First Jeep

[bestcoast]

Thanks everybody for the kind words!

JKUR hard rock also has the winch ready bumper.

I must say I'm jealous of the rubicon. I picked up my sport with 3.73 and limited slip a couple of months ago. I love it but still can't stop thinking about a rubicon. Still on the fence on modifying this one or planning on trading it in in a couple of years.

Thanks! They only had one Rubicon on the lot and it had the hard top, power convenience package, and 4.10 gears. Basically everything that I wanted including the color. I was super torn between the sport or the rubicon but I had a feeling I would just spend the money trying to turn the sport into the rubicon even if I didn't really need it. what's the saying? the grass is always greener..

Congrats!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congratulations and welcome to this particular sickness

:wings:

Hello, welcome, and prepare to have awesome fun in your new Jeep. Congratulations!

A few thoughts, from someone who has been there, and back again, for over 40 years off-road. Nothing wrong with your approach, or your wish list, or anything about it - because these are your wishes and dreams. So take what I say in that spirit.

You do not "need" any of those things, to explore off-road safely and with great adventure. Not a even a winch, or radio, or any of it. I have some of those things, and some more things of my own liking. But you do not NEED them. So buy'em if you gotta. Just understand yourself.

The Jeep Rubicon JKU has simply awesome overlanding capability, right out of the box. Training should be your absolute first priority. Plus caution combined with an adventurous spirit, to get out with what you have, and gain Experience... and have fun!

I hear what you're saying. I don't "need" any of it but I could see things like having drawers to store recovery gear/ tools in and a winch to get me out of something if I get stuck would make things a little easier. The winch being the big one because it'll add the extra safety net and give me more confidence to go further with my skill level. I'm not going to let that stop me from taking it out as is however, they are just things I want to get down the line. The rubicon surprised the heck outta me even on the minor trail I took it on. It was funny because I had a buddy video tape me going down this somewhat steep rocky section. It felt pretty off camber and steep from inside the jeep but on the video it looks like i'm driving down a steep driveway because the jeep had enough articulation to stay level while I went down.

Congrats dude! It's a great lifestyle you're gonna love it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! I was driving around today and I swear all of the sudden every third car I saw was a jeep and everyone waved haha

Congratulations! :beer:
They are an amazing amount of fun.

Thanks!


On a side note, from those with the rubicon, when do you find yourself using the sway bar disconnect? I was also keeping an eye on the coolant temp yesterday (I'm used to driving a '69 chevy) and noticed it was sitting between 200 and 210, is this on par for this engine?

IMG_5392 by Daniel Hargreaves, on Flickr
Heres the aftermath of yesterday's trip.

IMG_7877 by Daniel Hargreaves, on Flickr
All cleaned up and the freedom panels off for the first time. Can't beat 75 degree weather!

IMG_4368_Fotor by Daniel Hargreaves, on Flickr
Next to the girlfriend's car. They definitely could not be more opposite. Life's all about experiencing different things though right?

 

[Comanche Scott]

I'd swear in the picture with the mud on the bumper, your Jeep is smiling...

If I'm in low range it's disconnected, except where the sway bar is needed to help stabilize the Jeep. Like big rocks with holes between them, or extreme off camber.
I don't necessarily need, or want, the tire to drop down into a hole, and the sway bar connected restricts articulation a bit. So I'll hit the front locker, and let the one tire float over the hole.

 

[bestcoast]

The plan was to go camping this weekend up at Lake Pillsbury but unfortunately it was forecasted to rain all weekend so on Friday I took the jeep out again to Cow Mountain OHV for some trail time. I had a ton of fun and was blown away by this thing once again. The video doesn't do it justice (I know everyone says that). There were two hills in particular that unfortunately I did not get on video, that the jeep climbed up effortlessly. My buddy had to get on all fours to walk up them they were so steep. One thing I learned pretty quickly about the trails at Cow Mountain is that they may be labeled for jeep use, but man some of them were a tight fit with the brush on either side. I was definitely cringing at points and the paint has the scratches to show it. I guess this is what I bought it for though. At approximately 700 miles in the video.

Here's a little video from the day.

 

[bestcoast]

I'd swear in the picture with the mud on the bumper, your Jeep is smiling...

If I'm in low range it's disconnected, except where the sway bar is needed to help stabilize the Jeep. Like big rocks with holes between them, or extreme off camber.
I don't necessarily need, or want, the tire to drop down into a hole, and the sway bar connected restricts articulation a bit. So I'll hit the front locker, and let the one tire float over the hole.

I think you might be right. I need to play around with the sway bar some more. This last time out I left it disconnected the entire trail and I definitely noticed the lean in some places where it made the jeep feel like it was more off camber than it really was. The trade-off is amazing flex for a stock vehicle. I can't believe how easily this thing stuffs a tire going over stuff.

