Direction to go with a Mojave.

[33Jayman]

So, since the Mojave is "Desert Rated" what would be your Desert Rated ideal build? Not a Rubicon rock crawler build on a Mojave but a desert capable beast. How would you set your suspension up to go full tilt in the dirt? How high? What tires?

I ask because since getting our Mojave I have been thinking about how we should set it up?

Thoughts?

Jayman

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[ShadowMojave]

Wide(er) stance, and a little bit of lift is what I’m going for…admittedly I’m not a desert-hopping/bouncing expert but that’s the look I like .

 

[Zachanadandy]

Triangulated 4 link rear to eliminate the side to side head toss hitting bumps at speed. You could get away with 2" of lift if you were never going to run rocky trails. Since we do run rocky trails and freeway speeds in the desert I ended up in 3.5" of lift and 37s. Widened the stance by about 4" total. Front geometry correction brackets to flatten out the control arms for better bump absorption. And flipped the drag link for better steering angles. Works great as is now. The only way I see making it much better would be ADS triple bypass shocks, but not ready to drop another $6k just yet.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

If I had a Mo Jave, I’d go to 3” and stay at 37”.

Going for straight up desert running crazy id upgrade hydro bumps front and rear and get some good aluminum skids front to rear. Spare moved to the bed. Higher lined fenders to increase travel.

Going for all around off roading I’d still do all of the above but swap in a lower geared transfer case for the crawly stuff.

The beefier frame and stronger knuckles are great to have on those.

 

[Gvsukids]

I ask because since getting our Mojave I have been thinking about how we should set it up?

How much desert running will you do?

 

[JmattNYC]

If I had a Mo Jave, I’d go to 3” and stay at 37”.

Going for straight up desert running crazy id upgrade hydro bumps front and rear and get some good aluminum skids front to rear. Spare moved to the bed. Higher lined fenders to increase travel.

Going for all around off roading I’d still do all of the above but swap in a lower geared transfer case for the crawly stuff.

The beefier frame and stronger knuckles are great to have on those.

This comment and mybe add a appex or new fox electrical disconnect sway or even anti-rocks front and rears. stay with mopar steel items and add a winch.. get a maximus 3 roll bar for that look!!

 

[BourbonRunner]

This comment and mybe add a appex or new fox electrical disconnect sway or even anti-rocks front and rears. stay with mopar steel items and add a winch.. get a maximus 3 roll bar for that look!!

This comment and that bar better have yellow smiley KC's on it or else.

 

[WambliSka]

I have a ‘26 Mojave X and desert running is my main and frequent off-roading. I upgraded to 35” Falken AT4W tires and left the rest as it left the factory. So far be wished for nothing else. She gets me everywhere I need to go easily. The factory got it right with this one.

 

[ArcticDreadnought]

Hear me out.

Have you considered lasers?

Seriously though, break down by percentage what you will be doing with it during the time you own it. 60% City, 30% Highway, 10% Off-Road, and such. Build it up to improve those needs, in the order you utilize it in.

Me? I'm glad I got my very pretty custom vinyl Scrambler stripes? Because they're pretty? Yes. Have they also helped with pinstriping when I'm tooling down tight Alaska highland trails with heavy scrub on each side? Also yes.

Go useful first, neato second, unless your Gladdy is purely a toy, then just go nuts.

 

[BourbonRunner]

I have a ‘26 Mojave X and desert running is my main and frequent off-roading. I upgraded to 35” Falken AT4W tires and left the rest as it left the factory. So far be wished for nothing else. She gets me everywhere I need to go easily. The factory got it right with this one.

I got to rent one on factory 33's loaded down with a SmartCap, big iKamper RTT and all the crap for 10 days of living out from the Bay Area to Napa and then all the way down to Joshua Tree. The washboards and trails in JT and surrounding, especially in the Old Dale Mining District, beat the snot out our friends in a diesel JLUR but we were smooth as theoretically possible in the JTM. 40-50mph across open desert is an absolute blast. I can't recommend it enough.

If the Rubicon/Mojave test drive didn't sell me before I was after that trip.

 

[SaiintNick]

So, since the Mojave is "Desert Rated" what would be your Desert Rated ideal build? Not a Rubicon rock crawler build on a Mojave but a desert capable beast. How would you set your suspension up to go full tilt in the dirt? How high? What tires?

I ask because since getting our Mojave I have been thinking about how we should set it up?

Thoughts?

Jayman

I run zero lift and 37" KO2's which have taken me everywhere I wanted to go. I would like a couple extra inches of lift for looks only. Another important mod for me since I have sand and red dirt here in Utah was Armorlite flooring which IMO was as important as the 37's. Cleanup is a breeze. I did just add the Apex AirLynx since I wanted something to help with the on road characteristics. I can run at 0 psi off road and it helps with the high speed stuff. The AirLynx are not life changing, but they are noticeable. Nothing helps more for desert running than the tires and their pressure.

 

[WambliSka]

I got to rent one on factory 33's loaded down with a SmartCap, big iKamper RTT and all the crap for 10 days of living out from the Bay Area to Napa and then all the way down to Joshua Tree. The washboards and trails in JT and surrounding, especially in the Old Dale Mining District, beat the snot out our friends in a diesel JLUR but we were smooth as theoretically possible in the JTM. 40-50mph across open desert is an absolute blast. I can't recommend it enough.

If the Rubicon/Mojave test drive didn't sell me before I was after that trip.

Yeah I can't say it enough. My wife knows nothing of suspensions, tires etc. BUT, her comment on the first off-road trip on the new Mojave, on a trail that is one of her favorites because of where it goes, was "Why didn't we do this two years ago?". That was in reference to the original JT, my '22 Overland.

It is NO exaggeration that I can now run trails I used to drive on my old JT in less than half the time and MUCH more comfortable. This particular trail gets us to a beautiful lunch/hiking spot that is pretty desolate and with great views of a sprawling desert canyon, but getting there used to be literally painful for her on the old truck. Sections of the trail are "paved" for lack of a better word, with 5-10" smooth river rocks that will shake the fillings out of your teeth. Now I don't even air down to go through those.

 

[BourbonRunner]

@WambliSka exactly. Our friends were rattled putting in 1700 miles on that JLUR. I could only imagine how bad it was on the shorter wheelbase given my wheel time in a JTR.

 

[drew0622]

3.5" clayton, falcon adjustable piggybacks, 4:88s and 37s Glad I did. FWIT, I waited for 40K miles.

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