This was so refreshing, a video praising the trail worthiness of a cheap Jeep with minor mods instead of badmouthing high end Jeeps for not being able to conquer Everest before breakfast! This gets you a well earned subscription! :)
@ScoobyFermentation Prefer to put extra into 529s than expensive mods. Have to live some, though. It was 42K new after discounts. Bought from MacHaik I-10 in Houston. No financing and kept my Ram for work.
I ran a spacer lift and 35x11.5” tires on my otherwise stock sport for over a year and it took to me to some really cool places. Now I’m lifted with a true suspension lift, 4.88 gears, steel bumper and winch. Need new rims and hoping for 37s on my next set of tires (couple years from now; gives me time to strengthen that Dana 30 enough to handle the added stress). I could easily spend $10k right _now_ in mods but I also have a family and they come first, so budget minded builds are something I appreciate. We can’t all do one-ton swaps and coilovers and hellcat conversions.
I wish Jeep and the other would copy Ford in regards to rear lockers. Its a standalone option on a ranger for $420, between $420-$570 on an F150 depending final drive, $795 on a Bronco and pairs to a 4.46 final drive. It just makes so much sense to get a factory rear locker on anything you want to off road for ~$500.
A jeep even with only brake lock differential will still outdo any vehicle you mentioned except for the bronco. Tfl are just not veteran offroaders and make this jeep look bad. Worst lines chosen most of the trails
@@TheNatureBoy702not the point. The point is that jeep should have better options and not stupid packages. Or do like FORD and have an off-road package that you can put on any trim level. Like the Sasquatch package.
Love that you’re manually disconnecting. That’s so much of my first few years of wheeling my JLU. I have a ORO Swayloc now… had quick disconnects for a while between the two. Natural progression. The new swaybar with the ORO corrected all of my on road stability issues as well.
Absolutely LOVE this series!! Open, open is more capable than everyone gives it credit for. Yes you need a locker from time to time but no locker if you pick the right line you can overtake anything!!
Just so y’all know, the rear jt shocks can be easily modified to fit a wrangler. I have a two jl door sport as well and am running all four gladiator shocks with no issues. On the rears all you have to do is make bushings to fit on both sides of the top of the shock to keep it from moving side to side when installed (the wrangler shocks come with this piece built in but jt shocks do not). I used some round metal pieces for mine that fit on both sides of the hole and allow the bolt to come through. Love the series as it gives me confidence in my cheap jeep lol. Hope this helps!
Personally, I feel every trail-rated Jeep should come with the LSD locker, not an option. I was impressed with the Break Lock traction control system. Great video! I am looking forward to the next one.
@@backwoodstherapy for sure I do love classic steel wheels - I think the Mavericks? Or Rangers? Have that option. The wrangler ones here looked a little flat, or I guess like pepperonis lol
This video was very informative Alex knows now by watching his brothers kase and tommy how to handle the Jeep off-road properly and safe. the kase compliments and close up angles of him are everything shoutout to Roman for his fast timing of getting tires to keep his sons safe. also who ever was helping Alex film this did incredible. These raw honest emotional ones it feels like we are with you at that moment. Mica Family keep up the great job. Ps kase well done on the facetiousness. I heard the shirt comment lol 😂
Great episode. The bigger tires and manually disconnected swaybar really did the job. Some spring spacer pucks for a budget 2" lift (with the fox shocks that came with the tires) and a lunchbox locker would make the perfect cheap Jeep.
MY first six mods on my '20, 2 door sport s: Rubicon Recon takeoff suspension $100 netting a 2.5" lift all around Longer Mopar LCA's $70 for improved castor and better handling (a must with any lift) Used rock rails $100 JKS quick disconnects $130 Used 33" KO 2's $500 That got me through the first 18 months and took me anywhere I wanted to go. I have over the last four years added the normal optional stuff: trail radio, on board air, steel bumper and winch, upgraded shocks, new Micky Tompson Baja Boss tires and apex autolinx disconnects. She has yet to let me down no matter the terrain.
This series is awesome. I've been afraid to buy a base sport because I thought it was no better offroad than a lowered Honda Civic but I see its actually not bad!
When we would get stuck with our trucks we did exactly what you did. To aid our trucks through tough situations. Gloves, shovels and high jacker jacks to get us un-stuck. FCC in Arizona
You should get a set of Apex Autolynx sway bar disconnects. I have them on my 2021 anniversary 2dr and I love them. You just turn a knob to disconnect and reconnect the swaybar.
If you want lower gearing put in manual and shift to first. For some reason it starts in second gear in 4Low and you have manually shift down for the extra control
I bought a Sport 4dr hardtop 4x4 with the little factory spare tires all around a few years back And 1st week found a brand new set of Rubicon wheels and tires for $600 that I guy pulled off the 1st day to put pink rims on for his daughter Made the look 100% better
Proper trail etiquette is to remove the rocks you stacked after you clear the obstacle. If you don't, then whomever comes behind you has to remove your rocks to fix the trail.
Another great video about a Cheap Jeep. I bought a new 2021 JL Sport with the EcoDiesel engine over 3 years ago and added rock rails at the dealership. I drove directly to Discount Tire for 4 new Goodyear Wrangler Ultra Terrain tires of the same height (31") and later sold the 4 almost new original tires. I have a Anti Spin Rear Differential, no lockers and no sway bar disconnect. I drove it unmodified except for a roof rack for 32,000 miles and then bought 5 new Goodyear Wrangler Ultra Terrain 33" tall tires. I had a slight rubbing in full flex so I got a 2 1/2 inch Terraflex suspension lift with Fox shocks. I drive it around town, on long trips, and of course, off road. I wish I had lockers and a sway bar disconnect but honestly I haven't needed them. I now have 64,000 miles on it. I know the off road capability of my Jeep and enjoy the heck out of it for a lot less money. It is not as cheap as yours but not expensive either. Cheap Jeeps are the best way to get involved in the sport of off road driving. You can always upgrade the capabilities of your Jeep as needed and you can have loads of fun.
