Justification for an AEV JLUR

[roaniecowpony]

Yeah I am talking from experience. i could barely turn a wrench 3 years ago. I still installed my bumpers, sliders and winch. Then I went to do suspension and it was pretty hard for me at the time. Now I have done a bunch of stuff, reinstalled bumpers, front locker, suspension work, arms. I am much more comfortable now and faster at it. Bumpers are so easy even when I was terrible at it I did it. Thats why I am saying I cant believe perfectly capable folks are paying for that. But their money their choice! Not judging really. And definitely not making fun or hating people jeez. Just mostly surprised.

Honestly I see minor wrenching and maintenance as part of the sport. It just happens out of need. Not only you save a ton of money, but there are always projects sitting in my garage or something that needs fixed from hard wheeling. So I rather spend 2~4hrs messing with the jeep than constantly scheduling time with the mechanic and taking it there. Honestly, it even saves me time.

Sometimes its just a case of not having the time and having the $$ to go this route. So, the choice gets pretty simple, go without something that takes a large time investment, or buy it ready to go (or pay a shop a bit at a time) and get out and do the main activity you wanted to do. I don't enjoy wrenching as much as I did when younger. I have arthritis all over and when I do a few hours of work under a vehicle, I feel it for a couple days. There's also a significant investment in tools that is required for serious work. Everyone has to weigh their situation.

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[roaniecowpony]

Other bonus: it's your rig. So you know you'll pay attention to how things are done on it.

Will the mechanic do it properly? 99 % of the time, yes. Because they actually really care. But what if you hit the 1 % of the time when they don't really want to bother or be there?

You want a job well done? Do it yourself.

Just because a DIY guy did it, doesn't mean it gets done right. I can think of many things I've missed or done wrong over the 50+ years I've turned wrenches on vehicles for me and my family. They were lessons learned the hard way. I suspect there are more DIY guy errors than professional errors.

 

[bjm00se]

... pre-built ...

• Full package
• High quality
• Financed into original cost
• 3 year / 36k Warranty
• Covered by insurance(?)
• Love the way it looks
• Previous incremental upgrade attempts were "challenging" to justify with the wife and were constantly being pushed back to next year

Have you considered ordering a factory Extreme Recon package and then just maybe swap the tires to 37s and install a winch in the factory steel bumper?

 

[HungryHound]

Don’t hate on people for buying instead of wrenching. There are always people that know more about a subject than someone else might. I would never make fun of someone paying to put a new barrel on their rifle just because I do it myself. Besides, I have a new bumper where the winch needs to go in before I mount it. I can’t lift all the weight so it’s sitting in my garage. If I had paid $300 a shop would have done it done it already and I’d be using it.

A lot of guys would help you with that bumper and winch install for a case of beer.

 

[HungryHound]

Just because a DIY guy did it, doesn't mean it gets done right. I can think of many things I've missed or done wrong over the 50+ years I've turned wrenches on vehicles for me and my family. They were lessons learned the hard way. I suspect there are more DIY guy errors than professional errors.

Yeah, but there's nothing worse than paying a "professional" to screw something up. ?

 

[Ratbert]

@JEEP392 Needs to weigh in here. He just had his rig outfitted by AEV and it’s a beaut.

I’m running their Dualsport 2.5” lift on the JLUR and it’s been phenomenal.

That said, I agree with their equipment being overpriced. I looked at their bumper/fuel caddy setup but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger.

The their fuel caddy setup was the first thing that caught my attention. That's a huge selling point with my wife, so it'll definitely be part of it.

 

[oceanblue2019]

My '20 JLUR was recently totaled, so I've been trying to figure out what I'll replace it with. I'm considering buying one pre-built by AEV. Some advantages:

• Full package
• High quality
• Financed into original cost
• 3 year / 36k Warranty
• Covered by insurance(?)
• Love the way it looks
• Previous incremental upgrade attempts were "challenging" to justify with the wife and were constantly being pushed back to next year

Yes, it's damn expensive, but I realized that I wouldn't be paying labor to have all of those things added over the years after purchase.

