OP
DuncLJ's Big Bolt-On Bonanza
- Thread starter DuncLJ
- Start date
OP
Kind of related/unrelated to my build:
Got my belated Father's Day present today. My 3 grown sons gave me the card and picture of it on Sunday, but it didn't get delivered till today.
I've been bitching about needing a bigger tool box lately. My boys listened, I can now consolidate all my scattered tools and work a little more efficiently.
Looks like I raised them right after all.
Got my belated Father's Day present today. My 3 grown sons gave me the card and picture of it on Sunday, but it didn't get delivered till today.
I've been bitching about needing a bigger tool box lately. My boys listened, I can now consolidate all my scattered tools and work a little more efficiently.
Looks like I raised them right after all.
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OP
So I got 4 new tires and wheels about 6 months ago. I still needed the spare and a mount for it.
I finally broke down and got a spare 35/12.5/15 BFG KM3 and Ansen 969 wheel. Just in time to start a 5 tire rotation.
As anyone who runs 35's knows, these things are massive and heavy. I rolled my new spare on the scale and it weighed 102 lbs.
I had been planning all along to get a MorRyde and mount it up.
The thing is, I did a spare tire delete on the tailgate a few months ago, and I really like it.
I love the extra visibility, and I like not having another 100 lbs (140-ish with a MorRyde) hanging off the ass-end of my Jeep. Not to mention the $360 cost of a MorRyde.
Here's that loss of visibility that I'm trying to avoid.
I decided to mount the spare in the bed. Around town I will go without a spare. I have a plug kit and a portable compressor. Worst case I can call one of my 3 sons and have the spare brought out to me anywhere in town within 20 minutes.
For trail runs and out of town road trips I'll carry the spare in the bed. I never run a backseat, and the LJ has a little more room for junk in the trunk.
I bought a FabTech Universal bed mount and got started.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CEQD5K/?tag=wranglerorg-20
The sheetmetal in the bed is pretty thin, so I fabbed up a 3/16" steel plate to match the FabTech plate and sandwich the tub in between.
I Measured carefully, checked all clearances, and drilled my holes.
Fabbed my reinforcement plate so it would fit perfectly within the rib of the tub.
Bolted it together, and gave it a coat of spray-on bedliner, blends in pretty good.
Installed the spare and bolted it down. It's very secure and won't come loose in an accident or rollover (I'm hoping).
I still have plenty of room for my trail box, a cooler, and any camping equipment I might want to add.
So I'll see how this works out. If it needs tweeking, I'll tweek it. If not I'm gonna run it.
I finally broke down and got a spare 35/12.5/15 BFG KM3 and Ansen 969 wheel. Just in time to start a 5 tire rotation.
As anyone who runs 35's knows, these things are massive and heavy. I rolled my new spare on the scale and it weighed 102 lbs.
I had been planning all along to get a MorRyde and mount it up.
The thing is, I did a spare tire delete on the tailgate a few months ago, and I really like it.
I love the extra visibility, and I like not having another 100 lbs (140-ish with a MorRyde) hanging off the ass-end of my Jeep. Not to mention the $360 cost of a MorRyde.
Here's that loss of visibility that I'm trying to avoid.
I decided to mount the spare in the bed. Around town I will go without a spare. I have a plug kit and a portable compressor. Worst case I can call one of my 3 sons and have the spare brought out to me anywhere in town within 20 minutes.
For trail runs and out of town road trips I'll carry the spare in the bed. I never run a backseat, and the LJ has a little more room for junk in the trunk.
I bought a FabTech Universal bed mount and got started.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CEQD5K/?tag=wranglerorg-20
The sheetmetal in the bed is pretty thin, so I fabbed up a 3/16" steel plate to match the FabTech plate and sandwich the tub in between.
I Measured carefully, checked all clearances, and drilled my holes.
Fabbed my reinforcement plate so it would fit perfectly within the rib of the tub.
