I like chrome too, in fact, this was the first mod I did. I was originally planning to go all black and chrome, but decided to go all black. I guess I should have made the choice before I bought anything!

Here's a pic.



I don't think its bad enough to change, I just wish I would've gotten the black now...

 

Hey folks!
I purchased a 100% duty air compressor for around $180 after doing lots of research. I need this for airing down when rock crawling and also just to have incase it's needed for refill/repair situations (none yet knock on wood - my head-).
Needless to say 2 days after buying it my local Cost-Co started selling a similar cheaper made unit for $45 that does the exact same thing.
My friend (who has the Cost-Co one) and I had a "race" refilling our tires from 20Lbs to 35lbs.
He has 33" on 17" rims. I have 35" on 16" rims. He was done 4 mins. before I was.... So even tho I had waited several months while "shopping" I do regret that purchase.

I added the AEM brute force cold air unit and saw power increases right away! I had been sceptical but it prooved true and running 35" tires just killes your power/milage curve. I went with the AEM as its a "dry" filter and out here in the dusty desert a better option for me. The only thing is none of the cold air units are water proof! If water gets up that high it's gona drink it and screw up your engine big time. So BEWARE! This is something I'm still researching/thinking about as several times I back away from a run I wanted to make due to this. So 50% regret 50% I LOVE IT!
By the way when I put on the gibson flow thru cat back it didn't add a thing to my power etc. It didnt hurt anything either tho.I think the engine is designed to have some back pressure maybe? whatever...

In looking at rear gate mods etc. to add Gerry cans for thos special times...I decided to have a custom fit Gerry can mount made from the factory tire mount for about $300 instead of other far more expensive options for both wieght and cost reasons. I've got the ten gallons spare gas and a working rear view mirror and it looks great. I've had many inquries regarding this.
It puts a can mount sort of "V"ed up above your break lights on either SIDE and allows the door to open fully while keeping the rear view open as well.
The cans remain protected as they sit inside the width of the body when bush wacking too.

I also had them mod the rear and front factory bumpers to add d-shackles at all 4 corners mainly to provide good jack points for the hi-lift but it looks SWEET too. This was alot cheaper than buying new after market bumpers and rear swing gate etc. It allowed me to also have them mod the front bumper to add a 2" reciever to it as well...

So now I can mount my "portable", (110lbs so it's not easy) winch to either end depending on need. I opted to do this rather than hard mount as the flexibility has prooven usefull. On tight trails winching has been fairly easy and even was usefull to get a friend out that was behind me when I was in loose sand/shale and unable to tow him forward. I was able to winch him out.
Also most times when your truely stuck you will find your front end is hull down in a hole and many winch set ups (including mine) are too low for easy use. not a problem when you mount it to the ass end . I added the quick connect to the battery and mounted it inside under the hood and the cables to the winch run out with the hood closed, so I can run the winch from inside when I'm out alone. Same conection is used for the airpump too btw.

Consider this... the stock bumpers are in fact shorties underneath all that useless but good looking plastic. Why buy one when u have one already?

As for winches please think hard about how often you are going to need it or use it. If it's just an emergency tool that you will try your best to never need, you probably dont need some $1200 over priced piece of crap...errr realy good unit. A run of the mill average duty one run thru a pully (D-Link) will work just fine unless yer gona lift the jeep up and down cliffs or swing it from trees or something. I find the standard steel cable to be horrible and do recommend switching to the rope tho (these are very expensive but TOO NICE! ), as the steel is hard to handle and can be dangerous, especially for folks that are new to winching and don't do it much.

One thing! Underneath my X near the gas can there is a box that is the evap controll housing. Even tho the Jeep had skid plates this unit was NOT shielded at all. It is tucked up and away a bit but the Jeep will not run if its messed up. It's an important part of the emissions controll system and even senses when your fueling etc. If it's busted your computer isn't gona know what to do and your won't be going anywhere..So I added a 3/16 plate over it on 4 posts. The very next weekend I ended up sitting on that plate (now dented) when a soft rise under the rocks I was on washed out from under me. So I crushed my muffler but not the evap housing so made it home. Switched to a gibson flow thru cat back and 1/4 shield over that now too... LOL . The cat back doesn't seem to have helped power or milage for me but since I needed a new muffler anyway I added it. It's smaller than the factory so even with the shield I'm more clear than I was.

Up coming projects are: clip/tie off points inside at back, trail lights ( way over priced IMHO ) , front plastic air dam change out to 3/16 or 1/4 steel plate, custom roof rack to hold t-tops (I run a hard top only and never remove it so for me just the ticket), and a off road trailor on 35" or 37" tires (I've been eyeballing those small U-Hall ones as they seem the size I want and possibly modded to use those 7"wide 35" ATs I've seen. All this will wait for money as I'm now officially broke. ~

Anyway best of luck to you all and please remember to tread lightly. It does matter.

 

Great Post...!!! How about pic's of your Jerry can set-up??

And the winch recomendations are right on.. but as I have already bought my 8000 lb smittybilt etc. it will go on the ft.!!

 

Don't hate me but I do think it's bad enough to change. Go all black man !

 

There's a Heavy Duty (HD) front coil available, but not advertised. I found out about it too late, so my Jeep's front end is now much lower. FT is supposed to send me a replacement coil which I'll have to swap out (oh joy!).

The front track bar rubs agains my Riddler Dana 44 diff cover. I'm not sure what FT will do about that.

Maybe I should have gone with the RE kit instead...

js.

 

I like chrome, but it does look outa place. Maybe if you took off the x sticker and added some other chrome jeep badges. Just to even it out.

 

Drop the chrome... It's a Jeep... not a Hummer...!!!!!!!!!!!

 

regrets, i didnt wait for a long arm

 

Oh look I like bright shiny things..!!.. UH.. Not..!! It's just all the H*mmers U see on the "road" have LOTS of chrome. "POSERS"!!!. I am thinking about painting my door locks black.. That's the only chrome left on mine..

 

My only regrets so far are the MOPAR soft top boot and Bestop Trail Cover. The boot is very nice looking and well made. The problem is that I dont use it enough to justify the cost. I may just try to sell it and put the money towards an Add A Trunk. The trail cover is nice but it really doesnt fit with the boot and if it rains heavy enough the cover sags over the front passengers' compartment and fills with water. This eventually results in leakage. I have found it better to just put the top up.