2016 JKU Rubicon Hard Rock - Jolene

[brien]

BTW, before we put the OME 2620 coils in the rear I slapped in some AirLift 1000 air bags as a quick fix for a trip. Here's a little video mini-review i did on those:

 

[brien]

Last night, after months of just running a 45L cooler on the fridge slider I installed, I actually put a fridge on it. The Black Forest Gear fridge slider I got for free, and the tray is a bit skinny, so I was a bit limited on what I could fit on there. I ended up finding out from a friend about his 51L "cheap ebay fridge" that he has been running for a couple years that would fit perfectly. I hunted around for a good price since there are many brands that sell the same fridge with prices that are all over the place, some up to like $800. Found it on the Costway website for only ~$370 shipped! The S*ittybuilt fridge cover also was known to fit this perfectly, so I picked up one of those, too.

I'm thinking of this fridge as a short-term item so I don't have to swap out the existing slider. I'm not worried about it lasting at least through the two big trips we have from now until the end of the year. I'll run it until it dies and then swap everything out and pick up an Engel and a larger slider. If this fridge lives for multiple years, i'll be even more happy about the price. Now that I have this bit set up, I can finally start measuring to build out some drawers and storage on the right

Here it is all tucked away

slid out (with cameo by my 10yo son)

 

[gabe]

Awesome build, got tons of ideas for my JKU. Keep up the great build.

 

[brien]

Thanks, Gabe!

I should update this thread a bit. I've started building out a galley in the back, i'll probably put a video covering the build up on my YouTube channel in the near future, but here's a peek at the little bit of progress so far. I just started the build this Sunday, hoping to finish it up and getting it painted and coated in truck liner before i leave for the Overland Bound Rally next Thursday

Quick brainstorming sketch of the design, things have moved around a bit, but generally this is what i'm going for:


I'm a dork, and I wanted to be able to play around with placement and make sure I had all my measurements correct, so I also mocked up most of it inside Autodesk Fusion 360. It's a full 3D model, but here's the front Sketch:

The progress so far:


and here's the power panel that i'll be slapping into that upper right corner:

 

[gabe]

That is awesome, I wish I had those skills. It looks great.

 

[brien]

@gabe I definitely don't have the skills, hah. I love doing the electrical stuff, but this cabinet building is _really_ hard :( I actually scrapped the one in that photo above and redid the main surround in 3/4 in plywood. Here it is in its current almost-functionally-complete-but-not-aesthetically-pleasing-to-look-at state. I've been trying to build this as fast as possible since we head out of town on Thursday morning and i'd like to have this in the jeep for the trip. My current thinking is that this is now just a functional prototype. I think I want to rebuild the whole thing using 80/20 so that it's super sturdy and super square. my current wood cabinet building skills just aren't up to snuff, so all the drawers are like 1/16-1/8" off kilter which looks pretty funny when they're all closed.

 

[gabe]

LOL, looks good from here but practice makes perfect.

 

[CCTX50]

Great thread and build. I have a 2013 JKUR that is also a work in progress. The wife complains that the complete lift kit that is sitting in the living room needs to be moved. I guess I need to do the install ASAP. I have been looking at building me a rear compartment for my ARB Fridge and other items. The slide out that ARB sells is $$$$$. I think that I can build my own up and half that and also the way that I want it.

Heading to Texas Outdoor Expo in about 10 days and I am more that sure that I will get some great ideas there also.

Safe travels!!!

 

[brien]

Thanks @CCTX50!

I know what you mean about the crazy cost of most sliders. Thankfully I kind of lucked out and participated in a promotion for a parts supplier where I was refunded the full cost of my slider in return for writing the install guide for it. Win win!

Have fun at the TX Outdoor Expo. I was interested in going but it overlaps our trip around CA that we're doing when we leave the Overland Bound Rally this weekend

 

[brien]

Last Wed night I managed to get the drawer system all installed and wired into Jolene in time to head out Thursday morning to start working our way north towards the Overland Bound West Rally. Turned out "good enough". I also wired in an RGB LED strip which is a total game changer. We've been using the drawers and lighting setup for 5 days now and it's working out great. I should have built these a long time ago.

 

[Drifterman]

Great looking build

 

[brien]

Great looking build

thank you!

 

[Jose]

Awesome looking rig!!!![emoji106][emoji109][emoji95]

 

[Rubicon72]

Love the build! Giving me so many idea's for my own JK!

I just need to purchase the RTT first.

 

[dougie117]

Ever think about a beefed up tailgate swing arm to handle the additional weight of the larger tire, anything you put in the trasharoo (yousaid firewood which could add some lbs), and the extra fuel tank? Even a partially filled tank will add some heft and stress when it is open. I've read some articles where people say adding anything bigger than at 35" tire would be a good point to add a stronger tailgate.

 

[brien]

@dougie117

Yep! That's in the plan. Right now we have ~34" tires and that 13gal tank. We rarely keep fuel in that tank to keep the weight down. There have only been two times where we've fueled it up because we knew that the planned route took us far enough from gas station range. all other trips it remains empty. We pretty much only keep trash in the trasharoo now, so the weight is probably only a few pounds at most in there.

Do you have any recommendations for some beefier tailgate hinges? I should probably do this mod relatively soon now that i think about it more

 

[dougie117]

@dougie117

Yep! That's in the plan. Right now we have ~34" tires and that 13gal tank. We rarely keep fuel in that tank to keep the weight down. There have only been two times where we've fueled it up because we knew that the planned route took us far enough from gas station range. all other trips it remains empty. We pretty much only keep trash in the trasharoo now, so the weight is probably only a few pounds at most in there.

Do you have any recommendations for some beefier tailgate hinges? I should probably do this mod relatively soon now that i think about it more

I don't. I don't have any plans for any mods that would require that. I run 33's so I have that on the swing gate and a CB antenna but I don't see any future mods that would have me looking into that. I don't know anyone with an upgraded hinges or the like. I guess check build forums or gear forums?

 

[brien]

I just published a new vlog over on YouTube that goes over some of the highlights from our 11-day trip that included the Overland Bound Rally.

 

[DrockinWV]

Great looking build! Going though the tread really makes me miss AZ and want to trade my F150 in for a Wrangler lol

 

[brien]

Great looking build! Going though the tread really makes me miss AZ and want to trade my F150 in for a Wrangler lol

Thanks! Yeah, aside from the better (subjective, possibly) trail capability, the availability of custom parts and modifications is just about unbeatable with wranglers