Before you build
What owners wish they'd known.
Smart is the essentials at a lower cost.
Tires & Suspension
All terrain tire, 265/70R17 standard load. 14/32 tread, three peak snow rated, with a 65,000 mile tread warranty.
ICON Alloys Rebound wheel in 17 by 8.5.
3.5 inch lift for a 2018 to 2023 four-door Wrangler JL on stock-rate coils. New springs and N3 shocks, control arm drop brackets, sway bar links, bump stop spacers and a rear track bar bracket. Clears a 35 inch tire. 115.8 lbs.
Note: For most builds a complete lift kit is the whole job, a 2-3 inch lift with new shocks and springs. Go past 3 inches on a Tacoma or 4Runner and you'll want upper control arms and an alignment; rear sag from towing is a separate fix with air helper springs.
Glovebox sized inflator for topping off tires and airing back up after a trail. It clamps onto the battery, and comes with a pressure gauge, an LED work light and a brass twist-on chuck.
Preset automatic tire deflators, a four pack adjustable from 6 to 30 psi.
Armor & Protection
Step slider for a 2018 and up Wrangler JL in steel plate and tubing, finished in textured black powder coat. Built to work as a step as much as a rocker guard, and it bolts on with no cutting or drilling.
Front differential skid for a 2018 to 2023 Wrangler JL in 1/4 inch plate steel, bolt-on, with the diff drain plug still reachable. The M220 rear skid is sold separately.
Front bumper for a 2018 and up Wrangler JL. 3/16 inch cold rolled steel with a 1 3/4 inch .120 wall overrider and UHMW slip strips. Winch ready up to 12,000 lb. The factory LED or sport fog lights remount on the included adapters.
Recovery & Safety
Traction Boards
X-Bull Gen 3.0 Recovery Traction BoardsRope & Shackles
Factor 55 Standard Duty Soft Shackle 7/16" x 10"Tire Repair
ARB Speedy Seal Series II Tire Repair KitLighting
Flood pods for lighting the ground close in, a pair with a beam about 51 degrees wide and 51 tall. 30 watts and 2.14 amps at 14 volts each, reaching 250 feet at 1 lux by Rigid's figures. 3 by 3.2 inches per light. Limited lifetime warranty.
Additional Gear
Lets a 2018 and newer Wrangler JL or Gladiator drop the front sway bar on the trail and hook it back up for the road. JKS Quicker Disconnects, part JKS2033, sized for 2.5 to 6 inches of lift, with retention brackets to hold the links out of the way when disconnected. 6.7 lbs.
The fixed-damping version for a 2018 and newer Wrangler JL or Gladiator. Fox 2.0 Performance Series TS, a gas-charged through-shaft stabilizer that replaces the stock unit on the front axle bracket, part 985-02-127. 6.5 lbs.
Handheld GMRS radio for talking between rigs, 5 W out. Ships with a 15.5 inch antenna, a 2,500 mAh USB-C battery and 10 NOAA weather channels. Sold alone or with a spare battery for $44.99.
Aerosol fire extinguisher about the size of a road flare, for a vehicle fire you catch early. It discharges for 50 seconds, which Element says is more than five times a 5 lb bottle. There are no moving parts and no compressed gas, so there is nothing to service and no gauge to check, and it leaves no residue. Element rates it for all major fire classes but not for a wood campfire. 10.75 inches long and 1.2 inches across, with a mounting clip in the box. Half a pound.
First aid kit for one or two people on trips of up to four days. The compartments are labelled by injury, so you are not reading packets while someone bleeds. Inside are fabric and butterfly bandages, a 5 by 9 inch trauma pad, conforming gauze, 4 inch EMT shears, splinter and tick forceps, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, an antihistamine, an anti diarrheal and a wilderness first aid manual.
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