Glad you made this cheap jeep series more realistic by putting some A/T tires on it as that was truly holding back its capability on the last video. Anyone buying a New Budget Jeep to take off road will replace the stock tires at minimum and most likely put on some rock sliders for protection. You should always replace All Season tires with A/T's on your vehicle tests as this is a minimum equipment requirement to demonstrate off road capability also giving you the most bang for your buck.
I'm having trouble remembering when I was in my twenties, and we were wheeling stock YJ's with...hold on...29 INCH TIRES. Lifting them required springs, transfer case drops, eventually axle upgrades, differential upgrades, air lockers, gears, it took a fortune. The world has never really been the same since the introduction of the first Rubicon Wrangler, where the Jeep company fully got into the game with the enthusiast owners. Yep, that free bit of marketing is a thanks from me (who has owned 5 Jeeps) to the brand people who sent Tommy a box of ducks just to be fun and let us all know they still watch what we do and what we want to buy (even if none of us can really afford a 392 yet)
You complained about traction, and something you might consider is what I did with my DD jku. I put Detroit truetrac diffs front and rear. On road these geared limited slip diffs are invisible, and even offroad they are almost invisible. They just give awesome traction all the time. I live in CT, so there's no public offroading nearby, but lots of unimproved dirt roads. I have a Metalcloak 2.5" true dual rate lift (awesome, but does require some additional mods to get the full droop it can deliver. Eventually I'll upgrade to the gamechanger spec.) I also upgraded to 4.88 gears when I did the diffs, and put on Rocktrix wheels (very nice, proper backspace and only $130 each new) with 35" tires. Even rock crawling I think my diffs would perform and keep up with lockers 99% of the time, especially with the help of the electronics.
8 yrs ago, I purchased a New JKUR for 33k, and spent another 5k on 37" tires, rims, 3" Terra flex lift, LoD front and rear bumpers, 12k winch, midland GMRS radio, 200 watt CB radio, TrailRax side containers.... I'll keep my 2016 JKUR...
Jeep BLD, still not as good in 2024 as Land Rover terrain management in 2005. Glad to see the tire upgrade helped so much. Thing was neutered from the factory
In early 2023 I bought a new Wrangler Rubicon, Going out to Johnson Valley in California where many major off road events are held i could only go over 40% of the 4X4 obstacles. Lifted it and put 37" Tires and then I could do 95% of the obstacles. I am a firm believer that for a real, serious off roader, 37" tires are the minimum to get over and around things in any 4x4
Easy free mod- Take the plastic off from between the front bumper and front fender flares. Makes it look so much better and the tires wont rub on them. I think you can remove them from the rear bumper as well. Also not a bad idea to change the license plate location. That is a bad location. It will get torn off. Front inner fender liners can be inexpensive and will give you clearense. The rear liners can be taken off. Spray some bed liner in it's place. On my new to me JKU Sport I got all four liners. But on my old JKU Sport I just had the front and bed liner on rear. Also keep an eye out for Rubicon front fender flares. They are higher giving more clearence. Remember some JK parts will fit a JL. JK owners tend to sell take offs cheaper than JL owners.
You should get a Spartan "lunchbox" locker for the front, or rear, or both! You should be able to find a good used one for a hundred bucks or so, and they're pretty easy to install yourself in the vehicle.
Which one did you install and did you do it yourself? I have a Torq locker I'm waiting to put in the front of my JL, but I'm also toying around with paying to regear to 4.56 and adding a rear Truetrac first.
Many years ago I had a Samurai and I installed a rear locker that was a huge help on the trails. I was so impressed that I later added a front locker, but I found that it hurt more often than it helped. I feel that a front locker really needs to be switchable.
I'm running a 2012 JK 2dr Sport S. It has a rear limited slip differential, no locker. It works well with the BLD system. I have a 2.5" lift kit and the same size wheel and tire that they are running on this "Cheap" Jeep. It does fine off road and I haven't had a situation yet where I said "I NEED a locker" while off road. Planning on doing gears and if I do that I probably will install a selectable locker just because it has to come apart anyway.
I agree that this is the best modification that can be made with limited resources. Many years ago I implemented it in an old Land Cruiser and it was unstoppable.
I did the same thing to my 4-door JL about 3 years ago- Rubicon tires, springs and shocks. I kept my original wheels. The springs plus tires gave me 2.5" average lift. All of the parts work great, no rubbing or anything like that and I've done radical enough trails to get me everywhere I've tried to go. You didn't show it but my understanding is that the JT rear shocks don't fit on the rear of the JL. After 40k miles I've replaced the Rubicon shocks with Bilstein 5100. I had some shocks that weren't working properly but when closer to new the stock Rubicon shocks work very well. You're at a point now where the next upgrade would be relatively expensive. To go to 35" tires is fairly expensive, especially if you replace wheels as well, and all you gain is another 1/2" of clearance. To go to 37" tires gets really expensive because you need wheels and tires and most people change the differential gears especially if you are starting with a Sport.
It's the automatic transmission that jacks up the price. There is a base model for 28k on sale right now. Stick shift, cloth top etc. as base as it gets.
I have a base sport model just like yours and am glad to see how capable it is. P.S. congratulations on getting a duck from Jeep looking forward to more video's about the cheap jeep great job
I prefer the steel wheels myself. Skinny tires give better grip off road most of the time too. I would have done 255/80R17 on the steelies. Cool vide though, I'm entertained.
