Practical Truck for the Over Prepared Woman

[Kindafearless]

Turn your wire speed down on your MIG, you should like the results

I’m doing TIG and was running hot and using a lot of filler because there were literally holes where the bends were.

Does that change your opinion?

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[kevman65]

I’m doing TIG and was running hot and using a lot of filler because there were literally holes where the bends were.

Does that change your opinion?

Yup, turn your heat down, you won't have to move as fast. I don't know what wire you're using but I would recommend ER-70 1/8". You don't have to do it all in one pass. Keep your bead tight and you can do multiple passes, stacking them as you go.

Good night.

 

[krweatherl]

I was gonna recommend the exact same thing, but didn’t know that there was a limitation of a 37 inch tire. Here’s the section that shows requirements/limitations.

I’m thinking that was a cut and paste from the 3.5” lift. Here’s the information from the 4.5” lift saying 39” with Rubicon Flares.

https://teraflex.com/jt-4-5-sport-st4-extended-travel-suspension-system-no-shocks.html

 

[Dougstdig]

I’m thinking that was a cut and paste from the 3.5” lift. Here’s the information from the 4.5” lift saying 39” with Rubicon Flares.

https://teraflex.com/jt-4-5-sport-st4-extended-travel-suspension-system-no-shocks.html

Interesting…good eyes

 

[Kindafearless]

Maine was awesome btw. All the fixes held up great.

This is what the TMR track bar bracket looks like:

I did finally take out a tail light Bunch of really tight trees after an obstacle and I wasn’t paying enough attention…

Fortunately, Jeep did a great job installing that bracket. Took it apart while waiting for others and had it reinstalled and looking good 5 minutes later.

Some fun rocks up there to really play with the Gladiator’s wheelbase advantage.

 

[Kindafearless]

Had some fun in Kentucky/Tennesse.

Broke the darn rear sway bar mount again though. My welds held, but the brackets split in half where they weren't reinforced. Guess that settles it, going to run it through the frame.

I also managed to dent my driveshaft, I think that happened in Maine though. Called Adams and they said I could send it to them and they would re-tube it at materials cost. That's pretty cool of them

 

[Kindafearless]

A couple fun photos some folks might appreciate. Doing the sway bar fix, rewiring the lockers, cutting some more length off the bed, and preparing to install some "bed saver" bars.

 

[3VOLVE]

How much more are you cutting from the bed and why?

 

[Kindafearless]

Another 6 inches. That will make it a total of 13-14 inches removed. This picture shows the mockup lines I'm looking at.

As to why, maneuverability and trees. Wheelbase still hasn't been a problem, but that tail end sticking out does like to find things. I feel like you can avoid 99% of trees/rocks through careful driving, but that 1% leave a nasty scar. I hit 3 times in the later half of this year and I'm looking at a couple days of body work to get it fixed up. I want to avoid that next year.

The plan is to run a frame mounted bar along the top of the bed, take the extra 6 inches off, and hopefully I can wheel in bliss next year. I'm going to call it my "tree rail" I think.

 

[rharr]

You should just start working on a flat bed conversion.

 

[Rusty PW]

While you're at it. Do an exoskeleton too.

 

[Jerhemi]

Another 6 inches. That will make it a total of 13-14 inches removed. This picture shows the mockup lines I'm looking at.

As to why, maneuverability and trees. Wheelbase still hasn't been a problem, but that tail end sticking out does like to find things. I feel like you can avoid 99% of trees/rocks through careful driving, but that 1% leave a nasty scar. I hit 3 times in the later half of this year and I'm looking at a couple days of body work to get it fixed up. I want to avoid that next year.

The plan is to run a frame mounted bar along the top of the bed, take the extra 6 inches off, and hopefully I can wheel in bliss next year. I'm going to call it my "tree rail" I think.

oooh. Can’t wait to see this.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Looks great!
It would be awesome if you could document with photos through the process- may help encourage others.

curious- did you cut the end plates off the frame and re weld them back on or did you make your own? What’s the frame process look like for re-assembly.

 

[Elff]

Your build thought process is why I Rock Crawl a 2Dr Wrangler TJR


I am amazed at how much weaker some aspects of the newer jeeps are compared to the older ones. On a TJ, the rear upper sway bar mounts are a Box welded to the frame.

 

[Kindafearless]

Looks great!
It would be awesome if you could document with photos through the process- may help encourage others.

curious- did you cut the end plates off the frame and re weld them back on or did you make your own? What’s the frame process look like for re-assembly.

I cut and re-welded. It was really easy to pop them off, they were just tack welded on there.

This time around it will be a little different since I'm going to be changing the bumper approach a little. The plan is to convert over to clevis holes.

I'll take photos as I go. It will take a few weeks though, lots of work coming up the next couple weeks :/

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