Wolfpack Explorers 2014 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Build

[Wolfpack Explorers]

I am a long-term member and figured it makes sense to finally post my build thread.

My first Jeep was Red, an 02 TJ that I loved to death and drove all over Colorado:


I loved that little Jeep. That was until I rolled it off a 10,000 foot mountain:



The side of the road gave way and we were above the treeline and had nothing to winch to. Thankfully my wife and I were able to get out before it went over. I loved that Jeep, still, miss it to this day.

I had three Land Rover Discovery's after that, loved them but blew head gaskets in 3, with carcasses left in Colorado, California, and Iowa. Never again.

Then came Daisy, our 2009 Jeep JK, I was so happy to be back in a Jeep:



We had a blast driving this across Maine as we ended back up on the East Coast. Great jeep but had to get rid of her for financial reasons.

I was in a Tacoma for a while and it was fine, but we are a true Jeep family.

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

Finally, we were able to get back in a Jeep about a year ago, when we picked up a 2014 Jeep JK Unlimited Rubicon.

Here is how she sits today:

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

Here she sits today:




Current Modifications:
35" / 12.5" / 17" Falken Wildpeak MT's
Black Rhino Armory Wheels
Teraflex 3" Budget Lift
- Upgraded with 4.5" AEV High Capacity Coils
Curry Antirock Front Sway Bar
Steer Smarts Rear Adjustable Track Bar
King Steering Stabilizer
ARB Stubby Front Bumper
Comeup 9.5s
Viking Synthetic Winchline
Factor 55 Thimble
sPOD
Genesis 4x4 Dual Battery Kit with Odyssey Batteries
Gobi Stealth Rack
Baja Designs 50" Light Bar
Dometic 75 CFX3 Fridge
JW Speaker LED Headlights, Turn Signals and Rear Brake Lights
Fishbone Sliders
ARB 200 Awning
Tuff Stuff Alpha Roof Top Tent
ARB Dual Compressor
Tom Woods 1350 Front Driveshaft
Teraflex Front Ball Joints
Custom Storage Solution

Love my Jeep, drives great but more work to come. I will share some more details on the current build and new changes shortly.

You can check out our full build sheet here: https://www.wolfpackexplorers.com/jeep-gear

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

A couple of weeks ago I completely grenaded my stock front driveshaft. I have the 4.5" springs on it, and the CV joints on the stock driveshaft don't like the severe angle. The boot protecting it has a tendency to tear and then all the grease leaks out, it gets too hot and fails. It is a pretty common issue, and that is exactly what happened to mine:



The rust in the picture above is because I left it sitting on my driveway for a few days before I took this picture. I was aware of this issue but waited too long to address it. So I replaced it with a Tom Woods 1350:



These things are beyond beefy. The word overbuilt comes to mind, but I am not complaining:



I haven't changed the rear but plan to soon. I believe the issue is more prevalent in the front but better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

One of my favorite mods is my custom storage system. I am a fan of the Goose Gear products but I have specific needs. We have two large dogs that travel with us, which limits the amount of storage space that we have in the Jeep. Interior space is at a premium. So I removed the 70% section of the rear seat, and then I raised the floor about 8" and put two large drawers in the back, and have a large storage area where the other half of the rear seat used to be. I then finished the whole thing in Raptor Liner:







The box also serves as an armrest for the passenger in the rear and helps to keep them in their seat. When we went to put a fridge in the back we ran into a small problem. We wanted to add the Dometic 55 but since the floor was raised, it wouldn't fit behind the rear seat. So we decided to go with the 75 and put it in lengthwise. While it is probably bigger than we need, we can now store more food and drinks in it, again freeing up space, and allows us to use one side as a freezer (or both technically) if we wanted to. The 75 fits perfectly side to side in the back of the JK
:



The drawer on the left holds all of our food dry goods, spices, oils, etc. The drawer on the right holds all our cooking gear and miscellaneous camping equipment. All of our tools, air tools, and survival gear are kept in the larger storage section. It has worked really well for us.

 

[tjZ06]

That build-out is perfect! I really want to do something like that with my WJ. I don't have back-seat passengers, or really intend to but having at least a 3rd seat for unplanned requirements is nice. Plus, if you have a sleeping platform having that seat to get in, take your boots off, etc. before flopping up onto the platform seems like a good idea. I have a pickup with a Four Wheel Camper as my "main" Overlander, but I want to make it quick/easy to sleep in (or out of) the WJ when I do things like The Rubicon.

-TJ

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

Thanks! You are absolutely right, it definitely could be used as a sleeping platform. We sleep in the RTT and our dogs use it as a sleeping platform as they sleep inside.

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

I just finished up a maintenance project and redid the entire rear brakes, pads, rotors, and calipers.



While not an overly hard job, one downside of doing your own work when you live in Maine and your Jeep is too tall for your garage is the weather. My view is below, it was like 10 degrees out. It was colder than it looks.



I am not an expert by any means but have figured out a lot along the way. I put my own lift kit in, done the brakes, dual battery kit, and more recently thermostat and power steering pump to name a few. Knowing my Jeep and how to fix it comes in handy in the field.

Anyone else do a lot of their own work?

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

One other change that I had to make recently was replacing my rear track bar. I had previously put a JKS adjustable track bar on when I put on the lift. All was well until a few months ago when I started to notice that it looked like my rear axle was shifted too far to the left. It got so bad that one day when driving home my rear tire started rubbing on the rear sway bar link. I couldn't figure it out at first as it was secured tightly, however when I laid on the ground under it and pushed up it popped back in. The bar end link on the adjustable side must have gone bad.



I decided to replace it with a Steer Smarts Adjustable track bar. The word beefy doesn't do it justice, it is almost overbuilt.



Has anyone else had any issues with JKS track bars?

 

[zgfiredude]

I have JKS trackbars and have had no issues at all......maybe it struggled with all the weight from that BIG fridge?

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

Doing my own work doesn't always go smoothly. The brake job above didn't go as smoothly as first appeared. If you are interested in hearing more check out our latest blog post "I Screwed Up". In our blog, I promised to always tell the whole story. Real Stories. Real Truth.

Overland Vehicle Maintenance — Wolfpack Explorers

 

[Wolfpack Explorers]

So I did it, I made a change. A change that I never thought I would make. I have been exclusively running Falken Wildpeak MT tires for over ten years but decided to give Milestar Patagonia MT’s a try. Check out our latest blog post to find out why.

Milestar Patagonia M/T — Wolfpack Explorers