2015 JKU Rubicon

Lots of mods

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When my Rubicon was stock I ran it through some pretty nasty trails and did some rock crawling in it. I would advise skid plates at a minimum (I recommend the Rock Hard ones) just to be safe, but in stock form its extremely capable if driven right.

LOL.. so many people think the Raptor is bulletproof and jump them only to lead to bent or cracked frames, thrashed suspension, etc. I'd much prefer a regular full size truck with a nice long travel kit. Raptors are very over rated. I have recovered one myself in my Jeep that high centered on a small rock..

Yeah I've driven one. Felt like an F150 with a long travel kit lol.

Unfortunately after that jump the truck was totaled

Definitely true.. Jeeps are more for technical crawling and going places where no other vehicles can go. Also, the culture itself is kind of like owning a Harley where you have a lot of groups and people you go wheeling with and help each other out. The Jeep community is comprised of some of the coolest people I've met. With a Raptor you get something that can go quick through the desert, but it costs so much you probably will be worried about breaking it if jumping or doing anything people think they can do. It's not a trophy truck, it's an F150 with the equivalent of a $7500-9K long travel kit on it and wider fenders.

If he was to take it off road, it would rub big time.

The best solution if wanting to keep the suspension stock and properly fit 35's would be to get some flat fenders like these:

http://www.bushwacker.com/blog/latest-builds/stock-2013-jeep-wrangler-jk-with-35″-tires

That way you can get proper articulation when the sway bar is disconnected and you won't have any rubbing or damage on the fenders.

Also, you will want 4.56 gears with 35's at the minimum - although I went with 4.88's because I love the low end torque I got from those gears, and it allows some power to work with if going to 37's eventually.

I've always said to many people new to Jeeping that you can handle 90% of the trails with a stock Rubicon, flat fenders, 35" tires, and skid plates no problem. It will just handle them much better with upgrades suspension and other mods.. if not wheeling it that hard, like most people, keeping it simple is totally fine as Rubicon's are very capable from the factory.

Also when lifting your Jeep.. sometimes bigger is not better, unless you are doing some major crawling. I only went with a 2.5" Rock Krawler X-factor lift w/ 35's so it drives great on the street and keeps the center of gravity lower then other kits. With my Poison Spyder flat fenders I can fit 37's in there if I want too. The X-factor kit allows some extreme articulation too

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Way better then stock IMO.. the xfactor kit and Fox reservoir shocks are great on the street. I prefer my current setup over the factory stuff.

Not only that, it will take the JL years to prove itself on how reliable the transmission and new motor is, and new axles and other components. Since it's the first model year of a new design, it would make me a bit nervous.. Jeep has a poor track record for new model years and re-designs (example the massive Jeep Cherokee 9speed transmission delay, recall, problems, etc)

They could be throwing crappier axles, gears, transfer case, etc into the new JL just to get a better EPA rating.. a lot of unknowns.. but the aftermarket will take a loooong time to catch up to the JL which eliminates one of the best reasons to own a Jeep: modding it

Rob, I kind of see what dmbjunky is saying. The Raptor and a Jeep are really two completely different animals for two completely different purposes.

The Raptor is only good for high speed desert type of off roading, as the long travel kit is meant to have a lot of travel to take on whups and other desert type of terrain.. The suspension is tuned for that type of offroading, and its body and overall drivetrain (lack of lockers, sway bar disconnects, lack of articulation etc) makes it a terrible choice for rock crawling.

Jeep's are a totally different approach to offroading- low speed, 4lo type of technical rock crawling and going places where a Raptor would get stuck is what it is for. You just have to decide what you want to do with the vehicle, because offroading in a Jeep is a completely different thing. Not to mention the new Raptor wont be discounted and will have many dealer markups for months.. you are looking at $75-80K for a truck, which is just nuts. I'd rather just get a nicely equipped F150 and mod it with an awesome long travel kit, wheels & tires, and some fender flares and call it a day for that price. It would do pretty much exactly what a Raptor would do, for $25-30K less.

I have the Rock Krawler 2.5" Xfactor kit w/ Fox reservoir shocks and it drives better on the street then the factory Rubicon suspension. Since I am running 35's, that is the sweet spot.. if you go to 37's the street driving ability diminishes and you put a lot more stress on the axles and other components and its more of a rock crawler now. I think the combo of 2.5" and 35's is the best for a street driven JKU.

Mid arm kit- long arm would be if going to a coil over kit.. which would ride like shit on the road!

Go w/ the Xfactor mid arm 2.5 kit, and get these shocks:

http://www.quadratec.com/products/16195_101X_PG.htm

Or you could buy my 2015 w/ only 8500 miles on it that has $30K+ in mods already on it

LOL! Dude.. you would be blown away by how much it costs to make a Jeep "your own".

Here is my mod list.. 2015 JKU Rubicon, sticker was $43K-ish (+ taxes and license, etc)

(1) Rock Crawler 2.5” XFactor Mid Arm Kit
(4) Fox 2.0 performance reservoir shocks (Terraflex tuned)
(1) Fox ATS Steering Stabilizer
(1) AEV Procal Module
(5) Nitto Trail Grappler 35x12.5/17
(5) Fuel Hostage D568 17x9 wheels (+ mounting and balance)
(1) Poison Spyder Brawler Lite front bumper (steel)
(1) Poison Spyder Brawler Lite Skid
(1) Poison Spyder Fairlead mount
(1) Poison Spyder Zeon Spacers Plate
(1) Poison Spyder Rear Crusher Fenders (Aluminum)
(1) Poison Spyder Front Crusher Fenders (Aluminum – standard size)
(1) Poison Spyder Crusher Corners
(1) Poison Spyder Brawler Rockers (Aluminum)
(1) Poison Spyder Brawler II Rear Bumper
(1) Poison Spyder B-Pillar Armor
(2) Poison Spyder LED Backup Lights for Rear Bumper
(4) Spydertrax Wheel Spacer kit
(1) Terraflex Spare Tire Holder
(1) 50” Rigid E-Series LED Light Bar
(2) Rigid Dually LEDs in front bumper / fog position
(1) Poison Spyder Light Bar Mount
(1) 4” LED tail lights for Crusher Corners
(1) Warn Zeon 10-S winch w/ Nylon cable
(1) Factor 55 ProLink Shackle Mount
(2) ARB Front and Rear diff covers
(1) Afe High Tuck exhaust system
(2) 4.88 Gears
(3) Rock Hard Skid Plate- full kit (Fuel tank, Transfer case, oil pan/trans/catalytic)
(1) sPod switch control
(1) Custom VIAR onboard air compressor w/ driver/passenger side air connections
(1) Custom two tone “Rubicon” embroidered leather
(1) Pioneer CarPlay infotainment unit, factory option Alpine Stereo system w/ Sub
(1) Cobra CB radio and external antenna w/ Poison Spyder antenna mount
(1) Tinted Windows all around

If you were to add up the parts.. plus powdercoating for all the armor.. and installation (at least $10K for all this just labor alone) .. you would be around an $80K Jeep to do this build.

I would be willing to let it go for $55K, and that's an amazing deal right there for sure.. especially since it has only been offroad 4 times in 2 years and only has 8,500 miles

Anyone reading this would probably agree $55K for a Jeep build like this is insane