What is with the white? And modifications to the Jeep.

New, to us, vehicles

White, white, and more white.

We live in the southern US.  It is fricking HOT in the summer.

And the spring (usually).

And the fall.

Winter is the most reasonable season in the south.  It most closely resembles spring and fall in the rest of the country (barring Hawaii).

Why would you ever buy a vehicle that will get hotter than necessary in an already hot environment?  I couldn't tell you.  I do not find black sexy, I find it sweltering.  I want a vehicle that is the coolest temperature wise.

And I get that by ensuring that it absorbs the least amount of heat from the sun (i.e. most reflective).  That color is white (or light metallics that are reflective).

So, in looking at the horrendous color offerings by Jeep this year, and the recent past, the only viable option was white.  I could have gotten a white painted top, but that was an additional $1700 from the dealership.  So I got a black top instead.  And it was burning my fingertips while I sat inside on a hot sunny day.

The interior of the hardtop is painted white.  It does not help.

My local body shop did this for me.

Half the cost and twice as pretty as the dealership's offer.  :)

This has reduced the internal temperature a great deal.  And the interior is now scorch free in the middle of the day.  Awesome!

Major modification 1, done!

We've also:

 There's a bunch of underarmor in these boxes. 

 And a new bumper, because ... towing.

Hood locks, because the engine compartment is totally unprotected otherwise.

A locking gas cap, see above explanation.

A console cover to hold and protect my sunglasses.

Because every passenger thinks the console is an arm rest.

So I can't access anything stored there.

Armor/Shielding

Apparently, we will be off-roading in this vehicle, hence the under armor.  I'll believe it when I see it.  I'm not saying this will be a road warrior, but serious off-roading?  The SO got hives on a logging road in the SUV earlier this year.  Granted, it was a heavily traveled, heavily rained upon, highly pitted logging road in Oregon.  But still.  Hives.  Vapors.

The dog and I were fine.  But then again, we probably would not have had to figure out how to unstick us if we had gotten stuck.  Without a winch.  Without a shovel.  Okay, he made the right decision to turn around.

When you glance under the body, you see a pretty solid layer of aluminum shielding, thanks to lots of pennies doled out to Rock Hard 4x4.  

The thing(s) left unprotected?  The differentials ... on BOTH axles.  Because, apparently, off-roaders don't feel the need to protect the differentials.  Except for the tires and wheels, the differentials are the lowest hanging fruit.  And they aren't in line.  Oh, no.  The differentials are offset from one axle to the other.  

As a woman, I do not understand male logic.  EYE ROLL!