Matt's Red Rubi EcoDiesel

[WMWHV]

My day has finally come. My Jeep was delivered this week. After a couple of Jeepless months, it is good to fill the spot in the garage with another red rubi. No offense to those who name their Jeep. We named our kids and our dogs and cats, but I have never found a need to name my vehicles, so pardon the unimaginative tile for my build thread. For background, my Jeep was ordered on July 3. I got to the dealer the morning after I got a note from him that the order book was open. It has almost every option. I say almost because there were a few things I knew I wanted to do better than OEM. So, no factory bedliner or headliner. I have a plastic bumper. They made me buy a tonneau because of the dual top group, but the dealer gave it to me for "free." Here is what I have done so far:

1. Rugged Ridge floor mats front and back. As others have noted, you have to trim the rear following the marks on the bottom if you have the under seat cargo box.
2. Rugged Ridge door entry scuff guards. They seem to offer the most coverage, but still don't get the edge of the door frame.
3. Hotheads sound assassin strips and headliner for the hard top.
4. Tazer JL Mini. Stopped the ESS and tweaked a few other things, like the fog lamps turning off when the brights are on. I want my fogs to stay on, hopefully to light up any deer on the side of the road.
5. BAK Revolver X-4 tonneau.
6. JCR molle panel for the front of the bed. Hi-lift mounted to it and a bag stuck on thus far.
7. I have tossed some gear in the bed, but have not organized it yet. I am strongly considering the additional JCR molle panels for the sides. The trail rail system just does not seem that functional, especially with the overlap of the tonneau frame.
8. I have spent some time trying to figure out where to mount my ham and other radios and my phone. I am not thrilled with the aesthetics of the rail mounts across the dash with arms coming off of them. I am looking at the Carolina Metal Masters ball mounts. They seem to have some very well engineered products.
9. I assembled the soft top. That one frosted me a bit. I paid a lot of money for it and don't think my job includes assembling the pieces using a torque screwdriver, installing weatherstripping and the like. Put it on, yes, build it, no. How many people have a torque screwdriver anyway? I am glad I do, because overtorqueing that plastic stuff would not be good.

Here is what is yet to be done in terms of "initial" build:

1. Install JCR front bumper, skid plate and Warn Zeon Platinum 10S winch. I also have a JCR hawse pipe light mount and an AEV front license plate frame, also mounting at the hawse pipe. I plan to install it upside down to accommodate the light mount.
2. Install Uncle Mike's rear lower control arm frame mount skid plates.
3. Install Mopar cowl light mounts (for ham antennas and perhaps ditch lights).
4. Install radios, antennas and mounts, run power and coax cables. Ultimately, I would like a place for a dual band ham rig, my DMR mobile radio for my search and rescue team and perhaps my Icom 7000 HF rig. I have yet to decide where to mount the screwdriver antenna for it.

I tend to remember about taking pictures when the job is half done, so not all of these projects will be fully photo-documented, but I will try to create an entry below for each of these projects. I see the value in these threads as giving people ideas and letting them see the possibilities for their rigs.

Sponsored

 

[WMWHV]

Installing the HotHead headliners and Sound Assassin strips.

I found the instructions and videos on their site to pretty much cover everything. The one thing I did not see that I learned the hard way is that the sound assassin strips are not rubber with an adhesive on it, they are a thick gooey substance for the full thickness, with a foil sheet on top. Why this makes a difference is if you are like I am, and you are impressed at how quickly and easily the job is going, you might not notice you are stepping on a piece you trimmed off. If you have waffle pattern soles like I do, you will be peeling that stuff out for a long time. I am still trying to clean it out of my shoes. [Edit: It also will ruin your clothes. I discovered that I put my knee down on some of it and even acetone would not take it off.] The headliners look really nice and I am glad I was able to get a tan color to match my seats. I dislike all the black on the inside of Jeeps.

I have not put the top back on yet, so no idea whether it will make a noticeable difference in the sound. It is already so much better than my LJ that I can't believe it. I never listened to the radio on the LJ. I was listening to tunes today on the freeway with the top off and the windows down.

