MountaineerTom's 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

[MountaineerTom]

Started working on some KC Hilites Cyclone V2's that I got on Black Friday that I'm going to use for rocklights. I bought six of them for now. I also bought a set of six rubber coated magnets with a M5 threaded stud in them. Rubber Coated Magnets I used a slightly bigger flat washer than what came with magnets and a nylon locknut to secure the magnet to the light. I had to cut the stud down slightly, maybe 1/8 of an inch, to be able to fit the rubber cap back on the light. My bench grinder and cleaning up the end of the threads with a file took care of that easily.

For now the plan is one under the front and rear bumpers, one behind each front wheel and one in front of each rear wheel. I'll add others later if I feel I need them.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Did a gear oil change on the rear Dana 44 and replaced the OEM cover and guard I had with a Terraflex cover. I've seen some reviews of the Terraflex cover that said there was up to an 1/8 inch overhand with it, but I didn't have that. The lower fill hole on the Terraflex cover is lower than the OEM cover. After installing the new cover, I held the OEM over it and you can just see the plug in the lower left corner of the OEM cover. That, coupled with the rotated pinion after the raised transfer skid, meant I had to fill from the upper hole in order to get 2 quarts in. Only got 1-1/2 quarts in before it started running out of the lower hole. I put a line on the cover where 2 quarts filled it up to, which is right at the axle tubes. Coincidentally, the short end of a 1/4-inch allen wrench guided into the upper hole opening and hanging down into the diff is right at that level.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Installed a Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions Rubigrid mount. I had been thinking about doing this for a while, but the price has kind of kept me from doing it and the fact that I have a bunch of Ram Mount stuff. My Jeep came with a Daystar dash tray when I bought it and the universal three ball mount fits inside the big opening in it. I did have to remove the Rubigrid logo from the front of it, but it's just held in with a couple plastic push pins and came out really easy. It may fit similarly in other brand trays. You can't see the area it was in either way once it's installed, but removing it let the mount sit flush in the tray. I thought about removing tray altogether to install the phone mount but it had scuffed top of the bezel up some over the years it's been installed. I chose the bolt and locknut option to install it and because of the tray, the M5 x 0.8 10mm long bolts were too short. A trip up the road for some 20mm long bolts fixed that quick;y. Happy with the product so far. I haven't driven it yet, but it feels very solid. I really like the ability to install and remove my phone with one hand.

 

[Danarch]

Installed a Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions Rubigrid mount. I had been thinking about doing this for a while, but the price has kind of kept me from doing it and the fact that I have a bunch of Ram Mount stuff. My Jeep came with a Daystar dash tray when I bought it and the universal three ball mount fits inside the big opening in it. I did have to remove the Rubigrid logo from the front of it, but it's just held in with a couple plastic push pins and came out really easy. It may fit similarly in other brand trays. You can't see the area it was in either way once it's installed, but removing it let the mount sit flush in the tray. I thought about removing tray altogether to install the phone mount but it had scuffed top of the bezel up some over the years it's been installed. I chose the bolt and locknut option to install it and because of the tray, the M5 x 0.8 10mm long bolts were too short. A trip up the road for some 20mm long bolts fixed that quick;y. Happy with the product so far. I haven't driven it yet, but it feels very solid. I really like the ability to install and remove my phone with one hand.

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I have the same unit in the OEM tray. I used the 3M adhesive and the 4 little screws to mount the plate as I didn’t trust the adhesive alone. It holds up well. I recently added a third mount for the GMSR mic. I couldn’t get the mount up from the 3M adhesive so ended up mounting the third mount with the two screws instead of the supplied bolt/nut setup. I think you will be happy with it.

 

[PRNDL]

I have the same unit in the OEM tray. I used the 3M adhesive and the 4 little screws to mount the plate as I didn’t trust the adhesive alone. It holds up well. I recently added a third mount for the GMSR mic. I couldn’t get the mount up from the 3M adhesive so ended up mounting the third mount with the two screws instead of the supplied bolt/nut setup. I think you will be happy with it.

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@MountaineerTom @Danarch

I have the same mount in the OEM tray as well. Curious if either of you get a lot of bounce/vibration on the road. There's quite a bit of bounce in my around town.

 

[MountaineerTom]

@MountaineerTom @Danarch

I have the same mount in the OEM tray as well. Curious if either of you get a lot of bounce/vibration on the road. There's quite a bit of bounce in my around town.

I haven’t driven it yet. I just installed it today and it’s been rainy all day so I didn’t go out. Not sure if I’ll have it tomorrow either but I plan to drive it to work Monday.

 

[MountaineerTom]

@MountaineerTom @Danarch

I have the same mount in the OEM tray as well. Curious if either of you get a lot of bounce/vibration on the road. There's quite a bit of bounce in my around town.

I just thought of something. Which of the 3 methods of attaching it did you use?

The self tapping screws it says are for light duty.

The well nuts and the screws with lock nuts it said we’re both heavy duty and for off road.

I chose the screws and lock nuts for two reasons;
1) I didn‘t Know if there would be clearance between the well nuts and the A/C ducts.
2) The screws with the lock nuts were a bigger size than the ones with the well nuts. M5 vs M4 if I remember correctly.

