"Oki": 4x4tographer's 2018 Jeep JLUR

[4x4tographer 2,531]

Finally got in some new storage bags from Blue Ridge Overland Gear (BROG)! Thanks for the suggestion @theksmith!!

 

I picked up a new Tool Pouch Roll, a medium First Aid IFAK Bag and their large Fire Extinguisher Molle Pouch. The wait was painful (7 weeks is a life age in the time of Amazon) but it was worth it. All of the bags are very well made with heavy duty materials, oversize buckles, and sturdy zippers.

 

These bags really helped me clean up my storage in the back of the Jeep and organize my life a lot better than it was. Originally I had 2 separate medical kits tossed in my tailgate storage area and all of my tools in a big pile in a FrontRunner Flat Pack that fit nicely into my drawer system. Unfortunately this made finding anything a massive pain in the butt and it honestly took up far more space than it should have.

 

Now we're a lot more organized and actually have some space to spare (which I didn't previously have).

 

 

This is my tool drawer, which contains:

• Bottle jack
• TP / folding shovel
• Impact wrench
• my BFH (hammer)
• Work gloves
• BROG Tool Roll Pouch
• and an additional tool roll that theksmith kindly gave to me a while back!

 

 

 

My secondary drawer mostly consists of recovery and first aid items:

1. BROG First Aid Bag
2. Recovery strap
3. ARB tire repair kit
4. another set of gloves
5. Jump starter
6. Big red bag of recovery items

 

 

My Tuffy Tailgate Lock Box now contains the majority of my air up/down items:

• Smittybilt air compressor
• Orange box holds my air hoses (I won the box at the very first ORP Cinder's Trip we ever attended!)
• ARB deflator
• Coyote quick deflators
• Duct tape
• and some magnetic socket holders that have some pretty powerful magnets on them. I've got a (mostly) full set of metric and and SAE. I've still got a lot of learning to do on what all fasteners I've got on the Jeep, but for now I'm taking an "all of the above" approach. 😁

 

 

Here's a closer look at the bags from BROG.

 

The BROG Fire Extinguisher Molle Pouch fits a medium/large extinguisher. I'm looking to buy a larger overall extinguisher, so I'm going to have to measure to see what it will accept. The unit cinches closed and has molle straps on the back side.

 

 

The IFAK medium First Aid Bag contains two separate medical kits I combined into a master kit.

Each interior pouch is "tear away" with a clear side so you can more easily see what's going on inside of each one. The bag is large enough to allow me to include a C-splint, a trauma bag, and a wilderness medical guide inside. The front has some molle loops to add a 2nd exterior bag, and some velcro for a tear away pouch.

 

 

 

The new BROG Tool Pouch Roll is fantastic and can expand in size as I add more items to it over time.

Like the first aid bag, it has tear away pouches to allow you to just grab what you need and move on. The buckles are very heavy duty and the bag has some molle loops throughout the outside for additional attachments or sliding in some longer tools.

 

 

I've also got this tear away pouch mounted to my rear molle panels. It fits nicely between the panel and the soft top window. Haven't figured out what I want to put into it yet. Preferably nothing too valuable since I roll the majority of the winter topless, but might end up moving it to the inside side of the panels for a little more security.

 

I'm considering putting the trauma kit inside of it for even easier access, or maybe some just basic stuff like sunscreen/aloe/hand sanitizer. Might consider just cramming a bunch of bungee cords into it to get them out of my drawers.

 

 

 

On the horizon I have plans to modify my survival bag and beef it up a bit more. Right now it's a basic backpack with some water, emergency blankets, MREs, and some other items. So it's not really that robust of a "bug out bag".  Ideally I want something I can just grab and go with in the event I get stranded somewhere.

Edited September 12, 2020 by 4x4tographer

[4x4tographer 2,531]

Little mini project I've been meaning to take care of. 

 

Some square tube, some bolts, and Old Glory. 

Still need to spray it with some bed liner.

 

[4x4tographer 2,531]

Since I'm still a little on the fence over committing to a full-blown, hard-mounted HAM radio, I decided to look into mounting my handheld Baofeng UV-5R radio. Since I already have a 67designs rail system on my dash (which I friggin LOVE), picking up another arm and mounting the radio there made a lot of sense.

 

I really had 2 reasons for mounting it:

1. I hate scrambling to find the radio when I need to talk, and it frequently bounces out of my cupholder.
2. Some of you have probably heard me whine about static or interference being picked up by the radio. This interference is somehow related to something going on near the center console, and it drives me nuts. When the radio is at about chest level, the interference disappears. There have been quite a few a few trail runs where I resorted to just holding the darn radio for 4-6 hours. 😵

 

 

From 67designs, I grabbed:

• A medium carbon fiber arm
• A Series 20 ball (I'm a first generation 67D rail owner, so they use an older ball)

 

For the mount I went with locally-owned and operated JeepUniq, who also happens to be an ORP forum sponsor! Order process was simple, and my order was shipped pretty quickly by the team over at @JeepUniq. Since it shipped from Scottsdale, the USPS had it in my grubby paws by the next day.

 

The specific mount I purchased is designed to mate up directly with the 67designs system, and comes complete with a 67D 20mm ball mount for painless installation. I opted to get a dual mount that holds both the radio and an external Baofeng mic. The JeepUniq mount uses a clever design that leverages both the handheld radio's belt clip and a pair of outer retention clips. The design looks 3d printed to me, and is of solid quality. 

 

Total installation took about 2 minutes, since my 67D rail was already installed. I'm a happy camper and am looking forward to testing it out during this weekend's Crown King Run!

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by 4x4tographer

[theksmith 3,667]

 

i can't believe you've been dealing with the interference issue that long, that would have driven me crazy sooner!

[4x4tographer 2,531]

2 minutes ago, theksmith said:

i can't believe you've been dealing with the interference issue that long, that would have driven me crazy sooner!

 

A lot of it comes down to not knowing what the heck I'm doing 😄

[4x4tographer 2,531]

Had an epic day out on the CK trail this weekend. Always a good time.

 

Here’s “Oki” (my wife named her after Okinawa) stock flexing on the CK rock. Honestly, I’m impressed at how much flex a stock Rubicon can net you straight out of the box. Supposedly the JLUR scores a 640 stock on Metalcloak’s CTI trailer. For reference, a stock JK gets a score of 540.

 

 

The rear was a full stuff and I think there was still a few more inches of flex left in her.

 

Speaking of Metalcloak...

 

“In Metalcloak we trust.” The skids put in some overtime on the last two ledge obstacles at the Oro Bell Mine area. Looking forward to a lift and 35’s or 37’s in the future.

 

Some more carnage.

 

 

And CK is never friendly on tires. I’m sitting on about 40% tread left, so going to start thinking about some replacements by about spring.

 

 

Front:

 

Rear:

[4x4tographer 2,531]

 

Took a few hours to dial in my Coyote Tire Deflators.  Previously they all were deflating between 22psi and 26psi. I’d always have to follow up with a quick deflator to even out the tires.

After a bit of a guessing game inflating, deflating, adjusting, inflating, deflating, adjusting I’ve got them all dialed into to about 18-19psi. Should save some time at the trailhead!

[4x4tographer 2,531]

Fox 2.0 Performance IFP shocks arrived today for the front and rear. 🤩

 

[theksmith 3,667]

1 hour ago, 4x4tographer said:

Fox 2.0 Performance IFP shocks arrived today for the front and rear. 🤩

 

 

[Stacey and Scott 1,129]