 

[WMWHV]

BAK Revolver X4

I chose the Revolver X4 because I did not like the idea of the room the canister took up with the retractables. Also, they seemed to encroach on the sides a lot. The Revolver takes up more room on the side than I would like. It pretty much hides the trail rails. The MOPAR roll up gave full access to the bed, but it provided no security at all, other than the canvas. Security for the bed contents is a huge issue for me, so I gave up the room on the sides to get it. I also like the tracks, which will give me the option for a rack at some point. I am still not sure what way to go there. I have had Yakima products for years, but their rack is so expensive. I am also worried that I can't get enough separation on a rack to provide stability for a canoe, which is what I am most likely to carry on it. I might have to get a rack on the hard top too in order to have a forward support point.

It is about 2" from the edge of the bed to the inside of the track for the tonneau.

It is more like 3 1/2" from the inner edge of the trail rail to the inside of the track.

You can see in this picture that the tie down points on the trail rail are hard to get to because of the tonneau rail.

Here is the T-slot track.

I wondered about the black felt on either side of the tonneau right up until I tried to roll it up in the midafternoon sun. The aluminum was too hot to touch. In October.

I am not trying to be critical of the Revolver. I really like it, but I want to pass along the kind of information I was looking for as I was deciding which way to go. I feel as comfortable leaving valuables in the bed of this truck as I would the back of my Expedition EL or the trunk of a car (something last owned in our house in 2007). I know that a criminal delayed is a criminal that is moving on to the next car.

 

[Speedy_12139]

BAK Revolver X4

I chose the Revolver X4 because I did not like the idea of the room the canister took up with the retractables. Also, they seemed to encroach on the sides a lot. The Revolver takes up more room on the side than I would like. It pretty much hides the trail rails. The MOPAR roll up gave full access to the bed, but it provided no security at all, other than the canvas. Security for the bed contents is a huge issue for me, so I gave up the room on the sides to get it.

I am not trying to be critical of the Revolver. I really like it, but I want to pass along the kind of information I was looking for as I was deciding which way to go. I feel as comfortable leaving valuables in the bed of this truck as I would the back of my Expedition EL or the trunk of a car (something last owned in our house in 2007). I know that a criminal delayed is a criminal that is moving on to the next car.

Thank you for the quick review!

I've been snooping around the forums, and stumbled across your thread, with just the info I needed!

 

[jalbrecht55]

Since your coming from an LJ, how do you like the size of the JT? I’ve always thought the LJ was the ideal size—enough room to be manageable for a family of four plus gear, but not so big as a 4 door Jeep. The 2-door part combined with stubborn seats can be annoying in the winter but for an open top summer rig it’s perfect. My kids love climbing up the tires to get in.

I’m really drawn to the gladiator and really thinking about replacing my LJ with one. Both to get a truck and a little nicer and safer Jeep. I love the idea of a truck and a Jeep in one but I keep thinking, is this just too much Jeep?

Like you I’m also wondering about the best way to carry a canoe on a JT with a bed cover. I’m currently using a hitch T-bar in the back and a modified crossbar in the front that clamps on the roll bar. A bit clunky and noisy but works great - but would get in the way of the tailgate.

 

[WMWHV]

how do you like the size of the JT?

I love it. My other truck is an Expedition EL, so I am accustomed to taking it all with me and not having to worry if it fits. I loved my LJ too, but it seemed like everything was a compromise. I volunteer with a search and rescue team. It seemed like I never had enough room for my gear and fellow team members. Simple things like driving to work and being able to have a place to put my briefcase and hang a suit coat without flipping seats or opening the back are nice too. When the top was on the LJ, it was very confining. When it was off, nothing was better.

My canoe solution on the LJ was the Body Armor rack and Yakima bars. It worked great for that, but the down side was it made the top hard to get on and off, so the top stayed on almost all the time.

So, if I had a family of four and gear, I would be all over the JT. If you have one and an LJ and think a JL is too big, then probably the JT is going to be too big for you. I can tell you the creature comforts in the JT are hard to beat. I can drive down the freeway with the top off and listen to the radio. Never did that with the LJ. My sister called me on the phone and I was able to hold a conversation with her via the bluetooth. I had to lean toward the windshield a bit, but in the LJ, I had problems talking on the phone even with a headset. Of course, you would get similar results with a JLU.

Am I a bit concerned about the turning radius off road and high centering? Yes, but I think I may mitigate that with a modest lift and perhaps some additional armor on the bottom. So, for me, the winner is clearly the JT. Go to the dealer, take your family and sit in one and drive it around. I think you will like it.

