Opinions and thoughts on limited budget upgrade priority.

[Caspien]

Notice....I am divorced. Still have 4 boys though.
It's a Jeep. Very few keep them stock. I know all my hobbies are expensive.
Guitars
Guns
Cars.....

But shit....can't take it with you.

Yeah, this has just been a weird year so far, we have spent more money fixing and repairing and upgrading things, so anything over a couple hundred, at this point, makes me grumble a bit.

Entire house remodel, tons of sewer line issues, having 2 trees taken down, hot water heater blew up, replaced a car, paid off a ton of bills.

Told my wife, I feel like we need to recoop some of our payouts... and I don't mean pray to win the lottery (though, admittedly, that'd be nice, sure).

But yeah.. the winch, I was able to justify, simply as potential insurance for myself if we ever get stuck, or need to get someone out with more than a simple tug and boards. (Heck, a buddy that works DNR/Forestry said once the winch is installed, just always go to the winch and boards to make it simple... *Shrug*)

The lift will depend on how much I lose from the steel bumper and winch weight. It's weird, honestly, the results definitely seem to vary across the board.. everyone has said from 1/4" lost, to 1.5" lost... makes me wonder if the QC on the shocks and springs for the JTRs are a bit uneven across the board, or if they have multiple factories dialed in with different tolerances for errors.

I know... I know.. this is where someone will chime in and state that's not the case, but a look on pretty much any truck/jeep forum/chat shows that variance across the board, too. So, who knows? Easier to see and judge for ourselves, I guess.

BTW, thanks for the recommendations @DocMike, always a little easier to make decisions when you know it's worked for someone, beforehand. (I'm always willing to be the guinea pig when it comes to electronics and computers... but I tend to be a bit gunshy when it comes to something I use as a primary form of transportation for my family and I when we're out and about

Ordered the bumper and it's associated parts, from BAM, whom I've had good results with, in the past. (Also ordered a few extras)

No offense to any forum sponsors, but their prices on the parts are a little less, but their prices on shipping were insanely better...Out the door, from BAM, I was at $1252.04, including shipping. The next closest I was able to hit was with a forum sponsor, at $1518.81.

Sure, I know.. I know.. $50k+ vehicle... dickering over $300 extra... well, I didn't get to be able to afford the Gladiator, by spending money unnecessarily. LOL

If we were talking $50-100 difference, I'd see no problem with it. (Heck, I bought a couple used items, from forum members, at nearly their brand new cost, after shipping costs... just to "keep it in the family", as it were.)... AND, to be fair, most prices for the parts, were semi close to each other.. but, yeah.. that shipping cost difference was a killer.

Now I get to sick back, and attempt to be patient while things arrive. Looks like the winch and winch plate will arrive by Friday... been told a couple of the items may take 5 or so days to arrive before shipping.



~ Casp

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[DocMike]

I wheeled pretty hard on Sunday. With the Winch installed and felt good about it. Had a weird little electronic glitch which MAY be associated to a loose wire on the battery as I did put the winch on last. Thinking a rock jostled things and it freaked out. Finishing a trail in limp mode above tree line is not fun. Did not see a code with the Tazer....cleared it and all appears to be normal? Maybe?

My JT is my daily as well. So you want it right and can't keep it off the road long.
Very happy with the warn plate and warn winch so far.
My biggest issue with my install was the bolts for the metal skid plate being too short. I got ones from Quadratec. They were probably not Mopar factory length as they were a bit too short for the winch plate and the skid. Quick trip to ACE fixed that.
Verify that before you get into it.

The springs are all over the place. I have been told that there is even a difference in Rubicon Springs as to steel and non steel bumper. But then again, we all measure our change in ride height in different places. I'd swear they are progressive, but don't quote me on that. Not an expert.

Tough for lots of us right now and the dramatic rise in cost of things like gas and food does not help. (not political, just a fact.)

