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One Year and 15,500 Miles with my Rubi

Kballard72

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Is that the factory top? What is the soft top thing flipping up under it?
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Jolonghorn

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@DanW really appreciate the write-up. I throuroughly enjoy your detailed write-ups and positive attitude. I have essentially your same Jeep minus the lift and in Billet Silver, with about the same mileage; but my one year anniversary is 26-Feb. I’ll just say ditto to all of your comments. Love this Jeep even more than I thought I would.

Question: How are you going about getting the ORP? I haven’t seen any over-the-air updates on this.
 

Calexb

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I did 15,500 miles in 6 months. Took it up to Canada twice, from New Jersey. Loving it. Brakes squeal and my rear defroster has stopped working. Car feels well-built. I am not missing my BMW 335i.
 
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DanW

DanW

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@DanW really appreciate the write-up. I throuroughly enjoy your detailed write-ups and positive attitude. I have essentially your same Jeep minus the lift and in Billet Silver, with about the same mileage; but my one year anniversary is 26-Feb. I’ll just say ditto to all of your comments. Love this Jeep even more than I thought I would.

Question: How are you going about getting the ORP? I haven’t seen any over-the-air updates on this.
Thank you! That Jeep is sharp!! The Uconnect update and ORP are coming from a TSB. The dealer will download it onto a zip drive and then plug it into the Jeep to update it. I've been reading that the most time is taken by the download to USB. Updating the Jeep itself apparently doesn't take so long. I'm hoping my dealer downloads it onto the zip drive before I arrive Wednesday morning. If not, they always fix me up with a nice vehicle, though.
 

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Cubbie Blu

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Just went over 25,000 on mine. Took delivery on June 18. Enjoyed your write up. My biggest problem is the rocks getting stuck between body and rear fenders. What did you use to secure the tubing??

IMG_20190112_111937_251.jpg
 
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DanW

DanW

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Just went over 25,000 on mine. Took delivery on June 18. Enjoyed your write up. My biggest problem is the rocks getting stuck between body and rear fenders. What did you use to secure the tubing??

IMG_20190112_111937_251.jpg
I pressed (jammed) it into the gap with a flat edged trim removal tool. I'll try and find an Amazon link to the tubing. It is perfectly sized for this application.
 

Shooting or Jeeping

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I agree with all of what you said. My 1 year is in 3 weeks. 16500 on mine. Am actually at service now (for an oil change) and they ask the usual “anything we need to look at or fix?” I could honestly say no. Everything remains tight and functional.
 

Geral Hasten

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Well, we've reached the 1 year anniversary of taking delivery of the JLUR. It doesn't seem that long, but we've had some real adventures with her. Here are some thoughts after living with her for awhile.

