The Other Graham's 2005 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited
- Thread starter grahamfitter
- Start date
Abel Villesca
Explorer
x2 :sombrero:
IceCap4runnerORP
Adventurer
Looking good Graham, hope to see it at the CT Overland Training Part II. :drool:
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
Thanks for the complements, all. 
And get the Hollywood chrome dirty? :Wow1: Hmm, I'm not sure it was designed with that in mind.
Job for this week: Congo Cage roof rack. Job after that: dechromification!
Cheers,
Graham
And get the Hollywood chrome dirty? :Wow1: Hmm, I'm not sure it was designed with that in mind.
Job for this week: Congo Cage roof rack. Job after that: dechromification!
Cheers,
Graham
JeepinBear
Explorer
Very nice work
Graham, you do very nice work; clean and professional. I think I might have to perform similar mods to my '06 LJ.
Are you planning any rear storage mods?
Graham, you do very nice work; clean and professional. I think I might have to perform similar mods to my '06 LJ.
Are you planning any rear storage mods?
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
Dechromification
Several years ago the Grey Mouser stole some money from Haggis to buy some new bumpers and the stock ones were abandoned in his garage. Until now!
Thanks, Mark, for the bumpers. I know most folks here don't get excited about stock bumpers but I'm ecstatic.
And no chrome!
Well no chrome except the side steps that have been resisting removal because of misidentification of spinning nutserts and were deliberately not included in the photo.
Well no chrome except that I have discovered an unfortunate "conservation of chrome" effect that causes all chrome removed from one vehicle to be applied to another one.
The new Congo Cage rack is just like the old one, just longer. (Feel free to ignore the chrome.)
Cheers,
Graham
Several years ago the Grey Mouser stole some money from Haggis to buy some new bumpers and the stock ones were abandoned in his garage. Until now!
Thanks, Mark, for the bumpers. I know most folks here don't get excited about stock bumpers but I'm ecstatic.
And no chrome!
Well no chrome except the side steps that have been resisting removal because of misidentification of spinning nutserts and were deliberately not included in the photo.
Well no chrome except that I have discovered an unfortunate "conservation of chrome" effect that causes all chrome removed from one vehicle to be applied to another one.
The new Congo Cage rack is just like the old one, just longer. (Feel free to ignore the chrome.)
Cheers,
Graham
Last edited:
Haggis
Appalachian Ridgerunner
Several years ago the Grey Mouser stole some money from Haggis to buy some new bumpers and the stock ones were abandoned in his garage. Until now!
Thanks, Mark, for the bumpers. I know most folks here don't get excited about stock bumpers but I'm ecstatic.
You're most welcome, sir. I'm just glad to get them out of the garage and that somebody is getting some use out of them. It was a pleasure to meet your better half Debbie and her sister Deana. They were both very charming.
Be aware though, that those bumpers have soaked in the Essence of Ridgerunnerdom for many years and may result in some residual side effects in their useage, including but not limited to:
.........An overwhelming desire to have a truck gun in the Jeep at all times.
.........An unusual desire for genuine ridgerunner foods such as Squirrel pot pie, Fricasseed Woodchuck, and Deer Heart Sandwiches.
.........The subconscious gravition towards any type of mudhole, the sloppier and smellier the better and than the inability to keep said mud off your Jeep.
.........The inability to look at cute little animals without thinking about what recipe would bring out their best flavor.
Be sure to have Debbie monitor your behavior for any signs of said side effects.
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
Latest news: side steps are off -- the inaccessible nutserts were neither nutserts nor inaccessible!
I do like the boot cleaner idea. If in the future I need some beefy rock sliders I will definitely incorporate a boot brush!
The white'n'chrome TJ has been uncarpeted for years and I never thought it was excessively noisy until I drove a fully-carpeted LJ. I did splurge on some Husky Liners for the front of the LJ, though.
My turn to pick up dog poo...
Cheers,
Graham
I do like the boot cleaner idea. If in the future I need some beefy rock sliders I will definitely incorporate a boot brush!
The white'n'chrome TJ has been uncarpeted for years and I never thought it was excessively noisy until I drove a fully-carpeted LJ. I did splurge on some Husky Liners for the front of the LJ, though.
My turn to pick up dog poo...
