[Idaho-Jeep]

Originally Posted by VanBCguy

Thanks for the update Jevon. One question: did you ever figure out what's causing the pitting on the res. tanks?

Nope.

Im so busy between work, my kids playing hockey and coaching hockey I have time for nothing Jeep related.

My younger son has tournaments in San Jose, Spokane, Salt Lake & Vegas all in the next two months... My older son has multiple games every week in Boise, I have to coach 3 nights a week, I have to fly to Kentucky for a wedding in two weeks etc... I just look at my jeep once in a while these days.

[LuckRider]

Time to start using the Beast as a DD again, just so you can enjoy it for more than just its looks.

[silvergoat]

Originally Posted by Idaho-Jeep

Nope.

Im so busy between work, my kids playing hockey and coaching hockey I have time for nothing Jeep related.

My younger son has tournaments in San Jose, Spokane, Salt Lake & Vegas all in the next two months... My older son has multiple games every week in Boise, I have to coach 3 nights a week, I have to fly to Kentucky for a wedding in two weeks etc... I just look at my jeep once in a while these days.

Jevon, I have alot of free time for jeep related things so just drop it off and I will be more then happy to take care of things for you.

[Tradesman300]

Idaho -

I love the jeep. I am from Melba (down the the treasure valley) and it is good to see my home state so well represented. I was just going through the forum the and I noticed that this thread has more replies than any other member build thread or individual member technical thread. There are only 4 threads that have more replies:

the RC 2.5 lift thread (how did that thing get so long....)
the What Did you Do to your TJ today thread
the Post Homemade stuff here thread,
and You know you Drive a TJ when.

That is pretty impressive. I have read each and every one of the replies on this thread and thoroughly enjoyed reading your buildup. Thanks for giving us so much transparency during your build and beyond.

[Idaho-Jeep]

Originally Posted by silvergoat

Jevon, I have alot of free time for jeep related things so just drop it off and I will be more then happy to take care of things for you.

How you been Chris? Time to start another goat project yet?

Originally Posted by Tradesman300

Idaho -

I love the jeep. I am from Melba (down the the treasure valley) and it is good to see my home state so well represented. I was just going through the forum the and I noticed that this thread has more replies than any other member build thread or individual member technical thread. There are only 4 threads that have more replies:

the RC 2.5 lift thread (how did that thing get so long....)
the What Did you Do to your TJ today thread
the Post Homemade stuff here thread,
and You know you Drive a TJ when.

That is pretty impressive. I have read each and every one of the replies on this thread and thoroughly enjoyed reading your buildup. Thanks for giving us so much transparency during your build and beyond.

Thanks for the comments.

Wow, Im amazed... never looked into that before. Wish I could continue this build or start a new one for the sake of JF - its fun. This thread has just been a bunch of talk for the past 4 months or so. I also looked at the link back and this build thread has been linked to some spanish 4x4 forum.

[silvergoat]

Originally Posted by Idaho-Jeep

How you been Chris? Time to start another goat project yet?

Been good sore but good, as far as another project Not yet, but things are starting to look up.

[VanBCguy]

Originally Posted by Idaho-Jeep

Nope.

Im so busy between work, my kids playing hockey and coaching hockey I have time for nothing Jeep related.

My younger son has tournaments in San Jose, Spokane, Salt Lake & Vegas all in the next two months... My older son has multiple games every week in Boise, I have to coach 3 nights a week, I have to fly to Kentucky for a wedding in two weeks etc... I just look at my jeep once in a while these days.

Woah! That's busy! And still no TnT hats for you and the boys to brag with I bet?
When you're not so busy, drop me a line and we'll see if we can set a date for Moab or even possibly you coming up here and wheelin' the great white north (wicked wheeling and camping up here!) with the wife and kids and my wife together. That way everyone we go wheeling with can see the inspiration for my build up close and in person and they'll know what rig I've been constantly speaking about!

[bddisi]

Nice ride, awesome build.

[Idaho-Jeep]

VanBCguy,

Right now its looking like early April or Late March... probably the week before EJS.

Bddisi, Thanks.

[VanBCguy]

Congratulations Idaho on being voted #2 TJ of the Year. What an honor considering what other builds you were competing against.

Way to go!

[LuckRider]

Originally Posted by VanBCguy

Congratulations Idaho on being voted #2 TJ of the Year. What an honor considering what other builds you were competing against.

Way to go!

x2... let us know what months you have in the calander

[Idaho-Jeep]

Thanks guys! Greatly appreciated.

[Genericusername]

Originally Posted by Idaho-Jeep

Well, I have made comments and gave opinions before in this build thread - here is what I had to say back in April:

Axles:

Gear Ratio: 4.88 Yukon R&P
Love the gearing! I think 4.88s really are perfect for 35s & manual transmission. I could put it in 4-Low & 1st gear and really just walk up and down all but the steepest hills. While in Moab I had three different people that I wheeled with comment that my gears were much lower than theirs as they had to ride their brakes behind me when going down hills yet they never saw my brake lights come on.

