Let the good times roll... in my first Jeep

[Overland Productions]

2018 JLUR

I think this is actually my first post ever. The Goose Gear plate system and 60/40 seat delete sleeping platforms were my first purchase. They took about 30 days to arrive. They were well packaged but included no instructions, stickers, or patches. I also did not find any Youtube videos for the JL install. It's not incredibly difficult but i did have a few questions along the way. I received answers to my questions when I contacted Goose Gear directly via email.

It didn't take that many tools to install. I did have to pull out the bad-boy pneumatic impact wrench for one of the seat belt bolts. Other than that I did it all by hand plus a cordless drill. The quality of the product is very nice. I think Goose Gear carries that reputation. Yes it was expensive. Yes you could have done that in your garage with routers. If I made my own product it would not fit as nicely and I don't care to purchase bulk hardware and specialty tools that will be stored away in my garage for the next 20 years. I especially like that I can install some of their other equipment in the future if I so choose. For right now it makes a killer sleeping floor and I have plenty of space to tuck away gear in the thru-floor compartments.

My long term plan is a roof top tent. Once my 7 month waiting period is up for my Gobi Stealth rack i'll pull the trigger on a RTT. After that I can start building the interior with a fridge and other storage options. In the meantime I am trying not to melt my credit card.

My true first "mod" was the 67 Designs rail mount. You can kind of see them in some of the pictures. Great product. Up next are bumpers! I have a LOD Destroyer rear shorty with tire carrier and the LOD signature shorty front with stinger arriving later this week. They're on a Fedex freight truck right now. I will update the thread after install. Even further down the road after bumpers I think that a Genesis dual battery set up and the SPOD Bantam with touch screen are a good idea as I add electronics like winch and lights.

I look forward to your input and advice! Let me know if you have the Goose Gear floor and how your build progressed after that. Time to plan a trip!

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[Tunesoul]

Looks pretty sweet!

 

[Jeepmarkjl]

I called a GooseGear dealer and they said its going to take at least 2 months or longer to ship. checked multiple dealers. One dealer shows on their site and grossly inflated price crossed out to the MSRP that GG lists but they wont ship to a residential address without charging a big premium - while other dealers will ship to a house for free - but all of them say its a very long wait.

 

[Overland Productions]

I called a GooseGear dealer and they said its going to take at least 2 months or longer to ship. checked multiple dealers. One dealer shows on their site and grossly inflated price crossed out to the MSRP that GG lists but they wont ship to a residential address without charging a big premium - while other dealers will ship to a house for free - but all of them say its a very long wait.

I noticed the pricing "trick" but when it boiled down I was still just paying their retail in the end. I can deal with the 3rd party retailers but blindly purchasing expensive products with little or no updates is frustrating.

During my order my friends were actually experiencing anxiety about waiting for the order and encouraged me to ask for updates. I saw an inquiry form on the Goose Gear website but I needed the order number. I contacted my retailer and they did provide the GG order number but by the time I got back to the website with it (the next week), Goose Gear had taken down the inquiry box.

Maybe they will adopt a similar policy from other companies like Gobi Racks and LOD Off Road where you place your order and a credit card charge doesn't appear until it ships.

As far as shipping goes you don't have to pay the upcharge for residential provided you can get the box off the truck. Granted you will have no idea what time the truck shows up but a few grown men should be able to get by. I had no idea that my order ever shipped until it showed up at my office. I shipped it to my work because we have a forklift here.

The box is about 4 feet long. The width is 3 feet and 3 inches. It stands 33 inches tall. It is made entirely of cardboard and designed for a pallet jack to move around (or forklift). Maybe you have a local business that would accept the delivery for a 20 spot?

 

[Jeepmarkjl]

thanks. I wonder if the box is that big for just the plate for the back and not the 60/40?

 

[Jeepmarkjl]

For anyone shopping here is GG MSRP compared to 2 other GG dealers. One is a rip off, the other is not.

 

[Overland Productions]

thanks. I wonder if the box is that big for just the plate for the back and not the 60/40?

I would think not. Surely they have a less impactful shipping option for plate system only. The hardware is only 6 bolts and washers.

Just throwing this out there but isn’t there an option to ship to a FedEx facility and pick up there?

 

[Overland Productions]

More mod's! My LOD Destroyer series shorty rear bumper with tire carrier arrived last week. I spent most of the weekend installing all of the relocation kits and running wiring. Along with several trips to the store for tools since I seem to have lost my half inch socket wrench.

The packaging was very nice. They wrapped anything sensitive with foam padding and secured with clear film. The larger parts were packaged into cardboard boxes and then the empty voids were filled with expanding foam to protect them. This also prevents them from shifting around in the boxes and ripping the cardboard open. Each box had a packing slip with the contents and the slip was signed by the person who packed the box for a little reassurance. They checked off each nut, bolt, and washer.

