Just another Jeep

[Somecallmetimm]

My winch. 9000# Superwinch X9 I got used back in 2007. It came to me on my old '78 CJ5. It's been a great winch until I installed it on my XJ which was it's 3rd vehicle. It hasn't run properly since installing it. I've already gone through 2 sets of solenoids, and it's still not running properly. At this point, I fear there is an internal problem that cannot be over come without a major overhaul. So for now, it's been removed. I'll assess going forward, but it's nice to get some of that wasted weight off the front of the XJ. Now, how to fill that space?
Open spaces by Tim, on Flickr

As a side note, we've all run into PO issues. Crappy patch jobs or wiring done by previous owners. This was a beauty. Shortly after purchasing my 05 TJ i discovered the 2" receiver hitch was very poorly mounted. Such that I could move it by hand. Bolted to the rear bumper and welded to a thin plate that was welded to the rear cross member. It was barely enough to safely hold onto a bike rack, and even then. Add into that the wiring to a 7 pin plug done with speaker wire.
20220704_144902 by Tim, on Flickr
Out with the old, and in with the new. Don't worry, split loom has been installed on all bare wiring. Now I can tow Scrappy with both Jeeps.
20220704_183409 by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

I do a little bit of a happy dance every time I score some quality part or equipment for a super cheap price. As of now, the price tag for the XJ, trailer and all camp gear is falling somewhere south of $4000. Usually finding great deals mean a little ingenuity or elbow grease needs to be applied to get the item working, or reliable. Recently I got to do another little happy dance when I picked up a really nice, practically new Viair compressor kit for just $40! No elbow grease needed on this deal.
SCORE!! by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Out with the old...
Removed the old bumper to find my rust free jeep has a nice little hole in it.

Noooo! by Tim, on Flickr

So that'll need to be addressed before the new bumper and armor gets installed.

Also... the new bumper is some assembly required.
XJ Bumper by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

It was hot, but productive. Temps over 100 and welding. I got most of the work done on the bumper. Still plenty of touch up work to do. But most of it's done.

All tacked up.
Piecing it together. by Tim, on Flickr

Majority of the initial round of welding done.
Wow... by Tim, on Flickr

Had to test fit to see what the future held.
New bumper by Tim, on Flickr

It's getting set aside while I address some issues that came up on the TJ. I hope to have it ready for paint by next week.

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Done... for now. The foundation has been laid.

After running out of welding wire a couple times, I finally got this beast installed. Roll on bed liner on the outside and flat black on the inside. Mounted and ready to go. Now to work up plans for the tire and fuel carriers.

Some of the better welds. by Tim, on Flickr

Roll on bed liner. by Tim, on Flickr

DONE!! by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Crusty wants me to come out and play while I'm working hard at being a productive member of society... trying...
Going exploring this weekend with a group. Looking forward to it!!!
Eager to play by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Took a week off for my son's birthday and to help get the kids ready for school. During that time, I hit the road for a couple short trips. One in the XJ with the club. We toured a portion of the flint hills and I camped out that evening.

CORA the Explorer returns 8-22

Bringing back the group exploration event known as CORA the Explorer. Just a short day trip through some of the more well known parts of the Flint Hills.

flic.kr

The other was a trip to Western Kansas with Zach. We were in search of migrating brown tarantulas, with Little Jerusalem park as our turn around point. Unfortunately we didn't see any tarantulas. We'll try to find some again next month.

08-22 Western Kansas

A day road trip to western Kansas in search of migrating Brown Tarantula. We didn't see any.

flic.kr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Cleaning and organizing... I removed the back seat bottom to try something and left it out to organize things with better weight distribution. Of course, this will all change when I get the tent back on the trailer. No rush there.

20220905_142119 by Tim, on Flickr

Also I filled the void in my front bumper with a hefty dose of overkill. I probably don't need 13500# of pulling capacity, but why not? Price was right and it came with a cover & 2 wireless remotes.
20220906_182712 by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Exploring...
osro falls by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

On the TJ... I had a sway bar link break. Ball and socket joint on these things are a really dumb design. Replaced them with RC sway bar disconnects.. (yes, i'm well aware the bump stop isn't where it's supposed to be.)

New bling by Tim, on Flickr

Also picked up a single burner camp stove... mainly to make coffee, but also for use in the TJ when I don't want to take the whole setup. Coleman 502 built in 1975. Works like a charm.
Downsizing by Tim, on Flickr

Speaking of camping out of the TJ... got a trip coming up. So I test fit some of the more essential items in the TJ. Even moved the shelf out of the XJ to the back of the TJ and it fit like a charm.
test fitting exploration gear in Twitchy by Tim, on Flickr

I'm not giving up on the XJ... it does need some interior work that will kick it out of commission for a while so the TJ will be filling in while those issues are addressed.

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Decided to change the thread name because of the mix of XJ and TJ information, rather than starting a separate thread for both.

More TJ stuff.
Found a rack system for it for a really low price. Not sure of the make, but it's similar to Baracade or Smittybilt systems but with a few minor differences. I'm not sure I like it, however for some reason I'm getting better gas mileage with the jungle gym attached than I was without??!?!?!? Weird.
Anyway... I'll find out more about it's performance this weekend, camping with friends.
Just installed.
New roof rack by Tim, on Flickr

Testing bike mount and measuring for canoe space.
Testing by Tim, on Flickr

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Had a great weekend hanging with my daughter and a bunch of CORA friends in the wilds of Kansas. Weather was amazing, even with the few sprinkles that passed though. I only took a couple pix all weekend, which is ironic since I taught a basics of photography session at the campout. Looking forward to our next adventure, which will be more road time and heading to different corners of the great plains!

Heading out in light rain.
rain and road by Tim, on Flickr

Heading home
Heading home... by Tim, on Flickr

The new rack performed excellently, as did the TJ. Although some fine tuning will make the setup work better...

Now to take care of the XJ issues...
And as a side note... the bikes didn't work. I almost lost one Friday afternoon while I was still in town. So we ended up leaving them at home. I'll be working on a bike rack built onto the trailer over the fenders. Kicking around ideas at the time, and I think I have a decent plan formulated.

 

[Aria333]

Wow! Did you firstly check the vin code before the purchase? Where it may be checked, by the way

 

[Somecallmetimm]

Wow! Did you firstly check the vin code before the purchase? Where it may be checked, by the way

VINs can be found in several places. Easiest to get to is on the dash, near the lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side. VINs on both jeeps are clear.

 

[Somecallmetimm]

I love Coleman gear. Lamps, stoves, oven, and much more. Most of what I use is dual fuel Coleman. While searching for a Coleman 533, this beast popped up. It's a Coleman Xpedition 2 burner stove that ran on the now defunct Powermax fuel bottles. I love how compact it can be when folded. By all reports, it was an excellent stove that put out great heat. I'll be converting it to run on 1# propane bottles, hopefully it'll retain some of that greatness.
Coleman Xpedition Stove by Tim, on Flickr
Coleman Xpedition Stove by Tim, on Flickr

Anyone have first hand experience with this stove? Any tips?