Low-mile 2004 TJR adventure rig in SoCal

[AdventurePig]

We got out of another 4x4 build and finally got into our personal dream rig. Here’s the deets:

2004 TJ Rubicon

• 4.0l I6
• Auto 42RLE
• NP241 4:1 tcase
• Dana 44’s front and rear with factory lockers
• Re-geared to 5.13’s in the diffs
• 60k original miles

Mods:

• Front HD Bumper
• Front winch plate with Warn 9.5Ti winch running synthetic.
• HID headlights
• Hood gas strut hold-open
• Hood vents
• 4” long arm lift
• 2” body lift with tummy tuck skid
• Bypass/reservoir shocks with airbump bumpstops
• Teraflex swaybar disco system
• Metalcloak fender set
• Custom frame mount sliders
• RockHard4x4 bolt-in family cage kit
• 35” milestar Patagonia’s
• American racing wheels
• ALL the armor underneath (diff’s, belly, steering box, low end of shocks/long arm mounts, full engine/tranny)
• Big brake front kit
• Back up camera kit
• Kenwood Ham radio
• Hard top with insulation
• Alarm with keyless entry power doors
• Garvin Wilderness swingaway with fullsize spare.
• 42RLE tranny cooler with electric fan mounted on top swingaway rack.
• LED front marker lights
• Bright white backup lights

I’m probably forgetting or overlooked certain things but that’s the big stuff.

 

[Apparition]

Tranny cooler on the tire carrier is something I haven’t seen before.

 

[AdventurePig]

Tranny cooler on the tire carrier is something I haven’t seen before.

I know, right? Maybe the point was to add fluid capacity? Also has an Autometer transmission temp gauge on the dash to help monitor.

 

[AdventurePig]

Happy New Year!

 

[AdventurePig]

Bit of backyard wheeling to test out flex and 4x4 systems.

 

[AdventurePig]

Recently, we installed a Grom Audio Bluetooth adapter. It was a multi-step install requiring some minor disassembly of the dash, but very doable. took me about 2hrs taking my time, with a pause to refill my coffee last saturday. I have to say that I LOVE the fact that we retained our stock radio look, since it seems very unlikely to be stolen and the sound quality is amazing, aside from the fact that I think we need to grab a new subwoofer since our current one seems to be showing signs of being blown out.

Very happy with the purchase so far. Fingers crossed that long term reliability is a non-issue.

 

[AdventurePig]

Some pics of the install. I double-side taped it and zip tied up out of the way. The supplied wiring harness and microphone wire had more than enough length to them.

 

[AdventurePig]

So my daughters Honda was vandalized a couple weeks back. Been blessed to have the TJ as a back-up daily driver for me (couple days a week, anyways) so that that she can take the Civic i usually drive.

some thoughts having it on the road for a 24 mile there and 24 mile back trip each day

1. I'm getting about 12 mpgs on 35's, 5.13's, and 4+" of long-arm lift. I'm honestly really pleased with that number, since the previous rig i was driving only got 13-13.5 with far less capability.
2. The Milestar Patagonia's really are awesome at 63-65mph - quiet, comfortable and they track very well. Wet weather traction has been great in the last few weeks of rainstorms.
3. Put the hard-top back on just in time for the wet season and it's been nice to be all cozy inside.
4. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Grom Audio bluetooth adapter with the stock stereo. Speakers could use a refresh, since the sub is blown, but still it rocks on my drive to have my phone to stream Pandora or downloaded songs from.
5. Really appreciate the keyless entry/alarm system i have. Nice to not have to manual lock the doors. (I just keep the rear tailgate locked with my trail tools inside. I have NO idea what brand it is.
6. It fits all four of us just fine for a quick trip and my wife and I have rekindled our appreciation of how comfy the seats are. (We had an 04 LJ that got stolen many years ago. Still miss that rig)

 

[AdventurePig]

Swapped out my Fan blower switch which started not working a few weeks back. Just a simple knob failure. Grabbed a pack of three off Amazon that fit the bill

 

[AdventurePig]

Grabbed a few replacement alarm fobs for our rig, since we only had one existing one and it had recently got damaged. Fired a up a thread to share the vendor we bought them from here:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/python-alarm-replacement-remote-source.76948/


The programming steps are available if you search a bit online, but basically you turn the car on tap your valet button the right number of times to put the car in programming mode and then hit your key-fob. I was thinking I'd have to take it to and pay a radio shop to program it, but it was SUPER easy once I had instructions.

