'20 JT Rubicon overland build & evolution

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

For the suspension, I first added up all of the weight of the topper and the options that came with it. The math quickly reached 750 pounds before I added people or gear to the truck! Geez.

My first task was to find a suspension that was rated for a constant 800+ pounds of cargo weight as I’m not taking this topper on and off. Many suspensions are rated as either a basic lift of _ inches , or medium duty, or heavy duty. The only companies that will post the weight ratings of their coil springs are Iron Man, Dobinsons, and AEV.

At first I was going to take the low cost route and get Iron Man or Dobinsons rear and front coils and then piece together other parts like control arms, etc. But the front has a AEV bumper with plans to add a winch to it, so all four coils needed to be heavy duty and I felt like a fully engineered suspension package really what was needed as opposed to me experimenting with various mismatched parts.

In the end since there were so many people running AEV and everyone raved about the ride, control, and weight carrying capability of the high capacity, AEV rear coils, that’s the kit I purchased and had Mainline Overland in Charlotte install it.

It now rides and handles like new and sits - at least - 3” higher. I’ll need to check my pre-install measurements to confirm. Only issue was a loose rear swaybar link that was clicking (and driving me crazy) but easily resolved by re-torquing everything.

Since there’s plenty of AEV suspension install threads and photos here on the forum, I’ll jump straight to an “after installation” picture. This is the AEV suspension carrying the 750+ pounds of topper and cabinets and gear PLUS another 350-400 pounds of fertilizer and grass seed on the receiver hitch carrier.

Zero squat on prings that are supporting something north of 1,100 pounds.

And another pic minus the receiver hitch carrier:

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[2020 SCRAMBLER]

At this point a camping trip to the beach was in order.

And knowing I’d need to carry a few extra items, the receiver hitch carrier was making the trip.

But once at the campsite the hitch carrier would be useless, so I decided to make it dual purpose to also function as a table / platform too.

Pretty self explanatory what I did with some PVC pipe parts.

At the campsite it was great to gain more raised platform space to keep things out of the sand.

And in transport mode it held traction boards, beach chairs, 5 gallon buckets, firewood, garbage bag, and the fishing bait cooler. Basically all the stuff you don’t want inside the camper.

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

One last thing to add before the trip…bathroom facilities.

We like to camp at a particular beach and it’s a 3+ mile drive to a toilet and a 25+ mile drive to the public showers.

Problem is there’s almost no privacy on the beach except maybe inside the dunes and that’s where the biting no-see-um bugs like to live.

Ended up buying a Joolca dual compartment shower awning. It can function as a shower stall, changing room, or bathroom. With a couple of extra awning brackets from AT Overland - and measuring everything 5x before drilling holes in the camper - the install was straightforward.

Tried to install a Front Runner water tank, but the dimensions were slightly off and it would not fit without encroaching on the interior camper living space. None of the Iron Man tanks fit my needs either.

So, rather than trying to rig up a Joolca onboard water system that taps into large (heavy) water storage tanks, I bought a Kakadu portable outdoor heated water system. Super simple propane and battery operated water heater with hoses thats about the size of a large briefcase. Just drop the Kakadu water pump into a tank, bucket or creek and turn it in for instant hot water.

Two generic 5 gallon water tanks that fit the width of the alley inside the camper served as our potable water storage. If we are at a campground with a potable water supply, a 5 gallon bucket could also be used as the water source for the Kakadu. Or if creekside, that could also be the water source (for showers only).

Also bought a cheap folding plastic toilet and shower stall floor off Amazon.

Left side of the Joolca is the toilet / shower area and right side is the changing room.

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

First camping trip was a great time! And not having to spend hours on setup and pack-up plus the ability to quickly change campsite locations was fantastic.

Having the camper is an absolute game changer!

The main island “road” is over 20 miles long!

Great views from the southern tip of the island.

Setup time for camp = <3 minutes!

Dinner at our beachside taqueria.

On one of two ferry boat rides…this one to Okracoke.

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

A few more camping photos…

Great location but the Park Ranger felt we were too close to the dunes. :/

Nice amount of shade with the Eezi Awn awning but you have to be prepared to move the truck periodically to ensure we maintain shade.

Maybe that spare tractor work light I had laying around is a bit too bright as a kitchen work light..,

Kitchen setup with 2/3 of tailgate plus a stainless steel cutting board on top of the stove provides necessary kitchen workspace.

This huge overland camper was on the ferry ahead of us. Major camper envy!

Link to overland camper ad

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

Now rolling on a set of Kenda Klever M/T2 tires size 37” x 12.5” on the OEM Rubicon 17” wheels.

The tires sit just flush with the outer edges of the fenders. They almost appear narrower than my former 35” x 12.5” Falken Wildpeak M/Ts, but are a full 2” taller and weigh virtually the same.

For mud tires they are quiet, ride well, and have good on-road manners.

Will have to report back on off road performance later…

In addition to new tires, have now added a Warn VR EVO 12S winch. It’s a tight fit and required some trimming of the grille but it all fits on the AEV JK spec winch plate.

