The rig looks like it is working well. Nice work.
Bessy the Rock Rod - A Crawler Built in Stages
- Thread starter Kyle_Craig
- Start date
The rig looks like it is working well. Nice work.
I agree! The new muffler is a little louder when you're in the Jeep but it isn't ridiculous.
The gearing is still plenty low enough (despite the larger tires) that the Jeep crawls slowly without much use of clutch. When the tires get really bound (on an undercut rock for example) the little engine stalls out and I'm hoping that lack of power keeps these axles alive.
It's time for a picture heavy update.
It was fun having the Jeep around over the summer. I drove it back and forth to work a bit and did some more wheeling. It is little fun on the street but such a hoot on the trail! The atlas and the dry rotted red labels have really been a game changer in the rocks. The Jeep will walk lines that it previously struggled on. The leaf springs continue to boggle minds and fuel conversation and debate. The front leaf eye slider boxes flex great but ride like shit at speed. The ground clearance is unreal compared to my previous setup. The factory power steering pump clearly struggles to keep up with the hydraulic assist ram. I also had an issue with the tie rod/drag link pinching my hydro lines so I rerouted them.
The wittle Dana 44s held up to a surprising amount of abuse (and tire).
I spent some time up north at Gilbert OHV park. The wheeling is good and so is the scenery. The trails are rocky, jagged, and unforgiving.
I snapped a front outer chromoly axle shaft in two but I had it coming. I was attempting a hard left front-dig, pointing uphill, with the right rear tire bound. The snapped shaft blew out the locking hub and wrecked the hub spindle too. The inner shafts and the Yukon "Super" joints held up. Note to self: avoid bound, uphill, 4,500rpm front digs! It wasn't too bad of a fix and it was good to find the limit of my parts with these tires. If this breakage becomes a trend I might consider RCVs and drive slugs.
We had an end of season wheeling trip planned late October but got several inches of rain so I took a rain check. Now the Jeep is tucked away in the barn for the winter.
I'm looking forward to wheeling more in 2024! Future plans include some fresh tires and I definitely still want to build a proper roll cage! I also got a 36" Corbeau bench that matches my front seats so I can eventually bring my son along.
It was fun having the Jeep around over the summer. I drove it back and forth to work a bit and did some more wheeling. It is little fun on the street but such a hoot on the trail! The atlas and the dry rotted red labels have really been a game changer in the rocks. The Jeep will walk lines that it previously struggled on. The leaf springs continue to boggle minds and fuel conversation and debate. The front leaf eye slider boxes flex great but ride like shit at speed. The ground clearance is unreal compared to my previous setup. The factory power steering pump clearly struggles to keep up with the hydraulic assist ram. I also had an issue with the tie rod/drag link pinching my hydro lines so I rerouted them.
The wittle Dana 44s held up to a surprising amount of abuse (and tire).
I spent some time up north at Gilbert OHV park. The wheeling is good and so is the scenery. The trails are rocky, jagged, and unforgiving.
I snapped a front outer chromoly axle shaft in two but I had it coming. I was attempting a hard left front-dig, pointing uphill, with the right rear tire bound. The snapped shaft blew out the locking hub and wrecked the hub spindle too. The inner shafts and the Yukon "Super" joints held up. Note to self: avoid bound, uphill, 4,500rpm front digs! It wasn't too bad of a fix and it was good to find the limit of my parts with these tires. If this breakage becomes a trend I might consider RCVs and drive slugs.
We had an end of season wheeling trip planned late October but got several inches of rain so I took a rain check. Now the Jeep is tucked away in the barn for the winter.
I'm looking forward to wheeling more in 2024! Future plans include some fresh tires and I definitely still want to build a proper roll cage! I also got a 36" Corbeau bench that matches my front seats so I can eventually bring my son along.
SeizeTheKarp
Member
i love this build. im very curious about the leaf sliders. how are they attached to the frame? in the pic, they dont look frenched and i cant see a cross member above
I guess I never took pictures of how I accomplished this (just the initial rough mock up). They're attached alongside the frame rails cantilevering off the frame using some 1/4 plate and gussets and a lot of weld. There is a tube crossmember running across the front of the boxes from frame rail to frame rail that the traction bar attaches to. So far so good on that deal.
