Ride in Style! 10 of the Best Jeep Wrangler Upgrade Ideas

Driving on a Jeep means riding the ripples of history.

First built in 1941, the Jeep left a mark on history as the workhorse for every branch of the U.S. military and some part of the Allied armies. Dwight Eisenhower led the Allied forces in Europe and said in his memoir it was among the Allies’ most important tools.

The Jeeps we use today were “domesticated” for citizens and only the Jeep Wrangler still focuses primarily on taming the landscape.

Out of the gate their great vehicles. But how do you make something mass produced your own? Upgrade it!

I’m going to walk you through 10 Jeep Wrangler update ideas that users can do themselves or possible with a little professional help. Also, “bang for your buck” is considered here as well.

Onward.

1. Jeep Wrangler update ideas start at the bumpers

What, is this Forza? I know bumper work sounds like some lame, entry-upgrade for a racing video. For a Jeep, there is serious potential here.

Off the lot, most bumpers are rolled aluminum of fitted plastic. These are prime for destruction and eventually replacement anyway. Not to mention that these parts of your car are a constant reminder of all the things you didn’t mean to hit until the damage is replaced.

Get ahead of this disaster.

Bolt-on, steel-tube bumper or bumper protectors are both protect and allow you to take on more Jeep Wrangler update ideas.

The projected trapezoidal shape of most bumpers allows you to install underbrush covers, winches, additional flood, and fog lights or headlamp protectors. (More on some of these in a minute.) Some owners will try and add oversized winches to increase their cars pulling power by looking into Dozer Winch Parts, which should only really be used on heavy machinery.

They also help to act as a kill grill… if you know what that is.

Plus, this helps your whip look badass. Hard to put a price on that.

2. Winches

This is the “get out of jail free” card of Jeep Wrangler updates. The brands Smittybilt and Warn dominate this space.

For those who don’t know, a winch is like a super powerful, self-reeling spool or uber-strong cable. A winch is what tow trucks use to get cars onto their beds.

Because they produce thousands of pounds of force, winches need to be bolted down hard on something sturdy. Bumper upgrades allow winches easy and secure access to the car.

3. Lightbars

Keeping with mounting stuff… certain bumper and bumper protector models allow for additional space to mount LED flood and fog lights.

You don’t need the extra lumens until you do. And not having them could be disastrous in extreme precipitation, dust or smoke or in trying to light up a setting.

If you’re based in Ireland, Truck Electrics has got plenty of vehicle lighting products for you to make this upgrade to your Jeep. Do note that the Department of Transportation has over a hundred regulations governing car lights. Look for DOT-certified devices to save you the headache of a ticket for non-compliant lighting.

4. LED Headlights

LEDs are getting better and better. They are brighter and more efficient than the gas and element lamps of yesteryear. Even modern filaments can’t beat the combo of affordability and output.

A downside here, you might need to install a new base kit into the lamp housing to convert it to all LEDs. This varies by model and notes that your electrical system might not be a good candidate for the customization.

But the upside is that you will, at least in a small way, genuinely increase both the usefulness and the value of your Jeep Wrangler when you’re done.

5. Cargo Racks

Everything in your Jeep Wrangler is finite. But there is a way to increase the amount of storage space that you have to work with. Storage space is the only thing you can expand in a Jeep. You can’t add any more seats or any bigger of a fuel tank without fundamental changes to your ride.

There are three spots you can strap in a cargo rack: the roof, the back frame and on a tow hitch rack. Take a look at this selection of racks to get an idea of what’s out there.

6. Upholstery Covers

Your sweet pics will remind you of your adventures. You don’t need smells and stains helping you remember that time you and your friends jumped into that lake.

This is also a place where you get a lot more for your cash the more you spend. At the low end, you have what are pretty much polyvinyl bags with zippers for seat covers all the way up to extra padding and ergonomic support covers on the high end. I purchased Wet Okole car seat covers for my Jeep Wrangler.

For floor covers, cheap covers can give you some sturdy, stain-resistant mats. On the high end, you can get laser-measured, military-grade and rimmed floor covers. Some of these plastic and artificial material floor covers will likely out last all of us.

7. Lift Kits

You see this a lot with early entrants in Jeep Wrangler ownership. They want to add a few more inches of lift.

This lets you get into adding gnarly tires that can take you places that need special shoes.

This is some serious work. Unless you know your way around a Jeep, leave the installation to the pros.

Again, this is a place where you can add value to your Jeep Wrangler. But if you do this wrong, it could be difficult to repair and maybe even dangerous if the kit detaches.

8. Skid Bars

I like these for the same reason I like the new bumper or bumper protectors.

You can protect your whip, get additional utility out of it and look good doing it.

Thes are bars that are installed in the middle of the undercarriage or at the edges to protect it from strike damage.

A lot of them can double as or allow you to install side steps. You can also use them as tie points for additional baggage.

9. Location Cameras

Don’t worry about backing into that boulder. Know exactly where it is with a rear-view camera. There are a plethora of options for mounting and wiring, many of them can be done at home.

Also, nothing says you can’t put cameras at multiple, critical site points like corners of the vehicle and over wheels. Don’t guess where you put your shoes. Know.

10. Sound Systems

This is purely cosmetic in the sense that it’s not going to make your Jeep Wrangler more useful. But it sure helps the moment being able to crank some quality-sounding tunes along the way.

Caution: you can blow a lot of money on these systems. But the reality is a lot of the higher-end models try to offer studio level audio quality. You don’t need recording studio quality sound in your Jeep.

Know and Go

Now that you have a good start on where you want to go with your Jeep Wrangler upgrade ideas, go and do. Don’t take any single or several suggestions as requirements. You know what you want and need. Hit the auto part store then hit the road.