goofiefoot's 2009 JKUR

[goofiefoot]

I don't know whether to call this a build thread, idea thread, discussion thread, or just a "let's show my new Jeep off" thread, but here it goes.

September 20, 2013 - Purchase Day
4:00 am: Alarm clock goes off
4:15 am: My wife, Amy, graciously gets up and drives me to the airport
6:00 am: Flight leaves for Fort Walton Beach, Florida
11:15 am: Land in Florida, meet with Jeep owner, drive back to his house in Destin to inspect
12:30 pm: Agree to buy the Jeep, drive to the bank
1:15 pm: Purchase complete, drive to gas station for fuel and road food
2:00 pm: Start driving back to Texas

September 21, 2013 - Home with Jeep!
2:00 am: Pull into my driveway in Austin, TX

September 22, 2013 - Take it to the deer lease and try it out off road

As it stands, here are the specs:

2009 JKUR
6-Speed Manual
Hardtop and Softtop
Garvin Wilderness Rack
Tuffy Security Deck
Magnaflow Cat-Back Exhaust
AirRAID Intake
PowerAID Spacer
WARN Sliders
Rancho RS5235 Shocks
Rear Shock Airbags (manual inflate)

Stay tuned...

 

[XJINTX]

WOW, Jason when are we heading to Marble Falls? I leave tomorrow for MOAB, you and Amy should come

 

[goofiefoot]

WOW, Jason when are we heading to Marble Falls? I leave tomorrow for MOAB, you and Amy should come

Hey Roger! Yeah, I'm thinking we may not be able to make this trip to Moab, but it is definitely on our must-do trip list. I'll be stretching the Jeep's legs out at the deer lease through the fall, but may be up for a off-road trip soon after.

 

[goofiefoot]

The Garvin rack really helped sell this particular Jeep. I like the versatility and accessories available. I can load my kayaks on it as-is, and have the option to add lights, recovery tool mounts, cargo, and if it ever came to it, a RTT. What I am discovering (especially after a 12-hour drive home from Florida) is that it is LOUD, and I'm sure it doesn't help with fuel economy. I am considering taking it off and storing it in my garage and only using it when I need it. There are about a dozen or so bolts that need to be removed to do this, so I know it won't be a quick off-on situation. Anyone else do this, and any tips?

.
The Tuffy Security Deck is interesting, but I'm not sold on keeping it. It seems really solid (read: heavy), and the idea of hiding things underneath it is somewhat valuable. The lid, however, has no lift support (although I'm sure I could make one), and in the short time I've had it, I've had to struggle with items too bulky to fit under it, leaving the lid precariously half-open and unsecured. I was thinking I could mount some sort of attachment points to the top, but then it would make it that much harder to open if needed. Anyone have one of these? Any suggestions?

.
One of the things I've seen around this site that I would really like to add is a fold-down tailgate table. My tailgate has a support strut, but I'm not sure the brand. Can I run one of the tables with this setup?

.
Amy is 5'2" and we have a 17-month-old daughter. I bought the Jeep so we can travel, camp, and go off the beaten path. While I have aspirations of modification, I know I won't be able to add a big lift and tires and expect it to still be useful for the family. Here is my initial wants/needs list in a somewhat accurate order of importance. I want to keep weight down as much as possible. As I use it, this may change or be added-onto.

1. More step-friendly rock sliders. I'm leaning toward the Body Armor Rockstep.
2. Tool and recovery bags. I'll re-purpose tools and equipment from my Xterra and add on as-needed
3. Front bumper and winch. A short-to-mid-width bumper and a synthetic-rope winch setup would be great for weight. I've been hearing great reviews on the Engo.
4. Hi-Lift Mount. Maybe inside?
5. GPS/Music/Entertainment device. Maybe an iPad setup.
6. Rear metal bumper. I just found out that the stock rear bumper is worthless as a step-up for the roof rack. Ugh.
7. On-board air system
8. Off-road lights, front and rear
9. Fuel storage
10. Water storage
11. 2.5" lift. Been reading good things about AEV, OME, and Tera-Flex.
12. 33" tires. Still need to keep step-in height in mind.

I'm putting this all out there for discussion. Feel free to make suggestions.

 

[jscusmcvet]

A girl that works for me has a 2012 jkur. She is about 5' even. They are looking at this step so she can still lift it.

http://www.mountainoffroad.com/_e/Hide_A_Steps/product/JKST07B/Jeep_JK_Hide_A_Step_Black_.htm

Nice jeep, good luck with it.

John

 

[GetOutThere]

A girl that works for me has a 2012 jkur. She is about 5' even. They are looking at this step so she can still lift it.

http://www.mountainoffroad.com/_e/Hide_A_Steps/product/JKST07B/Jeep_JK_Hide_A_Step_Black_.htm

Nice jeep, good luck with it.

John

I recently won this step in an online give away from Northridge 4x4 and M.O.R.E.

Once I receive it, I'll post up some thoughts.

