Rocky Mountain Billy Goat Build

Everything got up in time for making Jeeptober on Chinaman Gulch this last weekend.

Doing that on a stock skid would have been difficult. The Savvy has a bunch of its first scars, which means the upgrade was worth it:

92AE82DF-8A5B-4AC8-BAAC-DAB432B4E18D.jpeg

After a run I like to digest what I hit so I know either things to fix, change, or improve in my line choices or driving.

One driving thing I need to work on is better throttle control. In most cases I felt pretty okay with it - but a few of the harder obstacles could have benefitted from more experience and practice.

Generally speaking I feel pretty good about my line choices, and the few times I had guidance I think I would have gotten close (other than on the v-notch on chinaman).

Regarding the build:

* 33s are great
* Tummy tuck already paid itself off
* locker relocation was a success and it all still works
* Sliders are dinged as they should be, however I’m curios if sliders without the rails sticking out would have hung up less. Not something to put money into right now, but a thought in the back of my mind.
* Passenger Control arm mounts front and rear on the frame
* Front Bumper corners
* rear bumper corners
* dragged my tail pipe a lot - the saw zaw can fix part of this
* Skid got a lot of nice gouges and the bolts loosened a bit. Do people use blue locktite on these ever?
* Front wheel spacers would be good - I rubbed the Antirock a bit and lower CAs (which will be solved when I can afford new ones)

As a follow up getting home, the savvy UCAs got here. Looks like a grease zerk got damaged in shipping. Does anyone know the right size to replace these with?

image.jpg


edit: savvy shipped a new joint out instead of having me drill this out and replace the zerk.
 
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I am shamelessly stealing this image from @jjvw 's build thread for documentation of where my build currently sits and some follow ups.

jeeptober 2019 - pre rocks.jpg


1. The new skid is so close, but there is sunlight - neat. Some hex bolts made enough contact to tell me they wont stay as "hex bolts" for long - at least the rear bolt on either side.
2. The front passenger tire tuck is useful, I thought I was close but it's nice to see it under stress with deflated tires.
3. I should take my tires next run down to 10psi. I wasn't really wanting for traction, but I think more could be useful.
4. It's easy to see why body mounts could catch (looking at the rock on the driver side and some dings after).
5. I rubbed the AR a bit during turns, so I need some wheel spacers since the steering stop washers didn't do the job under flex. I thought I was hitting my LCAs when deflated...

The follow ups:

* Wheel spacers once I figure out 1.25" vs 1.5" (I may do all 4 for symmetry, even though only the front looks to need it)
* Sink the bolts into the skid
* Collab on bumping the body mounts and removing the BL spacers
* Cycle the suspension more and maybe add the 0.75" spacer up front (not obvious from this image)
* Evaluate rear clearance on future runs. Do I need to pull in the bumper and up the gas skid, or are they okay where they are?
 
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Your rear bumper is better than what I had. Take care of the gas tank before that. With your longer overhang, I suspect you find more immediate value there. On mine, recessing the center skid bolts was a surprisingly nice thing to do.
 
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I need to think on and update my priority list. Right now it feels like things that don’t lock me into a specific lift height as I ponder the long term goal.

It seems like:

* Gas Skid
* Wheel Spacers
* Savvy skid bolt sink
* Body mounts raised (at least the middle 3)
* Finish up the rest of the CAs

In roughly that order. There’s a few other projects, but they’re small and more just fun.
 
So I missed that the speedohealer isn’t vehicle specific, only the adapter is. So I found the cheapest one on eBay and will look into the connectors to make it work. I decided I care enough to make sure my mileage registers correctly on the car.
 
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Hotchef181818 said:
If you want to experiment with a pair of wheel spacers let me know. I have a pair sitting on the shelf.
Click to expand...

Do you recall the size?

Btw once savvy ships a replacement end due to damage from shipping - I’ll have your UCAs ready to give back. Hoping end of this week or the next, unless something surprising happens.
 
I’ve been waiting to handle any gas tank related work until I could do it all at once. On a bittersweet note that time is very near.

First, I want to deal with the overflow issue in the right way. I plan to pull the filler stopper and sand it down.

