[Twitchy]

Here is the new placement of the 3rd brake light in the middle of the tire carrier, it is part of the license plate LED light mount tab:





Here are the turn signal amber lights on the front of the tube fender (3 of them per side)





In this picture you can see the 3 turn signal lights on the front side of the tube fender and the 3 side markers, which obviously are on the side of the tube fenders



More pics tomorrow, thanks for all the support thus far guys and your patience

[jasonv1234]

More pics needed, awesome build! Love the tire carrier.

[jeepteejay]

Originally Posted by solarpower

The shackle (actually a clevis) in your receiver hitch is 3/4 inch I believe...the D-ring (center shackle to you) welded on your stinger is 5/8 inch or less...you can look at the stamping on your receiver mounted clevis to establish it's size...

if your going to run +38's and axles and stretch your WB....your going to want to use that 3/4 inch clevis vs. the smaller D-Ring. it's what all the big kids use.

Nice looking build.

Actually it is called a shackle.
Seems most people here use 'Screw Pin Shackles' too (which is what the op has). 'Bolt Type Shackles' (sometimes called 'Safety Shackles') are also very good, but require a pin to be rigged safely).

I work with this gear everyday, and in all parts of the world and I've yet to see it called a 'Clevis'.

In my experience 'Clevis' has been used to describe a 'Clevis Pin'. A Clevis Pin is a piece of round stock steel with a raised edge on one side so that it cannot completely slip through the hole on was designed for. A pin is then put through the other side to keep it in place.
They are typically used is anchor points on a wire or rope and on hooks where the hooks connect to the wire / rope. I see people use them here to make Homemade Sway Bar Disconnects (I've done it too).

Let me see if I can find a picture....
Here found 2:



Sorry to nit pick, but I hear people say it here all the time, and I've yet to say anything.

You're right though, I feel that you want to use at least 3/4" shackles, and also quality shackles from a reputable manufacturer (like Crosby Group).

There are also 2 (well there are actually more, but 2 main) grades of shackles to choose from. One is much stronger than the other.

A 3/4 Carbon Screw Pin Shackle from Crosby has a Working Load Limit (WLL) of 4 -3/4 t.
A 3/4 Alloy Screw Pin Shackle from Crosby has a WLL of 7 t.

[nettak]

I'm curious about your LED's. Are the LED's themelves amber color, or are they inside some sort of housing? Where did you find them? Are the 3 seperate LED's per turn signal?

Looks great, by the way.

[Magman]

Twitchy,
Beautiful build first off. Do the rear LED's come with back up bulbs in them? Were there any issues with having to remove the flasher or change the flasher? I really like those units but I don't need any additional headaches.

Thanks........george

Originally Posted by Twitchy

Well while I'm waiting for the return of the Jeep, I thought I might as wel post some pictures of the other small changes I've made to the TJ.

EVen when I owned my 88' YJ Laredo back in the early 90's, I always hated the look of the tail lights. So in June of this year I picked up a set of Off Road Only rear LEDS as well as the LED bracket for the license plate light/3rd brake light combo. These units will mate up nicely to the new Gen-Right rear corners that are being installed.

I took these pictures halfway through so that I could see the true difference from old to new. Here are both the day and night shots:





They really do clean up the back end of the vehicle. Although these are not the flush mounted versions, they definitely do the trick.



The other benefit of these LEDs not being flush is that they offer turn signals on the outside of either unit, which you can sort of see in this picture:



The above night pictures don't do justice to the brightness of these ORO units, they are spectacular, even during the day. Unfortunately there was nobody around at the time to take the pictures with me so I could show the reverse lights on these units. But trust me they are equally bright, even during the day.

The instructions from ORO were very clear and easy to follow and the lit came with everything you need to do the direct hook up, including the shrink tubes for the wire splicing.

The only part that was a PITA, was the right side unit because of the EVAP canister which sits just behind the passenger side rear corner on my 2004 TJ. It made pulling out the factory electrical connector very difficult and there was a bit of profanity, scraped knuckles and several beers involved.

