One more time, Dutch has an XJ again!!

DutchVDub said:
I've talked to Frank in the past but truth is the RC kit is cheaper. Nothing against Frank, I'd totally rock another one of his products but I'm a bit of a penny pincher too.
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Damn thrifty scotsman... :D
 
DutchVDub said:
I don't particularly like long arms with leaves but I need to push my front axle forward an inch to get it where it's supposed to be. If I spend the money on adjustable arms I'm damn near the cost of a long arm setup. My current arms are all getting to the point of needing new bushings too.

Mike, I'm just tired of fabricating everything. The YJ was non stop head bashing trying to learn as I go fabrication and I need a break. I'm at the point where I'd rather do a little more side work so I can just buy something and bolt/weld it on than have to fabricate it.

I've talked to Frank in the past but truth is the RC kit is cheaper. Nothing against Frank, I'd totally rock another one of his products but I'm a bit of a penny pincher too. I also like that the RC kit doubles as a skid plate instead of just the crossmember.

The RK 3-link is 800$ for just arms and brackets. That's a bit pricey but I've read a lot of good reviews on it too.
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i ran the rc zj la kit, and it was pretty beef. and it was damn cheap. i didnt trust the joints to last too long, but then again, i dont keep my jeeps very long. i also had the rc xflex adjustables on my xj.. good deal on them too but started getting some rattling after a few trails. had a feeling that it was a bad design of a track bar bracket i did tho.. joints were still ok.
 
LOL, its a lil dug out at whales tail and the initial 1/2 mile last i saw. Id say sliders are an absolute must if you care about the body at all. Otherwise itll be manageable i think. Led was just out there recently, bug him :D
 
in4aride said:
I've definitely learned that overbuilding parts makes it easier to get home.
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Hence why over the winter I'll be building that narrowed D44 to put in the front. Is a D44 needed for 35" tall tires (what I'm ultimately going to)? No, but its added security that the Jeep will get the family home after a weekend of wheeling and camping.

Its also why I'm plating the full frame. I've already got the TNT stiffeners in the middle and David dropped off my front ones yesterday. Next will be rear plates. After that I want to do rocker guards (especially as I already put a dent in my previously pristine rockers on ER the other weekend :mad: ) and then a roof rack similar to the one JCR used to sell that'll also double as a roof slider for those times I'm afraid I might lean into a tree. I think I'll also connect the roof rack and rocker guards at the A-pillar for a bit of added strength. Not a full exo cage mind you, but just a bit of extra strength.

Overkill for a rig intended to run nothing harder than Spring Creek and whose primary purpose is family camping/wheeling? Probably, but I figure if I build it for 37's and Penrose I'll never have an issue taking it where I want and getting back home.
 
Sorry Frank, but these things are tits. I jjust ordered up a set of JCR's new Ultimate Stage 2 Sliders.

XJUSDeluxe1.jpg


XJUSDeluxe6.jpg


XJUSDeluxe7.jpg


XJUSDeluxe8.jpg
 
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Yeah, I'm not a fan of the hit my bank account took for them but I aboslutely lov the looks of those. I also like that you don't lose hardly any ground clearance with them.
 
Completely bolt on, there are over 30 bolts per side. All the bolts the attach to the factory rocker itself use nutsert. Go on their website and you can see, its actually pretty trick how they made the brackets and everything. I am contemplating actually welding them on though, but we'll see.
 
I saw those a while back. Definitely slick looking armor.

My concern is all the flat plate being able to take a good drop on a rock and not tweaking. The round tube is welded to flat plate..... seems to me a strong upward hit to the tube would cause the flat plate to bend. Hard enough hit, and you may not be opening your door.

I dunno. I'd love to see some testimony from some others that smack the snot out of a set of those. I'm hoping it's all good.....
 
Even with the tradtional piece of square tube under the rocker that can be a concern if material thickness isn't enough. Just ask Mike, he knows all about that.

The whole thing is made from 3/16" plate just like the frame stiffeners so I'm sure it'll hold up just fine. I am thinking of welding the things on, I'll make that final decision after I get them and bolt them on. Their mounting system is pretty slick though.

I'm also not being nearly as hard on this rig as I have been on rigs in the past. i.e: I'm not going for the hardest line possible and creeping around in 1st gear as much as possible.
 
Seem the entire slider is just fastened to the body sheet metal and some small 12 gusge sheet metal to the frame reil ,don't think it will take a hard hit. but they look goos and will work on a mall crawler expidition rig :P
 
4 3/16 thick brackets attaching to the pinch seem with 3 of those going to fram rails, the rocker guards bolt to those brackets, the rocker, and through the front fender.

XJUSDeluxe14.jpg


7 bolts holding it to the body, 11 bolts holding it to the pinch seam brackets, 11 bolts holding the brackets to the pinch seam, and 10 bolts holding the brackets to the frame rails (with 1 going into the leaf spring pocket.

XJUSDeluxe13.jpg
 
very slick. I like those dutch. You could also sandwich a rectangle piece of metal behind the pinch seam and OE floor and the red flat plate. cant wait to see them.
 
That wouldn't be a bad idea, basically just tie the 3 frame connection brackects together.
 
yeah, maybe move into the middle void of the pinch seam and frame, then spot weld it and bolt it to the 3 plates.
and you have a safe place to put some LED rock lights
 
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