BigTuna117

Well it doesn't look like I'm gonna be able to make it, sadly. There's always next year, though!

Well, I certainly hope to. That always depends on what breaks next in the Jeep too, haha

ALLLLLL RIGHTY! Almost didn't make it! But I renewed. Here's to another year on ORP!

Gonna have to drop back down to Tentative. Just found out my Sister and Brother-in-law are coming down from Oregon to visit. Not sure when, just that it will be soon. I'll update when I know for sure.

Well, Thursday and Friday I took on a small task of putting in correctly sized sway bar links in the back and quick discos in the front. Since I bought my IRO kit used, it didn't have those links. Fortunately they are cheap. I went Rough Country for the quick disconnects since they are cheap. Now, I know that "cheap" and "good" aren't necessarily the same, but so far they seem alright. We'll see how they hold up over time. So far they ride just fine, and allow me to quickly disconnect the swaybar and latch it in place up top. In the back, I picked up a pair of links from Zone Offroad. These links are pretty solidly built, and the bushings are replaceable with the standard hourglass bushings. Pre-lift, the Jeep sat on a budget boost, so I have never had correct length links on this rig. She has ALWAYS been a boat on the road. After our moab trip, the bushings started to deteriorate, and she has been full boat mode since. the new links make her very well behaved on road. We'll get to see her disconnected next trip. I can't wait to disconnect and have it not take 30 minutes!

Thanks! That being said I recently found out I'm gonna need a small spacer for each of the 6x9s. I can't roll down the windows more than half way because the magnet sticks back into the window track! The good news is that the spacers are cheap to buy and even cheaper to make if you have the tools.

They are really superb quality for 58 bucks, I think. Maybe I'm just really partial to Cerwin-Vega. They very first pair of speakers I ever put into my 88 XJ (First vehicle- I was 16) back in the day was a pair of 90's era Cerwin-Vega 5.5" components that were gifted to me by a former neighbor who I did odd jobs for. If you cut the infinity amp and make your front doors full range, then these are an excellent choice. I did have to shave a millimeter or so out of the stock mounting hole because these are slightly oversized though. They aren't by any means fully "broken in" yet, but they do sound damn good. If I Hadn't done these, I would have done either JBL, Polk, or Rockford Fosgate. These complement the Polk DB651's in the back doors and the Rockford Fosgate Punch P132s in the dash very well. Very nice blend between all 8 full range channels.

The FINAL part of the stereo setup is in. But for reals this time. The Cerwin Vega HED 4692(?) 6x9s. Somehow I managed to blow out one of my 6x9s around the time NAU 4x4 and I went to moab. I've been listening to it rattle and sputter since. I actually bought these almost a month ago, but it took longer because of shenanigans at the company I bought from. The difference between these and the Pioneers they are replacing is quite noticeable: Although they don't have the trademark red surround that CVs (Only The Cerwin Vega Pro series has them in mobile) usually have, they do have the sound. It's nice to once again have Cerwin Vegas in my rig.

Thanks! It really does add a nice range to the setup. Now all I have to do is swap the 6x9's out for a new pair. Somehow the Infinity amp blew out one of 'em before I pulled it out. Some things I've been toying with: I Need to make a more suitable mount for the Roof Rack. The factory rails are just too darn rattle-y. Once that is done, I was considering mounting a small solar panel up there to pick up the slack in charging batteries. I work pretty close to home, so it doesn't really give the batteries a chance to charge. This also gets rid of some of the worry of killing my batteries when I'm out camping for long periods of time, as I like to use the radio sometimes. Especially now that it's a more power hungry system than it was before. I am also working on streamlining my camping mess kit, as it's just WAY too clunky for only possibly using something once on a trip. I feel like I can probably cut the size down by at least half, while actually making it more organized and functional. This will be good if I ever finalize the design of a sleeping platform for the Jeep.

