My 2017 Jeep Wrangler WIP

[TK81477]

This thread will serve as my ongoing build of my 2017 Jeep Wrangler...

After mush thought and deliberation, I chose the Wrangle to be the rig to transport my family and I to many future endeavors and experiences. For a little bit more on me, please see my introduction thread.

Here she is on the lot.

Now she is all mine.

Didn't come with a hitch, so I guess this is the first official modification.

I got this receiver from Quadratec. It came with a plug n' play wiring harness. It was very easy to install. I think the whole process took me 15 minutes, 20 max.

This next one was a little bigger and more involved.

Unpacking this thing took me a half hour. There are more pieces not pictured.

Done

Test Test...

After weeks of research I decided to go with the Gobi Stealth Rack with the 40" LED light bar set up. The rack was probably the most expensive, but it met the requirements I was looking for the best, mainly the "no drill" installation. To me that was huge! The rack package included a read ladder (right or left side), your choice of cross bars. I chose the 2 removable crossbar option, wind deflector, and free shipping (huge as well).

The rack took about 9 weeks to be build and delivered. The company was great to work with and look forward to adding on some of their accessories to the rack.

The installation took me a bit. I don't consider myself to be a crack shot mechanic, but I am not a beginner either. The instructions were ok to follow, but not the best. The good thing is once you figure out one side, the other took no time at all.

All in all I am extremely happy with the rack. It looks great and I look forward to using the crap out of it. A couple of things I did notice is wind noise, but they almost go hand in hand with a roof rack. What I didn't account for was the soft top "flapping" up and hitting the lower support bars. That got a bit annoying. I went to out local hardware store and got 1/2" pipe insulation foam tubes. They match the color of the rack and were already split down the middle, so putting them on were easy. I cost me under $10.00 to do the rack and figured when they go bad, I will just replace them. No harm no fowl. Anyways, sounds is down next to nothing with the"flap" and a little tweak with the wind deflector minimized the front wind noise. Life is good!

to be continued...

 

[Sean S]

The rack looks amazing. You did a great job installing it. I have also been looking at this rack from Gobi for quite a while. It really is the best rack that I have come across so far for the JK. There are only two reasons why I have not pulled the trigger so far. First, I will eventually swap out the stock rear plastic bumper for an aftermarket one. Some of the aftermarket bumpers require special adaptors from Gobi. I might need to install the rear bumper first before proceeding with ordering the rack. The other reason is really quite minor but still an issue for me. I lack any garage or area outside of our apartment to work on the installation or even to temporarily store the boxes, which look quite large. How long did it take you to install the rack once you had unpacked it? I am curious to know if it might be possible to install it in an afternoon. My mechanical skills are very basic. Would you recommend having a second person to help with the install? Thanks in advance for any advice you could give.

 

[TK81477]

The rack looks amazing. You did a great job installing it. I have also been looking at this rack from Gobi for quite a while. It really is the best rack that I have come across so far for the JK. There are only two reasons why I have not pulled the trigger so far. First, I will eventually swap out the stock rear plastic bumper for an aftermarket one. Some of the aftermarket bumpers require special adaptors from Gobi. I might need to install the rear bumper first before proceeding with ordering the rack. The other reason is really quite minor but still an issue for me. I lack any garage or area outside of our apartment to work on the installation or even to temporarily store the boxes, which look quite large. How long did it take you to install the rack once you had unpacked it? I am curious to know if it might be possible to install it in an afternoon. My mechanical skills are very basic. Would you recommend having a second person to help with the install? Thanks in advance for any advice you could give.

First off, thank you, I am very proud of it. I debated with myself on the back bumper, ultimately and obviously I chose to move forward without doing it. Maybe I will do it down the road.

Ok, back to it. The installation took me about 5.5-6 hours. As I said up top, the instructions were not totally crystal clean to me and took a little bit to figure out. However, once I did figure it out, the other side was a piece of cake.

You will only need an extra set of hands to place the front window light bar bracket in place and the actual rack it self. It is a bit heavy. Those would be the only for certain need for two people. Granted, having two throughout may speed up the install.

Thanks again and feel free to hit me up with any other questions.

Cheers!


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[Sean S]

Thanks for the information. I also like your decision to go with 2 removable crossbars. It gives you the ultimate flexibility when configuring the roof rack. Very cool!

 

[Jeepney]

Nice and those half-doors look good. I did the removable crossbars as well, so i essentially installed the bars on my RTT so mounting the RTT to the rack is easier, and gets you a bit of flexibility where you want it mounted.

fyi, it is the wind deflector that is actually causing the buffeting. I took mine out (i was running without the rack, just the front light bar). The catch is that the wind deflector gets rid of the wind noise on the light bar so i had to wrap the light bar with some bungee to minimize it a tad bit. I just reinstalled my rack and went for a camp yesterday and the soft top did not flap at all, so i am pretty sure it was just the wind deflector.

