Finally Have My New Rubicon!

[brianjwilson]

Or my new money pit, whatever... I'm excited about it anyway!

Last week I sold my F150, left the buyer's credit union and went straight to the local Jeep dealer. I've been keeping my eye on local inventory but I had just missed the dead line to order a 2012, and I really wanted a white rubicon unlimited with manual trans, not real heavily optioned. I settled on the closest rig I could find, a white six speed Rubicon with a few extras. I really didn't want to pay so much extra for the white painted top and fenders (I know they're going to get scratched up anyway), side air bags and "tow package". But I did get the 730 nav unit, heated seats and auto climate control (only important to me because it adds a filter).

Naturally my wife and I packed up the night I picked it up and headed to the coast for the weekend. I took off the doors and front panels, then played on the beach for a few minutes to test out the lockers and sway bar disconnect. I'm not a huge fan of the single locker switch, and only being able to use them in 4 low. I think I will add a separate switch for the rear locker and wire it independently. I may leave the front switched through the computer to prevent my wife from accidently locking the front on the road, as long as the computer doesn't through a fit about the rear being disconnected.

Overall the trip was good, averaged 19mpg which is way better than I could ever expect from the f150. The Jeep is nowhere near as fast but it makes decent power and passes just fine. The six speed is a little clunky and has popped out of fourth gear twice when coasting and hitting a bump. I also get some rattling noise in neutral with my foot off the clutch, so I'm not sure what's going on there.

I'm headed out for work for a weeks, but just ordered the AEV 3.5" suspension lift, pintler wheels and exhaust spacers. I also order 35x12.50r17 KM2s so I'll have a project when I get home. I can't wait to install the lift! Hopefully I can sell the stock rubicon wheels, tires, springs and shocks quickly and order new bumpers right away.

The goal for next spring/summer is a new habitat or j30 top, maybe it will even squeeze into the garage with 35s. If not I may just spring for 37s. I'll be running stock 4.10 gears until I get that figured out anyway, the six speed seems like it is geared low enough to be tolerable for a while.

My wife seems tired of hearing me talk about everything I want to buy for the Jeep already, go figure. I'm looking forward to a new project though, once I stop modifying a truck I usually get bored and sell it, but there are endless options for this thing so I don't see that being a problem for some time!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I would have gone for the white as well. And as long as you are still smiling each month when making that payment is all that matters, just don't void your warranty like myself and others have. When I financed my first Jeep 13 years ago the only thing that mattered was having fun, many priceless memories were had in that Jeep and that is why I am so hesitant to sell it even though it doesn't make much sense to own 2 Jeeps.

 

[brianjwilson]

This afternoon I spent a few hours in the back of the Jeep trying to come up with a good storage/shelving solution. While I sat and measured I looked up dimensions of storage containers on my phone, and dimensions of a couple of coolers (a fancy 12v fridge is going to have to wait a while).
There is a fair amount of space behind the rear seat, but I'm not a fan of piling and stacking. I like to keep everything relatively organized, accessible and secured. It was also important that anything I added would be easily removed when not in use. Here is what I came up with, though it is not finished and may change a bit. (excuse the cell phone pictures again)

I tried desperately to make this shelf in just two pieces, but it just wasn't happening. The shape of the top and the roll bar just makes it impossible unless I build a more complex base setup. That's probably something I'll do in the future, but I just wanted something cheap and easy to get me going for the summer. When it's gray and rainy here all fall/winter/spring I'll revisit this.

What you're looking at is three separate pieces. The forward section stretches all the way across. Well almost, I had to cut it down a bit to wedge it in there. I screwed small wood blocks on the underside to keep it centered, and cut out small holes for the bolts that hold on the top, so the boards sit flat on the edge. Under the board is a rubber seal to keep noise and movement to a minimum. Spanning the width of the front is c channel aluminum.

The two rear pieces are split down the middle (again it was the only way to fit it in). On the rear bottom edge of the front board are four mending brackets that the rear boards rest on. The two rear boards are held together by C channel aluminum at the front and rear. There is a maximum of about 1/8" of movement in any direction, everything fits nice and snug. So far it seems pretty sturdy, though I'll be thinking of a way to make the rear panels more solid.

When I come back from work and finish installing the suspension lift, I'm going to paint the panels and spray/roll some cheap bedliner on everything to clean it up, as well as install some tie-down anchors. The boards will be secured to the lower tie-downs as well.

I settled on a 24 gallon action packer, and two 8 gallon action packers.

This way I can secure everything on top easily, and had room to stuff soft goods on top of the boxes (sleeping bags, pillows etc). There is roughly 12" above the small action packers and 7" above the large box. The height below the shelf is just shy of 17". Plenty of room for a variety of coolers and other personal items.

The small action packers can be oriented a couple of ways.

Another bonus is that I have a little extra storage space next to the windows. My portable air compressor will easily fit in here, perhaps even one or two rotopax 2 gallon containers....

