First mods?

[WambliSka]

First and best: Your butt in the seat for a while. Then go from there.

A new Jeep is an absolute Black Hole for money, MOST of which you will learn later was the equivalent of setting fire to your $$$s.

THIS!!!

Take it our for a few long rides on the road, then go off-road a few times where you intend to go, and think it all through. Outside of a dead foot pedal (buy a good one) and a cell phone holder (Bulletpoint) there is very little you can add to a Rubicon to make it "better" unless there are boulders and drops off rocky ledges in your immediate future.

Ps. Don't know if you are seasoned Jeep owner or a first time owner, so I will give you the same advice the Jeep sales guy gave me when he handed me the keys to my first Jeep, a 1st year Rubicon. "Take it slow and please be careful, this thing will take you places that you probably have no business going. And if you don't do things right, it will kill you.". This sage advice has saved my bacon a BUNCH of times in decades of owning 5 Jeeps and has kept all my Jeeps with the wheels on the ground where they belong.

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[Wheelin98TJ]

Do not waste your money on an air intake.

 

[White Eagle]

I bought a phone mount right away, it is solid. Made for smooth highways.

It is a pain in the butt for me unclamping the phone so I can actually manipulate the screen. When I’m on the trail to my ranch I look like a drunk trying to get my finger to hit the spots accurately.

I’m thinking of turning Siri back on if its in the mount.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I bought a phone mount right away, it is solid. Made for smooth highways.

It is a pain in the butt for me unclamping the phone so I can actually manipulate the screen. When I’m on the trail to my ranch I look like a drunk trying to get my finger to hit the spots accurately.

I’m thinking of turning Siri back on if its in the mount.

I use Siri for talk to text and calls a lot. With kids and wife all over the place being able to communicate on the go while staying legal is paramount. She usually gets what I say right. If not it gets fairly comical. I sometimes get calls from SWMBO asking what the hell I was trying to say but usually she just ignores it if it isn’t important.

 

[AmosMoses]

You need to decorate your jeep in a movie or cartoon theme complete with stickers or vinyl graphics with custom theme appropriate name for your "rig" and include any and all action figures, dolls or stuffed toys on the interior of said "rig". Be sure to start a lengthy thread documenting your journey and decision making steps along the way and maybe later you can have a slumber party to review your new lifestyle.

But seriously, get a tazer now and thank me later.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

You need to decorate your jeep in a movie or cartoon theme complete with stickers or vinyl graphics with custom theme appropriate name for your "rig" and include any and all action figures, dolls or stuffed toys on the interior of said "rig".

I agree. Something out of the box though. Like Crocodile Dundee riding Rainbow Brite in Fraggle Rock chasing Hello Kitty.

 

[DylanM]

I agree. Something out of the box though. Like Crocodile Dundee riding Rainbow Brite in Fraggle Rock chasing Hello Kitty.

Hell of an 80's overload there. Need a KITT light bar too.

 

[BourbonRunner]

I agree. Something out of the box though. Like Crocodile Dundee riding Rainbow Brite in Fraggle Rock chasing Hello Kitty.

Nothing says I'm a badass like having the Joker on the side of your Jeep on 30" wheels and color-contrasting everything.

 

[Stan H]

Hi all, I'm close to buying my gladiator. Im leaning towards the Rubicon.

It has all I'd ever need for my purpose and more.

What are the first mods I need to look at.

Cold Air intake?
Oil filter upgrade to stop dry starts?

There's many other mods in looking at but what are THE most important to start?

My sarcastic side says if it has everything your ever going to need then do NOTHING to it.
My Jeeper side says are you lifting and adding bigger tires.?

Here is thd voice of experience regear it or else you will stress the crap outta that tramsmission.
Take it for what you will.

 

[Improper_1]

As others mentioned, hold off for a while and drive it for a few months and you will learn a whole lot. Same thing with offroading, you learn what is practical and what is a waste.

Starting off I would recommend some basics:

• side pockets on the center console, super handy
• Center console tray
• Rollup bed cover (if you like cheap covered storage for the bed)
• Sunshade (driving with the top off is awesome until the sun tries to kill you like in Super Mario Bros 3)

Then some nice things

• Hood struts (I can't stand the hood prop)
• Rhino liner (or equivalent bed liner)

If just starting with some light offloading I hightly recommend:

• Hitch guard/slider (I've dragged the back end on the hitch a few times, this will save it from getting banged up.
• Rear lower control arm skids (this is probably the first off-road item I would recommend)

I think an easy upgrade for the Mojave is going to 35" tires but I'm wearing out my stock 33" first.

 

[Sundo80]

For me, the most important were getting it set up for storage and keeping the much smaller cab space as uncluttered as possible. It's probably the one thing I knew was going to annoy me as a first time Jeep owner that had driven them a ton as rentals on vacations.

My easy and somewhat cheap starter list after owning mine for a month now:

Interior storage pockets - I bought the equivalent of one of the "packs" on Amazon that have the grab bar pocket, shifter area "saddle bags", console organizer and console hanging pocket. I'd say that the only one I didn't use was the hanging pocket that attaches under the console latch. I didn't love that it took up the rear cupholder's space and it seemed like it caused the console latch to not want to close all the way easily.

Cup holder adapter - I bought the Swigzy. I like it because it can be set up to be offset so it doesn't overlap the second cup holder. It does want to "drag" the console area if you don't shim it underneath a little, but the way it tightens in the original cup holder makes using a shim to raise it up and try different orientations pretty easy. Fits my big Takeya 40oz water bottle that looks like a panzer tank shell casing now while still being able to use the rear cup holder

Tonneau cover - I decided on a budget trifold that'll allow stuff to be in the bed and somewhat locked up so I don't have to cram it under the rear seat. All kinds of crap in the bed now. Recyclable shopping bags, ratchet straps, rope, emergency kit, etc. I snagged a Tyger T5 for $299 off Amazon from a third party which has totally been worth it for the storage and the slightly increased MPG due to less drag going 70 down the interstate. Really happy with the actual cover. It looks and feels really nice for the money.

Trail Rails - I bought the DICMIC ones from Amazon (I know, cringe at the name) after seeing them very well reviewed for the price and they really are a great bang for the buck set. Some users say they're aluminum, not steel. If they are, they're the heaviest aluminum I've ever seen. Very heavy and sturdy and well-finished for a $115 set of rails. And added bonus, they solve the only gripe I had with the Tyger tonneau - they fix the angle of the mounting brackets and latches by moving the latches to the rails and not the bed lip. I use my Gladiator for a lot of truck things so having the tie downs also helps a lot with securing things in the bed.

Finally, a 2x8 board stuffed in the bed pockets - In conjunction with the tonneau, great for keeping your interior clean and not claustrophobic by turning your covered bed into a functional trunk. Allows me to have plenty of easily accessible storage, secured near the tailgate. Paired with a few low-profile storage tubs or your imaginative solution of choice, it's a great quality of life addition.

We won't talk about the $1200 rock sliders in the garage waiting for install because I don't have my touch up paint for the pinch seam hole adjustments yet. Or the Maximus-3 SLP bar on a browser tab next to this one. Those are totally necessary though

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