I made my foray into the world of off-roading and overlanding with the purchase of a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, in the winter of 2014—eager to blend my love of travelling with a passion for wrenching on anything with wheels and an engine.
I quickly learned how addictive the jeep-modding affliction can be.
While a quick Google search will turn up a plethora of JKU overlanding builds, the challenges the standard JK make it a less popular platform. That’s ok. I’m up for the challenge.
The goal is not to make this a jacked up paddle-wheeling mudder, or a mountain climbing beast that requires a stepladder and safety harness to safely make your way to the drivers seat. So if you’re checking out this build for ideas for an unstoppable offroader, you’ll be sadly disappointed.
My goal is to balance functionality with capability. This is a daily driver, after all. I don’t have another car to go back and forth to work each day. So this Jeep needs to be just as comfortable sitting in rush hour traffic, as it is on the trails. It also has to be reliable and easy to fix if something goes wrong in a remote place.
Cash also plays a role in this. I’m a regular guy with a day job, I’m willing to spend more for quality parts that meet my objectives, but there is a limit. So if there’s a cheaper option that still meets my goals, you better believe I’m going to use it. You might even catch a glimpse of some red neck ingenuity, to varying degrees of success.
Regardless, throughout this build I’ll explain my logic for making the mods I do, and let you know if they pan out the way I thought.
Stay tuned…
The Nooblanders 