KevinMac's Semi-Budget Build...Project Deathstar
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JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 422
Likes: 24
From: The D, MI
I struggle with the roof top tent brackets on the Gobi always such a pain to screw them down I bought some Yakima snap arounds, this reduced the number of bolts by half I did question them being a hard plastic if it would hold up and only tested it once so far on a weekend trip but everything was snug when I arrived back home
Plus it was only $10
Attachment 655300 Below is an example for reference Attachment 655301
Plus it was only $10
Attachment 655300 Below is an example for reference Attachment 655301
I'm going to have to grab a set to try. I plan to pull the tent for winter but will try them out in the Spring for sure! I know you mentioned you only took them on one trip so far but do they seem rigid enough? How fast were you driving on the highway? Any concerns with deflection at speed or anything like that?
JK Newbie
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Thank you, it's been a fun ride so far! Unfortunately, I don't have any leads left from my original connector. Your best bet will be a U-pull-it type place. The upside is you don't necessarily have to find a Jeep, FCA uses the same connectors on a lot of their vehicles so you may be able to find the same connector on a minivan HVAC controller or the like. Best of luck!
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 168
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
Oh wow, these look very interesting!! I'm going to have to grab a set to try. I plan to pull the tent for winter but will try them out in the Spring for sure! I know you mentioned you only took them on one trip so far but do they seem rigid enough? How fast were you driving on the highway? Any concerns with deflection at speed or anything like that?
I'm going to have to grab a set to try. I plan to pull the tent for winter but will try them out in the Spring for sure! I know you mentioned you only took them on one trip so far but do they seem rigid enough? How fast were you driving on the highway? Any concerns with deflection at speed or anything like that?
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
From: Where Ever
My mistake, it is a 130pc set, not 151, I must have some Bacardi rum on my mind! 
The link is below and looks like the coupon is good until the end of June. It is about 1/3 the way down on the right, the Pittsburgh Tool Set. 130 Piece Tool Kit with Case @airborned: I like the Bubba Rope...now I just need to find them on sale as they are quite a bit more than a typical recovery strap. Well....I guess I can shop around or just wait until I'm drunk on eBay again
The link is below and looks like the coupon is good until the end of June. It is about 1/3 the way down on the right, the Pittsburgh Tool Set. 130 Piece Tool Kit with Case @airborned: I like the Bubba Rope...now I just need to find them on sale as they are quite a bit more than a typical recovery strap. Well....I guess I can shop around or just wait until I'm drunk on eBay again 
JK Super Freak
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,636
Likes: 7
From: Mentor, OH
JK Newbie
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Renton, WA
How's the wind noise and buffeting with the Gobi Rack??
Hi Kevin, Now that you've had the Gobi and the light bar installed for a while, I'm interested in your thoughts on the noise generated. My 13 JKU had a 50" light bar installed on A-pillar mounts when I bought it (it looks pretty cool but is noisy as heck above 35-40 MPH). Just this week I removed the light and the the mounting hardware in order to have the windshield replace. Wow, its so much quieter now, I'm thinking of not re-installing the light bar. I had thought that I'd get the Gobi rack and move the light up on it. But after reading your comments I'm not sure I want to do that either.
Did you ever get the wind deflector adjusted such that the rack, or the rack with light bar don't howl and whistle??
Thank you
I noticed on the initial test drive the cooling fins wistling, which is a well documented issues. So I
Did you ever get the wind deflector adjusted such that the rack, or the rack with light bar don't howl and whistle??
Thank you
I noticed on the initial test drive the cooling fins wistling, which is a well documented issues. So I
So the special brackets for the AEV rear bumper showed up yesterday. They were quite the engineering feat, way more complicated than the normal brackets. I had to pull the bumper and then it probably took about 1 1/2 hours to get the brackets on correctly. Once the rear bumper was on, the fun began! 
The rack went on very easily and I was able to do it by myself. I had blankets draped all over the roof but I was able to wrestle it up there.
It took probably another hour to put all the rack bolts on plus the ladder setup.
It looks badass and is rock solid. The sat radio is working ok so far but some people report having to move the antenna. Hopefully I won't have to be one of those people.
I got the 2000mm Arb awning and Arb mosquito room last week too. Camping season is only a month or so away. Unfortunately, I am waiting on the Gobi brackets for the awning mounting. Those aren't supposed to ship for 5 weeks...gack!
