Goodbye mods
08-02-2013, 01:34 AM
#1
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Goodbye mods
Man oh man,
I've spent thousands (more than i care to share) on mods. I've spent days and days maintaining and installing stuff.
After 2 years and some of believing in the Jeep dream, i've decided to call it quits. There isn't a single mod I purchased, other than my trusty 35" Mickey Thompson tires and 2.5" EMU lift, that i'm still happy with (not that i was told about the side-effects at the time...)
So nice and slow, i'm going to take off the weight and the rust, and my clunky rust bucket will hopefully get bak to that slick and trusty jeep i used to have.
So many disappointments that i don't even trust an aftermarket powder-coat anymore.
XRC carrier (one year): kept swinging open on highway. Cracked at the joint. Rusting. Makes SO MUCH noise. Goddamn public danger being held by my finest bungee. Top of bumper slammed into bottom of tailgate so many times it chipped away the paint there too.
Rock Hard jerry carriers: rusted straight through to red in one winter.
Warrior products hood mount for jack: powder coat all but gone after one winter only ( flaked away). Improper alignment with both generic and hi-lift jacks, had to drill extra holes in both.
Hella 500 lights: bright as shit. Awesome. Then you fold them back like you're meant to, but in a downpour, and find out they fill with water that never leaves. More rust...
Extreme hi-lift jack: ultra omega infinity rust protection you pay 160$ for was sweating rust AFTER 24 HOURS. As if this wasn't enough, somehow they didn't factor in the windshield spray nozzle location, so i have to choose between the jack and actual seeing-through of the windshield on those fun expeditions.
Fox racing stabilizer: damn right your steering will never be the same. Hope you like holding on hard on to your steering wheel, because you'll be pulling left for every mile of that interstate.
Bestop soft doors: arguably cool in a rainy situation, the highway winds will nearly pull them off the jeep (hope your date digs that velcro straps situation you got going on in there) , they leak like sieves ( and actually collect water in the tubular frame) and the lock assemblies actually - literally - fall out. Oh and they wear down the factory hinges due to poor fitment...
Warn Winch: came with one screw missing on the plastic motor cover. Wind therefore ripped said cover off.
Rugged Ridge tubular light bar: looks so cool you might forget the non-stainless bolts they gave you and the mad noise it makes in the wind.
Smittybilt front stubby with bull bar: again with the non-stainless bolts, wtf. One winter and they've rusted out of shape. Also, general rust thing again. One winter!
Screw this, i have better things to do with my money than spend it on shit that devalues faster than a prom-queen.
I say this to gripe, yes, but also as a word of advice to the new bright eyed jeep owner that is so like i was 2 years ago. Save your dollars for the maintenance your new toy will cost ( because your tranny will make noise within a year - its the throw out bearing, don't give up - though you'll never be able to convince your dealer of this, and your driver-train, clock-spring and balljoints will go for a walk, oh and you need a dealer tool just to change a tail light, and no sir we can't sell you just the one soft top window... But if you like i have a 2 for 1 sale on windshields, it'll only cost you 500$ this year), never-mind turning your rig into a bat-jeep.
I've spent thousands (more than i care to share) on mods. I've spent days and days maintaining and installing stuff.
After 2 years and some of believing in the Jeep dream, i've decided to call it quits. There isn't a single mod I purchased, other than my trusty 35" Mickey Thompson tires and 2.5" EMU lift, that i'm still happy with (not that i was told about the side-effects at the time...)
So nice and slow, i'm going to take off the weight and the rust, and my clunky rust bucket will hopefully get bak to that slick and trusty jeep i used to have.
So many disappointments that i don't even trust an aftermarket powder-coat anymore.
XRC carrier (one year): kept swinging open on highway. Cracked at the joint. Rusting. Makes SO MUCH noise. Goddamn public danger being held by my finest bungee. Top of bumper slammed into bottom of tailgate so many times it chipped away the paint there too.
Rock Hard jerry carriers: rusted straight through to red in one winter.
Warrior products hood mount for jack: powder coat all but gone after one winter only ( flaked away). Improper alignment with both generic and hi-lift jacks, had to drill extra holes in both.
Hella 500 lights: bright as shit. Awesome. Then you fold them back like you're meant to, but in a downpour, and find out they fill with water that never leaves. More rust...
Extreme hi-lift jack: ultra omega infinity rust protection you pay 160$ for was sweating rust AFTER 24 HOURS. As if this wasn't enough, somehow they didn't factor in the windshield spray nozzle location, so i have to choose between the jack and actual seeing-through of the windshield on those fun expeditions.
Fox racing stabilizer: damn right your steering will never be the same. Hope you like holding on hard on to your steering wheel, because you'll be pulling left for every mile of that interstate.
