What Are The Worst Mods You Can Do To Your Jeep?
July 7, 2023
The Worst Jeep Mods You Can Make
It's no secret that Jeeps are one of the most loved brands in the market for the more adventure-spirited, life-loving crowd. Sometimes, that manifests itself in a necessity to show off independent styles and freedoms, so it's not uncommon to see Jeep enthusiasts run their vehicles through plenty of modifications. However, these modifications can push the boundaries of form over functionality, or they might be the product of trying to save too much money, which costs you money in the long run.
That's what we're gonna go through today - we'll be taking you through the five worst Jeep mods that you can do so you know what to avoid when you're getting your build sheet filled out. Let's jump right in and see what to steer clear from.
Disclaimer: We're in no way trying to dunk on you if one of your mods is on the list - you're free to express yourself and do whatever you want on your Jeep. Whether we would do the same thing or not is another story entirely.
Table Of Contents
-Worst Mod 1: Lights Before Lockers
-Worst Mod 4: Cheap Bumpers and Spare Tire Carriers
Worst Mod 1: Lights Before Lockers
First and foremost, one of the biggest gripes that we hear from avid off-roaders across the industry is "lights before lockers." If you can see past whatever obstacle is in your way but can't make it past that obstacle, you might want to rethink where your money is best spent.
Now, if you're running 26 inch wheels and they're chrome wrapped with rubber that took four Cheetah Air Tire Bead Sealers just to mount the tires, maybe light bars are your thing, because there's no way you'll need lockers to haul your bros to the mall.
Worst Mod 2: Big-Ass Wheels
Speaking of big wheels, the rule of thumb is that if you're gonna be doing any driving that doesn't involve hyper-smooth roads, then you shouldn't be running a wheel or rim that isn't larger than half the size of your tire.
Most off-road enthusiasts prefer either a 17 or 18-inch wheel, and using that rule the tire should be at least double the wheel size. So that means that on a 17 inch wheel, you'll want a tire that is 34 inches or larger - on an 18 inch wheel, that's 36 inches, and so on the larger you go. Basically, you just want enough sidewall to be able to air down tire pressures without having to worry too much about damaging the wheel or popping the tire bead off at the rim.
Worst Mod 3: Dana 30
We've found the Dana 30 (or Dana Turdy, as some have called it) to be controversial because of the mixed reviews from the system. Some say they've never had a problem, but others say the Dana 30 is nothing but broken axle shafts, U-joints, knuckles, bent housings, and so on. So if you plan on running anything larger than a 33-inch tire or doing some hardcore off-roading, don't buy chromoly shafts or upgrade the axle thickness. Just head over to our store and grab yourselves a TeraFlex axle housing kit that can save you a bunch of cash in the long run.
Worst Mod 4: Cheap Bumpers and Spare Tire Carriers
Another major complaint against many Jeep owners are the cheap no-name or off-brand rear bumper/spare tire carrier combos. Almost everyone that has one complains of squeaking metal fatigue where their spare tire spindle attaches, with malfunctioning latches causing the tire carrier to swing out sporadically. Rarely is any serious Jeeper with their cheaply-built spare tire carrier and bumper combos satisfied.
The same philosophy applies to basically any Jeep accessory, and when you're serious about going off-road, it's best to spend the extra dollars on quality parts.
Worst Mod 5: Bad Grilles
We've tried our best to wrap our heads around this but we still can't understand why someone would want to desecrate the front of a Jeep so badly that it instantly screams BroDozer, mall crawler, or any other nickname you can come up with.
There are a few different companies out there making grilles that we love, but for the most part, the classic Jeep grille is iconic enough by itself - there's no need to potentially ruin the front of your build just because you wanted to incite a reaction.
Shop Aftermarket Jeep Accessories at TrailBuilt Off-Road
Now that you know what not to do with your Jeep, head over to our accessories store so you can make the right choices for your build - in the off-road world, function always wins out over form, but that doesn't mean you won't still find some parts that look great and perform even better. We'll see you guys out on the trails!
