Practical Truck for the Over Prepared Woman

[DocMike]

Y'all are an engineer for sure. Nice build. How to you like the KC light bar?
I have been eyeballing that.

I’ve had my Jeep for a little over a year now. It’s been an interesting build so far since I’m resolved to do as much of it myself as I can and I currently live in an apartment. Hopefully some of the lessons learned will help others, this community has certainly been super helpful to me so far.

The truck as of today
View attachment 125401

List of modifications so far:

Steering:
Steer Smarts Aluminum Tie Rod
Steer Smarts XD Drag Link
Steer Smarts XD Trackbar reinforcement bracket
Steer Smarts Stabilizer re-location bracket
Steer Smarts Damper Bracket
Fox ATS Stabilizer

Suspension:
Rock Krawler Pro-X Kit
Fox 2.0 Performance Shocks, from Accutune
Artec Fender Liners

Protection:
Genright Front and Back bumpers
Artec Skid Plates
Motoblit Rocker Armor
RokBlokz Mud Flaps

Drivetrain:
Artec Axle Truss and Axle Skids

Lighting:
KC Rock lights
KC Pro6 Bar

Under Hood:
Hauk Snorkel
Genesis Dual Battery
MBPR exhaust

Wheels:
Maxxis Razrs 35”
Method 606

Accessories:
Viair air system
Invicus Grab Handles
MXT MicroMobile Radio
Cover King inside hardtop cover
Sound Assassin full floor package

Custom Stuff:
Air Outlet in front (unregulated)
Air Outlet in bed (regulated)
3d Printed Replacement covers for dash
Aluminum brackets for wiring under hood
Aluminum brackets for air system

Things that have been replaced as part of weight loss saga:
Ace Bumper
Ace Sliders (gap after removing Rubicon bars)
Artec Rear Bumper
DiamondBack Cover
Rubicon Rails (front and back)
Maximus 3 air cradle

In progress:
Installing RTT
Cleaning up wiring
Cleaning up air routing
Rebuilding winch (long story)

Next up:
New wheels
Re-gear

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[Kindafearless]

Y'all are an engineer for sure. Nice build. How to you like the KC light bar?
I have been eyeballing that.

I’ve done a little testing, and they are super bright.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been in the trail at night yet for some real world testing. Next month we’ll see how they work

They were really clean to install though, and the light risers are quality steel. Wish I could have found the risers in aluminum :/ Maybe someone will make some this year!

 

[DocMike]

I have played with making things out of carbon fiber. You can get fiber and the appropriate resin. And now that I have planted this idea....your mind will be going into high gear.

I’ve done a little testing, and they are super bright.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been in the trail at night yet for some real world testing. Next month we’ll see how they work

They were really clean to install though, and the light risers are quality steel. Wish I could have found the risers in aluminum :/ Maybe someone will make some this year!

 

[Kindafearless]

I have played with making things out of carbon fiber. You can get fiber and the appropriate resin. And now that I have planted this idea....your mind will be going into high gear.

Oh! Good idea!

A mold wouldn’t be hard to make either because I already have the metal one. Just need to use that as a template! Now if only I had space to do fiberglass work. What have you done?

 

[DocMike]

I have done mostly small things for my Audis. Mostly my 1995.5 URS6. Gauge mounts and the like. I'll look and see what pics I can find. Had the car 5 years ago.
Temp for the resin is crucial. This and adequate ventilation. Not only for the smell, but to keep dust and things out of the finish as it sets.

Oh! Good idea!

A mold wouldn’t be hard to make either because I already have the metal one. Just need to use that as a template! Now if only I had space to do fiberglass work. What have you done?

 

[Sulaco]

I’ve done a little testing, and they are super bright.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been in the trail at night yet for some real world testing. Next month we’ll see how they work

They were really clean to install though, and the light risers are quality steel. Wish I could have found the risers in aluminum :/ Maybe someone will make some this year!

how much wind noise do you get from those light? Im really curious

 

[Kindafearless]

how much wind noise do you get from those light? Im really curious

It’s very minor and only in crosswinds at certain angles.

 

[Kindafearless]

Finished a couple more projects

Got the winch reinstalled with an electronics relocation.

I moved the electronics because there was a bunch of mud inside the winch electricity housing after driving through a bunch of mud in the fall.

 

[Kindafearless]

I also got the air intake for the Hauk snorkel to behave alongside my genesis dual battery kit.

That is a 3 inch silicon tube with a couple pieces of the intake that comes with the kit.

For safety I also added terminal covers over the positive and negative battery terminals that aren’t by default covered.

 

[Kindafearless]

Radio nicely tucked away also

Leaves room for a couple blue ridge overland bags and the mic wire runs nicely out through the wire hole.

 

[Kindafearless]

Finished the 3D printed dash covers.

I tried printing them at a couple different angles, but the shape is not well suited to printing, so ended up having to use a ton of support material.

Considering wrapping them with leather for a little extra polish.

 

[Kindafearless]

And last update from the last couple weeks, got the tent figured out.

I wanted a really light weight rack that fit close to the bed. Artec had the perfect solution. The cross bars are aluminum and weigh practically nothing.

Roam caused me a little problem solving unfortunately. The bolts that roam sends that hold the tent with the aluminum extrusion track have a little play in them and the bolt head doesn’t tightly hold inside the track nut :/ one of the bolts started spinning inside. Bumped up to a 5/16 bolt and drilled out the extrusion all little. Fixed the mounting and made it much cleaner of an install.

 

[Kindafearless]

Finally found the right badge.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

I like your style, great build!

 

[etrienta]

Awesome build! You mention the weight saga? Did you have to remove/replace those couple of items because weight and its affect on handling? I ask because I am ready to pull the trigger on the same RK lift, but have been wondering how there spring rate handles a heavy truck like mine which sits at +/- 200lb gvwr.

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