2004 White Rubicon build up

[orangeTJ]

I found ExPo last week, I clicked a link from another forum, so here I am, and here is my Jeep:
Name is Doug, from the Tacoma, WA area.

This is my first Jeep, bought it back in October 06 with a budget boost and 265s on it. It's an 04 and had 12,800 street miles on it, only driven during dry weather.

I'm no stranger to off highway travel or 4x4s... I've had five 4WD rigs since 1988, only two of which were really worthy of doing any off highway travel with on ugly roads and what not: a '79 GMC Jimmy and a 78 Blazer. I did take my next rig, the 87 S-10 Blazer on plenty of fire-roads though. The other two 4WD rigs have been a 1996 Chevy K1500 e-cab, and a 2002 Chevy 2500HD CC. I still own the 2002.
I always enjoyed cruising around the forest service roads checking out whatever there was to see, but after getting in to motorcycling in 1994, two wheeled exploration became the preferred method of backcountry travel. (I'm on my 3rd dual sport bike since 1994.)

I will add that In the back of my mind, I thought it would be cool to have a Jeep probably since the day after I got my driver's license. I do a lot of dual sport (on/off road) motorcycling and kind of gave up on the Jeep idea about 10-12 years ago when I really got heavy in to riding. A lot of the areas I ride, are also Jeep areas, and I concluded I was happier on a bike covering the same distance in an hour or less, that a Jeep would take half the day to travel. I used to make a joke about that with my riding buddies when we'd come across a group of Jeeps on the trail... but something kept telling me "it would be cool to own one."

A few years ago when my brother bought a Jeep after moving to New Mexico, that rekindled the idea in my mind of getting a Jeep. I was on the hunt for a less expensive to drive daily driver since my 2500HD was a gas hog. I gave up on a Jeep as a daily driver since the mileage wouldn't be much better than the truck I already was driving. One of my riding buddies said "A Jeep is just another money sucking toy, and when you break on the trail, it costs a WHOLE LOT MORE to fix. (than a bike)"

Finally, I'd had enough daydreaming and found a nice white Rubi 150 miles away and bought it in October 2006.

Here's what it looked like when I brought it home in October of 2006:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/dohdrz/04%20Rubicon/IMG_4829.jpg

I kept the Jeep a secret from my friends and riding buddies, but one day one of them came over to get some bike parts I had for him. I forgot to bring the parts in to the house from the garage before he arrived, and low and behold, he follows me in to the garage and sees my White Heep posing in the garage. A few weeks later he got irritated with the bike (a KLR 650) he'd installed the parts on that I sold him, so he sold it and bought an 01 Sport... so now we both have Jeeps (and bikes - we both own DRZ400s).

There's a lot more to come as time allows me to get online and post, so stay tuned to my build up!!

[orangeTJ]

November, 2006:
My first mod, which happened sooner than I envisioned was a new rear bumper.

I did a lot of reading on forums, looking at bumper manufacturer's websites, looked at other people's bumpers and finally decided I wanted to take a look at the Rockhard4x4 and Jeeperman rear bumper, so I took a drive to Northridge4x4 to see them for myself.

A Rockhard4x4 sport cage was also on my mod list, and after seeing their bumper at Northridge, David made me a deal I couldn't pass up, so I decided to buy them both while I was there. (buying was NOT in my plan when I went there - the idea was just to LOOK at the bumper in person).

It took a little careful arranging by me and David to get it all to fit in my commuter car, oh the worst part about it was i misplaced my car keys... and ended up having to unload EVERYTHING and found them laying under a towel in the rear cargo area. :lildevil:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/dohdrz/04%20Rubicon/IMG_5264.jpg

[TheGillz]

Man that is a sweet find.

I would like an 02-06 Rubi TJ or LJ when the 08 JK X is paid off. Wife can have the 4 door. I'll play w/ the older one.

Welcome.

[orangeTJ]

I don't think I could have found a nicer one with that few of miles on it.

