Conversion & build of Jeep Unlimited Rubicon

[SavageSunJeep]

Into an expedition vehicle for long tips of several months and still be able to run Moab trails. Albeit I looked hard at the JK's I decided to stay in the TJ line for several reasons. Existing components such as Dynatrac ProRock HP 60's F/R that would have to be heavliy modifided to fit a JK. Same goes for many other parts that are currently on my '03 Jeep Rubicon.

Sat I flew to Denver and picked up a box stock Jeep Rubicon Unlimited and then swung by Moab on the way home to Scottsdale.

[Note: In its OEM box stock form it will run Moab Rim and Behind the rocks trails. Pics on the website of Moab Rim trail, below]

It all begins here: http://www.savagesun4x4.com/enter/conversion_build_jeep_rubic/

I will post over the ensuing months progress reports...

 

[SeaRubi]

Disclaimer: America is a great land of excess for excess' sake and we'd like to keep it that way. God 'n country and all that, I now pose this question:


You just busted Moab in the thing bone stock. You say you want to do longer expedition style trips and Moab. Why on earth do you need Dana 60's? Is it to run 35's or larger? How is dropping your fuel mileage from 15.x mpg to like 9mpg going to assist in your goal of having an expedition style rig?

I don't get why so many folks want to modify these trucks to such an extreme for "expedition" use. In the US of A, expedition means alot of highway miles in between dirt miles. some 33's and an OME lift and you're all set. Hell you really don't need that. I never once disconnected the swaybars on mine. Just loaded it up and went.

Instead of all that time, money, and effort spent on modifying a rig to kingdom come - why not take 1/4 of that pool and take more trips? Sorry to rant - it jus seems like so many folks want to get a truck just for the sake of carving it up. The things do just fine bone stock. Pull the top, fill 'er up and beat it like a red headed stepchild.

Mine was an '06

 

[JeepinBear]

Good buy! But of course I am partial to the model!

I'll be interested in watching your progress.

 

[SavageSunJeep]

Disclaimer: America is a great land of excess for excess' sake and we'd like to keep it that way. God 'n country and all that, I now pose this question:


You just busted Moab in the thing bone stock. You say you want to do longer expedition style trips and Moab. Why on earth do you need Dana 60's? Is it to run 35's or larger? How is dropping your fuel mileage from 15.x mpg to like 9mpg going to assist in your goal of having an expedition style rig?

I don't get why so many folks want to modify these trucks to such an extreme for "expedition" use. In the US of A, expedition means alot of highway miles in between dirt miles. some 33's and an OME lift and you're all set. Hell you really don't need that. I never once disconnected the swaybars on mine. Just loaded it up and went.

Instead of all that time, money, and effort spent on modifying a rig to kingdom come - why not take 1/4 of that pool and take more trips? Sorry to rant - it jus seems like so many folks want to get a truck just for the sake of carving it up. The things do just fine bone stock. Pull the top, fill 'er up and beat it like a red headed stepchild.

Mine was an '06

While I will not argue you point as its certainly valid, I just happen to have a full set of Dynatrac ProRocks setting under my existing Jeep Rubicon Rock Crawler. While it may be worth a tad more with the Dynatracs in there not enough to make it worth the while to pass them on for near free to somebody else.

The D44 axles in the pre-'07 Rubicons are just plain weak if you want to go beyond a 33" tire.

Add to the fact that we are talking a direct bolt/unbolt swap and my ole Rubicon is still worth about as much.

In addition, expedition travel is really about building for the long haul and trust me the Dynatrac D 60 setup is LONG HAUL. Plus they are HP both F/R and this provides additional clearance for the Rubicon trail and several other trails I am planning on running.

Yep, gonna run 35's soon as my 37's wear out and then are less than 6 mo old, so not gonna give them away either. And they are mounted on a full 5 set of Walker Evans 17" bead lock wheels. Again, no reason to give them away especially when tires and wheels are such a personal choice. The buyer will get the OEM MTRs and 16" Rubicon wheels which they can seel and buy new as they see fit.

I could on, but they might spoil some of the fun for you the reader if so inclined.

I suspect that there are a lot of rock crawlers out there like me who built a good rock crawling Jeep. And the thought of just selling it with all those parts on it, many of which can be used in building for expedition type trails and driving. I can assure you that from a rock crawlers view a expedition is anything longer than a day and then its back home.