The license plate/3rd brake LED unit from ORO is simple and to the point, it bolts right into the stock holes and sits between the license plate holder and the plate itself. This unit will also transfer over to my new rear tire carrier and allow me to remove the factory third brake light assembly which I detest. The one con I have about the ORO license plate LED is that the wiring is super short so I had to add lengths of wiring to get the job done.

[Twitchy]

Originally Posted by jeepteejay

Actually it is called a shackle.
Seems most people here use 'Screw Pin Shackles' too (which is what the op has). 'Bolt Type Shackles' (sometimes called 'Safety Shackles') are also very good, but require a pin to be rigged safely).

I work with this gear everyday, and in all parts of the world and I've yet to see it called a 'Clevis'.

In my experience 'Clevis' has been used to describe a 'Clevis Pin'. A Clevis Pin is a piece of round stock steel with a raised edge on one side so that it cannot completely slip through the hole on was designed for. A pin is then put through the other side to keep it in place.
They are typically used is anchor points on a wire or rope and on hooks where the hooks connect to the wire / rope. I see people use them here to make Homemade Sway Bar Disconnects (I've done it too).

Let me see if I can find a picture....
Here found 2:



Sorry to nit pick, but I hear people say it here all the time, and I've yet to say anything.

You're right though, I feel that you want to use at least 3/4" shackles, and also quality shackles from a reputable manufacturer (like Crosby Group).

There are also 2 (well there are actually more, but 2 main) grades of shackles to choose from. One is much stronger than the other.

A 3/4 Carbon Screw Pin Shackle from Crosby has a Working Load Limit (WLL) of 4 -3/4 t.
A 3/4 Alloy Screw Pin Shackle from Crosby has a WLL of 7 t.

This is so not nit picking, this is an important topic that doesn't get spokena bout often and by no means is this a high jacking of my thread. I think alot of people do not understand the concepts of tensile strength, load and rope, tow strap dynamics.

Having said that, my question would be the following. In high Angle rescue I am use to the concepts of loading the rope on the long axis of a carabiner, since that was where it was designed to carry the load and shock. I've always wondered how that would translate to the shackles in the Jeeping community. My first instinct when I first hooked a tow strap eyelet to the shackle was, "Well this can't be done cause there is no long axis." So how is the design principle different on horse shoe shaped shackles to hold the load?

[Twitchy]

Well, tomorrow is my 35th birthday and quite honestly I don't think I could have bought myself a better present than 230 lbs. of armor for my 2004 Jeep Tj Sahara with some custom touches thrown in. My neighbors think I'm a freak, but that's okay, as long as they keep taking a wide berth around my Jeep, I'm happy.

So the moment we have been waiting for is finally here, the unveiling of my fully covered, Gen-Right armored TJ. Enjoy the pictures! As always any questions please feel free to ask.

Big thanks to the guys at NATIONAL 4 WHEEL DRIVE IN CALGARY, ALBERTA, this rig has been built from the ground up by them and they deserve the praise. THANKS GUYS!!

Let's start with the issue that baffled so many at the start of this thread, the rake that my Jeep had from back to front.

Before...


....and now with full Gen-Right armor and of course some coil spacers on the front end


Now if that's not even front to back I don't know what is. I went with CAGE 1.25" coil spacers, they are a stout product and my only issue with them is the chrome-like color, but that will be rattle canned soon either way


Now the biggest part of this build has been the custom LED light for the side markers and turn signals. I've seen many options on here but have suited my taste until I crawled Gunkel's thread for these babies






They are called LED bolt lights and come in either 5mm or 10mm sizes, I opted for the 10mm amber model. They come in amber, white, blue, green, red and UV(blacklight). The price point is excellent and they can be found here, just scroll 3/4 of the way down the page:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini_tubes.htm

Shipping time was 5 business days to Canada and that's pretty sweet.

As you can see they come pre-wired and yes they can be used as turn signal flashers as well.

Jump a few posts back and you will see how they look illuminated at night.

