JKU Question

[hikingff77]

Now, I'm no princess and I can handle a rough ride, but after 2000 miles of traveling through Maine, New Hampshire, New York City and Boston, I'm sore.

The expansion joints dam near threw me off the road several times and the washboarding on the logging roads was scary.

The Jeep only has 5k on it, so it's still a little stiff. Just curious as to whether or not I'm experiencing anything different than anyone else.

During this trip I noticed a good deal of play in the steering wheel, when just cruising along, I'm going to have it checked out.

I'm also a little underwhelmed by the get up and go it has, my wife's SUV will spin the tires down the street and it's just a mall cruiser.

I bring that up because I'm curious as to what you guys who tow trailers with it do, do you notice the lack of power? How does it handle on the mountain roads?

I'm also looking for storage solutions, I'd like to put a roof rack on but it looks like I'm going to have to shell out some cash for a GOBI or something other than using the rain gutters...

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[mikeJKUR]

I going to guess you are a former truck own. I am and there were a few things I had to get used to. The steering was a big one.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: This may seem like a foolish question to ask you, but

WHAT YEAR/MODEL/STOCK/MODIFIED IS YOUR JEEP ??

Or are you going to keep that a secret ?

JIMBO

 

[NatersXJ6]

When I bought my JKUR about 1 year and 16500 miles ago, I was given this advice:

If you want a tall, noisy, tippy, underpowered truck that gets horrible mileage, blows around the highway, can barely tow or haul anything but is pretty decent off road and puts a smile on your face every time you get behind the wheel... Go with the Jeep.

It was true then and remains true now. It is the worst vehicle I've owned for almost every basic transportation task expected of a car or truck. And I love it all the same!

The Gobi rack helped... It just looks better somehow... Maybe because it is damn near impossible to clean now?

I do have to mention the specific issue you had with discomfort. I am 6' 220#, and find the jeep quite comfortable to drive. Of course, putting it up against the wife's highlander... 45 minutes in that causes 24 hours of severe lower back pain!

Good news is that you can probably sell the jeep with no serious loss if you need to change vehicles.

 

[Hoghead]

I love ours, but I knew going in that Jeeps are not for everyone. This is my third Jeep and I started with a CJ-7 as a daily driver. Try and drive one of those on a road trip. It will probably get a little better after it gets broke in, but I don't know if you will ever think it's comfortable. I don't think they are underpowered though. Assuming that you have the 3.6. I also don't have a problem with the steering. Mine is a 2013 with 26k mi on it. I will say though I haven't driven it across the country, YET.

 

[evilfij]

Check your tire pressure.

 

[HRPINDC]

What gear ratio do you have? That could explain the lack of giddy-up. It's a Jeep, not a Cayenne so it's not going to be fast, but I'm pretty happy with the pick-up in my JKUR with 4.10s. As for the ride, I don't find it harsh at all and in fact like it. I just took mine on a three hour highway trip and was very happy. But I prefer stiffer rides to soft, mushy ones. My guess is you've got 3.21 gears in there. Maybe 3.73.

 

[tarditi]

I have a 2015 JKU Rubicon 6spd and keep the tires at factory pressure (read: HARD) and the ride is fine except for some of the lousy spots on I76 through Philly at highway speed... but everything is squirrely on those sections. I've also owned many jeeps and other 4x4s, so my expectations were set well ahead of time.

Tires and suspension make a big difference.

 

[reskar]

How old is the jeep? Worn suspension will do what you describe. So will low tire pressure. What size tires and what gear ratio that's the usual lack of power culprit.

 

[onetraveller]

The best way I've seen it said is that a Jeep Wrangler is an off-road vehicle that is street legal. If you don't need the off road capability, then just about any other SUV is a better daily vehicle.

Mike

 

[Comanche Scott]

May be better with a Grand Cherokee

Have you considered a Grand Cherokee? Sounds like it would fit your situation much better than a Wrangler.
It is also gaining some awesome aftermarket support.
.
I don't have experience towing with the Wrangler, but "may" have useful input on your other two questions:
.
1). I added a Mopar Stage 3 lift kit. This is similar to the Teraflex Pre-runner kit. It flat out works awesome on fast fireroads and washboard. I don't *think* it would be a good choice for towing without installing airbags in the springs, and that would detract from the off-road prowess.
The week before installing this kit I installed a set of 315/70R 17 Cooper S/T Maxx tires. These must be awesome because they put two "xx"s in the Maxx... :elkgrin:
Any way, in combination it is also very impressive (for a Wrangler) on the road. We have some pretty rough canyon roads out here. Driving in a "spirited" fashion felt comfortable and controllable.
.
2). For a rack I installed a Yakima rack system with a Rocket box. This only works with the hard top, so I have an LoD rear bumper system with an over the spare rack.
I would not feel comfortable putting more than about 100-130 lbs on the roof rack, and probably about 50lbs on the spare tire rack.
.
Before the Wrangler I had an '04 Grand Cherokee. Absolutely awesome vehicle. If it wasn't for the difficulty of the off roading in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the cost, I'd have a new Grand Cherokee with the diesel option. Excellent towing capacities, very comfortable & capable, and some great aftermarket stuff available.
Hth,
.
Link to LoD rear bumper:
http://www.lodoffroad.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16135&cat=269&page=1
.
Picture of Yakima rack and Rocket Box.

 

[goin camping]

First jeep was a 42 Willy's and the 2nd was a yj. In comparison to those. The ride on this JKU is plush.

 

[shays4me]

I would call my 13 JKUR with 4.10's and an auto transmission zippy, but not torquey. As for the handling and ride, I upgraded to Old Man Emu 2" springs and shocks with a Tertaflex track bar bracket and it drives and rides wonderfully! The stock suspension was just too soft up front to give a decent ride and I didn't care for the nose dive in hard braking. That said, Jeeps still take some getting used to if you're new to them. Enzo Ferrari stated that the Jeep was the only true American sports car. If you look at it that way it's easier to overlook the shortcomings. Jeep has come a long way from the early CJ to the ultra plush JK. It's a much more road friendly vehicle, but at the end of the day it's still a Jeep and I personally wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. This is coming from someone who daily drove an early CJ5a for many years, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[anviljk]

Coming from owning a WJ with 200,000+ miles and worn suspension, the JKUR drives like a dream. I took my boss and co-workers in a ride with it the other day and they were impressed how well it rode and handled that they are considering buying one. Yes, it has a horrible towing capacity. Yes, it is underpowered IMO and loading it up with 3 people and a cooler filled with ice/beer can defiantly feel a loss of power same with camping gear. That being said it is an awesome rig from the factory that wheels and rides great. I'm constantly impressed with the offroad capability of it. Theres been several times where I look at the obstacle and say "nope, not going to happen" then just walk up it unlocked in 4hi.

 

[HRPINDC]

I think the OP drove off the road!