SeizeTheKarp
Member
Thanks! Im in the lcog camp as well and have been thinking how i want to go about moving up from 35’s. Your build may inspire some of my choices
Nothing better than fresh tires!
I treated Bessy to some fresh red label stickies!
I also added some bump stops to the rear so the new tires won’t get too chewed up in the fender wells.
Then I removed a leaf from the rear to lower the rear end 1.5” and eliminate the rake it had before. While I was at it, I modified my seat brackets to lower the seats a couple inches. Boy did that make it easier getting in and out. The picture below shows the driver seat lowered and the passenger seat in the previous position.
Then I gassed her up.
And loaded up to go wheeling!
I also picked up some soft doors real cheap on marketplace! I really like them!
I treated Bessy to some fresh red label stickies!
I also added some bump stops to the rear so the new tires won’t get too chewed up in the fender wells.
Then I removed a leaf from the rear to lower the rear end 1.5” and eliminate the rake it had before. While I was at it, I modified my seat brackets to lower the seats a couple inches. Boy did that make it easier getting in and out. The picture below shows the driver seat lowered and the passenger seat in the previous position.
Then I gassed her up.
And loaded up to go wheeling!
I also picked up some soft doors real cheap on marketplace! I really like them!
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We wheeled Dresser WI and Lake City MN over Memorial weekend and had a great time. The little Jeep worked great!
We had an awesome time wheeling and nothing broke which is always nice. I did bend my passenger rear leaf spring a little so I’ll swap that out for a spare and we’ll be ready for another beat down! The new tires hooked up really well and I’m very pleased with them.
We had an awesome time wheeling and nothing broke which is always nice. I did bend my passenger rear leaf spring a little so I’ll swap that out for a spare and we’ll be ready for another beat down! The new tires hooked up really well and I’m very pleased with them.
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Awesome action shots! Just out of curiosity, what’s the name of the places you wheeled in dresser and lake city? The most I could find searching was Trollhaugen ski area but that doesn’t seem right…
Trollhaugen is in Dresser, WI and is where the Minnesota Go4Wheelers have been building trails and holding events for about the last 50 years.
This. Specifically, the pictures were on yellow rock trail at dresser/trollhaugen. We also wheeled Frontenac farms in lake city.
Trailers, roll cage tube, PRP goodies, oh my! Time to bring you guys up to speed.
All this time I have been borrowing car trailers to get the Jeep to the trail. This past season we did a lot more wheeling so I finally bought a trailer.
It's a 14 foot 10k PJ trailer with brakes on all 4 wheels. I have been so happy with it and it has been a pleasure to tow, park, and store a little 14' trailer when I have been used to using 20' and 22' borrowed trailers.
My buddy Vinny tig welded on some d rings and swing away pipe jacks for me. Then I stained the boards with black oil based deck stain and it was ready to party.
We did some wheeling at Frontenac, Dresser, and Gilbert (the iron range).
In the fall, I picked up some $100 rollers to have on the Jeep in the cold Minnesota winter months and put the stickies inside where it's warm to prolong the inevitable BFG red label cracking.
Last month, I ordered a whole bunch of DOM tubing and drew some blueprints for the roll cage build.
All this time I have been borrowing car trailers to get the Jeep to the trail. This past season we did a lot more wheeling so I finally bought a trailer.
It's a 14 foot 10k PJ trailer with brakes on all 4 wheels. I have been so happy with it and it has been a pleasure to tow, park, and store a little 14' trailer when I have been used to using 20' and 22' borrowed trailers.
My buddy Vinny tig welded on some d rings and swing away pipe jacks for me. Then I stained the boards with black oil based deck stain and it was ready to party.
We did some wheeling at Frontenac, Dresser, and Gilbert (the iron range).
In the fall, I picked up some $100 rollers to have on the Jeep in the cold Minnesota winter months and put the stickies inside where it's warm to prolong the inevitable BFG red label cracking.
Last month, I ordered a whole bunch of DOM tubing and drew some blueprints for the roll cage build.
Next, I brought the Jeep out to my buddy Tommy's shop. We weighed the Jeep and then began the tear down. Prior to tear down, the Jeep weighed 3421 lbs (on the little roller tires. it is 3700 lbs on the 39" tires w/ beadlocks).