Are they DOT approved? Couldn't tell you and frankly I'm not worried about that.

They are remarkably bright during the day as well, here is a picture of them on during the day, however the picture does not do them full justice as to their brightness, sorry about that



Here's how they look not lit up



How are they wired, well I'll repeat again now that they are finished.
Here is a shot from underneath the passenger side tube fender looking forward (engine bay to the left on the picture)



What I had the shop do was literally thread the hole that was drilled in the tube fender rather than weld the nut you see above at the rear. This way there is no chance of them wiggling loose. If you look at the far left of the picture above you can see the extra hole that was drilled to pass the wiring to keep it up and out of the way.

In this next picture, which is the same fender as the picture above, you can see the extra sleeve the guys welded in place to run the wiring from the side markers for the same purpose.



There is nothing better than good clean electrical work, especially in an area that chances receiving a fair amount of severe rubbing and tearing.

More to come......

[john NC]

you've created a monster

looks awesome, any pics of the back? i wanna see how the rear stinger looks

that gen-right stuff looks quality, i'm definitely a fan and i don't even own any

[missionAvs]

Awesome Jeep man!!

[Twitchy]

Originally Posted by john NC

you've created a monster

looks awesome, any pics of the back? i wanna see how the rear stinger looks

that gen-right stuff looks quality, i'm definitely a fan and i don't even own any

Monster? hehe, I hope. SLowly but surely she's getting to become what I visualize in my head.

Just wait till I get to stage 3 and 4 of its build my friend. Thanks for the compliments they are always appreciated. Gen-Right does build some quality stuff, more on that in a bit.

[Twitchy]

Okay, so there was a few questions about the ORO LED tail lights and license plate/3rd brake light asembly after I posted the night shots last evening.

So here they are during the day and the answers to those questions.

The rear tail lights come pre-assembled, the only work you need to do is match up the new wiring for the LED lights to the stock wiring for the old ones. The instruction booklet from ORO is simple to read and very thorough covering several model vehicles and also has pictures, which I fully appreciated. They even include the clear shrink tubes with solder inside to make it a one step process, which I enjoy even more.

There is no need to open up the unit and put bulbs in or any nonsense like that. The rear tail lights feature brake lights, running lights, turn signal lights on the rear and either side (left,right) as well as reverse white light. A complete package if I do say so. Shipping was quick and the service was excellent on the phone, they ensured that I ordered all parts that would be required for my 04' model. From Minnesota to Edmonton, Alberta in 4 business days via UPS ground.

So here is a pic of the rear tail lights during the day.....



Their sleek and low profile design is awesome and they blend into my tub nicely, or at least I think so.

Now the big question is the relay that you should order with them, I did. Without the modified relay you get a very fast blinking turn signal with these LED units. At night it is not that bad, but during the day it makes the turn signal almost unnoticeable. More importantly it speeds up the already annoying clicking sound you hear when you engage you column shifter and at high speed it was almost enough to give me a migraine. So I installed the relay, per the instructions, which is plug & play and the clicking and "blink speed" returned to normal.

On my 04' model the relay you have to pull is on top of the steering column, so a little dash work is needed. Simply remove the lower dash panel under the steering column, remove to screws that hold the lower half of the steering column housing in place, you need to work the lever for the column height to free it up. Then remove the top portion of the housing. Last steps, remove the old relay, as per the instructions and slide the new relay in place. Voila! All is done.

[dirtysilver06]

thinks looks awesome congrats...this is what i will b doing over the courseof next year but with only 4" of lift and 37s

[Twitchy]

Originally Posted by dirtysilver06

thinks looks awesome congrats...this is what i will b doing over the courseof next year but with only 4" of lift and 37s

Ya I think that low center of gravity units are definitely a good thing. It is amazing how much tire and wheel you can stuff under a vehicle when its done right. Thanks for the compliments and good luck with your build next year.