Having said that, i am going to try out the foam as well and add the deflector back again and see if it's any quieter good enough for the long drives. I have a hardtop but switching things out between the rack, the roof top tent, the hardtop/softop is a lot of work so i'd rather not do it all the time if i can help it (not quite ready to give up on the soft top yet!)

 

[Jeepney]

oh and my wife helped me lifting the rack up, that wasn't pleasant. You can hoist the rack up in your garage with ratchets. Now that i have that setup i wish i have done it that way. Doing it during winter did not help either, you will need pain reliever for the following day ;)

 

[TK81477]

Nice and those half-doors look good. I did the removable crossbars as well, so i essentially installed the bars on my RTT so mounting the RTT to the rack is easier, and gets you a bit of flexibility where you want it mounted.

fyi, it is the wind deflector that is actually causing the buffeting. I took mine out (i was running without the rack, just the front light bar). The catch is that the wind deflector gets rid of the wind noise on the light bar so i had to wrap the light bar with some bungee to minimize it a tad bit. I just reinstalled my rack and went for a camp yesterday and the soft top did not flap at all, so i am pretty sure it was just the wind deflector.

Having said that, i am going to try out the foam as well and add the deflector back again and see if it's any quieter good enough for the long drives. I have a hardtop but switching things out between the rack, the roof top tent, the hardtop/softop is a lot of work so i'd rather not do it all the time if i can help it (not quite ready to give up on the soft top yet!)

Thanks for the tips. I never tried it without the wind deflector. I am going to take it off to see what happens. I have my light bar on order and expect it later this week so I will probably try some different combos when I instal it.

As for the top itself, I only have the soft top. I am fine with a some wind noice and knew what I was getting into when I bought the Jeep from past experiences. I also knew the rack would present a new level of it too, but if I can minimize it, why not...

Thanks for reaching out and the advice. Oh, and PS, my wife helped me with my top too. Cheers!

 

[Blink]

I have a Gobi on the way! Great to see someone receiving theirs. I ordered the same one but with both ladders and the sunroof insert. Currently on week 9 of the wait. I can't wait anymore seeing yours!

 

[TK81477]

I have a Gobi on the way! Great to see someone receiving theirs. I ordered the same one but with both ladders and the sunroof insert. Currently on week 9 of the wait. I can't wait anymore seeing yours!

Ha! Yeah, I will be ordering the second ladder myself. I didn't think I wanted it at first, but when I put on mine I instantly changed my mind.

I will also be getting the sunroof insert too. I have a 4 gallon Rotopax and mount I was thinking of putting on it. That way I don't have to leave it on the rack all the time with the ease of quick removal.

Give them a call and ask for your shipment date. I found out since it is being delivered via freight that you will not get a tracking number. Instead, you will get an email stating it was picked up and the freight company will contact you when they are in you area and set up a delivery date and time.

You will love your rack. Cheers!


Sent from my iPad using OB Talk

 

[Blink]

Ha! Yeah, I will be ordering the second ladder myself. I didn't think I wanted it at first, but when I put on mine I instantly changed my mind.

I will also be getting the sunroof insert too. I have a 4 gallon Rotopax and mount I was thinking of putting on it. That way I don't have to leave it on the rack all the time with the ease of quick removal.

Give them a call and ask for your shipment date. I found out since it is being delivered via freight that you will not get a tracking number. Instead, you will get an email stating it was picked up and the freight company will contact you when they are in you area and set up a delivery date and time.

You will love your rack. Cheers!


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How slow is freight shipping? Hopefully it won't take 2 weeks to get here once it does ship.

 

[TK81477]

How slow is freight shipping? Hopefully it won't take 2 weeks to get here once it does ship.

No, I want to say it was about a week. That was freight from Colorado to the Chicago suburbs. So, not bad...

 

[Blink]

No, I want to say it was about a week. That was freight from Colorado to the Chicago suburbs. So, not bad...

Great! CO to AL shouldn't be to bad either, but we will see.

 

[toxicity_27]

Every time I see a Gobi rack I want one. Too bad I can pull the trigger on it yet. Have you noticed any change in MPG? A buddy of mine has one and said he lost 1 MPG, so just curious if it was him, or if that's kind of a general rule of thumb.

 

[TK81477]

Every time I see a Gobi rack I want one. Too bad I can pull the trigger on it yet. Have you noticed any change in MPG? A buddy of mine has one and said he lost 1 MPG, so just curious if it was him, or if that's kind of a general rule of thumb.