 

[jalbrecht55]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I've driven the JL, JLU and JT. They are all pretty great. So much quieter and smoother than my LJ. Little things like having a place to rest your left arm is a nice improvement. Or being able to go more than 200 miles without the low fuel light threating you. The steering is better in my LJ, but it looks like they have a fix for that now. The thing you mention with the stereo is no joke. In my LJ I'll be on the road for an hour and pull off to stop somewhere and realize not only was the stereo on the whole time, but it was on really loud too. And I have (or had pre LJ) really good hearing.

My first thought on "size" when driving both the JLU and especially the JT is the back bumper is wayyyy back there. Watching friends on trails with smaller vehicles struggle - badly - has me concerned. There's a lot of trees where I live (PNW). I think I can manage it but that's kinda why I'm asking for second opinions from owners who've had both.

Oh canoes - how do you like your mad river? Which model is it? My old grumman 17' is doing good but it's had a very hard life over the last 65 years... I keep patching rivets and it keeps leaking. Maybe I need better rivet skills.

 

[WMWHV]

how do you like your mad river? Which model is it?

Tough question after a long day at work. I think it is an Explorer. Definitely Royalex. I really like it. It has the wooden trim, but I need to refinish it. I will put that on the list to do after I finish the teak on my Grand Banks. You have hit on the issue with the JT... It does have a long tail. I scraped the tail on my LJ when I went to the Jeep Jamboree at Palo Duro, but nowhere else. I would not dare do what I did on that trip with the JT. It would never make it. That said, I decided I am more of a backcountry adventurer than a rock crawler. I am not going to seek out obstacles for the sake of going over them if I can go around them, but I want to be able to go and see things that other never see and if that means I have to go over things to get there, I will. I need high clearance for floods in Houston and general capability for the trails in West Texas. I am hoping I will not high center or drag the tail in the Big Bend region, but that is a concern. Good luck balancing your needs. Everything in life if a compromise and because we all end up with different answers based on our unique situations, they are able to make more than one type and color of Jeep and lots of parts to tweak them!

 

[WMWHV]

piddling more than anything at this point. Preparing to install the winch, bumper and ham radio gear. In the meantime, mounted the axe. I am seriously considering buying the JCR molle panels for the sides too.

 

[WMWHV]

Took the Jeep on its first hunting trip. I really don’t like the timer on the bed lights. Dealing with gear back there after dark was a pain. I think I sort of solved the problem by opening up a door, but it would be nice if there were a switch in the back. Extra bed lights may be a future project.

 

[WMWHV]

Install and Review, JCR Vanguard Full Width Bumper with Warn Zeon Platinum 10S winch.

I finally got around to installing the bumper and winch. I looked at bumpers on line for months before settling on the JCR. I had been leaning toward the Warn. I liked the idea of doing business with a smaller company that builds their stuff in America. I guess you can say this is a rosy review, because there are a few thorns on it.

First of all, the bumper showed up with the finish chipped off on both ends where the ends came out of the box during shipping. This was easily foreseeable because of the sharp pointed ends. They could have put a protective cap over the ends and did not. They could also have relied only on their pour in foam, but properly sealed the box, but they did not do that either. Shame on them. I doctored it up with Rustoleum textured black and it does not look right, but it will do OK. I did not want the hassle of taking it to a local shop and having it blasted and coated again.

Yes, that is the corner of the bumper sticking out when they left it on the porch.

Here is what it looked like:

There was a similar problem with the hoop. There was nothing between the box and the forward face of the base. See the two holes in the box below. That was the hoop poking through. The powder coating was scraped off there too.

Other than the shipping damage, they looked great and I was excited to have them. I watched all their install videos and they were close to being right. There are a number of bumper options and my Rubicon standard bumper was not what they have in their video. The biggest difference is that you don't get access to the wiring harness by taking the 8 bolts out and separating the metal part from the plastic part. What I did was simply push the 6-8 wire clips out of their holes, cut off the clips, then pulled the harness out.

This is what my bumper looked like on the back side:

Getting the lights and harness out was not too bad of a job. The install of the bumper was pure Hell. The JCR bumper has the mounting bolts welded in place. They did not weld them straight, so the bumper would not fit into the holes in the plate on the front of the frame. After struggling to get it on there several times (I wish I had some help, I was doing it alone), I finally gave up and had to wallow out the holes on the frame to get the bumper to fit. I finally got it done, then had to paint the holes to prevent them from rusting out and (almost) finished the install. I had waited until I had the bumper ready to mount before I installed the lights to avoid the risk of damaging them. I drilled out the holes to accommodate the larger bolts on the bumper and yet, they were crooked too. I had to wallow out the holes on the light brackets to get them to fit. I eventually got it on and discovered that the tab at the back of the bumper did not line up with the hole were it was to bolt on. Not even close. See this photo:

You can barely see the nutsert at the top of the hole. I ended up drilling a new hole and putting in a bolt and a nut behind it. One more thing. If you are anal like I am, think about where the fog light harness is running inside the bumper. If you are not careful, you could have it where it would be crushed if you stick the Hi Lift in the jacking slots that are in the bumper. I routed my harness around the crush point.

