New Tow Vehicle

TomD

I’m of the school “if it’s not broken don’t fix it”. When I bought my SS that was my mantra regarding changes. Several years later I’m fine with the LG as designed. I have done very few changes of note.

TomD

William...you have done such cool stuff with your trailers over the years I think your modified units are now becoming the go to.

WilliamA

Thanks Tom. I appreciate the compliment. It's my hope that some folks get some inspiration and info from my posts. I have such a fine time putzing with my rig. I'd be the first one to admit that I get carried away with some of it! It's just great fun and "feeds my soul".

WilliamA

WilliamA

I've been off-site for a bit working like a fool getting some last minute things done before the snow gets too deep and also to get ready for my trip out to Scott's Bluff for a week. I'm leaving on Thursday so if it ain't done by then, it'll have to wait.
Back on the "mule" for a bit, I wanted to get some things up to speed. The trailer is nice and warm and ready to go, but I had a pile of treasures that have been waiting patiently for application to the Jeep. I put on some new hood latches to replace the MayBlow stockers. Seems the stock hood latches have a nasty habit of giving up in short order, so I wanted to fix that. I picked up a set of these Drake hood locks and they seem solid. If they blow off, perhaps there are bigger problems afoot.

I was not super happy about the ride height after putting on steel bumpers and winch, so I finally got around to doing a 2" leveling kit front and rear. Actually, the rear is 1" so the ride is again level and the headlights are again useful for doing something besides picking up night crawlers.

While I was over at my offroad shop (ok....it's not actually "mine", but at the rate I'm getting stuff, it soon might be) I did some dumpster diving in their take-off's and open box/forlorn bits section and found some rocker armor/steps/sliders (Jeep guys will know what I mean) and picked them up (figure of speech, They are HEAVY) for a song compared to new price. They came sans hardware and pre-rusted, but I have the tools (brute force and stupidity) to clean them up and spray-bomb on some bedliner. Before doing the detail work, I thought I'd better make sure they fit. I mounted them and am really happy with the results. Easy. Now, just take them back off, sand, grind, file and finish, then stick-em back on.


These brutes are Poison Spider brand and are the creme de la creme of heavy, brutish, zombie bashing Jeep armor. I can finally have a free afternoon once a month where I won't have to lay on my back with touch-up paint sealing my rocker panels from stone chips. I'm happy about getting it all done.
I still want to peel the spare tire off the back of the Jeep and make a mount for it on the rear sidewall but that will have to wait for another day...
Now back to the trailer. More to do before I head for the plains...

WilliamA

LuckyJ

Nice work. And yep, the rock sliders will be very sturdy. poisson spider is a great top of the line brand!

Joabmc

Nice work on your Jeep. Can’t go wrong with good armor!

WilliamA

I've got my rock sliders off, ground down and corners radiused. Now they're off at the body shop getting sealed and sprayed. Should see them back next week. In the meantime, it's quality time for me spent sanding and painting the mounting hardware. This is the part of cool builds that always falls below the radar, like scraping off the tar-boards from a VW Beetle pan. It's ugly, boring work. But it needs doing and it's part of the job...

2 coats of rust-inhibiting primer and 3 coats of black enamel so far. Probably do 2 more coats. Once they are installed, I'll go through each bolt with a Q-tip dabbed in paint to seal the hex-key opening. I'd us a brass hex-key so it wouldn't scratch the paint putting them in, but can't find one in these sizes locally...

WilliamA

Joabmc

Then you take it out and scratch them up the first weekend on the trails! What a vicious cycle it is. I had my last set welded on and just rattle-canned them to death.

TomD

Hope you didn’t get all those coats of primer and enamel on the threads. You’l have even more quality time with our rigs if you did.

WilliamA

I got my rock rails back from Troy, the body guy and they look fantastic! I'm really pleased with the way they turned out. I also got my rock-lights put on and have the led-bluetooth controller app on my phone. Now to find an app that will work with my radio head unit in landscape mode. All of the apps I've tried so far won't work in landscape, just portrait. I'm on it....


WilliamA

Jms

Nice! How much is your tow capacity reduced with all of the new equipment on your Jeep? :-)

WilliamA

@Jms said:
Nice! How much is your tow capacity reduced with all of the new equipment on your Jeep? :-)

Not more than 40-50%. There's still room! lol
WilliamA

Jms

Had to share a photo of a friend's new (to him) Rubicon. Showed him my T@G and told him that one would go perfect with his Jeep. He has a 20 ft push up radio mast mounted on the back for his mobile ham radio rig...actually he has 3 separate radios mounted in a custom overhead console. Nice set up.

WilliamA

Nice! I've been reading a bit about ham radios and have been thinking about going that route. It's just one more thing on the list, isn't it? sigh... Perhaps I'll focus for awhile on the stuff I have going already....

