"Bruce" the 2014 Jeep JKUR Build Thread

[EMrider]

Finally got the latest set up in the dirt. My wife was out of town so the dog and I went up to the Kern River. I ran Rancheria Road and Sherman Pass Trail. I was solo, so I didn't stop to take pictures during the technical sections of Sherman Pass. But the 35s and 3.5 lift worked perfectly. I quickly realized that I do need to trim my rock rails. The PS tire chewed right through the plastic end cap. I was also glad that I got the dual ARB compressor. A fuse blew on one of the compressors, and I couldn't find the spare fuses. But luckily the other compressor still worked.

Waking up at 10,000ft and cruising through the forest with the dog, in the Jeep, with the Bestop Sunrider open, while drinking coffee and listening to the news seemed like the perfect way to kick off 9/11.

That is a beautiful area.

How challenging was Sherman Pass Jeep trail?

I did Monache solo a few weeks ago and found it fun, but easy.

Thanks
R

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

The Jeep got some attention this weekend but as usual, I was street parked. I finally got around to trimming the rubicon rails. I should have borrowed a sawzall. Using a cut off wheel got a little sloppy.

I tried to fix my steering. The Jeep hasn't turned all the way to the left since installing the AEV High Steer Kit. I think I needed to thread the draglink a little further. I tried to adjust that this weekend to get the steering wheel centered and get my turning radius back.

The Jeep is nice and level with the AEV 3.5 Suspension and the hard top on. But when loaded for trips, it starts to sag a little in the rear. So I installed a set of AirLift Air springs this weekend. That should let me adjust the rear to keep things level as water and fuel supplies change. I wanted to install some permanent 1/2" Teraflex spacers. But the spacers looked thinner than the OEM spring isolators. And their spring retainers don't work with the airbags. So I left them out. I was also worried that a spacer would throw off the bump spacing.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

That is a beautiful area.

How challenging was Sherman Pass Jeep trail?

I did Monache solo a few weeks ago and found it fun, but easy.

Thanks
R

The trail is a lot more technical than Monache Meadows. But it's still not that hard. The first half was quite tight in places with a good amount of pinstriping and rocky, steep climbs. Then you get into the woods. You have to squeeze through a lot of normal and downed trees while doing some rock crawling. But nothing crazy. Could be done with a stock JK. It felt similar to Strawberry Lake near Shaver lake. It has a difficult rating from Funtrek, but if you look at the comparison, it's one of the easiest of the difficult trails, which feels about right. I did it solo without any spotters. 3.5" lift and 35s give you enough clearance to just steer and crawl.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

My wife went camping with me for the first time since installing the tire carrier, 3.5 lift, kitchen set up, and 35s. She was pretty impressed with her new camp kitchen, or her "Mise en place" as she called it. We made some bomb-*** pulled pork tacos.

I forgot that it was the first weekend of deer hunting season, so getting away from the hunters was top priority since none of us had any orange garb. Luckily none made it to the end of the trail.

Also, our Camco 58031 "Little Red Campfire" is still not as good as a real campfire, but still way better than nothing during these extreme fire danger conditions.

And we were able to achieve our original goal of swimming with the dog.

Other notes:


Airlift
The airbags did okay. I don't love how they make the front and rear spring rates different. I'm going to install the 1/2" rear Teraflex spacers this weekend and see how that is with and without the airbags inflated. I need to check the torque on everything anyway.

AFE Y-Pipe
The AFE Y-pipe still leaks where it connects to the driverside header. I'm wondering if I can order some type of gasket for it.

AEV High Steer Kit
After installing the AEV 3.5 lift, the Jeep doesn't turn as far to the left as it does to the right. I'm not sure how to fix this. I'm thinking I need to disconnect the pitman arm from the knuckle and thread farther it into the darglink but I'm not sure.

ARB Twin Compressor
I replaced the fuse in the air compressor and it's working like a champ now. Using the air gun to clean the rear of the Jeep has been a godsend. I also used it to clean the campfire and other equipment before packing up. I need to add a small tank one of these days.

Rock Rails
Also, after trimming the rock rails, the tires no longer rub. No trimming of the pinch seam necessary. It's amazing how infrequently I need the sliders. I used the rock sliders on my 100-series all the time. The sliders on the Jeep saved the drivers door on Rose Garden Hill along the Kokopelli. But I think I've only hit them one other time. The door sill is just so much farther out of the way on the JK.

Reverse/Camp/Dust Lights
I have 2x 10w cree LED flood lights (vision X clones) on the rear tire carrier. Unplugging one and pointing the other down at the tailgate table provided great lighting for cooking and eating. I also aimed it at the fire ring to set up the propane camp fire. I plugged the other light in when we heard a strange animal noise to get a good 270-degree view of the surrounding area.

