Brandy's 2012 JKUR Build

[James Pierce]

Well the roof rack was put on hold temporarily. Life seems to keep getting in the way. That and my D90 needed a little engine work.

The entire rack is being made of 1 3/4" .095 HREW. I did not want to add a lot of weight up high. It is simply to cary additional gear on top. Kayaks, RTT, etc. Given the large diameter of the tube it will be very ridged. This is slightly thicker than the material used on the MBRP racks and is equivalent to that used on the Safety Devices racks.

Cheers,

James

 

[BPMOU]

Great build. I've been without a rig for a few years after selling my 80, and am just on the brink of getting a new rig, looking at this thread a couple of others, I think the JKU may be the perfect for my family of four (2 kids, 6 and 3, my wife and I). Thanks for sharing!

 

[andysgreenxj]

Great pics of what looked like an epic journey! If Im not mistaken, I believe i
that I watched some video footage of this trip...makes me really want to get my
Cherokee , and camping trailer done so that I can do some similar trips myself...:sombrero:
Thank you for sharing your trip with us...:wings:

 

[James Pierce]

Update

A few months ago I lead a group to Buckhorn OHV in Arkansas to play around on the trails for the weekend. I've traveled back and forth between OKC and Devils Den State Park many times and have developed a little overland route that cuts out a large portion of highway driving. The biggest challenge to this route is the Lee Creek crossing. Earlier this year I crossed at night and could feel the bumper pushing the water. On this trip the pucker factor was considerably higher. You can see Marks video of our trip here.




Up until this point Brandy has been reluctant to give in to my nagging about having a snorkel. A month later her resolved weakened and she came to the realization that in order to continue taking the trips that we enjoy so much she would have to embrace the need for a snorkel. A call was placed to AEV 3 1/2 minutes later.

 

[James Pierce]

And the finished product. Just like the hundreds of other AEV snorkels running back and forth to the malls.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Wow!

Nice work!
Not sure which would scare me more; the water crossing or cutting the hood.
Have you given any thought to making a framed screen that could fit in place of the snorkel for city-fied driving?
As everyone else has said, you guys have done an awesome job with the Wrangler.
Thanks for sharing, it will be a big help for me.

Scott

 

[Ausjeeper]

Great build up thread. You've used plenty of quality gear and done some fantastic well thought out mods. Thanks for sharing, I got some good ideas from it.

 

[James Pierce]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

To answer your question Scott, I had considered a screen of sorts however you still have the issue of disconnecting the snorkel from the lower portion of the air cleaner box. Since its glued and riveted on I guess the easiest way would be to buy a new air filter box and pop the entire box in and out every time you wanted to remove the snorkel. I haven't really given it much though. We're headed to camp at the Grand Canyon next month and then the National Sea Shore in June so I plan on leaving it on for a bit.

 

[James Pierce]

Product Review (Warn Winch)

There have been a few products that I've switched out along the way and I'll try to share my reasoning as I go. The first being the Warn 9.5xp. I had originally chose this particular winch because running a winch with integrated solenoids in an AEV bumper leaves no access to the winch drum or line. This is a bad design for several reasons. My original intent had been to mount the solenoid for the 9.5xp under the hood. I realized all to late that the amount of real estate under the hood of the 12 vs the 08 is significantly different. Finding a good location to mount the solenoid was a challenge so when the motor on the 9.5xp unexpectedly quit while on the trail I opted to upgrade to the 9.5cti. Some guys buy their winch as insurance incase they get stuck or need to rescue someone else. I on the other hand also buy it knowing it will be an invaluable tool for clearing trails. In the south eastern part of our state and over into Arkansas it is not uncommon for a downed tree to block the trail. On one such trip in January while clearing a trail that had not been used for many years the 9.5xp suddenly quit. I had used it a couple of times earlier in the day and previously used the winch only twice so this was an unwelcome surprise.

Upon our return we landed in the middle of one of our Oklahoma ice storms. I would have waited and repaired the winch but given the road conditions and since I had decided not to relocated the solenoid I opted to purchases a new 9.5CTI. Or at least that is how I reasoned spending the money.

There are some companies who's customer service is a bit lacking. A lot of times I've found that to be the case in larger companies. Not so with Warn. I contacted them the following week and although the winch was out of warranty by a few months they quickly sent me a replacement motor at no cost. I could not be happier with their service and will continue to buy and recommend their winches in the future.

The 9.5xp is advertised in Warns top of the line Extreme Duty winches and I believe that is the case. I still feel like it is an excellent winch and would not hesitate owning another. These things happen and how you chose to handle it is what sets you apart from the rest. The 9.5xp now sports a new motor and is at home on the front of my dads TJ.

A few pics from that trip:

 

[SamM]

Nice build! I just recently added an AEV snorkel to my Jeep MOAB. It was pretty straightforward. If I can do it anybody can. Cutting the $1700 hood was somewhat nerve-racking.

SamM

 

[James Pierce]

Yeah, committing to cutting the hood is the hardest part of the install.

 

[SamM]

Yes, the committing was the problem for me. Not much skill is required! lol

SamM

 

[Comanche Scott]

Great info on the snorkel. Thank you!

Thank you very much for the info on the snorkel. I didn't realize it was glued and riveted.


Nice winch! :drool:
This is my dream winch for the JKURX which is on order. A good winch is such a handy to tool.

I put an XRC into an old Scout, and dissected the contactor box, relocating the contactor assembly up higher behind the headlight,and the control connector just above the top right of the left headlamp. Made a much cleaner install, with a very small footprint. With the cover on, the average person doesn't even know there is a winch mounted, until they walk up close.

 

[Cascade Wanderer]

Great build... Brandy... :bike_rider:

Mine is kind of a "mini-me" version, a white, two-door 2012 JK. Just the basics ma'am.

Love the looks of those steel wheels, but really, am most impressed with the purposeful modifications, which seem to be very "mission oriented" as is sometimes said.

Regards, Guy

 

[James Pierce]

Roof Rack Update

Finally!!!!! Spent the day in the shop working on remaking the "A" hoop or windshield portion of the roof rack. Basically I had to start over because the AEV snorkel is now in the old location of the passengers side upright. I also needed to address some wind noise we were getting from the hoop.

Take 1... Originally I wanted a very clean tight look so in fabricated the hoop to be very close to the windshield. About a fingers width away. It was also level with the top of the roof. While I think it looked better up close I was experiencing some wind buffering between the cage and the windshield.

Take 2... I moved the hoop away from the windshield to around 1 1/2". This helped a lot with the buffering but there was still noticeable wind noise inside the cab.

Take 3... This is where I'm at today. I've moved the hoop up about an inch and held it out at 1 1/2". I am hoping this all but eliminates the wind noise we experienced. 3rd times a charm right? This has definitely been a learning experience. I also moved the sides in to clear the AEV Snorkel. I think I like the overall look of it better now. I know some companies such as Gobi use a wind deflector between the windshield and the rack. While it looks better than the racks that sit 6" away from the top of the truck it's not the look I am going for.















The hot spark on my arm didn't hurt nearly as bad as the one that went down my shoe.






While I worked on fabricating the hoop Brandy sandblasted the windshield brackets.