98 Jeep ZJ "SHTFV"

[88Xj]

Thank you for the kind words! I am actually very impressed with the SRM Rigid lights, they are the perfect amount of light to see everything around the vehicle for about 50'. Any more than that and they would be obnoxious. I will admit, I will likely have to move them a little, as I have to look right where they are to set up the awning and tent at night. When you look into these things, you become blind for about 10 mins. LOL. I am unable to take any pictures at night with my camera at the moment due to the chip on my camera lense, it screws up the light bad. I tried to do it though...

while I am at it, I will post some others. I will do this again in the future when my camera is fixed and with manual settings, as you can see the difference in the color of the sky of pictures taken within 1 minute of one another. This is due to the massive amount of light put out by the rigid stuff I guess...

Here is with stock headlamps

With the 20" light bar on the bumper switched on

Adding the 40" roof light bar as well

For lack of better words, this mod made a night and day difference for us when we travel into the wee hours of the morning

I do a little fab work on the side when I have time, PM me for my number and we can chat if you like.

Man those things are amazing..and the cost isn't much at all for what your getting. Those ones there are diffused right? I'm looking at those SRM's & the Vision X solstice Solo's. Its nice to have a comparison now man, thank you:ylsmoke:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=825971


I picked up 3 cheapo LEDS off ebay and within a few months they all have LED's burning out..maybe 10-12 times turned on, probably 8-12 hours tops. Waste of 70 bucks.
Your doing some serious serious work on that thing! I hope mine can be there 1 day!

 

[Recce01]

Storage Solution Cont.

With the box out, I could mount the new additions

I mounted the passenger side flap with 3 hinges

for some reason the drivers side flap was warped, so I had to use 4 hinges on that side. It was longer, so not a big deal... I was just grumpy because I like semetrical

I also decided to mount the front driver's side cover while it was out for ease of install once the box was back in

Now that these pieces were installed, I put the box back in the vehicle and bolted it in again. The final step was to make some parts to cover both rear corners. This was fairly simple compared to the rest of this operation! I started with a pattern...

I cut and installed the 2 pieces

The end result is pretty much what I had in mind. I wanted the system to look like it was specifically made for this vehicle, and not just some box I found to throw in!

I still have to come up with a way to keep the flaps shut, as well as do a little more trimming to the bottom of the flaps to allow them to shut perfectly flat with the top of the system, but at least things are organized and hidden from view for the time being

As always, thanks for checking out my thread! Have a great weekend all!

 

[Recce01]

Man those things are amazing..and the cost isn't much at all for what your getting. Those ones there are diffused right? I'm looking at those SRM's & the Vision X solstice Solo's. Its nice to have a comparison now man, thank you:ylsmoke:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=825971


I picked up 3 cheapo LEDS off ebay and within a few months they all have LED's burning out..maybe 10-12 times turned on, probably 8-12 hours tops. Waste of 70 bucks.
Your doing some serious serious work on that thing! I hope mine can be there 1 day!

Yes, they are the diffused versions. I was just looking for some extra night light. Nothing like waking up in the morning to realize you have set up camp the night before on the world's largest red ant hill These are a great buy for the $$. I have a suspicion that these will do the job a bit better than the Vision X versions. I am also far more impressed with the craftsmanship on the Rigid stuff. Just my opinion of course Thanks again for the compliments man, I appreciate you popping in for conversation. Do you have a build thread going?

 

[88Xj]

Yes, they are the diffused versions. I was just looking for some extra night light. Nothing like waking up in the morning to realize you have set up camp the night before on the world's largest red ant hill These are a great buy for the $$. I have a suspicion that these will do the job a bit better than the Vision X versions. I am also far more impressed with the craftsmanship on the Rigid stuff. Just my opinion of course Thanks again for the compliments man, I appreciate you popping in for conversation. Do you have a build thread going?

Unfortunetaly not yet. I've gotta get my rig driveable currently..my pm & our future convo should hold the answers lol.

 

[jeepdreamer]

Just a lil tip... if you wrap painter blue tape along the area you are cutting (or masking tape) it will often reduce the amount of splintering you get from the saw. Also, use the finest blade (most teeth per inch)you can for delicate cuts for the same purpose. The box looks a lot better now...more, at home as it were.?. You could always just add some flat stock on top of the box to hold the lids down. Drill a hole in one end so it can pivot/revolve and when you want it open, you rotate it away....Hard to describe what I'm thinking.. sorry.

 

[88Xj]

Just a lil tip... if you wrap painter blue tape along the area you are cutting (or masking tape) it will often reduce the amount of splintering you get from the saw. Also, use the finest blade (most teeth per inch)you can for delicate cuts for the same purpose. The box looks a lot better now...more, at home as it were.?. You could always just add some flat stock on top of the box to hold the lids down. Drill a hole in one end so it can pivot/revolve and when you want it open, you rotate it away....Hard to describe what I'm thinking.. sorry.

You could do slide bolt latch's? The spring loaded kind so they don't rattle open? I'm googling "spring slide bolt latch" or "spring loaded barrel latch".

 

[Recce01]

Just a lil tip... if you wrap painter blue tape along the area you are cutting (or masking tape) it will often reduce the amount of splintering you get from the saw. Also, use the finest blade (most teeth per inch)you can for delicate cuts for the same purpose. The box looks a lot better now...more, at home as it were.?. You could always just add some flat stock on top of the box to hold the lids down. Drill a hole in one end so it can pivot/revolve and when you want it open, you rotate it away....Hard to describe what I'm thinking.. sorry.