 

[bknudtsen]

Is your GSD like mine where he's good in the water until his feet don't touch?

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Is your GSD like mine where he's good in the water until his feet don't touch?

Not exactly. She prefers for her feet to touch. But she's also okay with swimming.

 

[unkamonkey]

Give the dog time. My old black lab would only go in the water just over belly deep until she watched the other 3 dogs having a fun dog day out in a lake. I couldn't keep her out of the water after that. I had to think, Schnitzel, Liesel, Duke, Samantha, Dame, Jolene, Moki, Molly, Lola, Maya, Dixie, Hunter, Gus, Jackson, Bo, Zoe. All love or loved swimming. Not all my dogs but once you get them started you can hardly keep them out of the water. Duke would dive for rocks. Gus will too.
Over 1/2 of those dogs are gone now but I can still shed a tear about them. Is my man card still OK?

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Give the dog time. My old black lab would only go in the water just over belly deep until she watched the other 3 dogs having a fun dog day out in a lake. I couldn't keep her out of the water after that. I had to think, Schnitzel, Liesel, Duke, Samantha, Dame, Jolene, Moki, Molly, Lola, Maya, Dixie, Hunter, Gus, Jackson, Bo, Zoe. All love or loved swimming. Not all my dogs but once you get them started you can hardly keep them out of the water. Duke would dive for rocks. Gus will too.
Over 1/2 of those dogs are gone now but I can still shed a tear about them. Is my man card still OK?

We've noticed the same thing. A Malibu wave knocked our GSD over when she was 10 weeks old but she still loves the water. I don't think she knew she could swim until we forced her one day. This weekend, she slipped off a rock and had to swim for awhile. She did fine and was fine with swimming all over the place after that. Now we like to push her in from time to time.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Very nice setup!!

Next up are minor tweaks.

Adding rotopax style water can with a spout to the spare tire since there's no where to stow my 5-gallon MWC.

Adding 1/2" spacers to the rear.

Figuring out some way to mount a beach umbrella to the spare tire carrier.

AEV Gas caddy. I got close to needing it this weekend. We fueled up in Bakersfield, skipped gassing up in Kernville and made it to Pearsonville with a little less than 1/4 tank.

I'm not happy with my aux lighting. I try to never need it, but the ARB-clone lights are both spots and don't seem to work that well. I'd like more spread.

 

[unkamonkey]

We still have dogs we can barely pry out of the water. My old lab would be out swimming in a lake with ice still on it and attempt to crawl in my lap on the way home in my old MB.

 

[Comanche Scott]

What a cool weekend trip! :victory:

You could make a couple of diffusers for the lights from old back up light lenses. Or even just an opaque plastic. maybe in amber to help keep bugs away from the lights.

having the extra fuel is a comfort, no doubt. If I had the AEV fuel caddy, I'd probably just put 5 gallons in, to help keep weight down.

I picked up the Front Runner water Jerry can that has the spout on the bottom. Really like this, but it does leak just a small bit. Could probably use some teflon tape to get a great seal. I asked them about making an evaporative bag to fit over it. They thought it was a great idea, and was going to query the mfg to see. That was about a year ago, and I haven't talked to them since.

Super-Mutt v2.0 was chicken to even get his feet wet. Took a long beef stick, and his favorite retrieving toy to get him in the water. About an hour later he was swimming, but not that great.
For being a big goofy boy, he can be such a princess... roflol

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

We still have dogs we can barely pry out of the water. My old lab would be out swimming in a lake with ice still on it and attempt to crawl in my lap on the way home in my old MB.

Ha, our was shivering and whimpering but still wouldn't stop swimming.

 

[dstock]

I picked up the Front Runner water Jerry can that has the spout on the bottom. Really like this, but it does leak just a small bit. Could probably use some teflon tape to get a great seal. I asked them about making an evaporative bag to fit over it. They thought it was a great idea, and was going to query the mfg to see. That was about a year ago, and I haven't talked to them since.

Not to hijack, but try swapping the plastic spout out for the brass replacement one. I've had zero leaks since I made the swap.

 

[Comanche Scott]

I bought the brass spout with the Jerry can. I like the brass spout because it can be capped, and a hose can be screwed on.
In my case, it leaks less with the plastic one.
One of these days I'll fix it, just has been low priority, since it doesn't leak enough to cause any undue worry-ation...

 

[dstock]

I bought the brass spout with the Jerry can. I like the brass spout because it can be capped, and a hose can be screwed on.
In my case, it leaks less with the plastic one.
One of these days I'll fix it, just has been low priority, since it doesn't leak enough to cause any undue worry-ation...

Ah ok, got it.