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My first 1000km in the JLUR

knower

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Giuseppe
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Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited JL
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Hello everybody,

I thought I would write my impressions on my new Jeep, just for the sake of sharing!

This is KUMA, JKU Rubicon. Just passed my 1000Km, I am currently daily driving it (almost 150km a day), waiting for the sun to come out, to cold to go away and the Ducati to be on the road :D

IMG_20180227_154751_747.jpg

A little background: I am a wildlife and nature photographer and I work in the film industry. Between movies I take long trips to collect pictures that then become big prints for sale.
This means I travel a lot.

In the past I have always built my vehicles:

1) A Suzuki Samurai when I was in Europe (travelled all over Europe with it!). Incredible little machine!
2) A Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ - 6.5" lift and lockers and too much other stuff..
3) A Mitsubishi Delica v6 Gas - 2" lift and all sort of electrical stuff

On the last two vehicles I also did all the electrical system to have them camperized. Added all sort of things that are useful for long expeditions (my average travelling distance is 6000Km per trip).
The Delica, especially, had a lot of stuff in it, including a full dual battery setup with double feeding (primary battery and solar panels), dash cams, forward and backup cameras, lights and a lot of other things.
Of course I had to add everything myself, since nothing was available stock.
I decided to sell it because I had other plans, but then things turned around and I found myself in need of another 4x4.

The JL came out and I was reading about all the features and the better gas mileage etc and I decided to pull the trigger and buy it new. My first new vehicle.
Reason for buying it: it does come with pretty much all the stuff I added on my previous vehicles, stock.

In particular all the electrical setup with the tow package is great.
You have USBs everywhere, the heavy duty alternator, the AUX switch etc. etc.
This is really awesome, and makes installing new things much cleaner and effortless.

The 8.4 screen is also great, I am glad I went for the updated package.
Android Auto works like a charm.
Alpine Audio works really nicely, at least with the hard top, we'll see with the soft top, but that doesn't matter to me that much.

I am absolutely loving the gazillions of informations on the screen, the fact that you can switch between dashes and decide what you want to see and while leaving the other screen on music or navigation, the fact that you can customize pretty much everything.
The integrate inclinometer alone makes me smile every time :D

The ESS doesn't bother me, it's pretty much seamless and I got totally used to it. Is actually nice to have the engine off when the train is passing or in a bad traffic situation.

I like all the things that jeep has done to make this vehicle a true expedition one, like all the molle setups that are behind the seats, on the tailgate etc.
The storage compartments are good in my opinion. Yes the glove box is small, but it contains the usual stuff. The one on the armrest is definitely a good size.
The USB in there is really useful and they even though of having two little holes so you can have a cable passing through it. So my USB cable is there and the phone gets attached for android auto without having the cable too visible or visible at all.
Cups holders everywhere help, too.
If you can, get the rubber mats, they look great and definitely help with dirt and mud etc.

I love that it comes with 33" and nice travel out of the box, although I think such a long wheelbase needs a 2" lift at least and a nice 285/75-17 to avoid too much belly-sitting.

The doors are solid and the auto stop in two different positions, including the tailgate is really nice.

The crawling ratio is great and the lockers work well. Love to be able to shift to 4H on the fly and not having to worry about gears meshing etc.
The 8 speed transmission seems really appropriate for this vehicle. I love to be able to switch to manual override and change gear ratio when downhill or uphill, it works seamlessly and very well and I don't regret going for an auto.

So far the one thing that pisses me off is that the Jeep will go to auto-parking mode when the door is open, which is annoying. Hopefully we find a way of disabling that....

Other than that, I can't find much to complain about.
For me it has been rock solid so far, no electrical issue (yet) and everything works properly.
Also, I have to say it feels like everything is of a good quality and solid built. Removing the sides of the bumper, for example, I noticed that all the screws were treated with locktite-sort of compound and I guess also to protect from water.

I think this is a great overlanding machine and I am really happy I bought it, albeit is really expensive when you get it almost fully loaded (I am missing the keyless entry).

I think it's definitely a good upgrade from a JK, and while before the JL I was looking into a 4 runner, I have to say I am glad I waited for it, this thing is a beast.

Cheers,
G.
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bueller44

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Nice! Looking forward to future updates and maybe some more pics!!
 

GRAK

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Clubs
 
Hello everybody,

I thought I would write my impressions on my new Jeep, just for the sake of sharing!

This is KUMA, JKU Rubicon. Just passed my 1000Km, I am currently daily driving it (almost 150km a day), waiting for the sun to come out, to cold to go away and the Ducati to be on the road :D

IMG_20180227_154751_747.jpg

A little background: I am a wildlife and nature photographer and I work in the film industry. Between movies I take long trips to collect pictures that then become big prints for sale.
This means I travel a lot.

