After 7yrs and 90k miles it was time to say goodbye to our beloved JKU. After a great deal of thought and introspection I realized I wanted something a little (okay, a lot) more civilized that could still do a forest service road and boondock with that my wife could actually drive and stand to ride in for more than an hour. Sacrificing comfort and driveability for an activity that consumed maybe 5% of my life behind the wheel wasn't worth it anymore, at least in the near term. My choice is a little unorthodox and unconventional, but after a few subtle mods it will suffice and allow us to enjoy the entire journey more as we pull our tear drop further than we would have with the Jeep.
So what did I replace a heavily modded JKU with you ask? A Mercedes ML550. New wheels and tires get installed next week, the 1.5" lift arrives early next year (some crazy Russian actually came up with one), and skidplates should be fabbed up this winter. I am under no illusion of the significant downgrade in off road capability but life is all about trade-offs. It's going to be an interesting journey as I discover its limits while saving up for a well sorted G-wagon.
Looking real sharp, Amos! Love it.
Well, I was hoping to avoid any kind of lift this time around, but the clearance once hooked up to my trailer and flexed a bit is too close for comfort. Having some poly spacers overnighted (leave for trip to Nevada this weekend). I would have gone with springs but OME is out of stock in the US and Viking is too slow to respond to messaging and has no listed phone number. Hopefully it works out.
Looking awesome!
Got the tires installed this morning. Toit like a tiga 😂. Believe it or not, I had three techs a Discount Tire hanging/bouncing on the side and rear to see if we could get them to touch the fenders- nope. Somehow the fronts only very, very slightly rub at full lock. Likely still going to swap springs for bit of safety clearance but I don't think I’m in as big a hurry as I was 24hrs ago.
285/70R18 Yokohama Geolandar G003s
Is it drivable without them at least short term? I figure it will take a week for them to get here from Gwagen accessories or Jackwagon.
By the way, you‘ll want to come up with some spacers for the batwing to mount up right on the Frontrunner bars. This is what I did.
I have that size in Cooper Discoverer ST Max. I have a lift though. You’ll definitely need spacers to prevent rubbing at full turn.
I went with the smaller batwing as well. Still need to mount mine.
Well, 285/70R18 (33.9") Geolandar G003s are going on this week when they arrive. I will likely need some 30mm hubcentric spacers to push out the fronts, but we'll see after they get installed.
My next mods are limb risers (the heated windshield costs a fortune to replace) and getting a matching spare.
The latter is a bit of a conundrum; I can either replace the tires on the stock set (they all have street tires) or buying a matching spare for this set. Frustratingly, both cost about the same. The look of the current set is really growing on me, but I'm nervous about the 5.75" of sidewall really being enough to have fun with. I can get 7-7.5" of sidewall if I go with the OEM wheels and go up to 33s.
Here's some from a outdoor escape last month for my wife's birthday since she wanted to go do some photography.
Since then I've also added a few more pieces parts including brush guards, an awning, and rack parts (axe, shovel, kayak rack, and dual jerry can mount).
I went with the Batwing Compact over the full size because the G is much smaller than you think it is and I didn't want it extending past the windshield (the rear is aligned perfectly to overlap the roof so there isn't a gap.)
Now I just need to get out and play with it more :)
Oh man!! so much want right there. I love it!. Any recent mods/pics to share??
Bitchin'!
Looks great!
I managed to get the rack and ladder installed the past two days before the rains started up. That ladder was a bit more involved than I thought but at least it is fully secure. The rack was a challenge to mount solo (can’t exactly ask a neighbor and my wife isn’t tall enough without putting her on a step stool) So I put some shop towels in some of my wife’s “cozy socks” and put them on one sides feet so that I could slide it across the top without scratching up the roof. The little unicorn horn is the radio antenna Frontrunner was thoughtful enough to include a punch out for. It was great to get some outside wrenching time And I’m really liking how this is coming together.
Woohoo, ordered a Frontrunner full length rack (2.2 not the 2.4) and the VTS ladder. Supported two small businesses and it will be nice to have a new distraction during this isolation. I'll post some pics of the install this week when it gets here.
Karl (Fernweh on ExPo) of G-wagenaccessories.com has them.
Baby steps, but at least now I have some aggressive A/Ts on it. Found some completely hub centric adapters meant for grafting ML wheels to G-wagens. Expensive, but very slick pieces of kit. Next up is installing the hitch and associated wiring harnesses, including brake controller.
They do look awesome on 35s but I enjoyed being able to use parking garages again when I had the ML, so 32/33" is all I plan to do for now. I'm most likely going to use the wheel tire combo I bought for the ML for a year or so since I'll never get anywhere close to my money back on them. Not ideal to run them offroad, but sometimes you have to make do with what you've got.
I was just talking today about how badass one of these would be on 35s
Big pimpin right there. Looks good.
Well, the ML turned out to be an over correction to the softer side. It just never felt “right” to me and getting there was forcing a square peg into a round hole experience. It was an outstanding vehicle, just not for me. Opportunity presented itself over the weekend and I pounced on a 2008 G500. Although a downgrade in technology and power from the ML, it has those three beautiful switches on the dash and aftermarket support (however minimal, at least it exists).
Let the slow build begin...