Somd FX4

killer fab man. I love Hobart welders. I have a 140 myself.

97JEEPTJ

Thank you. I need to find some more projects. I may tackle the running boards and chop some height out of the mounting brackets so they do not hang so low.

While at Home Depot this weekend I came across a 2" Receiver Shackle. Figured it would be good to have around. Maybe not a brand name or top of the line, but should do the trick and it is a solid 2" shank, no square tubing.








Here's a quick pic of the Bolt receiver lock, pretty handy just using the ignition key.




I have a few minor updates coming as I am prepping for a camping/expedition trip to Big Bend Ranch State Park and at least a drive through Big Bend National Park. Stay tuned!

SCORGE

Nice truck. Hate those two piece lugs. Used a dremmel to cut the shell off of every one of them on the wifes car so I could get them off. Replaced with one piece lol

97JEEPTJ

Yeah, I guess if I would have stuck to using the lug wrench they probably would have been fine for a few more tire rotations. The electric impact did them in quick. Good thing I stopped while I was ahead and got some replacement lugs ordered.

I did an LED swap with the interior lights, backup lights, reverse lights, and puddle lights.

Interior and cargo- from left to right:
42mm Festoons for the rear dome light (3 bulbs - one dome, two reading/map lights)
194 size LED bulb for two map lights up front
921 size LED bulb for the cargo lights in third brake light assembly



Comparison of the 921 bulb to the LED replacement for the cargo lights



LED installed on drivers side, stock 921 bulb on passenger side



What the puddle lamps look like under the side mirrors



Two pigtails with crimp connectors connect to the bulb housing



These are what the housings look like. When I popped the housings out of the mirrors, the lens caps came off. I expected to get them out in once piece and have to cut or pry the lenses off.





31mm Festoon LED bulbs for the puddle lamps



LED left, halogen right



I ran a small bead of clear caulk around the edge of the housing and lens. I let it sit for a few days clamped together. It seems to have held pretty well. I will try to get some night time pictures of them, they are definitely brighter and cast more light.



Just for kicks, I used two more of the 921 LED bulbs that I got for the cargo lights and put them in the reverse lights. I fully anticipate that they won't really be an improvement over stock as they will not project the light any better, even if they are brighter.

When I am camping this week I will try to get some night shots. The brighter and whiter interior bulbs already make a big difference.

97JEEPTJ

For the trip, I wanted to keep the bed organized and secure. I decided to utilize the indentations in the bed and some 2x10's. The must-haves were to fit the RTIC cooler, 5 gallon jerry can of water, 5 gallons of gas, a shovel, and a hi-lift jack (normally lives on the Jeep). I mocked some of it up, and decided to mount the shovel and hi-lift on the front side of the 'divider'. I basically framed in some 2x10's to the back side of the organizer, which sits at the back of the bed. The organizer ended up with 3 compartments. It still allows access to the cargo tie-downs. I also added some small D-rings to each compartment so I could tie the contents down with bungee cords. It worked out perfectly.

For the hi-lift jack, I used some old control arm bushings, fender washers and wing nuts. Fortunately the way the hi-lift is, it has a ton of mounting options along the length of it. A two-point mount system worked perfect, and it did not come loose with tons of gravel road driving.

I used some quick-fists I had laying around for the shovel mount. I am not super satisfied with them, as one of the fists broke on the first use. I would try something else in the future, even D-cell Maglite flashlight clips.

You may notice, that nothing 'holds' the organizer down, beyond gravity. The shovel and hi-lift weight it down pretty decently. Other than that, the water and gas can have a 'friction fit' that helps as well. But, the dividers are not attached to the bed at all. I suppose you could mount it, but I didn't feel it was necessary.

Overall the organizer worked out perfectly. The cooler was oriented so that while it was in-place you could access the cooler simply by opening the bed cover-it was not necessary to put the tailgate down.

We put a lot of miles on gravel/dirt roads out there, and ran into an unanticipated issue with dust getting sucked into the bed between the tailgate and bumper. All of the contents had a thick layer of dust on them. So, in the future I will look into some tailgate seals to at least minimize the dust finding its way in.

Here are a few progress pics, and the final product. Excuse the couple of blurry pics.

97JEEPTJ

Here are a couple of pics from Big Bend State Park

97JEEPTJ

No big mods or updates since the Big Bend trip. In early December, we got a freak snow storm in New Braunfels, ended up with probably +4 inches of snow. It didn't last long, but was pretty cool.


Got her all cleaned up after the camping trip


Moved back across the country to the East Coast





Planning on some small mods once I get settled in. Also need to take care of the weeping coolant hoses--will try new o-rings first. Only started after a cold temp swing in TX, and drips sometime after cooldown. About 104k miles, need to change the oil again soon.

andrewdod

truck is still looking good! what's next?

97JEEPTJ

On the trip across half the country, was welcomed by snow once I arrived. Truck towed the Jeep and trailer beautifully, 18 hrs straight the first day-only stopping for fuel. Really happy with how well the truck tows, and with the Big Tex trailer as well.


Still looks good all cleaned up


Here are some random photos- Nice scenery at a horse farm in VA, more snow, towing the Jeep for an off-road trip.






Here's a wheeling photo for good measure

97JEEPTJ

The trailer was coming in handy all the time, so I decided to make up some stake-sides for it. They came out really well and give me even more flexibility--been using it to move furniture, yard work moving limbs and logs, and even moving dirt (wish I had a dump trailer).





I've been using the truck for road trips this summer, can't beat it for a long drive