Bestop soft doors: arguably cool in a rainy situation, the highway winds will nearly pull them off the jeep (hope your date digs that velcro straps situation you got going on in there) , they leak like sieves ( and actually collect water in the tubular frame) and the lock assemblies actually - literally - fall out. Oh and they wear down the factory hinges due to poor fitment...
Warn Winch: came with one screw missing on the plastic motor cover. Wind therefore ripped said cover off.
Rugged Ridge tubular light bar: looks so cool you might forget the non-stainless bolts they gave you and the mad noise it makes in the wind.
Smittybilt front stubby with bull bar: again with the non-stainless bolts, wtf. One winter and they've rusted out of shape. Also, general rust thing again. One winter!
Screw this, i have better things to do with my money than spend it on shit that devalues faster than a prom-queen.
I say this to gripe, yes, but also as a word of advice to the new bright eyed jeep owner that is so like i was 2 years ago. Save your dollars for the maintenance your new toy will cost ( because your tranny will make noise within a year - its the throw out bearing, don't give up - though you'll never be able to convince your dealer of this, and your driver-train, clock-spring and balljoints will go for a walk, oh and you need a dealer tool just to change a tail light, and no sir we can't sell you just the one soft top window... But if you like i have a 2 for 1 sale on windshields, it'll only cost you 500$ this year), never-mind turning your rig into a bat-jeep.
08-02-2013, 03:00 AM
#3
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The two items you're happy with seem to be the only quality items you bought.
Some of the issues you cited could have been avoided by replacing some hardware with stainless, it's not that much more.
I'm not slamming you, I have my own unnecessary add-ons. (I bought a second set of 5 18" wheels/tires so I could have a dedicated set of snow-tires, and immediately thought: " wait a minute, I have a jeep, I don"t need these".
Here's another example of getting your money's worth: I bought my wife some Le Cruset cast iron cookware,very expensive. Someone gave us some Martha Stewart cast iron crap that now looks like an alligator in the cooking surface. So yeah, the made in France stuff cost four times as much, but I only had to buy it once. ( another reason I bought the Le Cruset is because although it cost much more, the person making it has a similar cost of living as I do.)
The crap from China is made by slaves who toil for the Chinese Communist Party.
Some of the issues you cited could have been avoided by replacing some hardware with stainless, it's not that much more.
I'm not slamming you, I have my own unnecessary add-ons. (I bought a second set of 5 18" wheels/tires so I could have a dedicated set of snow-tires, and immediately thought: " wait a minute, I have a jeep, I don"t need these".
Here's another example of getting your money's worth: I bought my wife some Le Cruset cast iron cookware,very expensive. Someone gave us some Martha Stewart cast iron crap that now looks like an alligator in the cooking surface. So yeah, the made in France stuff cost four times as much, but I only had to buy it once. ( another reason I bought the Le Cruset is because although it cost much more, the person making it has a similar cost of living as I do.)
The crap from China is made by slaves who toil for the Chinese Communist Party.
08-02-2013, 03:13 AM
#4
JK Junkie
Don't get why you'd get rid of all that after you spent the money. I'd sand stuff and hit it with rattle can. And replace with stainless bolts as said anove
Last edited by kh202; 08-02-2013 at 03:18 AM.
08-02-2013, 03:16 AM
#5
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The two items you're happy with seem to be the only quality items you bought.
Some of the issues you cited could have been avoided by replacing some hardware with stainless, it's not that much more.
I'm not slamming you, I have my own unnecessary add-ons. (I bought a second set of 5 18" wheels/tires so I could have a dedicated set of snow-tires, and immediately thought: " wait a minute, I have a jeep, I don"t need these".
Here's another example of getting your money's worth: I bought my wife some Le Cruset cast iron cookware,very expensive. Someone gave us some Martha Stewart cast iron crap that now looks like an alligator in the cooking surface. So yeah, the made in France stuff cost four times as much, but I only had to buy it once. ( another reason I bought the Le Cruset is because although it cost much more, the person making it has a similar cost of living as I do.)
The crap from China is made by slaves who toil for the Chinese Communist Party.
Some of the issues you cited could have been avoided by replacing some hardware with stainless, it's not that much more.
I'm not slamming you, I have my own unnecessary add-ons. (I bought a second set of 5 18" wheels/tires so I could have a dedicated set of snow-tires, and immediately thought: " wait a minute, I have a jeep, I don"t need these".
Here's another example of getting your money's worth: I bought my wife some Le Cruset cast iron cookware,very expensive. Someone gave us some Martha Stewart cast iron crap that now looks like an alligator in the cooking surface. So yeah, the made in France stuff cost four times as much, but I only had to buy it once. ( another reason I bought the Le Cruset is because although it cost much more, the person making it has a similar cost of living as I do.)
