Offroading a Jeep Wrangler in Australia, built for adventure!
No other vehicle on the market is as iconic and synonymous with four-wheel driving as the Jeep Wrangler. So much so that most people who aren't car enthusiasts automatically assume any vehicle that goes off-road is a Jeep.
The Jeep Wrangler is the car that most young adventurers dreamt about and stuck posters up on bedroom walls.
Kris, the owner of this 2011 Jeep Wrangler JK, grew up with a Hummer H3 poster on his wall, much to his regret today. Whether you like the H3 or not, you have to admit he did have a taste for four-wheel drives! Not long after getting his license, Kris fell in love with the sense of freedom that comes along with a car. Inspired by his family's love of travel, Kris started to feed his lust for adventure by visiting and exploring new places.
With a rear-wheel-drive sedan handed down to him by his grandfather, it wasn’t long until Kris felt the limitations of his vehicle whenever his sense of adventure led him down a corrugated dirt road.
With a few close calls and dents to the underbelly of his sedan, it was clear that he would purchase a vehicle capable of keeping up with his adventurous nature. But, would it be reliable?
Why a Jeep Wrangler?
Australia is a diverse four-wheel drive market with choices between mid-sized utes, large 4WD trucks, wagons, and short wheelbase vehicles.
With so many choices, choosing the right four-wheel drive came down to three critical factors for Kris, aside from price.
The first consideration was the intended use of the vehicle; to explore the vast Victorian High Country, a section of south-eastern Australia spanning 5,199 km2 (2,007 sq miles) and featuring some of Australia’s most beautiful alpine mountains, waterfalls, rivers, and lakes. While incredibly picturesque, the Victorian High Country is highly challenging with sticky clay mud and snow, deadly snakes, unpredictable bushfires, and scarce supplies.
The second requirement for the vehicle was that it needed to be suitable for everyday life; commuting to and from work, picking up groceries, and carting around friends and partners.
Being a qualified mechanic by trade, the third consideration was that the vehicle needed to be easy to work on, with simple and sturdy construction, easy to fix on the side of a track, and with minimal complicated electronics in the drivetrain and cabin.
Weeks of research followed, with Kris eventually settling for a bone stock 2011 Jeep Wrangler JK 2 Door in a bright silver metallic at a local dealership. While the first drive home shocked Kris at how much fuel the Wrangler used compared to his sedan, the Jeep made sense to Kris like no other vehicle on the market.
The Wrangler was made first and foremost to be used as a four-wheel drive, as evident by the design and appearance of the vehicle. Large plastic flares created distance between the painted panels giving the vehicle greater scratch and damage resistance; the Wrangler was no luxury four-wheel drive where every scratch would shave thousands off the value of the vehicle. It was built for corrugations, rough foliage, and a little (or a lot) of mud in the cabin.
The Jeep Wrangler was also one huge Lego set.
Virtually everything on the inside and outside of the vehicle could be taken apart and replaced with an aftermarket part often with better design and functionality, offering tangible improvements, and progression to the vehicle’s off-road performance as driver skill, experience, and thirst for challenge evolved.
Without kids and no immediate plans for kids in the future, the two-door variant with a shorter wheelbase would offer greater manoeuvrability on the tracks, as well as the tight inner suburban carpacks characteristic of inner-city life.
Jeep Wrangler in hand, Kris was almost ready to head deeper into the Victorian High Country than ever before.
101: Modifying a Jeep Wrangler for the Victorian High Country.
Vehicles that take on the Victorian High Country need to be incredibly tough, easy to fix, and well kitted out.
With a blank canvas, Kris set out to slowly transform his Jeep Wrangler into the Victorian High Country conqueror it was destined to become.
Kris started by replacing the stock bullbar in the first week of ownership with a Wrangler JK bullbar by Uneek 4x4 and installing a Runva 11XP Premium winch. The backseats didn't last long either, as they were taken out to increase cargo space and reduce weight.
New 33-inch Mickey Thompson all-terrain tyres with steel wheels followed shortly, only to be replaced with BFGoodrich Km3 mud-terrain tyres a year and a half later. A UHF radio was installed for safety and communication as well as an antenna on the newly installed bullbar.