Great driving Tommy. Really enjoyimg this series. It's great to see you showing the capabilities of an almost bonestock wrangler. Several years (before my current upgrades) I took my 2 dr on a puck lift with 33s and a good spotter and was able to do Wheeler Lake trail. Even base wranglers are very capable out of the box. Looking forward to a lot more vids in this series.
It was dumb and dangerous to go out there with those stock tires. At least you were smart enough to go with friends. Those new Falkens should make a difference. Glad to see you all went out with friends again.
Really enjoying the series so far. On that sport bumper you can take off the filler panel between the bumper and fender to give the tires a little more room.
Exactly what I hoped you would do. Really shows that lift kits aren't really needed to head out and do some trails with these 2 doors. Can't wait to see you try the same trail as before. You need to take some lessons from Nathan though, you need more throttle for the BLD to push you up.
Eddie did a whole series on that base wrangler, and with his knowledge & experience I bet watching his cheap Jeep videos again would be more informative than TFL's . But still fun to watch
@@daveallen7767 Eddie ran his on more rugged terrain with bigger rocks and it still performed well. TFL is good and I have a two door Wrangler so I enjoyed their video.
Very nice. Hope it has reliability the others have not. But I prefer a leather steering wheel and armrests and a naturally low rev V8 manual and if you just remove the front and also the rear sway bars the traction control will be enough. Better keep the original suspension for highway and also to keep the centre of gravity low for offroading or buy the big wheel models. Air suspension would have even more linearity and a low setting for highway and could be simple and cheap but they make it often a complex and expensive system.
crazy I have one of the last JKs, a 2018, rubicon but manual windows, soft top, base radio, auto trans, very similar build but all the rubi goods, and I paid $34,800 new, 3mi on it. prices have gone bananas
Yep. Again, exactly what I am looking to see. JUST TIRES! That is all I did for quite a while and I was able to take a lot of fun trails. Just because I am a stickler, when you price this out, could you include what it would cost someone like myself to use a mechanic to install the shocks and springs? The next upgrade will take more than just a couple crescent wrenched.
I keep saying this, you can safely rock crawl on non beadlock wheels down to 10-12 psi. I've been doing it for years, going from 20 to 12 makes an enormous difference. I have friends going as low as 8 with 37s.
100% correct...if you're going to lower them to 20 psi you might as well leave them at 35 psi. I don't understand why they don't lower their pressures to a level that works.
@@georgecarousos6735 indeed, the contact patch barely improves at 20psi. It gets exponentially better down from 20 and they would have gotten the grip required to do all the obstacles without the bypasses
I like the color and with the new wheels and tires, its looks good. Really like the larger screen innthe new JLs. This Jeep needs a 2.5" lift and some kind of locking rear differential. I wouldn't have most of the issues you guy's are having in my 2012 Sport aside from thr wheelbase. It has a LSD and the same size wheel and tire combo you're running with a 2.5" lift. I also have a winch and steel bumpers front and back with LoD sliders.
Thanks for a great video. Buy yourself a pack of "Harbor Freight universal work floor rubber mats" to throw on the ground while working on the suspension. It will save your back and knees. Carry on gentlemen.
Fyi, those gladiator springs will fit in front because everything from the driver forward is the same as a wrangler, but the rear springs are different (which I think you mentioned). Glad to see you aired down (although I would have gone to about 15) and disconnected the sway bar! An electric racket makes the job 100x easier. Looking forward to the next video!
@@jeepinintexas6215yeah, but probably not any stiffer than the spring rates of an aftermarket lift kit. Edit: for example, my Teraflex springs are marketed as “only 10% stiffer than stock,” but that’s a stock _rubicon,_ which is about 10% stiffer than a Sport. No jeep rides _good,_ so having springs that stiff certainly hurt the on-road ride quality (off road, it’s nice - reduces shaking of the body significantly so you’re not bobbing your head around all the time). Combined with my E rated tires and cheapo Rancho 5000 series shocks, it’s not great on road. I’m trying to fix that soon(ish) as the budget allows.
The piece of thta equation many don't include is added weight changing the ride... An empty vehicle rides much different than a loaded one. In a build when you start adding bumpers, sliders, skids, a load of recovery gear and air compressor that adds up quick... And will change the ride significantly. (I am no expert I just understand springs and dampers a little bit, I also once stayed at a holiday inn express)
@@jhbryanivyeah, and lots of lift kits have way stiffer springs because they expect that if you’re lifting your jeep, you’re going to be doing all that (steel bumpers, armor, winch, rooftop tents, whatever) and that helps prevent sag but it makes an unloaded vehicle ride like crap. Clayton has a nice line of lift kits called “ride right” that are just for people who daily their jeeps and also are putting bigger tires for off roading but also aren’t doing huge amounts of overland gear. Rides real nice, from what I hear.
Very enjoyable series. I can’t help but think that most people who off-road are too nervous to take a new Jeep anyway. Especially given the crappy used Jeep market right now, I’d be interested to see what kind of Rubicon you could find used (probably not in Boulder) for the same money that might have lots of the same equipment already on it and other equipment (like the axles) that would be prohibitive to do here. I suspect that there are plenty that have seen only light off-road use at best. Maybe you guys could try that once you have the final budget and see what you can get and how it compares?
Casey pronunciation of the Willys model correct. Willys Overland was the company that developed what we now call the jeep. “ What you talking about Willys”
You guys should test some stuff on the plane crash trail on Bunce rather than ironclads. The plane crash trail has more obstacles for the stuff that’s more trail worthy.