D44 & D30:
Would love to have a HP D30 or a 44 up front but I think the 30 will suit me fine especially once I upgrade my shafts. No problems with the 30 yet.... I will just plan on being careful with the skinny pedal especially when I lock the front.

Lockers: OX
Happy so far. The front goes in and out really easy. The rear was more difficult but it seems like the more I use it the easier it goes in. I am still trying to figure out the best way to run the front cable. When I flex my front it pulls the cable down between the tie rod and sway bar end link - which is a problem because the tie rod can pinch the cable at full turn. Lockers performed well in Moab, although I only used the front on a couple climbs.

Brakes: Vanco Brake Kit
Very happy! What else can I say other than I can stop my tires when I want to.


Suspension:

TnT 3.5" Long Arm:
If I had to pick one thing I am most pleased with on my Jeep it would probably be my suspension. It just works well. On the highway, it feels great and it really shines off road. The one other thing people I wheeled with would comment most about was how my jeep would not lean as much as theirs did. I could walk over boulders or though cracks that gave others problems. I only hit my control arms one time - and my high clearance belly surprisingly never hit anything. The Jeep also felt more stable off camber than I thought it would.

Sway bar
Anti-Rock worked great! I set it to a softer setting before the trip and left it alone. I am really glad I don't have discos to worry about any more.

Shocks:
No complaints at all. They feel great on the highways and worked great in Moab. I did not air down on my way to the Tower Arch trail and the road had a lot of wash boards. The shocks absorbed these bumps great - are they worth the extra expense? Can't say yet, but would not make any changes at this point.

Steering - TnT OTK 1 ton steering:
With my new stock pitman arm, all of my bump steer is gone! ALL OF IT! Jerry speaks the truth when it comes to pitman arms! STAY STOCK! The steering parts all work great, my tie rod and tie rod ends are very beefy which will be comforting once I do eventually hit something. The only thing about my jeep that I would say is currently less than ideal would be the on road handling above 40mph. It will sometimes want to wander a bit - it feels plenty safe and is not dramatic, just more of a little fine tuning. Problem is if I try to increase caster - increasing my drive line angle I may get vibration which I don't want. So it may be something I have to live with.

Wheels & Tires:
I have been very happy with my MTZs. Quiet on the highway and worked great in Moab. They balanced great with the Dyna beads that I used and seem to be wearing great so far. I aired down to 10 psi and they griped really well. The Rock Monster bead locks worked great - I was worried that when I aired down I would loose some of my dyna beads (had heard this could be a problem) but I had no problems. I think next time I am off road I will drop down to 5 PSI just to try another pressure.

Recovery:
Warn XD9000i - I was hoping to use my winch and new AM Steel Blue in Moab, but did not have the opportunity. I am anxious to use it - hopefully this Spring I will get a chance.

Armor:
Fortunately I did not test any of my armor really. I smacked my front and rear bumper on a ledge at Poison Spider but no damage other than some powder coating. Everything is holding up well so far - but its only been a few months. Hopefully I never have to put my Rock Hard roll cage to the test.

Electronics:
No problems - GPS, LED brake, turning & running lights all worked great. CB radio worked great during the trip and I am really glad I installed it before my trip.


So not much has changed since I wrote this...

For a list of what I used - check out the first post of the build.

I guess my biggest issues have to do with wear. The finish on my fenders have taken a beating and I may end up applying bed-liner to them. My shock reservoirs have some "spots" on the finish. My tires have worn a little but holding up good. Still have yet to use my winch much. I have some paint touch up to the frame and skids... typical stuff. As to the question of would I change anything? I don't think I would. Since I am happy with 35s, I think my axles are fine. Id love to have a V8 or cummins in there but I wouldn't spend the money. With the state of the economy if I was to go back I may have tried to reduce the spending but Im not sure what I would have left out... It really is what I wanted... a nice looking "all around jeep". There are many many better built crawlers, many better looking rigs, many better street machines - but this Jeep can do it all decently - and look good doing it which is all I ever really wanted. In a way its disappointing since it means I don't have many plans for Mods... just maintenance.

anything else haha! this thread is so epic and i remember reading the first post and then watching it build, after college and i start making real money i am gunna try to follow this build almost to a t. This jeep is like every little kids dream vehicle. Way to go, and enjoy the busy time right now with the family.

[Idaho-Jeep]

Hey everyone,

Thought Id post here that I am making plans for a Moab trip this Spring. Looking at March 27-April 3 +/-. This year that happens to be the same week as EJS. I would be interested in taking a few trails with some JF members if anyone is interested.

Getting excited just thinking about hitting Poison Spider again!

[Redarcher89]

count me in, if I can get my parts ordered, delivered, and installed before then. I will be there March 26th - April 5th.