Hello from Nevada

[LJRubi]

Hey everyone, I just purchased the second Jeep I've owned from a 4x4 shop in Montclair, CA. I had been searching for an LJ for several years now, and I finally found the one I was looking for. It's a fully built Rubicon with a 6-speed- I am smitten! I drove down to the shop and hauled it back on my flatbed.

I previously owned a used 2007 2-door JK which I bought more to have as a daily driver 4x4 in the Sierra Nevada's than a capable crawler. That said, I still took it off-roading, and absolutely caught the bug. After buying a new DD AWD passenger car, I sold that Jeep and the search began for my dream LJ. She is finally here!

I noticed there is a dedicated LJ forum, but its usage and utility seems somewhat minimal, so thought I'd join this one. I hope my shorter wheelbase brothers & sisters will welcome me with open arms!

 

[Chris]

Welcome to the forum, you're definitely in the right place!

That's a great looking LJ, it looks like someone put a ton of money into it. Do you have any other plans for it, or just enjoying it the way it is?

Also, I assume there's some good places to wheel in Nevada? How far are you from the Rubicon trail?

 

[LJRubi]

Welcome to the forum, you're definitely in the right place!

That's a great looking LJ, it looks like someone put a ton of money into it. Do you have any other plans for it, or just enjoying it the way it is?

Also, I assume there's some good places to wheel in Nevada? How far are you from the Rubicon trail?

Thanks Chris, great to be here.

There certainly is a good chunk of change into it. I'm currently going through the list of mods and trying to determine the value of everything, but I ballpark it's around $15k in parts. This is a dedicated, but street legal trail rig for me, so I wanted to go all out and practicality around town was not a concern. I was looking for one that had already had most the work done to save me both time and money.

Fortunately, for the most part, it really doesn't need much. I do need a rear bumper (and welcome any suggestions in this area, I'll be combing through the forum as I'm sure there are lots of ideas here). As you can see from the first pic, it didn't have one, though I did have the shop mount a stock TJ bumper just in case the VIN inspectors at the DMV gave me flack. I'm also going to improve the lighting with some Rigid Truck-Lite headlights and fog lights, and also clean up the auxiliary switch install in the dash.

And eventually, down the road (we're talking probably 5 years out), I'm going to do a Cummins swap - either a 4BT or their new R2.8 crate motor. I'm a diesel guy and having one in a Jeep sounds like a phenomenal idea . The motor (which is completely stock) only has 60k miles on it so I've got a ways to go before I can justify an engine swap.

I'm in Reno, NV which is a pretty great spot for wheeling. To the north, south, and east, we have higher-speed desert wheeling with occasional large rock formations not unlike what you might find in Utah. To the west, it's technical crawling and I'm only about an hour from the Rubicon and Fordyce.

 

[Gregg1LE]

Really nice LJ ! Welcome from Texas !

 

[bobthetj03]

Great looking rig, and welcome from the wackadoodle state of California. Wheeled in the Reno area with the Reno 4x4 crew a few years ago. Good group of jeepers.

 

[lowranger]

Welcome from Northern California. Nice LJ! Looks like you are set.
Along with @bobthetj03, I wheeled with the Reno 4x4 crew once.
This is what one of the Reno members thought of us California Jeepers, the California person in the picture will remain anonymous.

 

[LJRubi]

LOL - tree hugger spotted!

Thanks for the warm welcomes, folks. I'm a CA native as well. Born and raised in the east bay area, but I fled the "regime" about 2.5 years ago. Best decision I ever made!

Looking forward to running into some of you out on the Sierra's many trails.

 

[Chris]

Thanks Chris, great to be here.

There certainly is a good chunk of change into it. I'm currently going through the list of mods and trying to determine the value of everything, but I ballpark it's around $15k in parts. This is a dedicated, but street legal trail rig for me, so I wanted to go all out and practicality around town was not a concern. I was looking for one that had already had most the work done to save me both time and money.

Fortunately, for the most part, it really doesn't need much. I do need a rear bumper (and welcome any suggestions in this area, I'll be combing through the forum as I'm sure there are lots of ideas here). As you can see from the first pic, it didn't have one, though I did have the shop mount a stock TJ bumper just in case the VIN inspectors at the DMV gave me flack. I'm also going to improve the lighting with some Rigid Truck-Lite headlights and fog lights, and also clean up the auxiliary switch install in the dash.

And eventually, down the road (we're talking probably 5 years out), I'm going to do a Cummins swap - either a 4BT or their new R2.8 crate motor. I'm a diesel guy and having one in a Jeep sounds like a phenomenal idea . The motor (which is completely stock) only has 60k miles on it so I've got a ways to go before I can justify an engine swap.

I'm in Reno, NV which is a pretty great spot for wheeling. To the north, south, and east, we have higher-speed desert wheeling with occasional large rock formations not unlike what you might find in Utah. To the west, it's technical crawling and I'm only about an hour from the Rubicon and Fordyce.

If you're looking for some R2.8 swap info, there are a number of guys on here who have done the swap and have detailed build threads in the TJ Build Threads & Member's Rides forum. It's worth checking out!

Sounds like you live in some great wheeling territory, I'm envious!

 

[OHFIVETJ]

Welcome to the group from the Island of Long, My name is Johnny & i'm a JEEPAHOLIC

 

[LJRubi]

If you're looking for some R2.8 swap info, there are a number of guys on here who have done the swap and have detailed build threads in the TJ Build Threads & Member's Rides forum. It's worth checking out!

Sounds like you live in some great wheeling territory, I'm envious!

Thanks for the rec - I'll check this out. It's a ways off but I guess you can never start planning too early for such a job.