You need to maintain movement and keep the wheels turning for the Brake Lock Differential to work. You keep giving up and backing down the obstacles just as the BLD is starting to do its thing. You weren't even close to tipping over. With more experience you'll learn how to use and trust the 4WD system and get your "butt gauge" calibrated to off camber trails. Then you'll actually get to see what the 4WD system is capable of.
Great...simple factory upgrades that are a complete bolt on. Sway bar link should have done just the driver's side. Passenger side is a little more difficult due to the track bar axle bracket. Having stock shocks, there shouldn't be a binding issue with the front sway bar link when one side is disconnected. To me, swap in those JT shocks, remove the coils and articulate (in the garage flat floor) the axles to determine interferences, brake line lengths, etc. Whether to add bump stop riser(s), to trim plastic inner splashwell liners, etc. This style project is great. Step up into electronics as well. IE removal of the smaller 2nd battery, disengage the stop/start engine off, etc. Addition of the programmers for the typical 'idiot light show' on the dash, ie tpms, traction control, etc. Saw on the video, the smaller stock spare. If you had to use that, wouldn't want that placed on an axle with a traction control device due to the rotational rpm speed difference will ruin the axle innards.
Dam boys i know you had the 2nd approach too bad you backed off ,have you or would consider a Yukon Gear what they call an Aux locker, they are very economical and super easy to install the next additions you add with the shocks and Rubicon springs, if i am not mistaken will give you 1 to 2" of extra clearance ??, and you can always air down to 15 or 16 psi even that makes a good difference without you losing clearance, there is an owner in our city with a new 2024 Rubicon Gladiator on 35" tires, method wheels and a lift, i don't know how high, i do know the bottom of the drivers door is at the height of my pocket and I'm 5'8", this unit is a mall queen I have never seen it dirty and the tires are always dressed, it looks nicer than allot of cars worth double great video and i look forward to the next one on the Cheap Jeep mods 👍
I wish you had tested it with the sway bar connect first up. I’m not sure how many people are going to crawl underneath to manually unbolt the sway bar to go off-road but the tyres are very practical. And I too find the descents more nervy than climbing.
Tommy good driving! Roman should be in this video. I do not understand why you did not use the same trail and same obstacles. Would that not make for a better comparison? I think it would. Cheep modification that would be awesome how about a Spartan locker? At 9:01 in the video Sasquatch runs by in the background LOL!
I wish you would do all the testing on the same trail so you could really see what difference each modification makes
More coming soon
I think they really don’t want to go back to the last place 😂 pretty scary
100% could be a whole series. Tires, locker, suspension, then stickers… could make a whole series out of it
I seen the ranger and would not be opposed to it being in every off road video.
Sort of like a Gauntlet?
This kind of video is TFL at its best. The gang having fun doing what they love. Great video. TY.
This video helps show much of the things one might consider when going off-road, including the minimum you need to have fun
it's just crappy filler because they're short on content...but ok
This was so refreshing, a video praising the trail worthiness of a cheap Jeep with minor mods instead of badmouthing high end Jeeps for not being able to conquer Everest before breakfast!
This gets you a well earned subscription! :)
Enjoyable! Appreciate Tommy & Case building each other up rather than focusing on ones self! Great job!
Absolutely loving this series! Tommy and Casey make a great team, mixing info with entertaining filming!
Roman should be there with Tommy.
I don't off road, but I love Tommy and Case's adventures. Their content is some of the best on UA-cam!
Great to wake up and see this! Gladiator Mojave owner here. With two young kids, I keep mods within a budget. Good series yall have.
So you bought a $55k truck?
@@ScoobyFermentation So you're jealous?
@ScoobyFermentation Prefer to put extra into 529s than expensive mods. Have to live some, though. It was 42K new after discounts. Bought from MacHaik I-10 in Houston. No financing and kept my Ram for work.
@@Mekanik_Joeenjoy your Jeep.
I ran a spacer lift and 35x11.5” tires on my otherwise stock sport for over a year and it took to me to some really cool places. Now I’m lifted with a true suspension lift, 4.88 gears, steel bumper and winch. Need new rims and hoping for 37s on my next set of tires (couple years from now; gives me time to strengthen that Dana 30 enough to handle the added stress). I could easily spend $10k right _now_ in mods but I also have a family and they come first, so budget minded builds are something I appreciate. We can’t all do one-ton swaps and coilovers and hellcat conversions.
I wish Jeep and the other would copy Ford in regards to rear lockers. Its a standalone option on a ranger for $420, between $420-$570 on an F150 depending final drive, $795 on a Bronco and pairs to a 4.46 final drive. It just makes so much sense to get a factory rear locker on anything you want to off road for ~$500.
I agree, but from jeeps perspective, if they only offer the lockers on Willys and Rubicon trim, it forces you into the higher trim lines.
STILL A FORD
A jeep even with only brake lock differential will still outdo any vehicle you mentioned except for the bronco. Tfl are just not veteran offroaders and make this jeep look bad. Worst lines chosen most of the trails
@@TheNatureBoy702not the point. The point is that jeep should have better options and not stupid packages.
Or do like FORD and have an off-road package that you can put on any trim level. Like the Sasquatch package.
@@CORNDODGER& that's a good thing.
Love that you’re manually disconnecting. That’s so much of my first few years of wheeling my JLU. I have a ORO Swayloc now… had quick disconnects for a while between the two. Natural progression. The new swaybar with the ORO corrected all of my on road stability issues as well.
This is why I love all the TFL flavors. What a great team you have assembled! Keep up the great stuff!
Absolutely LOVE this series!!