Thanks for the heads up. Not yet, but then again, I haven't had it long enough to judge that yet. I will post/update the build thread if I do notice something.

Thanks again, Cheers!

 

[ttephotos]

Nice stuff! My 17 comes in July when I get back to England from deployment and this has me even more excited! Think I am going Rhino-Rack route but the GOBI was so tempting! Looks great, following your thread!

 

[TK81477]

Thank You!!! I had a strange and slightly disturbing turn of events. I will post soon...

Nice stuff! My 17 comes in July when I get back to England from deployment and this has me even more excited! Think I am going Rhino-Rack route but the GOBI was so tempting! Looks great, following your thread!

 

[TK81477]

UPDATE
So, a lot has happened since I last posted on here. Unfortunately, I didn't go anywhere, or see anything...just life.

I started this forum post with my 2017 Jeep Wrangler, Willys Edition. It was their Rhino color. I got it October of 2016 and sinse then, it has been back at the dealer 5 times with a water leak(s). Not from the engine compartment, the driver and passenger doors. Sometimes it was one door, or the other door, or both. Now I know Jeeps get a drop, or bit, of water in them from time to time, especially with the soft top and half doors. I knew and excepted this, but water should not be streaming in from under the door, enough to soak through the carpets and fill the foot wells.

The best part of that was our crazy winter here in Illinois. One day it would be 65 degrees and the next day it would be 15 degrees. So wouldn't you know it, rained one day, dropped below freezing the next before I could get to it and the water froze. I was able to bring it inside the fire house bay when I was on shift to pull the carpets. I let them thaw and tries to vaccum it up with little success. So I stuck them in our hose dryer in 3 hour increments. It took 9 hours for them to dry.

Needless to say, I complained about my carpets and wanted them replaced. This was after the fourth time. They didn't. I contacted my sale woman to help out who reached to to management. They helped. Again...it rained...again...it leaked. Now this is after they swore it was fixed (they had it for 8 days). Also, there was only a 3 day period between the fourth and this next visit. I was pissed!!! Brought it right back.

I got home and I was stewing and reflecting on the whole situation. I spoke at length with my wife, then text message my sale woman. I told her I wasn't very optimistic about this and after speaking with my wife, I was considering trading it in for another wrangler. She told me to not do anything rash and leave that for "Plan B" after you get the Jeep back. Well, I got it back. They said they got it...it doesn't leak any longer. I was in a major rush, so I didn't check it out like I should have. Got home and looked at the door more closely and it looked like they went to a hardware store and bought stick on weather stripping for a home and stuck it in the jambs and it was already peeling off.

I could have punched a kitten I was so angry...not really, just real angry. So...I moved on...

Still and 2017 and still the Willys. I like the package. But the best part of the whole thing was how my sale woman took care of me. They wiped out my loan and gave an extra $3,000.00 for my troubles ad history. It was sad to see the old one go. I mean I didn't even have it long enough for an oil change. Everything happens for a reason.

This was on a Saturday..

By Sunday, after some work...

This time the rack didn't take as long. Thanks goodness!!! Now. if you recall, the only things I have done to the old one was the receiver/hitch and the Gobi rack. This Jeep came with the towing package so i was able to put the old hitch on my wife's Jeeps. Win/Win...

Now today (04-10-17)...

This is the 40" Extreme LED light bar with wiring harness.

With this purchase I also picked up the Rugged Ridge A-Pillar Switch Pod and a custom rocker switch and plate from Rocker Switch Pros.

Well, there it is...my big adventure. It has been a long three days getting everything back together, but it is worth it. I like this Jeep, maybe a little more even. What I do know is that I spent good money on a Jeep for it to have this many issues. I know I made the right decision.

I still need to adjust the light direction/angle and put on the wind isolators, but I think it looks good...and bright! I will continue to post my updates on this thread here, probably...

Hope to hear from everyone,
Cheers!

 

[toxicity_27]

Glad they FINALLY took care of you! It's ridiculous that it had to come to that, but at least it worked out in the end. I like the white (I used to have a white one). You're still making me want that roof rack though!

 

[TK81477]

Glad they FINALLY took care of you! It's ridiculous that it had to come to that, but at least it worked out in the end. I like the white (I used to have a white one). You're still making me want that roof rack though!

Thank You!!!

 

[Jeepney]

The QC on this jeeps are disappointing. I havent had any issues with mine if anything the paint quality (thin) is not the best and i've read a lot of stories with undersprayed areas.

I am lucky no leaks with Either hardtop or softop. My guess is the leak issue is more on the body/door fitment than the tops.

Other than that i am glad you've been taken care of!


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