  • Fit and finish upon delivery were impeccible. The only flaw I found on the whole thing, after hand waxing and going over it with a fine tooth comb, was a drip of window adhesive that had gotten onto the side of the hard top under the rear quarter panel. That's it. After a year of handwashing and admittedly OCD hand waxing, I still haven't found another flaw, even underneath on/around the frame or in/under the engine compartment. I avoided fuses not seated, bad welds, etc. Mine was perfect. That's pretty darned good for a December 2017 build that was in the first month or two of production.
  • Not only do I have no regrets on the manual transmission, I'm 100% thrilled with it. It is better in every way than I'd imagined, which isn't surprising, considering I spent the previous 10 years driving a JK with an NSG 370 which puts the "uck" in "truck transmission." My manual was apparently (according to my dealership's manager), the first one delivered in Indiana. It was likely in the first major production batch for the JL. It has had zero problems and survived my brother in law and wife absolutely smoking the clutch as they mistakenly tried to launch in 5th gear. (I still cringe at the thought of it). I've towed my fishing boat quite a bit with it, too.
  • I feel the same way about the 3.6 as the transmission. (Not a knock on the 2.0. It is sounding like it is off to a great start and is a little powerhouse. I'd have considered it if available with a manual.) It has been great and has pepped up a bit since new, seeming a bit more free-revving and having some of the low rpm jerkyness (typical of manual transmissions). It is really smooth, quiet, and sounds GREAT going through the gears with the Magnaflow axle-back exhaust. Gas mileage has consistently been better than my JK, even with 35's (vs. 33's). I know, it is a lopsided comparison in every way with the old 3.8 in that JK.) I've done a used oil analysis after each oil change and they look great for the context they were in, from break-in to the last one at 9,xxx miles. The next oil change is still a little ways off, but we'll do another then. The engine seems to like Mobil 1 Ep and AP 0w20.
  • Interior. Love it. My kids love the back seat, as it has more room and is more comfortable than the JK, plus it has power outlets. They also love the wifi. I'm 6'5" tall, and have not had an issue. I've got the seat and wheel adjusted just right. After 22 hours each way to and from Moab, and really spending an entire week behind the wheel, I had no cramps, soreness, or body fatigue from being in this Jeep. I've done the same trip in the JK and while I find it comfortable, it doesn't compare. After about 5 hours in the JK, I need to stretch to get rid of muscle fatigue in my hamstrings and lower back.Honestly, the JL is more comfortable on the long haul than any of my vehicles, including a Mercedes E 430.
  • Steering. Mine was right from the start. I did have to get a new steering stabilizer. Mine developed a slight wobble when hitting bumps at 55mph. The dealership replaced it and it seems fine, for now. If it returns, i'll try the Fox 2.0 or the Teraflex. Otherwise, my steering feels fine. Best of the 3 Jeeps I've owned.
  • Off-road. She is a BEAST! The Mopar lift is awesome. I love the ride on road, but off road, it is in its element. We ran it hard for 5 days straight, from the highway, to the Rimrocker (160 miles) to Moab, then another 22 hour drive home, the Fox shocks were simply outstanding. My buddy blew out a brand new Pro-Comp monotube shock in the middle of the trip. His shocks were very warm to the touch after each workout. The Fox aluminum bodies were cool to the touch. The ride and flex are perfect. Any more flex and tires would be rubbing in a couple places.
  • KO2 tires. Love them. They are wearing perfectly. They've been outstanding on-road and off. They surprised me in the mud, too. They weren't nearly as disadvantaged to the KM2's I ran on the JK as I thought they'd be. They didn't chunk any worse than the KM2's after all those miles on rocks, either. The other Jeeps with me had much more aggressive mud tires and I never felt disadvantaged on any terrain. In sand, I felt they had a significant advantage over them. The C-load rating really rides nice, too, and I haven't found the sidewalls to be weak, at all. I doubt it was just luck, because we really gave them a workout and they have the scuffs and scratches on the sidewall to show they weren't babied.
  • Uconnect. Love it. The user interface is outstanding and the Alpine sounds awesome, even with doors off and top down at 70mph. I don't have the off-road pages yet, but should get them Wednesday. No biggie.
  • Other things that have impressed: The soft top is amazing. From the material to the zipperless windows to the way it folds, it is easily the best factory Jeep top yet. It also doesn't have any leaks. Yes, it does have the dreaded gutter pour at the front doors in rain, but who cares? It is a Jeep and it has drain holes in the floor liners, which my other Jeeps, which all did this, did not. You had to take out the floor mats and carpets to get the drains open. Love it! The auxillary buttons are great. This thing is just so easy to wire up with lights, thanks to this option. I've got two sets of auxillary lights using two buttons. Next up will be Rigid Industries floods for the rear bumper. The Molle webbing on the seatbacks is a cool feature. I've got my tool kit and a trauma kit on there. LED headlights. Wow, they are bright! I had a 14" light bar (spot) on the front bumper. They added so little to the brights that I took it off and replaced it with incandescent driving lights as a backup, in case the LED's ice over. (Hasn't happened yet.) Vastly improved rear visibility is great, with easy flip down headrests and the wiper mechanism being placed on the bottom. Even with a 35" tire on the rear, it has MUCH better visibility than my JK. The rear camera and parking assist is just gravy.
Things I don't like? Not having Off road pages has been an irritant. I also wish proximity keyless entry had been available when I ordered it. That's probably the only option I wish I had. I also had the bowing spring with the Mopar lift, but that's a mod, so it doesn't count against the JL's score. Besides, mine never rubbed and was quickly fixed with the revised spring pad. It has been no issue.

I'm hoping for a few hundred thousand miles and probably at least two decades with this thing. It is off to a great start, so the odds are ever increasing that she'll go the distance. Can't wait to see what adventures it takes us on in 2019! I couldn't be more thrilled with year 1.

This is a pic from just after delivery, before any lift or mods. The next is a recent pic.
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Geral Hasten

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Very Nice Mine is 11 months old and we have 21,545 miles !
Colorado trip 2 times and Phoenix round trip from Dallas helped it to get there.
 

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Rubi

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Just went over 25,000 on mine. Took delivery on June 18. Enjoyed your write up. My biggest problem is the rocks getting stuck between body and rear fenders. What did you use to secure the tubing??

IMG_20190112_111937_251.jpg
Who makes those side body rails, are they MOPAR?
 

JoeValkIS

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Great write-up Dan...but I am wondering...why don't you ever drive it? LOL Sorry to burden your thread instead of starting my own, but I figured I would weigh in on my 2-door Rubicon.

2 days ago was my 6 months anniversary and I now have just a little over 13k on Roxy. I mirror a lot of Dan's comments about the JL. I didn't come from a Wrangler background even though for the last year or so prior to getting my JL, I have driven a 2000 TJ Sport. Not enough time...not close enugh to even be considered for comparison. I have had my JL off-road a couple of times (off-road parks) and taken forest service roads a few times but haven't done anything like Moab (sorry...that just scares me thinking about it...I have seen videos of people flipping their Jeeps...no thanks...but cudos to you for going and doing!)