Open, open is more capable than everyone gives it credit for. Yes you need a locker from time to time but no locker if you pick the right line you can overtake anything!!
Just so y’all know, the rear jt shocks can be easily modified to fit a wrangler. I have a two jl door sport as well and am running all four gladiator shocks with no issues. On the rears all you have to do is make bushings to fit on both sides of the top of the shock to keep it from moving side to side when installed (the wrangler shocks come with this piece built in but jt shocks do not). I used some round metal pieces for mine that fit on both sides of the hole and allow the bolt to come through. Love the series as it gives me confidence in my cheap jeep lol. Hope this helps!
Personally, I feel every trail-rated Jeep should come with the LSD locker, not an option. I was impressed with the Break Lock traction control system. Great video!
I am looking forward to the next one.
I'm fairly certain the Wrangler sport isn't trail rated.
I have a Rubicon and to be honest the BLD gets me every. Rarely do I use my lockers.
@@kabloosh699they still have a trail rated badge on the left fender
Those wheels look so much better what a great FB find
The steelies would also look cool wrapped in some big chunky tires but it’s easier to just bolt those on. But I agree they’re good looking rims.
@@backwoodstherapy for sure I do love classic steel wheels - I think the Mavericks? Or Rangers? Have that option. The wrangler ones here looked a little flat, or I guess like pepperonis lol
This video was very informative Alex knows now by watching his brothers kase and tommy how to handle the Jeep off-road properly and safe. the kase compliments and close up angles of him are everything shoutout to Roman for his fast timing of getting tires to keep his sons safe. also who ever was helping Alex film this did incredible. These raw honest emotional ones it feels like we are with you at that moment. Mica Family keep up the great job. Ps kase well done on the facetiousness. I heard the shirt comment lol 😂
Great episode. The bigger tires and manually disconnected swaybar really did the job. Some spring spacer pucks for a budget 2" lift (with the fox shocks that came with the tires) and a lunchbox locker would make the perfect cheap Jeep.
Spartan locker I got one in my 2000 Cherokee it's cool.
It also needs to be regeared. Gearing & T case is what gets you when you get a Cheap Jeep.
The Dana 35 axles aren't strong enough for a "lunchbox" locker. Ask me how I know
@jackrussellville that depends on the tires size.
MY first six mods on my '20, 2 door sport s:
Rubicon Recon takeoff suspension $100 netting a 2.5" lift all around
Longer Mopar LCA's $70 for improved castor and better handling (a must with any lift)
Used rock rails $100
JKS quick disconnects $130
Used 33" KO 2's $500
That got me through the first 18 months and took me anywhere I wanted to go. I have over the last four years added the normal optional stuff: trail radio, on board air, steel bumper and winch, upgraded shocks, new Micky Tompson Baja Boss tires and apex autolinx disconnects.
She has yet to let me down no matter the terrain.
I used to love my Falkens until I put my 1st set of Mickey's. I will only by those going forward.
Yes, Mickey Thompson Forever
Like that you shared the pitch and roll as the video flattens everything out
News is Ford is being back the basic Bronco starting at 37k. Manuel 7 speed, steelies. You all should do a side by side video.
With no lockers don't be afraid to use crawl control not just for descents.
BLD works 10x better when manually setting crawl control.
This series is awesome. I've been afraid to buy a base sport because I thought it was no better offroad than a lowered Honda Civic but I see its actually not bad!
When we would get stuck with our trucks we did exactly what you did. To aid our trucks through tough situations. Gloves, shovels and high jacker jacks to get us un-stuck. FCC in Arizona
You should get a set of Apex Autolynx sway bar disconnects. I have them on my 2021 anniversary 2dr and I love them. You just turn a knob to disconnect and reconnect the swaybar.
If you want lower gearing put in manual and shift to first. For some reason it starts in second gear in 4Low and you have manually shift down for the extra control
I bought a Sport 4dr hardtop 4x4 with the little factory spare tires all around a few years back
And 1st week found a brand new set of Rubicon wheels and tires for $600 that I guy pulled off the 1st day to put pink rims on for his daughter
Made the look 100% better
I love these videos, keep them up please. 2 door jeeps needs more content on UA-cam
Cheapest wrangler -vs - cheapest bronco would be a cool series I think. Comfort,capability, mpg etc
This is old school offroading. Love it. Can't wait to see what Bill looks like a bit lifted.
Proper trail etiquette is to remove the rocks you stacked after you clear the obstacle. If you don't, then whomever comes behind you has to remove your rocks to fix the trail.
Another great video about a Cheap Jeep. I bought a new 2021 JL Sport with the EcoDiesel engine over 3 years ago and added rock rails at the dealership. I drove directly to Discount Tire for 4 new Goodyear Wrangler Ultra Terrain tires of the same height (31") and later sold the 4 almost new original tires. I have a Anti Spin Rear Differential, no lockers and no sway bar disconnect. I drove it unmodified except for a roof rack for 32,000 miles and then bought 5 new Goodyear Wrangler Ultra Terrain 33" tall tires. I had a slight rubbing in full flex so I got a 2 1/2 inch Terraflex suspension lift with Fox shocks. I drive it around town, on long trips, and of course, off road. I wish I had lockers and a sway bar disconnect but honestly I haven't needed them. I now have 64,000 miles on it. I know the off road capability of my Jeep and enjoy the heck out of it for a lot less money. It is not as cheap as yours but not expensive either. Cheap Jeeps are the best way to get involved in the sport of off road driving. You can always upgrade the capabilities of your Jeep as needed and you can have loads of fun.
Wow Tommy got some dirt on him I’m impressed 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
I love this. Showing the most accessible way to get some great capability out of your rig. Great stuff!