In the past I have always built my vehicles:

1) A Suzuki Samurai when I was in Europe (travelled all over Europe with it!). Incredible little machine!
2) A Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ - 6.5" lift and lockers and too much other stuff..
3) A Mitsubishi Delica v6 Gas - 2" lift and all sort of electrical stuff

On the last two vehicles I also did all the electrical system to have them camperized. Added all sort of things that are useful for long expeditions (my average travelling distance is 6000Km per trip).
The Delica, especially, had a lot of stuff in it, including a full dual battery setup with double feeding (primary battery and solar panels), dash cams, forward and backup cameras, lights and a lot of other things.
Of course I had to add everything myself, since nothing was available stock.
I decided to sell it because I had other plans, but then things turned around and I found myself in need of another 4x4.

The JL came out and I was reading about all the features and the better gas mileage etc and I decided to pull the trigger and buy it new. My first new vehicle.
Reason for buying it: it does come with pretty much all the stuff I added on my previous vehicles, stock.

In particular all the electrical setup with the tow package is great.
You have USBs everywhere, the heavy duty alternator, the AUX switch etc. etc.
This is really awesome, and makes installing new things much cleaner and effortless.

The 8.4 screen is also great, I am glad I went for the updated package.
Android Auto works like a charm.
Alpine Audio works really nicely, at least with the hard top, we'll see with the soft top, but that doesn't matter to me that much.

I am absolutely loving the gazillions of informations on the screen, the fact that you can switch between dashes and decide what you want to see and while leaving the other screen on music or navigation, the fact that you can customize pretty much everything.
The integrate inclinometer alone makes me smile every time :D

The ESS doesn't bother me, it's pretty much seamless and I got totally used to it. Is actually nice to have the engine off when the train is passing or in a bad traffic situation.

I like all the things that jeep has done to make this vehicle a true expedition one, like all the molle setups that are behind the seats, on the tailgate etc.
The storage compartments are good in my opinion. Yes the glove box is small, but it contains the usual stuff. The one on the armrest is definitely a good size.
The USB in there is really useful and they even though of having two little holes so you can have a cable passing through it. So my USB cable is there and the phone gets attached for android auto without having the cable too visible or visible at all.
Cups holders everywhere help, too.
If you can, get the rubber mats, they look great and definitely help with dirt and mud etc.

I love that it comes with 33" and nice travel out of the box, although I think such a long wheelbase needs a 2" lift at least and a nice 285/75-17 to avoid too much belly-sitting.

The doors are solid and the auto stop in two different positions, including the tailgate is really nice.

The crawling ratio is great and the lockers work well. Love to be able to shift to 4H on the fly and not having to worry about gears meshing etc.
The 8 speed transmission seems really appropriate for this vehicle. I love to be able to switch to manual override and change gear ratio when downhill or uphill, it works seamlessly and very well and I don't regret going for an auto.

So far the one thing that pisses me off is that the Jeep will go to auto-parking mode when the door is open, which is annoying. Hopefully we find a way of disabling that....

Other than that, I can't find much to complain about.
For me it has been rock solid so far, no electrical issue (yet) and everything works properly.
Also, I have to say it feels like everything is of a good quality and solid built. Removing the sides of the bumper, for example, I noticed that all the screws were treated with locktite-sort of compound and I guess also to protect from water.

I think this is a great overlanding machine and I am really happy I bought it, albeit is really expensive when you get it almost fully loaded (I am missing the keyless entry).

I think it's definitely a good upgrade from a JK, and while before the JL I was looking into a 4 runner, I have to say I am glad I waited for it, this thing is a beast.

Cheers,
G.
good stuff. do you think you could do your thing with the two door or did you not even consider it?
 

ricku

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Kalida, Ohio
Hello everybody,

I thought I would write my impressions on my new Jeep, just for the sake of sharing!

This is KUMA, JKU Rubicon. Just passed my 1000Km, I am currently daily driving it (almost 150km a day), waiting for the sun to come out, to cold to go away and the Ducati to be on the road :D

IMG_20180227_154751_747.jpg

A little background: I am a wildlife and nature photographer and I work in the film industry. Between movies I take long trips to collect pictures that then become big prints for sale.
This means I travel a lot.

In the past I have always built my vehicles:

1) A Suzuki Samurai when I was in Europe (travelled all over Europe with it!). Incredible little machine!
2) A Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ - 6.5" lift and lockers and too much other stuff..
3) A Mitsubishi Delica v6 Gas - 2" lift and all sort of electrical stuff

On the last two vehicles I also did all the electrical system to have them camperized. Added all sort of things that are useful for long expeditions (my average travelling distance is 6000Km per trip).
The Delica, especially, had a lot of stuff in it, including a full dual battery setup with double feeding (primary battery and solar panels), dash cams, forward and backup cameras, lights and a lot of other things.
Of course I had to add everything myself, since nothing was available stock.
I decided to sell it because I had other plans, but then things turned around and I found myself in need of another 4x4.

The JL came out and I was reading about all the features and the better gas mileage etc and I decided to pull the trigger and buy it new. My first new vehicle.
Reason for buying it: it does come with pretty much all the stuff I added on my previous vehicles, stock.

In particular all the electrical setup with the tow package is great.
You have USBs everywhere, the heavy duty alternator, the AUX switch etc. etc.
This is really awesome, and makes installing new things much cleaner and effortless.

