AZTrooper's Mod Thread

[AZTrooper]

Ok... so I decided I need a mod thread too!!!! I've done several things to try and get this beast where I want it to be. After our last run on Smiley Rock Trail, there have been a few things that I felt were necessary for function on the trail. Here are some pictures that I have so far of the most recent things I've done.

This is sort of a profile of what it looks like right now. I just took these pics a few minutes ago.

This is my new CB antenae.

This would be my new MagnaFlow muffler. Not too loud, not too quiet. I've never noticed such a power increase until I put this on.

This isn't a mod, but it's a pic of the scratch that I put in the tranny pan from Smiley Rock Trail. (it's been hammered back out)

My new Cobra WXSTII that I installed last weekend. I've picked up a trucker about 4 miles east of town, on his way east.

This shot gives you a better view of how I cut my bumper to give me about 3 inches more without compromising any bumper scrapes.(not that I really care)

I'm trying to get a hold of a guy here in northern AZ somewhere to get a custom built roof rack. So far I haven't heard back from him. He's selling these really nice steel racks on ebay for $250.
I'm also waiting for Scott to get a hold of me so I can buy his under-the-hood mounted air compressor.

What do you guys think?

 

[DBS311]

Do you know if you can still get the ARB racks for the Trooper?

 

[bigreen505]

I was told the ARB racks are very expensive, heavy and hard to get. A hannibal rack is only a little more and weighs a lot less.

 

[DBS311]

A Hannibal rack would be great but I have never seen one on a Trooper. Anyone got pics or a link to the Hannibal setup?

 

[DBS311]

This is all I could find from the Hannibal USA website.

http://www.hannibalusa.com/Catalog/
Bottom left pic is the price list for what's available.

 

[AZTrooper]

So the guy who's going to build my roof rack lives right here in Flagstaff and so there won't be any need for shipping. Let me know if anyone is interested in a custom made roof rack and I will refer you to him. Or you can check out his website @ www.blackoutaz.com. His name is Tim and he's been VERY helpful and easy to get a hold of so far.

 

[DBS311]

AZTrooper, I checked out your builder's site and it looks pretty cool. Tell us how you are planning your roof rack build. Foldable sides for roof tent, fuel can storage up front, etc., etc. I'm curious to know how custom you are going. Can't wait to see the finished product, especially mounted up on the Trooper.

 

[bigreen505]

How much does it weigh?

 

[AZTrooper]

DBS311- The exact demensions of the rack are going to be 70"L x 40"W x 5" tall. As of now, I'm not completely sure what all I might be utilizing the rack for. I know I want to mount some lights on th front of the rack, maybe a few in the back, and one or two on the sides. I want to buy a high-low jack and mount it up there too. Since I bought this new cb, I plan on mounting the antennae up there as well. If I wanted, he would weld a spare tire mount on the rack, but personally I don't like the look of having a huge spare tire up there. The rack comes without any paint, so I'll probably buy some sort of black primer spray can to paint it.


Bigreen505- The rack will weigh approx 60-70lbs and can hold up to 5 times it's own weight. I'm having him weld on custom feet with bolt holes in it so I can mount it easily to the roof.The total for the rack id going to be $440. Yeah it's a little pricey, but these racks are built solid. It'll be worth the money to me!!!

 

[AZTrooper]

So just today I removed my sway bars completely. I took it for a spin to see what difference it would make without them. I noticed that it's a little "mooshier" when going over bumps and shaking the steering wheel back and forth. But I didn't noticed too much excess body roll. I actually really like how well it feels when going over bumps. I think I'll just leave them off for good.:safari-rig:

 

[bigreen505]

Cool, any reason for not going wider than 40"? Seems a bit narrow.

 

[AZTrooper]

Cool, any reason for not going wider than 40"? Seems a bit narrow.

Yeah... the way I want to mount it by using the feet he's going to weld on for me, I need the measurement at the outside of the feet to be no wider than 40" or else I will run into my rain gutters. I'm going to bolt it directly into the roof. Also, I just don't want the rack to be as wide as the roof like most other people do it. I want it to be functional, yet asthetically pleasing.

 

[bigreen505]

Interesting thoughts. Did you consider consider a full-length rain channel like what the Yakima racks use, and then through-bolt into the factory holes? That way it is bolted on, like you are doing, but spreading the load over a significantly larger area.

 

[AZTrooper]

I did think about that, but I wasn't sure if my trooper came with those factory rain gutter holes. I haven't pulled up the rain gutter to see if I have them. For some reason I was under the impression that my trooper didn't come with factory holes. I'll have to look, cuz if it does then I'll have to re-measure and have my guy build the rack a little different. He hasn't started it yet, so I should still have time to change demensions.

 

[bigreen505]

Pretty sure they all do. Three sets per side under the trim. If you look at the Hannibal and Safety Devices Rover racks, they have a running the full length of the rain gutter to distribute the load rather than point loading the rain gutter. I was thinking that using a Yakima or Thule track for the Trooper, but then through-bolting the rack, you get the simplicity of bolting it on, with the best available load distribution. Not sure how much it really matters.