Can You Offroad a Stock Jeep Wrangler?

Can you offroad a stock Jeep Wrangler? That's what we are answering in today's video where we took our BONE stock RENTAL offroading and showing you what it is capable of. Let us know what you are driving out on the trails and if it's stock or not.

#offroad #stock #offroadingstock

[DUNEATV]

I wheel my bone stock 2dr Rubicon all the time. I am constantly getting…” when are you going to lift that”. I just did Hell Revenge in Moab.

[MalachiBurke]

I like this video because some might feel pressured to mod things out before wheeling, and this helps those people a lot. Especially the message about seat time. I was lucky enough to beat up an old XJ back in the day and it's easier to determine the limits in the much more expensive JL without denting the snot out of it

[johnjon]

I found the the stock Wrangler tires on our stock JK sport lasted longer, got better mileage, handled better and performed better on snow and ice than a fancy set of aggressive tires we had. We went back to the stock tires they are all season all terrain and actually do what they say. We have modified nothing at all. We are in the woods or on sketchy roads and it works just fine. What matters is how you drive. More clearance would be nice, a bit more height would be nice, but 99 percent of the time it is not needed, and we drive it daily anyway. I am not looking for a monster truck, just a very capable ride so we do not get stuck somewhere too stupid.

[robertk]

We rode the nemos tunnel with the trail built crew. Glad to see my wife drive by in the silver JL she is running 3.5 lift on 35x12.50r20s. I watch the bone stock jl go every we went and went through one part we didn’t. It was only the second time my wife had ever been wheelin and she loves it now They even spotted for her while I videoed. This guys were awesome. I will definitely be selling the 20s and going to 17s and headlocks in the future.Trailbuilt will be getting my business

[rogermetzger]

Our extended family's 4WD vehicles have included a Dodge Ramcharger, Mercury Mountaineer, GMC Suburban, two Isuzu Troopers, a base model Wrangler and two Grand Cherokees. My wife estimates that back country capability is 20% vehicle and 80% driver.

Most of the soldiers who drove jeeps (the word wasn't a brand name yet) during WWII had never even seen a 4WD truck before they joined the Army and they were dumbfounded at the capability of those mechanical mules! 4WD was an important part of that capability, of course but when 4WD is combined with high angles of attack (short front overhang), high breakover angles (short wheelbase) and high angles of departure (short rear overhang), the capability in the back country is truly astonishing, even without such upgrades as differential lockers. Add recovery hooks front and rear so drivers of 4WD rigs can more easily help each other (using tow straps) and there will still be some places you can't go - but those places are very few and far between.

[Junior-jwbb]

I’ve been driving Jeeps since the 70’s and I’m on my 8th one, an “18 JLU Rubicon. Most of mine have been stock with only one lifted. The only mods that I made to this one are 2 sets of Eagle Eye off road lights, a TacTic steel front bumper with a warn winch, rock slider bars, and aftermarket wheels. I have 13 acres 2 miles into the woods on an unmaintained dirt road with a power line behind that and I’ve had no problems. I don’t air down because I haven’t had the need to. I’ve surfed fished and don’t have any problems driving on the beach either. Lifted Jeeps look great, but most of the guys I’ve talked to don’t even know where to take their Jeeps off road here in NY.
To anyone who doesn’t know where to off road in your state, google it and multiple locations are shown.
Have fun wheeling and stay safe.

[LoboCanada]

YES, it is perfectly fine. Just go in a group of jeepers. I promise you'll be blown away with how capable it is stock. Like buying a sports car but not driving it fast before throwing $4K on performance mods.

[markwyatt]

'02 TJ Wrangler here, bone stock when I bought it. Here's the mods that I think are most cost effective on 2 Door TJs in order of importance:

- Off road tires, not necessarily bigger, maybe an inch or two more max. The stock 28" Wrangler AT tires were horrible. Strange, my speedo read ridiculously high but when I put on 31"s it reads right on the money.

