Main Line Overland JK Build Thread

[Main Line Overland]

While everyone headed for the beach this past weekend, we headed west to the family farm and did some exploring around Huntingdon, the surrounding area, and Rothrock State Forest. Most of the driving was pretty tame, mostly forestry roads, as a number of the trails we were navigating to via a Topo Maps App on my iPhone were unfortunately gated off for the season. But it still made for a scenic drive with plenty of photo opportunites. The new AEV suspension was not fully put to the test yet, but it did absorb the washboard roads well.

Packing the Jeep for the trip, can't leave home without this:

We past this old graveyard on Stone Creek Ridge Road, almost all the headstones read 1800s or earlier:

This lead back to State Game Lands Road, which had a number of trails marked, but most were gated. Spotted a number of cool old cabins in the area, including this one which looked like a nice project:

Here are some shots from Rothrock:

We came out of Rothrock into the Kishacoquillas Valley, where there is a large Amish and Mennonite population. A number of the farmers were baling their hay in the fields.

We then headed back to the farm and I grabbed a few shots in the field with the round bales before the storm rolled in:

 

[Power Wagon Family]

Great build thread and love the pictures! Thank you for sharing some great information. Can I ask what app you use for the topo maps? That would come in handy for me.

 

[Main Line Overland]

One App is called Topo Maps, by Phil Endecott. This is a great app for navigating, and you can download the maps to your phone for use when you lose cell service. It offers a lot of other great functions as well.

Also for PA, Official PA State Parks, by ParksByNature Network is a great free app for exploring all the PA State Parks and Forests.

 

[ryancrouch]

Definitely keep the pics coming!! Love that jeep!!

 

[Main Line Overland]

Put in another parts order today, more goodies on the way. Stay tuned....

 

[weva09con]

Been to Moab the last two years and thinking about going in August as well. When and where are you guys going?

 

[Main Line Overland]

We plan on being out in Utah the 2nd half of August. Hitting a number of areas. How about you?

 

[Main Line Overland]

We got some new ARB parts in the shop yesterday. An ARB 50Qt Fridge/Freezer, ARB On-Board High Performance 12 Volt Air Compressors, ARB Tire Inflation Kits, and some ARB Snatch Blocks for our recovery kits. More parts are on their way for the dual battery kit that will be going into this.

Here is a quick picture:

 

[JeepinJon]

More parts are on their way for the dual battery kit that will be going into this.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. This is on my list of things to do eventually, but I haven't seen many setups I have liked for the $$$ yet.

 

[Main Line Overland]

ARB Fridge Install

We finally got some time to install the ARB 50Qt Fridge/Freezer in our JK. With potential issues that can arise with voltage drop the farther the unit is positioned from the battery, we decided to utilize ARB's Wiring Loom and Hella/style plug, essentially hard wiring in a plug as opposed to utilizing one of the JK's existing auxiliary plugs, which ARB discourages.

We tied the ARB wiring harness directly into the sPOD system, running the ARB harness through the very same rubber boot in the firewall that we used when routing the sPOD harness, and down the driver side interior rocker panel trim. The sPOD system makes installing accessories a breeze.

We then fabricated a simple mounting plate for the female plug. We mounted it up and out of the way of the cargo area, utilizing one of the hardtop mounting bolts. We also removed the subwoofer which was taking up space, thus allowing us to position the fridge flush with the wheel well.

Here is what it looks like now:

Now onto the Dual Battery install and new battery tray fabrication.......

 

[LUISJG]

i Like the way your tires look tucked in the fender flares,, I read they are 12.5 .. you dont get any rubbing ?

..

 

[Main Line Overland]

i Like the way your tires look tucked in the fender flares,, I read they are 12.5 .. you dont get any rubbing ?

..

Yes, 35x12.5x17. I have to run a 1.5" spacer to be able to use the Mopar steelies and this tire combo. With the AEV 3.5" Premium SC suspension system I do not get any rubbing. However I previously ground down the pinch seem in the rear wheel well for added travel.

 

[LUISJG]

Yes, 35x12.5x17. I have to run a 1.5" spacer to be able to use the Mopar steelies and this tire combo. With the AEV 3.5" Premium SC suspension system I do not get any rubbing. However I previously ground down the pinch seem in the rear wheel well for added travel.

Looks great man.!

simple and efficient jeep.

.

 

[Main Line Overland]

CB Install

Time for an update. We fabricated our own dual battery tray for the MLO JK. It is constructed out of 10 gauge sheet steel and the thing is stout, no flex even with two Sears Diehard Platinum batterier sitting in there. We went with our own tray so that we could be able to fit a hemi swap in down the road without having to change the tray, while still being able to utilize an AEV snorkel down the road as well. We will get some photos of this setup soon once we wire up the dual batteries.

We also worked on installing CB radios on both our JK and FJ Cruiser. We wanted to have CB's for communication abilities while on the trail, as well as for safety reasons while we are traveling out west for our coming big trip.

We both went with the Cobra 75 WX ST handheld unit, as it is compact and does not take up too much space, which is at a premium in overlanding rigs like ours.

We utilized a stainless steel antenna mount which we notched in order for it to be compatible with our AEV tire carrier setup. We added an antenna quick disconnect, and a 48" Firestik antenna which allows us to clear the Eezi-Awn tent mounted to our Gobi roof rack.

We ran the wires up under the carpet and trim panels, and mounted the junction box under the glovebox.

Instead of mounting auxiliary speakers somewhere that would take up space, we ran an auxiliary input cable from the CB junction box, through the backside of the dash and out next to the auxiliary port for the Jeep headunit. We used a 2-into-1 plug to allow us to have both the CB unit and our iPod plugged in at the same time. Both the CB and iPod can be used at the same time simply overlaying on each other. This allows us to utilize the vehicles existing speakers for the CB, which is much more functional and saves space.

We also fabbed up a bracket to mount the CB holder to, positioning the unit up high and in the sight line of the driver.

 

[OverlandChronicles]

Glad the mount worked out for you. Supper clean and effective way to go - pricey but best mount I found for JKs. Did you have your CB tuned yet? Def worth getting it done if not.