Cole Trickle

Well it's about time I got this show on the road.

About a year ago I made a desicion to sell my Kawasaki Teryx and jump into the jeep game. The Teryx was fantastic and we had a blast with it running everything from dunes to rocks.

The biggest issue I had with the sxs was always having to trailer it every place you go (I can't stand towing at 60 mph...lol) and the fact that you have 12K+ sitting in your garage that you only use 5x a year. The dust while not a deal killer kind of sucks and I will be happy to have a windshield and air conditioning on future adventures.

The Kawi was completely build up to run as fast as you could through just about anything. My son is growing like a weed and I knew it was just a matter of time before I could no longer put him in the back........California legislation might make that decision a little earlier than I had hoped so I figured I would beat the other SXS to market and list the Teryx to get a fair price.

It took a couple months but I ended up getting fair $$$ on the Kawi and my trailer.

Cole Trickle

I knew from the get go that I had to have a 4 door Wrangler. I have been around jeeps and the JK for a couple years and decided when the 2012 models came out that I could finally daily drive a jeep with the new motor and tranny. During this time I was driving a 2010 Ford Flex and promised myself that I would sell the Flex and save my monthly payment for a couple months while driving one of my other cars so I would have a decent down payment on the new Jeep.

It was tough but I managed to grind out daily driving my 1998 2 Door tahoe while I saved my pennies. After a ton of research I" decided that I was going to order a 2013 JKUR. Out of the avaliable colors for order I was set on either ordering Dune or Billet. I waited until the very first Dune hit the local lots and wen't to check it out. In my mind I was hoping this color would be a darker version of Sahara tan. When I showed up at the dealer they d=had a dune Sahara parked right next to a Billet Rubicon........Needless to say I wasn't a fan of the Dune from the first time I laid my eyes on it......can't do it

I wen't home and told the wife Dune was out and she laughed at m e becuse she knew I wouldn't like it...lol

So I start shopping a 2013 Billet with... Auto, Dual top group,4:10, heated seats,430n. Around this same time my sisters father in law (were buddies) decides he is getting a Billet 4 Door Rubicon after looking at all the other colors.

I was still fully commited to the Billet becuse the choices for ordering were so limited.....The current colors avaliable just did nothing for me

So I'm talking back and forth with the dealer I had planned to order from and he sends me the order sheet. He forgot to send me the pricing that I had requested as jeep had recently raised there base price on the jeep and some of there options......I sent a couple emails and left a message mid day asking him to give me a buzz back as I had a couple questions and needed hard pricing before I submitted my order.....I didn't hear back until the next day.

So I get home and tell the wife I want to go look at a local Dark Cherry Red Jeep as Its always been one of my favorite colors and I didn't really want to have matching Billet Jeeps with Ken. We go to the local dealer and instantly I know I'm making a mistake not getting the DCR with the painted top and fenders .I know this is a terrible decision for offroading but it looks so good....lol

I get home that night and there is a $500 bonus cash offer from jeep in the mail box The next morning I start doing a search and find close to what I'm looking for at Orange Coast Jeep in Costa Mesa. I made contact with Logan Sakamoto and had him do a search for a DCR with the options I wanted....Nothing popped up so I decided to get the one on there lot...DCR JKUR,4:10 ,painted top and fenders,Auto, 430n, Tow package (I had to pay for a worthless tow package and my wife didn't get her heated seats)

We struck a good deal at 3% under invoice and he was nice enough to throw in slush matts since I signed up for the Tread Lightly program. Funny story but we ended up buying 3 2013 JKUR from Logan within about 3 days (Ken got a Billet Rubi and my sister ended up with a White Rubi at the last second)

So I give you the humble begginings of the Rock Spyder....

Cole Trickle

So I buy the jeep on a Thurday at about 3 pm and head home to Show the wife and kid.....We go for a little cruise and wouldn't you know the jeep some how tricked us into using 4lo before there was 40 miles on the odometer

Gotta break them in right....

So I brought the Jeep home the night of 3/14/13 and have started to plan out my build and aquire parts. My plans are pretty simple. Throw quality parts at the Rubicon and end up with a Jeep that can go just about anywhere safely. I want this jeep to be just at home on the road driving to work or family camping trips as it is on the rocks. I know there is no such thing as a comfortable go anywhere rig that gets 17 mpg so I'm hoping to dive a little into each category.

