After being a consummate lurker / semi-stalker on the forum for quite a while, I have decided to finally create a build thread for our 2011 JK. As most of the work on the Jeep has been completed and I didn't get pictures of everything in progress, I'll do the best I can to back fit and post in chronological order what we've done.
We don't have a garage to work in so the work has been done in the driveway on weekends and most times late at night under construction work lights. We have a few more things to add when time, money and a good weather window allows. Going forward I'll try to document things a little more thoroughly.
My husband (TOGM) has done all the work himself with the exception of the powder coating and Rhino Lining. I do help him when I can but it usually consists of holding the dumb end of the tape measure or handing him something while he's under the Jeep. For full disclosure I am neither a mechanic nor a technical writer. If you have a question about anything I post, I'll try to answer or if I don't know, I'll get the answer from the real expert. Feel free to comment, compliment, critique, criticize, and please enjoy this slightly different perspective on a Jeep build.
I really appreciate the index idea that several people have done with their build threads, so I'm going to try to link the topics with the posts in mine. It will keep me organized as well.
We each owned Jeeps before we met, have owned several Jeeps together, but went Jeepless for a few years to focus on raising 5 kids. With an empty nest, we decided to get another Jeep. A lot of consideration and discussion went into determining if we wanted to go back to an old Jeep (Willys or CJ), buy a newer used Jeep (TJ), or buy a brand spanking new Jeep. As TOGM has several ongoing Military Vehicle "projects", he decided that a new, non-rusted, non-corroded vehicle was preferable for wrenching and I wanted something stable, comfortable, and safe on and off road; we settled on a new 2011 JK.
We "agreed to agree" on all mods so some of them took a bit of time, in fact many hours of lively debate to reach a consensus. I don't want anything that looks "monster truck-ish" or "hummer-esque" and knowing that we don't ever want a trailer queen or dedicated trail rig, we are intentionally keeping the modifications and upgrades on the conservative side. We are very old school in what we like and don't like on our Jeeps so there are a few things you WON'T see appear on the mod list. A few things (not many) were vetoed outright by one or the other of us.
We wanted to start with a Rubicon, manual transmission, soft top only, no convenience package or option frills. I liked the stealth markings (or lack of) of the 2011 COD package and we found one in Ohio … road trip from Boston!
We passed this about 15 minutes before our arrival at the dealership and 30 minutes before their scheduled closing time on Saturday! We couldn't even slow down for a decent picture but it is an eye catcher!
People often ask what we liked about the COD package and I'd have to say it is the understated markings. No Rubicon sticker, no wrangler, no trail rated badge, etc. The dark wheels, the matt black hood decal, the gas fill cover, the rear light guards, all seemed to be worth the $700 upgrade at the time.
Year & Model: 2011 JK Wrangler Rubicon Call of Duty Edition
Transmission: Stock - 6 Speed Manual
The very first mod we did was cut the "Call of Duty" off of the Decals. I wanted the whole decal removed but TOGM liked the Black Ops part so we compromised (for the time being).
The next urgent mod that we wanted was to replace the full doors. We'd never had a Jeep with real doors and they just didn't feel right to us. While we were researching soft doors and /or half doors, we ordered Rugged Ridge tube doors from Xtreme Terrain and a mirror relocation kit for the summer. They were selected because of the larger tube OD and they came with a textured wrinkle finish.
Safari Straps Warrior Long Cage Extended Cargo Net
About the same time we installed the tube doors we started looking at cargo netting. We did not want "cut outs" or narrow nylon webbing. Safari Straps are extremely well made and look it. Marel and Hatch are number one in customer service and quality product!
First Off-Road damage to the Jeep happened in a hotel room
We traveled to the PA Jeep Show with the full doors on (6 hour highway trip) and brought the tube doors to install for the weekend. When we arrived at the hotel we took the full doors off, loaded them onto a luggage cart, up the elevator and into the hotel room for storage for the weekend. Sometime during the stay, they shifted and the passenger door left a 1/16" x 3" gouge in the driver's side paint. I don't have a picture of it and it has now been touched up, but thought the story warranted inclusion in the thread!:laugh:
We attended the PA Jeep Show in York, about a month and a half after we bought the JK. We entered it in the JK stock division so that we could park on the fairgrounds in-field (close to the vendors). Never in a million years did we expect to place but lo and behold we took 1st place. The tube doors and cargo nets were listed as our two minor mods for the stock submission. Definitely a cheesy picture but just had to post it!
