Uh-Oh... another newbie with a LJ (and a limited budget)
- Thread starter schultzie
- Start date
BPage
Adventurer
Richard... Sorry for the late response, however I took a few weeks off from the site, doing some traveling.
Anyways congrat's on picking a great platform to build on, I own a 05 LJ as well and love it. Bought mine new and have been building on it ever since.
Hey quick note on the Dirtworks bumpers... I purchased front and back bumpers from them on ebay, back in 05 as one of my first modifications, and within two years the rear bumper broke. Now just to be clear, I am no off road rock crawling kamikaze guy, but I do enjoy off roading, and do rock crawl.
So here is what happen (and note, they may have changed their design... so I am just talking about mine).
1. The method they used to provide a hinge point for the rear tire carrier portion, was just rolled steel. No grease fitting, no spindle, no bearings. So due to the weight of the tire and jerry cans, plus opening and closing the gate to get in the back, the rolled steel bent about 3-6 degrees causing difficulty in closing.
2. The "D" style upper portion of the bumper which is used to fit jerry cans above the lower portion is very weak. After two years of use, the lower portion of the "D" which the jerry can plats sit on must have had some twisting torque force from the weight of the tire and cans, and it snapped in the middle. Literally snapped in half, however I didn't notice it until the squeaking noise got bad. I Linexed my bumpers when I first bought them, so I did not see the break until I was back there searching for the squeak. Anyways the tube they used was to thin and the design was bad.
3. The locking mechanism is a threaded bolt, and I think they provided me a locking washer... This began to work itself loose within about 2 hours of driving. On one trip from VA to PA, the bolt actually worked its way loose and the upper swung open on the highway causing my hi lift jack (mounted on the top of the "D" of the upper to swing into my soft top and rip a hole in it. I was pissed, so I took some zip ties and after cranking down the locking mechanism again and zip tied it to the upper "D"
4. The tire carrier post, that goes from the rim to the top of the "D" upper is held by a bolt that applies tension to the post. After about 3 hours on the highway, and about an hour on the trails, this bolt became loose and the post wiggled its way out, and feel off the back of the carrier with the tire on it. Luckily the Jeep behind me had given me some space so he was able to stop before running over it. But this is a bad design.
5. They didn't drill any drain holes when they built it and I didn't check it until I noticed some sloshing around, when I shinned a light down the hole that the locking bolt goes in it was full of rusty water. Great.... So I drilled two holes, one at each end, but the rusting inside the bump had already begun.
I ended up throwing away the upper "D" ring and selling the lower bumper as a stand alone non-tire carrier bumper on Craigslist.
The front bumper is fine, however they didn't offer a winch plate option, so I had to have another shop fab a winch plate and wield it on.
My 2 cents, stay away from their rear bumper, there are better options out there (if you need suggestions I have tons). If you already have their rear bumper, and it is built similar to mine, may want to start looking at re-enforcing it now before things begin to get weak and break (If you need suggestions let me know, I have had time to think about this as well)
Don't mean to be negative about their product, however I didn't have a good experience with them, and I don't want others to suffer like I did.
R
idaxj97
Adventurer
I would also look into garvin industries rear bumper it may be on the but more expensive side but if its worth doing then its worth doing right the first time around and not waisting money. nice LJ by the way i wish i had a soft top again but oh well.
http://wildernessracks.com/jeep_wrang_swing.html
http://wildernessracks.com/jeep_wrang_swing.html
BPage,
You may want to change your username -- here on the Gulf Coast, anything with the letters "BP" in it could incite a riot:sombrero:
I just installed the rear bumper this weekend. The pivot post is a solid, machined round bar that appears to be cold-rolled steel shaft material, it is set into the rectangular tube steel bumper at least three inches and welded at the opening in the tube. I'd wager that the tube would fail before the pivot post. Had I designed the bumper, I would have used a wider tube section with holes both top and bottom and welded the post at both locations. Although there are frame tie-in tabs at the bottom, I would have sacrificed some of the departure angle to install L2x2 angle with two bolts per angle. Presently with the bumper and swing-out, I feel that either the pivot-to-tube connection or the bumper/frame/cross-member connection is the "weak link".
I too questioned the single bolt acting as a set-screw holding on the spare tire. So far, the lock-nut on the bolt seems to be working. If I notice any movement in it, I'll drill a hole through the DOM tube so that the bolt would be acting in shear rather than just friction.
Every time I close the swing out, I "Bubba" the lockng bolt and have noticed no loosening yet. Some sort of DeStaCo clamp would have been more convenient.