 

[kojackJKU]

I have a teraflex 2/1" leveling kit on my JKU, works awesome with 33's. I have wheeled mine lots of places with the family. I swapped out my stock shocks to monroe reflex monotubes which made a big difference to ride and handleing. I also added wheel spacers to make a bit more room for the 33's. I think im going with pizza cutter bfg km2s next time, or 33 duratracs. depends on my mood at the time of sale.

Anything you need some help with feel free to give me a msg here. jeep unlimiteds are probably the most versitile rig on the go. I am using a surco removable roof rack for my expi's.

 

[goofiefoot]

A girl that works for me has a 2012 jkur. She is about 5' even. They are looking at this step so she can still lift it.

http://www.mountainoffroad.com/_e/Hide_A_Steps/product/JKST07B/Jeep_JK_Hide_A_Step_Black_.htm

Nice jeep, good luck with it.

John

Those are great, but to make the Jeep useful for her, I would need 4 total, which would put me in the same price range as a set of Rocksteps. Basically, I plan to sell my WARN sliders to offset the cost of the new ones, so I need a good replacement option.

I turned my rearview mirror upside down last night. Huge difference in visibility!

 

[goofiefoot]

My wife and I went out of town for our anniversary this weekend. Friday morning, I decided to take the Garvin rack off the Jeep to see if I could see any sort of difference. I learned very quickly how "permanent" of an installation these things are. Before I started, I could tell by some of the mounting points that holes had been drilled through the body, but I didn't consider things like the stock license plate bracket, which was completely removed for the rack installation. In other words, I now have no place to bolt the license plate and light. It's currently zip-tied in place to some of the rack mounts, and will probably stay that way until I put the rack back on, unless I can find any easy alternate solution. Another discovery was just how HEAVY the damn thing is. The main basket alone probably weighs 80-90 lbs. It's nice and solid for sure, but removing 100+ lbs from the top of the Jeep certainly isn't hurting me. I ended up leaving the windshield-mount supports on, as they use different bolts (with rubber washers) than the stock bolts. I don't have the stock replacement bolts, and the rubber washers are deteriorating , so I need to explore this a bit more before I remove these - I may be over-thinking it.

I also have completely developed a complete hate relationship with the Tuffy trunk. Since the baby was staying with my parents while we were gone, I need to load up a decent amount of bulky stuff - portable crib, stroller, a few duffels, charcoal, ice chest, etc. The lid of the trunk is just mounted too low to be usable. Its lack of lid support made it a pain to try to organize around. I finally just took the lid off completely (another fairly heavy piece) and will uninstall the rest of it this week and sell it.

I zero out my Average Economy meter with each fill-up. My typical tank of gas settles in around 15 mpg with my typical city and highway driving. I hand-calculate as well, and I find it's pretty accurate. I took the rack off with about 30 miles on this tank, and after the weekend, I have about 190 miles on the tank. As of this morning my average MPG is reading 17.1 mpg! If I was solely driving highway, I would predict at least 1 more mpg. I'm pleased.

 

[Longtallsally]

Now you know why I've lost pretty much all interest in a permanent roof rack. With just a simple Yakima bike rack and basket we had laying around, I lost 2 mpg!!!! Also, the wind blew us all over creation and my wife even said she needed to downshift to keep pace on a pass right next to us. This was just in testing it out to see if we wanted to invest $1500 in a "nice" rack. Unacceptable. So we just put this thing on as needed, which works perfect. Not the best pic, but you get the idea:

On your rear air bags, I wonder if you might have some details on them? I debate on them from time to time for towing the camper, but it's not a huge priority depending on cost/complexity.

 

[goofiefoot]

On your rear air bags, I wonder if you might have some details on them? I debate on them from time to time for towing the camper, but it's not a huge priority depending on cost/complexity.

Honestly, I'd like a little more info on them myself. When I bought the Jeep, I got all the original records (on a thumb drive) that lists when items were installed. I found record of the bags being installed by a shop, but the manufacturer, or any related instruction was not included. A quick Google search found several options, THIS being the closest in appearance. The bags are currently inflated in my springs, but I haven't really inspected them since I bought the JK, or even checked how much pressure they are riding at. I've got two nipples mounted on l-brackets, welded to my bumper on either side of my tow hitch. It's a pretty simple system, and I would imagine works as-advertised. I'll do a little more investigating and report back.

 

[Longtallsally]

I read this a while back, which got me interested in the thought:

http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write-ups/air-lift-1000-air-springs-installation-write-up

 

[goofiefoot]

Nice! That helps. Now, off to test the pressure in my airbags...

 

[goofiefoot]

My first mod done this evening! Once I found the correct size u-bolts, the rest was a snap. Nice and secure, and no loss of rear visibility.

I am now getting over my hatred of the tuffy trunk (I'm fairly certain I'm not bi-polar), and plan to add some usability to it, including tie-down points and padding for the top, Molle panels for the interior, and some sort of prop to keep the lid up while loading.

 

[goofiefoot]

Amazon had a great price on the Rugged Ridge front and back floor mats, so I picked up a set and put them in. They fit great, albeit a little stiff from sitting out in the cold all day. If I had brought them inside for an hour or two before installing them, it may have been a little easier.