WilliamA

Jms

I hear ya. Everything can be a rabbit hole of time and funds. Not enough of either to pursue all of the things we would like to do.

If you do decide to get into radio, it's a great time. Easier than ever to get a license, especially with your knowledge of electrical principles. Also, radios have come down tremendously in price with all of the competition from Chinese manufacturers. And lots of cool stuff you can do with digital. Let me know if you would ever like to talk radio, and I'll chew your ear off. I currently have a UHF mobile in my tow vehicle (2015 Honda Pilot) for ham and GMRS (general mobile radio service) frequencies. I program in frequencies before trips for my routes and destinations. I eventually want to put a HF rig in my tow vehicle, but that's a lot more involved with grounding and bonding various components to the frame. Ahhhhh....just need more time and money....

CampHub

What @jms said, it is a great time to get your license. I also want to get a HF rig in my Jeep and adapt my screwdriver antenna to fit onto the bike rack. My mobile setup now is a little bulky... lol

willbingham1

William, I also am a "Ham" operator and go mobile with small motorized Tarheel Screwdriver, having used many different radio rigs in cars/trucks, along with separate programmed radios for the repeater VHF/UHF radio frequencies. I use voice modes mostly but many will adapt to CW and to digital modes even using dongles and hotspots in the mobile. I have enjoyed this hobby since 2007 in my retirement years and have communicated while on the road and mobile and camping. In addition I have camped and set up small vertical antennas as well as "loaded" wire antennas in campsites in state parks and communicated with a rig in the camper itself. Only issues have been safety for wire antennas and then some inverter "birdies" from the camping rigs itself. I have just added solar panels (fold up style) for boondocking and looking forward to future radio experiences in portable mode while camping (going to camp mid March in north Florida at Fort Clinch State Park for a week and I will set up radio there). The basic Tech license is a walk in the park now (no code!) and even the next step General license is not too difficult with the modern online study helps (also no code). The General license allows you to use may frequencies and modes to communicate. Get in touch with some local ham clubs or members and let them introduce you to the hobby. Just got off my base station today and talked to Spain, Canada, and North Dakota this afternoon, as well as my mobile on a return trip from Chattanooga to KY. On the last weekend of June is an event that takes place all over the USA called "Field Day." It is actually the last Saturday and Sunday of June and is a 24 hour event/contest where local "Ham" clubs and individuals compete with emergency set ups in parks and elsewhere running on generators and solar, contacting other hams and clubs for the duration of the 24 hours. Basically, it is a good introduction to the hobby and would give you a window into the world of Ham Radio. Give it a look! Modern radios and equipment are very compact and efficient to run mobile and portable off of 12 volts (at about 25 amps or less draw).
Bill
KJ4BAD (my call sign)
Richmond, KY

WilliamA

As "Monk" would say: "See....Here's the thing"

I was at my local Jeep dealer Wednesday having my tires rotated and the salesman came over... " william...are you still interested in that black Rubicon?"
The rest, as they say is now history. I actually have been watching the price of this one creeping down as the months passed. It's a 2018 model so they have been more and more anxious to get rid of it. There aren't too many things automotively speaking that get my attention quicker than a motivated seller. When it comes to vehicles I do my homework better than most. They made me a trade offer that I just couldn't pass up. I knew exactly how much it would cost me to keep my 2017, (I keep a running maintenance cost spreadsheet) how much maintenance it was going to need in the next 12 months and when I added in the fact that the factory warranty was within a couple thousand miles of expiration, it got extremely attractive. I had them run the numbers through the credit union and went home to do my chores. Kyle (my salesman) texted me a couple hours later that I was approved with an additional 1.8 points off my interest rate 5.3% Woohoo!) So I couldn't pass it up.
The Rubicon.... It's safe to say I've been wanting one since forever but just couldn't convince the accountant in me that the up-charge was worth the price of entry. The Rubicon edition is around 10 grand more than a standard Wrangler. I just couldn't convince myself that there was 10 grand worth of extra Jeep. My oldest son has a Wrangler sport with the new 8 speed automatic and I've been really impressed with it. My 5 speed auto was sluggish and slow by comparison. The 8 speed also has a much deeper 1st gear which makes it seem much quicker and more lively, along with more closely spaced gears that add up to better acceleration. The new Rubicon's most glaring difference though is the engine. This one has the 2 liter E-torque turbo. I have read a great deal about it since it's release a year ago and have been "extremely" interested. It has the same hp/torque numbers as the V6 and is a lot lighter. I drove it for an hour with a final blast up the highway at 75mph and came away much impressed.
So it's in the driveway now. I have to get a hitch (I have one) on it and have ordered a factory Mopar 7-way harness that I'll need to install. The factory harness is a bit complex and will take me the better part of a day to install but I really want to do a nice install on this one and love the way the Mopar harness tucks the plug up under the bumper as well as burying the harness in the car rather than under it.
The Rubicon already has all the stuff (lift, 4.10 gears, lockers, swaybar disconnect, leather seats) that I wanted to add to the old Jeep in addition to the E-torque engine and that sweet 8-speed tranny.
We'll see how it likes the trailer soon...