I think every build probably has a point where you add something completely unnecessary for a reason that is practical or makes sense. After wiring the Fosgate amp in, I had the four amplified outputs from the clarion HU left over to experiment with. Naturally the Rockford-Fosgate 3.5"s in the dash got the front channels on that. I wanted to keep everything full range since the 3.5" are designed for full range and extend the mids very nicely. I was looking for something to fill the midrange a little bit, since most car audio speaker setups tend to be higher on the treble and low in the bass, but leave a lot to be desired in the mids. I decided to fill the two unused rear channels with the simple reasoning of "Well, they're there lets use 'em!" I wanted something back there that was compact, but decent sounding. Something that could extend the sound range available in the Jeep without losing too much space. So I started bugging around the internet and ended up buying a pair of Series III Bose Acoustimass Cube speakers. Yes, I know, I know. They are home theatre speakers, but suit their purpose in the Jeep well. They are 4Ω compatible up to 100 watts- much more than I will ever pump into em. I bought this pair of white cubes off ebay for $25 and refurbished them for use in the Jeep. Fresh outta the shipping box, they are pretty ugly cosmetically. Nothing a little spray on bedliner and fabric paint can't fix! To my surprise, these are all scuffs on the housing. I cleaned them pretty thoroughly painting them. Luckily the housing is solid and the drivers are in good shape. After the first shot of fabric paint, already looking much sharper. Fresh looking and ready for service! Mounted with a cheap mounting kit. They've held up pretty well so far. Like this, they should be able to swivel around toward the hatch for tailgating or listening to music whilst camping. I didn't use the speaker mounts that came with the kit, instead using the "Mounting Keys" supplied with the speakers. will probably change to something more heavy duty in the future. The cubes add a nice frequency range to the Jeep. Even where they are positioned, they are not harsh at all while sitting in the back seats. So, I think I'm pretty much done messing with the sound system in the Jeep. At an insane 8.1 Channels, there isn't much more I can really add to it anyways. Sounds pretty damn good, too. Onward, to more important things, like Fender trimming/folding, quick disconnects, and trail related shenanigans!

Indeed. It does get pretty toasty. I was considering moving somewhere else. The 4 channel amp is small enough that I could put it under one of the front seats, or maybe on one of the side panels.

Hmm, another thing I've been having problems with is the dash cam. Somehow it killed the 64GB MicroSD card I had in it. This is the last time I "overformat" to FAT32. Will be getting an actual 32 Gb MicroSD next time. In the last 3 years this is the 2nd 64GB card I've killed in FAT 32, as FAT32 is technically not supposed to be on anything above 32GB in today's standards. So, for the time being, its back to the 1GB card until I get a new card in. I have been looking to upgrade to a Mini0806, which is a newer cam with better support, dual MicroSD slots, and support to up to 128GB for each slot! Pretty incredible, that would have been unheard of for anything under $400 last year. Now you can get it for $100. Nuts.

So, I got the new amp installed yesterday. Was pretty straightforward, and the main battery is a little happier with the lightened load of not having the primary amp in its circuit. I wired the dash speakers back into the HU, and rand the four door speakers into the amp. Sounds MUCH better. I can't actually get it to distort so far, which is great. The Infinity amp distorted pretty bad ant normal listening level. Pretty pleased with the outcome.

Soon, I'll say buh-bye to the stock Infinity Amp! (Imgur is being funky again) This is Rockford Fosgate's Punch 300x4 super compact 300 watt amp. It'll be replacing the Infinity amp here in a few days. Should be a fairly straightforward install, so I'm pretty excited to get rid of the Infinity amp. It's also designed, tested and manufactured here in Arizona! Rockford Fosgate is a local company! Love their amps. The one powering my sub is almost 5 now and still works wonders. The sound curve RFosgate amps are tuned to hit is a very warm, hi-fidelity curve, so I am stoked to see how these do with the polks in the back doors (and the Cerwin-Vega! 6x9's I have on order for the front doors).

The problem with that philosophy is that I had fun, so it's all good stuff to me. I don't think ya'll want me spamming the page with 60GB of video In all seriousness I will review what I got and try to get a video posted tomorrow or Wednesday.

Somehow, just perfectly I have about 90% of the dash cam footage from this weekend. Is there any particular spot anyone wants to see? If so I can compile a video or take some screenshots and post em' up. Here's a few pics I have pulled: Cam crossing Bonita Creek: Lining up to head out:

Hmm, I thought that the dash cam had corrupted the card again, it appears not. Once I finish pulling data (the whole card is being pulled!), I'll post up some pictures (and video hopefully) from it!

