2012 JKL Rubicon build

[marshal]

im not new to Jeeps, offroading or adventuring, but i am pretty fresh con the concept of overlanding. there is something incredibly romantic about it - loading up and heading into the unknown. when i sold my old TJ on the advent of my daughter, i got my hands on a 2010 SCrew F150 with big intentions of traveling every backroad and dirt road i could find. But, as all Jeepers know, once a jeeper always a jeeper; and ive been one since my parents brought me home from the hospital in our 1990 ('89) YJ Laredo. so i ditched the F150 and came full circle back to my true calling.

old jeep:

old F150:

the issue came to be though that with my knowledge of components and accessories available, as well as my understanding of mechanics and suspension design - i wasnt anywhere near satisfied with the available options or with the perceived 'expedition status-quo'. i wanted to build a jeep that would go anywhere and do anything asked of it at the drop of a hat

this is where i started. i ordered this exactly as i wanted it - a 2012 JK Unlimited Rubicon in Cosmos Blue pretty much stripped down except for a few options (technology, dual tops, info-center, seat heaters etc..)

this was the night it was delivered to the dealership, behind a chain link fence. my best friend who i actually ordered the jeep through ran out to the shop to snap a few pictures for me

the next day i went and got her and drove her home. what a night and day difference between the TJ and the JK - yet still familiar

the jeep wasnt even a full day old yet and i already had TruckLite Phase5's going in

i picked up a flat black hood center

i also added a personal touch

while i had the grille off i also switched to a set of IPF H4 lenses and fatboy bulbs that i had from my last jeep. i was REALLY unimpressed with the light output of the TruckLite phase 5's and i wanted more light.

 

[marshal]

at this point i was deployed for 8 months. while i was gone the TruckLite Phase 7's came out - i got my hands on one of the first sets

i also got tired of the front plastic bumper and took it off. i broke out the welder and grinder and cut the shock bumpers off and welded in the brackets for my new Rigid Dually D2's

i also repinned the factory harness to accept the Deutsch connectors that the Rigid's use

finished:

i got a sprint booster to fix the electronic throttle delay

mopar floor mats

i picked up a SpringTale Solutions MPAC

since i like to play in the rocks, and i know the merits of having a stubby bumper for that reason, i cut the factory bumper down and molded it to my pleasing, since my bumper of choice still wont be available for a couple more weeks.

my friend daniel assisting me

me welding the ends together

 

[marshal]

painted

all wrapped up

then i had these spacers milled for me since no one makes what i want. Fred Goeske is a drag racing legend, and he just happens to have his own millshop in northern Los Angeles. i got in touch with him and he milled me these hub centric 2" 6061-T6 Alcoa spacers. 100% american

prepped the surface and studs

gotta have that red lactate

on!

while the tires/wheels were off i plastidipped them. this is temporary to get my black until i can get my hands on my tires that i want and i can strip them and break out the paint gun and do it the right way.

finished

then my currie steering came

its really hard to measure the enormity of these components

pretty damn big

i also wired up my Cobra CB

 

[marshal]

now thats what i call a ************ at tuning CB's

what could this be?

double johnny jointed control arms from Rokmen. these things are full on nuts - twice the size as their currie brethren

enormous

finish line

the guys at Rokmen like me - ive been long time customers and fans of their work. they sent me their new Aluminum knurrled hi-lift jack handle.

Currie front and rear johnny joint track bars in

 

[marshal]

Nth diff skid

picked up a the new generation sPOD with the cut out for the AeroForce gauge

sPOD goes in

like i said - i wasnt satisfied with the status quo, im investing heavily in the suspension to build it exactly how i want it. i'll never adventure outside of the states so part availability isnt a concern to me, especially when you overbuild the components excessively. these are Fox 2.0 Reservoirs 12" travel that i had Hard Chromed for corrosion resistance and custom valved. the fronts are sporting 50/70 valving and 250/350 coils. the rears are 40/90 valving and obviously smooth bodied. both 7/8" thick shaft with braided stainless hoses

Fox Air Bumps and Synergy front HD trackbar mount

these are the 2.0 air bumps with 2.5" travel

i also picked up a set of 2" rokmen coil spacers front and rear (rear not pictured) to get me into the air a little bit, and to fit the upcoming 37's for the time being until i can aquire all the funds necessary to get the suspension the way i want it.

also got a aluminum Currie Anti-rock front sway bar

installed

 

[marshal]

i then got my hands on Nemesis Notorious front fenders. these things are nuts. made from 3/16ths 6061-T6 aluminum plate and TIG welded. they offer a super sleek gorgeous design and a lot of reinforcement characteristics that arnt offered on any other flat fender option out there. it makes the whole front end a lot stronger and ties everything into the dog cage

weekend at my dads, time to get to work

turn signals out

smoked

rear fenders marked for cut

broke out the dremel

sanded and ready for paint

rustoleum professional semi-gloss black

lets do some drilling

drivers side on

this bolt is the biggest pain in the *** ever

i had to make this fancy tool just to get the nut and washer onto it

skirtless

wrapped up

had to splice into the factory side marker harness to wire in a set of resistors and the 1 watt Trucklite 3/4" amber LED's

 

[marshal]

this thing is so much fun to drive

delivery!

