New member from the Land of Enchantment

Gleaned some good info from this site. Most recent helped to guide me on my BellyUp modification.

2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon with 5-spd manual. About to roll over 93k. First owner and she’s been bone stock until about 3 years ago.
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Hello, my name is Shamu, and my Jeep mods began several years ago...
Teraflex 2” spring lift,
Rock Hard 4x4 front & rear bumpers w/tire & gas can carrier & steering box armor,
Warn 8k winch w/syn line,
sPOD currently switching Rigid side shooter A-pillars and ARB air compressor (tray bellow brake booster),
Front & rear Jeep diff armor,
Teraflex oil pan armor,
Poison Spyder hood vents,
Bartact seat covers (front only, rear seat removed to fit camping gear),
Rock Slide Engineering Tailgate table,
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Truck Lites front leds and Quadratec rear led taillight,
Teraflex BellyUp w/assoc 1” body lift, Brown Dog 1” motor mounts, Tom Woods rear CV shaft, Novak t-case shift cable, Metalcloak f&r upper & lower control arms.

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Every trip returns with a list of mods/improvements.

Just shed approx 80 pounds by removing the swing out tire & can carrier. Looking at the Yakima hard top rails to get the traction boards, Gazelle T3 ground tent, & Clam 4-sided screened shelter out of the back of the Jeep. Also waiting on a Morryde Hinge & Tailgate Reinforcement to arrive.

Like I said before, I‘ve learned (and continue to learn) quite a bit from this forum so, time to become a supporting member.

TJ Rubicus said:

Great looking Rubicon. Welcome to the friendliest forum on the planet. Lots of knowledge and help on here.

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Same with your Rubicon. Leaning towards 33ish” tires prior to next year’s trip. Currently have 265/75R16s ~31.8” Cooper ATPs.

JeepinJaye said:

Gorgeous TJ! I've always loved that colour. Looks so good with all the work you've done.

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Thanks, same with yours. The mods/improvements/repairs never stop and that’s part of the fun.

bobthetj03 said:

She looks heavy, so cudos to you for putting her on a diet!

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Yes, she was struggling pretty hard climbing those long grades between Blanding and Hanksville, UT (Lets bank some extra velocity on the downhill and...I think I can, I think I can!). At least I was still pulling away, slowly, from my bud in his Toyota T100. The swing-out tire carrier was added only to carry extra gas but with my new discovery of the tailgate reinforcements and the Yakima hardtop carrying capability...I can carry the same 10 gallons with less weight. The soft top pic in the OP she’s carrying 5 gallons of gas and 5 gallons of water with a couple more 2.5 gallon cans inside. I arrived at the Hite gas pumps with a skosh, no, tad more than an empty tank...too tight. Pulling off the tire carrier gained an extra ~inch of suspension travel from previous level (with an OME 10mm poly rear spring spacer). Now she’ll be close to level (and smoother off-road ride) with my camping, water, fuel, and recovery gear loaded. I’ve also been replacing older camp gear with smaller pack size and lighter but similar capes. Items such as a Helinox sunset chair, Nemo shower thingy, and Alps mountaineering ready lite cot (they even misspelled “light” to save a couple micro ounces).

TJ Rubicus said:

33's is what im running....goodyear duratracs….28575r16

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Stock rims? Any rubbing at full steer lt/rt?

Neal said:

Welcome from another New Mexico resident, Westside of Albuquerque to be exact. Nice looking TJ, if you have any questions at all about mods, repairs, projects or anything TJ-related (and a few topics not related to anything in particular) someone here will have the answer. Lots of support, way less chest-thumping than other Jeep forums. It's a good place to hang out.

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Kicks open door...”way less chest-thumping than other Jeep forums”...puts down bat...cool, nice place ya got here, is that a Guinness?

Kiwi TJ said:

Looking great and welcome to the forum.....the word 'packhorse' comes to mind on that 2nd pic.

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Packhorse...bingo! Great description. Working on lightening her load.

Oh yeah, your sig line reminds me of a comment my wife made many years ago. Me and my brotha from anotha motha just climbed down from our QF-4s (both Heritage painted birds) after an air show practice. My wife walks up to us and says: ”how can you guys do what you do in the air yet be complete morons on the ground?!”. To the bar!

Ruby Rubicon said:

Nice jeep

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Thank you!

Gregg1LE said:

My wife and I love NM ! Welcome from Texas !

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Same with us: the weather, mountains, desert, forests, the ability to see the horizon. Complaining about traffic at a stoplight when there are more than 5 vehicles. Thank you!