The 8.4 screen is also great, I am glad I went for the updated package.
Android Auto works like a charm.
Alpine Audio works really nicely, at least with the hard top, we'll see with the soft top, but that doesn't matter to me that much.

I am absolutely loving the gazillions of informations on the screen, the fact that you can switch between dashes and decide what you want to see and while leaving the other screen on music or navigation, the fact that you can customize pretty much everything.
The integrate inclinometer alone makes me smile every time :D

The ESS doesn't bother me, it's pretty much seamless and I got totally used to it. Is actually nice to have the engine off when the train is passing or in a bad traffic situation.

I like all the things that jeep has done to make this vehicle a true expedition one, like all the molle setups that are behind the seats, on the tailgate etc.
The storage compartments are good in my opinion. Yes the glove box is small, but it contains the usual stuff. The one on the armrest is definitely a good size.
The USB in there is really useful and they even though of having two little holes so you can have a cable passing through it. So my USB cable is there and the phone gets attached for android auto without having the cable too visible or visible at all.
Cups holders everywhere help, too.
If you can, get the rubber mats, they look great and definitely help with dirt and mud etc.

I love that it comes with 33" and nice travel out of the box, although I think such a long wheelbase needs a 2" lift at least and a nice 285/75-17 to avoid too much belly-sitting.

The doors are solid and the auto stop in two different positions, including the tailgate is really nice.

The crawling ratio is great and the lockers work well. Love to be able to shift to 4H on the fly and not having to worry about gears meshing etc.
The 8 speed transmission seems really appropriate for this vehicle. I love to be able to switch to manual override and change gear ratio when downhill or uphill, it works seamlessly and very well and I don't regret going for an auto.

So far the one thing that pisses me off is that the Jeep will go to auto-parking mode when the door is open, which is annoying. Hopefully we find a way of disabling that....

Other than that, I can't find much to complain about.
For me it has been rock solid so far, no electrical issue (yet) and everything works properly.
Also, I have to say it feels like everything is of a good quality and solid built. Removing the sides of the bumper, for example, I noticed that all the screws were treated with locktite-sort of compound and I guess also to protect from water.

I think this is a great overlanding machine and I am really happy I bought it, albeit is really expensive when you get it almost fully loaded (I am missing the keyless entry).

I think it's definitely a good upgrade from a JK, and while before the JL I was looking into a 4 runner, I have to say I am glad I waited for it, this thing is a beast.

Cheers,
G.
Thanks for the great report.
Do you have any problem with excessive wind noise from the hardtop that I have been reading about in the other threads on this forum ??
 

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knower

knower

Well-Known Member
First Name
Giuseppe
Joined
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Threads
6
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110
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Location
Squamish
Website
www.wildbreath.com
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Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited JL
Occupation
VFX Artist / Photographer / Cinematographer
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knower

knower

Well-Known Member
First Name
Giuseppe
Joined
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Threads
6
Messages
110
Reaction score
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Location
Squamish
Website
www.wildbreath.com
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Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited JL
Occupation
VFX Artist / Photographer / Cinematographer
Thanks for the great report.
Do you have any problem with excessive wind noise from the hardtop that I have been reading about in the other threads on this forum ??
That is a very good point, I forgot to mention that, thanks for reminding me!

Before buying the JL I had a JK for a few days.
The JK had the headliner in the hard top, my JL doesn't.

There is a quite a bit of wind noise in the JL, and is something that could annoy many people. For me I just volume up the Alpine stereo when I am on the highway, but I am going to add a headliner and see if that helps.
I have read the headliners they sell help a lot in reducing the noise, but we'll have to see.

What I can say is that the JK with the headliner was definitely LESS noisy than the JL without headliner.

Hope this helps!
G.
 
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knower

knower

Well-Known Member
First Name
Giuseppe
Joined
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Threads
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110
Reaction score
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Squamish
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www.wildbreath.com
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Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited JL
Occupation
VFX Artist / Photographer / Cinematographer
good stuff. do you think you could do your thing with the two door or did you not even consider it?
The 2 doors stocks is definitely better suited for offroad action, but for what I do is definitely too small.
My Samurai was probably the same size, maybe just a touch smaller, and it was difficult to handle all the gear I bring in my trips.

Even the 4 doors, with the rear seats down, is not that big inside, at 5.10" I can barely fit in the back to sleep and I don't think I am going to add a rooftop tent (I had that on the ZJ, but is a lot more drag on the jeep).
By when you add an ARB fridge and a stove in the back, half of the rear is gone and I still have to bring all my camera gear, clothing, and tent, plus the dog (a German Shepard) occasionally, so not much space in there, really.

That's why I got the Delica in the first place, it was absolutely awesome space and comfort wise, but the problem was the wheelbase was too long and I could only put a 2" lift in there, the higher lifts were difficult to find and it doesn't have full axle in the front, so a bunch of times I had to stop and change route.

If I had a taller garage I would put an even higher lift on the JL, probably a 3.5" with the same 285/75-17 but the 2" will have to do, also because I want to keep the stock warranty and the mopar one is the only way.

G.
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