 

[AdventurePig]

Out with the old, in with the new. While the previous front bumper setup was definitely stout, it didn’t really fit our wheeling plans or the styling of the metalcloak fenders in our eyes. This move ticked all the boxes for us, especially with plans to flat tow and the need to shed some weight (4950lbs before this change)

Old: Garvin front bumper setup.
New: Rockhard4x4 Freedom bumper.

Some considerations:

• slimmer profile for crawling.
• Repositioned winch should Improve airflow to radiator.
• Improved approach angles even with tow brackets installed
• simpler/lighter design - lost about 60-70lbs of weight
• Came with an integrated flat tow bracket setup.
• Seems to clear our swaybar setup (going to flex it out to be sure before a trail ride)
• Price was right for what we got (in our opinion).
• Install was a snap. Very easy.

 

[AdventurePig]

Regarding weight loss - while I know that this rig is built stout and has seen some serious trail time, including socal trails and the Rubicon trail several times, it’s still a goal of mine to remove any extra weight and actively pare down the things we choose to carry.

I think this will translate to better on an off road performance, as well, as increased durability of the drive.

Plans and possibilities:

• Front bumper change out for a lighter setup. (Done) (65-70lbs)
• Tool and spare part inventory, and whittling down to essentials. (10-20lbs)
• Rear tire carrier, loadout, and set up. (20-40lbs)
• Hard top replacement for Soft top on tougher trails. (And soft top purchase) (100lbs)
• Aluminum or lower profile armor choices? (50-150lbs)
• Wheel and tire choices? (Not sure yet on this one)

(Gonna have to consider each option and decide if the juice is worth the squeeze, i think.)
For example, i have several other reasons to want a soft top, (looks, resistance to damage if tipped into a rock, open air experience, etc.) so the weight savings is a perk, but not the only reason. When it comes to something like armor, i’m a big fan of stout, steel armor in key places but i know there have been big advances in aluminum armor designs lately.

 

[AdventurePig]

Been great to daily drive this rig for the last few months - I'm getting a good sense of what's normal when it comes to sounds, smells, performance, etc.

Some thoughts:

• 90% of the time, I'm either alone, or have only 1 passenger. Store trips for groceries are easy-peasy alone or with my +1.
• Love having the Jeep locking trunk, as we've used it a couple times to store valuables like a laptop. I think I'll eventually grab the slightly bigger Tuffy steel box to maximize the space.
• Daily driving to work and back is pretty awesome. I've really enjoyed it - TJ's are TINY length and width-wise compared to our F150, or even my Civic. So, letting my middle kid use the Honda to go to school has been totally fine for parking in the small spaces at my work, or in the parking structure when needed.

Looking forward to getting some trail time - hopefully in April/May before it gets too hot for our local trails.

 

[AdventurePig]

Couple upcoming additions:

1. Keeping our Garvin rear swing-away for the near future. As such, we're going to have our current screw-on latch replaced with Garvin's update kit.

We'll be installing this kit: https://garvinracks.com/partsaccessories/quick-latch-conversion-kit at a local 4x4 shop.

Looking forward to replacing the current screw-pin setup.

While it's sturdy, it's probably the worst of both worlds. If it's too loose/lubed, it unscrews itself and allows the setup to rattle/wiggle. If it's too tight, it's almost impossible to remove for my wife and I. Makes getting into the back a complete chore.

