JJ's Adventure Mobile Build

[jjohnson1892]

So, haven't made any updates to this thread in the past couple of months because not a ton has happened. New AEV diff cover and steering stabilizer going on this week (when I find time) and maybe a few minor upgrades, too.

Made some moves over the weekend and ended up buying a 1965 M416 for a fair price! Been looking for a few months and finally pulled the trigger after finding one that was in decent shape and not over priced. Going to work on some rust issues and paint it to match my JKU, then work on some modular overlanding mods so it can act as a farm/utility trailer when not being used.





Also, having some issues with my ACE rear bumper and carrier and hoping to get in touch with them today. Besides flaking powder coating and surface rust collecting, the carrier has more-or-less totally seized up (even with proper maintenance/lubrication). Not sure what the future looks like for my bumper and carrier setup...

 

[Captain Texas]

Like the trailer man! I see some potential with it!

 

[jjohnson1892]

Like the trailer man! I see some potential with it!

Thanks, me too! Now getting some difficulties from the NJ DMV (why is every agent from the DMV such a d***?!?!) but hopefully will be all registered by the weekend. Should be moving on it sometime soon and will make a build thread for it when it's worthy.

 

[Captain Texas]

Thanks, me too! Now getting some difficulties from the NJ DMV (why is every agent from the DMV such a d***?!?!) but hopefully will be all registered by the weekend. Should be moving on it sometime soon and will make a build thread for it when it's worthy.

Yea DPS in Texas is pretty much the same. Sigh.

 

[Captain Texas]

Do you have any photos of your interior setup? CB location? etc.

Just curious, looking for ideas

 

[jjohnson1892]

Do you have any photos of your interior setup? CB location? etc.

Just curious, looking for ideas

Can't find any pictures at this very second but I'll grab some soon. I run a Cobra handheld unit and use a RAM mount on my passenger grab handle (also use this with my iPad)

 

[jjohnson1892]

Long overdue pictures of my interior setup. I use a RAM mount to attach to the passenger grab handle, then use a spring-loaded long arm to attach to accessories. I have a phone mount, iPad mount, and CB mount (applies to handheld radios only). This is by far my favorite and most useful mod to date - great to have my phone there for music (and not looking for my phone when someone calls, quick reference to phone, etc), amazing GPS setup with phone or iPad, and convenient spot for the CB.

(this is a medium arm, has been replaced)

Sorry for the time hop pictures, it was from my old phone and I didn't have access to those pictures recently

 

[jjohnson1892]

Also mini update on the Jeep - steering stabilizer is in, as well as an AEV cover on the front diff. Not only were both easy to swap in, but they are both BEEFY. Really happy with both additions!

Need to go and add a third brake light to my Jeep, as well as a handful of smaller mods that are laying in my project box.

And the trailer is still just sitting. I haven't had the time to register it yet (doh) so that sucks but I will get a free Saturday morning soon enough. Resto-mod will likely not start until this fall, when I finally have my house and garage setup so I can strip it down. It'll likely get an axle and wheel swap before VOR though so I can tow it along.

 

[jjohnson1892]

Well, had a fun experience yesterday with a front lower control arm... I noticed I was getting some gnarly wobbles and this AWFUL rattle while going through even small bumps, and discovered that my LCA had loosened up significantly :Wow1: really happy I caught it when I did. Jeep is silent again and riding like a champ!

Looking forward to an outing in a couple of weeks here. We're heading to the Bald Eagle State Forest for a relaxed day of trail riding and one night of camping. Any east coasters can check this out if they're interested in coming along: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-Forest-Group-Camping-Run-June-17th-19th-2016

 

[Captain Texas]

Death wobble is some gnarly stuff, glad you got it fixed!

 

[kenaero]

Thanks, me too! Now getting some difficulties from the NJ DMV (why is every agent from the DMV such a d***?!?!) but hopefully will be all registered by the weekend. Should be moving on it sometime soon and will make a build thread for it when it's worthy.

Took two trips to get my M1011 titled, first DMV I tried, said nothing could be done, the second one actually had some synapses still functioning and got it done!

