new yellow rubie

[skisad]

Well, new to me. My name is Chris and I just got a 2004 yellow rubicon and I'm looking forward to getting it dirty.

I have a question for all you jeep pros.
I was going to get Warn rock crawler bumpers, a Warn 9.5ti winch, and other small toys on Thursday.
What else do I need to get, so I can ride with the big dogs? Lift? How high? Skids? Tires?

A concerned little pup,
And my new saying
“Why hike to the top when you can ride”
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Landon]

Welcome aboard and congrats on the new rubi! As for stuff to get, I would FIRST get a CB. You can get a CB from Radio Shack or better than that, go to your nearest truck stop and you can get a CB, coax cable, antenna and mount, all for about $75 -$100. Then, an oil pan skid plate and a lift, anywhere from 3-4 inch suspension , not body. Then 33" tires. This will get you started on the right path. Hope to see you on the trail soon buddy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tu.gif

[Tomster]

Yeah, and if you are in Birmingham, then a little trip to Turkey Bay once in a while shouldn't be too impractical for ya. Come on up and join us there for some wheelin' when you get the chance.

Welcome to ItsaJeep!

Tom

[mawardjr]

Welcome! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif

[Don]

Welcome to itsajeep.org and to the "Jeep Family"...

[Teddy]

Welcome. I have the Warn Bumpers and tire carrier. They are great products and have held up well. My only complaint is the tire carrier has no provision for a Hi Lift on the carrier. You can make one if you can weld or know a welder. I recommend 4" of lift and their are a bunch of lifts out there. Lots of folks seem to like the Rubicon Express stuff. I have a Teraflex and can't complain. Get something with control arms. There are also lots of tires, so have fun researching. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tu.gif

[Rubi Girl]

Welcome! As for the mods, I agree with Landon. Get a CB first. I'm on my third now, and it's a Cobra. Far and away the best I've had. Love it.

Just ordered my lift. I'm getting a Rubicon Express 4.5" lift with 3.5" springs, then am planning to get the American Racing Outlaw II wheels, and am still deciding between the Interco TrXus tire and the standard MT/R, but I do know I'm going with the 33"/12.5/15.

Not too crazy about the Warn bumpers. I love the looks of them, but from what I've heard, the gap between the bumper and fender in the front is large enough to allow branches and the like to get between them and cause fender damage. I did see a really nice ORF bumper on a local Jeep the other day. Pretty low price point, and it looked great. Don't know much about how they hold up.

A Warn winch would also be a big plus.

I also have the PSC Rocker Knocker rock rails, and they are great! Hold up well and can take some pretty serious damage without destroying them. Having them on my Rubi last time I wheeled saved the paint on my passenger side when I slipped down into a gulley. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

The upside is you have a yellow Jeep. That's the second best color to have! Silver, of course, would be my first choice...... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My husband has a yellow Rubi, and his looks great no matter how many dents, dings and scratches he gets in it.

Welcome to Itsajeep! Glad you are here!

[Marlon_JBT]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif

[NiteDog]

Welcome to the group! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif

Congrats on the new Rubie. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tu.gif

mike

[Rubi Girl]

Hey Teddy, have you had any problems with your Warn front bumper not protecting your fenders? I'm looking at bumpers and I do like the look of the Warn. Johnny (Pete) had one on his Rubi and he kept getting things stuck between the bumper and fenders.

[IndyXJ]

Welcome from a hardcore XJ'er. How did you come across your 04, was it new or used. If used, was it USED on the trail or just someone's mall crawler?

[BillM]

Welcome to the board. One big thing to make sure of if you plane to air down on the trail is DO NOT buy 15x10 wheels. GO with the 15x8 with a 12.50 wide tire or narrower. You will be less likely to pop the bead off the rim if you go with the narrower one. Everybody else has covered most everything. Robin, If you are worried about stuff getting between the bumper and fenders then make sure to get you some brush guards to go on top of the bumper. This should cure up any worries of damage. Mike should be able to make it and weld it on if he has a way to bend the tubing.