I just started reading your thread and like what you have going on so far. You're giving me all sorts of ideas on how to empty my wallet haha.

 

[Comanche Scott]

There are some really good builds on this forum, and a lot of it done on the cheap. Some very talented folks here. Check out some of the stuff jscherb is doing. He even made an entire modular hard top!
If you get over to the build forum on Wrangler Forum, you'll see a lot of really awesome builds too.
Yeah, it can definitely be a wallet purging experience. lol

One of the things I picked up on is a ceramic paint coating, that is done by professional detailing shops. This topic just came up over on WF, but I've heard of this type of protective coating before. Very spendy, but if it is really as good as people say, it would be well worth it.
I have some trail pin striping too, but it seems to come out with a good wash and wax... so far.

 

[bestcoast]

I've checked out WF a little bit so far and there are some cool builds for sure.

After you mentioned ceramic coatings I looked them up and wow they are pricey. If there's research backing them I could see spending that much but I've yet to find anything concrete.

I'm going to give it a good wash and wax this weekend to see what I can do by hand. If there's anything that requires more, I know of a good body shop in town that will cut and buff for a pretty reasonable price.

There are some really good builds on this forum, and a lot of it done on the cheap. Some very talented folks here. Check out some of the stuff jscherb is doing. He even made an entire modular hard top!
If you get over to the build forum on Wrangler Forum, you'll see a lot of really awesome builds too.
Yeah, it can definitely be a wallet purging experience. lol

One of the things I picked up on is a ceramic paint coating, that is done by professional detailing shops. This topic just came up over on WF, but I've heard of this type of protective coating before. Very spendy, but if it is really as good as people say, it would be well worth it.
I have some trail pin striping too, but it seems to come out with a good wash and wax... so far.

 

[bestcoast]

Update:

After having the Jeep for about a month now not a ton has happened apart from me driving the heck out of it. Its got about 3500 miles now and it's been awesome. We've taken a couple road trips to LA, Sacramento, and all over the bay area. Mostly boring highway miles. My average MPG so far is about 17 which isn't half bad. At 3k miles I had the first oil change done. What are you guys using for oil in these? After doing some light reading I went with Pennzoil Ultra Synthetic.

Upgrades:
- A friend had a spare 20" curved LED bar. I used some rigid hood mounts and modified the harness that came with it to get rid of the switch. I wired the relay to switch off of the high beams for the time being. The plan is to get a Switch-Pros sp8100 down the line to make wiring future accessories cleaner. I left the wiring easily removable because of this. So far I'm impressed and you can't beat the price (Free).

IMG_0818 by Daniel Hargreaves, on Flickr

-I purchased a 48" hi lift as well as the hood mounts for it. After handling it I quickly realized it was going to be no good on the hood. I'm going to find a tailgate mount for it and for the time being it gets to ride in the back.

-I also purchased a Baofeng UV-82HP radio to use for emergencies and for between vehicle communication.


This past weekend a couple friends and I took a weekend trip to Lake Pillsbury, CA. The plan was to camp at Sunset Point campground and to explore and shoot for the weekend. The weather called for possible rain and a little wind but we decided to take a chance. We got up there Thursday afternoon and met up with a couple buddies that were set up lakeside. We were treated with 20 mph winds and temps in the 50's before wind chill. The plan was to forego the tent and to sleep in the back of the jeep. It was interesting to say the least. I'm 5-10 and neither me nor my girlfriend could fully extend our legs in the back which made for cramped knees in the morning.

The next morning the wind was still going so we found a new spot to camp with less wind. That night I messed with the sleeping arrangement in the jeep and was able to rig the rear seat headrests to lay flat by moving the front seats forward which gave us enough room to stretch out. This is something that's going to need more work before next time. I'm thinking a drawer system with a top that folds out to create a sleeping platform.

Hull Mountain is one of the prominent peaks around the lake at a little under 7000 feet. We spent Saturday trying to get to the peak and messing around on some of the trails in the area. The road to the top is an easy dirt trail. 4x4 isn't needed until you get closer to the summit. When we began, the rain had started to come steady which made it more interesting. On the way up we met a fellow wheeler in a cool old Samurai who was stopped at the telephone tree (its a tree marked with a plastic bag and the only place you can get reception in the area). He ended up being excited to have someone to wheel with and ended up coming with us to the top.

As we got closer to the top we basically entered a cloud. The visibility off the mountain was nonexistent. It made for an interesting drive as the trail winds around the side of mountain and when you look off the side all you see is white. Just before the summit is a rocky outcrop that juts off the side of the mountain. It's a decent climb up the loose rock to get on top of it but the jeep had no issues. Once on top all we could see was cloud and then it started to snow. In May.