I experienced the whole commercial vs. residential shipping options again. My order was a front bumper, rear bumper, tire carrier, and several relocation kits like third brake light, etc. They shipped in five different segments all with their own tracking numbers. I received three of the five shipments so far. The other two (front bumper and skid plate) don't show they left the LOD facility yet. This being said one of the boxes was large but nothing required forklift. Nothing was shipped on a pallet or any kind of skid. Just rectangular cardboard boxes. The rear bumper was shipped by itself. The tire carrier was shipped in a separate box by itself. It seems this could have been easily shipped to a residential location. I think maybe the weight of the bumper exceeded fedex ground rules and required the 18 wheeler "freight" group. Still didn't need a lift.

Install went well. The instructions were made available online. Each relocation kit had it's own install guide. The bumper had it's own install guide. Step by step with pictures and each nut, bolt, and washer were also numbered for easy reference. I found a step or two that were missing but once I "read between the lines" and realized what needed to be done I was well on my way again. It just takes a little common sense and a mechanical aptitude. I mostly type for a living so obviously I struggled with this!

All in all it was a great experience from ordering to the last wiring connections. The support and quality made it easy. I saw a video by a guy a while back who had a couple of complaints about his rear bumper with tire carrier. I could tell that LOD was paying attention and had made the adjustments to eliminate his complaints. My setup works great. My favorite little detail are the LED license plate lights. Those are a nice touch!

 

[lodoffroad]

Nice Job Overland Texas! Your Jeep looks Great and we're happy you install went well!

 

[Overland Productions]

Nice Job Overland Texas! Your Jeep looks Great and we're happy you install went well!

Thanks! My front bumper is tracking for delivery tomorrow. Looks like I get to do more installs next weekend! Stoked!

 

[RubenZ]

Awesome work fellow Texan. I'm also going to be getting LOD Bumpers etc. Why did you have to remove the plastic panels in the cargo area?

 

[Jeepmarkjl]

really great install. Guessing you had to remove cargo area panels to wire the lights and camera? You have a subwoofer? How hard to pull out the panels? Normal pry out with trim tool? Looks like you wired the new wire into the right tail light???

 

[Overland Productions]

Awesome work fellow Texan. I'm also going to be getting LOD Bumpers etc. Why did you have to remove the plastic panels in the cargo area?

That was the one piece of information missing from their instructions. Once I figured out that the inner quarter trim needed to come off everything fell together. I was searching for a way to snake the wiring through without removing because I would also have to remove my Goose Gear plate system to access this trim. Quarter trim removal is necessary to access the rubber grommet (i.e. plug - see other photos) where the backup camera relocation kit wiring feeds through. It starts inside the tailgate, through the plug under the quarter trim, inside the tail lamp pocket, under the body, up through the bumper, and finally across the back of this spare carrier swing arm up to the camera.

 

[RubenZ]

Thank you for that Justin. Good to know.

 

[Overland Productions]

really great install. Guessing you had to remove cargo area panels to wire the lights and camera? You have a subwoofer? How hard to pull out the panels? Normal pry out with trim tool? Looks like you wired the new wire into the right tail light???

You are correct. Only for the camera relocation kit. There is an extended cable supplied with the LOD kit. The camera is mounted on the swing arm not the tail gate. This is why the factory camera cable cannot be used. The first time you opened the swing arm the factory cable would snap right off. The third brake light cable is factory and feeds right up to the third brake light relocation kit from LOD because it mounts on the tail gate.

The extended cable comes with factory connectors installed. Super easy to connect. Running the cable from the tailgate connector all the way around to the swing arm took me a while. I didn't want to cut an extra hole in the grommet so I peeled it back, pry the rubber grommet up with a screwdriver and fed the connector through. I actually did this twice because I fed the connector the wrong direction the first time. We live and we learn. There was some butyl tape (sticky rubber substance) around the harness and under the grommett. I just peeled it back until it was free from the butyl tape. There was also electrical tape around the harness but it peeled off and went right back on when i was finished. I wanted to keep it sealed up to prevent exhaust fumes from entering the cabin.

I do have the subwoofer. It was a concern but the subwoofer cable is a good length and I never had to unhook it. I simply swung the trim panel back and let it alone.

Pulling the panel was not difficult. There is one torx screw in the front of the panel. Everything else is a metal clip like we have all seen before. Normal pry all the way around the panel worked for me. I did this by hand and not with a tool. Its an odd shape and really doesn't leave room for tool access. One by one the clips released and they all went back together the same way.

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