We had done our research (me lurking on this and other Jeep forums) and had a pretty good idea what modifications we wanted, what products, and what vendors we wanted to go with. After hounding every vendor at the Jeep show for information, technical data, demos, and discounted pricing we made the decision on lift, bumpers, fenders, and exhaust. After getting a first hand look and talking to the vendor reps, we ended up with some different manufacturers than we originally planned to order from.
The show discounted orders were placed for the parts.
Rock Krawler 2 ½" Lift Kit and Rock Krawler RRD Racing Shocks
The suspension came in first. We wanted to stay at a 2 1/2" lift and had narrowed it down between Teraflex and Rock Krawler, both are worthy contenders. We ended up going with the Rock Krawler 2.5" Full Travel Lift Suspension and Rock Krawler RRD Racing Shocks. This provides a lift with very good flex while keeping all the geometry for the OEM computer traction controls and required no steering modification.
I apologize for the photos, that's my job and I usually have to play ninja to get any. TOGM was halfway through the job before I knew it.
As we keep the top down much of the time, we invested in good neoprene seat covers to protect from the sun. The Wet Okole got good reviews for fitting and wearing well. In the year and a half, they have not stretched or sun faded. We are 100% happy with them.
Since we still have the carpet and because many of the wheeling trips are in muddy areas, we bought some heavy duty floor mats. They make clean up pretty easy. Eventually the carpet will be removed and replaced with bed liner. Not sure if the mats will stay or not.
TOGM fabricated an inexpensive mesh grill guard from fencing cut and mounted with nutserts to the radiator frame. It provides added protection to the radiator cooling fins.
Ordered a little bling to dress it up some, Front directional light guards, Alum Billet Black from Xtreme Terrain and SS Black Headlight Guards from Morris 4x4 center
At the PA Jeep show, we spent quite a bit of time at the Poison Spyder booth. One of their demo Jeeps was pretty close to the stance and profile that we were looking for so we just bit the bullet and went for it. The shipment was so large and weighed so much it was shipped on skids. We had to have it delivered to someplace with a forklift. Fortunately, we have a friend with a nursery that agreed to receive it. He found humor in the Poison Spyder logo boxes delivered to a plant nursery. :laugh:
We sent the pieces out to a local shop (HTC Racing) for powder coating in a mix of glossy and textured wrinkle finishes. They did a fantastic job.
We knew a vulnerability of our new Jeep is the placement of the plastic evaporative canister. It is susceptible to be damaged or torn off on the trail. We liked that the Poison Spyder Skid keeps the canister in its factory location, with original electrical and vapor connections intact, while fully protecting it from all sides.
Ordered Parts List:
Poison Spyder JK Front Crusher Flares Aluminum
Poison Spyder JK 3/4" LED Turn Signal Amber (Installed as a marker light, not turn)
Poison Spyder JK Rear Crusher Flares Aluminum
Poison Spyder JK 3/4" LED marker light Red
Poison Spyder JK Brawler Lite Front Bumper w/ brawl bar DOM tube style gussets
Ordered Parts List:
Poison Spyder JK Brawler Lite Front Bumper w/ brawl bar DOM tube style gussets
Poison Spyder JK Brawler Lite Front Skid
Poison Spyder JK Winch Fairlead Mount
Poison Spyder JK Roller Fairlead Light Mount (Ordered but not used)
Love the thread so far but I am surprised you went with powder coating instead of just doing some spray on bedliner on the bumpers/rails for easy touch ups. How do you like your Rock Krawler lift? I have the 2.5 Max Travel and I absolutely love it but I'm riding on the Bilstein 5100s, still no complaints.
We wanted the textured / gloss contrasts ... Doesn't add functionality but sure looks slick!
We love the suspension ... it was a toss up between Rock Krawler and Teraflex ... the Rock Krawler booth was beside the Poison Spyder booth so we spent a lot of time in that neighborhood and negotiated a good show discount.
This is 100% awesome. I don't know much about commercial jacks, but assume that your last name is Woods? If so, from the standpoint of a guy that has everything he owns marked - brilliant!
Out of curiosity why did you end up taking off the CAI?
Poison Spyder JK 2-Door Body Armor Aluminum and Rocker Knockers w/ slide bar
Ordered Parts List:
Poison Spyder JK 2-Door Body Armor Aluminum
Poison Spyder JK 2-Door Rubber Body Armor Liner
Poison Spyder JK 2-Door Rocker Knockers w/ slide bar
I found some silver reflective tape to put behind the spider on the body armor. This turned out to be a minor regret on the Jeep. It has bleached out to look white and is just too bright in my opinion. TOGM says no way are we removing the rocker knockers and body armor just so I can peel off the reflective tape! I guess I just have to live with it. out:
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