Rather then risk getting stuck, we decided to turn back and head down to below the snow to spend some time running through some of the trails in the area. What's great about this area is that there are trails everywhere. We spent the next couple hours roaming and putting the 4x4 to use. My buddy has a close-to-stock Tacoma (with an awesome home made drawer/sleeping setup in the bed) who was with me and it was cool to see how the vehicles handled the different terrain. With open diffs and low tread BFG AT's, the tacoma was more of a momentum setup whereas the JK let me go slow and crawl. I'm still blown away by what we were able to do with stock vehicles. We crawled, flexed, and slid through some challenging trails and both came through unscathed (apart from a 1/4" bright white pinstripe spanning the passenger rear door of the JK).

Heres a short video of some of the trip. Unfortunately I didn't get any of the good trail action on there:


The plan is to return to Hull Mountain soon for some more camping and fun.

 

[dirtyjim]

Glad you got a thread started, I see a lot more trips in the future.

 

[HRPINDC]

Sounds like a great trip. Glad you're having fun with your Jeep, they are amazing vehicles and so much fun. One thing to consider, there isn't a good lift point for a Hi-Lift on a stock Jeep. Also, the best investment you can make is in yourself. My friends and I take at least one weekend a year and work with an I4WDTA certified trainer to build our skills. Welcome to the club and have fun!

 

[bestcoast]

Sounds like a great trip. Glad you're having fun with your Jeep, they are amazing vehicles and so much fun. One thing to consider, there isn't a good lift point for a Hi-Lift on a stock Jeep. Also, the best investment you can make is in yourself. My friends and I take at least one weekend a year and work with an I4WDTA certified trainer to build our skills. Welcome to the club and have fun!

Thanks for the advice. I'm not familiar with I4WDTA but i'll look into it. Are you aware of any courses in the N. Cal area? I've thought about the hi lift issue and until I get new bumpers and sliders, I'm going to strictly use it with a lift mate.

 

[kojackJKU]

Thanks everybody for the kind words!



Thanks! They only had one Rubicon on the lot and it had the hard top, power convenience package, and 4.10 gears. Basically everything that I wanted including the color. I was super torn between the sport or the rubicon but I had a feeling I would just spend the money trying to turn the sport into the rubicon even if I didn't really need it. what's the saying? the grass is always greener..





:wings:


I hear what you're saying. I don't "need" any of it but I could see things like having drawers to store recovery gear/ tools in and a winch to get me out of something if I get stuck would make things a little easier. The winch being the big one because it'll add the extra safety net and give me more confidence to go further with my skill level. I'm not going to let that stop me from taking it out as is however, they are just things I want to get down the line. The rubicon surprised the heck outta me even on the minor trail I took it on. It was funny because I had a buddy video tape me going down this somewhat steep rocky section. It felt pretty off camber and steep from inside the jeep but on the video it looks like i'm driving down a steep driveway because the jeep had enough articulation to stay level while I went down.



Thanks! I was driving around today and I swear all of the sudden every third car I saw was a jeep and everyone waved haha



Thanks!


On a side note, from those with the rubicon, when do you find yourself using the sway bar disconnect? I was also keeping an eye on the coolant temp yesterday (I'm used to driving a '69 chevy) and noticed it was sitting between 200 and 210, is this on par for this engine?

IMG_5392 by Daniel Hargreaves, on Flickr
Heres the aftermath of yesterday's trip.

IMG_7877 by Daniel Hargreaves, on Flickr
All cleaned up and the freedom panels off for the first time. Can't beat 75 degree weather!

IMG_4368_Fotor by Daniel Hargreaves, on Flickr
Next to the girlfriend's car. They definitely could not be more opposite. Life's all about experiencing different things though right?

BMW I3 is an awesome car. Be thankful its not a prius!

 

[bestcoast]

BMW I3 is an awesome car. Be thankful its not a prius!

We refused to get a prius haha. It's been a good car so far and is actually really fun to drive. It handles well and is fast for what it is.

 

[bestcoast]

Update Time!!

Much needed update:

The mod bug bit. Hard.

In all seriousness what I thought I wanted with the JK changed pretty quickly the more I drove it. I found the limitations of the stock suspension and realized it was due for an upgrade. The great thing about the JK platform is the plethora of aftermarket parts for it. The downside is it takes awhile to really wade through all of the parts out there to find what works and what doesn't. I knew I wanted around a 2.5" spring lift. I wanted something that would look alright with the stock tires for awhile. I also wanted something that was more of a complete kit that would not require too many other parts to be purchased for it to work correctly. After reading and searching online for hours I decided on the Teraflex 2.5" spring lift with shock extensions. I chose to go this route rather than to get the kit with their shocks because I knew I would be upgrading the shocks down the line anyways and wanted to go with something better than the Teraflex 9550 shocks their kits come with.

