2014 JK Salt City Build Out

gauchomatt

Adventurer
I'm very new to the forum and am slowly falling in love with all the posts, threads, etc. I am also finding it difficult to collaborate and explain all the things I am wanting to do to my Jeep to friends (and other inquirers) and have had to explain way too many times what Overlanding is... so, I am starting my own thread so I can feed off you awesome peoples ideas, suggestions, and excitement for adventure! With that said, I'm going to try my best to document my build here.

I am new to all things Jeep (have always wanted one... finally got one last year) and have been slowly learning the in's and out's. I am attempting to do a lot of the modifications myself, within reason... so I can learn as much as I can about the vehicles. So, go easy on me!

I am also looking for some fellow adventurers around town to geek out about this stuff with and hopefully learn a thing or two. Yes, I am a newb! So, let the fun begin.

---

When I bought it new, I had the dealership do several things for me (Jeep dealerships are accustom to these things here in Utah):

- Jeep JK Unlimited Rubicon (White)
- 35" x 12.5" Tires
- 3" Mopar (Teraflx) Stage 3 Life with Fox 2 Shocks
- Teraflex HD Tire Carrier
- Poison Spyder 50" Light Bar Mounts
- 50" Light Bar
- Blacked Out All Chrome in the inside
- Blacked Out Bumpers & Mirrors (with gloss)
- Blacked Out Grille
- Whited Fender Flares, Hardtop, Freedom Panels to match paint

More photos to come.... here is one just back from Moab!

jeek-jk-gauchomatt.jpg
 

Davev1954

Supporting Grouch
Nice- I always like the JK's with matching paint tops.

Aim the lightbar forward.
See if you can get them to swap the wheels. Unless you spend time in LA... :yikes:
 

unkamonkey

Explorer
Congratulations. Several of my friends have sold off their older Jeeps or LCs and gone to Rubicons. They still let me putt along in my 3B on a trail.
 

gauchomatt

Adventurer
Nice- I always like the JK's with matching paint tops.

Aim the lightbar forward.
See if you can get them to swap the wheels. Unless you spend time in LA... :yikes:

Haha! Yes... Light bar is pointed down because it whistles like a son of a gun. (I even have a rubber insert to reduce it... But nope) And, I personally love the wheels and tires. It's a fine line between too much rubber showing and too little. Clean and still look great from my point of view and very capable. I have aired down pretty low with these and they have performed admirably.

I agree, they are a bit showy but I refused to have stars or huge emblems on my rims! It's my daily driver as well so a little form + function never hurt anyone. :)


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gauchomatt

Adventurer
Congratulations. Several of my friends have sold off their older Jeeps or LCs and gone to Rubicons. They still let me putt along in my 3B on a trail.

Ha! Awesome. I just sold my older 99' classic so this was a significant upgrade for me. I still have a place in my heart for the older and more wiser vehicles in the crowd.


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Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
Nice build up going on. :beer:

I have the same Rocket Box. Amazing how much light-bulky stuff it will hold.
Any plans to go exploring?
 

gauchomatt

Adventurer
Nice build up going on. :beer:

I have the same Rocket Box. Amazing how much light-bulky stuff it will hold.
Any plans to go exploring?

Scott, thanks man! Yes, the box on top is the interim storage unit until I can muster up the courage to get a chase trailer. They do hold a TON!

We actually have plans in a couple weeks to go get lost in Central Utah! I have done some mods to the jeep and have additional plans. I will have to document those out... As soon as I can sit down I'll jump on it.


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Maxcustody

Explorer
Great looking jeep! A ton of info on here for Jeeps, what works and what has not..........I have made several changes.

Scott
 

rubicon91

Explorer
I like it. Is that the rain gutter rack from Thule on there? Also I am not a fan of those light bars just as you said the noise and mpg hit. Plus where I live there is absolutely no reason to have one other than looks. Only thing I could add is anything over 2.5 lift will require a driveshaft at some point. I have yet to need one but will expect it at some point to be replaced.


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gauchomatt

Adventurer
I like it. Is that the rain gutter rack from Thule on there? Also I am not a fan of those light bars just as you said the noise and mpg hit. Plus where I live there is absolutely no reason to have one other than looks. Only thing I could add is anything over 2.5 lift will require a driveshaft at some point. I have yet to need one but will expect it at some point to be replaced.


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Thanks! Yes, it's from Thule. It's pretty solid. However, I would put more then 100lbs in it. I suppose I have a confidence issue with rain gutter mounts. I'm trying to decide between a Gobi, Garvin, or Ursa Minor roof setup (RTT on the racks) but still struggling to nail one down! True on the drive shaft. I suppose it's inevitable!


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gauchomatt

Adventurer
UPDATE: So, I bit has changed since the initial post picture! Excited to share with everyone.

It's a slow process but is nice to have a long term idea/goal with what I want in my rig. So, I have added the following items or am about too:

- Dual Battery Setup (Offroad Genesis)
- sPOD with G Screen
- Bolt On 2.5 Gal OBA dual compressor from Viair (this is the next project to tackle when I get some time).

Again, I'm not a real wrench throwing dude, but I love learning and getting my hands dirty. I learned a ton sound the dual battery and sPOD. Yes, they are fairly simple installs but for me it's a big deal!

I also just got the Jeep back from the shop where they installed:

- RSE Aluminum Front & Rear Bumper with tire carrier.
- Aurora 20" light bar in bull bar
- Rigid R2 Driving lights
- SmittyBilt X2O 10k Synthetic winch

It looks awesome! I do have some questions hopefully some of you smart and more experienced peeps can help me with. My rear tire carrier sits a ways off the back door (because of my Teraflex HD Hinge) which means the rubber tire bumper doesn't reach the tire. The result... A lot of rattling that I am not okay with. Any solutions you are aware of?

Here are some pics of the battery and sPOD:

0d508f360775aedd22ecc22a82b5e660.jpg
7f8ed8fc48a5a36b56af3ded972df736.jpg
cabf87c70a16d4047ae98872a28d8a2d.jpg
fbf65ff30ff9d5933776ac66131575df.jpg
22be3f7828956f25d183824d04e98def.jpg


I'll take some pics of the bumper and other items tomorrow. I think they look great!


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rubicon91

Explorer
Damn you are going all in. Good stuff. I love the Genesis Dual Battery tray. I was wondering about the rack as I am thinking of getting one as a cheap option to put an awning on and a kayak from time to time. I just got a trailer so I have the RTT etc all set on that end but I am thinking I want the awning on the Jeep and just really do not want to spend the cash for the Gobi. Thanks again for the response and keep the pics coming. Lets see some new exterior pics also.
 

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