Frankly, I'll save every penny I can. $50 in shipping here, $20 in a discount there. It all adds up.
I mean that $7 coffee at Starbucks doesn't seem like much, but when you do it 5 days a week on your way to work it adds up. Getting a store to price match their winch with what I found on Amazon was a no brainer. We all got different financial situations. No point in judging.

And yes....to quote Tom Petty, "The Waiting is the hardest part."

Yeah, this has just been a weird year so far, we have spent more money fixing and repairing and upgrading things, so anything over a couple hundred, at this point, makes me grumble a bit.

Entire house remodel, tons of sewer line issues, having 2 trees taken down, hot water heater blew up, replaced a car, paid off a ton of bills.

Told my wife, I feel like we need to recoop some of our payouts... and I don't mean pray to win the lottery (though, admittedly, that'd be nice, sure).

But yeah.. the winch, I was able to justify, simply as potential insurance for myself if we ever get stuck, or need to get someone out with more than a simple tug and boards. (Heck, a buddy that works DNR/Forestry said once the winch is installed, just always go to the winch and boards to make it simple... *Shrug*)

The lift will depend on how much I lose from the steel bumper and winch weight. It's weird, honestly, the results definitely seem to vary across the board.. everyone has said from 1/4" lost, to 1.5" lost... makes me wonder if the QC on the shocks and springs for the JTRs are a bit uneven across the board, or if they have multiple factories dialed in with different tolerances for errors.

I know... I know.. this is where someone will chime in and state that's not the case, but a look on pretty much any truck/jeep forum/chat shows that variance across the board, too. So, who knows? Easier to see and judge for ourselves, I guess.

BTW, thanks for the recommendations @DocMike, always a little easier to make decisions when you know it's worked for someone, beforehand. (I'm always willing to be the guinea pig when it comes to electronics and computers... but I tend to be a bit gunshy when it comes to something I use as a primary form of transportation for my family and I when we're out and about

Ordered the bumper and it's associated parts, from BAM, whom I've had good results with, in the past. (Also ordered a few extras)

No offense to any forum sponsors, but their prices on the parts are a little less, but their prices on shipping were insanely better...Out the door, from BAM, I was at $1252.04, including shipping. The next closest I was able to hit was with a forum sponsor, at $1518.81.

Sure, I know.. I know.. $50k+ vehicle... dickering over $300 extra... well, I didn't get to be able to afford the Gladiator, by spending money unnecessarily. LOL

If we were talking $50-100 difference, I'd see no problem with it. (Heck, I bought a couple used items, from forum members, at nearly their brand new cost, after shipping costs... just to "keep it in the family", as it were.)... AND, to be fair, most prices for the parts, were semi close to each other.. but, yeah.. that shipping cost difference was a killer.

Now I get to sick back, and attempt to be patient while things arrive. Looks like the winch and winch plate will arrive by Friday... been told a couple of the items may take 5 or so days to arrive before shipping.



~ Casp

 

[Caspien]

Frankly, I'll save every penny I can. $50 in shipping here, $20 in a discount there. It all adds up.
I mean that $7 coffee at Starbucks doesn't seem like much, but when you do it 5 days a week on your way to work it adds up. Getting a store to price match their winch with what I found on Amazon was a no brainer. We all got different financial situations. No point in judging.

And yes....to quote Tom Petty, "The Waiting is the hardest part."

My winch, as it turns out, shipped from Toys for Trucks, which is supposedly a reputable company and an official WARN distrubutor.

The only licensed resellers for WARN, within about an hour, are Napa and a 'Motor Sports' place. Neither had the EVO 12k in stock. One was willing to order it at $1k+shipping, and the other wasn't willing to order it at all, instead tried to keep upselling me to the zeon platinum series, and then they'd still have to order it.

They seemed offended when I asked them why they felt upselling a customer to a winch priced more than double of what they asked for, was ok... and then proceeded to talk about how the 'EVO lineup are ok for small trailers and lawnmowers, but really aren't rated for anything over 2-3k lbs'... I wonder what WARN would say, to an authorized reseller talking down one of their products... oh well... So Amazon (Toys for Trucks) wins out.

