2015 Jeep JKU Expedition Build

[cody93225]

I decided to make a build page for my Jeep. I bought the Jeep in September of 2015. It is a basic 2015 Jeep JKU with a hard top and automatic transmission. Since then, I have put quite a few accessories on it (winch+bumper, gobi rack, rubicon sliders, rubicon rear bumper, rubicon rims and tires, arb awning, kc lights, amazon led light bar, rugged ridge switches, and a cobra 75 cb) but it is nowhere near done.

 

[cody93225]

Bumper Upgrade

The first thing I did was add a winch bumper to the Jeep. I bought a ebay winch bumper for something like $250. My dad had a new in the box smittybilt xrc12k winch that I got off of him for $250. My idea was that a winch could always get me unstuck and I wanted to see what a stock Jeep with 29 inch tires could do. Surprisingly, I found out that I didn't need giant tires and lockers to have fun. Also, I didn't want to fork over a ton of money on this setup because my initial intention wasn't to thrash this vehicle...because I just spent $30k on it.

 

[cody93225]

Gobi Rack

The next upgrade I made was a huge purchase. I decided to buy a gobi rack which cost $1500. I bought the rack with the intention of putting a roof top tent on it, but after seeing how high the tents sit I decided to go another direction with it. Looking back, I am not sure if I would have bough the rack. I have used it a lot, but I think I could have gotten away with a cheaper model.

 

[cody93225]

ARB Awning

i tried to put my rack to good use after buying it, so I purchased an ARB Awning. I bought it on Amazon for $300 dollars. I made my mounts using U-Bolt and around $10 in hardware. I couldn't justify spending $100-$150 for a gobi accessory. These awnings are well built and only take a couple minutes to set up. I will be buying the tent room in the future.

 

[cody93225]

Lights

Next I put on four KC lights and a Rugged Ridge Switch Panel. The lights cost $200 and switch panel cost $50. After running the 4 daylighters on top of the gobi rack I decided to buy a $30 amazon light bar for my winch bumper. I can say that I don't use the KC's often since buying the light bar. The KC's produce a lot of hood splash. The LED bar is smaller, cheaper, and brighter. Just a heads up to anyone interested in the cheap amazon bars.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Nice. I just bought a 2016 Unlimited a month ago and am taking it on its maiden voyage today to Palouse Falls.

 

[cody93225]

Rubicon Rims and Tires

I drove the Jeep around with those accessories for a little while. Then I found a great deal on rims and tires on craigslist. I bought a set of 5 black rubicon rims that came with 8 255/75r17 tires. Some of the tires were worn uneven, but 4 of them were great. I got it all for $250! The guy I bought them off of also gave me a pair of rubicon rock sliders for free. It was a huge upgrade, but I went from getting 17mpg down to 14.8mpg. Keep that in mind when you go to larger tires.

 

[cody93225]

Rubicon Bumper Upgrade

I recently installed a rubicon rear bumper, its like the hard rock version. I picked it up on craigslist for $50. It is a huge upgrade over the faded plastic bumper because it actually works as a step to my gobi ladder. Hopefully I will find a deal on the swing out attachment in the future.

 

[cody93225]

Rubicon Sliders

Here are pictures of the sliders that were given to me. Definitely a good deal.

 

[ratled]

The upgrades look good! I like the "Bumble Bee" look of it

ratled

 

[Comanche Scott]

The upgrades look good! I like the "Bumble Bee" look of it

ratled

X2

Looks very usable. What gear ratio do you have?

 

[cody93225]

It currently has 3.21's in it. I wasn't planning on running 32's, but the price was right on them. I may re-gear to 4.10's but it runs fine for now. I also may sell it when the Jeep truck comes out so we will see what happens.

 

[Jerry Ward]

Looks great! I too have a Gobi on my 2014 JKU and am looking into buying an awning for it. Which length did you decide to go with? Looks like it fits perfectly! If it's not too much trouble, would you mind taking a pic of the mounting system you made up? Thanks...Jerry

 

[cody93225]

Here is the awning that I bought:
ARB4402A
2000 x 2500 m
6.5 ft x 8.2 ft


I just used u-bolts and a couple pieces of steel that I measured and drilled. I will take some pictures this week and post them.

I also used split ring hangers to mount my axe and shovel. These things are cheap and make good mounts. I think the specs are 1.5 inch for the lower bar and 1 inch for the top bar. You can find them at Lowes

 

[Jerry Ward]

Thanks for the info! Take care...