Here's the rack all buttoned up!
The rack went on very easily and I was able to do it by myself. I had blankets draped all over the roof but I was able to wrestle it up there.
It took probably another hour to put all the rack bolts on plus the ladder setup.It looks badass and is rock solid. The sat radio is working ok so far but some people report having to move the antenna. Hopefully I won't have to be one of those people.
I got the 2000mm Arb awning and Arb mosquito room last week too. Camping season is only a month or so away. Unfortunately, I am waiting on the Gobi brackets for the awning mounting. Those aren't supposed to ship for 5 weeks...gack!
Here's the rack all buttoned up!
JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 9
Likes: 1
From: Suffolk, NY
OEM Auto Headlights now working!
Hate to necro an old thread, but this one is worth it. A few years ago with Kev's assistance I purchased the sun sensor and signal stalk to enable automatic headlight on my wrangler. Installed everything, took it to the dealership and as we all know they could not program it.
That changed today!
Disclaimer: My jeep is out of warranty and I am a tinkerer. Everything listed below should be considered proceed at your own risk.
Now on to the fun.
I ran across a product called AppCarFCA on another forum, it's $50 and exposes a ton of programming features and it's only $50! How could I not try this out?
https://appcar-diagfca.com/en/
Downloaded it today, connected it to my wrangler via USB/OBD2 port, ran their programming module.
Ran the "Front Lamps" module and was able to enable "Auto - Headlights Dusk Sensor".
Saved the change, restarted the Jeep and the auto headlamps work!
Disclaimer #2:
Your mileage may vary, and mind you should be fully aware that this could potentially brick your vehicle and or void your warranty. Keep that in mind any time you mess with the vehicle software. That said auto headlamps now work!
Best,
Gzil
That changed today!
Disclaimer: My jeep is out of warranty and I am a tinkerer. Everything listed below should be considered proceed at your own risk.
Now on to the fun.
I ran across a product called AppCarFCA on another forum, it's $50 and exposes a ton of programming features and it's only $50! How could I not try this out?
https://appcar-diagfca.com/en/
Downloaded it today, connected it to my wrangler via USB/OBD2 port, ran their programming module.
Ran the "Front Lamps" module and was able to enable "Auto - Headlights Dusk Sensor".
Saved the change, restarted the Jeep and the auto headlamps work!
Disclaimer #2:
Your mileage may vary, and mind you should be fully aware that this could potentially brick your vehicle and or void your warranty. Keep that in mind any time you mess with the vehicle software. That said auto headlamps now work!
Best,
Gzil
Last edited by GZilla; Mar 10, 2018 at 09:11 AM.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,636
Likes: 7
From: Mentor, OH
Curious if you tried things like enabling back up cameras and the like. Is there a way to disable the lock out for the GPS or the DVD while moving?
Last edited by ShutterBug; Mar 11, 2018 at 03:14 PM.
JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 9
Likes: 1
From: Suffolk, NY
From what I read on the other forum you can enable the backup cam, and I can personally confirm the option is there in AppCarFCA.
That said I had my dealer flash mine a few years back to enable the backup cam.
In regards to disabling the lockout while moving, I actually sent my head unit out to navrepair.com to unlock it.
https://navrepair.com/products/dvd-n...ck-programming
They did it for $69 and it's been working great for about two years now.
I don't see anything in AppCarFCA to disable the lockout, my guess is that navrepair simply shorts the connector that detects vehicle motion.
(that's just a guess though)
Best,
Gzil
That said I had my dealer flash mine a few years back to enable the backup cam.
In regards to disabling the lockout while moving, I actually sent my head unit out to navrepair.com to unlock it.
https://navrepair.com/products/dvd-n...ck-programming
They did it for $69 and it's been working great for about two years now.
I don't see anything in AppCarFCA to disable the lockout, my guess is that navrepair simply shorts the connector that detects vehicle motion.
(that's just a guess though)
Best,
Gzil
Last edited by GZilla; Mar 10, 2018 at 02:57 PM.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,636
Likes: 7
From: Mentor, OH
In regards to disabling the lockout while moving, I actually sent my head unit out to navrepair.com to unlock it.
https://navrepair.com/products/dvd-n...ck-programming
They did it for $69 and it's been working great for about two years now.
https://navrepair.com/products/dvd-n...ck-programming
They did it for $69 and it's been working great for about two years now.