2 Door Wrangler Build

[GTJeeper]

To start I'll introduce myself. My name is Grant and I'm currently a Student at Gonzaga University in Spokane WA, so this thread may not be updated super often. I wanted to start this thread to show that even as a student, when you budget well you can have a fairly well built vehicle.

So the Vehicle is a 2009 Jeep Wrangler X that came into my possession at the age of 16. When I got the Jeep it was bone stock with the only upgrades from factory being A/C and leather seats. Since owning the Jeep I have put in countless hours of work to modify it to my liking. Other than mounting tires to the wheels, every mod to the Jeep has been done by myself in my garage. When I turned 16 I had little to no mechanical knowledge (I barely knew how to do an oil change) but I have used many online resources to become more knowledgeable and have become rather confident in my abilities.

Being young, this build is done on a budget, even though it may not necessarily look that way. I always have a list of the items I'm looking for, I only buy things if they're on sale, and check websites like craiglist quite often to get things lightly used for great deals. I've also become fairly resourceful and have many DIY components in this Jeep.

Here are the specs so far. (I will update this list as things are added to the Jeep)

Suspension:
OME 2 Inch HD Coils w/ Terraflex 1/2" Rear Spacer
Bilstein 5100 Series Shocks
Superlift Track Bars

Wheels & Tires:
American Eagle Force Wheels
285/70 r17 Cooper Discoverer STT PRO (Summer)
285/70 r17 Cooper Discoverer ST MAXX (Studded Winter)

Bumpers:
ARB Stubby
Havoc Offroad Clawhammer Rear

Armor:
Quadratec QRC Rock Sliders
Poison Spyder HD Diff Covers

Drivetrain:
Adam's 1310 Frant and Rear Driveshafts

Winch:
SmittyBilt XRC 9500

Performance:
AFE Scorpion Muffler
Custom Made Dual Battery System
Superchips Flashpaq

Comms:
Midland CB Radio
Firestik FS II 4'

Lights:
Hella Halogen Headlights
KC HiLights Apollo Pro Fog Lights
Rigid 20" E-Series Flood Spot Combo
Genssi LED Flood Cubes, A Pillar
Rigid Industries SRM Diffused Rear Lights
Homemade Rock Lights

Roof:
Rhino Rack Backbone System w/ Pioneer Platform
Freespirit Recreation RTT
Freespirit Recreation 54" Awning
Krazy Beaver Tools Shovel

Accessories:
Apollintech Switch System
Custom Made Decals
48" Hi-Lift Jack
Custom Drawer System
Springtail Solutions Fold Down Tailgate Table/MOLLE Pannel
Trasharoo
Trailskinz Limbriserz
Factory Soft Top


And here are some of the better photos I have on my computer at the moment.


If anyone has any questions about specs I may not have covered, or anything specific go ahead and ask, I'm more than happy to answer any questions.

More Updates to follow!

 

[ohiowrangler]

What are you wanting it to do when you are done? Looks like you've addressed everything but traction. Ron

 

[GTJeeper]

I am slowly building it up. Once the tires need to be replaced I plan to up them to 35's, right now they're only 33's. I plan to eventually regear and add a rear locker in the future as well as adding a few armor items like skid plates. Next summer I have plans to possibly build an expedition trailer aswell.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

A trailer is a fantastic idea. Your JK has a bit more room than my TJ, but both are still small with limited interior cargo space. I did do a bit of camping prior, but once I got my CDN M101 trailer, I have no idea how I lived without it. When you get your trailer set up, get that tent off your roof.

 

[GTJeeper]

A trailer is a fantastic idea. Your JK has a bit more room than my TJ, but both are still small with limited interior cargo space. I did do a bit of camping prior, but once I got my CDN M101 trailer, I have no idea how I lived without it. When you get your trailer set up, get that tent off your roof.

Exactly, then I plan to run tracktion boards and extra fuel up top, that tent is heavy and destroys my fuel economy.

 

[TurboDiesel67]

Wow really nice rig, I'm tryna get my son (17) a 4x4 but new driver insurance starts at equal to $6000 a year

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using OB Talk mobile app

 

[dj_mccomas]

Great build, rig looks awesome.

 

[bellasamlucky]

Very nice!!!!


