ɹǝʌo ǝɯ uɹnʇ – sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ noʎ ɟı
mods
I think it’s time – almost ;^)
Jun 4th
Well, the factory bumper on the Rubi has been taking a beating. All the time and effort installing the winch and dressing up the factory plastic around it was pretty much a waste of time.
A few trail runs, a small tree here, a small tree there, and a big mudhole have all taken their toll. In the process, I’ve got a better idea what bumper size I want though!
So, in the coming weeks I hope to get started on putting together my own bumper – hoping to use a really nice design put together by N007 over on the NA4WDA forums. He designed his bumper in a 3D CAD program, then had the pieces cut out by a shop on the southside using a water jet. The finished product turned out great! I think that I might add a bit of tube work – a medium sized stinger, and some pieces to add a little protection to the front fenders.
Last fall I purchased a little Lincoln Electric welding machine – hopefully its up to the task, and I can get some skills!
Popularity: 2% [?]
Stock bumper trim
Nov 15th
Well, a few trees and a couple mudholes later, the plastic skin on the JK bumper looks like hell. Ripped it off, tied the fog light wires off.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Some new mods
Aug 29th
Purchased a Teraflex antenna mount and also a pair of Daystar hood wranglers to address the hood lift problem on the highway.
The antenna mount was a very straightforward installation, as I already had everything there with the temporary scrap metal mount I made up for the ACE trip – as luck would have it, UPS arrived the afternoon prior to leaving for ACE, so I was able to have a stronger/heavier duty antenna mount in place for the trip. This was probably a good thing considering the density of some of the brush along some of the trails.
Installing the hood wranglers was very easier – once I decided to ignore the instructions that were supplied! Those instructions wanted you to completely remove the lower latch assembly from the Jeep – which is completely unncessary. I really think Daystar should write up a new instruction sheet. With a couple pairs of decent vise grips, the pins holding the factory rubber straps in place are easily twisted apart.
The hood wranglers a very necessary mod if you start experiencing hood flutter, and they solve the problem nicely!
Popularity: 2% [?]
C.B Radio Install
Aug 1st
Well, the handheld Cobra c.b. was behaving irratically, and the antenna mount loose – after only 3 or 4 uses. So, I decided to pull the trigger and pick up a compact unit and installed it today into the Jeep.
Uniden 520XL C.B. Radio
I picked up a Uniden 520XL – nice features – except it doesn’t have the weather bands. Oh well – the cobra handheld is still picking those up fine ;^)
I also bought a 4′ Wilson flex antenna – which I’ve temporarily mounted using some garage door opener hanger straps – cut to size, and mounted behind the spare tire. I did order a Teraflex C.B. Antenna mount, but I’m not certain when that will arrive exactly, and I wanted to get all of this installed and ready for the ACE2009 run happening next week.
The installation was pretty smooth – and I was able to test it out with my sons help using the Cobra handheld… seems to be working pretty good. It’s difficult to gauge the sound quality at this point, since I can’t hear anything in one ear – and the other ear is hearing about half… hopefully they both clear up soon! It’s the last symptom of the flu bug I had a couple weeks back.
Popularity: 4% [?]
DirtyDog 4×4 Netting Installed!
May 9th
The package arrived yesterday, but I wasn’t around, so picked it up this morning from our neighborhood postal outlet. Thanks to Mike at DirtyDog4x4 for getting it too me for this weekend!
The primary set consists of one large panel, and two triangular side panels. I also ordered an optional 4th panel to provide netting above the driver and front passenger seats.
The instructions were alright, and pretty easy to follow. I managed to get all four panels installed pretty easily. I did run into a bit of difficulty with fastening the side panels along the bottom edge – there are 3 elastics with hooks, but I couldn’t find the spots that were referred to in the instructions. Hopefully Mike can clear things up for me.
I’m very pleased with how they look on the Jeep – I’ll be sure to add some shots with the top down soon! DirtyDog4x4 makes the netting for all model JK’s,TJ’s, and YJ’s.
After researching the different options, and looking at what the different manufacturers offer, I think that the netting from DirtyDog4x4 offers the best value.
Highly recommended!
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- the complete netting set – ready to be installed
Popularity: 11% [?]
