So here we go...picked up a 2015 Jeep JKU after owning several jeeps in the past and I have always gone the route of big lift and tires first...this time I'm going in the opposite direction, especially considering its a daily driver so it spends 80% of the time carting me to work and the family to the grocery store. So with this jeep I decided to focus on upgrading and adding items that the jeep naturally lacks for trail comfort and general camping abilities and replace the suspension later due to the fact that these new jeeps are incredibley capable on the trail. Currently we take the jeep out to Uwharrie National Forest NC about 4 to 5 time s a year and camping several times a year.
So one of the first items added was a Poison Spyder hood louver and license plate delete kit. Hood louver was to give a path for the engine heat to go, plus it looks BA, downside is the look your wife gives you when your cutting holes in the hood of you new jeep. License plate relocate was purely for the looks.
Then I was able to score some used rub rails from a buddy, its a nice addition, the steel bars add a nice piece of mind not having to worry about banging up the body tub.
Then my wife surprised me with a full set front and rear Coverking neoprene seat covers. Really like the quality and the fit to the seats was dead on, plus really like the two tone color option.
Next, due to going camping and the beach with the wife, kids and dog I wanted to look into having on board water for the added conveinence off washing people, dogs and gear off before getting back in the jeep. After looking at some off the shelf options as well as peoples DIY version. I ordered a DIY kit from a guy in florida, AquaBumper, which allows you to convert your stock bumper in to a giant water jug :). Its fairly simple, I did add a few things that the kit didn't have and also replaced some of the items that came with the kit due to being kind of sub par quality. So end result was what is pictured below. I added the "water" fill port (found on Amazon) as well as I ditched the pump the kit came with and got another off of Amazon which gives me 30psi water delivery. So with a flick of a switch I now have about 6 gallons of pressurized water, which has come in handy multiple times.
Next issue that needed to be resolved was the lack of viewing area when I have the jeep loaded up with camping gear. So the solution was adding a small camera to the rear tailgate and added a 7" LCD screen in place of the rear view mirror. Both items I got from Amazon, paid about 40 for the screen and 25 for the camera, then wired it off the ACC circuit so it comes on with the jeep. The added bonus is that the screen is reflective when turned off and much larger that the rear view mirror. For a size comparison, that is an iPhone 6 Plus below the mirror.
Next was time to replace those factory headlights, probably the worst thing on a factory jeep. So I went LED and love it...one of the best items purchased yet...important to have that DOT stamp haha
Before and after, after this pic was taken I removed the chrome ring and painted it with black bedliner.
Low beam / High beam.
So with the intension of making a road trip from North Carolina to Maine this Christmas the wife was concerned about storage space with 2 kids, a dog and Christmas presents...solution is a roof rack. But being I have a soft top and we do take it down quite often during the summer I wanted a rack where I didn't loose that ability or a 45 minute unbolting ritual just to get the top down.
Enter the JKU Rack from LOD offroad...just look at the pictures, this thing is incredible, it slides backwards so you can take the top down also there is no need to unload your rack, it can slide back with gear on it...plus I opted for the aluminum floor panels, makes it a lot easier strapping items down.
So with this addition I'm currently working on designing my own DIY canopy for the rack.
Recently I started messing around with making things out of 550 cord, so naturally I bought some heavy duty rings and made some headrest grab handles just a few weekends ago, I'm really loving how they came out.
Just last weekend I installed rear seat recline kit from JK Innovative Products, if you have ever sat in the back of a jeep you'll notice that the seat has you sitting straight up, not all that comfortable on long drives, the recline kit tilts the seat back putting the passengers at more of an angle, notice the position of the headrest in the photo (before/after).
And as far as the name Blue Falcon, I served 12 years in the Marine Corps and when I picked the jeep up I asked my buddies for name ideas, when someone said "Blue Falcon" that was it, that had to be the name...its kind of an inside joke if you ever served in the military...so I just had Pixel Decals make me a set of hood decals, great quality.
Future plans include some more power options inside, rear storage, so more to come...
So one of the first items added was a Poison Spyder hood louver and license plate delete kit. Hood louver was to give a path for the engine heat to go, plus it looks BA, downside is the look your wife gives you when your cutting holes in the hood of you new jeep. License plate relocate was purely for the looks.
Then I was able to score some used rub rails from a buddy, its a nice addition, the steel bars add a nice piece of mind not having to worry about banging up the body tub.
Then my wife surprised me with a full set front and rear Coverking neoprene seat covers. Really like the quality and the fit to the seats was dead on, plus really like the two tone color option.
Next, due to going camping and the beach with the wife, kids and dog I wanted to look into having on board water for the added conveinence off washing people, dogs and gear off before getting back in the jeep. After looking at some off the shelf options as well as peoples DIY version. I ordered a DIY kit from a guy in florida, AquaBumper, which allows you to convert your stock bumper in to a giant water jug :). Its fairly simple, I did add a few things that the kit didn't have and also replaced some of the items that came with the kit due to being kind of sub par quality. So end result was what is pictured below. I added the "water" fill port (found on Amazon) as well as I ditched the pump the kit came with and got another off of Amazon which gives me 30psi water delivery. So with a flick of a switch I now have about 6 gallons of pressurized water, which has come in handy multiple times.
Next issue that needed to be resolved was the lack of viewing area when I have the jeep loaded up with camping gear. So the solution was adding a small camera to the rear tailgate and added a 7" LCD screen in place of the rear view mirror. Both items I got from Amazon, paid about 40 for the screen and 25 for the camera, then wired it off the ACC circuit so it comes on with the jeep. The added bonus is that the screen is reflective when turned off and much larger that the rear view mirror. For a size comparison, that is an iPhone 6 Plus below the mirror.
Next was time to replace those factory headlights, probably the worst thing on a factory jeep. So I went LED and love it...one of the best items purchased yet...important to have that DOT stamp haha
Before and after, after this pic was taken I removed the chrome ring and painted it with black bedliner.
Low beam / High beam.
So with the intension of making a road trip from North Carolina to Maine this Christmas the wife was concerned about storage space with 2 kids, a dog and Christmas presents...solution is a roof rack. But being I have a soft top and we do take it down quite often during the summer I wanted a rack where I didn't loose that ability or a 45 minute unbolting ritual just to get the top down.
Enter the JKU Rack from LOD offroad...just look at the pictures, this thing is incredible, it slides backwards so you can take the top down also there is no need to unload your rack, it can slide back with gear on it...plus I opted for the aluminum floor panels, makes it a lot easier strapping items down.
So with this addition I'm currently working on designing my own DIY canopy for the rack.
Recently I started messing around with making things out of 550 cord, so naturally I bought some heavy duty rings and made some headrest grab handles just a few weekends ago, I'm really loving how they came out.
Just last weekend I installed rear seat recline kit from JK Innovative Products, if you have ever sat in the back of a jeep you'll notice that the seat has you sitting straight up, not all that comfortable on long drives, the recline kit tilts the seat back putting the passengers at more of an angle, notice the position of the headrest in the photo (before/after).
And as far as the name Blue Falcon, I served 12 years in the Marine Corps and when I picked the jeep up I asked my buddies for name ideas, when someone said "Blue Falcon" that was it, that had to be the name...its kind of an inside joke if you ever served in the military...so I just had Pixel Decals make me a set of hood decals, great quality.
Future plans include some more power options inside, rear storage, so more to come...
