My Overland Project, the RME JKU

OR2BAJA

Observer
Keep it up, took delivery of my '17 rubicon yesterday and look forward to tearing into it soon. I have a ton of parts inbound and this thread got me stoked.
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
My updates have been falling behind.... there haven't been a lot, but in order to catch up....

I've been using the stock radio with an external Garmin GPS and Sirius Satellite Radio receiver for quite sometime... it worked, but by dash was crowded. I love having my satellite radio for my music and having a GPS for navigating on road and off, but wanted something that could do it all. I've wanted to upgrade for a lone time, decided to get the Kenwood DNX573S at BestBuy and had them install it. - http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/navigation_multimedia/dnx573s/

Bluetooth for hands free calls, Garmin GPS, Sirius satellite radio, as well as all kinds of other neat features. I've been very happy with the radio/GPS/Sirius/handsfree upgrade!

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This is one of those items that you say, 'Why didn't I think of that?!' After lifting your JK, you see how vulnerable your ABS and Brake Line are to getting damaged. There is a lot going on behind the tires on the front of your JK and the ABS line and Brake line are both very vulnerable and important pieces to keeping your Jeep moving.

Before -
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Enter the TeraFlex Brake Line Anchor, your ABS and Brake Lines now have a mount that holds them away from harm, but is still flexible for movement when the axle is under droop and compression. Bolting them on is super simple, they mount to the lower shock bolt and the other end secures the Brake line inside a molded rubber mount with a recessed channel for the ABS line, with provided zip ties to keep them in place. You can angle the Brake Line Anchor Kit based on your Jeeps suspension and lift height. This is a great way to keep your important lines from getting smashed in the shock, grabbed by a tire or getting hooked by trail debris and keeps them out of harms way.

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Seriously.... why didn't I think of that. :squint: Great product from the brilliant minds at Teraflex!


I do have some upcoming maintenance, my front rotors are starting to pulse under braking. Thinking I may as well upgrade rather than go back to stock. We will see what upgrades end up on my JKU. Also, my unit bearings have gone bad.... again. I think it has something to do with my Jeep getting jumped at speed during a recent trip to Moab. :eek: My stock tie rod and TRE's are getting a little loose too...

And a quick vid from the last Moab trip -
 
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Greg@RME

Adventurer
Lower, Lighter and Longer.... that sums up my next round of mods for the JKU.

Lower- I want to lower the GOC when loaded up for long trips; water down low, additional gas too. Currently my shower/camp water ends up on the roof rack in a 12 gallon FrontRunner tank. My 2, 5 gallon NATO gas cans sit in another FrontRunner mount on the roof rack as well. That's 100#'s of water and 60#'s of gas.... all up high! Planning to add a Titan Fuel Transfer Tank, which sits behind the spare tire. Thankfully I have the Teraflex spare tire carrier, so I know it's up to the challenge of carrying the weight. The Titan can hold up to 12 gallons, I'll probably just keep 4-5 gallons in it most of the time just in case, then fill for longer trips as needed.

Lighter- Lighter and smaller method of airing up, CO2 tank is great, but heavy and bulky even with an aluminum tank. I've been carrying it around in the footwell of the 2nd row and it takes up so much room! I plan to upgrade to a ARB Dual Air Compressor, from Kurt and the guys @ Cruiser Outfitters.

Longer- More time away from civilization with improved electrical management system. I plan to install a dual battery kit from Genesis, so that I can have a 2nd dedicated battery for the fridge, compressor, additional lights, etc. Then still have a battery that can start the Jeep, after using the fridge and other accessories while at camp.

ARB Dual Air Compressor - ARB On-Board High Performance 12 Volt Twin Air Compressor (CKMTA12)

ARB Dual Compressor mount - https://www.mountainoffroad.com/arb-air-compressor-mount-07-14-jk.html

Titan Fuel Transfer Tank - TITAN Trail Trekker II? Tank for Jeep Wrangler (4040287)

Front Runner Footwell 10 gallon water tank - https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/front-runner-footwell-water-tank.html

Genesis Dual Battery kit - https://www.genesisoffroad.com/JKDualBatteryKit-p/131-jkdbk.htm

sPOD relay, switches and air pressure gauge - 2009 - 2017 JK 6 Switch w/ Air Gauge sPOD & Source System

TeraFlex JK Dual Rate Anti-Sway bar - https://teraflex.com/shop_items/528ffa7fead962f416e72e1e


I've started gathering some of these parts, hoping to pick up the others over the next several months. Jeep upgrades aren't cheap... :(
 
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SES50

Observer
So, I came to that same conclusion on my JKU at the beginning of last year but it was not as thought out as you. I am running a Gobi instead of a frontrunner but we have the same issue. I started with the install of the Gen Right Rear fuel tank with aluminum skid plate. This caused me to go to the Curry Rear Anti Rock sway bar. After that install was done I would get the traction control and the abs kicking on all the time in turns. I also installed the mopar front big brake kit and teraflex rear brackets and large rotors. Works great and really helped braking but forced me to redo everything I had done under the hood for the SPOD and my Viair Compressor that was mounted on the Synergy bracket. Depending on where you mount the ARB compressor you may want to do the brake upgrade first since you can move the SPOD and the compressor around but really can not do much to change the Mopar BBK master cyclinder and booster install. Anyway after getting the rear tank situated I installed the Genesis Dual Battery Kit. I love it but I am still chasing a check engine light coming on occasionally with leaking evap system that I am sure is based on the install of the Genesis kit. I have been on the phone with Shane and he has seen this problem in the past Just can not locate where the leak is. Since I am in California I need to get it done before I have to Smog the vehicle again.

