Uh Oh... Another Toy

Picked up a 2015 JK Willys Wrangler the other day. Might turn it into a trail rig and clean up the 4Runner and make it an Overlander.

 

Nice! But will they get along together? Keep an eye on them… maybe dont leave them in the same garage until they get comfortable with each other

 

You’ll find you’ll be able to modify the jeep for serious trail work, and then wind up spending way too much money.

 

That is soo cool. It is well suited seeing your other trail buddies.
Good suspension setup and twin lockers would be so damn awesome. Please share on Youtube how you build it.

 

Congrats, Im jelly! I'm always browsing CL, OU, FBM for XJ's, ZJ's and or JK's as a side/project rig.

 

Nice Willy's ! I am always hunting for XJ's as well. I had a MINT 2001 (last year) 4x4 50th Anniversary edition with 95k miles and I sold it like an idiot for a measly $8k about 10 years ago. Biggest sale regret ever, those XJ's are one of the best cars ever made in my opinion.

 

You and me both! I had a cleeeeean and stock 93 XJ that I picked up maybe 5 years ago, only had 119k on it. Sold it because I got cold feet about the potential money pit! I think I'd still have it if I lived closer to the dirt trails, as it is now, I'm about 1-2 hours away depending on the trail.

 

This being my 1st Jeep I wanted a 2 door Wrangler to get the full Jeep experience. I always wanted one when I was younger. Not sure why I never bought one previously. It's actually a lot of fun to drive.

I'm impressed by the leg room. I always though Jeeps were cramped inside. Turns out I can put my left foot past the pedals and not touch the firewall and I'm 6'4. Plenty of head room as well. Shoulder / knee room? Pretty bad - my left knee rests against the door / manual window control. Left shoulder also rests on the

I drove this one 2.5 hours home from the dealer on 2 lane roads. It easily got up to 55/60 mph. Steering is a little loose compared to my 4Runner.

There are little oddities compared to Toyota.
The windshield wiper controls are on a stalk that you spin to increase from low to high. There is no headlight indicator on the dash. Putting on the brights or fog lights, an indicator appears on the dash. The transmission / shifter is not lighted.

I debated a manual transmission but went with an auto because of the type of off roading I do - rocks. There was another 2015 Sport that had a little less miles on it. The Willys has more features: Dana 44 rear axle with LSD, 373 gears, and 275/55R17 tires.

I would've preferred a Rubicon but all I saw in my price range were significantly higher miles, soft tops, and manual transmissions, plus weird tire / wheel combinations. I wanted a hard top and auto. My 4Runner fills the 4 door spot so a 2 door Wrangler makes more sense to me.

Immediate plans - Add a winch, front & rear bumpers, metal fenders, 2 inch lift springs, & sway bar disconnects.
The Willys has 5 brand new 32 inch BFG AT KO2 tires on it. While I do want to go to 35 to 37 inch tires, I'm going to stay with what's on there for a little while.

The aftermarket is cheap - good looking front bumpers from $250 on up. Rear tire / jerrycan carriers from $500 on up. Top of the line suspensions run a grand on up.

 

I had 2 JKs & multiple TJs over 30+ years. I really thought the 2012+ 3.6L JK was miles ahead of the earlier (2007-2011 3.8L) models. I too never wanted a fake Jeep (Unlimited) - 2 doors or no doors!

I'd get another JK if I had a place to put it. Easiest mod vehicle ever. Enjoy yours!

I still have an adjustable rear JKS trackbar if you need one...

 

You can always tow the Jeep home with the 4Runner!

 

I had a 2006 Rubicon LJ (unlimited - last year of the two door in the longer Jeep). It was great fun and rock solid! I wish I kept it, but I was scared to death of having an accident with my three young boys in it. It was a second car for me and garage kept with only 24,000 miles on it when I traded it in after 7 years in 2013. Kept the top off from May to November here in Maryland. I paid $26,000 new for it in 2006, got $15,000 trade-in in 2013, and I heard that model jeep in good shape is worth around $25,000 today. Crazy! My boys (now 22 and 19 twins) always gave me a hard time for getting rid of that Jeep, but teenage boy drivers and Jeeps are not a good combination!

 

Yes yes let the darkness in. We welcome you home.

 

agreed I’m 6’3” and length wise fit the jeep really well so much that I can extend my left foot all the way out without bending. Width wise though it is a little cramped but I was surprise how quickly I got used to it.

as far as aftermarket your dead on. I got my front bumper and winch plate for 450.00 and my suspension from AEV for right at a grand. bed rack with all the adding was way cheaper than my gobi rack on the 4R and got it in two days vs 9 months. Dobinsons now has a full jeep line that I’m eyeing for the added weight we’ve put on it.

