Who has taken their JL on a long road trip and what was your experience like?!

[CT_LFC]

We have a stock JLUR and took it from CT to Montreal a couple years ago (~350 miles) and it drove great. I was comfortable, wife was comfortable and kids were super comfortable in the back with blankets and watching movies.

On the way back we had a nasty ice/sleet/snow storm most of the way back and it handled it like a champ, though i have no desire to battle those conditions again for hours on end.

Sponsored

 

[bryce_sandoval]

Bought ours in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Drove it back to Durango, Colorado. I had very low expectations, owning a YJ and spending some time in a JK, and it was actually a very comfortable and enjoyable trip. Crosswind will still get you a bit, but other than that it is a very road trip worthy vehicle.

 

[PDelena]

Bought ours in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Drove it back to Durango, Colorado. I had very low expectations, owning a YJ and spending some time in a JK, and it was actually a very comfortable and enjoyable trip. Crosswind will still get you a bit, but other than that it is a very road trip worthy vehicle.

I ordered mine from Videon in West Chester back on 5/17. Mind if I ask where you got yours, what you ordered, and how long it took?

 

[bryce_sandoval]

Actually found mine "Used" there at Piazza Hyundai lol
Bought it March of 2020... yep. Right when Covid was starting.

I called 62+ dealers across the country who had exactly what we wanted. Theirs happened to be used, so best deal was on that one. Only reason I did this was wife wanted Punk'n, it got discontinued and could no longer order it, so I made sure she got Punk'n.

 

[B_AIRS]

I have done at least one long trip each year for the past two years and planning another one for July. Two years ago I went from Houston, TX to the Bighorn Mountains in northern Wyoming, total drive time of about 20 hours each way. Last year I did from Houston to Ouray, CO which was about 18 hours each way. This year I'm planning on making the trip from Houston to Dubois, Wyoming which is about 24 hours drive time each way. I also make several trips up to the Texas Hill country every year which are 3-4 hour drives each way. I have no complaints with the drivability or comfort of my JLUR. Like others have stated I feel like it has plenty of power to pass if needed and it does not beat me up like some of my previous sports cars have on longer trips. Obviously everyone is different, but I'm very happy with the road trip ability of mine.

 

[LarryB]

You just need to drive a few.

Before mine, I’d never driven a solid axle vehicle before. I’ve never had a wandering issue, but my steering gearbox was a little on the loose side (before the TSB) which has been mostly addressed in the ‘21’s on up. Earlier models you need the TSB done. That’s why it doesn’t hurt to test drive the one you buy. It drives fine now and I will be making a few thousand mile trip with it this Summer.

could not have said it better than this …

 

[RealMenDIY]

I haven't done a long road trip but drive it 150 miles a day commuting during the week and probably another 200 on the weekend and it's fine. It's comfortable and has all of the creature comforts of my previous Grand Cherokee. It's certainly not our Lexus sedan but it drives just fine. With the Freedom tops off it makes the commute home a little more enjoyable having the sun on my face and wind in my hair. As others have said, you need to pay a little more attention when it is windy but that's about it. As long as you have driven one before and understand what you are getting into you shouldn't have any issues.

Most major rental car companies will let you specifically rent a Wrangler and only a Wrangler. I have done it a number of times on vacation so I knew what to expect. I would spend a couple hundred bucks and go rent one for a weekend before I dropped $45-60k on a vehicle. You won't get enough of a drive experience just taking it on a test drive.

 

[JlDieseltoy]

Canceled my order on a Bronco and bought a 2021 eco diesel Rubicon my first diesel and my first wrangler. Well we live in Florida and took a trip into the smoky mountains and loved the Jeep and more love the diesel

 

[Echo4papa]

Just drove 13 hours from Central Florida to Baltimore yesterday in my 4xe and it was great. Light to heavy rain on and off from NC up, but no issues at all.

Wind will knock you around a bit if it picks up because you're driving a literal box.

People seemed to not want to ride my ass once the roads got wet. I'm guessing its all the mist kicking up behind me.

People also seemed to get out of the left lane more often once the sun went down. Probably from the higher headlights. Except people from Vriginia. They all seemed to be in a race to merge over to the left lane and go 5-10 mph slower than the rest of traffic.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I haven't done a long road trip but drive it 150 miles a day commuting during the week and probably another 200 on the weekend and it's fine. It's comfortable and has all of the creature comforts of my previous Grand Cherokee. It's certainly not our Lexus sedan but it drives just fine. With the Freedom tops off it makes the commute home a little more enjoyable having the sun on my face and wind in my hair. As others have said, you need to pay a little more attention when it is windy but that's about it. As long as you have driven one before and understand what you are getting into you shouldn't have any issues.

Most major rental car companies will let you specifically rent a Wrangler and only a Wrangler. I have done it a number of times on vacation so I knew what to expect. I would spend a couple hundred bucks and go rent one for a weekend before I dropped $45-60k on a vehicle. You won't get enough of a drive experience just taking it on a test drive.