I certainly see how the HiLift poses a threat to the top. I installed mine off-center with the top "jaw?" rotated 90 degrees to minimize the interference. I'm really wondering if I made a mistake by ordering the 60" HiLift because it's a real monster. I'd prefer that the base to be located over the swing-out pivot, but it needed to be entirely too far towards the center to clear the top (I tried). This left the other end of the jack sticking out far enough to make me worry about accidentally decapitating pedestrians:Wow1:.
My first choice on rear bumper systems was LOD, but I had already exceeded my budget.
sandjunkie,
Were those HID's easy to install? If there's a "plug-n-play" kit, I'd like to get some soon.
forsakenfuture,
Those 35's look great. what lift, tire size, and wheels did you use?
BPage
Adventurer
Yep, here was an old pic of mine, when i first got it. I tried to mark the locations we are discussing.
I think they may have upgraded, because on your picture it looks like there is a zerk fitting on the side of your pivot point.
My "D" upper dropped into the rectangle lower bumper through that hole, and there was a cotter pin that stopped it from lifting back out (bad design).
I think they may have upgraded, because on your picture it looks like there is a zerk fitting on the side of your pivot point.
My "D" upper dropped into the rectangle lower bumper through that hole, and there was a cotter pin that stopped it from lifting back out (bad design).
BPage,
Did the "D" snap just outside of the weld for the tube coming off the horizontal at 45 degrees?
Here's a view of the pivot:
Did you happen to weigh your bumper? As shipped, mine wighed 98#. I'm pretty sure the shipping weight was listed as 75#.
I also see that the method of mounting to the cross-member has changed. Mine uses 3" channels on each side of the frame with two holes for 3/8" bolts in the web. I had to drill four holes in the LJ's cross-member. Your bumper appears to have had some square tubing
Did the "D" snap just outside of the weld for the tube coming off the horizontal at 45 degrees?
Here's a view of the pivot:
Did you happen to weigh your bumper? As shipped, mine wighed 98#. I'm pretty sure the shipping weight was listed as 75#.
I also see that the method of mounting to the cross-member has changed. Mine uses 3" channels on each side of the frame with two holes for 3/8" bolts in the web. I had to drill four holes in the LJ's cross-member. Your bumper appears to have had some square tubing
jerdog53
Explorer
You can do HID's for under $200. DDM makes a nice kit. I have the 5000K bi-xenon kit and Hella E-code housings. Night and day difference from stock.
Can you elaborate on this please?
sorry about the hi-jack......
Eric06Rubi
Observer
contact Josh at skinnypedal.net... he has a great kit priced right.
and like was said.. night & day difference
How difficult was the installation? Is it a "plug-n-play" setup? If not, how may hours should I expect to pay for a shop to do it?
Thanks,
Richard
BPage
Adventurer
It snapped on the right side of the support arm coming of the tube that supports the spare tire.
I think it was a combination of the weight of the tire pushing down on that one point and the bouncing.
I think it was a combination of the weight of the tire pushing down on that one point and the bouncing.
sandjunkie
New member
Sorry, I have been out of touch for about a week on Catalina Island. It is a plug and play kit. You need to buy the hella e code housings from quadratec or another vendor. They run about $80 for the pair. Then you need to buy the HID kit Here. Get the 55W H4 Hi/Lo 5000K for about $70. Lifetime warranty.
jerdog53
Explorer
86cj
Explorer
Alright, first post, so please be gentle.
After totaling my beloved Mercedes in April, I decided that it was the wrong economy to replace it. I wanted something fun to drive and cheap to work on with a lot of aftermarket support. Since my budget was limited, I narrowed my choices down to muscle cars and Wranglers. I’ve owned three muscle cars in the recent past and enjoyed them immensely. But now I am the single parent of two young daughters, so they also had to be comfortable. My girls can no longer fit in the back seats of Mustangs or Camaros, so the remaining choices were Wranglers and the ’’05-‘06 GTO. The GTO was eliminated because of parts availability (GTO-specific factory parts must come from Australia). My girls fell in love with the bone stock ’06 LJ that we test drove, and after more than a month in it, I don’t regret it. Since this LJ will be my hurricane evacuation vehicle (think of it as a forced expedition), I have started to modify it accordingly.
For evacuation, cargo capacity (not exactly the Wrangler’s strong suit) is quite important, and fuel range (kind of weak in this suit also) is crucial. Fortunately, both areas seem to be extensively addressed by the LJ aftermarket.