 

The Jeep is the most modified vehicle in the world I have been told. I cannot remember the name of that 500 page Jeep catalog (Quadratec) with mods, tires, suspensions, etc. that would come out every year with Jeep shit! I was like a teenager looking at the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition when that Jeep catalog would arrive. I had grand plans, but in seven years I only added the rubber floor mats. I will probably be the same with my 4R too, but it already came with the rubber floor mats!

 

yeah I’ve been blown away looking at stuff. And it’s honestly like man I wish someone made ……. For the jeep. 2 minutes worth of google and it’s like holy crap there it is. And it’s usually dirt cheap compared to ordering something for the 4R. I will say though some things are ridiculously priced. Just ordered an AEV snorkel for mine to the tune of 599.99 my snorkel for the 4R was 300.00 shipped which i also just ordered for my wife’s 4R

 

Nice!! A 2 door Wrangler would be the ultimate trail toy! Even with 32's, it will probably school the 4runner in rocks.

Enjoy!

 

Have these bumpers on order.

Front stubby winch bumper $291 w/ free shipping:
https://www.extremeterrain.com/redrock-4x4-attack-stubby-front-bumper-w-winch-mount-0718-jk.html

Rear $350 w/ free shipping:
https://www.extremeterrain.com/barricade-rear-bumper-j100291.html

Talked to a Jeep fab shop owner in our wheeling group, he's ordering my sway bar disconnects and is cutting down a set of springs to make a 2 inch lift for my Jeep.

Looking at 35 inch tires.

 

Can you with a JK or JL? I know you can with a TJ since it's so light.

 

Oops...

 

Good thing its not a trip to body shop right? You can replace your self?

 

I already had replacement fenders & bumpers on order when that happened. Not sure where that tree came from.

I did learn BFG AT KO2's absolutely suck in Mud. There are 3 guys (in the woods) pulling me out of this predicament.



Original plan was to hold onto those tires for a bit. That's changed. Will be getting a set of mud terrains on their soon.

 

The slick mud I see on your videos KO2s would have no chance.

 

What tires are you planning next? I’ve been really happy with my stt pro

 

That would have been an expensive oops in the 4Runner!

One of the things I love about the Wranglers, how easily replaceable the fenders and flares are.

 

Still researching but those in the running. I really want 35's but there are 2 common 35 inch tire sizes that are popular on Wranglers from what I can tell.

35X12.5R17 (usually a true 35 inch tire)





315X70R17 (usually 34.7 ish tire)


I still need to check each manufacturer's website and check the weights, tread depth, and overall size of each tire.Since this will mostly be a trail rig - I'm tempted by a cheap set of Chinese Milestar Patgonia tires.

Like the Toyota, the stock wheels are 7 inches wide. These tires are spec'd for a 7.5 inch wide wheel. Reading on the Jeep forums. Most use their stock wheels and expect their tires to wear faster in the center of the tire.

That brings up additional things - wheels and offsets.
Then - regearing and lockers.

 

Here's where my Jeep sits now. Rear bumper is on. Working on the front bumper today.


When I went to open the rear bumper, I found that it was missing paint on the corners, plus the hardware box had been opened and included a whole bunch of junk screws and bolts. Looked like I received an open box bumper missing hardware. I had to take 2 runs to the hardware store to get the rear bumper installed.

I called up Extreme Terrain and asked for discount. I actually talked to an American!!! They sell open box items at a reduced price. They offered me either a credit of $150 back to my card or $185 of store credit. I took the store credit.

Turns out I ordered fenders (Amazon) but I also needed Fender Liners. I ordered a set of those, plus a set of magnetic side armor for the doors and side body panels. I already have a nasty scratch on the passenger door.


I should not have taken this thing off road last Saturday. Now my partner wants a 2 door Wrangler to replace our Mini Cooper. Had I not torn the fender off and scratched it up, I wouldn't be looking at buying a 2nd Wranger...

1st world problems.

 

For tires, I'm kind of intrigued by the 35x10.50 Kenda RT's. I like skinny tires, haha. Not sure if that's agressive enough for you though, it's more of a hybrid.

Out of the ones you posted, I'd be leaning towards the Pats on price alone. Though from what I see, they tend to perform great off-road, with the exception of pure mud.

 

Kenda Klever MT's look pretty affordable. I've seen others using them.

 

For a trail rig I’d definitely go with the milestars. They clean out pretty easy and are a super soft compound. But that also means they wear fast on pavement. Expect to maybe see 20k -25k out of them.

 

Bumpers on fenders off.