Lax22’s 03 TJ Rubicon - East Coast Trail Rig

I've got my first wheeling trip this year scheduled for June at Rausch. Although if I sell the TJ, it may be the first time in 10 years that I go without a rig to drive. I'm not at a point where I'm willing to take the LJ out. It's just to nice and the first pin stripe will kill me! :(
Mine is white so they don't show up much. Nothing a good buff won't fix. I don't want dents though. My old Toyota pickup had some but I'm trying to keep this lj clean.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lax22
Nice east coast rig! I need to get back gore. I have a Rausch trip planned for May!

I run some stock ravine wheels with 2 inch spacers. They are holding up OK. Have a few wheeling friends who run those pro comps with minimal issues. I believe they are cast aluminum wheels. Forged being the better option.

https://www.streetmusclemag.com/tec...e-between-cast-flow-formed-and-forged-wheels/
Bead locks can be mixed bag. They can cause leaking issues if you don't stay on top of checking the bead bolts. They are typically really strong and usually a forged wheel.
I wondered how well stock alloys held
up and I’d like to find a set of forged wheels if I can, really I would like to get a tire and wheel package that can run well on the street and trail. I’m on the fence about deadlocks though. I run 8 psi with my current wheels and tires; they are load range D if that makes a difference, but I’ve never run beadlocks before so I don’t know what I don’t know in terms of how much better they are.

I have the 4 pro comps in the shed and a set of 33x10.50 BFG AT tires that I could mount on them. Currently I’m thinking along the lines of having a set for trail duty and a set for street use but it would be nice to just have one set.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Longwhitejeep
I've got my first wheeling trip this year scheduled for June at Rausch. Although if I sell the TJ, it may be the first time in 10 years that I go without a rig to drive. I'm not at a point where I'm willing to take the LJ out. It's just to nice and the first pin stripe will kill me! :(
Mine is white so they don't show up much. Nothing a good buff won't fix. I don't want dents though. My old Toyota pickup had some but I'm trying to keep this lj clean.
These are the reasons I sold my Rubicon unlimited and stuck with my TJ. I would have been upset with myself if I messed up and dented another Jeep.
 
I wouldn't hesitate to run those pro comps. especially if they are already paid for.

I have said it to many, "the first scratch/dent is the hardest, now the fun starts"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lax22 and Irun
After running beadlocks, I wouldn't do it again unless I could find a nice forged set. The weight was the biggest issue for me. As soon as I installed them I could feel the difference, and not in a good way. Besides, I had run without beadlocks, at 8 to 10 PSI, for nearly thirty years, with only one tire ever losing a bead.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lax22
Yeah I'm trying to keep this lj as a family wheeling rig and clean.
Have you considered aluminum corner armor? I've installed a couple Savvy sets and it is worth the money. Plus, the first time you dent something, you'll wish you did!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Longwhitejeep
Have you considered aluminum corner armor? I've installed a couple Savvy sets and it is worth the money. Plus, the first time you dent something, you'll wish you did!
I plan on it if and when they come in stock. I have jcr sliders only because savvy has been out of stock for a while. I would like to replace them with the savvy units. Seems I decided to sell a built toyota and build an lj after world goes out of stock on everything lol.

I have read through your lj build and midnightlj, along with a few others for inspiration. I just need my funds to catch up to my aspirations! Kids are expensive!
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: Irun
I wondered how well stock alloys held
up and I’d like to find a set of forged wheels if I can, really I would like to get a tire and wheel package that can run well on the street and trail. I’m on the fence about deadlocks though. I run 8 psi with my current wheels and tires; they are load range D if that makes a difference, but I’ve never run beadlocks before so I don’t know what I don’t know in terms of how much better they are.

I have the 4 pro comps in the shed and a set of 33x10.50 BFG AT tires that I could mount on them. Currently I’m thinking along the lines of having a set for trail duty and a set for street use but it would be nice to just have one set.
Biggest thing I have noticed through the years is keep the wheel width to tire width ratio in check. I had a set of 34x10.50 r15 swamper ltb's that would lose a bead just about every trip on 15x8 wheels. Part of that was the bias ply soft swampers but i believe the other was the 15x8. I have friend who runs 33x10.50 r15 on a 15x7 with no issues.

My current 35x12.50 on 15x8 work great. I think the oem stuff is cast but it seems pretty thick. I have always had better luck balancing tires on oem wheels too.
 
I plan on it if and when they come in stock. I have jcr sliders only because savvy has been out of stock for a while. I would like to replace them with the savvy units. Seems I decided to sell a built toyota and build an lj after world goes out of stock on everything lol.

I have read through your lj build and midnightlj, along with a few others for inspiration. I just need my funds to catch up to my aspirations! Kids are expensive!
Savvy is never in stock. You have to pay for it first, then they’ll get around to making it in a couple months.
 
