Expedition TJ Buildup....

thejafe

Adventurer
Living on the east coast is rather frustrating when most of the trails and places I'd like to experience are hundreds of miles away. With this in mind my plan from the beginning has been to build a vehicle that I wouldn't mind driving long distances (across the country eventually) to remote, scenic places. Of course, once at the trailhead my rig had better be capable enough to make it through multiple days of 4-wheeling and then get me home again.

Now I realize that a LWB Jeep may have been a better option this kind of thing but my base vehicle happens to be a TJ..

With these factors in mind requirements for my rig are simple; a vehicle that can handle a variety of weather conditions (snow in particular), something that will be comfortable during long excursions yet right at home on the trail, enough storage for my gear.

So, if anyone is building a rig with similar factors in mind I'd love to hear about your experiences and what parts/accessories have worked (or haven't worked) for you.

Here's the plan......

Base Vehicle
2004 Jeep TJ Sport
Automatic Transmission
3.73 Gears
Dana 30/44
Dual Tops

Wheels and Tires
265/75R16 BF Goodrich All Terrain Tires
16x8 American Racing Baja Wheels (4.5" BS)

Suspension
2.5" Old Man Emu HD Suspension
.75" Rubicon Express Coil Spacers (4)

Steering / Control Arms etc.
JKS "Quicker" Disconnects
JKS HD Chromoly Tie Rod
JKS Adjustable Lower Control Arms (4)
Curre HD Adjustable Front Track Bar
Nthº Mobility Adjustable Upper Control Arms (4)

Drivetrain
Advance Adapters SYE / Tom Woods CV Shaft

Armor
Nthº Mobility Tummy Tucker / Auto Skid / Oil Pan Skid
Kilby Gas Tank / Steering Box Skids
Sun Performance Rocker Guards
JKS LCA skids (weld on)

Bumpers
Garvin Wilderness Front Bumper + IPF 968 Driving Lights
Garvin Wilderness Rear Bumper + Swingout Tire Carrier

Recovery
Warn Winch (undecided model)
48" Hi-Lift Jack
ARB Recovery Strap

Misc.
Cobra 75WXST CB / Firestik Antenna
Husky Floor Lines (front, rear and cargo)
Wet Okole Seat Covers (Black)
 

thejafe

Adventurer
Many of the parts listed are currently bolted to my rig. Others I'll be swapping in. Right now I'm running the following:

OME HD Coils / RE .75" Coil Spacers
Rubicon Express Twin Tube Shocks
32x11.50 BFG AT's
1.25" Spidertrax Wheel Spacers

When it comes time for new tires (which will be soon) I'll be switching over to the 265's and the 16" AR Baja's plus a nice set of the new *black* OME shocks ;) .

IMG_5957.jpg
 

OverlandZJ

Expedition Leader
Welcome to the Portal.. :wavey:


Beautiful Jeep!

Looks like you'v done some homework and have come up with a sound plan. I like your lower lift and increase of ground clearance approach. Sounds like it'll suit your needs.

I'll let those with a SWB give their impression of maximizing space.

:campfire:
 

OverlandZJ

Expedition Leader
Oh, and you asked about parts that didnt work for us....

The JKS HD Tierod. I forgot to antisieze the tierod ends in and broke one attempting to swap it out...hardly JKS's fault. But now i own a $90 prybar...just something to think about. :p
 

Scott Brady

Founder
Welcome to the portal:camping:

Your Jeep looks great! I actually dont find the SWB to be a big problem. You can build a strong trail platform and then pull a trailer to distribute the payload.

Cant wait to see your Jeep evolve :)
 

goodtimes

Expedition Poseur
I agree with Scott (exwest) about the trailer. After setting my jeep up to run [what I call] moderate trails (3.5 - 4.5 on a 1 - 5 scale), I figured out that I like doing the exploring thing as much as the rock crawling thing. After a couple years of trying various configurations with the jeep, I have concluded that a trailer is the way to go. Stick a fridge inside of it, a roof top tent on top of it, pull the rear seat out of the jeep, and you will have plenty of room for 2 people to live comfortably for weeks on end (with the occasional stop for a shower.....).

Even with my current configuration (in which the interior consists of a drivers seat, center console, and a whole bunch of flat platform), there really isn't enough room to live for more than a week or two if you are travelling solo (or with a 4 legged friend). If you want to take the hand brake or the kids....you are gonna need a trailer.
 

LUISJG

Explorer
MY EX - TJ was riged with 1 inch BB and 2 inch SL.
and was greta on expeditions , but lack of space made me dicide to sell
and get a cherokee.
 
Last edited:

CLynn85

Explorer
Nice looking TJ, looks like it's already very well traveled. And you have a good base to start from with the D44 Rear.


LUISJG - Which roof rails/bars are those?
 

LUISJG

Explorer
CLynn85 said:
Nice looking TJ, looks like it's already very well traveled. And you have a good base to start from with the D44 Rear.


LUISJG - Which roof rails/bars are those?


Those were surco rails and bars, the trick here is when mounting on the hard top ,, the rails have to be on the outer portion of the roof were the fiberglass i double thick ,, you can load houdreds of pounds without worries
 

thejafe

Adventurer
cshontz said:
Hiya, Andrew! Welcome to ExPo! :D

Hey Chris! I remember you taking that pic :D .

I'm diggin' this forum... wish I had found it a long time ago. I'm trying to get into more expedition type 4-wheeling. Most of the guys I run with are more into the rock-crawling which I really don't mind, I'd just like to do some more exploring with my rig :smiley_drive: .
 

OverlandZJ

Expedition Leader
thejafe said:
Most of the guys I run with are more into the rock-crawling which I really don't mind, I'd just like to do some more exploring with my rig :smiley_drive: .

Theres alot of that goin around! :hehe:

It's all about this... :smiley_drive:

Hpim1129.jpg
 

OverlandZJ

Expedition Leader
OT...

My photo's...they look so clear and crisp when on my laptop and at photopoint. When i post them they get less than....good.

Am i doing something wrong? Bad digital camera?
 

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