Secondly, I bought the savvy skid, painful purchase but the only alternative was MC, which wasn’t compelling, or rokmen (my
Original plan), which is local but doesn’t publish the specs. Regardless, the oem skid will be out shortly.
 
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I was trying to find the rokmen weight (not the physical measurements), it looks to be somewhere between 56 and 62 lbs. The savvy is 32#. I’m wanting to keep as much weight off my rig as I can as I increase the height.

Most cases of “it’s just 30lbs” is just death by a thousand cuts, and I almost went that direction.
 
I think they claim 4#, so the trade off is worthwhile for the added clearance (both vertically and from the diff/track bar).
 
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rasband said:
I think they claim 4#, so the trade off is worthwhile for the added clearance (both vertically and from the diff/track bar).
Click to expand...

I think they assume a Currie rear track bar with that statement. Something to be aware of.
 
jjvw said:
I think they assume a Currie rear track bar with that statement. Something to be aware of.
Click to expand...

Now that I’m looking for that quote I don’t see the claim anymore. Fortunately I don’t need the clearance there, it just seemed like a nice bonus. ... looks like rokmen is the one with that in their copy.
 
rasband said:
Now that I’m looking for that quote I don’t see the claim anymore. Fortunately I don’t need the clearance there, it just seemed like a nice bonus. ... looks like rokmen is the one with that in their copy.
Click to expand...
Makes sense. The part that I see get trimmed is the crossmember. Supposedly Currie is bent correctly and will clear.
 
rasband said:
I was trying to find the rokmen weight (not the physical measurements), it looks to be somewhere between 56 and 62 lbs. The savvy is 32#. I’m wanting to keep as much weight off my rig as I can as I increase the height.

Most cases of “it’s just 30lbs” is just death by a thousand cuts, and I almost went that direction.
Click to expand...
I’d say you’re in the ballpark weight wise. For me, that was an area I don’t mind having steel, or additional weight. My bumper is the Barnes plate so I save a chunk of weight higher and I run a bestop highrock tire carrier which saves me a bit more and tucks the spare close like the exogate. The only wish I would have with the Rokmen gts is a bit of curvature at the back but I’m ok with it.

I run a chopped stock front bumper and stock flares to cut weight. I have a steel ucf ultra tummy tuck which adds weight but it’s low so again I’m ok with that. Warn rockers and synthetic line on the winch balance me pretty well.
 
Hotchef181818 said:
I’d say you’re in the ballpark weight wise. For me, that was an area I don’t mind having steel, or additional weight. My bumper is the Barnes plate so I save a chunk of weight higher and I run a bestop highrock tire carrier which saves me a bit more and tucks the spare close like the exogate. The only wish I would have with the Rokmen gts is a bit of curvature at the back but I’m ok with it.

I run a chopped stock front bumper and stock flares to cut weight. I have a steel ucf ultra tummy tuck which adds weight but it’s low so again I’m ok with that. Warn rockers and synthetic line on the winch balance me pretty well.
Click to expand...

I've heard the rokmen rear angling being the one consistent complaint on them, of course others don't like that the Savvy is rounded 🤷‍♂️. It's a good thing we have so many good options out there, I have been rushing my build a little thinking that some TJ specific parts may stop being made.

I definitely want to get to the synthetic line sometime, hopefully by next year.
 
rasband said:
I've heard the rokmen rear angling being the one consistent complaint on them, of course others don't like that the Savvy is rounded 🤷‍♂️. It's a good thing we have so many good options out there, I have been rushing my build a little thinking that some TJ specific parts may stop being made.

I definitely want to get to the synthetic line sometime, hopefully by next year.
Click to expand...
The move to synthetic line was high up on the list for me due to the weight being forward of the axle and also the safety factor. A 50’ line isn’t that expensive, carry that and a 50’ extension once you have the funds. There’s multiple benefits in my eyes of having 50’ on the drum with an extension.
 
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rasband said:
So I missed that the speedohealer isn’t vehicle specific, only the adapter is. So I found the cheapest one on eBay and will look into the connectors to make it work. I decided I care enough to make sure my mileage registers correctly on the car.
Click to expand...

I can snap some pics of mine so you have an idea of where the wires need to run to the connectors. There is only a power wire, signal wire, and the ground.

I actually might have a set of plugs too...let me look into that. If so, all you would need is additional wire
 
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