Personalize - How do you make your Jeep your own...

A Jeep is a Jeep is a Jeep until you bring it home and start to upgrade it. I think Jeeps, more than just about any other vehicle, through the extensive aftermarket community, lend themselves very well to personalization. I am already working through what changes I want to make to my $48k+ vehicle and I have not even seen it in person.

Another reason they quickly become an extension of their owners preferences is because we use them "harshly". Think about it this way, when we break or scratch something on the trail, most of us will purchase a new component and never contact our insurance companies. It's just our culture and a great excuse to get something new (like we never need an excuse)!

So there are really two major paths to customization that I have seen. The first path surrounds all the upgrades that I have been discussing in the other blog segments and these tend to be performance related. What I want to focus on today is the cosmetic changes (think color schemes) that we all tend to pick. My previous JK's color was called Anvil. It is a lighter slate gray for lack of a better descriptor. I have seen Jeeps this color highlighted mostly with Red accents but wanted to go another route. I like my Jeep to be a little different and a little retro looking. For this reason, I chose Yellow as my accent color and KC HiLites for some of my lighting. Now depending on how far you want to take this, the color can sometimes dictate which vendors products you purchase. Many aftermarket vendors favor one color verse another so if you want their products you get put into a certain color scheme or have to paint them.

For my new JL Rubicon, I am still trying to avoid Red (as it's just not my color) and looking at either Blue or Orange. As I said, I kinda like the retro look so I really like the CJ colors from the 80's.

 

I have been strongly leaning towards orange but my son suggested blue and now I am torn. Either color would eventually require me to replace the Rubicon black/red hood decals with a new set along with the Jeep badge on the side and the "Trail Rated" badge as these also include Red highlights.

Without, too much effort, you can build a Jeep that matches your driving style/preferences as well as your sense of ascetics.

Whatever style and colors you choose, I always enjoy seeing what others have done when I go to my local Jeep Club events or the larger Jeep meet and greets like the New Jersey Jeep Invasion in Wildwood, NJ.