The crap from China is made by slaves who toil for the Chinese Communist Party.
08-02-2013, 05:43 AM
#7
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Lol... Hey i'll take the criticism... Its ok. Yes, with my jeep i have become a "half empty" kind of guy. But i was not, just a year ago.
I'm not sure i can accept the "you bought cheap so thats what you get" line though. My rear bumper/carrier cost me a pretty penny... Cost was not the factor. Same for my Jack, which as far as i know is the best option out there. And i never heard bad about Warn winches, bestop doors, hellas lights or rugged ridge's light-bar...
Anyways, yes i can improve my lot by buying stainless bolts, and i will for what i've kept. I've also fixed the winch, naturally. Thats not the point, i'm aware i can ameliorate the situation. The point is we pay a fortune for this shit. Please don't lay the "you get what you pay for" argument when you pay like 600$ for a pair of thin door frames and some fabric over them. It's absurd, when the shit it's made for doesn't even fit with it!!!
It isn't normal to pay premium for an item and then have to do do half the engineering yourself once it gets here. I, like many jeepers, LOVE fiddling with the jeep, improving and maintaining it. But that just means the guys profiting from this have been getting a pass! Why do I have to explain the yoga mat cutout insulation on my door interiors and velcro band above my head to my passenger? Because I've been sold on an idea that I am handy instead of on a product that works... I don't ever want to hear myself say "yeah but it's a jeep" as a rationalization of shittyness.
Hah, yes I AM cracking. Thats because i could have put a downpayment on a cottage with just my mod expenditures, or just bought all the metalworking tools and knowledge needed to make my own...
I'm not sure i can accept the "you bought cheap so thats what you get" line though. My rear bumper/carrier cost me a pretty penny... Cost was not the factor. Same for my Jack, which as far as i know is the best option out there. And i never heard bad about Warn winches, bestop doors, hellas lights or rugged ridge's light-bar...
Anyways, yes i can improve my lot by buying stainless bolts, and i will for what i've kept. I've also fixed the winch, naturally. Thats not the point, i'm aware i can ameliorate the situation. The point is we pay a fortune for this shit. Please don't lay the "you get what you pay for" argument when you pay like 600$ for a pair of thin door frames and some fabric over them. It's absurd, when the shit it's made for doesn't even fit with it!!!
It isn't normal to pay premium for an item and then have to do do half the engineering yourself once it gets here. I, like many jeepers, LOVE fiddling with the jeep, improving and maintaining it. But that just means the guys profiting from this have been getting a pass! Why do I have to explain the yoga mat cutout insulation on my door interiors and velcro band above my head to my passenger? Because I've been sold on an idea that I am handy instead of on a product that works... I don't ever want to hear myself say "yeah but it's a jeep" as a rationalization of shittyness.
Hah, yes I AM cracking. Thats because i could have put a downpayment on a cottage with just my mod expenditures, or just bought all the metalworking tools and knowledge needed to make my own...
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08-02-2013, 05:51 AM
#8
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I feel your pain. Knowing what I do now I would do a lot of things differently. I would still get a jeep but I would change up some mods. Unfortunately it's hard to go back now.
08-02-2013, 05:54 AM
#9
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Man oh man,
I've spent thousands (more than i care to share) on mods. I've spent days and days maintaining and installing stuff.
After 2 years and some of believing in the Jeep dream, i've decided to call it quits. There isn't a single mod I purchased, other than my trusty 35" Mickey Thompson tires and 2.5" EMU lift, that i'm still happy with (not that i was told about the side-effects at the time...)
So nice and slow, i'm going to take off the weight and the rust, and my clunky rust bucket will hopefully get bak to that slick and trusty jeep i used to have.
So many disappointments that i don't even trust an aftermarket powder-coat anymore.
XRC carrier (one year): kept swinging open on highway. Cracked at the joint. Rusting. Makes SO MUCH noise. Goddamn public danger being held by my finest bungee. Top of bumper slammed into bottom of tailgate so many times it chipped away the paint there too.
Rock Hard jerry carriers: rusted straight through to red in one winter.
Warrior products hood mount for jack: powder coat all but gone after one winter only ( flaked away). Improper alignment with both generic and hi-lift jacks, had to drill extra holes in both.
Hella 500 lights: bright as shit. Awesome. Then you fold them back like you're meant to, but in a downpour, and find out they fill with water that never leaves. More rust...
Extreme hi-lift jack: ultra omega infinity rust protection you pay 160$ for was sweating rust AFTER 24 HOURS. As if this wasn't enough, somehow they didn't factor in the windshield spray nozzle location, so i have to choose between the jack and actual seeing-through of the windshield on those fun expeditions.