Glad you made this cheap jeep series more realistic by putting some A/T tires on it as that was truly holding back its capability on the last video. Anyone buying a New Budget Jeep to take off road will replace the stock tires at minimum and most likely put on some rock sliders for protection. You should always replace All Season tires with A/T's on your vehicle tests as this is a minimum equipment requirement to demonstrate off road capability also giving you the most bang for your buck.
11:56 Definitely worth it. If you make it, everyone will know how tough you're. If you don't, you'll have a cool story to tell the boys 😂
Awesome video! Tires and the sway bar discos are the best mods you could make. The disconnects are the best bang for the buck, for sure.
Great job on the video guys . Looks like the Jeep has dramatically improved in capability over its last off-road adventure.
I'm having trouble remembering when I was in my twenties, and we were wheeling stock YJ's with...hold on...29 INCH TIRES. Lifting them required springs, transfer case drops, eventually axle upgrades, differential upgrades, air lockers, gears, it took a fortune. The world has never really been the same since the introduction of the first Rubicon Wrangler, where the Jeep company fully got into the game with the enthusiast owners. Yep, that free bit of marketing is a thanks from me (who has owned 5 Jeeps) to the brand people who sent Tommy a box of ducks just to be fun and let us all know they still watch what we do and what we want to buy (even if none of us can really afford a 392 yet)
You complained about traction, and something you might consider is what I did with my DD jku. I put Detroit truetrac diffs front and rear. On road these geared limited slip diffs are invisible, and even offroad they are almost invisible. They just give awesome traction all the time. I live in CT, so there's no public offroading nearby, but lots of unimproved dirt roads. I have a Metalcloak 2.5" true dual rate lift (awesome, but does require some additional mods to get the full droop it can deliver. Eventually I'll upgrade to the gamechanger spec.) I also upgraded to 4.88 gears when I did the diffs, and put on Rocktrix wheels (very nice, proper backspace and only $130 each new) with 35" tires. Even rock crawling I think my diffs would perform and keep up with lockers 99% of the time, especially with the help of the electronics.
8 yrs ago, I purchased a New JKUR for 33k, and spent another 5k on 37" tires, rims, 3" Terra flex lift, LoD front and rear bumpers, 12k winch, midland GMRS radio, 200 watt CB radio, TrailRax side containers.... I'll keep my 2016 JKUR...
The sausage king of Chicago?😂.
Very informative - nothing like better tires and a little extra clearance to make it more off road capable.
Jeep BLD, still not as good in 2024 as Land Rover terrain management in 2005. Glad to see the tire upgrade helped so much. Thing was neutered from the factory
That was a FUN video !! Thanks Tommy and Kase
In early 2023 I bought a new Wrangler Rubicon, Going out to Johnson Valley in California where many major off road events are held i could only go over 40% of the 4X4 obstacles. Lifted it and put 37" Tires and then I could do 95% of the obstacles. I am a firm believer that for a real, serious off roader, 37" tires are the minimum to get over and around things in any 4x4
Are we not going to talk about that great looking ranger raptor, with a Moonlander Camper? 😂 Great video, love the chemistry.
Also, can you clarify were you saying "jeep wrangler" or "cheap wrangler" I cannot unhear it after I made that connection. 😂
Easy free mod- Take the plastic off from between the front bumper and front fender flares. Makes it look so much better and the tires wont rub on them. I think you can remove them from the rear bumper as well. Also not a bad idea to change the license plate location. That is a bad location. It will get torn off. Front inner fender liners can be inexpensive and will give you clearense. The rear liners can be taken off. Spray some bed liner in it's place. On my new to me JKU Sport I got all four liners. But on my old JKU Sport I just had the front and bed liner on rear. Also keep an eye out for Rubicon front fender flares. They are higher giving more clearence. Remember some JK parts will fit a JL. JK owners tend to sell take offs cheaper than JL owners.
The different angles in the video did a good job showing the height of the trail.
Subbed because of the first cheap jeep video. Looking forward to seeing what the new tires can do!
It’s amazing this video only has 50k views. This is UA-cam gold!
You should get a Spartan "lunchbox" locker for the front, or rear, or both!
You should be able to find a good used one for a hundred bucks or so, and they're pretty easy to install yourself in the vehicle.
I installed a lunchbox locker in the front of my JL shorty, cheap and made a huge difference to off road capability.
Which one did you install and did you do it yourself? I have a Torq locker I'm waiting to put in the front of my JL, but I'm also toying around with paying to regear to 4.56 and adding a rear Truetrac first.
Many years ago I had a Samurai and I installed a rear locker that was a huge help on the trails. I was so impressed that I later added a front locker, but I found that it hurt more often than it helped. I feel that a front locker really needs to be switchable.
I'm running a 2012 JK 2dr Sport S. It has a rear limited slip differential, no locker. It works well with the BLD system. I have a 2.5" lift kit and the same size wheel and tire that they are running on this "Cheap" Jeep. It does fine off road and I haven't had a situation yet where I said "I NEED a locker" while off road. Planning on doing gears and if I do that I probably will install a selectable locker just because it has to come apart anyway.
I agree that this is the best modification that can be made with limited resources. Many years ago I implemented it in an old Land Cruiser and it was unstoppable.
When the Land Cruiser was at 4x2, the front locker was completely transparent.
Even in 4x4, the Lunchbox Locker did allow you to turn.
