2015 Rubicon NTXRUBICON slow build

[Elite Overland Crew]

Well here we go again!

2015 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
Color: Anvil
Lift: AEV Dual Sport 4.5"
Wheels: 17" Black Mamba
Tires: 315/70R17 Mickey Thompson Deegan MT
Front Bumper: Smittybilt XRC Mod
Rear Bumper : Smittybilt Atlas
Winch: 9000 lb

It's a start!

Got lots of future plans stay tuned.

 

[Trail_Blazer]

Pretty! You have a beautiful jeep. A couple of lessons I learned in building my 2011 Rubicon for Overlanding. The first is weight. Some of your items are real heavy. Your bumpers, winch, side rails, and tire carrier added a lot of weight. Then you have the issues with the lift. Hopefully you have or are a great mechanic. Because the more weight you put into the vehicle, the more modifications you need to make. Most importantly is the breaking distance. You may consider oversized breaks. This was one of the best investments I made, I only wish I had done it sooner. The prices have come way done on these and you can do it yourself in the driveway. Next upgrading you stock control and sway arms on the vehicle. Chrysler build to the lowest denominator and this was the cause of my death wobble. Unable to find the cause of the problem, I put a Go-Pro camera under the car and literally watched the track bar vibrate over an inch. This is an inexpensive upgrade, but it is best to take it somewhere for alignment on a machine afterward. The Dana 44 axles are good, but the bigger the tires, the more stress. There are many stories of people breaking axles because they put 35" and larger tires on a stock Dana 44 axles. Your tires are around 34.5", so you may be concerned. You can have additional support welded to your axles to prevent this. I have 33" tires and it hasn't been an issue for me. Since you added the larger tires to the vehicle, you will need to reprogram the system for the larger tires, otherwise the speedometer will be wrong. And you added additional torque to the system, so you may consider changing the gearing. I live at around 5600' ASL and at 65 mph, my vehicle was shifting constantly. I regeared for 4.88 and the problem was solved. I could have reprogrammed the shift points, but the stress on the system and performance would have still been issues. Just some of my lessons learned and solutions. Hope to see you on some trail, someday.

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

All great points!
This is my second rubicon to build.
Very aware of all the issues listed above.
As far as a mechanic goes I'm good I built many vehicles from ground up and also built race cars for a living a while back .
Weight is a concern but just for a little while i have a pretty decent list of mods that will take care of most of those worries

 

[Johnnys Trip]

Down the road my wife wants to make the move to one of these. I look forward to seeing what you have planned for the rig build.
Cheers, John

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

Pretty! You have a beautiful jeep. A couple of lessons I learned in building my 2011 Rubicon for Overlanding. The first is weight. Some of your items are real heavy. Your bumpers, winch, side rails, and tire carrier added a lot of weight. Then you have the issues with the lift. Hopefully you have or are a great mechanic. Because the more weight you put into the vehicle, the more modifications you need to make. Most importantly is the breaking distance. You may consider oversized breaks. This was one of the best investments I made, I only wish I had done it sooner. The prices have come way done on these and you can do it yourself in the driveway. Next upgrading you stock control and sway arms on the vehicle. Chrysler build to the lowest denominator and this was the cause of my death wobble. Unable to find the cause of the problem, I put a Go-Pro camera under the car and literally watched the track bar vibrate over an inch. This is an inexpensive upgrade, but it is best to take it somewhere for alignment on a machine afterward. The Dana 44 axles are good, but the bigger the tires, the more stress. There are many stories of people breaking axles because they put 35" and larger tires on a stock Dana 44 axles. Your tires are around 34.5", so you may be concerned. You can have additional support welded to your axles to prevent this. I have 33" tires and it hasn't been an issue for me. Since you added the larger tires to the vehicle, you will need to reprogram the system for the larger tires, otherwise the speedometer will be wrong. And you added additional torque to the system, so you may consider changing the gearing. I live at around 5600' ASL and at 65 mph, my vehicle was shifting constantly. I regeared for 4.88 and the problem was solved. I could have reprogrammed the shift points, but the stress on the system and performance would have still been issues. Just some of my lessons learned and solutions. Hope to see you on some trail, someday.

