Loving this thread. Making for some serious Jeep envy though. Definitely the route I wanna take building up mine.

 

Help. Rear coil spring choice.

For my use, I think this thread Is the best place to pose this question.

I've been running 3" Teraflex coil springs up front and 2" Teraflex coil spacers in the rear. This had me setting level until I added a 80lbs rear bumper and 80lbs tire carrier. It sagged some on the stock springs but not horrible.

I've recently added a trail jack and now a Gobi rack. The rear sagged some more and I feel a sway while cornering. I know, not surprising with the added weight up top.

So which route for rear springs? Teraflex is the obvious choice since I have their springs out front but they are pricey at $225. I"m leaning toward 3.5" AEV ($180) or Old Man Emu HD 3" ($165).

Any advice for my setup?

 

Very similar problem here. I experience it worst when I have the hardtop (with MBRP rack and overhead lights) and am loaded up for a trip. For normal around town, with the softtop/no top/safari top, I don't have a problem. Therefore, a part of my routine to put the hardtop on is also to swap out the TV 2.5" rear coils for OME heavy duty coils. They work perfectly to keep things level even when fully loaded down. Without the hardtop, the rear end is too high, so the TF coils go back on.

 

Good topo maps are a primary need for overland/expedition travel. I've recently installed a Nexus 7 into my Jeep with the BackCountry Navigator Pro software (and some other goodies, too). Here's a video of that install and how it works--parts list is linked from the video description. I apologize in advance for the quality of some of the sound--it was windier than I thought (note I had to change hats!), and for some reason my GoPro was picking up a vibrating noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6UolIlksZs

 

Cool setup. Looks like mine, except I hang the RAM mount on a Vector's e-dock.


I use OruxMaps. It runs on Android and it is awesome. I've been using it on my Acer A100 and it runs flawlessly. The 7in screen size is perfect and the software fully supports touch.

One thing I like about it is that it is possible to download free topo maps from Google, USGS or others and use them offline just with the tablet's embedded GPS. It can log the track and then export it so we can create backups or share it. There are tons more of features.

Another great thing is that it's all free. There's a voluntary contribution fee to the developer, with is more than worth it. ;-)

 

When I grow up I want to be Mark D....................

 

Do you have a write up of this ?

 

lol ................

 

Not many details actually. It's a quite simple installation. I posted about this setup on this and a couple other threads last year after testing it. I can also install and use Windows-based UMPCs such as the Viliv S5 and Fujitsu U-820. However, the Acer + Android offered the best UI IMHO.

Main steps were:
I got the Vector e-dock because of the flexibility since I already had an idea of what I wanted.

The most difficult part actually was selecting the RAM mounts. Too many variations to choose from. Some folks in this forum advised to check gpscity.com and their website has tons of good info and advice, which helped quite a bit.

I opted for the Acer A100 tablet because of size and features (SD card reader, embedded GPS, Android operating system, touch-based UI, price, etc.). It is running Ice Cream Sandwich.

Some research led me to a couple GPS software that could handle topo maps. I found OruxMaps by far the most flexible and feature-rich. Mostly because it allows for downloading Google Maps (topo, street, Google Earth), USGS and several others for offline use. It also lets you saving the GPS log and export it to view in other software or sharing with friends.

For music I use Acer's Media Player and still looking into the ECU software. Superchips released an Android-based software that worked well on phone's small screens but messed-up on the A100's 7in screen. Still waiting for a fix and using the Bully Dog right now since I want the ability to tune the Jeep's ECU.

Let me know if you would like more photos or details.

 

why not install air lift 1000 in your rides. I'm doing that for trailer towing and loading down my jeep. No adverse affect on flex either. I am installing my 8.9 " Archie tablet for nav/media duties using the dock. My tablet will use a GPS USB adapter for stronger lock.