Things you have learned the Hard way about owning a Jeep.

[HardSell]

Lockers are purposed to get you out of trouble or reduce wear and tear by improving traction over difficult terrain. The foolish use lockers to get into trouble and use others' rigs to get out of trouble.

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[JohnT]

You didn’t get the cold weather package?

With the seats going I’d say it’s comfy down to about 15°C or so.

haven't tried the new one with top down,doors off and seats on... good idea!

 

[jeepdabest]

Don't make coffee on a Coleman stove while driving in 4wd.

 

[KenPewPew]

I learned that while driving with the top off, freshly roadkill skunk smell can REALLY be suffocatingly stinky *gags*. Same with stuck behind a garbage truck in hot sweltering weather with no way out. I also learn to hold my breath when there is a first sign of unnatural smell and scram the F*<k outta that area. Because of that I now can successfully hold my breath for 45 seconds. The sucky part is that if I did not successfully get out of the stinky zone and I have to do a burst intake of air, the smell is 10X worst! Lifes can be a gamble I guess!

 

[donmontalvo]

I learned that life is too short to use a crappy air compressor. #JustDoIt

 

[sf5211]

I learned that life is too short to use a crappy air compressor. #JustDoIt

Nice kit Don!

 

[SpeedKills]

Let’s see...

1. I learned that every Jeep owner that claims his lifted rig with huge tires “rides and drives better than stock” is full of shit.

I rented a JLUR in Moab last weekend. It was on a Teraflex 3 to 4" lift and 37" MTs. Once the shocks warmed up it rode much better than stock. That being said, it was probably a $7,000 suspension system. Teraflex gives them new gear for testing.

 

[wibornz]

Lockers are purposed to get you out of trouble or reduce wear and tear by improving traction over difficult terrain. The foolish use lockers to get into trouble and use others' rigs to get out of trouble.

True story. Well said.

 

[uawho]

Lesson learned a few months ago:

With the top down, and two young daughters in the back seat:
Don't drive under a low hanging branch of a tree that has a huge insect ball in it.
It shakes the branch and causes thousands of small black beatles to rain down on your daughters like confetti. And thus begins the hour long effort to get them all out of the jeep again before said daughters were willing to get back in. (I almost left them out there!)

 

[aldo98229]

I rented a JLUR in Moab last weekend. It was on a Teraflex 3 to 4" lift and 37" MTs. Once the shocks warmed up it rode much better than stock. That being said, it was probably a $7,000 suspension system. Teraflex gives them new gear for testing.

Yes, the ride was better, no doubt. But I bet you the handling was total crap. And this is the part few Wrangler owners like to even acknowledge.

When you swap the stock 32” tires that weigh 45 lbs each, and mount 37” tires that weigh 90 lbs each, the laws of physics dictate that all that added unsprung weight and higher center of gravity are going to hurt your Jeep’s handling.

I’ve been guilty of this myself. I went and swapped the factory tires with 35” MTs on my JKs. I was so excited with the new look, the meaner stance, and all the off-roading opportunities, that I completely blocked out that it drove like a turd on the street.

It wasn’t until I sold that Jeep and got a new one that it reminded how much better a stock Wrangler actually drives.

PS - Most recently I went from a 2015 JKU Sahara with a 2” Mopar lift and 34x10.5 KO2 pizza cutters, to a 2018 JKUR with a 2” Mopar lift and 315/70R17 KO2 “35s”: I never really liked how that last JK drove —among other things. So this time, I purposely held restraint and went with 275/70R18 KO2s —i.e., 33x10.8— on my JL. I am very happy with how it drives.

 

[aldo98229]

PS - having owned several Wranglers and tried different setups, I learned that 285/75R17 (~ 34 x 11 inches) offers the sweet spot between a larger tire size for increased off-road capability, and retaining the on-road factory handling characteristics.

 

[SpeedKills]

Yes, the ride was better, no doubt. But I bet you the handling was total crap. And this is the part few Wrangler owners like to even acknowledge.

When you swap the stock 32” tires that weigh 45 lbs each, and mount 37” tires that weigh 90 lbs each, the laws of physics dictate that all that added unsprung weight and higher center of gravity are going to hurt your Jeep’s handling.

I’ve been guilty of this myself. I went and swapped the factory tires with 35” MTs on my JKs. I was so excited with the new look, the meaner stance, and all the off-roading opportunities, that I completely blocked out that it drove like a turd on the street.

It wasn’t until I sold that Jeep and got a new one that it reminded how much better a stock Wrangler actually drives.

PS - Most recently I went from a 2015 JKU Sahara with a 2” Mopar lift and 34x10.5 KO2 pizza cutters, to a 2018 JKUR with a 2” Mopar lift and 315/70R17 KO2 “35s”: I never really liked how that last JK drove —among other things. So this time, I purposely held restraint and went with 275/70R18 KO2s —i.e., 33x10.8— on my JL. I am very happy with how it drives.

I didn't race it around corners so I can't comment on the handling. That being said, a stock Rubicon starts with a high amount of unsprung weight. The 37" tires added more weight but a true high performance suspension vs. stock does a better job keeping the tires in contact with the road..
I have yet to lift our 2-door Sports S. We currently have Rubi wheels and tires (285 70 17 KO2). It rides OK but not great.

 

[40”JLURD]

I've learned that more time spent on this forum and watching Jeep YouTube programs leads to large mod-peppered credit card bills

Couldn’t have said it better myself

 

[donmontalvo]

Nice kit Don!

I moved it to under the passenger seat. Soooo sweet having it there!

 

[The Pointer]

There are many things to learn about owning a Jeep that you will never learn while owning a different vehicle. Share your experience here.

So, I learned something new yesterday. If you have the top off, the doors off and fold down your windshield and then try and drink hot coffee out of an open cup... In my case a Styrofoam cup, the hot coffee will blow all over your face, sunglasses and into your hair (if you have hair) while driving. Thank God, I had sunglasses on or I would have had hot coffee scalding my eye balls.

Lesson learned.........

Waiting for some dust to settle on some of the issues reported and waiting for FCA‘ response to the Jeep base I feel comfortable with my report. While I refrain from using never, it’s mostly about how FCA has But now that a sale has been completed I guess their behavior was expected.

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