Fox racing stabilizer: damn right your steering will never be the same. Hope you like holding on hard on to your steering wheel, because you'll be pulling left for every mile of that interstate.
Bestop soft doors: arguably cool in a rainy situation, the highway winds will nearly pull them off the jeep (hope your date digs that velcro straps situation you got going on in there) , they leak like sieves ( and actually collect water in the tubular frame) and the lock assemblies actually - literally - fall out. Oh and they wear down the factory hinges due to poor fitment...
Warn Winch: came with one screw missing on the plastic motor cover. Wind therefore ripped said cover off.
Rugged Ridge tubular light bar: looks so cool you might forget the non-stainless bolts they gave you and the mad noise it makes in the wind.
Smittybilt front stubby with bull bar: again with the non-stainless bolts, wtf. One winter and they've rusted out of shape. Also, general rust thing again. One winter!
Screw this, i have better things to do with my money than spend it on shit that devalues faster than a prom-queen.
I say this to gripe, yes, but also as a word of advice to the new bright eyed jeep owner that is so like i was 2 years ago. Save your dollars for the maintenance your new toy will cost ( because your tranny will make noise within a year - its the throw out bearing, don't give up - though you'll never be able to convince your dealer of this, and your driver-train, clock-spring and balljoints will go for a walk, oh and you need a dealer tool just to change a tail light, and no sir we can't sell you just the one soft top window... But if you like i have a 2 for 1 sale on windshields, it'll only cost you 500$ this year), never-mind turning your rig into a bat-jeep.
I've spent thousands (more than i care to share) on mods. I've spent days and days maintaining and installing stuff.
After 2 years and some of believing in the Jeep dream, i've decided to call it quits. There isn't a single mod I purchased, other than my trusty 35" Mickey Thompson tires and 2.5" EMU lift, that i'm still happy with (not that i was told about the side-effects at the time...)
So nice and slow, i'm going to take off the weight and the rust, and my clunky rust bucket will hopefully get bak to that slick and trusty jeep i used to have.
So many disappointments that i don't even trust an aftermarket powder-coat anymore.
XRC carrier (one year): kept swinging open on highway. Cracked at the joint. Rusting. Makes SO MUCH noise. Goddamn public danger being held by my finest bungee. Top of bumper slammed into bottom of tailgate so many times it chipped away the paint there too.
Rock Hard jerry carriers: rusted straight through to red in one winter.
Warrior products hood mount for jack: powder coat all but gone after one winter only ( flaked away). Improper alignment with both generic and hi-lift jacks, had to drill extra holes in both.
Hella 500 lights: bright as shit. Awesome. Then you fold them back like you're meant to, but in a downpour, and find out they fill with water that never leaves. More rust...
Extreme hi-lift jack: ultra omega infinity rust protection you pay 160$ for was sweating rust AFTER 24 HOURS. As if this wasn't enough, somehow they didn't factor in the windshield spray nozzle location, so i have to choose between the jack and actual seeing-through of the windshield on those fun expeditions.
Fox racing stabilizer: damn right your steering will never be the same. Hope you like holding on hard on to your steering wheel, because you'll be pulling left for every mile of that interstate.
Bestop soft doors: arguably cool in a rainy situation, the highway winds will nearly pull them off the jeep (hope your date digs that velcro straps situation you got going on in there) , they leak like sieves ( and actually collect water in the tubular frame) and the lock assemblies actually - literally - fall out. Oh and they wear down the factory hinges due to poor fitment...
Warn Winch: came with one screw missing on the plastic motor cover. Wind therefore ripped said cover off.
Rugged Ridge tubular light bar: looks so cool you might forget the non-stainless bolts they gave you and the mad noise it makes in the wind.
Smittybilt front stubby with bull bar: again with the non-stainless bolts, wtf. One winter and they've rusted out of shape. Also, general rust thing again. One winter!
Screw this, i have better things to do with my money than spend it on shit that devalues faster than a prom-queen.
I say this to gripe, yes, but also as a word of advice to the new bright eyed jeep owner that is so like i was 2 years ago. Save your dollars for the maintenance your new toy will cost ( because your tranny will make noise within a year - its the throw out bearing, don't give up - though you'll never be able to convince your dealer of this, and your driver-train, clock-spring and balljoints will go for a walk, oh and you need a dealer tool just to change a tail light, and no sir we can't sell you just the one soft top window... But if you like i have a 2 for 1 sale on windshields, it'll only cost you 500$ this year), never-mind turning your rig into a bat-jeep.
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08-02-2013, 06:16 AM
#10
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Great write up Whiskey; yeah it's tough having a Jeep; Jeep quality to begin with is very poor, then the aftermarket stuff is even worse. Most mods are a total waste of money; they're only needed very seldom or never. Take that junk off and enjoy the Jeep the best you can.