Meet up at Taylor Freeze: Airing down for some time on the mountain: George on the fire lookout: View from the lookout (stitched together a little bit buggy): Fred Merrick was a painter, at least that's what his tombstone says. We dropped by and payed our respects. Fueling up Saturday, getting ready to head for Gila Box and Mt. Graham: Heading for Gila Box: A coil spring decided to unseat and gave us some downtime. I used it to get artsy with a few pictures: Heading up Mt. Graham, we passed through some clouds. At the top of Graham: While exploring a road on the top of the mountain, I got hung up on a rock. Kristoffer had to pull me out. I took this picture giggling as the theme of Jaws was playing in the back of my head "Duh dun duh dun" The clouds started to clear as we made our way down the mountain sunday: Smurftruck drives into the abyss:

Well, a couple of water crossings killed one of the smaller rocker LED strips this weekend. I think when I cut it, the waterproof layer separated from the circuit board. When we splashed down, it probably shorted out that little section. Easy fix, though. All in all, Pegasus didn't do too badly, but drove like a boat home since the bushings in my sway bar links are toast. I'll probably upgrade the rear to poly and just replace the front links with quick disconnects, since i need those anyways. My "Tiny Tarp Awning" was a great idea, but the tarp used is just too dang small. I'll probably pull the 4x6 tarp off and replace it with something 8x10 or 10x12, and just incorporate another tent pole in to the mix. Had a great time out of the heat with ORP this weekend!

Thanks! All in all, I planned to re-use a relay and a switch that I had leftover from other projects. The relay no longer worked so it got replaced, but all in all, I spent probably $35 for the LEDs (both types), wire, the new relay, and different crimp-on connectors. Not too shabby, especially since most rock light kits seem to cost in the $150-$200 range. This setup is waterproof, modular (so if one section or one of the LED bolts goes out, it can be replaced easily), and much more low profile than most kits I've seen.

Well, I spend my Birthday "Weekend" (yesterday and today) Installing some LED "Rock Lights" on Pegasus, for those trail runs that drag into the night. In total I spent probably 25 or 30 bucks total on this project, used some cheap waterproof LEDs, and some nifty wire distribution to make it modular. If a section goes out, it's easy to replace! It's all on a Relay run to Battery B (Rear) and uses an estimated 5-7 amps. Not too shabby... and plenty of room for more if they are needed sometime down the line. I also added some red LED strings to the vent "fins" for an added cool touch Each wheel well got two of these little bolt LEDs. they seem less likely to get damaged due to their low profile. Below the rockers got some cheap waterproof adhesive led string. At first I was worried about the adhesive not holding because of the heat, but 24 hours after install they stick solid! I'll probably come up with a secondary way of holding these up, just in case. I have plenty of this string of LEDs left, so I'll probably utilize some inside too.

I feel ya there, I ran trails in moab with my spare up top, with both sway bars disconnected. Even though it's only a 30.6" tire, it's still pretty heavy. Its presence up top plus the rear sway bar delete really exaggerated the trails I think. ^ The Launch Pad felt like I was driving straight up! Movement along obstacles was extremely slow because I'd have to stop and let the body stop rocking once you got an axle over something. Running no rear SB and the extra topheaviness made her prone to dropping front coils too. There was a couple times where someone would have to re-seat a coil while I was coming down a drop. I have since re-installed the rear SB for the sake of both on and off road driving. I have been eyeing one of these on ebay for a while, although I'd probably buy a lock and run it all the time! I'm hoping my new camping tote will clear some of the clutter. Typically once I have everything all stacked together, Tote and crates in the car, water jugs in, I don't have much room for the cooler. Hopefully the new tote solves this problem, since everything is down to one tote. Also, the tote has strappable points so I can strap things onto it, which should eliminate some movement.

So, I'd say if I had one very big weak point towards the trips that I take, it'd be how I pack my Jeep. In the past, I've been able to fill the back of my Jeep from carpet to headliner with stuff that I use, maybe not so much with stuff I don't use or don't want to use, more so that it is unorganized and clutter-y. Because of this, I decided to get a Roof Rack. It has come in great handy, being able to reallocate things up top that aren't going to get used until you get to camp, like chairs, tents (I put my sleeping bag up here sometimes, but i prefer it in the jeep. I don't much care for the idea of sleeping in a wet bag) and such. Since I got the Rugged terrains, I keep my spare up there now. This does make it pretty easy to access in case of a flat, but also take up precious space up top. Recently I bought a Rubbermaid Tough Tote and re-organized the larger body of my camp gear. What used to take a tote, milk crate, and wood crate now takes up just a single tote and a crate, plus a few other things like the tent, stove and water cans. My biggest question is: how do you pack your rig? What can be defined as acceptable to put on the roof rack? What do you pack for a few days excursion? What packing tips do you have for a youngin' who is just starting out?

Hello from Fort Mohave! Excellent looking WJ you have there. If you ever pass Pegasus on the highway, shoot me a wave!

NAu 4x4 made the magazine too! Although I didn't get to go to Expo this year, it was cool to see them in there.