Sixth Time's The Charm

A JL built from experience

- Ali Mansour

With age comes experience. We’ve all heard this expression, and it hits home for anyone who has ever built multiple Jeeps. Take Dave Roberts, for example. With some of the most incredible off-road trails just outside his backyard in Broomfield, Colorado, this off-road enthusiast has spent years building four-wheel drives to get him all over the amazing state safely and reliably. From full-blown buggies to Hemi-powered JKs, he’s been fortunate to own, wheel, and build a variety of machines.

In fact, his latest ’18 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon build is the sixth Jeep he’s built. While he entrusted the heavy-lifting portion of this JL build to the guys at Dixie 4 Wheel Drive in Moab, Utah, the lessons he learned from his previous builds gave him the knowledge he needed to get this one where he wanted right out of the gate. Given that his previous Wranglers had been equipped with V-8 power, one might assume that would have been the first upgrade. And here’s where things got interesting.

Unlike some of his previous builds that were lined with armor, aftermarket doodads, and a throaty Hemi rumble under the hood, his JL build was considerably dialed back. When asked why, Dave stated that he’s learned over the years that less can be more when it comes to the Wrangler Unlimited platform. In the past, one of his Hemi swaps was problematic (overheating and dismal fuel economy), and the more weight the Jeep had, the worse it performed. He also liked what Jeep did with the new JL platform; starting with a Rubicon with steel bumpers gave him most of what he needed straight away.