For weight savings and visibility, we removed the windshield, dash, heater, gauge cluster, windshield wiper components, factory seat mounts, and the factory roll bar. I didn't weigh everything we took out, but the dash plastic and speakers alone weighed 41 pounds!
With everything tore out, we started by building frame tie ins. The A and B pillars are anchored to the frame off of the boat side tubes and the C pillar have frame tie ins that double as the rear shock mounts.
We started with the a pillars and dash bar. I added a PRP steering wheel with an NRG quick disconnect.
We then added B pillar lowers, and bent cross tubes over the tunnel and Tommy designed some tabs to hang the seats off of.
Then bending the door bar tube that runs from A to B to C.
The cage is a "Belt-line" design that is common in the buggy world. The belt line tube at the dash and along the tub rail interrupts the upper and lower sections of the A, B, and C pillars. If we do take a substantial tumble that results in roof damage, the upper half of the cage can be cut off at the belt line and rebuilt without having to rebuild the entire assembly.
We worked to get the upper B pillars tipped in at an attractive degree and tipped back ever so slightly to follow the door line.
The trickiest tubes so far have been these A to C roof line tubes.
Dirty details: Removing the dash/winshield/gauge cluster gained 4.5" of visibilty.
At the B pillar, we took 2.5" out of the total roof height. The cage has a little bit of hot-rod rake downward and is lower in the front. The seats are lowered enough to still have about 4+" of headroom between my the top of my helmet and the tubing that will be above.
More updates to come! There will be a halo added above the rear seat area along with harness bars, a windshield spreader, and an X behind the seats and at the roof. The tubing is 1.75" .120 wall DOM on all external tubes and 1.5" 1.20 wall DOM for internal bracing. I have 5 point PRP harnesses for the front seats and a little corbeau bench seat with PRP 4 point harnesses for the back.
For weight savings and visibility, we removed the windshield, dash, heater, gauge cluster, windshield wiper components, factory seat mounts, and the factory roll bar. I didn't weigh everything we took out, but the dash plastic and speakers alone weighed 41 pounds!
With everything tore out, we started by building frame tie ins. The A and B pillars are anchored to the frame off of the boat side tubes and the C pillar have frame tie ins that double as the rear shock mounts.
We started with the a pillars and dash bar. I added a PRP steering wheel with an NRG quick disconnect.
We then added B pillar lowers, and bent cross tubes over the tunnel and Tommy designed some tabs to hang the seats off of.
Then bending the door bar tube that runs from A to B to C.
The cage is a "Belt-line" design that is common in the buggy world. The belt line tube at the dash and along the tub rail interrupts the upper and lower sections of the A, B, and C pillars. If we do take a substantial tumble that results in roof damage, the upper half of the cage can be cut off at the belt line and rebuilt without having to rebuild the entire assembly.
We worked to get the upper B pillars tipped in at an attractive degree and tipped back ever so slightly to follow the door line.
The trickiest tubes so far have been these A to C roof line tubes.
Dirty details: Removing the dash/winshield/gauge cluster gained 4.5" of visibilty.
At the B pillar, we took 2.5" out of the total roof height. The cage has a little bit of hot-rod rake downward and is lower in the front. The seats are lowered enough to still have about 4+" of headroom between my the top of my helmet and the tubing that will be above.
More updates to come! There will be a halo added above the rear seat area along with harness bars, a windshield spreader, and an X behind the seats and at the roof. The tubing is 1.75" .120 wall DOM on all external tubes and 1.5" 1.20 wall DOM for internal bracing. I have 5 point PRP harnesses for the front seats and a little corbeau bench seat with PRP 4 point harnesses for the back.
Thanks a bunch! My preferences tend toward clean and minimal and I am happy that the build reflects that. For gauges, I am still deciding but I am currently leaning toward running a ScanGauge II off of the OBDII and adding a separate oil pressure gauge because it seems like the scangauge products display everything but that. I am mostly concerned with monitoring oil pressure and water temperature.
On a related note, we will probably put together a super simple angled flat dash (sheet metal or aluminum) with the couple gauges and a few switches and that's it.
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Love the flat dash direction! How about a 70s-80s gm steering column (cj-yj) to finish it off?
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