What steering upgrades did you go with? That was an issue with the last one I built.

Thanks!

 

[Trail_Blazer]

What steering upgrades did you go with? That was an issue with the last one I built.

Thanks!

I had two major issues with my front end. The first was one of the caps on the universal joint came off on my way to the Overland Expo in Flagstaff. The axle hole that the cap fit into stretched. Only noticed it because the seal broke and I was leaking fluid. I was lucky as I was planning on returning home on the Mojave Road. Ironically, Jeep fixed it for free, New axle and universal joint. The second issue was with the track bar. It was replaced with a ProComp Chrome moly track bar. I have a Rancho lift on the jeep, and Teraflex oversized brakes. I run 33" Micky Thompson Baja's MTX . Otherwise, I had no reason to upgrade any of the steering parts. The jeep is a pleasure to drive, but you know the acronym JEEP means Just Empty Every Pocket! Good luck with your build.

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

Well it’s been awhile and I have been saving up for some items

Rhino Rack pioneer platform and the Back Bone system
Went with this because I liked the AEV rack but you cannot remove the top easily and I knew the AEV rack is a modified version of the Rhino Rack Pioneer

And I purchased the Tuff Stuff Ranger Overland 3 man roof top tent
Right now they have a great deal online for a package deal
Tent, annex, awning & condinsation mat for $1548.38 shipped
Call Amo at tuff stuff and he will hook you up.

Took all day to install and it required a little more slight modifications to get it all aligned
But it went well

I will get more pics with tent open soon and a few pointer pics and info as well

 

[TheRubiconLife]

Great looking Jeep. I am thinking about getting the same rack you have. What do you think of it ? Can it hold the weight ? Have you noticed any issues with it mounted to the hard top ?
Thanks for your time.

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

Thank you!

I did a very large amount of research before I decided to go with the rhino rack and for me it added up to the locigal purchase for me.
The system is probably the best item I have put on the jeep.

It is sturdy and well made!
Loaded down with the tent, awning, tracks, and gear I have had 0 issues out of it it has not moved a bit and I cannot see anywhere on it where it has flexed.

Even driving across the Texas in 40+ mph winds slamming into the side of the jeep heading to and back from Colorado there was no noise and no issues at all.
Was a little sketchy at the time but no issues

3 people that I know have now purchased it since they have seen it in person.

I will say that the worst part mentally about the installation of it is drilling the top.
But, once you do it and then use all that is provided to seal and mount the rack my confidence in the system was restored.

I sound like a spokes person now but I am very impressed with it and all the options that the rack has for gear mounting.

Plus you can still take the top off without removing any piece of the rack or mounting system.
Hell I use the rack to lift the top off.

As far as the weight goes I have had about 225lbs worth of gear up there traveling to Colorado and had zero issues. It handled it like a champ!

Myself 245lbs my wife 130 and my daughter about 65 soaking wet plus tent 145lbs sleeping gear and the awning and tracks all on it and it did not even make a noise and no visible issues at all.

I would buy it again hands down.

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

Ok
I’m back
Been a while had allot going on the the new house build and work.
I just realized I never did post pics of the tent all setup

Here are some shots while we where in Colorado at Mueller state park before we hit the trails
Very nice park to stay at!

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

Getting ready for a trip in 2 weeks we are heading to Big Bend State Park here in TX with a small group. Looking forward to doing this one!
It also has a jeep badge of honor trail that we will hit as well.

Thinking about picking up an onboard air system tomorrow
We shall see!
I will get some new pics of the rig tomorrow for y’all

 

[Elite Overland Crew]

Got some goodies today.

It was a toss up on what I wanted first AEV Snorkel or on board air.
I picked the air