Shop Profile: Locked N Loaded 4×4

I’ve owned two Jeeps–the 1973 Super Jeep CJ-5 featured in a previous Shop Press article, and a 2010 Wrangler Sahara. The reliability and my enjoyment of the former wasn’t “super” in any way despite American Motors’ best efforts at model name puffery, and the latter was only slightly less underwhelming. I swore I would never buy another.

After spending a morning at Locked N Loaded 4×4, I’m having second thoughts.

Wrangler owner, know thyself.

Even if you’re the mildest form of automobile enthusiast, you’re nonetheless aware of an immutable fact: You’re either a Wrangler guy or gal or you’re not. And if you happen to be in the Wrangler genus, you fall into one of two species.

1. Wrangler Sublimis: you adore your Jeep because it looks cool and exudes rugged capability. You embrace (or at least are willing to tolerate) mediocre highway driving manners and tinnitus-inducing interior noise, secure in the knowledge that true love often requires sacrifice. You’re happy to accept and share the social obligation of the calculatedly casual “Jeep wave” with your Wrangler allies.

   This species represents the majority of the Wrangler genus, and includes yours truly. Except for the wave part. Always hated the wave part. Don’t judge; we’re not all dreaming of a Jeep Jamboree event, which frankly sounds like Burning Man, minus the music to distract attendees from the porta-potty stench.

2. Wrangler Rockcrawlis: you love your Jeep it because you plan on spending more time off-road than on, or at least seriously testing the Wrangler’s limits well beyond an occasional dash through the snow or surfside drive. You know full well that although a stock Wrangler may be imperfect as a comfortable daily driver, it is also an absolutely perfect platform for a kick-ass rock-crawling, dune-blasting, mud-happy beast.

Oh, and because the only thing that looks cooler than a factory-fresh Wrangler is one that’s been expertly prepped to go confidently where ordinary SUVs wouldn’t and couldn’t.
That’s where the folks at Locked N Loaded 4×4 come in. Or as founder and owner Joe Marciano, 43, says, “We can make a Jeep the best that it can be. We’re not into the ‘Bigfoot’ look that’s just for show. It’s not unusual for us to tell a customer what they really need as opposed to what they think they need to go off-roading and bring their vehicle back in one piece.”

Knowledge is the product

Marciano’s business is located in the back of a nondescript industrial building tucked off a busy four-lane highway in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, but it’s not hard to find. The long, multicolored lineup of beefed-up Wranglers, Cherokees, Tacomas, and 4Runners in various states of makeovers does, however, make it hard to find a place to park. Business is booming here, and I’m not surprised, because Locked N Loaded has what every business wants but few have: a perfect five-star rating on Google from 158 (and counting) gushing reviews from happy—make that ecstatic—customers. Not just ordinary repair or mod shop customers, mind you. JEEP customers, for the most part.

We’re talking about what is arguably the largest, most loyal, and (especially when it comes to social media), loudest vehicle-centric group of fans on the planet. A 5.0 rating from this crowd of borderline-cultish (I mean that in a good way, seriously) 4WD devotees is rarer than a perfect SAT score, a hole in one, or a meatball better than what my grandmother made.

When Marciano talks about morphing a stock 4X4 into the best version of itself, the “we” he’s referring to is himself and his “young protégé,” Alex Percianccante, 23. Gesturing to Alex, he adds, “We’re the product here. Locked N Loaded sells our combined experience, along with the way we apply that unique knowledge with the very best components and practices for four-wheel drive vehicles.”

“We only use the best, made-in-USA components, like Clayton suspension parts, RPM steering components, and others. For custom work like brackets and spring perches, we use our in-house plasma cutter. Safety is paramount for us when we modify any vehicle,” he adds.

Percianccante adds, “Lots of people think, ‘I’m just going to lift my Jeep and put on bigger wheels and tires.’  But you don’t simply ‘lift’ any vehicle. Other parts need modification or replacement to make that lift safe and reliable, including control arms, track bars, sway bar links, you name it. Our customers count on us to do it right so they can be confident behind the wheel.”