 

[AdventurePig]

Also, right now in our garage, we have a fresh, brand new soft top from Bestop. We went with the SuperTop NX - we looked at the fastback frameless, but we just don't like the look and loss of interior space.
https://www.bestop.com/products/sup...7-2006-wrangler-tj-exc-unlimited/?sku=5472015


Going to be waiting for a nice, warm weekend to get it installed. Also, need to build/buy ourselves a hardtop cart to be able to store in our garage.

 

[AdventurePig]

New-style Garvin tire carrier latch. Didn’t realize that this mod would be marking the end of Garvin industries. They're local to us and I was able to walk in and grab this kit personally from the owners. (At the time, i had no idea of their impending closing)

Had a local shop professionally remove the old latch and install this new one. It COMPLETELY transformed the usefulness and access possible with this rack. Went from a 30-60 second opening experience to a 3-5 second duration. Most importantly, it's uber-easy to open AND seems to have retained it's rigidity.

 

[AdventurePig]

Mother’s day weekend garden tour with my Mrs. We had a blast cruising kid-less for the morning.

 

[AdventurePig]

Went in June to a local OHV park that I had been to before with lesser rigs, with varying levels of success. As i mentioned in my trail ride thread, this was @ Corral Canyon in East County San Diego on a 7/10 trail and a 8/10 trail one after the other. I would say that I definitely stuck to the main trail for 99% of the ride (avoiding tougher optional obstacles) and even though these trails were only a few miles long each, we started around 9am and ended around 2pm with about a 30min lunch break in between. Good amount of trail time, for sure

My wife did a great job on the trail encouraging me, helping spot and taking great footage of all 3 rigs. We went with a new friend, Paul, and an old friend, Bert who is battling some health issues, but was a great trail partner, nonetheless. (He's pictured next to his sweet LJ on 37's, RCV'd Dana 44 and Dana 60 rear.)

We drove from our house to the trail and back, and while it went smoothly, it was definitely a different experience from the full-bodied rig we drove there last time (5th gen 4runner w/ dual cases, armor and 33's). Loud, slow, bumpy...but...once on the trail, man-o-man, this pig of a rig was slinky as heck, never really having an issue on the trail, even with a novice of a driver behind the wheel.

Milestar pat's aired down to 16psi at the beginning of the trail

Me on the left, and Bert on the right near his rig.

Even though it's summer and fairly dry, the trail had several water crossings, and the road was muddy just downhill of me in this pic. I slid sideways and started to climb the hill un-intentionally. 35's stuffed really well up into the metalcloak high-lines.

Due to the water at the bottom and my grandpa driving style, i had to hit this climb about 4-5 times before i was able to give it the beans on the last try and get up. Good training for me on which gear to use - 4L0, first gear (Auto) was too low. 4L0, 2nd gear worked much better to get some wheel speed.

This was the easiest way down, which after couple fairly spicy (difficult) hours on the trail, seemed JUST right to me. As I'm sure some of you know, "Easiest" didn't exactly equal "Easy" on this trail. Definitely a "least hard" situation.

 

[AdventurePig]

Tuffy rear trunk enclosure: Install complete.

Initial reaction:
We love it! Super easy install, and it’s bigger in every way. REALLY maximizes the lockable space back there. Price could have been better but it’s definitely a high-quality piece of kit. Simple, Solid construction, good powder-coat and perfect fit.

Before, with the insta-trunk:
At best, 11” deep, with most of the space smaller than that due to the molded shape of the trunk



Also, at best, 11.5-ish inches tall.

 

[AdventurePig]

After with the Tuffy enclosure:


About 15” tall:



12” deep along the entire length of the enclosure.



This represents what i had STUFFED inside the insta-trunk before. I’d say we have probably 30-40% more room. Opens up some space for a few small spares(ujoints, etc) and useful trail gear.

For daily driving, i’ll bet we could fit at least 3-4 bags of groceries too.

Stoked.