 

[Danarch]

@MountaineerTom @Danarch

I have the same mount in the OEM tray as well. Curious if either of you get a lot of bounce/vibration on the road. There's quite a bit of bounce in my around town.

My is solid. I used the 3M adhesive plus the four black screws to secure it. I haven’t had and issue, not even on the trails.

 

[SoCalGlide]

I've got the same Bullet Point mount with the Daystar tray. I think I used the we'll nuts and screws.
I attached an amp/ball mount to the rear of the belt clip that came with the Otterbox for my phone. It's very secure and I haven't noticed a vibration issue.

 

[Longwhitejeep]

Looks great!

I use a peak design case and mount just double sided tape beside the stereo. Its an aluminum mount too and seems hogh quality. No issues wheeling and the phone falling from the magnet. Works great with no vibes.

 

[MountaineerTom]

@MountaineerTom @Danarch

I have the same mount in the OEM tray as well. Curious if either of you get a lot of bounce/vibration on the road. There's quite a bit of bounce in my around town.

On my drive into work this morning, I went the route with the roughest roads and it was solid. There was some jars that made the whole Jeep jump/bounce a little but the phone holder did fine. It did vibrate and made a slight rattle sound at first. I had the arm resting on the Daystar tray. I adjusted it up so it wasn’t touching and all was good after that.

 

[PRNDL]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I need to check my install. My mount has pretty decent vibration on smooth concrete around town.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I need to check my install. My mount has pretty decent vibration on smooth concrete around town.

I just remembered that my OEM tray, that has the Daystar tray mounted to it, had one corner loose where it’s plastic welded to the center trim piece. I meant to fix it but forgot. I’ll get that done when I take it off again to add a rock light switch whenever I get around to doing the wiring for that.

I wonder if you tray is loose as well?

 

[MountaineerTom]

Yikes! Put the RallyTops hardtop on for the first time in 7 years. It’s been hanging under that carport in the background since it came off. Pressure washed it after that. Looks decently faded like it did when I took it off. Still need to do some scrubbing on the rubber window trim. May try the polishing compound/polish/wax procedure I seen someone on here do.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Started working on some KC Hilites Cyclone V2's that I got on Black Friday that I'm going to use for rocklights. I bought six of them for now. I also bought a set of six rubber coated magnets with a M5 threaded stud in them. Rubber Coated Magnets I used a slightly bigger flat washer than what came with magnets and a nylon locknut to secure the magnet to the light. I had to cut the stud down slightly, maybe 1/8 of an inch, to be able to fit the rubber cap back on the light. My bench grinder and cleaning up the end of the threads with a file took care of that easily.

For now the plan is one under the front and rear bumpers, one behind each front wheel and one in front of each rear wheel. I'll add others later if I feel I need them.

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Worked a little on my rock lights today. Under the hood, I only got the relay mounted and wired up but only started a small part of the wiring harness going out to the lights. I did get the interior switch installed and wired up,

 

[MountaineerTom]

Got one light wired up today. Stuck (with a magnet) to the frame piece where the body mount is under the grill.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Finished up my KC Cyclone V2 rock light set up. 6 lights: one under each bumper, one behind each front tire, one in front of each rear tire. I used these MAGNETS with a nylon locknut attached to the light. On the rear bumper, I cut a piece of 1/8th inch steel and bolted it to the rear crossmember so I could place the magnet where I wanted it. For the ones in front of the rear tires, where I wanted to put the lights, there was only plastic from the fender liner. I pulled the push pin out that holds the liner and the hole in the metal that the pin goes in happened to be the perfect size for some M5 rivnuts I had. Installed one on each side, cut a couple more plates of the 1/8th inch steel and bolted them up to mount the lights on. Very happy with them.

 

[JMT]

Finished up my KC Cyclone V2 rock light set up. 6 lights: one under each bumper, one behind each front tire, one in front of each rear tire. I used these MAGNETS with a nylon locknut attached to the light. On the rear bumper, I cut a piece of 1/8th inch steel and bolted it to the rear crossmember so I could place the magnet where I wanted it. For the ones in front of the rear tires, where I wanted to put the lights, there was only plastic from the fender liner. I pulled the push pin out that holds the liner and the hole in the metal that the pin goes in happened to be the perfect size for some M5 rivnuts I had. Installed one on each side, cut a couple more plates of the 1/8th inch steel and bolted them up to mount the lights on. Very happy with them.


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Can’t see the jeep, just grass!

 

[MountaineerTom]

Can’t see the jeep, just grass!

Yeah, it's time to start cutting it again.

 

[JMT]

Yeah, it's time to start cutting it again.

For years I’ve dreamed of grass that grows to the perfect length and stops.

I used to be a biologist. I worked with a guy who developed the terminator gene. Because of it he was not very popular in Europe (he was a Brit too). The terminator gene was invented to protect the technology in the seed, but it also terminated the line so each season the farmer would have to buy more seed. I really didn’t like the idea myself, so I eventually quit, but it gave me the “grass stop growing” idea, and I’ve never been able to shake it.

The lights look good Tom. Nice work (as always).