2016 JKU Rubicon Hard Rock - Jolene

[DrockinWV]

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

Oh no it is definitely better lol. Being on the east coast now it is crazy how many trails are just so narrow, especially coming from the wide open spaces of the west coast.

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

@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

Honestly, a swing out bumper might be the best bet to avoid issues in the future. Teraflex makes an HD hinged carrier but for the price, I'd go the bumper route for the JK. My WJ is limited on options so I'll take what I can get.

 

[brien]

Thanks, @BikeHauler, that's a great idea, and it reminded me that i believe AEV makes a swing out that works with the stock Rubicon Hard Rock bumper... time to start saving up

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

Thanks, @BikeHauler, that's a great idea, and it reminded me that i believe AEV makes a swing out that works with the stock Rubicon Hard Rock bumper... time to start saving up

No problem!

 

[Todd & Meg]

Great build thread. Gave me some ideas.

Kofa is on our list of places to check out. Skull rock looks cool along with palm canyon.

Todd

 

[Natchez]

Any update on how well the fridge is doing? I am looking to pick one up.

 

[brien]

Any update on how well the fridge is doing? I am looking to pick one up.

We've had the Costway fridge for a few months now and have used it on two long trips (~2000 miles each) and it's been great. I definitely feel the pressure to finally install a dual battery setup in the Jeep, though. I installed a solar charger in the engine bay so during the day we can have a panel top-off the battery when we're not driving, but overnight the fridge shuts itself off to safe battery. I leave the battery cut-off on "High protection" because i really don't want to take a risk of draining the only battery, if i put it on medium or low the fridge would make it through the night, but i've been too chicken to do that on these long and relatively remote trips.

 

[brien]

I just realized I never updated this thread with the tour of the rear galley I slapped together a few months ago:

 

[Todd & Meg]

I have a few questions for you.

Why not run the fridge of the house battery in the trailer? I'm planing on running the fridge (when we get one, and it will live in the Jeep) off the Jeep power while we are driving. Then when we set up camp I'll plug the fridge in to the house power from the trailer. I'll use Powerpole connectors on the fridge. Planning solar to recharge the house battery in camp and maybe I'll be able to have a small panel on the roof rack while we drive. It will be 75-125AH. Thats my plan do you think Im on the right track?

How do you have your antennas mounted? I'm planning on getting a Midland GMRS for now and maybe add Ham later. But would like to sure I have room for both antennas. Do you have any pictures?

I have been taking ham practice tests and am only missing a few answers, hope to get the test done in January.

Todd

 

[brien]

@Todd & Meg Great question! My plan for the fridge power is similar to what you describe. I plan on eventually adding in a power pole connector port into the back of the Jeep to do the same thing you are planning on. I'm thinking i'll have a toggle switch so i can have a way to just toggle between the jeep battery and the power pole socket depending on which power i want to run off of. Then i'll have an umbilical of some sort that I can run from the trailer to the power pole port on the Jeep. In the long run we'll have dual battery in the Jeep as well, since we'll need it for more than just the fridge. I'm also playing with the idea of somehow daisy chaining the jeep onto the trailer battery charging system. It would be great to just have whatever charging input (solar or shore power) plugged into the trailer and have it top off all the jeep batteries as well.

For antennas: i have four additional antennas on the jeep right now, three dual band for GMRS and ham use, and one is our CB antenna. I'll take some photos tomorrow when the sun is back up, but here's the general info:

1) 3' CB Firestick mounted on my spare tire mount
2) 21" Nagoya UT-308UV mag mount UHF/VHF stuck right on the center of the hood
3) 39" Nagoya TB-320A fold-over UHF/VHF on an NMO mount that i have up on the roof rack
4) 38" Tram 1180 UHF/VHF on an NMO mount i have on my front bumper

For the roof rack NMO mount I use a Tram NMO "mirror mount" and for the front bumper I use a Browning BR-1024-UHF adjustable NMO trunk mount.

If you are taking practice exams and only getting a few questions wrong, you are definitely ready for the exam. As soon as you are passing those practice exams with 80% or higher, you are ready to go! Good Luck!

 

[toxicity_27]

Thanks, @BikeHauler, that's a great idea, and it reminded me that i believe AEV makes a swing out that works with the stock Rubicon Hard Rock bumper... time to start saving up

Sure does. Installed mine last summer, and it's fantastic. Tied to the door so you don't have a separate latch to open.

