nice Cherokee! We too are in San Diego County. Let me know when you plan to go camping. We are always looking for fellow jeep owners to hit the outdoors with!
Adventurer
nice Cherokee! We too are in San Diego County. Let me know when you plan to go camping. We are always looking for fellow jeep owners to hit the outdoors with!
fashion valley flexing?
post some pics of the lift
Observer
@MCObray, thank you, I do love them as well, I had originally planned to change them but after I saw them with the lift I don't think I want to anymore! everytime I walk past the tent I get super exctied and I cant wait to use it, Im sure the same goes for you!
@206WJ, I had to set it up on my rack just for fun (before we modify it to hold the tent better) and my initial thoughts are that it is extremely well made. In every way I am impressed with it! I haven't used it yet but just setting it up at my girlfriend's house it seems like it will definitely last forever. It is kind of heavy though, I had trouble getting it up there by myself but it is very doable in a bind. In my post about the tent I will also have a testimony to how awesome their customer service is! They are a great company to do business with!
Observer
@Gregb_00XJ, thank you!
@JakeC, Yes, yes it does... It just takes some effort to get him to "work" on his days off now, hes getting old haha. Its also difficult with the coordination of both of our schedules! I do plan some armor in the future but I need to get some heavier duty springs first and maybe do some engine mods because of the weight being a factor. I just bought the mega duty tire carrier hinge from A to Z fabrication and a heavy duty receiver hitch so now we can get working on a rear bumper... With the bumper will come an integrated gas tank skid. We also talked about making a custom gas tank that will either hang down less or have a higher fuel capacity(maybe both?) but that was just for fun, its not super high on my priority list. What is high up there are sliders. We drew some up while planning the bumper that would include cutting out the rocker panels and welding them in place there as well as frame stiffeners. I am on the fence about the frame stiffeners throughout the entire frame. For the kind of offroading that I enjoy I think they may be overkill. Definitely the bumper/tirecarrier and sliders though.
There is one, and as far as I know, ONLY ONE that is trust worthy. His name is Marty Kennedy. He is the "Kennedy" of Kennedy Truck Sales and Kennedy Auto Electric. He is the guy who found my Jeep, as well as my friend's Jeep(which was similar condition to mine but with only 43k original miles!) and he is the ONLY mechanic that I trust my Jeep to. He has helped me out with many a Jeep dilemma and is an awesome guy to work with. He'll tell you if what the other mechanics say is BS and how to fix it yourself. He has saved both mine and my Jeep's lives on multiple occasions! He knows the Jeep Cherokee in particular inside and out and two of his three kids have XJs!
BTW most people(including my dad) say when I tell them how low mileage my Jeep and my friend's Jeep are, they immediately say that he must have reversed the speedo. He has all of the DMV and Gov't paperwork proving their mileage!
Haha and thank you, that was the first thing that I did to it!
Observer
One of my first modifications to the Jeep was to get rid of this:
Purchase this:
Install it:
For a much better result of this:
In the pictures the console top is grey, it has since been changed to a tan one that matches along with a set of cupholders. When I was at the junk yard buying this console the matching top had two holes cut in it, I think resembling cup holders? Kind of funny and a little ingenious(?) but definitely not to my taste! So I grabbed a clean grey one and swapped it when the junk yard got a better one in.
I did this because I couldn't handle the "mini console" any longer! The whole install took my like 4 hours including breaks and distractions but I did it right!
Observer
Another early modification was the instal of a Maglight. I wanted it handy but out of the way. I chose the spot to the left of the driver's seat as it wouldn't interfere with anything and it is still easily accessible.
I also did not trust the hardware(4 tiny screws) included with the little Maglight brand clips nor did I trust the plastic trip piece as I tend to be rough with things. So I dug up some
real hardware, did some trimming and clearancing of the mounts, made a "base plate" type thing that goes behind the plastic trim to add some strength and voila!
Here is the mount uninstalled:
Here it is in its final resting place:
It's much more rigid now. I use the light on a regular basis and have yet to break it!
Also, you can see in the picture some floor mats that I picked up. I had intended to get some of the more expensive, form fitted Husky Liners with these as a temporary solution, but I have come to like these a lot and they have worked out perfectly.
Observer
@Recce01, O cool, what part? What do you drive? We may have to get together for something!
@eflosd, Good eye! Have you been down where all that construction parking is on the southeast corner of the mall by the river? When its in the dry season, theres a short dirt road that leads under the 163 bridge that's kind of cool to drive through, be careful though cuz it's muddy, it doesnt look like mud because its so flat and smooth but its there and its DEEP.
Ill get to the lift pictures soon!
Adventurer
[QUOTE=Jakeleverett;1139945]@Recce01, O cool, what part? What do you drive? We may have to get together for something!
I am in north county inland, right by Palomar Mountain. here is my rig http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...uot-SHTFV-quot
Adventurer
Welcome! I have to say, it's also good to do as much of your own work as possible (lift, etc) because that way if you have trouble out on the trail, you will know more how to fix it yourself, which is very important for serious expeditioning. You WILL break something. Way out in the middle of nowhere, most likely. ;-) Have fun!
98 XJ Sport, 4.0L, 4.5" RC, AX-15, NP231, HP D30/8.25, 31x10.5x15, plenty of stickers
"You never know you are in a prison unless you try the door." - Joe Bageant
Observer
@Recce01, again... oh cool haha, Nice jeep as well as RCs! My girlfriend and I are taking a little trip up to the Palomar area campground to test out our new RTT. I have never been before though, any experiences there? I need to ease her into the whole camping/offroading for long periods and distances thing.
@katuah, those are exactly my thoughts on the matter! I enjoy knowing how it works as well as saving the money doing it myself!
@Everyone...
The first real big metal project done is my roof rack. The main reason that we decided to the roof rack first is because we had all of the materials so it would be free or very cheap! Now like I said my dad is a metal fabricator by profession and got his start building motorcycle frames, decorative gates and fences then moved into fuel cells, body work, custom hot rods, onto custom dune buggies and race trucks etc. Bottom line: he's good.
So we started drawing and coming up with ideas which led to taking measurements and eventually some yelling and arguing. We finally came to a conclusion of the planning phase and began building!
Here is the basic design and shape being measured for height and placement. I was too busy to get any shots during the building portion of the rack but here is the final general shape:
Our objectives:
Strength(I wanted it strong enough to hold people as well as other loads of various shapes and sizes)
Usability(not just for looks, plenty of utility, tiedowns, equipment, lights, etc.)
Looks(has to look good if I have to look at it every day as well as it can't look like everyone else's roof rack)
Satisfaction(lots!)
Expense(none!)
For strength we looked at many types and designs of mounting styles. My dad is very particular about cleanliness, flow and simplicity. We landed on a mounting style that utilized the rain gutters like most other mounting styles, but we created "feet" that slide into the gutters and bolt through the bottom of the rain gutters.
To get enough space to make them strong we needed to do some trimming, so out came the air tools...
After that came the fitting and welding...
And then the painting and finishing touches... I personally HATE this part as I am not a patient person, I am learning to be, but I still HATE PAINTING!!!
So impatient in fact that the rack got a few test runs before it was even painted!
I finally got it painted after avoiding it for a few months...
I will have to get some detail shots of the tie down points, secure light bar, mesh floor, mounting feet, etc. if anyone is interested?
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