For me, I am really getting back to my early days of my 40+ year Jeeping career. Staying out for days or weeks on end. I am planning on some extensive travel and demanding trips and my goal is just like it says on my website: "Built to get you there, Engineered to get you back"

In viewing you pics crossing the river, which was not very deep by the looks of it. Were it deeper than you thought or the current too fast I suspect you would have thanked me when I rushed out to rescue you and Your Jeep in a raging river on my 37" tires and 5 inch of lift. Check out the pics and you will note that the water is nearly to my windows in this rescue:

http://www.savagesun4x4.com/enter/trips_trip_reports/river_of_no_return.html

Thank you for your comments...

 

[SeaRubi]

So, all those fellas here that are out for weeks on end in stock Tacomas and Nissan Frontiers ... they don't have any jeeps on 37's around to rescue them, and they seem to do fine.

The point I suppose, is this: the folks around here aren't rock crawlers. I think alot of us ditched most Jeep forums because of the bigger is better attitude, and went looking for a place where we could talk about lame stuff like where to wire in an extra fuse block to hook up an Engel and what OME springs would work best for the weight they're going to be carrying on the rack. Not to hear why we couldn't leave the driveway with smaller than 35" tires. For what most people on this forum do, 30~32" tires are more than enough.

It seems like every week / month that rolls by, more and more people come onto the jeep board and try to "woo" everyone with big axles and big tires and claim they're "building" an "expedition" vehicle.

Well, there are tons of folks on here in nearly bone stock rigs taking lots of "expeditions", by your definition, and they're doing it without $8000 worth of Dynatrac axle to power their rig.

I've spent enough time waiting on Jeeps with 35's or bigger and 6" (not 5) of lift to get up obstacles I could make because they didn't have any traction, even aired down to nearly nothing. 14" of tread width is worthless on a SWB rig and a snotty climb. Or they were too afraid of rolling on a sidehill and had to take some crazy bypass loop, or not be able to follow at all. Or I had to just close my eyes and hope for the best because they refused to tie off a B-pillar and take a crossing slow and just went "gonzo" for it, allowing their wife to hang out the uphill size as counterbalance (true story on Short 'n Dirty, except it was an FJ40 on 39's). Or just plain ol' broke because there was too much wizardry going on with their suspension.

In short, I remain unimpressed! You seem to be missing the spirit of the forum. but hey! It's a free country :beer: and it's your dough. In the meantime, I'll be wheeling somewhere in a stock rig with highway tires and not worrying about how cool I look on the internets eepwall: Good luck with the new Rubi - hope it treats you well and you enjoy it as you see fit!

cheers
-isaac

 

[efuentes]

How about keeping the D44s, fill them with some nice cromo stuff, and some Q78 swampers on stock rims?

Bias tires, dual lockers, nice wheel base and a dependable straight six, sounds like a nice, durable expo rig to me.

Saludos.

PS wish I could get an LJ jeep down here ....

 

[goodtimes]

It all depends on where you want to go. I certainly would not put the 60's under the LJ...but hey, maybe he is planning on visiting places that I am not.

Just because a vehicle has axles that are overkill for the application does not mean it can't be used as an expedition vehicle. 37" tires? Sure....as long as I'm not the one paying for gas...

:beer:

lookin' forward to the build Don....

 

[Milehi explorer]

I have been on both sides with a built Rubicon on 35s and now a JK Unlimited Sahara on 32s to know that for me, smaller and closer to stock is where it is at; however, sounds like an excellent build with top quality components!

I am looking forward to seeing pictures.

 

[SavageSunJeep]

In short, I remain unimpressed! You seem to be missing the spirit of the forum.
-isaac

Issac,
You are unimpressed? Sorry, I had no idea I was on here to impress you or anyone far as that goes, but like you said I must be missing the 'spirit of the forum'.

In fact, if anyone on here is unimpressed then its me. Anyone that shows up and does not even bother to buy a winch deserves to be left high and dry or in some cases, low and wet. In fact I have almost worn out a winch line just jerking out pulls or is it pulling out jerks that think they can conquer any trail because they own _________ (fill in the blank).

Drive around because its too off camber, I can do better than 45 degrees off either side of my rig.

I am NOT claiming nor am I trying to 'woo' anyone, I am building it my way and building it as I chose. I post for those that desire to learn from my rights and my wrongs.

Having spent 40+ years behind the wheel of Jeeps and off roaded literally world wide I can assure you that I build to a standard and the bar is set very high...on purpose. I will venture where few will.

As has been said so many times: 'don't take a knife to a gun fight' so your efforts to convince me that stock rigs outperform built rigs falls on deaf ears.