I did the same thing to my 4-door JL about 3 years ago- Rubicon tires, springs and shocks. I kept my original wheels. The springs plus tires gave me 2.5" average lift. All of the parts work great, no rubbing or anything like that and I've done radical enough trails to get me everywhere I've tried to go. You didn't show it but my understanding is that the JT rear shocks don't fit on the rear of the JL. After 40k miles I've replaced the Rubicon shocks with Bilstein 5100. I had some shocks that weren't working properly but when closer to new the stock Rubicon shocks work very well. You're at a point now where the next upgrade would be relatively expensive. To go to 35" tires is fairly expensive, especially if you replace wheels as well, and all you gain is another 1/2" of clearance. To go to 37" tires gets really expensive because you need wheels and tires and most people change the differential gears especially if you are starting with a Sport.
The price for that Jeep is absolutely ridiculous.
I’ve turned my sport into Rubi-jave. Lots of borrowed parts. Most freebies or under $100.
It's the automatic transmission that jacks up the price. There is a base model for 28k on sale right now. Stick shift, cloth top etc. as base as it gets.
Once you get those JTR shocks on, you'll clear everything on this trail no problem. You'll get a little extra suspension travel too.
I have a base sport model just like yours and am glad to see how capable it is.
P.S. congratulations on getting a duck from Jeep looking forward to more video's about the cheap jeep great job
I prefer the steel wheels myself. Skinny tires give better grip off road most of the time too. I would have done 255/80R17 on the steelies. Cool vide though, I'm entertained.
Love u guys great info and all the fun knowledge and skill that comes along with it!!!!!! Been watching for over 10 years keep it up
Great video series, I do similar stuff upgrading corvettes buying C6 Z06 used OE parts and bolting to C5 for cheap track cars. 💯
The Falken Wildpeak MT3's are unbeatable for an all terrain tire. They are amazing in snow/ice/rock/mud/sand/pavement!
Great driving Tommy. Really enjoyimg this series. It's great to see you showing the capabilities of an almost bonestock wrangler. Several years (before my current upgrades) I took my 2 dr on a puck lift with 33s and a good spotter and was able to do Wheeler Lake trail. Even base wranglers are very capable out of the box. Looking forward to a lot more vids in this series.
It was dumb and dangerous to go out there with those stock tires. At least you were smart enough to go with friends. Those new Falkens should make a difference. Glad to see you all went out with friends again.
Really enjoying the series so far. On that sport bumper you can take off the filler panel between the bumper and fender to give the tires a little more room.
Exactly what I hoped you would do. Really shows that lift kits aren't really needed to head out and do some trails with these 2 doors. Can't wait to see you try the same trail as before. You need to take some lessons from Nathan though, you need more throttle for the BLD to push you up.
I am teally enjoying this series. Lunchbox locker next!
Love what you guys bring to us... Appreciated !
Great video! That jeep looks the perfect stance now imho!! Cant wait to see it try the other trail now. Hurry that video up fellas!!!!
Bigfoot sighting in the background at 8:52
Yes. I believe I saw one at 9:00.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
First one looked physical, second one looked paranormal😮
Nope.
Some solid trolling by them to discreetly add a Bigfoot sighting lol
Eddie from Wayalife did a video a few years ago with a two door base Wrangler with all season tires on it, and that was pretty impressive.
Eddie did a whole series on that base wrangler, and with his knowledge & experience I bet watching his cheap Jeep videos again would be more informative than TFL's . But still fun to watch
@@daveallen7767 Eddie ran his on more rugged terrain with bigger rocks and it still performed well. TFL is good and I have a two door Wrangler so I enjoyed their video.
Nice update on a Cheap Jeep; but I still love the manual 2022 Willys Sport that I ordered after your last Cheap Jeep series!
Very nice. Hope it has reliability the others have not. But I prefer a leather steering wheel and armrests and a naturally low rev V8 manual and if you just remove the front and also the rear sway bars the traction control will be enough. Better keep the original suspension for highway and also to keep the centre of gravity low for offroading or buy the big wheel models. Air suspension would have even more linearity and a low setting for highway and could be simple and cheap but they make it often a complex and expensive system.
Don't forget selec-speed mode. Which is basically crawl control. You should have it. It looks like hill descent control, but it isn't.
crazy I have one of the last JKs, a 2018, rubicon but manual windows, soft top, base radio, auto trans, very similar build but all the rubi goods, and I paid $34,800 new, 3mi on it. prices have gone bananas
Yep. Again, exactly what I am looking to see. JUST TIRES! That is all I did for quite a while and I was able to take a lot of fun trails. Just because I am a stickler, when you price this out, could you include what it would cost someone like myself to use a mechanic to install the shocks and springs? The next upgrade will take more than just a couple crescent wrenched.
Awesome that you guys did a marketplace buy. I think that’s how you should do the whole build.
Digging the Cheap Jeep content
Especially good video thank you as I have a two door JL Sport and I too have driven tracks like this!
Good upgrades. Does make a difference. Nice video guys.
I keep saying this, you can safely rock crawl on non beadlock wheels down to 10-12 psi. I've been doing it for years, going from 20 to 12 makes an enormous difference. I have friends going as low as 8 with 37s.
100% correct...if you're going to lower them to 20 psi you might as well leave them at 35 psi. I don't understand why they don't lower their pressures to a level that works.
@@georgecarousos6735 indeed, the contact patch barely improves at 20psi.
It gets exponentially better down from 20 and they would have gotten the grip required to do all the obstacles without the bypasses
I like the color and with the new wheels and tires, its looks good. Really like the larger screen innthe new JLs. This Jeep needs a 2.5" lift and some kind of locking rear differential. I wouldn't have most of the issues you guy's are having in my 2012 Sport aside from thr wheelbase. It has a LSD and the same size wheel and tire combo you're running with a 2.5" lift. I also have a winch and steel bumpers front and back with LoD sliders.