A couple of trips soon followed into Toolangi State Forest, which in Australian First Nation language translates to ‘tall trees’. Toolangi is a popular four-wheel driving destination, notorious for huge mountain ash forests, and sticky clay mud. Toolangi proved to be a challenging testing ground. Each trip into Toolangi State Forest gave Kris feedback on which modifications were worth investing in next.
After encountering some nasty rock steps, it was abundantly clear that although the new bullbar improved the front approach angle, it weighed down the front end and didn't do the undercarriage clearance any favours.
The Wrangler needed higher clearance, and so the next step was to install a complete 3-inch lift kit by Double Black Offroad including a Tom Woods front double-cardan driveshaft, bringing the pinion angle to an acceptable level and reducing driveline vibration. The kit included a sway bar disconnect further increasing the Wrangler’s already incredible wheel articulation.
Fox shock absorbers and a steering stabiliser were also added to make the vehicle a little more comfortable and to prevent death wobble.
At this point in the build, it was fair to say that the costs were starting to stack up.
However, the cost was well worthwhile for Kris as he practically lived out of the Jeep every weekend, exploring most of what Victoria has to offer.
Over the years of four-wheel driving, the Jeep continued to evolve with the addition of rock sliders and a rear bar also by Uneek 4x4. An American Expedition Vehicle snorkel was installed after a higher than first realised river crossing, Ignite LED headlights to increase on-road visibility, and a Stedi Double Row Bar lightbar for four-wheel driving through nightfall.
Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, Kris admits there are certain choices he would change if he were to modify the Wrangler again.
In particular, Kris would invest in lighter alloy wheels rather than heavy steel rims as they put a lot of stress on the drivetrain, exposing a few weaknesses in the Wrangler. The extra weight contributed to the original rear axle flange bending out of shape as well as excess wear and tear on the original steering links and ball joints. Installing chromoly rear axles and steer links by Nitro Gear & Axle and Teraflex ball joints solved these problems quite nicely.
When asked which modification added the most value to the Jeep, Kris told us that Ignite LED headlights and a Stedi double row light bar were game-changers.
It often takes hours of driving to reach four-wheel drive destinations, especially for those living in the city, which can be quite fatiguing. Then, intense focus is needed when hitting the tracks, before finally driving back home, often under nightfall.
A great set of headlights and an effective light bar can make a real difference in reducing eye strain, especially when looking out for animals on the road such as kangaroos, deer, or wombats.
Modification Summary:
Bullbar: Uneek 4x4.
Winch: Runva 11XP Premium.
Rear bar: Uneek 4x4.
Sliders: Uneek 4x4.
Suspension: Shock absorbers and steering stabliser by Fox.
Lift Kit: 3-Inch lift kit by Double Black Offroad with sway bar disconnect.
Driveshaft: Front double cardan driveshaft by Tom Woods.
Axles: Chromoly rear axles and steer links by Nitro Gear & Axle.
Balljoints: Ball joints by Teraflex.
Tyres: 33” all-terrains by Mickey Thompson, 33” Km3 mud-terrains by BFGoodrich.
Lightbar: Double row light bar by Stedi.
Headlights: Ignite LED.
Snorkel: American Expedition Vehicle.
Accessories: Seat covers by BlackDuck, aftermarket grab handles, aftermarket cargo net.
Wolf Creek, a True Story?
Kris owned the Wrangler for almost ten years, where it had visited over 3 states including Southern New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia.
In that time, there were notable four-wheel drive adventures to the dunes in Little Desert National Park, the alpine peaks in Kosciuszko National Park, the old wooden ‘Mckillops’ bridge in the Snowy River National Park, and finally, the beaches on the Western Australian coastline.
The most memorable adventure comes from Kris’s unfortunate drive into the Avon Wilderness Area, best described in his own words:
“One long weekend I'd decided to take my partner out to a place I'd not been before, Mount Skene, which links together the towns of Jamieson and Licola. Bang for your buck, it's a great trip, but being the Easter long weekend it was busy.
About three hours north of Licola it was 5 in the afternoon and the sun was setting, and we were looking for a campsite. Most campsites were unfortunately full!
We resorted to Google Maps to find a campsite and had just come off quite a rough mountain road and done some pretty remote 4wding during the day. We came to a beautiful valley, the grass was green and stretched as far as the eye could see. There were a few farmhouses but not much else. Google maps was acting a little sketchy, leading us through some questionably public roads, until it overtly tried to direct us through a farmer's paddock.