Bolted it together, and gave it a coat of spray-on bedliner, blends in pretty good.
Installed the spare and bolted it down. It's very secure and won't come loose in an accident or rollover (I'm hoping).
I still have plenty of room for my trail box, a cooler, and any camping equipment I might want to add.
So I'll see how this works out. If it needs tweeking, I'll tweek it. If not I'm gonna run it.
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OP
I posted these pics on another thread, but I might as well throw them on here.
I bailed out of work a little early on Friday and picked up my wife. We headed up to Shaver Lake to do a little evening kayaking.
The temp in the valley was about 103 that day and the temp at the lake was 70.
It was pretty nice. I threw out my fishing line for a little bit, but didn't catch anything.
Oh well, nice to get up in the mountains and let the Jeep stretch it's legs.
I bailed out of work a little early on Friday and picked up my wife. We headed up to Shaver Lake to do a little evening kayaking.
The temp in the valley was about 103 that day and the temp at the lake was 70.
It was pretty nice. I threw out my fishing line for a little bit, but didn't catch anything.
Oh well, nice to get up in the mountains and let the Jeep stretch it's legs.
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OP
OP
The funny thing is, when I bought this back in 2012 I didn't even know the difference. I thought all Wranglers were like this. Later I noticed "Hey, there's a short version too. Cool".
Tldelaney
TJ Enthusiast
Did you ever consider the JCR prerunner tire mount? Yours being much cheaper Id imagine, the baja look is kinda cool.
https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/UNI-PTM.html
https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/UNI-PTM.html
OP
I did look into that one, as well as a few others. Even thought of having one fabbed up.
The reason I went with what I did is because I like having the tire lay flat. It has a low profile and will be easier if I need to strap gear or anything else on top of it.
I also like that when I take the spare out, I have an empty bed that I can fit anything into without having to remove the bulky prerunner mount.
Also less expensive and less weight.
The prerunner mount definitely looks cool though.
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OP
Just ordered a Savvy gas tank skid. Website says they have 7 in stock. We'll see lol...
Website also says orders may take between 4 and 8 weeks...
Clock starts at 8:15pm 7/27/2020... Let's see how long this takes... Excited either way, looking forward to it.
Website also says orders may take between 4 and 8 weeks...
Clock starts at 8:15pm 7/27/2020... Let's see how long this takes... Excited either way, looking forward to it.
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OP
Wow, Savvy comes thru in record time. Ordered on Monday night, got shipping confirmation on Tuesday at noon, and the skid was on my doorstep today/Thursday at 2:30pm. It's a thing of beauty. All new hardware and straps too.
Now I just need to find the time to drop the tank and put it in.
Now I just need to find the time to drop the tank and put it in.
Nice dude! That’s awesome on the shipping, I haven’t had anything but good experiences with them. Savvy is a cut above in my opinion.
OP
Yeah, you hear all the stories of "6 weeks and no communication, unanswered email and phone calls". I'm sure it happens, but I guess I got lucky and the Savvy guys had nothing better to do than fill my order.
I have a few Savvy parts on my build and all of them are top quality.
Better get out the KY, that skid and tank and TIGHT FIT, but it does tuck up nicely. Oh yea nice build
OP
Thanks man. Yeah, I've heard it's a tight fit. I've got a BFH and some motion lotion to make it all work.Better get out the KY, that skid and tank and TIGHT FIT, but it does tuck up nicely. Oh yea nice build
OP
I had the day off yesterday, so it was officially "Savvy Gas Tank Skid Day".
First off, I drove the tank down to almost empty. It probably had 2 gallons in it at most.
Dropping the tank and skid went uneventfully. Managed to get all hardware, lines and plugs disconnected without breaking anything..
Seeing the skids side by side, you can really tell how much higher the tank will be tucked.
