Building a Mojave on 40's

[MOPAR Boy]

So this Jeep Mojave is my 3rd Jeep. I started with a 2006 TJ Rubicon and just sold my 2016 JKUR Hard Rock to buy the Gladiator. I'm a Rock Crawler by nature having run all the difficult trails in California and Utah in my 2016 Rubicon. I'm in Southern California and have both Rocks and Desert to play in. The reason I switched to a Gladiator was for work. I'm a home inspector and wanted more room in my vehicle for ladders and tools.

So I picked up this Gladiator in early December 2021 in Arizona. Got a fantastic deal on this Mojave buying it in Lake Havasu which is only 4 hours away from my California resisdence. Because I'm a rock crawler I know a Rubicon or even a sport would have made more sense to start the build with but I fell in love with all the Mojave had to offer.

So the plan was to immediatly get to 40's so I could hang with all my friends who are in JK's on 37's and 40's.
So below is a list of modifications either already done or ordered plus a wish list of modifications down the road.

40" Cooper STT Pros on 17" KMC Dirty Harry Wheels
3.5" Clayton Off-Road Overland Plus Lift Kit
Rugged Ridge Arcus Front Bumper (Still waiting on Delivery)
SuperWinch sx10,000 (waiting on bumper to install)
Quadratec Brute Strength Sliders
Fishbone Tackle 1/2 bed rack
Adams Front Drive Shaft 1350
Fox 2.5 Elite Resevoir Shocks with DSC for 4.5 lift
MetalCloak Front Swaybar Disconnects
Tazer JL Mini Controller
Apex Steering Booster (Not installed yet)
5.13 Revolution Gears (Getting installed on Jan 14th)

Future Plans:
Truss the front and rear axles
Go with a Anti-Rock front swaybar setup
Upgrade the Tie-Rod and Drag-Link to with Synergy or an Aluminum Option
Synergy Sector Shaft Brace
Upgrade the cloth interior to a Katzkin Leather interior

View attachment 209400

View attachment 209401

View attachment 209402

View attachment 209403

View attachment 209405

Hey, Steven!

What brand and model is your rack mount?

Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[Bonanza]

Johnson Valley is a butt kicker. Body damage around every rock and borderline buggy trails. I enjoy the trees so for me it was more Big Bear, Rubicon, Fordyce. I do enjoy the slick rock of Moab and Sand Hollow.

You Johnson Valley Wheelers get my full respect. My jeep is my daily driver and work vehicle so I try to wheel hard but avoid body damage.

Johnson Valley is tons of fun. Jackhammer is where is starts to get a bit hairy, but there are plenty of less extreme trails. Granted, the less extreme trails are harder than anything else I've wheeled in California. I'd say 37s are a "should have" there. My JKUR on 35s struggled, even on clawhammer. I haven't wheeled any trails there with my JT, for 1) my gladiator is my DD but 2) it would be miserable to smash and bang my way up. Those trails are definitely extreme.

A few years back they ran the JT in the 4600 class at KOH. After the race they parked it in hammertown, and my lord it was beat to S.

 

[Mojave40]

Hey, Steven!

What brand and model is your rack mount?

Thanks!

My rack mount is from Fishbone Off-Road and is called thier "Tackle" rack 1/2 height. I bought it through Quadratec on a sale before Christmas. It was one of the first modifications I added.

 

[MOPAR Boy]

My rack mount is from Fishbone Off-Road and is called thier "Tackle" rack 1/2 height. I bought it through Quadratec on a sale before Christmas. It was one of the first modifications I added.

OK, thanks a lot, Steven! Looks awesome!

 

[Elff]

Looks good. I like some of the Fishbone options and they are reasonably priced compared to the competition

 

[Mojave40]

A few pictures of the new 2.5 Fox Performance Elite Resevoir DSC shocks. Love the adjustabilty of these shocks and didn't sacrifice any performace from the Mojave Shocks minus the internal bypass feature. I had to drill out the bushings on the front shocks only because the Mojave Gladiator uses M14 bolts and everything is designed for the JL/JT which uses M12 bolts for the front shocks.

 

[Stratus109]

Looks awesome
Man im jealous.

 

[Mojave40]

Just had the Mojave regeared to 5.13 and added an Adams 1350 front driveshaft today. I had Rebel Off-Road in Orange County do the work. When I got home I had a present on the driveway. My Barnes 4WD Prichett Canyon front bumper arrived. Time to get it painted and installed and add my SuperWinch SX10000 which has just been sitting in the garage.

 

[Mojave40]

All the Mojave suspension (Shocks / Springs) are now for sell and posted in the Member For Sale Section.

 

[Mojave40]

Today I worked on mocking up the Barnes 4WD Pritchett Canyon bumper and SuperWinch SX10000. The bumper is a perfect look to the Mojave and the construction and welds are a thing of beauty. I decided to paint the bumper with Rustoleum Textured Satin Black most because I didn't want to wait till Tuesday for Powdercoating plus Rustoleum is easy to touch up after Off-Roading.

I'm hoping to get my Apex Steering Booster installed tomorrow and then get everything installed for good. Updates to follow.

 

[HouseOfWolves]

Today I worked on mocking up the Barnes 4WD Pritchett Canyon bumper and SuperWinch SX10000. The bumper is a perfect look to the Mojave and the construction and welds are a thing of beauty. I decided to paint the bumper with Rustoleum Textured Satin Black most because I didn't want to wait till Tuesday for Powdercoating plus Rustoleum is easy to touch up after Off-Roading.

I'm hoping to get my Apex Steering Booster installed tomorrow and then get everything installed for good. Updates to follow.

That bumper is pimp!

Wish I had come across this first.

 

[bleda2002]

A few pictures of the new 2.5 Fox Performance Elite Resevoir DSC shocks. Love the adjustabilty of these shocks and didn't sacrifice any performace from the Mojave Shocks minus the internal bypass feature. I had to drill out the bushings on the front shocks only because the Mojave Gladiator uses M14 bolts and everything is designed for the JL/JT which uses M12 bolts for the front shocks.

How's the ride compared to the Mojave shocks over the rougher stuff?

 

[j.o.y.ride]

My rack mount is from Fishbone Off-Road and is called thier "Tackle" rack 1/2 height. I bought it through Quadratec on a sale before Christmas. It was one of the first modifications I added.

Can I get a photo of what the mirror image looks like from driver POV?

 

[HouseOfWolves]

Today I worked on mocking up the Barnes 4WD Pritchett Canyon bumper and SuperWinch SX10000. The bumper is a perfect look to the Mojave and the construction and welds are a thing of beauty. I decided to paint the bumper with Rustoleum Textured Satin Black most because I didn't want to wait till Tuesday for Powdercoating plus Rustoleum is easy to touch up after Off-Roading.

I'm hoping to get my Apex Steering Booster installed tomorrow and then get everything installed for good. Updates to follow.

Did you use your stock Mojave skid with that bumper?

Did you just toss the factory fogs, or are you planning on integrating those?

 

[Mojave40]

How's the ride compared to the Mojave shocks over the rougher stuff?

Equal or Better. Its basically the same shock (2.5 body with 7/8" shaft) with the added benefit of dual compression adjustments but minus the internal bypass valves of the Mojave shocks.

Sponsored