After having it a while, and taking it on a few trail runs, I sort of hated the thought of banging it around on gnarly trails and stuff since it's so purdy, so part way through the build up, my intended usage sort of changed, but the build plans mostly remained the same.... have something relatively capable, but the new thought was stick to milder trails and not beat it to death, and do more adventure/expedition touring with it.

[SeaRubi]

sharp! be sure to check out the rubicon owners forum when you get a chance.

cheers
-isaac

[orangeTJ]

sharp! be sure to check out the rubicon owners forum when you get a chance.

cheers
-isaac

I'm addicted to ROF. I'm #104 highest post count out of 10,000+ users.

[SeaRubi]

I'm addicted to ROF. Last time I checked, I was in the top 200 posters.

d'oh - shows how often I check up on things over there!

btw, when are we hitting evans creek?

[prepmech]

Have you had a chance to put the cage in yet?

A friend of mine just put one of the rockhard cages in his TJ and it fit great. I love the way they use the tubing clamps so it is removable if you ever need to change something.

Just make sure not to tighten anything until it is all in place.

[orangeTJ]

The next mod was installing an sPOD from 4x4spod.com, I installed it in late November or early December of 2006.

Let's get started. I removed all the parts from the package,
laid them out and verified that everything was here:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_4984.jpg


Here's a close-up of the switch pod unit. I chose the 6 switch
model with air gauge and Contura II switches.:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_4982.jpg


Here's a side by side comparison of the plastic trim and the sPOD's new header. This is the bottom view:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5001.jpg


I removed the sun visor and the screws securing the trim and pulled the trim back away from the windshield frame. This made it easier to manipulate the wire behind the trim piece.

It's difficult to totally remove the windshield trim because there is a small plastic clip that holds the rubber windshield gasket to the top of the trim piece.:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5010.jpg


This is at the top of the windshield frame where the harness exits from behind the trim, just below the hard top clamp:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5011.jpg


Next I routed the airline down behind the windshield trim. Note that the sun visor has been removed. I also removed the screws the hold the A pillar trim in place to simplify routing the air line behind the trim:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5005.jpg


This photo shows the air line. I snaked the it out from
behind the windshield trim and down behind the dash:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5007.jpg



After I routed the air line and wire harness,
I mounted the sPOD to the windshield frame.

This photo shows the two screws that secure
the header panel to the windshield:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5015.jpg

[orangeTJ]

Before drilling my hole, I picked a location that would be easily accessible to route other wiring when the need arises - wiring for an auxiliary fuse panel, CB wiring, etc.

I picked a location that was easily accessible from the inside as well as under the hood.

Over the years of installing electrical doo-dads in a vehicle, I've found that sometimes the needs dictate stuffing a wire through the fire wall from the inside out, other times I needed to start from the outside and stuff the wire in. This is why I chose to drill the hole low in the firewall, so I had easy, unobstructed access to it from the inside. If you trips involve water crossings, you might consider drilling the hole higher, but keep in mind that access from inside will be a challenge since the hole will be up behind the heater blower assembly:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5018.jpg


Outside view, with battery removed:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5019.jpg


The hole:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5023.jpg


The terminal strip and relay mount: (I later installed the first ever shipped version of "The Source" relay/fuse/terminal block for the TJ.)

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/IMG_5356.jpg

[orangeTJ]

December 2006:

A few weeks after installing the sPOD I installed the Rockhard cage. I removed my hard top to do it.

It took about a week to get the cage painted in many light coats doing it evenings and on a weekend. I used Hammerite black hammered metal finish, which is more of a dark charcoal color.

I've read a few write-ups where people have dropped the windshield, but I didn't really see the need to do that. It also seemed like a recipe for disaster in getting all the bolts and bolt holes to line back up once the cage was on.

I did loosen the bolts that attach the factory cage to the windshield. Once the cage was in place, I tightened the collars a little at a time working my way from front to back. At one point I had to loosen the front collars. In looking back, if I installed one again, i think it would make more sense to start from the back and work forward because the two back collars will pull the top header piece back as it clamps to the factory cage where the sound bar is. If you tighten the front side collars first, it will be hard to get the back top collars secured sufficiently.

