Well here goes my first Jeep build thread.
A little backstory:
I've been very fortunate to have built a couple rigs in the past:
My first rig, a 2000 Montero. Built it up to perform reliably 35s and threw the entire overland catalog at it:
Though I loved that rig (and still believe gen 2 Monteros are one of the most underrated 4x4s out there), I quickly realized the pitfalls of a torsion bar IFS. After several close calls, I started looking into a SAS or getting a different rig entirely.
That's when this 2016 JK Rubicon Hard Rock came up for sale at my local Jeep dealership:
I wheeled the heck out of that thing, and with the factory lockers, 35s, and a basic 3" lift it performed outstandingly on the rocks.
However, that purchase turned out to be a mistake for a couple reasons:
1. First off, I wasn't in a position to truly afford the monthly payments on my college kid budget.
2. I never developed a bond with the rig, the way I did with my Montero. It just felt more like a car, than a Jeep.
3. It was disastrously unreliable under my ownership. Several thermostats, cooling issues, electrical issues, transmission shifting errors and etc.
So after less than a year of ownership, I began looking at other options.
The new rig would be used mainly as:
1. Daily driver. 90% of my driving is highway/city between work, college, and home.
2. PNW Trails. This is where the majority of my wheeling will be done.
3. A couple of annual trips to Moab, Rubicon, Fordyce, etc.
My requirements were:
1. Solid axles. This was an absolute must for me. While there are absolutely people out there that wheel hard on IFS (ppl way more experienced than me), I'm not interested in lifting tires on every minor obstacle.
2. Good daily driver. Must be semi-reliable and roadworthy to get me to and from work, school, and home. This took out doing a SAS, or anything too old (80s Toyotas, broncos etc).
3. Have decent interior space. I often take my sisters to school so need to have decent backseats and cargo space simultaneously. I also want to sleep inside my rig on overland trips. Not a huge fan of roof tents and ground tents.
After comparing all the options, my gaze landed between building up an 80 series Land Cruiser or an LJ:
Ultimately, the LJ won because I wanted to build something relatively nimble for our tight PNW trails. I was also not a fan of the "Toyota-tax" on parts prices. Despite Toyota's reputation for reliability, any 20-year-old rig is going to need maintenance, and with the TJ/LJ's cheap parts, I would have more money in my pocket for mods!
A little backstory:
I've been very fortunate to have built a couple rigs in the past:
My first rig, a 2000 Montero. Built it up to perform reliably 35s and threw the entire overland catalog at it:
Though I loved that rig (and still believe gen 2 Monteros are one of the most underrated 4x4s out there), I quickly realized the pitfalls of a torsion bar IFS. After several close calls, I started looking into a SAS or getting a different rig entirely.
That's when this 2016 JK Rubicon Hard Rock came up for sale at my local Jeep dealership:
I wheeled the heck out of that thing, and with the factory lockers, 35s, and a basic 3" lift it performed outstandingly on the rocks.
However, that purchase turned out to be a mistake for a couple reasons:
1. First off, I wasn't in a position to truly afford the monthly payments on my college kid budget.
2. I never developed a bond with the rig, the way I did with my Montero. It just felt more like a car, than a Jeep.
3. It was disastrously unreliable under my ownership. Several thermostats, cooling issues, electrical issues, transmission shifting errors and etc.
So after less than a year of ownership, I began looking at other options.
The new rig would be used mainly as:
1. Daily driver. 90% of my driving is highway/city between work, college, and home.
2. PNW Trails. This is where the majority of my wheeling will be done.
3. A couple of annual trips to Moab, Rubicon, Fordyce, etc.
My requirements were:
1. Solid axles. This was an absolute must for me. While there are absolutely people out there that wheel hard on IFS (ppl way more experienced than me), I'm not interested in lifting tires on every minor obstacle.
2. Good daily driver. Must be semi-reliable and roadworthy to get me to and from work, school, and home. This took out doing a SAS, or anything too old (80s Toyotas, broncos etc).
3. Have decent interior space. I often take my sisters to school so need to have decent backseats and cargo space simultaneously. I also want to sleep inside my rig on overland trips. Not a huge fan of roof tents and ground tents.
After comparing all the options, my gaze landed between building up an 80 series Land Cruiser or an LJ:
Ultimately, the LJ won because I wanted to build something relatively nimble for our tight PNW trails. I was also not a fan of the "Toyota-tax" on parts prices. Despite Toyota's reputation for reliability, any 20-year-old rig is going to need maintenance, and with the TJ/LJ's cheap parts, I would have more money in my pocket for mods!
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️ shape or a #1 with one pointing up and the other sideways. And there will be a corresponding mark on the cover surface.