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John D Super Slo-Mo Rebuild

I was going to build some front tube flares this winter but I found a local guy selling a never mounted set of Down and Dirty's for about half price. They really stiffened up the fender and I like the look. Paint is not a great match, it's just Chevy engine orange but it will get me through to winter when I can spray some matching Hemi orange on it.



 
Fore Wheeler said:
I'm done with my tire carrier. My spare will be in the Tahoe for short trips, longer trips I will make a roof mount.
Click to expand...

Mine has always ridden on the trailer too but I want the option for a longer trip. Roof is not an option since two guys have a bit of struggle just getting in the cargo area and I want to be careful about adding more weight above the COG. I would like to mount it on my gas tank in the cargo area but this will require removing the lift gate (I'm not convinced I like this look yet) because it will extend out the back about 10". Maybe removing the window and having it stick out through it? IDK, I need to think about this...
 
The trick to have a rear bumper tire carrier is doing the 2x4 tube extending up into the unibody. The 8 bolts on the back with little supports to the hitch mount was not good enough for the 33x12.5... when I did the 2x4 I ran the 2x4 as far up as possible catching all hitch points and the bolts on the back. now there is no flex in the bumper or tire carrier.

I think this mount setup would close to the limit of a 37". add in a few extra braces and it would be good, just have to figure out the swing part. tie the swing into the top of your hybrid?

 
My issue with my tire carrier was it got in the way, it reduced my departure angle and seemed to like to hang me up on trees, not to mention the lack of rear visibility and the weight extended that far out.

It was plenty far off the ground.

df1589d0eb51ee128de2b53cf5cc9d44.jpg


Didn't take much to drag it.

a19bcf272bddc594b8551ebcdca5fe63.jpg
 
im not a giant fan of tires on top. after doing some amateur chassis/suspension fabrication i was surprised at just how much of an impact on roll center and COG that even a few pounds can have, let alone a tire. it can also get dangerous... throwing a 33 around isnt terribly hard (not that i would want to do it regularly) but when your into the 35 or 37+ range... things start getting heavy. but obviously having it low also really sucks per wheelers post. and his is high compared to most of what is on the market.

throwing a 40 in the back of this rig was a two man operation:
19410D01-CC89-45C6-8AD8-617BF857A531_zpsuremqhl2.jpg




none of us typically wheel alone or do crazy overlanding trips... im ok with leaving mine at the truck for now. lol.
 
Last edited:
vt98xj said:
The trick to have a rear bumper tire carrier is doing the 2x4 tube extending up into the unibody...
Click to expand...

Thanks. My bumper is attached as you describe and it's plenty strong to hold the weight of the wheel/tire, but a swing out carrier is going to have a hard time with the weight. It would need to be a fold down type to be on the bumper, but the mount would be really high to keep a decent departure angle.

Fore Wheeler said:
My issue with my tire carrier was it got in the way, it reduced my departure angle and seemed to like to hang me up on trees, not to mention the lack of rear visibility and the weight extended that far out.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of this. It worked "okay" when I had a 33, sucked really bad with a 35 and I can't imagine it with a 37.


VAhasnoWAVES said:
none of us typically wheel alone or do crazy overlanding trips... im ok with leaving mine at the truck for now. lol.
Click to expand...

Maybe my solution is to keep going with you younger guys and asking for help to retrieve/change/return the spare when needed.
 
John D said:
Maybe my solution is to keep going with you younger guys and asking for help to retrieve/change/return the spare when needed.
Click to expand...
ill run and get spares all day, just means im not the one with an issue. lol... and its more than a fair trade for all the winching everyone had to do to get my shitbox off that tire.

just got to remember to strap it down next time. that was an oversight that could have had some bad consequences.
 
Whipped up the anti-wrap bar today. I can't believe what a difference this made! I need to take it back out to paint, but I will run it for a few days first to make sure its all good. I had to modify my t-case skid a bit, but I like it better now anyway. The bar will dual purpose as a nice driveshaft skid too. Pretty friggin tight up there.





 
Playing in the big sandbox yesterday and it was awesome. The tires were great, the front air bumps were great, temps never got to high for engine or trans and I ripped the new traction bar off the axle on and big jump/landing. Very happy with everything yesterday and the traction bar will be easy to paint now, lol.













 
I see a gopro on your windshield. When does the vid come out? :)
 
Hit the dunes on Saturday and the Jeep worked great. Lots of rain Friday night so it was pretty rough, but conditions improved all day. I had a tire going flat on the trailer when we pulled in and had a great time changing it. I don't think the wheels have been off since I put these tires on five years ago. We almost made it to the 2-lane section of M46 east of US 31 when the second tire went down. I only had the one spare so I unloaded the Jeep and yanked the bad wheel/tire off. I pulled the trailer back to Rockford on 3 wheels and the wife drove the Jeep. Time for some new tires...
 
It's been a little while since I posted here. I actually put the doors on and kept paying for insurance for the first time in about 6 years. The doors are awful but it is nice to be able to drive it around still. I finished the year with just under 2000 miles and that's about twice any other year. We planned out a snow wheeling trip back in December and when the time came it was hard to find much of it. We still had fun running the two-tracks near White Cloud. It has been nice this winter not pouring all my time and money into this thing. I'm looking forward to another year of fun with it.

Gross with doors



Drove almost 200 hundred miles on this day. It's been a long time since I didn't trailer it. Thinking about possible longer road/wheeling trips in the future.





 
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