AXEL ADVENTURE 2013 JKU Overland (slooooow) build

MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
AXEL ADVENTURE highlights the fun and adventure my son and I have off-roading & exploring the world around us. I had planned on doing a modest build thread to highlight the equipment we felt best suits our needs and budget. I have owned the Jeep for approximately 1.5yrs but just now realizing how time flys and I need to get this done.

I will post the pics that I have and the products that I have used for our build. I know that there are a lot of options in building a vehicle and this is meant to highlight the route we chose to follow.


2013 Jeep JKU Sport 6spd w/power options, U-Connect, Alpine stereo, heated mirrors, etc...


A couple of pics my son took while the dealer was washing the veh while I was signing the paper work.
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Had to stop on the way home and take a pic to send the wife, she pushed for the white.
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Loaded up the next day and took our first adventure, camping at Windrock ORV located in TN.
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MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
Found a buyer for my stock tires and wheels and traded old Jeep parts for some temporary tires & wheels. My first purchase would be my front bumper & winch. There are some nice full width bumpers on the market but I prefer the stubby style. I've always been a fan of the ARB product line and jumper at the chance to get one of the first stubby bumpers to hit the market. ARB's attention to detail and overall quality is what keeps me buying there product. Since I was using the newest bumper on the market at the time I thought I should complement it with the newest winch. I ordered the WARN ZEON 10klb winch steel cable and was very impressed at the new look. I could only hope that the winch would perform as good as it looked.

Out with the old.
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In with the new.
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What... What... It won't fit...?
Had to trim up the front frame horn.
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Then notch the bumper itself. The ZEON is a VERY large winch, but I love it.
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The ZEON winch did take a little extra effort to get it installed but it was well worth it.
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I the added a set of RIGID DUALLY D2's and used the factory fog light switch. I've seen some people get a flicker from these lights when wired to the factory harness but mine did not. I have also installed an SPOD for future light plans but I won't bore you with that right now as I have nothing hooked up to it yet. I did add a FACTOR 55 for a little bling but it does serve a purpose.
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MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
There are a lot of suspension manufactures for the Jeep JK and as long as you stick with the name brands I don't think you will go wrong. On my last Jeep a 2010 JEEP JKU auto I ran the ARB OME 2.25" susp with narrow flares and 37" BFG KM2's. I was very happy with the ride quality, loaded. & unloaded. On a side note, ARB OME 2.25" Heavy Kit sits 2.75"-3" tall even with the Jeep fitted with bumpers, winch, etc..
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I decided to go with the new ARB OME 4" suspension kit. The 4" kit was more lift than I wanted but I just had to try it out and I was glad I did, it handles AwEsOmE... It was built for 37" tires but I wasn't looking to go that tall, I used 35/12.50-17 Pro-Comp MT2's which rode great. Time to take the top off and let the sun shine in.... (Remember, this is last summer).
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MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
Next on the list was some type of side bar / step. I got a set of Rubicon factory Rock Guards which protected the Jeep rocker panels but didn't do anything for the kids. I love the way the factory Rubicon rails hugs the body and fills the lower rocker panel up. I went back and forth on this a lot because I just wasn't happy with anything I was finding on the market. Then I came across the Synergy DYI Rocker Guard kit which welds onto the factory Rubicon bar. If you or a friend can do the work yourself then this a great cost effective way to get great rocker protection & a nice step for the Jeep. If you had to buy a used set of Rubicon rails $150.00, then buy the Synergy DYI KIT $250.00, pay a shop to weld it together $200.00 or more, then get the powder coated $150.00, you can see it isn't a cheap option but with a friends help I was able to keep the cost down and I love them. I feel the are one of my best investment yet because I love the look along with the functionality while my kids love the step.
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Now off for powder coating.
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Jneal87

New member
Looks good but I'd be worried about that rocker guard taking too much action. The stock mounting doesn't look to beefy.
 

Bennyhana

Adventurer
What was all involved with getting the Zeon to fit the ARB stubby? I have the Zeon and I'm looking hard at the ARB. Jeep looks great BTW!
 

MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
Looks good but I'd be worried about that rocker guard taking too much action. The stock mounting doesn't look to beefy.

The factory Rubicon rails will suprise you on how much thrashing they will take. I have several friends with JKU's on 37" & 40" tires that have put them through the paces and we all were impressed. The main problem is once you add the step bar, it will put more leverage to the factory mounts and that could cause you trouble with hardcore off roading. Luckily I'm passes all the hard core off roading, more into overloading and camping with my son. So they will see minimal abuse and a good step for the kids...

Here is a pic of them powder coated and installed.

Can you see the nut serts for the Poison Spider body armor? My friend Scott and I installed them on our Jeeps before powder coating. We have been waiting to get a few other parts together before we send them out for powder.
 

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MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
What was all involved with getting the Zeon to fit the ARB stubby? I have the Zeon and I'm looking hard at the ARB. Jeep looks great BTW!

ARB gives you spacers to sit the ZEON winch higher in the bumper but it it hits the front fram horns which have to be trimmed. The pic below is of the pass side frame horn and you can see the right / inner side has been rounded to to allow it to move forward.
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If you look close you can see the lines where we needed to trim the bumper to match the contour of the winch. Below before trimming.
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Just a small notch on both sides to match the winch lines.
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Not knowing that the frame horns needed to be trimmed just added a lot of installing and reinstalling the winch but if we knew this ahead of time then it wouldn't have been a big deal.... I also cut the crash bar off but it wasn't necessary.
 

MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
A few pics of some small things I upgraded:

Stubby antenna.
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MOPAR Black out JEEP logo.
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MOPAR fuel door & taillight guards.
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MOPAR 10th Anniversary Rubicon hood painted to match. Always wanted an upgraded hood and really liked the lines of this hood.
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Olympic interior rack. (Not bad for what it is, nothing to write home about)
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toxicity_27

Adventurer
A few pics of some small things I upgraded:

Stubby antenna.
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MOPAR Black out JEEP logo.
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MOPAR fuel door & taillight guards.
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MOPAR 10th Anniversary Rubicon hood painted to match. Always wanted an upgraded hood and really liked the lines of this hood.
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Olympic interior rack. (Not bad for what it is, nothing to write home about)
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Funny, I just installed the stubby antenna on my Bright White JKU Sport. I've also got the Mopar tail light brackets as well and the Jeep logo was one of the first things I did.
 

MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
Ok, let me know what you think of the up coming installs I'm going to do....

I have the RIGID DUALLY D2's on the front bumper and love them, so much light in such a small package. I bought a set off DUALLY D2 FLUSH MOUNTS that I want to install in my rear bumper. The ARB rear bumper tapers out toward the ends so I think it will be perfect.
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I'll post pics once installed, cooling fins might come in contact with a cross support bar inside the bumper but we'll just have to wait and see.
 

MOSDIF589

Axel Adventures
Funny, I just installed the stubby antenna on my Bright White JKU Sport. I've also got the Mopar tail light brackets as well and the Jeep logo was one of the first things I did.

So hard to be different.... HaHaHa... I've been watching your "Squatch" build.....
 

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