Also, the AEV JK spec bumper is now finally complete. I’ve incorporated the AEV skid plate (replacing the JT Rubicon skid plate that I ran with the AEV bumper for the last 4 years). The AEV recovery loops were heavily modified to work on a JT frame. Looks sharp and everything hugs the Gladiator body lines tight, so it’s a clean finished product.

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

My ability to locate pre-owned gently used Gladiator parts comes through yet again. Bought a pre-owned Kaymar dual swing out rear bumper.

It is a direct bolt-on. Definitely thicker gauge steel vs. the factory Rubicon rear steel bumper. Replicates the rear Rubicon bed slider protection too.

Apparently this is one of the earlier Gladiator Kaymar bumpers made in Australia from slightly thicker gauge steel before manufacturing shifted to Asia using thinner gauge steel. The bumper also appears to be galvanized under the black powder coating.

Reasons for adding the Kaymar bumper:

• Higher clearance and better protection. The Gladiator is a known tail-dragger offroad. Anything to improve rear departure angle is a plus. Fits the body lines tight like factory and the receiver hitch doesn’t hang below the bumper. Thicker bumper steel (vs. stock) has to offer better protection
  
  
• Built-in receiver hitch. Same tow weight rating as factory receiver hitch.
  
  
• Built in ability to transfer over factory parking sensor system.
  
  
• Built in ability to transfer factory 7 blade and 4 pin towing wire connector.
  
  
• Ability to purchase an extra bracket and transfer over the tailgate camera.
  
  
• Driver side swing out rated for up to a 40” tire. Should be no problem carrying my 37” spare tire. Also provides easy access to the spare vs. under the truck.
  
  
• Passenger side swing out can carry (and lock via cable) two 5 gallon fuel or water Jerry cans. Also can relocate license plate to this swing out.
  
  
• Ability to mount extra equipment. Current plan is to move traction boards and propane tank outside of the camper interior. Combination of bracket on spare tire carrier and tbd connection on fuel swing out carrier.
  
  
• Frees up space where spare tire formerly resided. Improved clearance for starters, but I can also locate my air pump or add an air tank or water storage to this area.
  
  
• Extra brake lights and backup lights built into the bumper. Needed as the 37” tire partially covers the driver side taillight.

On the downside:

• Weight. The Kaymar weighs at least 200# I’d have to guess. The stock Rubicon bumper is 100#s with receiver hitch.
  
  
• Reduced rear visibility. My already severely limited rear visibility (due to the AT topper) is now even further reduced. Carrying a 37” tire means only the right side 1/5 of my rear view mirror has visibility. Requires a lot of checking the side view mirrors. Almost certain a Wolfbox digital rear camera is in my future.
  
  
• A bit more effort to access the interior of the camper. Hopefully that’s a good thing and deters thieves from wanting to break in to the camper. (And thieves will be disappointed as I don’t carry anything worth stealing besides occasional fishing gear.)

Overall, I’m impressed. Glad it was used because brand new this is a $3,600 bumper.

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

It looks like I now will need to address weight…

The CAT scales indicate 6,920# with a full tank of fuel, 2 people, topper, cabinets, camping gear, partially full refrigerator, and a load of groceries.

Removing people and unnecessary items, my new baseline weight is 6,599#.

And that weight is skewed 43% front axle and 57% rear axle.

Sounds about right as I estimated ~800# for topper, cabinet system, refrigerator, stove, and electrical system. The other ~800# from front bumper, winch, rear bumper with swing outs, 37” tire weight differential, mattress, and a moderate amount of gear (shovel, basic tools, air pump, cooking utensils, etc).

Bracing the rear frame for constant extra weight is going to be the next item on the to-do list.

 

[korisu56]

Loving the build! Curious on the follow up for the tires road manners and if there is any rubbing at full turn.

I am looking forward to eventually upgrading from RTT to camper too.

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

Thanks @korisu56. No rubbing with the tires at full lock, and I’m fairly certain the bump stops were not adjusted by the overland shop that installed the tires.

I’ve been running 35x12.5s for 40k miles with zero clearance issues on a Rubicon suspension prior to the 37x12.5s. Combined with the AEV high capacity coil spring lift, I think the 37s essentially fit like 35s no lift Rubicon spec.

Compared to the stock Rubicon in the photo below, with all the weight I’m carrying and 37s plus 1,000 break-in miles, my equivalent middle of the fender to ground passenger side measurements are more than 5” taller (45 1/8” front and 45 1/4” rear).

 

[korisu56]

Thanks @korisu56. No rubbing with the tires at full lock, and I’m fairly certain the bump stops were not adjusted by the overland shop that installed the tires.

I’ve been running 35x12.5s for 40k miles with zero clearance issues on a Rubicon suspension prior to the 37x12.5s. Combined with the AEV high capacity coil spring lift, I think the 37s essentially fit like 35s no lift Rubicon spec.

Compared to the stock Rubicon in the photo below, with all the weight I’m carrying and 37s plus 1,000 break-in miles, my equivalent middle of the fender to ground passenger side measurements are more than 5” taller (45 1/8” front and 45 1/4” rear).

Perfect! I was a little concerned because I've heard some folks having issues with 37s at full lock with my bumper (ARB Bondi), but I suppose it's worth going back and seeing what suspension they used. I like that mine is flush with the fenders, but I'm not sure of the tradeoffs until I pull the trigger.

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