[Paul E]

Robin, there are bumpers available that come up closer to the fender. Toys by Troy is a tubular version and one I almost got, but it is a bit pricey. Very stout though.

http://www.toysbytroy.com/Product_Files/Product_FrontBumper_Files/FrontBumper%20001.jpg

Hanson enterprises has one. I saw on JU (the show me your front bumper thread in the pics section that looked nice. There is also a new company called Drag Nasty Creek (www.dncreek.com) that has a sweet looking bumper that has several tie-in points and looks pretty stout.

http://www.dncreek.com/Online/prodimages/SteelProducts/TJFrontBumpers/TJ-54HSBLK_med.jpg

There's a Tennessee Offroad bumper (www.tennesseeoffroad.com) that tucks up right by the fenders and looks similar to an ARB.

http://www.tennesseeoffroad.com/catalog/images/standard.jpg

Advanced Frameworks also...

One thing you could do with the Warn or a Jeeperman type bumper is to weld some vertical bars on the ends of the bumper that extend up to the fenders. This will provide some support if you come down at an angle and keep the fenders from getting bashed so much. It might also help keep branches and such out.

[Rubi Girl]

Paul, what do you think about the Safari Gard bumper, ORF or Garvin?

[Teddy]

Hey Teddy, have you had any problems with your Warn front bumper not protecting your fenders? I'm looking at bumpers and I do like the look of the Warn. Johnny (Pete) had one on his Rubi and he kept getting things stuck between the bumper and fenders.

Not yet, so far so good. Check out the pic below it's at least a 4" gap, probably take a pretty big something. I'd buy'em again. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Paul E]

Robin, I've heard good things about all of them, but have no first-hand experience with them. I'd probably go with the ORF or Garvin - I've more about them than the Safari.

[Rubi Girl]

I like the look of the Safari Gard best, as far as a rear bumper, but they offer no option for a gerry can mount. With Garvin you can get the high lift jack and gerry can mounts and the rack above the spare. That's a nice little extra.

ORF has a nice back bumper with tire carrier, but the gerry cans sit between the spare and the tailgate, so I would imagine the spare is 10-12" off the gate. Seems like it might hang up more in gulleys and other small spaces like Nosedive and Sit Up and Beg (both at TB).

[mikea]

Real jeeps are Yellow :)

[skisad]

Thanks for the advice guys and gal. I looked at smittybilt rock crawler bumper that looked pretty tough. But it was on back order and I would have to wait three months.

Liberty Girl, (Robin I think) I can see where brush might get trapped and cause damage between the bumper and fender. I'll see if can put something there to prevent any possible damage. Or I'll just have to get a bigger lift!!

IndyJX, I knew I wanted a yellow Rubicon with a manual trans. So I went to Autotrader.com and put in my requirements. Luckily there were two one in Nashville and the other Atlanta, and the Atlanta guy one with the lowest price.

[mikea]

Sooo is that yeller jeep goin to TB this weekend?

[Landon]

I know an Orange one is going :)

[skisad]

Want be able to make it this weekend. Mother in law going to be in town!!!:( Soon as I can get the newness rubbed out I'll be there. Do they have camping there? I'm getting a pop up camper and might be able to make a trip up there Labor Day weekend.

[skisad]

Is TB in KY on a HWY?

[Tomster]

Skisad:

Turkey Bay is mostly in KY, but it extends down into TN a few miles.

Aurora, KY, is the nearest town that you might look up on Mapquest for directions.

Turkey Bay is just a couple miles south of US HWY 68 on the Trace. It is on the eastern shore of KY Lake, which puts it between the two big lakes, Kentucky and Barkley.

It is part of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, which is administered by the US Forest Service.

Check out my website for Turkey Bay.

http://home.earthlink.net/~tsjay49/

Hope to see you there sometime.

Tomster

[gblue]

Welcome Chris, welcome to the site..

[BillM]

Welcome to the board.

[Rit]

Welcome to the board.

Different subject but, skier here too. Let me know when your in the northeast (in the winter). I'm usually up north every weekend. Our best wheeling is up by the ski area we frequent also. Since we can't fight the snow we play in it :D

[skisad]

Will do Rit. My sister lives in Simsbury CT, and I'm working on a trip up there this year. I'll let you know when. Where do you ski up there?

[Rit]

I Patrol at Berkshire East (for the last 36 years). I just like the area and the people there and the 3 kids were raised there since they could walk. Great place and the owner has done so much in the last 8 years. I'm certainly open to a run in VT though (still the most beautiful state in the US, I think).