[/url]IMG_0692 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[jjohnson1892]

Well, it's been a relatively slow month or two here since I'm busy with work and the Jeep funds are going towards building a house. I did get to Rausch Creek in June (which is always great) and got some non-4x4 adventures in. I'm planning to hike some of the Appalachian Trail this fall with a buddy on weekends, so that'll be cool! Then VOR in late September.

Some bad bit of news for me - my ring and pinion decided to nuke my front axle looks like it could have potentially taken out my locker and possibly my entire axle housing. Working with OK4WD now to see what we can do, as well as some non-specialized shops. It's not looking too great for my wallet, but we'll see what finally happens. We need to totally disassemble the front end to see what has happened, and it's not looking great.

To any east coasters who need work done, I highly recommend OK4WD to do anything you need. They're extremely responsive and are experts on working with 4x4s. And by far the most polite people I'm currently working with. Rin (username Rino on ExPo) is a great point of contact and a cool dude. Regardless if I end up working with them or someone else, I can honestly say they're the most enjoyable to have worked with in the past.

 

[unkamonkey]

It's nice to find a good shop near you.
I had a problem South of Moab on my 3B. I limped into Moab 4X4 and said I need to rent a hub puller to fix the brake backing plate that had decided to come loose. I talked to the manager and he said to pull the Jeep in the back lot and handed me the hub puller and asked if I needed any other tools. My tool box doubles as a seat for two if the roof is off. I had everything except the hub puller in the box. I hunted down the manager to hand back the hub puller and asked him what the rental was, oh, nothing? 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, I handed him some $20s and said to at least buy his fellow workers some beers.

 

[jjohnson1892]

So, I'm bad with the updating thing.

It's been a while and a lot has changed. VOR was shortly after my last post, and it was a blast. The wheeling, food, and beer scene up there is simply incredible, and I'm already wanting to get back up there. One big thing to come out of it was an even bigger desire to get into a RTT, so I started saving pennies and slowed down the mods to my Jeep.

After a few months, we finally moved into our new house, which has 8ft garage doors and 12ft ceilings. I've added an electric hoist in my bay, which has allowed me to pop off the top with the hoist to make topless days a bit more fun!



This ended up with me selling my Gobi rack and picking up an AEV rack with RhinoRack feet from OK4WD. Install was somewhat of a breeze, and it came out great.


And then, finally, after months, I joined the RTT club. Rin from OK4WD hooked me up with a grey James Baroud Explorer Evo. This thing has gone above and beyond my expectations for quality, ease of install/uninstall, and lack of impact on MPG/wind noise. A bit noticeable in the curves, but I don't expect my Jeep to drive like a racecar I slept in it the first night I had it, and it was awesome!




That's it for now. I've picked up a Yeti 50qt recently, so I'm considering a DIY slide out for that. But overall I'm happy with the Jeep (besides the snorkel and front bumper envy...). A busy few months coming up, then time to get outside more often and sleep in the JB!

 

[jjohnson1892]

Short update:

After some scouring and wheeling-and-dealing, I worked a trade for my ACE bumper/carrier for AEV front and rear bumpers. I seriously can't believe I didn't just save up and do it right the first time, these bumpers are STOUT but somehow not ultra heavy. Really happy with them, need to clean a few things up and grab a winch plate at so

SUPER happy with my setup now. I think it's a really nice-looking, yet practical setup. Been pleased with how easy it is to remove my Rhino Rack + JB tent with my garage hoist (essentially 6 bolts to take out). As of now, I need to look into 1) winch plate, 2) tire carrier, and 3) the new JB awning + tent "tunnel" that was recently announced.


I got a short trip in to the Adirondacks last week. Really enjoyed the scenery (some of the best wildnerness I've been to in a long while) and the beer up there is fantastic. The weather really limited my fishing and hiking opportunities, but I can't wait to head back up sometime later this year to enjoy a long weekend. My James Baroud tent was worth its weight in gold as I stowed up camp in a matter of 2 minutes during a downpour, and the rest of my setup did pretty well. I had picked up a Pelican 1670 a while back as a chuckbox, which worked out really well, but I think I need to build some organization in that.