On newer TJs, installing the cage requires modifying the factory windshield trim, or removing it. I removed it. I think in 2002 or 2003, the windshield trim changed and is a big piece that entirely hides the windshield frame. The earlier trim piece is just a small piece that doesn't interfere at all with the cage. I ended up getting the earlier version on E-bay.

[orangeTJ]

Several weeks after installing the sPOD, I installed the Rockhard4x4 cage:

After several evenings and a weekend, I got
all the parts painted and ready for installation.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5289.jpg


Here's the "C" collars ready to install

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5290.jpg


Bag of hardware

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5292.jpg


I removed my hardtop, then unbolted the speaker pods.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5293.jpg


Speaker pods removed, unhooked the wires and set the speaker pods aside.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5294.jpg


Unzipped and peeled back the padding cover.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5295.jpg

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5296.jpg

Three screws hold the dash in place on each side. These screws are removed and replaced with longer bolts and heavy duty nut plates on the back.
On the passenger side there's enough room to access the back side from underneath the dash

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5298.jpg

[orangeTJ]

Close up. Each hole has a nut plate that needs to be removed.
It's clipped on the metal behind the dash.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5300.jpg


I used towels to protect the paint

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5302.jpg


Top piece resting on the back cross bar of the factory sport cage

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5303.jpg


The padding need to be notched out to make way for the collars

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5304.jpg


Padding notched and collars slid in to place.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5305.jpg


Moving to the front, you can see the large plastic trim piece below the bar where is meets the windshield. The entire trim piece needs removed, or can be trimmed to clear the vertical dash posts. I removed mine then replaced them with earlier model windshield trim.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5306.jpg


Top T bar clamped loosely in place on the passenger side,
prior to this I loosened the windshield bar bolts

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5311.jpg


On the driver's side I removed the speaker to gain easier access behind the dash to access the nut plates and install the new nuts.
I am ready to install the dash bars

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5316.jpg


Dash post installed

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5317.jpg

[orangeTJ]

Top collar on the dash mount

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5318.jpg


Fitment was very tight, and the dash post hit the windshield frame. This would have been fine, but with both posts being pushed inward ever so slightly, I couldn't get proper alignment of the collars and the original bolts that hold the factory cage to the windshield.
In my attempts to get alignment, I did remove
the driver's side windshield frame to cage bolts.
It was due to this issue that I realized that totally dropping the windshield and bolting everything together, then getting the windshield up and bolted back in place would be a royal nuisance.
In my opinion, there's just really no reason to drop the
windshield to get the cage installed as I have seen others do.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5320.jpg


Passenger side

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5325.jpg


After several attempts to make things line up, I gave up and removed both dash posts and trimmed the outer edge of them, creating this small inward taper you see on the right side of this post, near the center of the photo.
This photo was taken after I repainted the post.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5329.jpg

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5330.jpg


This photo is the passenger side - the angle/taper I made is just to the left of the screw hole in the windshield frame.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5332.jpg


I taped the padding back together to keep it from falling off. Some owners totally remove the padding between the two collars.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5333.jpg

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/cage/IMG_5334.jpg

[jwhutch]

Doug,

nice looking heep. I was wondering when you drilled through the firewall is that double thick, and did you have to do anything special to make sure you were clear of any plumbing? That would be perfect for some re-wiring I need to do. Thanks
Jim

[orangeTJ]

Doug,

nice looking heep. I was wondering when you drilled through the firewall is that double thick, and did you have to do anything special to make sure you were clear of any plumbing? That would be perfect for some re-wiring I need to do. Thanks
Jim

It's single thickness metal there. To make sure I didn't hit anything, I removed the battery and observed the area from both side before deciding on my hole location.

[TenaciousTJ]

Excellent thread :wings:

[orangeTJ]

GPS mounted on the sport cage's dash bar (mid December 2006):

Background:
I've been using GPS units since the summer of 2000 on my dual sport motorcycle.
They provide a lot of information about the surrounding terrain if used with
Garmin's Map Source TOPO software, which lets you load more detailed maps in to the GPS.