new Warn 9.5CTI-S

i forgot to take a picture of it, but i also got a Rokmen (love those guys) Big Hawse fairlead. which has the largest radius of any hawse fairlead on the market and its triple black anodized. the best money can buy

rear aluminum Currie Anti-rock

Synergy tube sleeves, HD rear trackbar mount and front control arm skids

Artec front and rear trusses, and Artec inner C gussets

rear antirock on

(i know the jam nuts werent tight)

pretty flex

 

[marshal]

now time for the most odd mod of all. windshield wipers. the factory 15's really leave something to be desired. so i decied to upgrade to the Rain-X latitude, but since they dont come in 15s, i bought 16s - which work perfect

time for a little deviation. i work for a (besides the USAF) a medical and industrial gas company. i oversee the warehouse operations, distribution logistics, controlled substances and i manufacture medical grade oxygen (gas and liquid). so i started my own version of a power tank for my main onboard air facility. i had a c02 tank in the past with my TJ and it worked like a charm. its only hangup was that it was only a 10# tank and its capacity was lacking. this time around i opted for a full 20# tank. double the capacity. i ordered a brand new aluminum 20# cylinder from Worthington

picked up some body matched paint i had mixed for me

stripped and prepped

primed

paint

clear

i think it came out pretty good, my best paint job to date.

picked up a powertank adjustable regulator. 45CFM and 400PSI

power tank 60' hose

the boot goes on

finished

off to be filled downtown with liquid c02. they grow up so fast

rigid amber covers came in for my dually D2s

 

[marshal]

then i ordered the Nemesis Billy Rockers with the Titan Tub Armor. these are litterally the strongest and best designed rockers made for JK's. fully formed from 3/16ths Aluminum 6061-T6 plate and TIG welded. they feature 3 components. the Tub armor, which goes up and bolts directly to the tub - it serves as the base. second is the space frame, which links everything together and serves as the structural component of the entire system. its what absorbs the shock and transfers it evenly across the entire surface of the tub. thirdly is the actual rocker skins.

sanded and cleaned

both received Rustoleum Professional aluminum primer. the tub armor was painted with Rustoelum Professional Semi-gloss black. the rocker skins had 6 cans of rustoleum truck bed liner on them. gives a good appearance and a ruff surface to provide boot traction

replaced the OEM interior lights with LEDs for a lot better output and a better color spectrum

removed my license plate bracket in preparation for installing the OR-FAB tire carrier

the rest of the evening was filled with wiring work. i started working on removing my re-pin i did to the factory harness make them accept my rigids and move them to the sPOD as they well should be.

made a new harness

ran the wires to the sPOD

they now operate independently of the lighting system

i also decided to cut off the connector for the automatic swaybar disco, that i removed (and is for sale. PM me if interested) it was just collecting water and constantly throwing errors due to shorts.

i needed a way to seal the end permanently, without using electrical tape and being ghetto. so i took a piece of appropriately sized heat shrink and took a pair of heated needle nose pliers and melted the end shut

wire condom!

sealed away for all of time

i applied the same technique to the remnant pins of the oem fog light harness

all white

white and amber

my daughter (who is almost 2 now). she loves the Jeep. every time we go outside she HAS to sit in the drivers seat and play with all the buttons and mess my mirrors and vents up. the jeep is probably her favorite thing outside of her teddy bear

 

[marshal]

pass tail light out

were gonna drill this ****

this bracket is the biggest pain in the ***. ever. true story.

top bolt

what are we going to do with this??

i **** you not that hole got f-d up

spacer goes in

copious amounts of anti seize on a 1/2" thick grade 8 bolt

latch base

TORX BOLTS NOOOOOOOOO

came out without a hitch

the tailgate brackets need to be ground down so that regular bolts, plus a 13mm box wrench can fit in. the regular bolts use a machined taperd washer as well. they looked expensive

black

brackets and hinge spacers on. this was a pain in the *** too

freshhhh

neat little spot for the Cb antenna, as well as a shot of the latch

big *** mother F-ing hinge

posing

thats everything for now. the parts i currently have on order and am waiting on is a new Hi-Lift Xtreme 48" (i have NO IDEA where my old hi-lift is) a pair of Rigid Dually's in the diffused pattern that will be wired for auxiliary rear (backup) lights. and a PSC Hawse fairlead light mount for my Dually D2's as i patiently wait for Gerald (Savvy) to finish the JK bumpers ive been prodding him over for the past year.

i also have a 2001 Cherokee OEM roof rail set coming to me that is going to be attached to the hard top. and a pair of back MaxTrax coming from Australia. also working a fabricating a new permanent plate holder for the tire carrier. something less ziptie ghetto lol

 

[X-plorenow]

wow, nice job and great write-up. Can't wait to see some more.

 

[marshal]

Thanks! She's still got a lot ahead of her

 

[Brandon Libby]

I love the modded front bumper. That's pretty cool.

 

[dstock]

Be careful with the Cherokee roof rack, the cross bars are riveted and not that sturdy. Yakima, and Thule have track options that work better.

Nice build!

 

[marshal]

I'm only using the racks for at a max of 150lbs. I don't need anything else. They should prove to be sturdy enough for that purpose