When I meet the two men in their 2,200 square foot shop, they’re literally up to their arms in control arms they’re swapping into a customer’s new-to-him Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. The shiny, fifty grand-plus SUV is getting what Marciano calls a “moderate” multi-thousand dollar makeover for its owner, an older gentleman. “He’s always wanted a cool Jeep that he could take off road. We’re upgrading the suspension, steering, wheels, tires, and more to make that happen for him,” he explains.

The Sahara’s owner is representative of a big chunk of Jeep owners, as well as an increasing number of Tacoma and 4Runner owners who want an adventure-ready 4WD they can use for overlanding, beach driving, or simply joyriding with an occasional trip off the beaten path. Marciano says the customers that aren’t in that group are “serious rock crawlers.”

“When a customer calls, my first question is ‘are you planning to go four-wheeling or just enjoy an occasional off-road drive?’ and we take it from there. We promise that if they can dream it, we can build it,” he says.

Unique skills create unique 4X4s

Keeping that promise, of course, requires an unusual set of skills and an equally unusual kind of all-day-long collaboration between Marciano and Percianccante. Unlike an automotive repair shop, the two men spend a lot of their workdays dissecting, hefting, and installing components on the same vehicle at the same time. Their friendly banter and apparent fondness and respect for each other reminds me very much of that between a father and a grown son. I say so to Marciano, who laughs.

“Well, we are like family. I’ve known Alex since he was a kid and know his dad–a Jeep modifier like me–very well. Like me, Alex started working on and four-wheeling his own ’94 Jeep YJ for years. He worked at a fast food restaurant and saved every dime to pay for that Jeep. He wanted to work with me here for most of that time, and I knew I had to hire him when he showed up for his job interview on the morning of his high school junior prom. Now he’s an expert with suspensions, a master welder, and fabricator—basically an extension of me,” Marciano says.

“My 14-year old son, Joey, is also right on our heels in terms of skills and has been working in the shop with me since he was eight years old. He’s fantastic welder, works here every summer and has already built three of his own Jeeps, he adds.

Marciano’s and Percianccante’s skills and off-roading experience are put to good use here, where a project can absorb from two days to two weeks or more, depending on the customer’s “dream.” When I tell the two men about my own unimpressive Wrangler ownership experience, their smiles tell me they’ve heard this before. Marciano says that a Locked N Loaded treatment can transform both the off-roadability and reliability of a vehicle. “We have customers driving our Jeeps with over 100,000 miles on the odometer, and for hardcore off-road customers, we sell them a much more rugged, capable, and reliable vehicle,” he says. He adds that it’s not unusual for a customer to bring in a new Wrangler for extensive modifications, but “we love transforming ’97 to ’06 Wranglers. They’re simple and stripped-down compared to new versions and are a great starting point for modifications.”

Reinforcing Marciano’s statement, Percianccante tries and fails to explain to me in Jeep-speak how the precisely engineered integration of his Wrangler’s “three-link front suspension, triangulated rear axle pulled from a 2015 Rubicon that’s five inches wider than stock,” etc. results in a Wrangler that can do things that I “have to see to believe.” Detecting that he’s talking to a guy whose only rock crawling experience was when he fell during a hike on the Appalachian Trail, he pivots to simplicity.

“Wanna see what I mean?” he asks.

A few minutes later, I’m standing in Locked N Loaded’s crowded parking lot, smartphone ready to capture photographs of something I’m certain I’ve only seen on YouTube. Marciano and Percianccante are behind the respective steering wheels of their personal off-road-ready Wranglers, slowly rumbling toward me on near-flat knobbies. Marciano parks his ’97 TJ in the driveway, hops out and begins to guide Percianccante and his 2004 TJ in what looks like a Monster Jam maneuver that may not necessarily end well. Slowly but steadily, the young man’s Wrangler climbs on top of Marciano’s right front tire, its front end gradually opening amazingly wide in a crooked grin full of suspension, differential, and steering components. No fuss, no muss. In fact, the only drama during this surreal scene is coming from me as I’m shouting positive but unprintable expressions of my admiration.

Marciano is of course laughing at my reaction. He’s heard this before, too. It’s why there’s a long line of Jeeps and Toyota 4X4s out here waiting their turn at Locked N Loaded—and why I’m rethinking what my next vehicle should be.