My disco makes me want to dance

iowalr4

Adventurer
I think you'll be happy with the superwinch; get the synthetic line version.

KO2's are fantastic tires for these trucks.

The rear swing away has purpose but detracts a bit from utility. My experience was that I appreciated the tire back there in case I had to change them & I liked having a rotopax there for cooking (water). However, the other 99.5% of the time the annoyance of opening it to get to the hatch and/or drop the tailgate is why it sits in the corner of the garage. I would just offer that it should be the last thing you do-after a fridge, a rack to move soft stuff up, etc.
R-
Ray


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I agree with this. I only put on my tire and dual jerry swings when I am using it for a trip. Its pretty easy to take off, just the gas strut and the main bearing bolt and they are off.
 

phobucket

Observer
I didn't realize the swing-outs were so easily removable. That's quite helpful actually as I was resigned to it being an extra step every time I open the trunk. Do you stash the spare back under the truck or do you drive locally without it?
 

krick3tt

Adventurer
I have the Tactical rear bumper with swing away tire carrier. Got bigger tires so the spare won't fit under anymore. I was concerned about having the SA carrier on as a DD but after a bit it becomes second nature to get in and out the back. I decided to leave it on all the time.

X2 for the Micro start. Very small and easy to use, takes the worry out of travel and you might make a friend if called upon to help out a fellow traveler, always good for exchange of a beer or two.

Definitely cleaning the top with the rack off is a good move, should last about a week of dirt roads :) Why they put a glass top on baffles me.
Your rig is going to be a great part of travel and camping, make it as comfortable as possible for you and the family.

I think I would forgo the winch for awhile and get a fridge and sliders (just me) but if you are traveling alone a lot it might be a good idea. Take some lessons in proper safety with a winch and other recovery methods, we would like to keep all the Rover pilots we can get.

Happy trails
 

phobucket

Observer
Thanks. I have been looking hard at a fridge, but I want to keep the interior sleepable for now. Maybe when it gets warmer I'll change my mind. Yes, a micro start is a great idea. I have been varrying a set of jumpers, but I just can't seem to get enough voltage out of a tree when traveling alone.

The winch arrived in the mail this week. I have been waiting to see what all of the 12 day of Christmas items are from Lucky8 to place my bumper order. I'm planning on keeping the parking sensors, which I know will require some drilling. Has anyone here installed sensors on the Lucky8 bumper? I'm most curious about where to position the inner sensors in order to avoid being set off by the recovery points.

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phobucket

Observer
I finally set up my IIDTool and the battery died yesterday afternoon. At first I got a transmission fault warning. I tried a hard reset, but no luck. The IIDTool told me there was not enough voltage to flash the ECU. Attempts to jump the car failed and I could see voltage was around 9.0. A couple of hours later I ended up at AutoZone purchasing an Duralast Platinum H8-AGM battery. I'm not sure this is the battery I would get if I had the luxury of losing my DD while waiting for something else to come in, but we'll see how it holds up. After a quick installation by flashlight with the help of my sons, we were back up and running.

Just in time too as we are leaving for Pinnacles this morning for a short hiking and camping trip.
502731dcdf8ab29b832b70bc0cacd99e.jpg
 
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Great adventures out there in the Pinnacles. I wouldn’t worry about the duralast, I ran one of those for years with no issues.

Safe travels,

Eric
 

Ray_G

Explorer
I'm running the same battery; in a perfect world maybe I wouldn't have gotten it but I opted to change it right before the trip I'm on bc the old one was over 3yrs old.

It's held up well during protracted below zero temps-and is easy enough to replace at any Autozone, so I'm calling it a win.


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phobucket

Observer
Cool. Glad to know the Duralast worked out for you guys. Autozones are definitely plentiful around here. For anyone wheeling with the family in Hollister Hills, I'd recommend driving the extra 45mins south to Pinnacles National Monument and getting in a hike or two. The caves were really cool and my kids were thrilled to see coyote, bats, and condors. It felt like adventure to them, which is ultimately what matters to me. That said, it went down to the mid twenties in the camp last night and campfires were not allowed. In a former life that wouldn't have been too bad, but now that I have lived in CA for almost 5 years, that counts is friggin cold! We all slept in the car, so it we were fine overnight, but fingers were definitely stiff cooking breakfast. So do go to Pinnacles, but if you are camping overnight, be prepared for large temperature swings between day and night.
 

phobucket

Observer
Well there has been a lot to update in the last few weeks. I'll start with chronicling the Lucky8 CFE Bumper install.

