Anvil 2015 JKU Sport Overland Build

[Free State Expedition]

This thread has been something I have wanted to put together for some time now. I will have to start out backdating some mods, and using old pictures. However, I look forward to evolving this thread as I continue to build my Jeep.

Here was the blank canvas. A 2015 JKU Sport in Anvil Gray. I had this shipped up to Massachusetts from Pennsylvania, as it was the closest vehicle that fit my requirements. I gave the Jeep dealer 3 requirements: Anvil in Color, manual transmission, and the most basic sport you can buy with the addition of a hard top. Yes, that means roll up windows! I wanted something simple that I could add on to, something that served as completely blank canvas.

Here is a picture in the first week of ownership. I had stripped the JKU down for a nice fall ride to work.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Next came the suspension upgrade. I chose the Teraflex 2.5" coils, Bilstein 5160 shocks, and the AEV geometery correctional brackets. Overall I still love the suspension to this day. I may upgrade to a slightly higher lift down the road. My only complaint will be the teraflex springs sag quite a bit. I ended up add in a 1 inch rear spacer to fix that. I will likely be upgrading to new rear springs soon.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Lets move on to tires.

I knew I did not want a big noisey mud tire. I use this Jeep for work duty as well and I guess I have matured enough to value street manners over big knoby tires. I originally went to Town Fair Tire looking for the Toyo AT2 in 35s. The AT2 was on national backorder at this time. This was right when Toyo had released their new R/T (Rugged Terrain) tire and I decided to pull the trigger on them.

The R/T is a hybrid tire. It sits between an A/T and an M/T. They currently have about 30K on them as I am going back in time here quickly to show initial mods. After 30,000 miles, many offroad adventures, and a record setting Boston winter I am more than please with these tires, they are a great compromise.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Before and After Suspension

You can also see I picked up a set of OEM 17" Sport wheels to replace the stock 16" steelies.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Next i added a Maximus 3 Bull bar and some custom headlights I built. I own a side business doing custom lighting.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Later on I changed the headlights finish to a silver that matched the stock JKU wheels nicely

 

[Free State Expedition]

I have a white/yellow Siberian Husky - Labrador Retreiver mix named Jake. Jake's hair had a way of weaving his way into the stock black cloth seats, so I added some Bartact seat covers in Coyote Tan. The tan should help fit the look i am going for as well as hide the hair a little better....

Flash forward a few months and these covers are amazing! The dog hair wipes right off, and the water resistant nature of them is very helpful in a Jeep.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Flash back to last November at Rausch Creek with Chesapeake Jeep Club. Kaeleigh (My Fiance) was riding in back with the husky, Jake, to comfort him. He was not to keen on some of the bumps that an "offroad park" can bring. He is definitely more comfortable exploring 2 track roads etc.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Next came the Teraflex HD hinged carrier and accessory mount with a Hi Lift Xtreme.

I chose the teraflex carrier because I liked the OEM appearance and the freedom to chose any bumper I like down the line

 

[Free State Expedition]

Front End Update!

Bumper: Crawler Conceptz Ultra Series Stubby with D-rings and Fog lights
Winch: Smittybuilt X20 10,000lb Synthetic
Aux Lights: Rigid Duallys - Amber in color, Flood in pattern
Fog Lights: Morimoto XB LED Fogs

 

[Free State Expedition]

I chose the Cobra 75 for this JK build as the small main unit is easy to hide behind the dashboard. These small cockpits do not allow for a clean installation of a full size cb in my opinion. I ordered the grab handle mount from quadratec and it sits nicely in reach

 

[Free State Expedition]

Next, I know there will be a TON of electronics installed in my jeep. I wanted a way to keep all the wiring clean, and add switches. Most JK builds use the Spod. I ended up going with the Switch Pros Sp8100 for a number of reasons. I liked the switch panels small size, and the traditional spod location above the windshield would not work for me. I also liked that the switch pros unit has bluetooth right out of the box, nothing extra has to be purchased. I will likely never use this bluetooth feature. However, if I want to power up lights on the rig from my camp chair with a beer in my hand it is a nice feature to have. I also liked the added programmable features like battery vs ignition for power.

Here you can see I took a rugged ridge pillar mount and flush mounted the switch pros panel. ** Switch pros now sells a flush mount option which is a cleaner install.

 

[Free State Expedition]

pillar panel installed and legends added

 

[Free State Expedition]

I wanted a gobi rack forever, finally found one second hand!

 

[Free State Expedition]

Added a Trasharoo to the spare tire carrier, it saw its maiden voyage at the Hunt Cup, a horse race in Baltimore MD. I actually won the Grizzly Cooler, Trasharoo, and ARB camp chairs in a raffle. It was a nice little win for $10!

The Trasharoo has proven to be invaluable. From piling up beer cans at a horse race, keeping wet dog towels out of the truck's interior, or housing a weeks worth of trash on the road it has proven itself useful many times.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Light time!

I am not a fan of the bro-tastic 50 inch light bars. I chose to add a Rigid Radiance 20" combo in the center portion of the rack. I also added some 6" Rigid SR combos on the outer ends of the rack. These SRs are angled slightly outwards.

Don't mind the beer on the hood ;)

 

[Free State Expedition]

Next came the rugged ridge snorkel. Man was this a painful installation. In the end, I am very happy though.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Rigid SRM Diffused lights on KC mounted mounted on the Gobi for my forward facing side lights. I wanted light angled out to give me a 180 degree radius of light with the front bars and the SRM lights combined.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Few nice pictures from a trip out to Assateauge Island on the Eastern Shore of MD.

 

[Free State Expedition]

Added a 4 Gallon Rotopax up on the Gobi Rack.

Also had some fun out in West Virginia at Chaos Offroad Park









My Co-Pilot Jake the Husky Lab Mix enjoyed the WV trip.