Phase 1:
31.0x10.5x15 BF Goodrich All-Terrain TA KO’s – I’ll add a matching spare sometime in the distant future. On the road, these tires are relatively low noise and the hydroplaning resistance is neither exemplary nor horrendous. I simply use more care when driving in heavy rain. I have yet to do any real off-roading in the LJ, but the AT’s seemed to sink more in sand than I was expecting. I plan to give them a bit more of a work-out once my recovery equipment is more complete.
Phase 2:
- Tuffy LJ Security Drawer – I picked up a used one on e-bay -- probably for more than the original owner spent, but for significantly under what a new one sells. The only downside is that it is slightly noisy. I can’t imagine someone owning a TJ soft top and being concerned with slight noise. After three weeks of putting anything I wanted to keep with the Jeep in a bag and carrying it with me, this thing is a godsend. I did add some eyebolts to the sides for securing cargo. The only way I can foresee having money better spent, would be to buy a guaranteed jackpot-winning Powerball ticket. I simply cannot live without the Tuffy drawer.
- Bestop High Rock Front Bumper – This was a “scratch & dent“ impulse buy. Had I not purchased this “on the cheap”, I would be infuriated. The holes for the bottom torx bolts are oversize holes, but were too far aft. I had to remove 1/8” of steel from each just to get the bottom bolts installed. For $179 plus shipping it is annoying, but for a bumper that retails for nearly $500.00, it is inexcusable. Now that the bumper is finally mounted, it looks great and seems quite robust. I don’t regret purchasing the bumper, but I will be quite leery of Bestop products in the future.
- Brook’s Custom Concepts Rock Rails – I don’t think these can be beat for the price. Good looks, stout build quality and great service from BCC. In LA (Lower Alabama), we don’t have any boulders, but these should offer substantial protection from the hordes of uninsured motorists with the IQ’s of boulders. An additional benefit is that I can now park anywhere with little worries about door dings. In the coming months, these should have quite a variety of paint smudges that I will display with a pride rivaling that of a fighter pilot ace – think of it as parking lot karma.
- Rugged Ridge LJ Sport Bar Storage Bags – I had seen no reviews on these and expected that I had just wasted $65.00. However these are surprisingly good quality for the price. They have great zippers and are descent quality nylon. Nobody will ever mistake these for Kifaru products, but so far, it seems to be money well-spent. They should easily handle carrying changes of clothes, ponchos, and anything else that is of little value to thieves.
- The Dirtworks Rear Bumper/Can/Tire Swingout – it’s still being fabricated. I plan to modify it with brackets to which I can bolt a rack and possibly more gas cans.
- NATO Gas Cans from Atlantic British Ltd – New, non-CARB cans that are perfect. Two 20 liter and three 10 liter cans from a great vendor.
- 60” HiLift Jack from AcmeJeepParts (Quadratec) – Good customer service
- HiLift Off Road Kit, Off Road Base, Lift Mate, and ARB shackles from 4 Wheel Parts (on order)
- 2” x30’ Rugged Ridge tow strap from CSE Off Road – FAST shipping!
- Radiator Skid – on order. It was a cheap e-bay find.
- Bill Burke’s two DVD set from the group buy (on order) – My off-road experience is limited primarily to getting various taxpayer-purchased vehicles stuck in mud whilst goofing off in an Army uniform. Recovery was quite simple. I only had to get another vehicle to pull it out.
I’ll need to pick up some 3/8” grade 70 transportation chain soon. The next real modification will likely be HID headlights.
I’d like to pick up a winch and a pull-pal in the future. And may get a 2-3” lift in the distant future. A rear locker would be nice, but the IRS thinks that they are more important than my overlanding needs.
My general goal is to remain close to stock for reliability and ease of repairs
Richard
Welcome to the Portal, you will like the LJ's on this site. There are plenty of ideas and different ways to enjoy the backcountry here. We have been exploring with our LJ since early 2004, it is just big enough to carry all the essentials, no rack or trailer here. I to get more pleasure out of the Jeep than my Camaro at this point in my life.
The best advice I could give is put some Air-Lift bags in the rear coils, I think I paid $66 from summit. You can use them with most lifts because adding bumpstop spacers will keep the distance the same. I have used them for 6 years and many offroad miles with no leaks or issues, the install is very simple. I would also get some Bilstein HD shocks for your stock suspension or use 5100 series if you lift it. The suspension tuning stock is awful......
You could always put a tether cable on your tire carrier if spindle failure is a worry, or even if is not. The thought of a tire and 10 gallons of gas hitting a minivan going the other way on the freeway is to risky for your families bottom line.