Started a JKU Rubicon buildout off boonville, one owner clean

kyle's 4Runner thread got me to finally write up my Jeep since we bought both rigs off the same lot. i wanted a clean JKU as an overland base, and the trick with a used Wrangler is that half of them have already been wheeled hard and lifted badly, so finding a stock honest one is the whole game. found a 2018 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon on boonvilleautosales.com, about 61k miles, one owner, and it looked genuinely stock in the photos which is rare for a Rubicon that age.

i had it shipped since i am up in Iowa, but i did the same homework kyle preaches. asked the boonville lot to video the underside, the frame, the axle tubes, the control arm mounts, and the sway bar disconnect since that is the thing people break on a Rubicon. they walked around under it on camera and it was clean, stock height, no lift ever, the disconnect worked.

the one honest fault, the light bar the prior owner had wired in was done sloppy, taped splices and a switch just hanging under the dash. they told me about it before i asked instead of hiding it. i redid the whole thing with a proper harness and a relay in an afternoon, so it turned out to be nothing. anybody else start a Jeep build off a stock one instead of buying a finished project?

both are great and you will not go wrong either way, so do not stress it too much holly. i went Jeep for two reasons. the top comes off, which for the way i camp is worth a lot, and the factory sway bar disconnect plus both lockers make the Rubicon a serious trail rig right off the lot. the 4Runner is the more comfortable daily and quieter on the highway, no question. if you commute a lot in it the 4Runner might be the smarter pick.

the honest tradeoff. the Jeep rides rougher and is louder on a long interstate haul, and a JKU can develop the death wobble if the front end is worn or a lift was done wrong, which is exactly why i wanted a stock never lifted one. the 4Runner is more truck to build around and holds up better as a daily. i wanted the open top and the trail capability so i went Jeep, but if kyle's use case is yours the 4Runner is a great call.

whichever you pick, buy a clean stock one and check it hard first. i found mine on boonville auto sales and had them video the whole underside before i committed. do that no matter which rig wins.

UPDATE five months in and the Jeep has been down to Mark Twain a half dozen times now, so closing the loop for the next buyer weighing a stock base.

the redone light bar wiring has been flawless, and past that the truck has needed nothing but oil and a rotation. i added a set of all terrains, a proper recovery kit, and a rooftop tent, and left the suspension stock for now. aired down it walks through the rutted forest roads and the mud around the Ozarks without a complaint, and both lockers turn it into a mountain goat on the rocky sections. still no death wobble because it was a genuinely clean never lifted front end, which is the whole reason i hunted a stock one.

the recap for anybody shopping. i found a one owner, never wheeled JKU Rubicon on the boonslick lot, had them video every inch of the underside before i wired a dollar, and it showed up exactly as listed right down to the one wiring fault they told me about up front. that is all you can ask buying sight unseen. boonvilleautosales.com was straight with me start to finish, and if you cannot get there in person, insist on that walkaround video and you will be fine. worth a look for a Jeep or a Toyota build base.