Wilderness Gladiator

[Atla]

What headlights are you using? Are they DOT legal by chance?

[BRUTUS]

WOW is all I can say. Can't believe it took me this long to find your build thread. Can't wait to meet/wheel with you in Moab!

[Stuka]

Finally starting to get nice and warm here, looking forward to getting back out into the forest.

Great photos.

[BigJ200]

I finally got my custom canvas camper top finished. Turned out very nice. Getting it set up now for lots of back country expeditions.






I'll post more photos of the inside once I get that all done.

[BigJ200]

I took a group of friends and clients down to California for the 64th Jeepers Jamboree. We had 10 Jeeps in our group. It was a fantastic trip. And it made me love my Jeep even more. We cruised at 75-80 mph all the way with the AC on, drove the Rubicon and cruised at 75-80 mph all the way home. 1300 miles total. Averaged 15 mpg. My wife and I slept comfortably in the back on 5" of high density foam. It was just as comfortable as being at home.
The weeks leading up to the trip were hectic! I had almost everyone's Jeep in my shop doing inspections, repairs and upgrades so they were all ready to go.

My Jeep ended up last in line.

New 4L60e transmission from Monster
Complete front axle service
14 bolt pinion guard from Ruff Stuff
Heavy duty diff covers from Ruff Stuff
New custom tie rods
T-case ground switch
New rear leaf springs
14" ORI Struts
New radiator, custom shroud
Air conditioning system
Ham Radio
Rear step for hitch
Hood hinge support brackets
LED back up lights
Dome light
Custom truck cage and canopy
Slide out drawer storage system in truck bed
Tom Woods driveshafts
Swing out tailgate
Gas and water storage rack
New exhaust
Alignment
And a dozen other last minute things..

But we got it all done. I have a great crew at American Vintage 4x4.

Here are just a few photos of some of the last minute work and the amazing trip.

[BigJ200]

[AwesomeJ10]

awesome man!

that thing is so bada$$ and an inspiration!!

[comet the dog]

Impressive

[Cheapthrills]

Very impressive rig me want to start ripping my waggy apart

[whoever]

So good.

[BigJ200]

A few snow pics...

[troopthrowback]

Front bumper info please! Interested in the use of JK bumpers I've been seeing lately.


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[Stuka]

Out of curiosity, why did you switch from the coil overs to the air shocks?

[BigJ200]

Troopthrowback- I built the bumper.
Stuka- I was never really happy with coilovers. Mostly the noisy coils themselves. And I really wanted to test out a set of ORI's. Glad I did. They are excellent. Very stiff at first, but after the Rubicon trip, they really softened up and ride beautifully. They are super beefy too.

[az chip]

Which ham radio?

[BigJ200]

Yeasu FT-2900R and a Baofeng UV-5R handheld.

[jpswapmohn]

It has been great watching the amazing work you have done on this truck. I didn't realize you had a company going.. that is great!
BTW, I don't think it was intentional, but your symbol is a rotated Norse Rune, JERA, which generally represents cycles (of life, etc.). I thought that was pretty cool when I saw it on some of your projects.

[TUDrewser]

I have an unreasonable crush on this jeep.

[Adventure_Wagon88]

I have an unreasonable crush on this jeep.

X2 if I knew where it lived I'd be courting it for an affair.

[troopthrowback]

I finally got to read the entire thread. Thanks for sharing with us, it's definitely a wonderful creation. I hope to see it in the flesh sometime. Any chance for Easter Jeep Safari 2017?


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