WilliamA

Bobrocks

Very nice. Congratulations!

beaky

it looks like the Gladiators are moving very slowly at my local Jeep store

LuckyJ

Nice catch!

Can wait to heat your comments ounce you start towing with it!

TomD

You and the Rubicon are One!!

WilliamA

https://teardrop-trailers.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/6227#Comment_6227

😎

So far, so good. I got my hitch on this afternoon. It's the one I took off the old Jeep. It needed a gentle "massage" to fit the new Jeep.😁

My Mopar wiring harness shipped and will arrive on the 28th. That will take most of a day to install.

WilliamA

WilliamA

I have been noticing more and more that Mopar branded accessories are showing up on aftermarket websites. Compared to over the counter dealer prices, the aftermarket is making branded parts much more attractive. I've also seen this trend in Tacoma parts. Given a choice between factory, aftermarket and "build-my-own" I am comfortable with any of those options, but am skeptical of aftermarket wiring "kits" as being a bit dodgy and ill-fitting with tiny wires. The branded stuff is generally better quality with good connectors but also usually the most expensive. In this case, at $225 for the complete Mopar (Jeep) branded hardware it's expensive but in truth, I doubt I could scratch-build a harness for less. While this is a chunk of cash, I can't make a better one so far as fit is concerned and it is still half the cost of the factory harness sourced through a Jeep dealer.

WilliamA

WilliamA

I got the new brake controller installed this afternoon. I am using this one:

http://www.hopkinstowingsolutions.com/products/braking/brake-controllers/47297.html

I've been wanting one of these forever. Space in the Rubicon is at a premium so a remote mount unit was pretty much a requirement. I'll post a few pics. UPS moved my harness delivery date up to Wednesday so getting in the brake controller had to be done.

WilliamA

WilliamA

I finished up the installation of my new hitch, harness and brake controller. Everything is working and ship shape. I did a quick, 6 mile road trip to check things out and all is in order thus far.

One of the best reasons to get the Mopar official harness is this bomb-proof plug mount. Nice.

The manual brake control is up on the side of the dash tucked next to the steering column. I need to move it just a half inch. It works fine here, but when I lower the steering column, it hits. It's stuck on with 3M tape so no worries.

Close-up of same. On this side of the control, I adjust the gain. On the other, sensitivity. It's easy to adjust and intuitive.

Ready light is on...

The black box for the controller tucked up on the firewall ahead of the passengers footrest.

If you look closely next to the sway bar button, you can just see the display with a tiny red led. That's the "trailer hooked" light that tells me the system is working and at idle.

With brakes or manual control applied a bit, you get a readout of the percentage of brake force applied. Since the unit is proportional, if you apply the brakes while sitting still, it just flashed 10, then 0. Once moving, it reads brake power proportionate to the stopping force. I've got it set pretty low, but it still comes on nicely and keeps the trailer managed.

The connector is really tucked away up under the bumper and protected by the hitch. Nice.

Last but not least, at idle the trailer is showing 13.9-14.2V through the connector.

I also wired my backup lights in and that's working. Lovin it so far. I'm going out for a weekend test. For those who are interested in the nuts and bolts of the wiring process (which was a looooonnnnng way from a standard trailer wiring job) ping me and I'll try and explain. Lots of interesting hurdles wiring the brake control trigger into the Jeep JL Rubicon body control module. I've read many, many posts on the Wrangler forum and folks have done it various ways with mixed results, but I've got things working nicely with no cursed warning lights for the ABS, Traction Control, etc. Seems to be working fine thus far.

WilliamA

JamesDow

Conratulations on your new TV. Great job with the photos.

LuckyJ

Good job.

But, I have to say that what you consider a bullet proof oem trailer plug, would not last to my style of driving ( or what I can do with the jeep). In my case, it as to be in the bumper, or over it. Not under it in any way.

But this is me in a a jeep and off and overland world!

WilliamA

LuckyJ,

I'd be the 1st to agree with you. I would much rather it was in the bumper but there's no real estate in the new bumper to put it. As it is, the bracket is higher than the bottom of the hitch and heavy enough to use as a jack point so I'm confident it can take a beating. It's still miles above the tin bracket most come with. I'll live with it for now. We'll see what kind of bumpers I end up with..😎

WilliamA

LuckyJ

@WilliamA You just have to keep it in your head while driving off road. But nice to know that it is that beefy!