Sent from my iPad using OB Talk

 

[TCrush]

Great Build I have JK as well, and always looking for Ideas. question what did you use to attach the rotopax?

 

[LostMayhem]

What gearing do you have & do you think you will upgrade when you go to 35s?

Great looking JK!

 

[GTJeeper]

Thanks!

Currently I'm running the stock 3.73 gears with the automatic 4 speed. I'd love to re gear to 4.88 and throw an air or e-locker in the rear eventually, but most likely I will not re gear right away. I just picked up a superchips flashpaq and input the 87 octane tune which I think is a huge improvement over stock, with the tuner I feel I won't need to re gear for while.

 

[GTJeeper]

Great Build I have JK as well, and always looking for Ideas. question what did you use to attach the rotopax?

Sorry I missed this post yesterday. I can post a photo when I go home this weekend but it’s just a flat plate I believe 5”x7”. It’s 1/4” thick and I ran 3 bolts that are 1/2” diameter through the holes in the hi lift and then just centered and attatched the rotopax mount to that. I’ll confirm the measurements this weekend and update this post but it works fairly well. My only complaint is the bolt heads stick out a little and rub on the rotopax a bit, but in about 2 years and many washboard fs roads it hasn’t caused any issue yet.

I was not able to get any photos of the plate when I was home but I can confirm these measurements are accurate if that helps at all.

 

[Tbell18]

Nice build! Im in college right now too. Feel your pain on waiting for sales and good craigslist finds

 

[GTJeeper]

Nice build! Im in college right now too. Feel your pain on waiting for sales and good craigslist finds

Haha yea it’s a bit of a struggle sometimes, nice tacoma by the way it’s a sweet rig!

 

[Tbell18]

Haha yea it’s a bit of a struggle sometimes, nice tacoma by the way it’s a sweet rig!

Thanks!

 

[Jes]

Awesome rig! Can you tell me a little more about the roof rack? Is it attached solely onto the wrangler's hardtop? So if you take the hardtop off, the roof rack (still attached) comes off with it? I'm looking for something exactly like that. Are you happy with it?

Love your setup!

 

[GTJeeper]

Awesome rig! Can you tell me a little more about the roof rack? Is it attached solely onto the wrangler's hardtop? So if you take the hardtop off, the roof rack (still attached) comes off with it? I'm looking for something exactly like that. Are you happy with it?

Love your setup!

Thanks! Sorry on the slow response I haven’t checked this forum in a little while. The rack has internal supports that mount to the tub like the hardtop, then a landing pad mounts through on the outside. The rack is attached with 4 bolts, it usually takes me about 10 mins to bolt/unbolt the rack. Because of this, you can remove the platform from the top so it’s essentially a Jeep without any rack on it, I take it off when not in use because the tent hurts fuel economy. There’s also an option for quick release mounts but it was a bit more expensive so I went with this option.

And I absolutely love the rack, rhino rack makes a lot of accessories for the platform so you can mount just about anything to it, I resorted to making some of my own accessories to fit my needs for a bit less than they charge. The other thing I love about this set up is that I was able to have some cross bars made that mount up to the landing pads for my ski rack in winter!

I snapped a few pics of the supports and such, I hardly notice them unless someone in the back seat points them out. But overall it’s a very sturdy rack.

 

[Jes]

Sweet- thanks for the pics/info. I actually just purchased the rhino rack system just like yours with some holiday money I got. I can't wait to install it! I got the backbone mount plus two cross bars that will attach to it. I'm thinking of maybe getting the basket because I like the look.

Thanks again for the reply- your pics from earlier helped me make the decision.

 

[GTJeeper]

Sweet- thanks for the pics/info. I actually just purchased the rhino rack system just like yours with some holiday money I got. I can't wait to install it! I got the backbone mount plus two cross bars that will attach to it. I'm thinking of maybe getting the basket because I like the look.

Thanks again for the reply- your pics from earlier helped me make the decision.

Glad I could help! If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

 

[Kent R]

I am slowly building it up. Once the tires need to be replaced I plan to up them to 35's, right now they're only 33's. I plan to eventually regear and add a rear locker in the future as well as adding a few armor items like skid plates. Next summer I have plans to possibly build an expedition trailer aswell.

I ran 33's for a long time on three different rigs, now run 35's and love the added differential clearance.