My question: how much would labor cost (wild ballpark) to install the following on a new JLUR diesel?

• Suspension
• 4.56 gears
• Skid plate
• Front and rear bumper
• Winch
• Tire carrier

Note that I'm talking over $15k in upgrades. Just trying to figure out if I can use the lack of labor as an additional significant justification.

https://www.aev-conversions.com/vehicles/jl-wrangler/jl-wrangler-build-and-price/

If you don't want to do it yourself hire the upgrade work out to one of the competent Jeep shops. For the price AEV charges you can get a lot more bang for your buck with someone like Exodus.

 

[jhackathorne]

I am opposite of what it seems to be the consensus and say go for the AEV if you can afford it and the wife approves. It seems most people are neglecting the statement you made of prior upgrades were challenging and always getting pushed back. If you want something to hit the trails right away go for the AEV. I HIGHLY doubt there is a single person on this forum that has seen and AEV in person and not been impressed.

 

[Ratbert]

Way less to do it yourself. AEV are nice but way overpriced.... their bumpers are $2k.

• Suspension $2k for comparable kit installed
• 4.56 gears $2k
• Skid plate included in gear swap
• Front and rear bumper $1500 for a nice set installed yourself
• Winch $600, install it yourself
• Tire carrier $700 installed yourself

And you will have money left for better tires/wheels, lights, recovery gear, air up options (tank or compressor)

Not worth it in my opinion, half the fun of a jeep is learning about it and you will learn a lot more doing it yourself, i see people with jeeps that are all bought and don't even have tools to perform minor repairs on their trail/rig if it breaks.

Yes, significantly less to do it myself, but my previous JLUR taught me that those upgrades would never happen or take years to occur.

When my JLUR was totaled additions weren't covered. I'm fairly sure that the entire AEV rig would be. It's also covered by 36k / 3 year warranty.

 

[Ratbert]

Have you considered ordering a factory Extreme Recon package and then just maybe swap the tires to 37s and install a winch in the factory steel bumper?

Unfortunately XR isn't an option for the diesel. Steel bumpers are also $1,750...which got me started down the path of looking for alternatives that support sensors. Yeah, a nasty rabbit hole, especially when my wife loves the 10.5 gas tank behind the spare.

 

[BDinTX]

The insurance coverage is a really good point, and probably stems from the fact that you’ve been burned once already. Pretty sure the AEV rigs have new VIN numbers, and if totaled that’s what replacement value gets based on. Unlike mine, even the 5k additional coverage I tagged on is only a fraction of what I’ve really added to it. That’s the max I can do without jumping through hoops.

 

[Gorilla57]

I HIGHLY doubt there is a single person on this forum that has seen and AEV in person and not been impressed.

Welp, I am one that is not impressed. A number of years back, I was hot and heavy searching for an AEV JK with a hemi conversion. I was lucky enough to check out 2 non-hemi version that convinced me to walk away. The cost of their parts was WAY overpriced for the quality and durability. I understand the need to make a profit, but it was ridiculous what they wanted for one of their turn-key vehicles. Their suspension was barely an improvement over stock parts (parts bending and holes wallowed out), their bumpers way overpriced for the durability (saw plenty of pics on forums of dents from minor rock hits), etc. I don't remember all the specific details, but I knew it wouldn't hold up to my style of wheeling. If the only off-roading you are going to do is fire roads, then I'm sure AEV would be just fine for someone. But, if someone is looking to do any hard wheeling, then I'd recommend buying the rig you want and add the parts that you know will survive.

 

[Gorilla57]

Unfortunately XR isn't an option for the diesel. Steel bumpers are also $1,750...which got me started down the path of looking for alternatives that support sensors. Yeah, a nasty rabbit hole, especially when my wife loves the 10.5 gas tank behind the spare.

If you are looking for a diesel, why would you need the 10gal of extra fuel?

 

[Ratbert]

If you are looking for a diesel, why would you need the 10gal of extra fuel?

Overlanding.

 

[Gorilla57]

Overlanding.

Gotcha. A diesel with 10 extra gallons of fuel is gonna allow you to get WAY out there.

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