Maggie the Yellow JKU

AZ Explorer said:
Thanks! I'm originally from Michigan right across the line from Toledo. The salted roads are something I definitely don't miss. The great lakes though, I miss those a bunch. Looking at yours, the only thing it looks like it needs is some kind of sliders, otherwise it looks really good. I had to put steps at the front of the list when I lifted mine because the wife insisted. It also helps keep most of the gunk off the sides.
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Thanks AZ Explorer! I used to to have some Rubicon rails but they rusted out. I put those on after I had some tube steps that rusted out too.[emoji53] I really would like some kind of armor on my sides but want to go with something that I trust will not rust out in the first year. I have been real lucky on some of my off-road trips in only getting scratches and a few marks on the frame. I even thought about those mud flaps that I have seen on Moby for the winters to keep some of the salt off the sides. Does your armor get moisture behind them? I don't see a lot of Jeeps around here with corner guards or body armor. Only ones that are covering up rusted out body parts or on Jeeps that are parked during the winter. I am interested in the EVO's and the ones you have.


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Keithyellowjk said:
Thanks AZ Explorer! I used to to have some Rubicon rails but they rusted out. I put those on after I had some tube steps that rusted out too.[emoji53] I really would like some kind of armor on my sides but want to go with something that I trust will not rust out in the first year. I have been real lucky on some of my off-road trips in only getting scratches and a few marks on the frame. I even thought about those mud flaps that I have seen on Moby for the winters to keep some of the salt off the sides. Does your armor get moisture behind them? I don't see a lot of Jeeps around here with corner guards or body armor. Only ones that are covering up rusted out body parts or on Jeeps that are parked during the winter. I am interested in the EVO's and the ones you have.


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I worry about the armor since it requires drilling a bunch of holes and unless you can treat the exposed metal in a way that really protects from salt exposure it could be a problem. Moisture isn't really a problem out here and wouldn't cause rust unless the exposed metal was accessible to that moisture, but I did put paint on the hole edges before the nutserts. Maybe post up a thread in tech to see how those in your area dealt with it and how its holding up. Maybe bed liner coating instead of paint? I would suggest going with the EVO ones if you do get rocker guards. It's the one thing I wish I'd done differently. If you look at the area right under the fender flares you'll see that the paint is exposed and has no protection. EVO has extended the metal out to cover this area plus it looks a little better too. The area between the front and rear doors goes up a little higher. Cost is pretty close for either and they will need to be powder-coated. All my raw add ons were done in 60% black. Really, any rock sliders will work with either brand of armor. Most will tell you to go with something frame mounted for sliders and I agree. Mine are bolted but can be welded later if necessary. Oh, and the armor for each brand is like 1/8 inch steel so it won't rust out, it's the thin Jeep panels you need to be concerned with.
 
Out with the old...

One of the first things I got for my Jeep was the windshield lights and brackets. I always liked the old 6" KC style lights. I bought some Pro Comp versions thinking they were better than the 15 dollar Autozone knockoffs, but I couldn't have been more wrong. One of the lights was rusted within 5 months, the other one is still pretty shiny. The rubber grommets rotted in less that a year. I never got around to wiring them and once the rust set in (in Arizona, really?) so I wasn't going to waste my time, and since then they have pretty much been dummy lights. I decided they need replacing since they are just awful looking.

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I picked up these after looking around for about two weeks and researching for the look and function I wanted. They are 7" which I think is a good size. I'll post pics of them on the Jeep later once mounted.

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The only thing I don't like about them is the mouse style switch. I have the daystar rockers in front of the shift levers. One for my e-locker, one the future rear locker, and one for windshield lights. My bumper lights are still run off the turn signal lever as they are factory but in the Poison Spyder bumper. I did find a great alternative to the mouse thing which is a direct replacement to my switches part number and it was less than $30.00 and free shipping on ebay. Wiring is not my strong suit and I didn't want to fry expensive lights so I will run the wires once this shows up which should be next Friday. Until then, I will run the new lights as dummies and get rid of the garbage. Nice to put something about the actual build on here so it doesn't get boring.

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In with the new

Ok to start with, the old lights have been given a new home befitting their quality.

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The new lights are on the brackets at the wires have been run under the cowl and are easily accessed to plug in the harness when I wire it up next weekend. Hopefully these will work well and will be worth the investment. As far as appearance goes the are fantastic and seem to be really well made in alignment with PIAA's reputation. The proof will be in the flip of the switch.

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Dig your Jeep. On a different note, is your tire carrier the excessive industries GateKeeper? If it is, can you please just give me a real quick review? Like can you tell me how you feel with the weight over your Jeep and an example of how much room you have for storage? I know you have a different rear seat but can you remember how it was if you had stock seats with the carrier? Also, how is the quality and would you recommend it to a friend? Thanks in advance for your time.