The winch install was a cinch in comparison. Everything fit and I routed the wiring per the instructions on the mopar website. The biggest hassle was threading the synthetic line onto the drum. It was a tight fit, but I eventually figured out a way to get the leverage I needed and got the key in place.

Here is the bumper installed.

You may notice that the hoop appears crooked. JCR offered to send me a new one, but I am not sure whether the problem is the hoop or that the bumper, after having to widen the holes to get it to fit, is not straight on the frame.

It is a bit hard to see, but I put the JCR light mount behind the fairlead and an AEV license plate frame, inverted. Still waiting on the license plate. I also put on Crosby theatrical shackles. The theatrical are the same as the others, only painted black so that you don't have to do that yourself. The skid plate installation went fine. However, the instructions are not very good. There were two brackets in the box that were not mentioned in the instructions. When I asked, JCR sent me a link to a YouTube video showing the install. FYI, if you have a Rubicon, you will be removing some other brackets before you are able to to put on the bracket for the JCR skid plate. Not a big deal.

So, bottom line, I like my bumper and the several other JCR products I have purchased so far and am thinking about getting some more of their accessories. They were generally responsive to my emails and when I have talked to them by phone, they seem to be nice guys. But, there is room for improvement in the packaging and in my mind, there is no excuse for the bolts not to line up. It seems to me that they should have a jig that holds everything where it needs to be when they are welding it up. I did send them the details and they say their people will look into it. I think the bumper will provide good protection and I think any deer that jumps out in front of me will be sorry, as will any pig, up to a certain size.

 

[WMWHV]

Always On USB Charger install.

I don't like the fact that the USB charger and the "lighter socket" are only active when the ignition is on, and I needed more outlets. I wanted something on the passenger side so my wife could plug in her phone. (By the way, plugging her phone into one of the built in USB ports means that her phone connects to the Apple Carplay, so we had to come up with another option.) I found an Atwood marine socket and used two sided tape to mount it to the side of the center console. The hole was too big so I had to shim the USB plug with some strips of the fuzzy side of Velcro to get it to hold tight. I connected it up to the always-on 10 amp wire that is part of the Aux. switch wiring harness. I grounded it to the bolt that holds on the console, just under the carpet. I wrapped the wire with Tesa cloth wiring harness tape. You can see in the picture I need a bit more at the top. I also primed the plastic with 3M adhesion promoter before putting on the two sided tape. I don't think it is going anywhere. If you do this, please look at the glove box before you mount the socket, because if you put the socket where you probably would want it to be, it will block the opening of the glove box. The location shown was the compromise that worked.

I also see from this picture that I need to re-hang the aux. wiring harness so that it is not hanging down.

 

[eaglerugby04]

Always On USB Charger install.

I don't like the fact that the USB charger and the "lighter socket" are only active when the ignition is on, and I needed more outlets. I wanted something on the passenger side so my wife could plug in her phone (by the way, plugging her phone into one of the built in USB ports means that her phone connects to the Apple Carplay, so we had to come up with another option. I found an Atwood marine socket and used two sided tape to mount it to the side of the center console. The hole was too big so I had to shim the USB plug with some strips of the fuzzy side of Velcro to get it to hold tight. I connected it up to the always on 10 amp wire that is part of the Aux. switch wiring harness. I grounded it to the bolt that holds on the console, just under the carpet. I wrapped the wire with Tesa cloth wiring harness tape. You can see in the picture I need a bit more at the top. I also primed the plastic with 3M adhesion promoter before putting on the two sided tape. I don't think it is going anywhere. If you do this, please look at the glove box before you mount the socket, because if you put the socket where you probably would want it to be, it will block the opening of the glove box. The location shown was the compromise that worked.

I also see from this picture that I need to re-hang the aux. wiring harness so that it is not hanging down.

This is an awesome idea. I have had so much frustration with every port wanting to be part of Android Auto.

