THBLKPRL - 2012 JKUR - Build/Adventures/Musings

[GetOutThere]

This thread is a spot for me to condense my pictures, ideas, and occasional trip reports. My thread will likely be light on mods, with mild adventures. I will document any issues with vehicle or gear here.

I had wanted a four door Jeep since their release. Inspired by the Expeditions West Tacoma way back in the day, I knew (or thought I knew) what vehicle I wanted.

April 2012 - The Jeep arrives. Built to my specs. Rubicon. Hard top, heated cloth seats (this is Canada, after all), auto, 4.10s.

I was on top of the world.

That blue Sunfire was my trade in, and faithful first car. Though it wasn't what I ended up needing in terms of a vehicle, I have little to nothing negative to say about it. Reliable, with manual everything, it served me well and took way more abuse than it deserved. I actually miss it sometimes... usually when filling up.

I don't really remember why, but my friends and I call the Jeep "The Black Pearl".



This was my first off road vehicle. I took every opportunity to find (or create) adventure in it. The first pin-striping from local trails showed up just a few days after purchase.




Had a bunch of mini-adventures around Ontario. Sleeping in the Jeep was the norm, . A thin sheet of plywood to cover the gap when the back seats folded down, some sleeping pads, sleeping bags, and pillows.

 

[GetOutThere]

I decided to plastidip the rims. It didn't look bad, and held up well to off road abuse. It also protected the finish from harsh Canadian road salt winters. Speaking of which... those stock BFG KMs are downright dangerous in the winter. It's no wonder that all the Jeep spy shots show ATs on their next Wrangler.

I also added tail light guards, which really add little to no protection, diff breather extensions, a hi-lift in the worst possible mount location, and Daystar hood wranglers, which should be on every JK ever sold. The hood wranglers stop hood flutter completely.









Those Canadian winters...



This is what you really need... SAR ZJ on mattracks!

 

[GetOutThere]

Other various mini-mods:

Poly-filled the speakers. A noticeable difference for negligible cost.



DIY radiator protection. Much cheaper than pre-built options, and OEM quality/looks. This is plastic gutter guard. Cheaper, no paint to flake off, and it only has to deflect and slow stones, not stop them. Each slat is an individually mounted piece, so I could replace any slat individually if it got damaged. So far no issues, and they've been on for years now.




Removed the air dam. It is valuable for air flow, but it catches mud and gets caught on everything. Eventually it would have been ripped off on the trail.







Saw Rattletrap before it left the country (continent?). That Jeep was absolutely insane.



But I prefer the classics.

 

[GetOutThere]

After a while I pulled off the Plastidip, and picked up an AEV tubeless front bumper for a steal. Overall I was very happy with the Plastidip. It held up for over a year. Removing it was not easy, but that was my own fault. If you use Plastidip, make sure to get a nice thick coat everywhere. I neglected to give the bolt holes proper attention, which made peeling off the dip a massive pain in those areas.



Also found a great deal on MOPAR Savegres, which I touched up with semi-gloss black, and wrapped in 315/70r17 Duratracs. You can fit all 5 35" tires with wheels in an unlimited... barely.




A fair bit bigger than the stock 32s.



I picked up an AEV tire carrier for the additional tire/rim weight, and installed it while I waited for the lift kit to come in.

The stock rear bumper is quite literally just a plastic cover that attaches to the frame.



For the lift, I chose the AEV 2.5" Dualsport, with geometry correction brackets. This vehicle is my daily driver, and sees more road than dirt. As with the tire carrier, I installed the lift myself with simple hand tools. AEV packs some fairly good instructions, and I browsed the forums for as much information as possible before starting. The rear end is easy, and the front is a pain in the butt. Took me three days to get the lift on by myself with no previous experience and hand tools, but I could have done it in two. My speed was best described as "casual", and by the end I was mentally and physically exhausted... but quite happy. Didn't even take the time to install the matching spare before I posed for a pic.



This is pretty much the current state of the Jeep. I've installed a small CB radio, and am waiting on my delivery of the antenna, mount, and cabling too finish it up. The hi- lift was removed, repainted, rebuilt, and relocated to the interior, only when off road. For all other applications I have an AEV jack base and the stock jack. I am very happy with the look, and the performance. I have yet to really test the Duratracs in mud though.

Against a stock JK for reference...

 

[Comanche Scott]

looks great! Solid choices on lift/wheels & tires. :beer:
It will serve you well.

 

[kojackJKU]

awesome rig. I may go with that tire carrier too. Not sure yet.

 

[kenaero]

Nice set up, Did you get the fuel caddy?:ylsmoke:

 

[GetOutThere]

Thanks everyone. She's a work in progress, and should see some pretty heavy use this summer. That should in turn point me to what I need next.

awesome rig. I may go with that tire carrier too. Not sure yet.

The only minor complaints I have with the TC is that it limits my bumper choices to AEV, the 10A/Hard Rock/MOAB (etc) bumper, or a custom chop job on a different brand.