I picked up a Lucky8 CFE Bumper, washer bottle relocation kit, FrontRunner sump guard, and SuperWinch Tigershark 11.5S over the holiday break. By MLK weekend I was ready to get down to business.

The L8 bumper came with zero instructions. I was able to reach out to them with a few questions and expected answers, all confirmed. Putting them here for posterity in case someone else has the same questions.

Washer bottle relocation
Q: Do you need to relocate the washer bottle?
A: Yes as it is not protected by the CFE bumper.
Q: Can I plug the factory hole by inserting the motor that came with the relocation kit, and if so, does it need RTV silicone to seal it?
A: Yes and Yes. Apply the sealant after the equipped motor has been installed.

Mounting the Bumper
Q: Where does air coil suspension control pack go?
A: Bracket by the winch. Facing away from the winch
Q: What are the bolt mounting points?
A: Same as the factory bumper
Q: Are the bolts included?
A: No. Use the hardware from the factory bumper

Keep in mind I am a total noob, having done nothing more than basic maintenance and a slider install prior to this. So if I seem like an idiot along the way, well that's why. ;) I will say a big thank you to my gf, Kate, for all of the help, and thanks to NCLR for encouragement throughout the weekend as I was working on it. Also huge props to Tactical Rovers for their LR3 bumper installation video. 90% of my questions were answered by following along with the video.

Remove everything!
 
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phobucket

Observer
Step 2. Washer bottle relocation. Lucky8 has a pretty good blog post on this, but I had altered some steps. Not having a stepped drill bit, I used tape to copy the size of the old hole and reamed the new hole with a smaller bit until the plug fit.






The tricky part was figuring out how to get the bolt into the hole from the inside. I used a technique I learned from threading pots through Gibson 335 guitars. Thread dental floss through the path and tie one end to the bolt. It is important to tie it near the top of the bolt so the right end gets pulled forward through the path.



The rest of the washer install is detailed in the Lucky8 post, but I will add that long bolts are important to get the washer bottle far enough into the engine bay that it won't push up against the hood.
 

phobucket

Observer
Step 3: Install the bumper.

Zip tie the air temp sensor to the radiator support.


Wiring: Mount the air suspension controller on the outside of the tab and thread the winch wires up through the headlight area
.

At this point, I ran into a problem. The winch is too tall and hits the radiator support. Knowing 1) I would need a remote solenoid kit for the winch and 2) I needed my car to de drivable the next day, I proceeded with the install sans winch. Also, the standard LR3 fog lights have a different mount. I ordered a set of universal mount fog lights off of amazon (same ones Ray G has) to be installed when I do the winch.

Mounting the bumper was easy. 8 bolts in the stock mounting location. No alignment problems there. I did have to trim the plastic fender flares, but not the metal fender flare tabs.
Installed


and reassembled - still need to trim the inner fender liner.


side shot with Front Runner sump guard


All in all, I like the weight, ground clearance, and the look of the Lucky8 CFE bumper (not to mention the price), but am not completely sold on the combination of it with the Front Runner sump guard as the sump guard wings look a little weird where they meet the bumper. Also, there should be instructions included with the bumper. I like the product and the customer service, but if the sump guard can come with a few pages of instructions, so can the bumper and the water bottle relocation kit. Hopefully these posts help cover some of that gap.
 
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phobucket

Observer
Disaster strikes - starting over.

A few hours later, as my GF was crossing an intersection, another driver ran a red light and plowed into her. Fortunately, speed limits are low in our neighborhood and no one was hurt, but the car was totaled.



No damage to the bumper, and once again, I want to give a shout out to Tactical Rovers as the sliders took the abuse with only a very slight bend. I think the damage would have been far worse without them. So the LR3 was returned to stock and will be towed away tomorrow. Now the adventure will continue with our new LR4, but that will be for another thread.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
 
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StreetsofCompton

Adventurer
Holy smokes man. very glad to hear your gf was okay! Real bummer about the truck and the work you had JUST put into it. Looking forward to future updates on the new 4.


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