Main Line Overland JK Build Thread

Main Line Overland

Supporting Sponsor
Outstanding build. Very clean and thought out!!

Thanks! We are glad you like it.

Here are a few shots of it on the trails in Utah, where we are now.

85D510EB-8B7E-4FB9-9BBD-19FA2E8017E1-2021-0000011305A0FE83.jpg


DE9AD3EE-212A-48DC-A4FF-F1FD840F5D1D-2077-0000011726E33E33.jpg


31DFE058-B4AD-4F21-8E6C-D68612B55BD0-2077-00000116AC339878.jpg


The Goal Zero solar panels having been working out great, recharging our Goal Zero Extreme 350 Solar power unit quickly, and we have yet to run out of battery power for all of our gear.
 

mrlisk

Observer
Thanks! We are glad you like it.

Here are a few shots of it on the trails in Utah, where we are now.

85D510EB-8B7E-4FB9-9BBD-19FA2E8017E1-2021-0000011305A0FE83.jpg


DE9AD3EE-212A-48DC-A4FF-F1FD840F5D1D-2077-0000011726E33E33.jpg


31DFE058-B4AD-4F21-8E6C-D68612B55BD0-2077-00000116AC339878.jpg


The Goal Zero solar panels having been working out great, recharging our Goal Zero Extreme 350 Solar power unit quickly, and we have yet to run out of battery power for all of our gear.
Looks great!
 

BuckeyeBullet

Observer
Hey Matt, I saw your Jeep in Moab last Weds evening at the 66 gas station downtown. You were just leaving as I pulled in to the other side of the pump in my, ah rental Versa (to save face though, I did take it on the Steelbender trail for about a mile). The wheels really make your JK stand out and I instantly recognized it from reading this thread. If you come to northern UT on your trip I'm one of the crew members on the historic locomotives at Golden Spike Nat'l Historic Site in Promontory. The old railroad grade is now a dirt trail from the park to Nevada around the north side of Great Salt Lake. Ask for Fireman Mike if you visit, that's me. One of our guys is building a JK and I'm working on an XJ. Keep up the good work and safe travels!
 

greggNJ

Observer
Your Jeep looks great! I'm following your trip thread also, looks like am awsome time. How are you liking the AEV 3.5" suspension? I have my eye on the 2.5" w/35's in the future.
Are you still running the 4.10 gears? I may have missed it in this thread if you changed them.
 

Main Line Overland

Supporting Sponsor
Your Jeep looks great! I'm following your trip thread also, looks like am awsome time. How are you liking the AEV 3.5" suspension? I have my eye on the 2.5" w/35's in the future.
Are you still running the 4.10 gears? I may have missed it in this thread if you changed them.

Thanks for following along with us!

I love the AEV 3.5" suspension and I am glad I went with it over the 2.5" because I carried a lot of gear and weight on this trip and the added suspension travel saved my rear, literally on multiple occasions on this trip. I was able to crawl over the Hole in the Rock Trail, and Elephant Hill without a problem with this suspension. And don't let people tell you otherwise, you can legitimately crawl rocks with this suspension, we did over the last week in Utah for sure. Sure you can get that with other suspensions no problem, but can you also drive comfortably from PA to UT, covering thousands of miles, without feeling like your driving a rock-crawler, doubtful.
 

greggNJ

Observer
Thanks for following along with us!

I love the AEV 3.5" suspension and I am glad I went with it over the 2.5" because I carried a lot of gear and weight on this trip and the added suspension travel saved my rear, literally on multiple occasions on this trip. I was able to crawl over the Hole in the Rock Trail, and Elephant Hill without a problem with this suspension. And don't let people tell you otherwise, you can legitimately crawl rocks with this suspension, we did over the last week in Utah for sure. Sure you can get that with other suspensions no problem, but can you also drive comfortably from PA to UT, covering thousands of miles, without feeling like your driving a rock-crawler, doubtful.