And of course I had the windows tinted to keep things out of sight.

 

[Septu]

The goal for next spring/summer is a new habitat or j30 top, maybe it will even squeeze into the garage with 35s. If not I may just spring for 37s. I'll be running stock 4.10 gears until I get that figured out anyway, the six speed seems like it is geared low enough to be tolerable for a while.

People say that the 4.10 and 35s are the perfect match. I haven't tested that yet, but I find them too low for the stock 32s.

Very nice looking JK!!

 

[Inline6]

Looks nice. Just do the 37s first off, waiting on the 35s to wear out will kill ya. Lol

 

[brianjwilson]

I never said I had to wait for them to wear out! Actually I usually sell my tires before they are half worn and get decent money for them. New tires are one of my favorite things! I figured the difference between just running 35s, and running 37s with sleeves, gussets, HD balljoints, fenders, gears etc was about $2500. That's without new axle shafts. I would rather spend time and money playing this summer, and an extra inch may be the difference in parking in my garage. I'm gone for 16 days every month and it gets really old coming home to a truck covered in pollen and/or moss every time.
I'll probably upgrade balljoints and sleeve/gusset the axles this winter anyway, but at least I feel a little more confident in the drivetrain with 35s for now.

 

[Inline6]

I've just been running 37s without all that extra stuff for close to a year and have not had any of the Internet hype issues. I also don't mind them with the 4:11s. Not much more of a pig than it was on the 32s or 35s I ran for a while as well.

Was just doing the typical Internet presumption, sorry if I offended. Tried to put the lol there to help.

 

[JFarris]

Give a report on the AEV 3.5 after you have installed and used. I've been debating that same setup since I picked up my 12' JKUR last October. I've been waiting patiently....trying really hard to make the right decision on what brand. My choice would be 35's also.

Rig looks awesome by the way, and I'm really liking your shelf you made.

 

[brianjwilson]

I've just been running 37s without all that extra stuff for close to a year and have not had any of the Internet hype issues. I also don't mind them with the 4:11s. Not much more of a pig than it was on the 32s or 35s I ran for a while as well.

Was just doing the typical Internet presumption, sorry if I offended. Tried to put the lol there to help.

Haha, no offense taken whatsoever.

That's good to hear that the 37s are working okay. I sometimes just have bad luck and didn't want to stack the odds against myself yet.



I'll definitely give me thoughts about te AEV lift, though it will be three weeks until I'm back home again. I only put 300-400 miles on it last week so I'm not sure how much of a comparison I can really give.

 

[en480c4]

I've put about 1,200 miles on my AEV 3.5" in the two weeks since the install, including an 1,100 mile road trip, and I couldn't be happier. Knowing my Jeep was going to spend 98% of its time on-road, I knew I needed a well-balanced setup. And since I have to borrow garage space from family and friends, I didn't want joints or ends that would require the occasional rebuild. I wanted something that had the lack of maintenance and ride quality of the stock rubber bushings. The ride is great, but even more impressive to me is the handling. The stability is great, and it inspires confidence on the roads, both around town and on the interstate. What it may lack in the last 5% of off-road capabilities it more than makes up for in everything else I was looking for. Everything is a compromise, and so far, I've gotten everything I wanted and more from this suspension setup.

 

[Token]

Check out the Hypertech programmer.. Not really cheap, but it'll take care of your locker only in 4 low issue.. Has some other little tweaks in it like monitoring battery draw.. If it sees a load that would be a winch running, it bumps the idle up to 1500rpm to give max output on the alternator.. And then there's the performance gains you can get out of it..

 

[Jim K in PA]

Or my new money pit, whatever... I'm excited about it anyway!

Congratulations. Nice truck.

The six speed is a little clunky and has popped out of fourth gear twice when coasting and hitting a bump. I also get some rattling noise in neutral with my foot off the clutch, so I'm not sure what's going on there.

I believe they are still using the NSG370 6 speed in the JKs, which is the same trans I have in my '05. The rattle is the input bearing, and is not a problem (just annoying). The popping out of gear on hard bumps with no load is another common characteristic of the 6 speed - normal. If it pops out of gear under load, then have it checked.

Good luck and enjoy it.

 

[Septu]

Check out the Hypertech programmer.. Not really cheap, but it'll take care of your locker only in 4 low issue.. Has some other little tweaks in it like monitoring battery draw.. If it sees a load that would be a winch running, it bumps the idle up to 1500rpm to give max output on the alternator.. And then there's the performance gains you can get out of it..

That setup for the 2012?

 

[Token]

That setup for the 2012?

Lemme check and make sure.. I know they had some issues hacking the encryptions, but I'm pretty sure they have them worked out and have the programmer available now, even though it's not listed on the site.. One of the guys there I know has a JK and I'm pretty sure it's a 12 that he's built up..

 

[brianjwilson]

I'll have to check that out, last I heard nobody was programming the 2012 yet.
A local shop said that unichip had a customer's 2012 for a bit, but they were still testing.