- A decent 12v air compressor (Slime) and quality dial type air pressure gauge. A set of tire deflators.
- Armor. A gas tank skid plate (Kilby RIP) is critical as the stock skid plate is useless. Oil pan skid plate is also mandatory. Ditch the stock side steps as they'll get beat up and install rock rails, even simple angle iron ones will do.
- Front sway bar disconnects (TeraFlex), a bag of surgical throw away gloves and some sort of hammer.
- A 1-1.5" hockey puck spring lift, especially if you've gone up an inch or two in tire size. Do a suspension alignment after they settle.
- If you're running the three speed auto, a deep pan so you don't aerate the tranny on steep inclines which is dangerous. If you're a 115° desert rat, a transmission cooler.
- Some minor items. A good (yellow) tow strap and minimalist tool kit with a set of (metric?) spanners, pliers (including a Vice Grip) and regular/Torx head screwdrivers, enough stuff to fix wiring, fuses and a stock relay which is the same as half the relays in the relay box, some beefy zip ties and a tire plug kit. A 12"x12" piece of plywood for the stock scissor jack. A useful First Aid kit which includes a coupla quick clot packs, major compression bandages, Epi-Pens if you need them. Of course a fire extinguisher, road flares, pyro aerial flares and an orange space blanket and Bible.

My rig still looks relatively stock so doesn't attract attention. Since then I've spent some major bucks on preventative upgrades concerning the mechanics:

- Constant velocity (Cardan) rear drive shaft (Tom Woods). It requires the rear lower control arms be replaced with adjustable ones to properly align the rear diff. The stock TJ rear driveline angle is ridiculously steep, vibrates and with even a 1.5" lift becomes critical in the long run. A feature is you can remove a broken rear driveline shaft and the transfer case won't drain all its oil.
- Teardown of the rear axle assembly to replace the LSD clutches and, surprise, straighten the axle tubes which were bent 1" out of alignment. The shop (Mechanically Inclined
Technicians) said over 70% of rigs they service running stock Dana 35s on the inline 6 engine with 50, 000+ miles of crawling/hard offroading are bent, even some straight from the factory.
- Switched to top of the line shocks ($1, 000) to replace the cheap ones which seemed to blow out/leak every 5, 000 miles. Much better on rough highways and doesn't go soft on washboard trails because of overheating.
- Replaced the radiator and hoses, waterpump, etc., just because they were factory & 20 years of desert runs old and a risk of failure on the trail. When they replaced the radiator they blew it out, weighed it and there was 10 pounds of crud in it, probably running at only 50% efficiency.
- The EGR/fuel line monitoring systems that are rubber/plastic have degraded and cracked here and there so I get the odd "check engine" light but it's easily diagnosed and fixed so my mechanic Gary Lundblade (former Baha 1000 Trophy truck racer) says don't worry, fuel systems are robust and you can limp back to town.

I guess my point is I've done 5, 000 miles of offroading and 30, 000 miles of highway travel to get there in a 20 year old Jeep without a single breakdown because I'm on top of vehicle maintenance, fingers crossed.

[reynaldosotelo]

My 96 rwd explorer isn’t capable by any means but I still take it off road, skills and momentum is your best friend when driving a 2WD

[madcratebuilder]

This applies to any 4X4 vehicle, with a average AT tire they can go most places with a good driver/spotter.

[natethompson]

A stock wrangler (or any jeep for that matter) is plenty capable for the majority of trails accessible to the general public. The only must have mods would be better tires (KO2's, Ridge Grapplers, etc.) and underbody protection (Panels, skidplates, etc.)

[smokeGR]

Bone stock JL sport...Rousch creek..blue trails...

[donbeary]

I agree, experience (and a level head) counts for a lot, especially the part about learning to off road and wheel placement while your vehicle is less capable, or in a less capable vehicle .. learning to off road in my 1978 L.U.V. with one wheel drive has done me very well over the years since :-)

[seanwatson]

We have an entire YouTube channel dedicated to that idea. Of course you can. People always think you need 40s to off road and that's just bull crap

[finnishfatman]

There are videos about people doing off roading in bone stock old beater honda civics and similar, so yeah, absolutely should be able to off road in stock Wrangler, no matter if it's rubicon or other trim level 😅

[otsigo]

I put my WK on a used set of 31" KO2s and I keep up with the local jeep club. Sure I can't do rutted mud pits that make the 37" guys drag a diff. But it has done everything I asked it to do. I'll lift it when it's time to replace stock ball joints and control arms.

[joseromero]

I offroad an all stock wrangler YJ offroading is all about skill. I do have 31's but everything else is stock.

[capriles]

Stuck 33s in my stock JL 2D and is great off road. Take it mudding and to trails often and never had an issue. That’s being said, a winch would be great

[desertmaverick]

Yes, you can off road a stock jeep on most easy to moderate trails. Just make sure you upgrade the tires from the stock radials to at least All Terrain Tires.

[dirtsailoroff-road]

Yes. I do it every weekend. I've got my dickey bell and Gulches ORV badge