So all this stuff is installed on the Jeep and it is very challanging to drive down the road. The conclusion I came to was to much rear sway bar with the anti rock and crappy shock valving from Fox. Sent the shocks out to Accutune for revalving. They are A+++++. Installed the Teraflex dual rate front sway bar. The front sway bar made a huge improvement in driveablity but depending on what front bumper you have there may be modifications that are unexpected. I have poison spyder and had to do some cutting. Also, the vacuum module bracket I rewelded it back in place after installing the teraflex brackets instead of mounting it in the engine bay as I have no room after installing the Mopar BBK since I have a clutch. Anyway, since the Teraflex swaybar is tunable it was great to get the jeep to handle again and not be so twitchy.

Front Bumper Cutting to fit Teraflex Dual Rate.
View attachment 427149

Clutch Reservoir about where Teraflex wants you to put the Vacuum Module.
View attachment 427150

SES50
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
So, I came to that same conclusion on my JKU at the beginning of last year but it was not as thought out as you. I am running a Gobi instead of a frontrunner but we have the same issue. I started with the install of the Gen Right Rear fuel tank with aluminum skid plate. This caused me to go to the Curry Rear Anti Rock sway bar. After that install was done I would get the traction control and the abs kicking on all the time in turns. I also installed the mopar front big brake kit and teraflex rear brackets and large rotors. Works great and really helped braking but forced me to redo everything I had done under the hood for the SPOD and my Viair Compressor that was mounted on the Synergy bracket. Depending on where you mount the ARB compressor you may want to do the brake upgrade first since you can move the SPOD and the compressor around but really can not do much to change the Mopar BBK master cyclinder and booster install. Anyway after getting the rear tank situated I installed the Genesis Dual Battery Kit. I love it but I am still chasing a check engine light coming on occasionally with leaking evap system that I am sure is based on the install of the Genesis kit. I have been on the phone with Shane and he has seen this problem in the past Just can not locate where the leak is. Since I am in California I need to get it done before I have to Smog the vehicle again.

So all this stuff is installed on the Jeep and it is very challanging to drive down the road. The conclusion I came to was to much rear sway bar with the anti rock and crappy shock valving from Fox. Sent the shocks out to Accutune for revalving. They are A+++++. Installed the Teraflex dual rate front sway bar. The front sway bar made a huge improvement in driveablity but depending on what front bumper you have there may be modifications that are unexpected. I have poison spyder and had to do some cutting. Also, the vacuum module bracket I rewelded it back in place after installing the teraflex brackets instead of mounting it in the engine bay as I have no room after installing the Mopar BBK since I have a clutch. Anyway, since the Teraflex swaybar is tunable it was great to get the jeep to handle again and not be so twitchy.

Front Bumper Cutting to fit Teraflex Dual Rate.
View attachment 427149

Clutch Reservoir about where Teraflex wants you to put the Vacuum Module.
View attachment 427150

SES50

Thanks for all the info! I think I'm going to try a Big Brake upgrade, but leave the stock master cyl. alone... especially if the sPOD and ARB Compressor don't work with the bigger brake master. I just ordered the MORE ARB Dual Compressor bracket, so I'm stuck with that location.

I'm looking forward to the TeraFlex Dual Rate anti-swaybar... I ran one on a TJ years ago and loved it. My JKU does pretty well with a load, but you can feel it's a bit more 'loose' that it should be at speed. What I'm REALLY looking forward to is having full manual control over my anti-swaybar. I can unlock mine in High range with the TrailDash 2, but over 18 MPH it locks back up. Being able to unlock the anti-sway bar and have it stay unlocked in High range will be nice for those easier trails, letting the suspension do the work.
 

SES50

Observer
When reading your post that did remind me of the sway bar light on the dash. When you unplug the Rubicon sway bar the light on the dash will constantly blink. The only way I found to get it to stop is to buy an AEV Procal. You can run the Procal settings on top of your TrailDash settings as I understand. I bought the AEV Procal off of Craigslist for $110 verse $170 new. So, start looking for one now to have in your back pocket for when you do the sway bar install. Also early versions of the Procal will not turn off the sway bar light so make sure you get the correct one. Check their website.

SES50
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
When reading your post that did remind me of the sway bar light on the dash. When you unplug the Rubicon sway bar the light on the dash will constantly blink. The only way I found to get it to stop is to buy an AEV Procal. You can run the Procal settings on top of your TrailDash settings as I understand. I bought the AEV Procal off of Craigslist for $110 verse $170 new. So, start looking for one now to have in your back pocket for when you do the sway bar install. Also early versions of the Procal will not turn off the sway bar light so make sure you get the correct one. Check their website.

SES50

Thanks.... again!!
 

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