Thanks for the reply. You might make me reconsider the 2.5 vs. 3.5 now. I want to run 35's & I don't see my self doing any rock crawling (but you never know...) but I do I lot of highway miles and plan on more long trips with this Jeep and I tend to carry a lot of stuff. And with the 2 kids in the back seat all the weight is the back plus the bikes on the hitch. Coming back from a week at the shore last night I think it sat a little low in the back with stock suspension.

DId you keep the stock driveshafts and gears?
 

Main Line Overland

Supporting Sponsor
Thanks for the reply. You might make me reconsider the 2.5 vs. 3.5 now. I want to run 35's & I don't see my self doing any rock crawling (but you never know...) but I do I lot of highway miles and plan on more long trips with this Jeep and I tend to carry a lot of stuff. And with the 2 kids in the back seat all the weight is the back plus the bikes on the hitch. Coming back from a week at the shore last night I think it sat a little low in the back with stock suspension.

DId you keep the stock driveshafts and gears?

Gregg,

Yeah the weight issue was what pushed me toward the 3.5". With the rooftop tent, and tons of gear, and the possibility of towing later, I wanted the extra weight capacity. I kept the stock driveshafts and gears as I have a manual transmission. If you have an auto you will need to do driveshafts. With 35's and the manual, the gearing is not too bad, but I plan to go to 4.88s at a later date.

Matt
 

greggNJ

Observer
Matt,

Thanks again. I'm glad that the driveshafts & 4.10's will work, that would have been more $ than I'll be able to come up with.
I'm hoping to get a tire carrier and the lift by the time the stock tires wear out..

Gregg
 

Main Line Overland

Supporting Sponsor
Matt,

Thanks again. I'm glad that the driveshafts & 4.10's will work, that would have been more $ than I'll be able to come up with.
I'm hoping to get a tire carrier and the lift by the time the stock tires wear out..

Gregg

Nice! Do it right and do it once. Let us know if you need prices on anything or install help.
 

daveh

Adventurer
Gregg, I also have a 2012 JKUR. I am running the 2.5 aev kit. The 2.5" also has triple rate springs which will easily handle heavy loads just as the 3.5". I tow a trailer and the 2.5 barely moves from the added weight. Either kit will work for you if your goal is added capacity. You just need to decide if you want the extra inch of clearance. The mainline jk does look awesome. Can't wait to check it out in person either at your open house or the upcoming event in Vermont.
 

greggNJ

Observer
Gregg, I also have a 2012 JKUR. I am running the 2.5 aev kit. The 2.5" also has triple rate springs which will easily handle heavy loads just as the 3.5". I tow a trailer and the 2.5 barely moves from the added weight. Either kit will work for you if your goal is added capacity. You just need to decide if you want the extra inch of clearance. The mainline jk does look awesome. Can't wait to check it out in person either at your open house or the upcoming event in Vermont.

daveh,
Thanks for the info. Glad to hear the 2.5" is working well for you. I was looking at them again last night and the price difference is considereable. For my needs I may be better off sticking with the 2.5" and using the additinal $$ elsewhere (still on the Jeep of course!). My wife and daughters will appreciate it being as low as possible so they can get in without a running start.
Agreed about the Mainline JK...very nice!
Gregg
 

Main Line Overland

Supporting Sponsor
Hi All,

A while back we had set a date for a little open house event at our shop for Sept. 8th, this coming Saturday, so people could come out and meet us and other local Overlanders to try to build a better sense of community in our local region. We plan on trying to have events likes this every so often to get people interested and talking to each other, sharing stories of their own adventures, or even advice based on their own experiences.

We were thinking of making a Bald Eagle State Forrest run in conjunction with this event, but having a work back-log as we do now, we may need to put that on hold for another weekend in the near future. This open house will be a great lead-up event for the Northeast Overland Rally that is coming up in a few weeks which we are also sponsoring as well.

The event will run this Saturday, Sept. 8th from 11 am - 5 pm. We will be barbequing, so let us know if you plan on attending so we can plan accordingly for food.

Address: 1229 Wrights Lane, West Chester, PA 19380


So if you have time, stop by with your rig, your appetite and your stories.

Thanks,
Matt & Peter
 
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