There's no way I'd commute 150 miles a day in the Jeep, not for comfort but for the rapidly wearing out my off road toy. The fuel savings of any of the dozens of 30+ mpg vehicles available today would easily cover the payment on the 2nd vehicle. Averaging a generous 20 mpg at $4/gal you're daily commute is pushing $700/month. To each his own I guess. The advice to rent a Wrangler before buying is genius though.

 

[calemasters]

So looking to get back into a Jeep but I keep reading how bad they are on the highway as far as moving all over the lane and just overall not being a very comfortable road trip vehicle.

I do take a fair amount of road trips and I thought a jl with the top down would be an awesome place to be. Jeep has all the amenities. Nice seats/heated seats/wheel and so on.

Wanted some real word feedback from owners not magazines. Thanks guys

I recently drove my 2021 JLURD from Missouri to Redondo Beach, Ca. then to Sedona, Az. and back home. We did many trails in California and Arizona. The Jeep performed flawlessly. On the highway we saw some 75 mph speed limits so I set the ACC on 80 mph and the Jeep was great on the highway. Unlike my Corvette, it does not have the "riding on rails" feeling, but it is an awesome Jeep and did well. We had a great 5,500 mile trip.

 

[blessidsoul12]

Just did a 1000+ mile roadtrip. Just my wife and I for our 11 year anniversary- from Walla Walla to central washington down to painted hills and Fossil, OR and over to Joseph/Imnaha/Hells Canyon and back home.
Agree with what others have said about the wind- drove about 200 miles direclty into about 30-40mph head wind yesterday and it SUCKED. In addition to trying to stay in our lane at 70mph, my hearing was affected the rest of the day from just the wind noise.
Other than yesterday, though, the JL was amazing! My wife slept many hours comfortably. Plenty of room at 6'1" for me. Plenty of power, decent gas mileage and the cruise control is spot on. I'm on nitto exo-grappler 35s with no lift.
One thing I found interesting is that when we were way out and google maps had no signal, the JL's Uconnect nav had signal the whole time.

 

[Heimkehr]

So looking to get back into a Jeep but I keep reading how bad they are on the highway as far as moving all over the lane and just overall not being a very comfortable road trip vehicle.

Wanted some real word feedback from owners not magazines.

Coincidentally, I'm just back from my annual road trip/camping/Civil War battlefield tour. I was towing a loaded trailer that weighed ~1,350 lbs.

Interior comfort: Not bad. I don't recall being uncomfortable. I was careful to periodically stop to check my load straps, and more importantly, stretch. I'd do this no matter the vehicle I was driving. I will suggest that firm seating is better than too much cushioning when driving (or riding) any appreciable distance. Comfort is subjective, though, so I can only speak for myself here.

Road manners: I did have to steer the vehicle in a more active manner than I had anticipated. My '21 has the new steel steering box from the factory, and when not pulling a load, the vehicle tracks as straight and as sweet as I could want. I attribute the mild increase in steering effort to the presence of the aforementioned trailer. I was careful to adjust the position of the load so as to not place too much, or too little, weight on the hitch (tongue).

Performance: Superlative, all things considered. On smooth roads, I didn't know the trailer was there. On imperfect asphalt, sure, there was some feedback, but this is natural IMO. The 2.0T pulled away from stops easily; granted, I'm pretty good at modulating my right foot.

Fuel mileage: My high average is 28.x mpg, and my trip mileage was 23.x. A reasonable variance.

Good times.

 

[RagTopDeluxe]

We drove my JLUR to the Phoenix area to take a Jeep-ful of my daughter's stuff (she moved out there). It was around 13 hours and it was fine. My husband had a JKUR and he much prefers my JL for comfort.

It is louder than typical SUVs and crosswinds are fun (not to mention the big rigs in Arizona that drive like absolute bats out of hell ), but I'd do a long drive again (especially when wheeling is the destination).

 

[Fsttanks]

Took our 2020 3.6 JLUR on 35” AT tires from PalmSprings Ca to San Antonio TX area for the 4th of July. 18 hours (all the same day) stopping only for gas/bathroom breaks, 1280 miles. Two days later after our short visit we drove back to PalmSprings, again 18 hours straight door to door, stopping only for gas/bathroom breaks.

We have done this drive a dozen times in three other vehicles, F150, FJ and JKU. Our JLUR was better then the FJ and JKU but not even close to the F150.

The seats in the JL in my opinion are not as good as they were in our JK and F150. So after 14 hours it started to get pretty uncomfortable. Road manners were good and not tiring. Fuel “economy” LOL was none existent at best 17mpg.

Overall we enjoyed the drive and look forward to it again this July 4th weekend. This time we will be taking our 2021 JLUR 2.0 on stock tires. Should be a little less expensive....LoL

Why take a JL on long road trips? For us it about the feeling on security. Weather doesn’t effect us, poor roads don’t effect us and they are super easy to maneuver in/on cities traffic/streets. Most importantly they are great to explore the “roads less traveled” along the way should we get the itch.

Sponsored