[Twitchy]

So where was I, oh yes, the 3rd brake light/license plate light LED assembly. Well, as most know, when ya make the switch to the very sweet LED tail light units from the old stock lights, you lose the the license plate light that is housed on the bottom of left light assembly. A light for the license plate is required by law to illuminate the plate numbers. ORO offers what I considered a very sweet solution to my two in one problem.

Personally I have always hated the stock 3rd brake light that mounted to the factory tire carrier and curved over the rear tire. ORO offer a quick fix for both, especially when you have a rear tire carrier configuration like I now have.

It is a simple little metal bar that stretches and bolts into the license plate bolt holes. Note: it does not bolt through the factory plate holder bolt holes, this was an important part for me to be able to mount it in its new location.

For wiring the license plate portion, you simply tap into the the tail light hot wire and the other to ground. The 3rd brake light, obviously wires into the stock wiring for said item.

Here is a picture of the LED light up close.....



Although not super bright, please refer to night pictures I posted yesterday of these license plate LED, it definitely does the job.

[Twitchy]

Alright so on to the armor of which I'm quite proud.

The rear stinger looks a lot better now that its painted up and on the back end
Here it is from the rear:



It nicely covers the full width of the rear tub, but yet still does not effect the operation of the rear LED tail lights.
For those wondering I run ProComp Xtreme A/T 35"x12.5" tires on DC-1 black 16"x10" wheels. Gen-Right says that it can handle up to a 40" tire and I believe it there is a fair amount of room to spare, both below and between this tire/wheel and tub.

From the side the driver side:



From the passenger side:



Here's a quick shot from my gallery and for those who are wondering that is a Viking Soft Top in bikini mode.



The 35's are looking smallish in my opinion, I remember the days when 35's were huge.

You can also see my Hi-Lift Jack at the bottom of this carrier on the inside, gives it good protection, yet it is readily available.

The jack mounts did not come with the unit, the guys in the shop welded them on, what I like is they didn't simply weld on some bolts, they cut and welded matching diameter tube to the carrier and then added bolts, so the look holds through the unit.



For now the jack stays in place with cotter pins, but I will change back to some locks soon as the bolts were drilled through per my request.



The carrier itself is a swing down with bushings at all 4 corners. Here is a picture of the driver side bushing and pin system



Let me tell you that if your not in shape, lowering this carrier alone is not easy. You need to take some weight off the pin by pushing forward from the rear and then with a free hand pull/twist the pin to the outside. I will have to modify this eventually to put a locking mechanism on it. I will also need to regularly grease these pins especially considering the harsh winter climate up here. These bushings attachment plates that you see in the above picture are supported through the tub by another plate that notches around the roll bar base on either side.

The lower bushings mount into the Gen-Right rear bracket that replaces the stock bumper. Notice how Gen-Right has drilled multiple holes in the bracket for the lower bushings. These are meant to allow for differing mounting heights depending on the amount of body lift your rig has, this system works for anywhere from 0" to 1.25" of body lift.

Picture of lower bushing mount:



The bumper bracket is supported and braced from the frame side by the two brackets, here is a picture of the driver side unit:



I'm happy that I was still able to retain my hide-a-hitch, which you can see attached in the above picture.

The tire/wheel combo simply slides onto a tube in the middle of the carrier and then you thread on this massive T-handle/plate to secure it down:



Like everything else from Gen-Right it is solid and big.

My one issue to date with this rear tire carrier is that the original model from Gen-Right came with a rubber bump stop that screwed in at the center top of the unit, this was not provided. Recently Gen-Right had a price reduction on this unit, so maybe it is no longer included, I'm not sure, the shop is looking into it. Also, the rear stinger is supposed to arrive pre-wired for the third brake light, mine did not arrive this way, unless by pre-wired they mean holes drilled for wiring to pass through. At the price point of this unit, I am disappointed on this point, I will wait to see what answer the shop gets from Gen-Right prior to proceeding further on this note.

So here is the new view out my back window from the driver's seat, no problem in the summer when topless or with the Viking top on, but this will definitely limit my visibility with the tinted hard top, oh well, LOL

More to come