RubiksCube – 2003 Jeep TJ Rubicon
Bought new in October 2002 so we could have a second vehicle for getting out
to the hunt camp in Ardbeg (
Fortunately I had lockers and had read the manual so I knew how to use the switch. Used the lockers a lot on that first trip. When we went up the following year I did most of the run in 2WD... at least until I realized that chewed up the trail more than necessary.
Recent shot, parked at the driveway of my new property in Raglan. Planning
to build a small house out here and move out of
Modifications so far :
Warn 9500ti winch – nice and fast, a bit scary when respooling the winch cable ;)
TopFive roof rack with interchangeable basket or Kar-Rite closed luggage carrier. The luggage carrier is a life-saver for camping trips when you need to carry a couple of people plus a whole lot of light bulky stuff (sleeping bags, clothes, food etc..). The only time the carrier doesn't do the job is when I need to carry a canoe as well – in that case there isn't much room for luggage. Going to try to get a trailer built up this year with cargo space AND canoe racks so we can take everything in one trip.
Skid Row engine skid – only one on the market I could find that works well with AND without a suspension lift. The thing is huge, nearly three feet long and 18” wide, but it does cover up a lot of expensive stuff. Only open question right now is whether it will work OK if I have to drop the t-case for a suspension lift. Probably will work OK because the front mounts seem to allow a bit of “swivel” up and down at the back.
On order :
Poison Spyder Customs (PSC) Rock Rings (differential guards) and Gas Tank skid. I liked the rock rings because they seemed to give good protection without having to replace the factory covers, trying to keep the beast dealer-friendly as much as possible. The PSC gas tank skid is a bit of an unknown – guess the Skid Row model would have been a safer bet – but I was stopping by Poison Spyder anyways and thought the cut-out spider on the back would look good ;)
Rock Hard 4x4 bolt-in cage. Also picking up on the way to
PSC Stinger bumper. Not sure about this one – I would like some more protection for the fenders and flares so something like a Toys By Troy might have been better, but I did like the idea of having something that would stop the front end from falling down holes like the ice crossing at Norland. A stinger would have acted as a nice “ramp” to get out of this hole...
In theory the Stinger protects hood & radiator in a rollover situation but IMO it's a bit too short to really do much. The “competition stinger” is 36” long and braced back to the suspension mounts so would probably be real effective, but the “Trail Stinger” (the pussy version) is only 27” long so the main value is running up & over imports in a rear-end situation ;)
Near Future :
Need a lift. Big tires aren't so important but really want to move the rocks down a few inches. Waffling between spacers and a 3-4” suspension lift to get room for 33s. As long as we're taking everything apart I figure I might as well put on some different springs & arms at the same time.
Looks like a few people run 33s with just spacers and some bumpstop extensions, might be an option. Don't like doing body lifts on a new Jeep – some days I think I should just sell the Rubi and buy something older that I don't mind messing with. I guess if I had enough $$$ I could do that with the Rubi and not care but that doesn't seem to be an option right now...
Link to teeter-totter movie : RJTeeterTotter.WMV