The 276C is my third Garmin unit. I started with a III+ then upgraded to a 176 because I wanted a bigger screen. About 2 years later I switched to the 276c to get a model that supports "auto routing" and would work with Garmin's City Select/City Navigator software - which is needed for more detailed "auto routing" capabilities.

The color screen is a nice feature to have too. In my off road motorcycle travels, the grayscale screen made it difficult to distinguish a road from a trail from a river / stream from an elevation contour line.

I mounted my GPS to the dash bar of the Rockhard4x4 Sport Cage.
I got the idea from my brother's Rubicon, which is set up the same way.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/gps/gps1.jpg


I used RAM mounts purchased from Cyco Active (http://www.cycoactive.com/ram/parts.html), a local dealer of GPS units and mounting accessories. I used several parts from them. Click the link above to go to the page that has the parts I used.

Parts list:

1. Bar mount/clamp: It's part labeled "O" in the picture at the top.
The part number is GRA108 - A large rubber sleeve covers the hose clamp, and it clamps a metal bracket to the dash bar. The bracket has a swivel ball on the end .
2. Short Arm - item "I", part number GRASA
3. Cradle - not shown at the top, but it is lower on the page - part number GR176CR
4. Diamond base mount adapter - Item "D", part number GRAD

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/gps/gps2.jpg


The next photo also shows the GPS power wire. I routed it down through the defrost vent, behind the dash and over to the passenger foot well where I connected it to an auxiliary fuse block.

i dropped a string down through the vent first, pulled it through, then taped the string to the wire and pulled the wire up through te vent. You might also be able to use a coat hangar and poke it up from the glove box area to the vent, then tape the wire to the coat hangar and pull it through.

My GPS wire was bare wire on the end and had no cig lighter plug on it, which is likely the only way you will be able to fish the wire down through the vent, unless you want to cut some of the mesh dividers out of the vent to enlarge it. Since my game plan was to hardwire the GPS anyway, i ordered a spare cable with no plug on it.

The only really tricky part is once the wire or string drops down behind the stereo is getting it far enough to the right side (towards the glove box) so you can grab hold of it.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/gps/gps3.jpg


I tried another mounting location - the vertical bar of the Rockhard Cage, just below the grab handle. Works very well here - I can push the buttons without taking my hand off the wheel.

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/gps/gps4.jpg

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/gps/gps5.jpg

I ended up liking the extreme left side mounting better because it was easier to use the GPS there.

I chose Cyco Active because I've bought a lot of GPS accessories from them in the past, and like to see my money go to local vendors who support our sport. They are located in Seattle, WA. If there's any RAM parts they don't have in stock, they get them fast since RAM is also located near Seattle.

The folks at Cyco Active USE GPSs on a regular basis and are familiar with the in and outs of using them for back country travel.

[RunninRubicon]

I have installed several of ORB and own a Posion Spyder trai cage myself. I like the bolt on idea though I feel safer in a welded cage.
:clapsmile

[orangeTJ]

Added some more stuff to it last week, see the write up here:

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13388

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/m-pac/images/IMG_8143.jpg

[Bongo Boy]

Great writeup, and a very nice install--looks great.


On the driver's side I removed the speaker to gain easier access behind the dash...I had no idea that was a speaker...very helpful info! Now I know what to rip out to install my winch control lever. Thanks!

[Tanto]

She's purdy...not a scratch on it. But it looks like you're getting ready to add pinstripes. Jeeps look better with some pinstriping.

Always wanted a CJ myself, I like the WJ tho...

[orangeTJ]

Been a while since I updated this thread.......

Upgraded my sPOD switch system with "The Source" (a relay/fuse/terminal block unit) which make the wiring of accessories truly "plug and play"

Here's a few teaser photos. The entire write-up is here:
http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/source/index.htm


http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/source/1.jpg

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/source/2.jpg

Finished project:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/s-pod/source/14.jpg

[orangeTJ]

Then we have a cage mounted "dash-cam" mounted to the dash bar of the Rockhard cage:

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/dash-cam/images/1.jpg

http://www.dualsport.info/rigs/tj/dash-cam/images/6.jpg