Our family Adventure WJ "Dinosaur"

[JChatary]

Very nice! I like the netting setup...may have to copy that!

[RVR2RSQ]

Bretthn, Can you tell me what size you have for the axe and shovel? Looks like a good size, but I do not have a WJ to get the proper perspective.

Thanks
Brian

[Bretthn]

Bretthn, Can you tell me what size you have for the axe and shovel? Looks like a good size, but I do not have a WJ to get the proper perspective.

Thanks
Brian

The axe is Fiskars 7857 X15 23.5-Inch Chopping Axe and it is a good size. The shovel is about the same length and I just happened upon it at Northern Tool for about ten bucks. I had to have the shovel to get a beach driving permit for the Outer Banks and figured this one would suffice. I would not expect it to last for regular yard work though..

Look what came in the mail on Monday.
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My rear Bilstein 5100s! Hopefully I will have time to put all 4 in this weekend.

[Bretthn]

So here is something that I have been wanting to post up as it was highly useful to me when I stumbled across and stole the idea from Mauka2Makai with his amazing Land Cruiser.
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It is a air bed designed to fit in the bed of pickup trucks with cut out sections to fit over the fender wells. So it also will work for many SUVs the same way. All I did was go to the Airbedz website and check out sizes to determine what would fit in the back of my Jeep. It fits perfectly for when I go on solo camping trips. It is extremely durable since it is made for truck beds, and it has a built in two way pump for automatic inflating or deflating. When I bought mine I got a carrying bag, ac power cord, dc power cord, patch kit, and two inflatable inserts for when it is used in the house or while camping. My wife and I both slept on it for 3 nights and it was very comfortable for an air mattress.
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The inserts.
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Inserts in place.
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Inserts removed.
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It is actually pretty large.
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[Bretthn]

So I finally installed the Bilstein 5100 shocks last weekend and did the first tire rotation at ~135000 miles. Here are a few pictures from the install.
Old front
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Old vs new
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New front
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For the front shocks I bought new hardware for the lower mounting locations. I used all grade 8 hardware: 4 times 5/16-18 x 1 1/4" bolts, 8 times 5/16" washers and 4 times 5/16" nylock nuts.
Old rear
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Old vs new
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New
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For the rears I recommend using some PB blaster on the bolts ahead of time to help break them loose. Overall the install is easy, I just wish that I had had the shocks when I did the rest of the suspension since they would have taken no extra time then.
Now I have only put a couple hundred miles on the new shocks but must say that they are amazing. The jeep now rides infinitely better than a stock WJ. The 5100s are extremely adaptable on and off road. Pavement now feels like a cloud and rough dirt roads feel like fresh pavement. I will give a better review once I have some miles on them.

[mhiscox]

Thanks for taking the time to share your information and photos. It's a very nice build and I appreciate having the information.

[206WJ]

Nice WJ! I may have to steal a few ideas for mine too. Any reason for the 5100's over the OME shocks? I run the OME's and was just curious.

[JChatary]

I need some new shocks for my WJ...as well as a new stereo...my stock one just played its last song yesterday afternoon!

I really like the inflatable mattress in the back...I've slept in the back of mine just on some folded up comforters, and at 6'3" it was no fun at all.

[johnblack016]

Rattling that's a attractive jeep! I really like my JKU, but if they hadn't created a 4 dr wrangler, one of these would have been my next option.

[mtnhigh]

How do you like your lift overall? Any issues with vibrations? I've been debating on running the upcountry springs, or the OME. I just don't want to have to worry about the drive shafts!
Really like your setup!