With everyone talking about how bad the economy is (as with you, nothing political), I'd think some places that are just scraping by, would jump at the chance to make ANY profitable sale at this point... *Shrug*


As for the bolts, I'm HOPING that by buying everything from BAM, directly, all of the parts will be good. (and, if not, that's why I had them throw in a few extras.. AND, yeah, I also have an ACE Hardware within a mile or so... though their selection of what they have, and don't have, sometimes makes me scratch my head.. for example.. they carry security torx body bolts (with the stupid pin in the center) but don't carry standard torx body bolts... but only in certain sizes... it seems to be SO random.. lol


~ Casp

 

[Free2roam]

So I went with what I felt I needed first. Now mind you the wife said. I'm never going with you again until you have all the gear to get us out. (We got stuck)
1. Hi-lift 48" max jack
2. Rhino strap 30k 30'
3. Two soft shackles
4. MOLLE panel for the bed came with an Angry Beaver shovel and a ROAM 95L box. Got those off a forum member
5. Bed rack
6. Got a Warn winch Evo 10s off FB marketplace 500$
7. Got a set of Diode Dynamics amber fog lights off another member too.
Next is the aluminum bumper.
Then onto the lift.
Just
Empty
Every
Pocket
It will happen just embrace it.

 

[Jefe1018]

My financial pit is similar to that of others. I started by getting the Rubicon, then I wanted 35's and a level but for the price of the skinny 35's I could certainly get a set of 37's as well and the dealer would give me a $500 credit for my OEM tires/wheels if I purchased wheels too. Meaning I could get wheels for an extra like $400, but for 37's you need a lift.... and I'm poor again.

 

[DocMike]

EVO 12.....12,000 pounds and Warn has a rep for out performing its specs. Some people..... Sure it's not a Zeon....but then again, I'm not out there rescuing people as a profession.

Most of it was a straight forward install. Just those few short bolts. FWIW I had a MUCH easier time accessing the inner bumper bolts through the top as the winch and plate takes up a lot of room.
I used a deep socket. That trick with tape on the bolt to hold it in the socket is money for sure.

Subtracting my trip to ACE, you could knock this out in afternoon.

I felt it was easy. The plate works well with the Mopar bumper and mounting a Warn product to a Warn product seems like a safe way to proceed. Cheap winch plate can wreck your day real quick.

I did opt for the Factor 55 as opposed to the traditional hook.
https://factor55.com/product/flatlink-e-expert/

Added safety of a closed system and this one can not only fit a full shackle, but fits over stock Jeep hooks.

My winch, as it turns out, shipped from Toys for Trucks, which is supposedly a reputable company and an official WARN distrubutor.

The only licensed resellers for WARN, within about an hour, are Napa and a 'Motor Sports' place. Neither had the EVO 12k in stock. One was willing to order it at $1k+shipping, and the other wasn't willing to order it at all, instead tried to keep upselling me to the zeon platinum series, and then they'd still have to order it.

They seemed offended when I asked them why they felt upselling a customer to a winch priced more than double of what they asked for, was ok... and then proceeded to talk about how the 'EVO lineup are ok for small trailers and lawnmowers, but really aren't rated for anything over 2-3k lbs'... I wonder what WARN would say, to an authorized reseller talking down one of their products... oh well... So Amazon (Toys for Trucks) wins out.

With everyone talking about how bad the economy is (as with you, nothing political), I'd think some places that are just scraping by, would jump at the chance to make ANY profitable sale at this point... *Shrug*


As for the bolts, I'm HOPING that by buying everything from BAM, directly, all of the parts will be good. (and, if not, that's why I had them throw in a few extras.. AND, yeah, I also have an ACE Hardware within a mile or so... though their selection of what they have, and don't have, sometimes makes me scratch my head.. for example.. they carry security torx body bolts (with the stupid pin in the center) but don't carry standard torx body bolts... but only in certain sizes... it seems to be SO random.. lol


~ Casp

 

[Caspien]

EVO 12.....12,000 pounds and Warn has a rep for out performing its specs. Some people..... Sure it's not a Zeon....but then again, I'm not out there rescuing people as a profession.