So far this is what has been ordered/delivered or is on the build list.

Suspension

Rock Krawler 3.5 X Factor
Rock Krawler Bump Stops front and rear
RRD Remote Resevoir shocks
RK's new High Steer kit once released

Drive Shafts

Adams 1310 Front and rear

Rims

Procomp 7036 (Helldorado) 17" rims

Tires

35" Toyo Open Country MT

Bumpers/Armor-Poison Spyder

Brawler Lite Mid Width with Brawler bar
Mid Width Skid Plate
Rock Brawler II Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier (jack mount,license plate relocation and l.e.d.back up lights)
4 Door Brawler Rockers (steel)
Extreme Duty Cross member
Evap Skidplate
Dana 44 Bomb Shell Diff Covers (2)

Artec Truss

Electrical/Lighting

Spod
10" l.e.d. (Poison Spyder front bumper mount))
4" Rigid led x2 (Poison Spyder A pillar brackets)

Communication

Cobra 75WXST
3' Fire Stick Antenna

OBA

Jeepswag Viar 400 Compressor with 2012+ Dominion mount

Cole Trickle

First off I started with a couple of the small visual things that bothered me about the jeep.

For a 40k vehicle a couple needed things were left off.

Mopar fuel door....I found the best price on eBay. The directions are laughable but with some basic skills anyone should be able to figure out the install. Teraflex has a good video showing the install if you were to get hung up on the project.









The silver antenna just doesn't flow so I decided to paint it satin black. No big deal here but I think it looks better and I didn't want to spend $20 on a black stubby antenna that would hurt reception.

Cole Trickle

I also stripped off the unlimited/ trail rated stickers and plasti dipped the silver door locks black.

Cole Trickle

We then had a family BBQ and my sister brought over her new Rubicon. My brother in law had purchased some 3m clear bra so we made some fender templates and installed those while drinking more beer than the project officially required.

I'm pleased with how the project turned out as the painted fenders are rock magnets...we even got my sister in on the action

Cole Trickle

Things are now starting to heat up. Headed down to poison spyder to pick up a pallet of goodies. Rick took great care of me and gave me a tour of the operation as they were loading the truck.

For anyone interested in PS gear I can tell you that there facility is top notch there equipment is top tier and there people are extremely efficient and knowledgeable about there products. All of my parts were wrapped tightly for transport and I was a little nervous that something would be missing and I would have to make another 50 mile drive...when I got home and unloaded everything every single part was accounted for...impressive considering the mountain of parts I left with

Cole Trickle

A couple weeks back I needed a day to just sit back and putter in the garage. Anyone that's married with kids understands alone time is hard to come by and you need to take advantage when you can. ...with that said I stayed home on a Friday to work on the jeep and drink some beer.

















The first mod I purchased for the jk was a spod. I enjoy wiring and have extensive experience with car stereos but when I saw how completed and clean the spod was I knew I had to have one. I ended up contact ink Jason at krawl off road and he took great care of me. I can't recommend Jason and kor enough as his prices are great and he goes out of his way to inform you about the product both prior to ordering and during shipping...two thumbs up!!!

I started my day off by getting ready for the spod and OBA install. The spod was extremely easy to install and fit like a glove...it might be the most well thought out modification I have ever installed in a vehicle. The install was easy and as the same time I had the header panel removed I tapped into the rear view mirror so I would have keyed power for my valentine one radar detector.I used a black short coiled telephone cord so the wire would be hard to see

Cole Trickle

Next up was the jeep swag/dominion off road OBA viar compressor and mount. The kit is very well thought out and goes in without a ton of trouble. My only recommendation would be to follow there directions to a t and don't install the filter until after the compressor and mount are completed. I ended up breaking the plastic fitting for the filter when I was wrestling the unit into place.

I painted the dominion mount gloss black so it would tie in better with the factory engine compartment.

I spent a good amount of time running the wires for the spod and compressor so they would be hidden and look factory.

The compressor seems to work great and will take care of my inflating on the trail needs. Just a FYI but when the compressor is on there is a ton of vibration through the break pedal as the amount attaches to the break boostet. Not a big deal as I won't be driving while filling tires. I'm not sure how air lockers work but if I had to have the compressor running while driving more than about 100' it would drive me crazy..lol

Tonka_yellow

Clean build man. I really enjoy seeing clean fab work