2004 WJ Laredo

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As she stands now with the longer rack and bumper mounted cb antenna.

 

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Cobra 75 dash mounted.

 

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Got my Viair 400P compressor and ARB deflator in! I’ve been waiting to snag one of these compressors for some time after my experience in Colorado with a borrowed jumper box compressor combo. It has good reviews and the capability to air up my tire on both my rigs with ease. Snagged it off Amazon for about $155 over the normal $200 price tag. Deflator was about the normal $38 cost I believe but I have prime so why not?!

 

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Nearly finished with my awning. After fighting the wind over the weekend to test it out, I realized I needed two more telescoping poles to support the weight of the awning and to adjust height with ease. Mocked it up inside my garage to see how it would work. The extra poles are on the way and it’ll be done!

 

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Awning all finished and functional. A little frustrating to set up in the wind if you don’t put the pieces together in the right order.

 

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I haven't done really anything to the rig lately aside from a coolant flush. My mechanic said the coolant looked ok and it tested ok, but he recommended the change since apparently the kind that was in there has been known to eat away at seals and gaskets. I ran the standard Prestone Coolant Flush additive for about 300 miles before doing the flush to aid in cleaning things out. They do offer a stronger flush additive, but not recommended to drive with it in. I recently put about 60 miles on the rig prerunning some gnarly backroads for a fellow OB members trip. Managed to break a wire in the door jam causing the entire driver side door to have no electronics other than the speaker. I spliced it back together with a longer piece, but plan on replacing the entire harness with a factory replacement and solding into the existing wiring away from the door jam to avoid any stress on the solder points. This should address any potential for future trouble, as well as give better wiring to the door. Just a more reliable fix. Will post pics of the prerun shortly.

 

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Last Saturday's prerun. 30ish miles of of maybe 200 miles.

 

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Alright folks, so the rig hasn't been messed with much lately aside from an overdue alignment and rotate. Swapped out the trashed stock 2-piece lug nuts for some solid 1-piece gunmetal ones. Alignment was pretty much spot on so they only charged me for the 30min it took to check it all. But now, it's time to talk tires.

With the lift, I feel like it's time to upgrade to a larger tire. Currently running a 235/70r16 Geolandar AT/S. Good tire, but they're passenger rated. Lots of life left, as they only have around 18K on them, so I think when I do upgrade that they could fetch a decent price and offset some of the cost. I am also considering upgrading to a little more aggressive tread pattern as the Geolandar is a mild tread and they hand onto small rocks that cause a ticking noise on pavement. Not horrible, but aggravating when you think something is going on with the rig. I am looking at 2 different sizes, but cannot decide. either 235/85r16 which yeilds about 31in tall, or a 245/75r16 which is about 30.5in tall. I also have about 3 different tires I am considering in an E rating. BFG K02's, Falken Wildpeak AT3W's, or General Grabber AT2's (I think the ATx is the updated version). Any and all input on this tire choice is greatly appreciated. I am still looking for good on-road mannerisms since this is daily driven with some good highway and city miles. Going with either size should still allow for a decent amount of articulation without any further lift and no trimming. Let me know what y'all think!

 

[Phildirt]

A more agressive tread is going to pick up even more rocks. I have a pretty deep lugged MT and it picks them up, carries them, and throws them at random. Or I'm digging them out of the tread. I can't hear them clicking though because they hum pretty loud.

 

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A more agressive tread is going to pick up even more rocks. I have a pretty deep lugged MT and it picks them up, carries them, and throws them at random. Or I'm digging them out of the tread. I can't hear them clicking though because they hum pretty loud.

Noted. Mainly just want a bigger, better tire. I can live with the clicking as long as the tires perform and hold up to my style of use. Do you have any comment on my tire size and brand options?

 

[Phildirt]

Noted. Mainly just want a bigger, better tire. I can live with the clicking as long as the tires perform and hold up to my style of use. Do you have any comment on my tire size and brand options?

I've heard good things about the Wildpeak and it looks fairly aggressive for an AT. I'd look at a 265 70 if they have it - same height but a little wider. A 9" wide tire is pretty narrow. If you're worried about rubbing of the 2 you listed I'd lean towards the 245 75

 

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I've heard good things about the Wildpeak and it looks fairly aggressive for an AT. I'd look at a 265 70 if they have it - same height but a little wider. A 9" wide tire is pretty narrow. If you're worried about rubbing of the 2 you listed I'd lean towards the 245 75

Leaning towards the Falken's pretty good. I've heard nothing but good things from a few friends that have them. At the price point, they're a bit more desired. I'd gain a solid 1.5in going to the 245/75 which would give me the look I'm going for. I don't hate the look with the smaller tires as it doesn't look out of place. I think a slightly taller and more aggressive tire like the Wildpeak will give it the look I am wanting. I have considered the wider variety, but since I'm running stock wheels without spacers, I don't want to risk going too wide and have some rub issues.

