w0mps WJ Build Thread

[W0mps]

Ran some green-blue trails at Rausch Creek today. We had a great group of Jeeps and nobody suffered any major damage, although I layed my driver door into a rock on a blue trail and put a nice dent in my steering damper.













Played around on the RTI ramp at lunch time:

 

[W0mps]

Went to Buhler Jeep's Go Topless Day yesterday. Despite the overcast it was a great turnout and a fun day. My moon roof was open, does that count for topless?

 

[W0mps]

So my home made rack didn't end up working out. There was no structure under the plastic trim and it was starting to bow it on both sides. So back to square one. I finally was able to order Olympics Mountaineer Rack. Fitment was near perfect, but the mounting was the hard part. They supply you with four bolts that have threads on the inside. You're supposed to drill your holes, bolt in these threaded bolts and you're done. Being that this rack is made for an XJ, I ran into one big problem. All four holes I drilled ended up inside my frame rails and I had no way to get the nut on from the underside. I had to drop the bolts in place and weld them in place.

They supply you with some clamps and knobs so you can take the rack in and out very easily, but I decided on bolting the rack down in place after the fact. I had to get some spacers between the bottom of the clamp and the carpet so I had a nice tight hold to the floor. If I had to do it all over again, I would have just drilled four holes in each corner of the rack and bolted straight through the legs to the floor.

Here's some pictures of the install and final look.

 

[W0mps]

I have been thinking where I can put my two recovery bags when the seats are folded down and I am filled with camping gear. I thought it would be a perfect fit for them behind the driver and passenger seats, however, in the WJ the lower section of seat folds forward and occupies that space. After a little JF browsing I found a couple threads for the WJ rear seat mod. Check it out -

I started by unbolting the brackets from the floor and then removed the brackets from the seat bottoms. In a vice, I carefully drilled out the mushroom side of the rivet pin with a 21/64" bit.





I tapped out the rivet pin and bored all 8 holes to 21/64":



I used 5/16"x2.75" wire lock pins for a means of quick disconnect when I want to utilize all the cargo room. Perfect spot for my recovery bags, and leaves the entire back of the Jeep open for gear!

 

[W0mps]

Here's the quick disconnects

 

[W0mps]

Got some time to mount my CB antenna and run the coax cable. Here's what I used:

FireStik Dodge Ram/Dakota Hood Mount Kit with FireFlex Coax Cable
FireStik Stainless Steel Heavy Duty Spring
FireStik Three Foot Tuneable "Firefly" Antenna

I really like how it all mounted up. I wish the metal above the tail light was thicker or had a little more rigidity to it. The mount flexes ever so slightly when there's leverage on the antenna. Not enough for it to loosen up or snap the bracket though. Here's the install pics:













I'm waiting for my Panavise Custom InDash Mount to ship and arrive and will be installing a Cobra 75WXST CB radio.

 

[W0mps]

Finished up my CB Install.



The Cobra 75WXST came with a remote mounted reciever box that was small enough to mount under the dashboard.



Here's some finished pictures of the CB and tablet. The mount for the CB was bought from a company called Panavice and could be mounted on either side of the radio. I did have to drill a hole in the bracket to accommodate the CB clip.









I can finally keep in touch on the trails!

 

[W0mps]

So I decided to get a Baja Rack Mule. I've had a Rola and a Yakima and this one blows them both out of the water. What really turned me on is that it was a one piece rack with no chance of interior corrosion like the other two piece racks. My plans are the HiLift Xtreme on the passenger side, an ARB awning on the driver side, fuel cans and MaxTrax inside. Also will be doing two LED spot lights in the rear along with a 40" LED bar up front.

 

[W0mps]

Going to do a little camping this weekend. Here's my current setup -

And here's my current list of what's in the two large action packers -

Action Packer #1:
Kelty Tent
Kelty Sleeping Bag
Kelty Camp Pillow
Coleman Queen Air Mattress
Brown Ground Tarp
Coleman Lantern/Base
Might-D Light/Charger
Spare Ground Spikes
Cans Propane Fuel (4)

Action Packer #2:
Coleman Stove
Ozark Trail Cookware
Spatula and Fork
Aluminum Foil
Scotch Bright Sponges
Dawn Original Scent Soap
Paper Towels
Toilet Paper
Coleman Quickpump
Honeywell Tent Fan
50' 3-Way Extension Cord

Roof:
Kelty Folding Chairs (2)
Ozark Creek Camp Kitchen

Consumables:
Food/Beverages
Ice For Coolers
Jug Water
Liquid Soap
Aluminum Foil
Clothes and Towels
Deodorant
Toothbrush
ToothPaste
Tylenol/Tums

Misc:
Coleman Food Cooler
Coleman Beverage Cooler

The list gets longer every time I go camping, maybe someday I will start a trailer build!

 

[W0mps]

After about a week with the Hi Lift on the roof and one rain storm it had started to rust already. Not to mention the stock cross rails couldn't hold it too well and started to sag on one side. I found a much better and safer spot for it, and was able to use the Baja Rack brackets to mount it. It's almost like it was made to be mounted here -

 

[Lecoq]

I love it!!!

Nice to see another WJ.

I have a few questions.

1- How do you like the ride with the 4 inch lift and the adjustable IRO arms?

2- The Kelty tent you have, is it the inflatable one? If so, do you pictures?

3- The Action Packers look really close to the roof, how do you get them out? (Curious)

BajaRack looks great on there.

 

[W0mps]

I love it!!!

Nice to see another WJ.

I have a few questions.

1- How do you like the ride with the 4 inch lift and the adjustable IRO arms?

2- The Kelty tent you have, is it the inflatable one? If so, do you pictures?

3- The Action Packers look really close to the roof, how do you get them out? (Curious)

BajaRack looks great on there.

1 - If I could do it again I probably would have saved a little more money and went with a long arm kit. Not that the ride is terrible, but after all that work I should have just pulled the trigger on long arm.

2 - The Kelty tent is a regular 6 person sleeper with fiberglass poles.

3 - The action packers are very close to the roof. I was going to cut the racks height down a little bit for easier access to the bins, but for as often as I crack them open, I would rather have the room underneath and them tucked nice and high. When I need to take them out, I slide them up and towards the front of the Jeep, into the back seat. I have no problem with that.

Thanks for the compliments!

 

[jpat30]

Welcome to the Portal Andrew. I have thoroughly enjoyed following your build over on JF. As mentioned earlier, its always good to see another WJ here.

 

[heehawhardy]

Holy Cargo Boxes Batman! Love it, Love it, Love it!

 

[W0mps]

Thanks for the welcome, I look forward to reading other builds on this forum!