Nice east coast rig! I need to get back gore. I have a Rausch trip planned for May!

I run some stock ravine wheels with 2 inch spacers. They are holding up OK. Have a few wheeling friends who run those pro comps with minimal issues. I believe they are cast aluminum wheels. Forged being the better option.

https://www.streetmusclemag.com/tec...e-between-cast-flow-formed-and-forged-wheels/
Bead locks can be mixed bag. They can cause leaking issues if you don't stay on top of checking the bead bolts. They are typically really strong and usually a forged wheel.
In my experience, a properly torqued quality beadlock does not require checking the bolts. The problem sometimes comes from not taking the time to do a proper install, which takes a lot of time. Also, most aluminum beadlocks are cast, not forged. Forged are out there, but much more expensive and sometimes difficult to find.
 
In my experience, a properly torqued quality beadlock does not require checking the bolts. The problem sometimes comes from not taking the time to do a proper install, which takes a lot of time. Also, most aluminum beadlocks are cast, not forged. Forged are out there, but much more expensive and sometimes difficult to find.
Yeah I guess their sales pitch as forged beadlock "ring" that a lot have can be misleading. I know raceline has a few forged ones.

The bolts are still a service item that would need periodic checking/servicing. Bolts heads get ripped off, rings get chewed up, etc.

I would consider beadlocks as a solution to a problem. If you aren't losing beads frequently then you might not need them. Some are heavier than steel wheels too. If he is bending steel wheels a rim stiffener for steel wheels or a nice set of aluminum wheels would be the route I would take to solve that problem. I ditched steel wheels a while back for bending and trouble balancing.
 
Beadlocks aren’t necessarily a solution to a problem, they are, but, I look at them more as a preventative measure.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah I guess their sales pitch as forged beadlock "ring" that a lot have can be misleading. I know raceline has a few forged ones.

The bolts are still a service item that would need periodic checking/servicing. Bolts heads get ripped off, rings get chewed up, etc.

I would consider beadlocks as a solution to a problem. If you aren't losing beads frequently then you might not need them. Some are heavier than steel wheels too. If he is bending steel wheels a rim stiffener for steel wheels or a nice set of aluminum wheels would be the route I would take to solve that problem. I ditched steel wheels a while back for bending and trouble balancing.
I have some rebar rings that I might weld only my current steel wheels to stiffen the rim lip and run them until I wear the tires out. It doesn’t help me get lighter in the near term, but I’ll save up for some new 35s and Then I’ll make the switch to the aluminum rims full time.
 
Beadlocks aren’t necessarily a solution to a problem, they are, but, I look at them more as a preventative measure.
Not sure I understand your point. Beadlocks are certainly a solution to loosing a bead when aired down, and keeping the tire from spinning on the rim at really low pressure. I could not run the pressure I run without beadlocks.
 
Not sure I understand your point. Beadlocks are certainly a solution to loosing a bead when aired down, and keeping the tire from spinning on the rim at really low pressure. I could not run the pressure I run without beadlocks.
Yeah my wording may not have been the best. The point I was trying to get across if you aren’t losing beads at X psi that you’re at, you technically don’t have a problem. However, beadlocks are a preventative measure to that becoming a problem in most instances.

In his case, he’s not popping the tire off the bead, he’s bending the lip on his wheel causing it to leak. That’s a problem a beadlock wheel could remedy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NashvilleTJ
Not TJ related but my buddy and I took a pair of XJs on street tires up to flagpole knob in Virginia. Not super difficult but enough of a challenge in a stock upcountry XJ and ended up with a slew of check engine lights to deal with on the way home. New O2 sensors, a set of spark plugs, and a freshly cleaned second had neutral safety switch cleared all the codes and all is good.
14464755-35E0-4C37-9728-F00E78D4C6C1.jpeg
7AE23177-3BCE-4735-A8EA-D717336D8899.jpeg
003F3179-E9A7-486A-919B-D3AD1DF8BC37.jpeg
D36E9E5A-8420-4B69-814B-4B76101322DD.jpeg
ED357F06-B409-42A5-BBE8-505A5B716203.jpeg
 
Thanks. I wasn’t planning on acquiring one, but it kindof fell in my lap and I’ve always liked them. Plus it’s rust free and runs well. It was an 8 hour round trip so it was a good shakedown run.

A few more pictures with some of my friends drone he brought with him.
2DFFD4A6-0B42-42C3-9400-40CA201BFCB8.jpeg

7C4C4548-98FC-419E-960A-341983A3B13A.jpeg

6FDA6110-13E3-4860-A594-F4FB3523A2D8.jpeg

This was more about just getting out into nature for a night and the trails were basically Forrest roads. I guess you could call it an over landing trip. The paved area was another overlook where a fire watch tower used to be.