For the Gobi rack did you need to run the AEV brackets for the Hard Rock rear bumper? I haven't been able to get a firm answer (I also haven't tried that hard) on whether or not they are needed.

Dual batteries is a game changer. Ran my Engel in 80*+ heat for a week and didn't have an issue (obviously it's warmer in AZ than MN).

 

[brien]

For the Gobi rack did you need to run the AEV brackets for the Hard Rock rear bumper? I haven't been able to get a firm answer (I also haven't tried that hard) on whether or not they are needed.

I'm not exactly sure. I tried to get clarification before I ordered as well, but in the end the woman I was communicating with there told me that as long as I mentioned that I have a Hard Rock bumper in my order I would be OK. When everything finally arrived, It included everything I needed to fit my jeep.

 

[chithead]

Wow, just read from start to finish. We have a six year old son and would love so much to get him involved in these types of adventures. Talk about an inspiring thread you have here. Thank you!!!

 

[toxicity_27]

I'm not exactly sure. I tried to get clarification before I ordered as well, but in the end the woman I was communicating with there told me that as long as I mentioned that I have a Hard Rock bumper in my order I would be OK. When everything finally arrived, It included everything I needed to fit my jeep.

Did you order straight from Gobi then?

 

[brien]

Wow, just read from start to finish. We have a six year old son and would love so much to get him involved in these types of adventures. Talk about an inspiring thread you have here. Thank you!!!

Thank you for checking out the build! Your six year old will love adventuring!

 

[brien]

Did you order straight from Gobi then?

I did, yes

 

[Michael G.]

It was now the end of April, and I finally got confirmation from GOBI that my rack was actually being shipped out within a week or so. So much for the 4 week wait they initially quoted me (numerous times, too!). I knew that the rack would interfere with the satellite radio antenna, so I took the top off the jeep and disassembled the roll cage bits to get to the antenna hidden above and behind the passenger seat before the rack arrived. I had seen a few alternate locations to mount the antenna, but both required either fishing out the full antenna lead line (which sounds like a HUGE many-hour undertaking on a 2016 JKU) or purchasing a new Mopar lead line for about $70. I didn't have time to wait for a new lead line to come, and I wasn't sure I wanted to spend $70 on it anyway, so the plan was just to remove the antenna and figure it out later. Not to mention one of the locations meant drilling a hole through the metal front cowling behind the hood, which wasn't very appealing.

Once I had the antenna taken out, I saw that it had about 8-10 inches of lead line to the connector that attached it to the longer line. I had an idea to see how close that would get me to the back of the radio, so I took apart the console and pulled the radio out. As it turns out, with some delicate finger work I figured out I could fead the lead line through the dash's rubber gasket thingy (?) and around some bracing and have just enough length to reach the antenna connection on the radio.

here you can see where the skinny black antenna line runs down the inside, under an existing wiring harness, and into the back of the radio.

Once assembled back together, the antenna just sits right next to the daylight sensor out of the way. Reception is not 100%, but I'd say it's pretty close. Close enough for me. I do notice in rare occasions when the Sirius connection will be momentarily dropped for a second and then reconnect, and that only usually happens when i'm driving next to a steep canyon wall or tall building.

Here's a close up shot of the antenna where it sits currently. It blocks a small portion of the vent, and it could be mounted more securely and more flush. I'm assuming i'm not going to leave it here forever, so I opted to leave it in this less-permanent state for now.

Good to know since i plan on getting a Gobi Rack as well.

 

[Michael G.]

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)

Which Fridge did you originally have on the black forest sliders?

 

[brien]

Which Fridge did you originally have on the black forest sliders?

The fridge we currently have on the slider is a Costway 51 Liter: 54 Quarts Portable Electric Car Cooler Refrigerator It fits the slide perfectly and has been working just great in the ~10 months that we've had it. Before the fridge, we just had a 45 quart Yeti knock-off cooler sitting on the slide.

 

[maxboxa]

Hi Brien, can you share how you secured the slide to the floor of you JKU? That would help me out immensely! TIA

The fridge we currently have on the slider is a Costway 51 Liter: 54 Quarts Portable Electric Car Cooler Refrigerator It fits the slide perfectly and has been working just great in the ~10 months that we've had it. Before the fridge, we just had a 45 quart Yeti knock-off cooler sitting on the slide.