 

[DunnMan]

Install and Review, JCR Vanguard Full Width Bumper with Warn Zeon Platinum 10S winch.

I finally got around to installing the bumper and winch. I looked at bumpers on line for months before settling on the JCR. I had been leaning toward the Warn. I liked the idea of doing business with a smaller company that builds their stuff in America. I guess you can say this is a rosy review, because there are a few thorns on it.

First of all, the bumper showed up with the finish chipped off on both ends where the ends came out of the box during shipping. This was easily foreseeable because of the sharp pointed ends. They could have put a protective cap over the ends and did not. They could also have relied only on their pour in foam, but properly sealed the box, but they did not do that either. Shame on them. I doctored it up with Rustoleum textured black and it does not look right, but it will do OK. I did not want the hassle of taking it to a local shop and having it blasted and coated again.

Yes, that is the corner of the bumper sticking out when they left it on the porch.

Here is what it looked like:

There was a similar problem with the hoop. There was nothing between the box and the forward face of the base. See the two holes in the box below. That was the hoop poking through. The powder coating was scraped off there too.

Other than the shipping damage, they looked great and I was excited to have them. I watched all their install videos and they were close to being right. There are a number of bumper options and my Rubicon standard bumper was not what they have in their video. The biggest difference is that you don't get access to the wiring harness by taking the 8 bolts out and separating the metal part from the plastic part. What I did was simply push the 6-8 wire clips out of their holes, cut off the clips, then pulled the harness out.

This is what my bumper looked like on the back side:

Getting the lights and harness out was not too bad of a job. The install of the bumper was pure Hell. The JCR bumper has the mounting bolts welded in place. They did not weld them straight, so the bumper would not fit into the holes in the plate on the front of the frame. After struggling to get it on there several times (I wish I had some help, I was doing it alone), I finally gave up and had to wallow out the holes on the frame to get the bumper to fit. I finally got it done, then had to paint the holes to prevent them from rusting out and (almost) finished the install. I had waited until I had the bumper ready to mount before I installed the lights to avoid the risk of damaging them. I drilled out the holes to accommodate the larger bolts on the bumper and yet, they were crooked too. I had to wallow out the holes on the light brackets to get them to fit. I eventually got it on and discovered that the tab at the back of the bumper did not line up with the hole were it was to bolt on. Not even close. See this photo:

You can barely see the nutsert at the top of the hole. I ended up drilling a new hole and putting in a bolt and a nut behind it. One more thing. If you are anal like I am, think about where the fog light harness is running inside the bumper. If you are not careful, you could have it where it would be crushed if you stick the Hi Lift in the jacking slots that are in the bumper. I routed my harness around the crush point.

The winch install was a cinch in comparison. Everything fit and I routed the wiring per the instructions on the mopar website. The biggest hassle was threading the synthetic line onto the drum. It was a tight fit, but I eventually figured out a way to get the leverage I needed and got the key in place.

Here is the bumper installed.

You may notice that the hoop appears crooked. JCR offered to send me a new one, but I am not sure whether the problem is the hoop or that the bumper, after having to widen the holes to get it to fit, is not straight on the frame.

It is a bit hard to see, but I put the JCR light mount behind the fairlead and an AEV license plate frame, inverted. Still waiting on the license plate. I also put on Crosby theatrical shackles. The theatrical are the same as the others, only painted black so that you don't have to do that yourself. The skid plate installation went fine. However, the instructions are not very good. There were two brackets in the box that were not mentioned in the instructions. When I asked, JCR sent me a link to a YouTube video showing the install. FYI, if you have a Rubicon, you will be removing some other brackets before you are able to to put on the bracket for the JCR skid plate. Not a big deal.

So, bottom line, I like my bumper and the several other JCR products I have purchased so far and am thinking about getting some more of their accessories. They were generally responsive to my emails and when I have talked to them by phone, they seem to be nice guys. But, there is room for improvement in the packaging and in my mind, there is no excuse for the bolts not to line up. It seems to me that they should have a jig that holds everything where it needs to be when they are welding it up. I did send them the details and they say their people will look into it. I think the bumper will provide good protection and I think any deer that jumps out in front of me will be sorry, as will any pig, up to a certain size.

Thanks for this, I know which bumper I will NOT be buying.

 

[takeitsleazy]

Thanks for this, I know which bumper I will NOT be buying.

I’ve gotten plenty of JCR items; they’re excellent. QC issues happen; still leagues better than a smittybilt product

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