I could tell the fit of the tank in the skid was going to be a little tight. I took a flap disc and rounded the edges at the ends. I also don't recommend tightening the corner bolts to the mounting flanges until after you get the tank installed. Tightening these bolts beforehand will actually draw the wall of the skid in a little and make it that much harder to drop the tank in.
So after smoothing the edges and spraying some wd40 on the sides of the tank, the tank dropped right into the skid with only hand pressure. I took a little time and cleaned up the tank just to make everything nice and shiny. I really like that the Savvy came with all new straps and hardware.
Tank tucked up in nice and tight, no fitment issues at all.
Clearance measured with lowest point of old skid, looks like 17.75". Next is the Savvy at 19.75", looks like a legit 2" gain in clearance.
I'm really pleased with the quality and thoroughness of this kit. I see why it is so highly regarded. Cheers Savvy!
First off, I drove the tank down to almost empty. It probably had 2 gallons in it at most.
Dropping the tank and skid went uneventfully. Managed to get all hardware, lines and plugs disconnected without breaking anything..
Seeing the skids side by side, you can really tell how much higher the tank will be tucked.
I could tell the fit of the tank in the skid was going to be a little tight. I took a flap disc and rounded the edges at the ends. I also don't recommend tightening the corner bolts to the mounting flanges until after you get the tank installed. Tightening these bolts beforehand will actually draw the wall of the skid in a little and make it that much harder to drop the tank in.
So after smoothing the edges and spraying some wd40 on the sides of the tank, the tank dropped right into the skid with only hand pressure. I took a little time and cleaned up the tank just to make everything nice and shiny. I really like that the Savvy came with all new straps and hardware.
Tank tucked up in nice and tight, no fitment issues at all.
Clearance measured with lowest point of old skid, looks like 17.75". Next is the Savvy at 19.75", looks like a legit 2" gain in clearance.
I'm really pleased with the quality and thoroughness of this kit. I see why it is so highly regarded. Cheers Savvy!
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OP
Getting ready for some "Tranny Love"..... wait, that doesn't sound right. Let's call it: Getting ready for some attention to the transmission.
The other day I got a transmission ouput speed sensor code and it put the trans in limp mode for the drive home, which meant stuck in 2nd gear.
I replaced the output and input speed sensors and added another half quart of fluid. That seemed to fix it, I've had no other problems for the rest of the week.
I've had the trans on the brain though and decided to give it a good service and install a cooler.
I got a Hayden cooler, a new pan with a drain plug that I can tap in a temp sensor, filter, lubelocker gasket, and an AutoMeter trans temp gauge.
It's supposed to be 110 degrees all weekend here. The garage should be hot AF.
Good thing there is a lot of water in beer.
The other day I got a transmission ouput speed sensor code and it put the trans in limp mode for the drive home, which meant stuck in 2nd gear.
I replaced the output and input speed sensors and added another half quart of fluid. That seemed to fix it, I've had no other problems for the rest of the week.
I've had the trans on the brain though and decided to give it a good service and install a cooler.
I got a Hayden cooler, a new pan with a drain plug that I can tap in a temp sensor, filter, lubelocker gasket, and an AutoMeter trans temp gauge.
It's supposed to be 110 degrees all weekend here. The garage should be hot AF.
Good thing there is a lot of water in beer.
OP
Got the trans temp gauge installed today. decided to put it in the blank space in the center dash.
One of the changes I made was that I repainted the gauge bezel from chrome to matte silver.
I also switched out the bulb to an LED to match the rest of the interior lighting.
I tapped into the lighting wires for the trans position indicator.
I got the gauge all wired up. I only need to connect it to the sensor in the pan.
I'll get to that tomorrow or sunday.
One of the changes I made was that I repainted the gauge bezel from chrome to matte silver.
I also switched out the bulb to an LED to match the rest of the interior lighting.
I tapped into the lighting wires for the trans position indicator.
I got the gauge all wired up. I only need to connect it to the sensor in the pan.
I'll get to that tomorrow or sunday.
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