Cheers,
Graham
Haggis
Appalachian Ridgerunner
Graham, would you be so kind as to post a better picture of your Congo rack set up. Something like from the rear quarter. I'm intersted in the fit down the rear of the Jeep. I've been waffling about what kind of rack I want on my LJ and seeing yours I'm leaning the Congo way pretty hard. How did your old Congo rack on the TJ hold up to the salt? The Garvin racks I see around here are rusting badly after one winter. And though they don't seem to rust as bad, I just don't like the way the Smittybilts are setup. I bought a set of Yakima rails, risers and crossbars but can't bring myself to drill holes in my hardtop now. Also are you getting much wind noise; is it better or worse with or without the crossbars?
Thanks in advance,
Mark :elkgrin:
Thanks in advance,
Mark :elkgrin:
Last edited:
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
Better late than never!
Left side of new Jeep. (Note suspicious looking washers used as spacers because I kept the light guards and rubber gaskets behind them. I don't like this solution and I'm probably going to remove the light guards them and make new gaskets for the brakets):
Right side of old Jeep (I needed to trim the plastic hinge cover on the new Jeep to make everything fit):
Let me know if you need more photos.
Cheers,
Graham
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
Low cost storage drawer
Its been a while since my last confession and I confess that the disorganization that is the back of my Jeep, especially when all that stuff is tied it down, is driving me nuts. We got to thinking that a simple drawer next to the fridge would help out a bit but didn't want to spring for a lustworthy Adventure Trailer custom drawer. So instead I present the Adventure Stationary drawer, which I bought from Staples...
The Storex stackable storage drawer has about the same end-on profile as the 8 gallon action packer, but has vertical walls and is about 6 inches longer.
Strapping it down required a bit of lateral thinking. The four anchor points are outside the four corners but somehow the straps are inboard.
Its definitely big enough for all that cookery stuff and plenty of food.
But it wasn't quite ghetto enough without a dandy shelf thing for preparing tea and marmite sandwiches, supported by some manky lumber because I wasn't willing to sacrifice some quality plywood.
Total cost: $20 and change. :sombrero:
Cheers,
Graham
Its been a while since my last confession and I confess that the disorganization that is the back of my Jeep, especially when all that stuff is tied it down, is driving me nuts. We got to thinking that a simple drawer next to the fridge would help out a bit but didn't want to spring for a lustworthy Adventure Trailer custom drawer. So instead I present the Adventure Stationary drawer, which I bought from Staples...
The Storex stackable storage drawer has about the same end-on profile as the 8 gallon action packer, but has vertical walls and is about 6 inches longer.
Strapping it down required a bit of lateral thinking. The four anchor points are outside the four corners but somehow the straps are inboard.
Its definitely big enough for all that cookery stuff and plenty of food.
But it wasn't quite ghetto enough without a dandy shelf thing for preparing tea and marmite sandwiches, supported by some manky lumber because I wasn't willing to sacrifice some quality plywood.
Total cost: $20 and change. :sombrero:
Cheers,
Graham
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
Net!
Some other storage problems we've been having are making the most of the space in front of the wheel wells and storing bedding and other soft loose items like coats. After a trip to Joanne Fabric (where I felt like a fish out of water but they were very tolerant) I made these...
This garishly but effectively swallows two pillows and sleeping bags and droops into the round space in front of the wheel well without encroaching into the main floor area. Net size about 40" wide * 54" long.
This is more sombre and smaller -- the first one I made -- and fits a couple of coats. Net size about 40" wide * 24" long. I thought the net would stretch more, which it didn't, so I should have made it a foot longer for extra depth.
Both nets have cord at all four corners to keep them in place. Definitely an improvement over randomly scattered stuff!
Cheers,
Graham
Some other storage problems we've been having are making the most of the space in front of the wheel wells and storing bedding and other soft loose items like coats. After a trip to Joanne Fabric (where I felt like a fish out of water but they were very tolerant) I made these...
This garishly but effectively swallows two pillows and sleeping bags and droops into the round space in front of the wheel well without encroaching into the main floor area. Net size about 40" wide * 54" long.
This is more sombre and smaller -- the first one I made -- and fits a couple of coats. Net size about 40" wide * 24" long. I thought the net would stretch more, which it didn't, so I should have made it a foot longer for extra depth.
Both nets have cord at all four corners to keep them in place. Definitely an improvement over randomly scattered stuff!
Cheers,
Graham
