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The concept for this particular build is functionality. This is my first Wrangler daily driver, so no cheeky shenanigans until later. My decision criteria for all purchases go in this order: will it increase my fishing capability, is it necessary, and budget. I got a good deal on the Mopar 2" suspension lift with Fox shocks and included it in the purchase agreement for the new whip. Since I have two kids and three dogs, the first addition was neoprene seat covers. Then the Grabars to help the wife get in without having to jump. Today I visited 4WD Hardware in Columbiana and picked up the Smittybilt Pivot HD hinged tire carrier. Yes, still running stock wheels and tires until the budget allows me to upgrade to 33s, but I had the cash right now for it and wanted it in place before slapping the bigger spare on the tailgate. Started raining on me before I could snag a pic of the carrier. Soon to come.
Reviews: the neoprene is effective and does the job. It does get hot though, and seems to need cleaned already even though I haven't "really" been that hard on it yet. The Grabars are expensive but they are just fantastic. I will probably look for something cheaper (I think I saw a Rugged Ridge set for around $100) should I ever need to do this over. Jury still out on the tire carrier, but it is certainly heavy enough to support the wheel/tire combo that will happen in the near future.
The nice thing about jeeps is they are pretty capable out of the box for what you are talking about. To be honest though, I would have waited on the tire carrier until you were ready to lift it with bigger tires, as that money could have gone to more functional mods considering that's really what you are after! maybe storage, etc. anyway good luck and have fun!
An awkward shot of how it’s mounted Boom. USB charging for kiddo entertainment New wheels and 33s finally on
Been a minute since I jumped on here to update my build, so here goes:
added Rockstar II wheels off Craigslist and wrapped them in Toyo AT2s in 285x70r17. I like the extra ride height for back roads, but still keep pretty good highway mileage. I plan on replacing them with 35s when they wear out, but I am still shopping for 35s in a C or D load rating to keep rolling weight down.
My happiest addition so far is the fishing pole holder I picked up from Basspro. Just a two piece strap style, but works to keep my poles up by the roof and out of the way. Designed to have loops screw into the factory oh shit handle in an explorer, I just looped some paracord around the grabars in the back seat and the roll bar in the cargo area, clipped it up and away we go. Took it out for hunting season, but with fishing on the horizon I will get a pic uploaded before long.
Decided I needed some additional power outlets in the rear seat and cargo areas. After a bit of homework, it turned into a really easy upgrade. Bought a quadratec 12v power supply adapter, ARB threaded socket, amazon USB plug and a scrap piece of aluminum from a machine shop. This could probably be a write up, and I know that others have done similar, the only thing I did fundamentally different was mount the plug under the rear center seat rather than the console. Haven't tried to fold the seat forward and verify that the plug clears the cupholder, but with the rear seat recline kit I don't think it will be a problem.
It’s been a while for me having thrown a couple government funded trips into the mix recently. New update, though I fully acknowledge other things have been done to the Jeep I only post things here that have been “different” (i.e. not a thousand threads already dedicated to them).
I swapped the rear bench seat for two OEM front bucket seats using a Motobilt rear seat mounting bracket and fabricating some adapters to fit the bolt pattern from the factory sliders. Liking how it turned out so far, but time will tell if they ride just a little too high in which case I will replace the top rails of the Motobilt bracket to drop the seat height down a couple inches. Not really inclined to remove the seat sliders since that is what allows me to get some extra rear storage when the kids aren’t riding along.
JakeR- could ya post some pics of the back seat mod you have done, that sounds interesting... would like to see how the front seats fit back there. Thanks
Well, wouldn’t you know but I remembered to attach pictures AFTER I hit the button.
They fit just inside the fishbone wheel well storage bins, so they can recline (at least as much as factory seats ever recline). I left the head rests off as my kids just don’t need them yet and it restricts the rear window just a bit. For reference, the one picture shows the passenger side fully forward and the driver side full back.
The update here is that my kids love sitting this way and my wife is less unhappy with me than anticipated after seeing the extra space between the door and the seat. She was a bit nervous when the doors came off last that the kiddos were a bit too close to the open air. Now they sit further inside and don’t seem quite so prone to try their luck with an unexpected exit.
Probably need an armrest to go between them, but that project will have to simmer for a bit while I figure out something that narrow. I think a .30 cal ammo can will work if I can mount it right…
Jake, thanks for the pics the seats look great back there. I believe you are on to something with the old throwback idea of ammo can between those back seats!! The color combination on your neoprene covers is sharp ... nice. Hey you mentioned you have doggies, how are they taking to the new buckets instead of the bench seat they had before?
Jake, thanks for the pics the seats look great back there. I believe you are on to something with the old throwback idea of ammo can between those back seats!! The color combination on your neoprene covers is sharp ... nice. Hey you mentioned you have doggies, how are they taking to the new buckets instead of the bench seat they had before?
They haven’t been impacted by it at all, really. The only time they will feel it is when I can’t put the seats folded down for them, but that hasn’t happened in a while anyway. My lab likes it better because he can stick his head between the kids.
I like the red accent, and have liked the durability of neoprene, but that particular set of seat covers faded out FAST. I won’t be going with diver down again. Maybe a vinyl PRP with red depending on our next move.
07-28-2017, 05:20 PM
2017 JKU build...fun and fishing capable.
Long time...updates coming