Most of it was a straight forward install. Just those few short bolts. FWIW I had a MUCH easier time accessing the inner bumper bolts through the top as the winch and plate takes up a lot of room.
I used a deep socket. That trick with tape on the bolt to hold it in the socket is money for sure.

Subtracting my trip to ACE, you could knock this out in afternoon.

I felt it was easy. The plate works well with the Mopar bumper and mounting a Warn product to a Warn product seems like a safe way to proceed. Cheap winch plate can wreck your day real quick.

I did opt for the Factor 55 as opposed to the traditional hook.
https://factor55.com/product/flatlink-e-expert/

Added safety of a closed system and this one can not only fit a full shackle, but fits over stock Jeep hooks.

Yeah, I've looked at the flatlinks, already, coupled with a soft shackle.. best of both worlds/options. May not opt for one at first, however.



The bolts, I'll have to see, to fully decide how I'm going to handle the inners. I have long thin hands, and can often get them into places that most people wouldn't believe.

For Example: I bought a used Mopar soft tonneau from a forum member a few weeks ago, and found out the 2020 and 2021 Gladiators actually have a different bed layout for the tonneau mount.

One of them has the guide posts on the lower, and the mount holes on the upper. The other year, has them backwards. (Why on earth they would do this.. I can only assume it's a way to try to remove the aftermarket... *Shrug*)

The cover I got, was for a 20, and since I have a 21.. the rivnut mount isn't where it's supposed to be.. So, I had an option... to drill out that hole, and use a cylindrical rivnut in it.... OR, get some lock nuts with attached washer, and slip my hand between the bed and the cab to hold the nut in place while I ratcheted it down. Neighbor told me, over and over.. 'There's no way you're going to get your hand in there...it just won't fit... it... ... holy crap, how'd you do that?!?!' lol. (Trick is to put a bit of dawn dishwashing detergent on my palm and near the wrist so I don't get any skin bind)

Another fun fact, for something like this, that I learned in Boy Scouts and while doing a science fair experiment in high school, years and years ago is that superglue has some amazing things about it:

1.) It will hold to stainless steel for short periods. Apparently due to the expansion and contraction of the glue and the steel, they will hold, perfectly, until there is a couple degree temperature change, then the glue and steel will immediately separate.

2.) nylon rope/string melts into super glue relatively easily.

3.) baking soda sprinkled over super glue instantly cures it, and causes it's temperature, and the temperature of the item you're connecting it to, to heat up.

So, over the years I've used those 3 things to my advantage, when I need to get something into an awkward place, that I can't easily get my hand into, while holding an object.

So, to get the nut there, I put a couple of drops of super glue on the outside of the nut, placed a nylon string to it, and sprinkled some baking soda over it. Instant bond of the string to the nut. use the string to lower the nut near the post from the bolt, and then slip my hand in, and hold it in place while ratcheting it down. Now, the real trick to this, is that since the baking soda caused the superglue, string, and nut to heat up... you just wait a few mins after tightening down the bolt.. and the glue and string will detach themselves...no residue left behind

Actually shared this trick with a few mechanic friends over the years, and every single one of them sort of blows it off, initially.. and then I hear from them a few months later telling me they used the trick to do something crazy with installing parts that they need to suspend or something along those lines. Works well for holding smaller parts in place, too. It's a VERY temporary adhesive that breaks free within 30-60 mins in most cases, when dealing with steel

How all of this will apply to the inner bolts, I don't know yet.. will find out in a few days/weeks.

This is, by far, the biggest benefit to forums like this.. the ability for folks to trade their wins/losses and find out what works, BEFORE making the same mistakes others make


~ Casp

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