This was the day i picked Roxy up...

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This is pretty much now...

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(Mt. Magazine, AR)

While it is mostly my daily driver, I do get it dirty every once and a while.

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(FSR near Havana, AR)

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(Moonlight Off-Road Park, Sullivan, MO)

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(Near Dardenelle, AR)

And visit some interesting places.

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(Park Hills, MO)

And even have my first true damage...

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(That taillight assembly costs $350+...Don't do this... :D)

And I have taken long trips in it a few times.

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(Indian Nation Turnpike, South of McAlester, OK)

This thing is simply the best all-around vehicle I have owned. Doing 70 mph down the interstate, I can get 20 mpg...all day long. I don't feel any real bucking like you would expect from a short wheel based vehicle. Tire noise is almost non-existent. Tire grip is real good. 1st gear is short...usually shift around 15 mph but it is still peppy and it will get off the line very well. Thing to remember though...it is not a drag car...or a sports car...it is a 4x4 truck with 4:10 gears...it will be peppy but not all that fast. And I am perfectly fine with that.

The only issue I am currently chasing (literally) is the steering. MY JLR seems to have a little play in the steering. I have crawled under it and checked a few different times and I have asked my dealership at my first oil change to triple check everything but it still wanders on the road (doesn't matter speed or tire pressure). I have not had any other issues with my JL.,,that weren't caused by me...that is. I did have issues with the body bolts to put on my Rock Rails (broke one, dealer removed, wouldn't install rock rails because they couldn't get the bolts out, i tried a few more times, but I finally got it worked out...heat (gun) was the answer).

My JL is still mostly stock (stock tires, no lift) and I have only added a few extras to help make it mine. These extras include a Dynomax Cat-Back Muffler, SuperbrightLEDS 23" Lightbar, Tape Threshold Tape (basically vinyl wrap stuff), ACE Engineering Rock Sliders, Gorilla Locking Lugnuts, Mopar Grab Handles (Thanks again Dan!), Mopar All-Weather Floor Mats, and Pixeldecal Dash Decal (STL Skyline (installing soon)).

Like everyone else, I am looking forward to many more miles in my JL.
 

Blu bi Kong

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15,612 miles since Memotial Day '18
(8 months ish!)
Zero issues at this point. No steering complaints, no dealer complaints, no noise complaints. This Jeep has been nothing but fun designing, building, welding, wrenching, wiring, off roading, camping, wheeling in the sand, water, mud, rocks, mountainses and even on the highway, with a minimum of 1/3 of those miles have being off-road.
Big smiles
35" bfg Ko2's
Mammoth Boulder wheels
Full rock crawler front bumper
DV8 rear bumper
Metalcloak 3.5 gamechanger w/ 6paks
New front driveshaft
AFE exhaust
Smittybilt 12,000lb winch
2 kc spots, 2 kc floods
Custom built sliders
Custom ongoing full skids
Full custom aluminum cargo interior
Uniden Mx760
K&N filter
Loaded totes with all I will ever need either
In Jeep on trip or in garage. Always ready!
....
Am now building prototype rear window flush insets to carry 3.5 gallon Fuelpax cans in each side.

Yeah, I just can't get enough of this Jeep in my retirement!

20181202_114242.jpg


20181116_153740.jpg
 
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DanW

DanW

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@JoeValkIS Lol, remember, I still have the old JK, so my Jeep attention span is divided!
 
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DanW

DanW

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15,612 miles since Memotial Day '18
(8 months ish!)
Zero issues at this point. No steering complaints, no dealer complaints, no noise complaints. This Jeep has been nothing but fun designing, building, welding, wrenching, wiring, off roading, camping, wheeling in the sand, water, mud, rocks, mountainses and even on the highway, with a minimum of 1/3 of those miles have being off-road.
Big smiles
35" bfg Ko2's
Mammoth Boulder wheels
Full rock crawler front bumper
DV8 rear bumper
Metalcloak 3.5 gamechanger w/ 6paks
New front driveshaft
AFE exhaust
Smittybilt 12,000lb winch
2 kc spots, 2 kc floods
Custom built sliders
Custom ongoing full skids
Full custom aluminum cargo interior
Uniden Mx760
K&N filter
Loaded totes with all I will ever need either
In Jeep on trip or in garage. Always ready!
....
Am now building prototype rear window flush insets to carry 3.5 gallon Fuelpax cans in each side.

Yeah, I just can't get enough of this Jeep in my retirement!

20181202_114242.jpg


20181116_153740.jpg
Great looking Jeep! I'm looking forward to seeing the Rotation mounts!
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