Introducing Miss Rubi, a 2012 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited

[crawler#976]

We could never get a good balance on the GFX09 rims and BFG KM2 255/80-17. Discount Tire guaranteed us that the rims were OK, and warrentied out the tires. Decided to try the Falken Wild Peaks that are rebranded for Discount as Rocky Mountains.

That didn't fix it. Still had a hard shake above 60 MPH. The rims were not designed for the Jeep, and had a larger hub diameter.

Sold the other rims and bought a set of the AEV's, and it's all good.

We've put over 8K on the tires and AEV rims, and they've done a fine job. With most of our trips in dry terrain, the A/T's were a good choice for mileage and better road manners. So far, they've handled everything with the exception of deep mud without a whimper. In light snow, ice and wet conditions, they work much better than the M/T's, but don't have the bite in deep snow. Got two sets of RUD 4x4's for the Jeep so we'll be ready for a snow trip soon.

 

[PGT]

with a mix of aluminum and steel on that bumper, how do they handle bimetallic corrosion issues? Perhaps its not an issue in AZ with low rainfall and no salt on the roads but it is for us back east.

 

[crawler#976]

There is no steel in the bumper at all. It's 100% Aluminum plate. So, when properly coated with paint, or in our case, bed liner, there should be no major problems. If you are seriously concerned about galvanic corrosion, you could attach a simple $8.00 zinc annode to the frame or bumper just like we did in the marine environment of the USCG. We used several large zinc blocks on the all aluminum 41' UTB's I ran at Station Yerba Buena Island in the San Fransisco bay.

http://www.zincwarehouse.com/hull-z...zinc/tear-drops-3-4-x-2-1-8-x-5-1-4-td-l.html

 

[PGT]

the aluminum bumper has to touch the steel frame at some point. as for sacrificial anodes, that's why I was asking. :-D

I put the TF HD carrier on my tailgate....its made from cast aluminum. It bolts on to where the stock hinges lived and that little bit of sheet metal wasn't painted (and was already corroded a bit). I'll have to keep an eye on it to see if the paint and vinyl I added keep things ok.

 

[crawler#976]

After almost a year of dealing with the doors not having the typical stops, we decided to install a set of the Smart Door retrot-fit kits to the front doors.

http://starfabricating.com/

Installation was pretty straight forward. I did have to do some file work after the 2" hole was sawed. To get the nut plates into the right position, I had to file a flat for it top and bottom to make it fit.

The stops are firm with three positions, close, medium, and wide - infact, the doors open a lot farther than they did stock, making entry easier. It will be nice to not have the door close or flop open when on an off camber trail. To remove the door, it only takes a T50 socket to remove the stop on the body. It's visable in the photo.

 

[crawler#976]

Thanks to Jay and the guys at AT, Miss Rubi is in Four Wheel Drive and Sport Utility. The install on the AEV 2.5 XT at Adventure Trailers is featured.

 

[toddz69]

Thanks to Jay and the guys at AT, Miss Rubi is in Four Wheel Drive and Sport Utility. The install on the AEV 2.5 XT at Adventure Trailers is featured.

Finally! Looking forward to seeing the article.

Todd Z.

 

[crawler#976]

Miss Rubi's build is pretty much complete.

Finally moved the fridge from the truck to the Jeep. The Jeep is now our primary vehicle for exploring and day trips. The truck will still be used for our camping trips since the StarCraft 10Rt is too heavy for the Jeep to tow.

The fridge was hard mounted to a platform in the truck, this time I used the ARB tie down kit so it can be swapped between the two as needed.

Our local construction rental store has an unusual selection of per-fabricated steel parts on hand for in-house repair, and they sell them as well. Four 1" x 2.5" x 0.25" trailer shackles w/ 0.50 dia holes were bent and used on the seat mounting bolts for tie down points, and since all the factory storage for the jack is covered and unusable, I spanned the gap with a 1" x 0.5" channel iron and added another tie down point with a forged eye bolt at the tailgate. The supplied cam buckle straps were too short, so a set of regular cam buckle tie downs are used to strap the fridge down. It's very secure, and is rigid enough for the removable lid to pop off easily. Sierra Expedition stocks power cords, so when it arrive yesterday, the install was completed. I'm real happy to have it available!