 

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I've heard good things about the Wildpeak and it looks fairly aggressive for an AT. I'd look at a 265 70 if they have it - same height but a little wider. A 9" wide tire is pretty narrow. If you're worried about rubbing of the 2 you listed I'd lean towards the 245 75

Thank you for the input btw. Greatly appreciated.

 

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FINALLY got this piece put on this past weekend. Slight weight gain, but it definitely gave me every bit of 1.5-2 inches of clearance. Looks a lot cleaner and it's definitely sturdier than stock. I have had this piece since before Christmas. Because I was caught up with the lift and lack of motivation, this along with a skid plate got shuffled to a shelf in my garage. Of the two pieces, this one is the easier of the two to install. That skid plate will require an extra set of hands and some drilling into the frame for the nutserts. Thinking it would be a good time to do that when I get the rig up off the ground a bit more so I can sit up some off the creeper if needed. Luckily the rig sits high enough as it is that I can sit on my side on the creeper without getting stuck, but if I set it on jack stands, the extra 8+ inches of space will make for an easier install.

 

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Recently I have been having some thoughts of selling the WJ and getting into another rig that would accommodate my "new to me" family with 3 kids and another dog. The cost at this point has scared me off since I cannot afford a car payment just yet, but I am considering it still so I can start saving. I'm at a crossroads with continuing my planned upgrades since it will be at least a year before I decide to go for another rig (unless the price is right), or put all of what I would put into the upgrades into saving for the new rig. This is especially difficult since I just ran across a post on a local Overlanding group page on the Facebook with WJ parts for sale.

Guy has a bad 4.7 in his WJ Overland edition and is parting it out. Looking to snag the factory sliders and the front skid plate. Anyone think these are worth the $200 hes asking, assuming they're in decent shape? He's also got the factory 17" wheels with some good Grabber AT2's that I might pick up as well if the price is right. Figuring this could be a cheap way to gain some protection to the rig, although I'm considering the JCR sliders still for the step aspect of them to access the roof better.

 

[Phildirt]

It depends on what you're doing with the truck. Honestly I think more than half of the mods (especially suspension) on overlanding trucks are overkill. Most aren't rock crawlers and I could take a mini-van on the same trip. External fuel tanks, hi-lift jacks, a lot of it is eye candy. I use a 4x4 block and a $20 bottle jack on my truck and plan my route around gas stations :)

Don't get me wrong a lot of guys need all of that extra stuff but I can't remember ever thinking I would have had more fun if I had better rock sliders.

 

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It depends on what you're doing with the truck. Honestly I think more than half of the mods (especially suspension) on overlanding trucks are overkill. Most aren't rock crawlers and I could take a mini-van on the same trip. External fuel tanks, hi-lift jacks, a lot of it is eye candy. I use a 4x4 block and a $20 bottle jack on my truck and plan my route around gas stations :)

Don't get me wrong a lot of guys need all of that extra stuff but I can't remember ever thinking I would have had more fun if I had better rock sliders.

I mainly run the back roads. A lot of what we have around here isn't horrible as my rig in stock form could handle it. I lifted it with the OME springs and Bilstein shocks to get it leveled out, be able to handle the extra weight of my gear without changing the handling capabilities too much, better ride quality in general, and to clear a little larger tire without worrying about tearing things up. If I get better tires, it would perform as I'd like and be able to handle most of what I want to run. I think my desire for sliders comes from just easier access to the roof is all. Side steps would suffice but they're usually flimsy and fall apart.

I have no desire to build this into a rock crawler as it's also my daily driver. I'm sort of building a Swiss Army knife or Leatherman multi-tool. She may not handle amazing in all conditions, but I could make it through. I haven't found a need for more lift or much more armor. Mainly just wanting that extra reassurance and the step mainly. With that said, with say a TRD Pro T4R, I wouldn't really need to do much in the way of add-ons since it's plenty capable from the factory. The WJ unfortunately wasn't built from the factory like that. The Overland edition of the WJ came close.

 

[Phildirt]

$200 is a good price for sliders. I paid twice that for the nfabs on my Burb.

I’d love a factory purpose built rig but I haven’t had a truck payment in 10 years and probably never will again. Would rather keep flogging on this one.

 

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$200 is a good price for sliders. I paid twice that for the nfabs on my Burb.

I’d love a factory purpose built rig but I haven’t had a truck payment in 10 years and probably never will again. Would rather keep flogging on this one.

If they seem to be in good shape once I get a peek at them, I might jump on them. Strongly considering some from JCR with the kick-out step. About $400 shipped bare metal. I REALLY would like to have better roof access since my rig will be loaded with kids and dogs at some point.

I have yet to have a vehicle payment. I hope to steer clear of it if I can, but at some point I know that will be unrealistic. I have found some options to take place of this rig, but I'd somewhat be starting over. Just inquired about a friends 3rd gen T4R that their family uses occasionally, but mostly sits in their drive. Can't say I blame them with the JKUR sitting in the garage. If they are looking to sell it to me (for the right price), the WJ might find a new home, pending a good look over and test drive of course. But at this point I think I'm going to continue to make the WJ what I want out of it unless I happen upon the right rig.