Here’s a look at some stock flex:









The kit I purchased came with springs, bumpstops, brake line extensions, a rear frame-side trackbar drop bracket, and new rear sway bar links. I knew that the lift would be enough to shift my front axle side-to-side so I purchased a JKS front trackbar as well. Because I was keeping my stock rubicon wheels, I purchased 1.5" wheel spacers as I read the new sway-bar links would rub (and they did).

Once everything arrived, I set aside a weekend to tackle the install. I had never installed a lift kit before but consider myself mechanically inclined. The scariest part of the install was getting the axles drooped far enough to get the springs out. I used 12 ton jack stands under the frame to get the clearance I needed and was able to get them out with some effort. Overall I am was happy with the quality of the kit with one exception. The brake line extensions were terrible. It took some serious massaging of the lines to get them to fit into the bracket and after I got them in, the brake lines rubbed on the black boot of the shocks in the back. In the front, Teraflex tells you to remove the stock bracket that holds the lines to the axle instead of supplying a bracket. I didn't like this because it left the lines loose in close proximity to the coil springs. I opted to leave the brake on but disconnected from the axle. I then zip-tied it to the shock body to provide more slack until I could find another solution.

My initial driving impressions on the street were good. I liked the firmness of the springs but could tell the shocks were a little too soft. There was more body roll as can be expected. What I did not like was how the drop in castor effected the steering. It became significantly lighter and on the freeway required enough effort to keep the jeep straight that it was annoying.

I also installed a tow hitch to tow a small trailer with to get things done around the house. Who said jeeps couldn’t work??

 

[bestcoast]

Continued...

Continued…


After driving the jeep like this for several months I got used to the steering but began looking for a way to solve the problem. Like many things with the JK there are several different ways to accomplish geometry correction. There are drop brackets like those from AEV and Rancho etc, there are adjustable control arms that fit with the factory brackets, there are fixed length control arms designed to be slightly longer, and then there's the option of going with a long arm kit.

I liked the idea of keeping the factory arms as I don't rock crawl and wanted a bushing that was going to keep NVH close to stock and didn't require a lot of maintenance. I looked long and hard at the brackets from AEV but after lots of reading I decided against them because of the loss of ground clearance and the increased leverage they place on the stock brackets. This led me to the option of fixed length or adjustable aftermarket control arms.

I wanted something that wasn't going to break the bank, was high quality with a good reputation, would provide the ability to dial in caster and pinion angle, and used something close to a stock style bushing. After hours more reading and research I decided on Synergy fixed length lower control arms with their adjustable upper arms. They use what they call a dual durometer bushing which is essentially an upgraded rubber bushing. I chose to go with all four arms because I wanted to re-center the rear axle front to back and I would be able to set pinion angle front and back to hopefully keep the stock driveshafts alive for the near future.

After receiving the control arms and getting them installed I was happy with my decision. Unfortunately the rear lower arms were backordered and I am still waiting to get them so for the time being I installed all four front arms to at least get the steering corrected. I also installed four new Fox 2.0 adventure series shocks which are essentially a budget version of their 2.0 IFP shocks that are non-rebuildable but use the same internals and mounting hardware. After getting the front arms installed, I used an angle finder app on my iPhone and set the front caster to 5 degrees by placing the iPhone on top of the upper balljoints. The Synergy upper adjustable arms use a trick dual adjustment sleeve that allows for adjustment while the arms are installed on the jeep. I had never done an alignment before this but I can only imagine that having to remove the arms to make adjustments would have been a pain and would have taken considerably more time.

The JK on a day trip to some local trails with the lift installed:

I didn't measure the before and after height of the lift, but from the look of it and from reading, I probably gained approximately 3" in the front and 1-2" in the rear.









You can also see the JW Speaker headlights and taillights that I installed as a much needed light upgrade awhile back. The headlights work so good I took off my LED light bar as I really did n’t think I needed it anymore.


The rear lower fixed length arms by Synergy are designed to be specifically used with adjustable uppers and cannot be run with stock uppers as they are a half inch longer than factory to recenter the rear axle. For the time being I have decided not to cut my factory rock rails as the tires clear and the new arms should push the axle back enough to no longer need to cut them.

Talk about a night and day difference. I hadn't realized how soft the factory rubicon shocks were until I drove it for the first time with the new shocks. The majority of the body roll and "wallowing" was gone and replaced with a well controlled but comfortable ride. The steering was once again tight and returned to center nicely and I no longer had the flighty feeling on the freeway.

Here’s a look at some of the suspension components installed:


You can also see the solution I came up with for the brake lines. I purchased JKS brake line extensions. They are a similar design to the Teraflex ones but in the rear they keep the lines off of the shocks, and in the front I was able to re-attach the factory bracket to the axle while using an extension bracket at the frame.

 

[ratled]

Not sure if you found a mount for your Hi Lift yet but here is a budget friendly mount.
ratled