Putting the fridge behind the back seat of the Jeep required re-organizing all the other stuff into a 24 gal size Action Packer container. We'd been using a 30 gal container, so I had to make some changes to get everything back into the smaller unit. The biggest was removing all the tools form the plastic hard case and dumping them into a Craftsman tool bag - it won't be as easy to pick out the right tool, but it took up half the space. All the standard recovery gear (5 shackles, a 25' and 10' rigging/extension line, a 10' ARB tree saver, a 30' snatch strap, a snatch block, and a pair of gloves) are in another larger tool bag. The Safety-Seal kit, stock jack and tools, a Gorilla Tire wrench, flares, and a few other items top off the container, and it gets strapped down to the added tie down points too.

Also installed two Purple Cranium Spyder diff half guards that are powder coated to match the Jeep. They will provide good protection from both peeling the bottom lip and impacts.

Easy install on the guards!




Remove and replace 5 bolts w/ stainless steel cap screws.



The fridge has been rattle free once we wrapped the latch with a rag. I keep the lid up unless it's being used to prevent the interior from getting any moisture trapped in it after use.

 

[crawler#976]

After finding that the stock wiring to the 12V accessory plug in the rear is insufficient to run an ARB fridge in hot weather, it got replaced by a 15A capacity one wired directly to the battery. Took a few hours to build a loom and run it back thru the bottom of the storage area. Biggest hassle is removing the sub woofer. The seat belt guide gets popped up, the plastic cover on the back side of the roll bar snaps off, the two tied downs and nut in front of the roll bar were removed, and a solid tug upward and to the front removes the entire assembly. Remember to replace the carpet prior to re-installation of the sub woofer...

 

[crawler#976]

Having used a Warn Wireless Remote on the Power Wagon for years, I figured out how to add one to Miss Rubi's SmittyBilt XRC8. I'm very pleased with how it came out!

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...o-SmittyBilt-XRC8-winch?p=1457852#post1457852

 

[crawler#976]

Couple updates:

After 2 years of use, one of the Philips 67/60W bulbs burned out. Replaced both with another set.

The Falken Wild Peak (aka Rocky Mountain from Discount Tire) are wearing very well. With well over 20K on them, they still have 14/32 tread remaining. They are tough tires too - nary a problem, and although they show the use, they don't have any major chunks removed. Traction has been better than expected in everything but deep snow and mud.

Sent via gigawatt laser...

 

[crawler#976]

Well, we had a right rear Bilstien showning a bit of oil loss. Got in touch with Scott to see if they had any extras around after the OJ shock tests, so we're now running a slightly used set of Fox 2.0 IPF's. We took the Diamond Creek road to the bottom of the Grand Canyon yesterday, and can confirm the testing data from the OJ article. We found them to provide a very comfortable ride on the highway, and they did the same over 44 miles of washboard road. No stutter or loss of control, just a nice comfortable drive. They did suck up some bigger potholes with aplomb as well.

Mark

Sent via gigawatt laser...

 

[crawler#976]

After 29000 miles, the Falken/Discount Tire Wildpeak tires still had a lot of tread left, but wouldn't track straight on even the smoothest pavement. It got very annoying on longer trips.

We decided to try a set of GY Duratracs 285/70-17's. After a few weeks of use, including two 100 mile plus dirt trips, we're very pleased. MPG has gone up almost 2 MPG to 18.4, and even aired down from 28 to 20 PSI, it stayed above 18. Only after going down to 15 did we see it drop to the 14 range. That did include about 10 miles of 4hi and short stretches of 4lo.

Ride quality is much better - pretty obvious considering the difference in side wall construction.

Mark

Sent via Carrier Pigeon

 

[mikeJKUR]

Love that you update your build with information.
Does the trac bar contact the Purple Cranium Spyder diff half guards?

 

[crawler#976]

Thank for the compliment - it's great to hear!

The diff guards are completely clear of any contact. They are tough too - both the Jeep and Power Wagon have been whacked pretty hard and they have no damage. The rear one on the Jeep has done a good job keeping the stock cover from peeling open on the bottom when it's made the rare contact with rocks.

Mark

Sent via Carrier Pigeon