As for the guy in the stock rig that I saved him and his rig in that raging river, less than 2 weeks later he had put on a winch and lifted his rig. He also purchased a decent set of tires to go along with that. Had he had a lift and or a good set of off road tires he may have well made it across that river. Or if he had had a winch I would have not needed to save him.


I would suggest to you that most stock rigs are woefully under built for anything beyond the other side of the curb at your local Sonic drive in.

You are welcome to watch and comment as the build progresses or you can poor mouth my 37's, Supercharger and Dynatrac D 60. But if you chose that option, please to take up too much posting space as there really are folks on here that want to learn and observe.

Interesting in that in nearly a 100 comments total on several other forums yours is the ONLY one that is negative. But, thank you anyway, I appreciate ALL comments, good, bad and ugly.

All, the conversion starts in ernst sometime in late Oct. I will be attending the Off Road Expo in Pomoma, Ca to see what is new on the 4x4 front and then begin placing my orders for components to install. I will write and shoot pics of everything I do and will try to provide a rationale for each.

This will be a fun and exciting undertaking and if any of you get out my way, Scottsdale, AZ you are welcome to stop by and looky-loo. I welcome all.

Cheers to all:beer::beer:

 

[SavageSunJeep]

How about keeping the D44s, fill them with some nice cromo stuff, and some Q78 swampers on stock rims?

Bias tires, dual lockers, nice wheel base and a dependable straight six, sounds like a nice, durable expo rig to me.

Saludos.

PS wish I could get an LJ jeep down here ....

Nothing wrong with that at all. But all I see is major cost and I still have D 44s under it. So why incur the costs when I already own D 60's?

Bear in mind I will also be pulling a fully loaded trailer along with my loaded Jeep.

I like my bead locks and I can remove the bead lock rim and gain access to the inside of the tire for a major repair.

Thank you

 

[SeaRubi]

Don, I do like to give people a hard time every once in awhile. I am sorry to come in and poo on your thread and put you on the defensive for your choices.

I don't buy the story you're sellin' here with the big talk but it's yours to spin. You're not the only one here that's accrued alot of wheel time ... I think most folks here on Expo are more experienced than the slew of younger folks that tend to gravitate to the dozens of other hormonally challenged Jeep boards across the net. That "little" rubicon of mine wore an XD9000 for most of it's life. You're not the only person that knows how to conduct a recovery, nor should make the mistake of assuming a "less built" rig means an uprepared driver. That in itself is highly insulting.

I don't see Expo like any other forum. I don't speak for everybody, just myself and my own self-centered reasons for reading up on the posts here instead of other forums. I'm sure you've got alot of investment and quality work into your vehicles and yes, plenty others here on this forum will be highly interested to watch your progress. I'll be alot more interested seeing you back on the dirt or on a trip than stuck in a garage bolting on more parts, but that's just me eepwall: Good luck with it.

:beer:

 

[SinCityFJC]

Hi Don

Sounds like a good build up plan - been ages since I last wheeled with you, I was either in the Redneck Porsche


or the RubiScrambler


Cheers

aka SinCityRubicon

 

[1speed]

Awesome plan! I would love to put a set of Pro Rock D60's under my 05 LJ with 35's, whether anyone thinks I need them or not.

 

[BigAl]

In short, I remain unimpressed! You seem to be missing the spirit of the forum.

I think you may be missing the spirit of the forum. We ususally don't dump on other people or their vehicle choices. I personally like to see the heavy duty builds.

 

[JeepinBear]

Healthy debate?

Personally, I think the "spirit of the forum" is many-fold:

1. Those ExPo members who ask for comments or advice can typically have thick enough skin to listen to all sides without being defensive.
2. That being said, when people "put themselves out there" on the internet and make themselves vulnerable it can go horribly wrong on some forums. My experience with ExPo is that most people can articulate their criticism so that is comes across constructive instead of inflammatory. More like a brotherhood than a "my rig is beter than yours" or "my Dad can kick your Dad's butt" mentality.
3. More importantly, some on ExPo are not looking for advice, but to share their joy of building "their" idea of an expedition rig (there is no one right rig right?) with the hope that someone else may find their posts interesting or helpful.

Now, IMHO Don did NOT look for advice with the original post, I think he was more along the lines of #3.

There does seem to be some unnecessary bantering back and forth, but things appear to be working themsleves out, like they usually do on ExPo...kudos to the philosophy behind this forum!!

Sure a healty debate can make us all stronger (jeez, I sound like Hannity), but it sure seems to me that to stay on a level commensurate with this forums earned "prestige" (for lack of a better word) makes us even stronger and keeps us from becoming just like all the others.

My $.02.