I stopped the car for a moment to figure out where to go. Then, I put the Jeep into reverse not realising how soft the ground was after some rain, suddenly becoming stuck in a shallow rut. Then the engine stopped, I'd stalled it...
Naturally, my hand shot down to the ignition turning the key off and on like I'd done thousands of times before, but to my annoyance... Nothing; no dash lights, not even the click of the starter. I knew it was bad. I whipped the bonnet open and knew it was an electrical issue.
It only took me 5 minutes to diagnose the issue which was pretty obvious after a light tug on the negative battery terminal. Consequently, the terminal became suspended mid-air with all the wiring still attached and a gaping hole on the top of the battery.
Knowing we were in a bit of trouble, I’d decided that I’d go to the nearest farmhouse and ask to use their telephone. We had more than enough gear to last several days out there, but it was unplanned and my partner needed to leave for Alaska in three days.
By the time I returned to the Jeep, there were a few locals gathered around the hood trying to figure out what was wrong and suggest different fixes. All the farmers in that valley had now turned up and were having a good old chat, the way country people do, not a care in the world. I was getting a bit anxious but eventually the conversation swang back to our Jeep and what we were going to do.
I’d initially decided we’d sleep on the side of the road before dealing with the situation tomorrow. But, one farmer invited us into their property to camp in their front yard while we figured out a solution, so we hooked the Jeep up to a Land Cruiser and dragged it down to the farmhouse, and settled in.
At this point, my partner and I were on edge a bit... I mean you've heard of Wolf Creek haven't you?
But as the night went on we relaxed and all was good, and as it turns out the farmers were into a bit of moonshine. Let me tell you, it's still to this day some of the best alcohol I've ever had. From memory, it was some kind of vodka soaked in oak chips. The next day, after some calls to RACV, it turns out no battery could seemingly be found and delivered to us on the whole east coast of Australia. To the farmer's credit, we ended up getting a drill and banging in a roofing screw to hold the terminal into the battery.
We drove pretty slow and steady that day but 9 hours later it got us home.”
The Elephant in the Room; Was the Jeep Reliable?
The R-word surely keeps many prospective four-wheel driver owners well away from the Jeep brand, particularly in Australia, which is a market dominated by Japanese brands such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Nissan.
While the Jeep brand has been in the Australian market for many decades, the reality of the situation is that they have been in and out of the market due to factors such as fluctuations in USD & AUD currency, Australian vehicle regulations, and the difference in bidirectional travel (Australian's use right-hand drive vehicles!)
But, in recent years, Jeep has sunk its teeth into the Australian market where many more four-wheel drivers are considering Jeep's as viable options.
Kris racked up more than 110,000kms (68,350 miles) in his Jeep Wrangler, with the aforementioned battery crisis in the middle of the remote Alpine region as the only time the Jeep struggled to get Kris home; an issue hardly at the fault of the Jeep. As a mechanic who spent a lot of time on preventative maintenance, more than any regular person would, it was no surprise Kris's Wrangler was reliable.
With that being said, there were some serious gripes that Kris experienced as a Jeep owner in Australia.
The drawbacks to purchasing a Jeep in Australia as expressed by Kris range from inferior customer service due to fewer dealerships, particularly in the remote parts of Australia, expensive part prices that often are stocked overseas with long shipping times, and ensuring aftermarket parts are suitable for right-hand drive vehicles rather than LHD.
All vehicles have their issues, and all in all, the Wrangler’s off-road performance well and truly superseded any frustrations with part availability and cost.
Kris has since sold the Jeep Wrangler soon after moving to Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world. The long and extremely remote highway conditions of Western Australia are not favourable for petrol vehicles, which opted Kris to purchase a 2016 Toyota Hilux.
The Jeep Wrangler will always hold a special place in Kris’s heart with hundreds of amazing adventures and thousands of photos and videos to reminisce. One day, the grandchildren will catch wind of their grandpa’s adventurous past and ask "did Grandpa really have a Jeep?"
“Yes, Grandpa really did buy a Jeep!”
Follow along with Kris and his new adventures in Perth, Western Australia, as well as his past adventures with his Jeep Wrangler JK on Instagram @aus_lux.
