I'd suggest you don't remove them. I then added in some additional wire to get the purple and black to reach the battery area, along with the other wires. You then need to connect the purple wire to one of your aux button leads that come taped up next to your battery. Two of these wire leads are thicker and are for heavier power loads (40A), and two are for lighter duty (15A). You can connect the purple to one of the smaller wires because it is simply the trigger wire and is not carrying the actual load. You can then program these switches in your radio head unit. There are a bunch of videos on the aux switches on Youtube. Just need to get everything finalized with some gromets and protection for any chaffing etc.

For the air line, I picked up some hose and a few fittings from Apex Designs. After getting hands on with their stuff, it is worth the price. I needed about 6ft worth of line. I then got an ARB Hose Coupling, 2x 1/4"NPT Female to Female Adapters, and a 1/4" NPT Elbow. I drilled another hole through the storage cubby and into the compartment where the floor jack goes. From there I was able to find little gaps in the plastic trip to sneak it up to the base of the role cage. There, I used a drill bit to make a half-circle hole so the air line could pop through cleanly. I then routed it up towards our rear cargo shelf and used one of our WeBoost antenna brackets to mount the ARB Coupling.

I do need to either buy or design some sort of bracket to hold everything in place but for now, its not going anywhere. All in all I am super happy with how it turned out and how quiet this setup is. Can't wait to put it to use at EJS.

Sponsored