Good call on the tape! I guess I could have asked before I dove in LOL. I know exactly what you mean about the pivoting parts. I'll figure something out! I have some cool latches, but I am afraid I won't get them lined up correctly

You could do slide bolt latch's? The spring loaded kind so they don't rattle open? I'm googling "spring slide bolt latch" or "spring loaded barrel latch".

I'll be googling this for sure, but for another purpose! My next few posts will show the demand for them. I got a wild hair and made something pretty cool in my opinion. It even made my wife happy!

Thanks again guys for participating in my thread. Have a great weekend, what's left of it anyway!

 

[rb70383]

I have gotten bite too many times for putting off what I should have checked earlier. This is actually the wife's Jeep. So I like everything to work for her. My rig is the 89 RC. While I had the grease out I hit all the door hinges as well and the hood latch. Now I have to learn to quit slamming the doors. LOL

The day before you posted the LED lights the wife and I were discussing camp lights and thought about putting them on the corners like you. However I would not have thought about the issue of looking into them while attaching an awning or something.

Thanks for going through all the effort to take pics and post your adventures/learning curves.

 

[MCObray]

I'm diggin' your rear configuration. Everything looks well organized and neat.

 

[Recce01]

I have gotten bite too many times for putting off what I should have checked earlier. This is actually the wife's Jeep. So I like everything to work for her. My rig is the 89 RC. While I had the grease out I hit all the door hinges as well and the hood latch. Now I have to learn to quit slamming the doors. LOL

The day before you posted the LED lights the wife and I were discussing camp lights and thought about putting them on the corners like you. However I would not have thought about the issue of looking into them while attaching an awning or something.

Thanks for going through all the effort to take pics and post your adventures/learning curves.

haha! That is what this forum is all about. I can't tell you how many time I stopped dead in my tracks after reading about how I was on a path of peril from someone elses experiences. I have come to appreciate what this forum is about, and happily share my experiences. Thanks for reading!

I'm diggin' your rear configuration. Everything looks well organized and neat.

Thank you very much! Another update coming soon

 

[xjman88]

Hey great job on the side additions on the rear box. Nice work. Gives me some more ideas for me.

 

[Recce01]

Addition to the Wife's Kitchen

I have been eyeballing the swing out spare tire mount ever since we completed it. I finally asked the wife if she could use a little more counter space while she is cooking out in the field. Of course she said yes, and that gave me the green light to get creative. I envisioned a table that mounted to the spare tire carrier, then folded down when the unit was open. About a month ago I stopped in to visit IPE in Norco and asked them about making the table for me. At the time, I was way too busy with work to take on another fab project, so I figured if I could have the table made, it would be enough of a head start to get me rolling to finish the project. They promptly told me to roll the jeep inside to get some measurements

James broke out the measuring tools and had all the dimensions sorted in minutes.

A few weeks ago I received the call asking if I was ever going to pick up this table, appearantly they had it done for me the next day! I picked it up and added it to the list.

While recently turning in my recycling I stepped into their discount store area and found some items I had to have, mainly because they were $2 each

I found myself really compelled to use these struts on this table. I am not sure why to be honest, but I just had to make them work! Next on the list was a hinge. I found a stainless hinge at the local hardware store for $12 and jumped on it.

 

[88Xj]

Oh yes this is going is going to be a nice addition. Now a way to hold a 5 gallon..or maybe a 2.5 gallon propane tank

 

[Recce01]

Oh yes this is going is going to be a nice addition. Now a way to hold a 5 gallon..or maybe a 2.5 gallon propane tank

It is something I have been thinking about for a long time! As far as larger propane tanks, I haven't considered that yet. We have been making due with the little Coleman versions. I imagine a larger tank would be great for longer trips!

 

[Recce01]

Addition to the Wife's Kitchen cont.

When I mocked up the table on the bumper I imediately had several concerns. First and foremost... I did not want to have additional rattles. If I mounted this thing improperly it would chafe and destroy the aluminum as well as annoy the "you know what" out of us going down the road.

The first step was to place the hinge on the carrier

I discovered that I would need to space the hinge from the carrier slightly so the table would not rub on the carrier. I found some LDPE (Low density polyetheline) in the garage and decided to employ it as a spacer. I slid the material in the shear and cut it to length.

I cut a 3/4 inch strip of material to space the hinge out

I drilled 23 holes and the spacer was ready

My next operation was to mount the hinge and spacer to the tube at the bottom of the tire carrier. That lower tube is .120 wall, so I decided to drill and tap the material, this way I would use short hardware and not have to add nuts on the side that can be seen. I drilled 23 holes and then tapped them all. I did a major no no and tapped them with a drill This was much faster but require a specific process

After tapping each hole I had to clean the tap and then lubricate it for the next

In the end it was a success and all 23 holes were drilled and tapped without a broken off tap in the material (my biggest fear)

I next bolted the hinge with spacer in place

I placed the table in place and marhed the holes to drill to attach the table to the hinge

After drilling an additional 23 holes and countersinking the top of the aluminum I mounted the table to the hinge

This appeared as though it would not rattle, and look decent as well with the bolts all countersunk into the aluminum