Thanks for a great video. Buy yourself a pack of "Harbor Freight universal work floor rubber mats" to throw on the ground while working on the suspension. It will save your back and knees. Carry on gentlemen.
Fyi, those gladiator springs will fit in front because everything from the driver forward is the same as a wrangler, but the rear springs are different (which I think you mentioned). Glad to see you aired down (although I would have gone to about 15) and disconnected the sway bar! An electric racket makes the job 100x easier. Looking forward to the next video!
Won't the gladiator components be too stiff for a 2dr Wrangler?
@@jeepinintexas6215yeah, but probably not any stiffer than the spring rates of an aftermarket lift kit.
Edit: for example, my Teraflex springs are marketed as “only 10% stiffer than stock,” but that’s a stock _rubicon,_ which is about 10% stiffer than a Sport. No jeep rides _good,_ so having springs that stiff certainly hurt the on-road ride quality (off road, it’s nice - reduces shaking of the body significantly so you’re not bobbing your head around all the time). Combined with my E rated tires and cheapo Rancho 5000 series shocks, it’s not great on road. I’m trying to fix that soon(ish) as the budget allows.
The piece of thta equation many don't include is added weight changing the ride... An empty vehicle rides much different than a loaded one. In a build when you start adding bumpers, sliders, skids, a load of recovery gear and air compressor that adds up quick... And will change the ride significantly. (I am no expert I just understand springs and dampers a little bit, I also once stayed at a holiday inn express)
@@jhbryanivyeah, and lots of lift kits have way stiffer springs because they expect that if you’re lifting your jeep, you’re going to be doing all that (steel bumpers, armor, winch, rooftop tents, whatever) and that helps prevent sag but it makes an unloaded vehicle ride like crap. Clayton has a nice line of lift kits called “ride right” that are just for people who daily their jeeps and also are putting bigger tires for off roading but also aren’t doing huge amounts of overland gear. Rides real nice, from what I hear.
Very enjoyable series. I can’t help but think that most people who off-road are too nervous to take a new Jeep anyway. Especially given the crappy used Jeep market right now, I’d be interested to see what kind of Rubicon you could find used (probably not in Boulder) for the same money that might have lots of the same equipment already on it and other equipment (like the axles) that would be prohibitive to do here. I suspect that there are plenty that have seen only light off-road use at best. Maybe you guys could try that once you have the final budget and see what you can get and how it compares?
Casey pronunciation of the Willys model correct. Willys Overland was the company that developed what we now call the jeep. “ What you talking about Willys”
You guys should test some stuff on the plane crash trail on Bunce rather than ironclads. The plane crash trail has more obstacles for the stuff that’s more trail worthy.
Looks good. Love that blue.
Glad you guys went with some 'takeoff' rubicon wheels and tires. They can be found on market place a lot. Just finding a decent price is the key.
You need to maintain movement and keep the wheels turning for the Brake Lock Differential to work. You keep giving up and backing down the obstacles just as the BLD is starting to do its thing. You weren't even close to tipping over. With more experience you'll learn how to use and trust the 4WD system and get your "butt gauge" calibrated to off camber trails. Then you'll actually get to see what the 4WD system is capable of.
Great...simple factory upgrades that are a complete bolt on.
Sway bar link should have done just the driver's side. Passenger side is a little more difficult due to the track bar axle bracket. Having stock shocks, there shouldn't be a binding issue with the front sway bar link when one side is disconnected. To me, swap in those JT shocks, remove the coils and articulate (in the garage flat floor) the axles to determine interferences, brake line lengths, etc. Whether to add bump stop riser(s), to trim plastic inner splashwell liners, etc.
This style project is great. Step up into electronics as well. IE removal of the smaller 2nd battery, disengage the stop/start engine off, etc. Addition of the programmers for the typical 'idiot light show' on the dash, ie tpms, traction control, etc.
Saw on the video, the smaller stock spare. If you had to use that, wouldn't want that placed on an axle with a traction control device due to the rotational rpm speed difference will ruin the axle innards.
Dam boys i know you had the 2nd approach too bad you backed off ,have you or would consider a Yukon Gear what they call an Aux locker, they are very economical and super easy to install the next additions you add with the shocks and Rubicon springs, if i am not mistaken will give you 1 to 2" of extra clearance ??, and you can always air down to 15 or 16 psi even that makes a good difference without you losing clearance, there is an owner in our city with a new 2024 Rubicon Gladiator on 35" tires, method wheels and a lift, i don't know how high, i do know the bottom of the drivers door is at the height of my pocket and I'm 5'8", this unit is a mall queen I have never seen it dirty and the tires are always dressed, it looks nicer than allot of cars worth double
great video and i look forward to the next one on the Cheap Jeep mods 👍
Enjoying that blue color. I'm hoping the next video Bill can do Razor Rocks.
I wish you had tested it with the sway bar connect first up. I’m not sure how many people are going to crawl underneath to manually unbolt the sway bar to go off-road but the tyres are very practical.
And I too find the descents more nervy than climbing.
No
I love this series!! The cheap jeep!!
One of the first trails I did in my new JTR was Wheeler Lake. First trail I did was Red Cone.
Would have loved to see the defender 90 with the jeep in this video. The Jeep performed better than I thought it would!
Love this video. Love 2 door Wrangler.
Tommy good driving! Roman should be in this video. I do not understand why you did not use the same trail and same obstacles. Would that not make for a better comparison? I think it would. Cheep modification that would be awesome how about a Spartan locker? At 9:01 in the video Sasquatch runs by in the background LOL!
Loving this series
Great series, keep up the good work!
I think this Jeep qualifies as 'not insane' price, not cheap
Seems that the individual responsible with picking a song for this video really loved the Doors