Purchasing a Jeep Wrangler help

[jondrew55]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I went into looking for a Wrangler with an open mind about used/new. I've been wrenching on Jeeps and other vehicles for 45 years. I have enough mechanical experience to sort out the condition of a used vehicle. After a lengthy test drives and research I decided the new model has enough improvements overall to warrant the extra cost. I have a '19 JLR on order.
Wondering if you have looked into the towing. I'm still on the fence about a light weight trailer vs flat towing.

I have a 2018 Rubicon. Absolutely love it! Currently setting it up for flat towing. I’m installing Maximus-3 tow loops, using my existing RVI 3 braking system, and an RVI line charger.

Did you order your Jeep yet? Definitely get the Mopar flat tow option and HD trailer tow. It’s pricy, but well worth the cost and aggravation of retrofitting. The HD tow option gets you the tow hitch receiver, wiring and a heavy duty alternator.

I bought my Jeep off the lot and it did not have these features. Instead of the tow option, I’m thinking of using my magnetic tow lights and wiring them thru the tow harness. That way I don’t have to spend another pile of money on the Mopar harness.

A company called Cooltech also makes a decent system, does not use diodes like some others so there is zero chance of backfeeding into the Jeeps elective system.

I don’t remember if IRV2 frowns on recommending other forums, but there’s a forum dedicated to Jeep JLs called jlwrangler dot com. Lots of flat tow chatter there plus many threads on the JL.

[Unicorn Driver]

Hi Bob,

I am.not familiar with the Coachlink, that's great to have to run a brake wire to the cockpit.

[jondrew55]

Originally Posted by Bob1340

On our 2017 Rubicon JKU we use the aluminum Rockhard front bumper and tow point. We got the NSA ready Brute elite tow bar and brake. Works great and is fairly simple to set up on the Jeep. We use a third light bulb in the stock Jeep tail lamp housing for tail lights. Works great and is super cheap and very simple. We did get a wireless brake monitor from Demco. It’s called Coachlink. If I had it to do all over again I’d change nothing.

Rockhard, LOD and Smittybuilt (and a few others I’m sure) offer replacement bumpers that have tow points. The Rockhard Patriot aluminum bumper is especially nice. LOD’s signature series is also attractive (only comes in steel). My wife doesn’t like the looks of either of those so I stayed with the Jeep OEM bumper and am installing Maximus 3 tow loops. They can also be used as recovery points and I think are a lot better looking than the Blue Ox towing baseplate.

[Bob1340]

QUOTE=jondrew;4661477]Rockhard, LOD and Smittybuilt (and a few others I’m sure) offer replacement bumpers that have tow points. The Rockhard Patriot aluminum bumper is especially nice. LOD’s signature series is also attractive (only comes in steel). My wife doesn’t like the looks of either of those so I stayed with the Jeep OEM bumper and am installing Maximus 3 tow loops. They can also be used as recovery points and I think are a lot better looking than the Blue Ox towing baseplate.[/QUOTE]

I really like the Rockhard mid with bumper we got. Best part is the thing only weighs 37 lbs. the tow points they build bolt hard to the Jeep frame and accept the tow bar of choice.

Originally Posted by Unicorn Driver

Hi Bob,

I am.not familiar with the Coachlink, that's great to have to run a brake wire to the cockpit.

Yes, I only had to splice into 1 wire on the Jeep. The unit in the Jeep hooks to the brake light switch and sends a signal wirelessly to the unit in the motor home.

With the tail light, and brake system I have there is never a worry of battery drain or screwing up something on the Jeep system due to a bad diode or co troller etc.

The Reasy Brute comes with a wired brake engagement light system. But this only tells the drive the Ready Brute mechanism has engaged. The Coachlink tells you the toad brake petal has actually been depressed.

[Unicorn Driver]

Thanks Bob,

I will definitely consider the Coach link system.

My buddy cannot inspect it until the weekend so I brought it to a Jeep dealer to check it out.

Driving to the dealer allowed me to drive 75mph for 30 mins on the interstate and 30 mins back on 55mph tow lane highway.

I did feel a wobble once. The Jeep place said the tires need replacing next season, brakes pad and battery need changing. I will get this factored into the deal.

I need to do some research on what a fair price is. They are providing a 1 month 1,000 drive train warranty.

[Unicorn Driver]

Folks,

This wrangler is the exact same model but has 94k miles oppose to 138k on the red one. Its 2100$ more expensive.

The seller of the red one is attempting to fix a heated seat and radio aerial, these steps show stopped for me. The below one is my backup one in case the red one falls through.

The 94k model does not have heated seats.

https://www.patsylouchev.com/Vehicle...a-Flint-MI/337

[Unicorn Driver]

I purchased the red Jeep Wrangler 4 door, My buddy checked it out and was happy with it.

I got it weighed and it's about 4400lbs.

[jondrew55]

Good luck with your new jeep. Now you just have to get it tow ready?

[Winterbagoal]

Congrats on your new toy. They are a lot of fun, and all the other comments on this thread are pretty much bang on. Our 2016 looks like the one you bought, except our roof is black. We went all Blue Ox, because we wanted to get it done in a hurry, and our RV dealer was very familiar with and good at the installations. Took a few hours and we were good to go. So far, we've towed it once, flat, 7000 mile, no problems, although we almost caught in a couple of "dead ends", which might have required unhooking to back up, but I managed to avoid the dreaded "unhook in the rain" with some creative thinking.

[Unicorn Driver]

Thanks both,

I am delighted I got one. The dealer is fixing the heated seat and I will collect it this week.

I will start purchasing tow gear in april.

Cheers,

[MCJones]

The deal looks about right to me if everything checks out on the lift. I've had both 2 door and 4 door and you might want a rock hard front bumper with tow tabs to make it easy to set up for towing. jmo mark

[Unicorn Driver]

Hi Mark,

I was happy enough with the price. My buddy who knows Jeeps checked it out and he was very impressed. I had it weighed and it came in at 4400lbs with a quarter tank of gas. A full tank of gas and some safety gear will be 4500lbs.

[New to this]

Hi, If I was OK with a Jeep that has that many miles or years on it, I would look for an even older one, like a 2003 that had the 4.0 engine. The 4.0 did have an oil leak issue, but that can be fixed more easily than the issues with the later engines. Also, before 150,000 you should replace the oil pump. The 4.0 engine is generally considered to be longer lasting and more reliable than the 3.8 and 3.6 engines that came later. That said, reliability and Jeep are seldom said in the same breath unless the words "lack of" are also included. And no engine can help its electrical gremlins. But, you can have fun with it off-road and it makes an easy toad. Do be aware their road manners are less than stellar and you may want to look into what is known as the "dreaded death wobble" and make modifications to try to prevent it. Good luck on your Jeep quest no matter which one you decide on!

[Unicorn Driver]

Thanks New to this,

I did purchase this Jeep. I am ok with the mileage, my buddy reckoned it was probably never seriously off road.