GRBG TRK http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?38800-Garbage-Truck-(GRBG-TRK)
 
gmb425 said:
Dig your Jeep. On a different note, is your tire carrier the excessive industries GateKeeper? If it is, can you please just give me a real quick review? Like can you tell me how you feel with the weight over your Jeep and an example of how much room you have for storage? I know you have a different rear seat but can you remember how it was if you had stock seats with the carrier? Also, how is the quality and would you recommend it to a friend? Thanks in advance for your time.


GRBG TRK http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?38800-Garbage-Truck-(GRBG-TRK)
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It is the Gatekeeper. Quality is awesome. It drives great and feels very balanced to me. I don't feel any extra body roll in sharp turns. I think center of gravity isn't any worse than a rear mounted carrier with a large tire. Bear in mind I run a soft top and that helps. I love the looks of it and it does what I want it to do. That said, storage in the back is crap. It was way better when I had the folding seats but even then you lose a lot. It is just my wife and me and on trips most stuff goes in the back seats and we stuff what we can in the room left in the back. You can get small stuff in there but again, with the folding seats you just load up from the sides. I think we come out ahead over a loaded up 2 door but taking passengers with us to say, Moab UT or Ouray CO would be out of the question. We'd have to unload all but essential gear into the hotel and then add passengers. For at home around town it is no problem at all. Oh, and I did get the 40" bar even though I have 37-13.50's. It was too tight a fit even though they say they've never had a fitment issue before with that size tire. I notched out my stock crossbar for a few weeks until the new cross member arrived. 35's would fit easy with no modification, as would 37's that are only a 12.50 wide. You could also weld in some plate to close in the original crossmember to keep it strong because I didn't have to cut out that much. Modification of the padding might be necessary but with notching, the pad would just push up with the tire.
 
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gmb425 said:
Thanks for the write up. It really helped out a lot. I have a family of 5 (and a German Shepherd). I really love the profile of your Jeep. I need to weigh the lack of storage versus the profile of the vehicle. Thanks for taking time for the response. Hope to see you on the trails.


GRBG TRK http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?38800-Garbage-Truck-(GRBG-TRK)
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No problem, sounds like an external carrier would be better for you. I think the general consensus here, and I agree, the best you can get is the EVO. A little pricy but worth it because it's not something you want to do twice. Good luck!
 
Vacation

I went on a trip to California with my wife for our anniversary starting last Wednesday and finishing on Easter Sunday. We started in La Jolla Ca and had hotel on the beach.The following day we went to the San Diego Zoo and then on to Laguna Beach. The next day we went to Long Beach and stayed on the Queen Mary. We did a couple of tours and then explored on our own, which was fantastic. After that we went to Yucca Valley to visit some family. Did a little bit of trail riding in Yucca, but it was mostly easy stuff and was really just an excuse used to take the family out and play and show off the Jeep as they had never seen it. We didn't get any pics there because it was dusk and we had to get off the trail before dark. It was the first time doing a road trip in the Jeep. Overall, I can say it was a good experience and the jeep traveled well. Despite having the 37 inch tires, the 3.6L engine and the 5.13 gears easily kept me up with traffic. We ran between 70 and 85 mph and didn't feel like we were pushing it too hard. Fuel milage sucked, but we expected that and budgeted accordingly. It was a lot of miles and hours in the JK but was surprisingly comfortable. The Mastercraft seats really lived up to their reputation, and the suspension did pretty good too as the King shocks ate up the bumpier sections of road. It's true that the faster you are going, the better they work... on or off road. That's it for now.

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EDIT: Weird, for some reason it kept the attachment I deleted because I thought it was too big. So, sorry for the double post of the first picture.
 

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Representing

Well, look what showed up today. Not a big build feature but the little JK diamond is cool. Got a little bit of Wayalife on Maggie now.

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Did a quick basic sketch and colored it. I had been toying with the idea of drawing Jeeps and other 4x4's but using real backgrounds from pictures I took. This was an experiment to see possibilities. I just do these things for me and don't do "for hire" stuff. Just so everyone knows when I post up something like this, it's not a solicitation, it's just for fun.

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Got these today. Also the mounts are coming soon along with the locking handles. I ordered tailgate armor in black to match the side armor. I keep getting small dents on the gate and I am tired of paying to have them removed only for it to happen again. With luck, this will stop the problem and look kind of cool although it will be mostly hidden behind the roto-pax.

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AZ Explorer said:
Did a quick basic sketch and colored it. I had been toying with the idea of drawing Jeeps and other 4x4's but using real backgrounds from pictures I took. This was an experiment to see possibilities. I just do these things for me and don't do "for hire" stuff. Just so everyone knows when I post up something like this, it's not a solicitation, it's just for fun.

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That's cool.
 
AZ Explorer said:
Did a quick basic sketch and colored it. I had been toying with the idea of drawing Jeeps and other 4x4's but using real backgrounds from pictures I took. This was an experiment to see possibilities. I just do these things for me and don't do "for hire" stuff. Just so everyone knows when I post up something like this, it's not a solicitation, it's just for fun.

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This is awesome! It reminds me of the old odd rods trading cards


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