Featured Build: Reverend Kit
**This week we learn about REVKIT’s very own rig, Reverend Kit. The 2018 JL has already been put to the test out in Moab and thanks to partnering with some of the top off-road brands, this Jeep is more capable than ever imagined! **
what’s the story behind the name Reverend Kit?
When we first came up with the name REVKIT, we went out looking for the handle IG @revkit and found that it was taken, but unused since 2013, by a reverend that seemed to named Kit. So we settled on @revkit.co and knew that our first major Jeep build would be an homage to our “good friend” Reverned Kit!
what made you decide on a JL?
We always knew we wanted to buy a Jeep and we were looking at buying a well-built JK. There was one in particular that we were close to purchasing from a shop down in Georgia. It was an excellent Jeep and they decided to hold onto it which made perfect sense. It then put us in this position where we wanted to truly consider the JL.
So we went and test drove a couple of JL’s, fell in love and just went from there. We also wanted to be in a position to help brands test out some of their new JL products moving forward. It has put us in a great position to help manufacturers and shops test and work on the new generation of Wranglers and for us to have the latest and greatest. Jeep really did a great job on the JL’s and we couldn’t be happier!
We love the JL. It is a really well-built vehicle stock and the things we have been doing to it have been making it insanely more capable. The 8-speed transmission is amazing.
We went with the 3.6 over the 2.0 turbo because no one ever said they wish they got the smaller engine.
what brands and parts do you trust to push Reverend Kit to be so capable?
Right now we are partnered with Rock Krawler. One of the reasons we wanted to work with them was, first, we knew they made exceptional parts just by the network of people that we got to know in the industry, which is really important to us.
We also learned there are good people behind the company.
This was reinforced when we spent some time with the people who work for Rock Krawler. For example, out in Moab just seeing Rock Krawler owner, Jeremy, take the time to spot over 100 people on the trail. He knew what he was doing and he was very calm and personable, and that meant a lot to us.
We have also partnered with Motobilt for all our armor. They are a smaller company with a lot of history and they make great parts. They were easy to contact and talk to and they really like all of the things we were doing and vice versa. They make great stuff and we beat the hell out of their products out in Moab. We really put them to the test.
We are also running an iDRIVE throttle controller, which has been a total game changer on and off the road. Being able to easily switch between different throttle settings has been awesome, especially off-road putting it down into E2 and E3 and just crawling up pieces and then cranking it up to #u9 to throw up some dust (and rubber!).
Another company we have a partnership with is BFGoodrich Tires. We have been able to get to know them just by going to events and meeting some of the people that work there. We have been running BFGs on our personal vehicles and have loved the product design, durability, and how long they last. They do what they are intended for. Our JL is running the Blue DOT Krawlers and they absolutely kicked ass with anything we pointed them at in Moab.
Battle Born Wheels is another great company we work with. We were introduced to these guys from @claudiaj941 who has this super sick 2 door white JK and is an overall awesome person. We feel like these guys have the best designed wheels on the market so we reached out and started a conversation with them.
They are a veteran owned company and have a great story and we love supporting them.
with Moab being the inaugural wheeling trip, did the JL Perform as expected?
The JL Performed above and beyond any expectations we ever could have come up with. We pointed it at everything and crawled right up. The transmission was set up perfectly for wheeling; the control with the 8 speed is really nice to have.
Day 1 in the JL was amazing and then day 2 we started to point it at every “man line” we could possibly find and had zero issues. We crawled right up everything without a problem.
Plenty of armor and wheel carnage was had, but that is all a part of the fun.
The combination of the JL, the suspension lift from Rock Krawler, the BFG tires, the Battle Born wheels, and all of the armor is a lot, but we were doing everything out there with ease – and with some great spotting from really awesome people. It’s just a beast that performs really well.
what other places do you expect to wheel Reverend Kit?
We are going to start exploring a lot more of Colorado this week, actually. We are going to make our way out to Sand Hollow later this fall to start playing around on the dunes. We have trips to Pennsylvania and Tennessee lined up. We also want to make our way out to Windrock later this year.