After one winter I also have a small bit of surface rust forming in a couple areas that clearly had some weak or defective powdercoat.

Nice set up, Did you get the fuel caddy?:ylsmoke:

Hah, not yet, but it is on the list... Fuel economy is not exactly "good".

 

[danraposo]

I have been looking to do a 2.5" lift and tire upgrade on my 2008 JKU. How are you finding the AEV kit? I use it as a daily driver and don't want to sacrifice too much on the road but have read some people saying it has actually helped on road driving as well as off. Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[AEV]

I have been looking to do a 2.5" lift and tire upgrade on my 2008 JKU. How are you finding the AEV kit? I use it as a daily driver and don't want to sacrifice too much on the road but have read some people saying it has actually helped on road driving as well as off. Would love to hear your thoughts.

The AEV DualSport suspension systems are great. We spent years of research tuning everything to make a great kit. We call it the DualSport because you get the best of both worlds, exceptional off-road capability but you also get a ride that in my opinion is better than a stock suspension by far. Let me know if you have any questions! I'm personally saving for a 3.5" DualSport SC for my personal JKU!

 

[GetOutThere]

I have been looking to do a 2.5" lift and tire upgrade on my 2008 JKU. How are you finding the AEV kit? I use it as a daily driver and don't want to sacrifice too much on the road but have read some people saying it has actually helped on road driving as well as off. Would love to hear your thoughts.

The AEV DualSport suspension systems are great. We spent years of research tuning everything to make a great kit. We call it the DualSport because you get the best of both worlds, exceptional off-road capability but you also get a ride that in my opinion is better than a stock suspension by far. Let me know if you have any questions! I'm personally saving for a 3.5" DualSport SC for my personal JKU!

Sorry I missed your post, but I see Chris pretty much covered it.

I love this suspension set up. Large enough to run 35"s, but doesn't look silly if you want to run 33"s. I like options. As for the ride... it feels like the stock ride, in all the right ways. However; it corners flatter, and holds weight much better. I'm also sure that you've had to slam on the brakes once or twice in your JKU. That nose dive is completely gone with the new set up. Quite frankly, I am hard pressed to see any issues with this kit for my use. It's been on for about a year now, and if I had to do it again, I'd buy the same kit.

I daily drive my Jeep and, in part, chose this kit for the reasons you mentioned. I wanted increased off road capability, but was unwilling to sacrifice on road capability to achieve it. This kit has improved the Jeep both on and off road.

 

[GetOutThere]

I've installed my CB and antenna mount as shown below. Sadly, I have only been able achieve a 1.8 swr using a 3' Firestik on an HD spring. I was hoping to at least crack 1.5.

I did my own tuning, and this was my first time doing anything of the sort. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. I love everything about my install otherwise, and I honestly have not been able to find a handset position I like better than the grab handle!

 

[Comanche Scott]

That is an excellent spot to mount the antenna, a great antenna and cable, and a great radio! :beer:

It looks like you've assembled the antenna mount correctly with the nylon washer on top, and the ridge facing down, so that is good.
Clean metal on metal between the bracket and the body for a good ground. The spring will raise SWR a bit, but you are right in using one with that antenna. Otherwise the first tree strike would bend the bracket.

You could "cheat", and remove the rubber cap (which will lower your SWR), then just use a real light coat of Plasti-dip.
That's the "easy answer", and should get you to about 1.5 swr. (I did this with my 2' Firestick to get from 1.5 to 1.3, so I know first hand it works).
Nice thing about plasti-dip is you can peel it back off if you don't like it.

Also you might take some steel wool and rubbing alcohol or fingernail polish remover to the threads on the spring at both ends. I've had two springs in the past 3 years that had something on those threads. I cleaned them as a "why not" during troubleshooting, and surprisingly that single change made a big difference. Didn't make any difference on the other springs I tried after that.

More work would involve the antenna cable. Adjusting the length, and routing. If you can, eliminate any "coiling" by taking a longer route. Your choice of cables is great. Sometimes with such a short run between radio and antenna, it can be tough to tune.

If all else fails, you could use the Fireflly antenna, which bends like an 8lbs fishing pole, and wouldn't need the spring. I have a 4' version of that antenna, and joke about using it to fish with... lol
Hth,

 

[GetOutThere]

I was shocked at the substantial difference made by the cap when tuning, and never thought to remove it. I have some spare Plastidip laying around, so I may have to give that a shot. Its also worth noting that I did coil the excess cable under the dash, and was not aware that this could cause issues. I will definitely look into adjusting the cable route and cleaning my spring threads. Thanks for the info Scott!

 

[kojackJKU]

I came out this morning to bring my son to the airport, and opened the back of my jeep and noticed my antenna was gone. It broke away at the bracket from corrosion and now its gone! ha ha. Time for a new one. As well, I think it was broken for awhile and fried my CB as I get no sound from it. So I think im going to get a uniden 520xl, mounted above my mirror, with a PA speaker which is awesome! going to get a 3 ft tunable.