2023 Earl JLURD AEV JL370 Build

[bobholthaus]

You are not doing where we live correctly if you aren't using your fuel caddy

Somewhere, way out there, where fuel caddies are necessary... The road to Heaven is paved in sage... (my old JKUR).

The advice here is great and much appreciated. I did switch to the 8100s but did not plan on the HD springs. I will see what other weight is added to the Jeep down the road and see if I need to just buy the set of HD springs from AEV at that time.

Man I love that blue color! And I realize now that I should have gotten the Firestone airbags because they come in blue!

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[Ratbert]

The advice here is great and much appreciated. I did switch to the 8100s but did not plan on the HD springs. I will see what other weight is added to the Jeep down the road and see if I need to just buy the set of HD springs from AEV at that time.

That's what I did. It ended up costing about $700 more with that approach. I initially thought that I could install them myself, then I wimped out and paid a shop $500 to do it.

 

[Ratbert]

You are not doing where we live correctly if you aren't using your fuel caddy

Somewhere, way out there, where fuel caddies are necessary... The road to Heaven is paved in sage... (my old JKUR).

That's what I was thinking when I bought it. Eventually I realized that we're not taking it to areas of the planet where we'd be significantly away from a gas station. Maybe northern Canada or Alaska?

 

[392OVRLND]

That's what I was thinking when I bought it. Eventually I realized that we're not taking it to areas of the planet where we'd be significantly away from a gas station. Maybe northern Canada or Alaska?

That picture is somewhere, way out there, in Northwest Colorado. That whole tri-state area is one of the most remote places in the lower 48, surprisingly.

 

[392OVRLND]

#truth

Is that an AEV tire carrier on a steel Mopar bumper? If so, I didn’t know that was possible. Very cool.

Yes, the Rubicon Hard Rock came with a factory steel rear bumper that had a hole pre-cut in it for the AEV tire carrier. The Mopar winch mounting plate for the 2013 10A Rubicon, the 2014 Rubicon X, and the early-2015 Rubicon Hard Rock was also made by AEV.

 

[bobholthaus]

Just hit my first mud in Earl. I find that I surely don’t like mud like I used to.

And my little poor-man’s adventure trailer, ha.

notice how level that Jeep is though!!

 

[bobholthaus]

Got my 392 wheel and paddle shifters installed today. 392 wheel is thicker all the way around. Notice how brown stitching almost matches the seats perfectly (and Weathertech mats too).

 

[bobholthaus]

Got my rear fog/strobe wired tonight. Have it flashing in bright yellow mode in reverse; the ability for bright yellow as a fog light; and wired the lower power yellow to be able to go on with the ignition, which I’ll use for the Moab AEV run, so people know when ignition is running and we are ready to go.

 

[bobholthaus]

Also got ASFIR Def skid put on. Took 10 minutes. Looks great. I painted the rear of it black with AEV paint. I need to take a pic.

Next up (maybe), my Rigid 360 Driving Lights on the Rigid A-pillar/windshield hinges. Wiring is in place, just need to mount them. Am running out of time before Moab (I leave Thur morning).

 

[mikem20]

That 392 wheel looks fantastic. Where did you get the wheel from? I found one online on mopar giants for $285.

 

[bobholthaus]

That 392 wheel looks fantastic. Where did you get the wheel from? I found one online on mopar giants for $285.

Buy it! I had found one on eBay for $200 but the seller told me that it wasn’t any thicker than my standard wheel so I didn’t buy it. Then I found out about a week later that it was thicker but it was gone. I ended up buying one from another eBay seller for 350+ shipping. It feels way better in the hand and the paddle shifters fit perfectly.

 

[bobholthaus]

I had the Jeep weighed today. With 5 gallons of diesel in the Fuel Caddy; the Switch-Pros added; the Pioneer Backbone system; paddle shifters and 392 wheel; Asfir Def Skid only; ARB 37 QT Fridge; MIlidland GMRS Radio and Ghost Antenna; 67Designs mounts; and protection rings on, I’m at 5760 lbs. With a GVWR of 6100, that leaves me 340 lbs for passengers and tongue weight (and I still need to add the Pioneer Platform rack up top; a pair of Rigid 360s on the A pillars; the rest of the Asfir skids; an ARB dual compressor and kraken-ish hose system; and the RIGID SAE light bar I plan to add to the lower skid). I still don’t think I need the heavy duty springs, but I’ll be at GVWR on every outing. Likely there when I’m finished adding everything, or darn close.

 

[bobholthaus]

With the help of my awesome 13 year old daughter, I painted my stainless bolts with AEV spray paint (just the heads). Liberally lubricated them with anti-seize, and installed my protection rings. I think the black cap head bolts look the best. Still love the non-ring look the best (last pic)!

 

[JLUR Farout]

Well folks, since I apologetically hijacked 392OVRLND and RATBERTs build threads, I thought I’d start my own thread, as mine will be just slightly different in options. I think I’ll have the first Earl AEV build on this forum, so my hunch is that some of you may want to see it when it’s done.

I’m wordy, but I’ll try to keep these posts as short as possible. You’ll all laugh about that in the end!

In summary, I bought my Earl Rubicon Diesel from Devin Arnold at Dan Cummins in Georgetown KY. They gave me the 4% under invoice deal (with the 1% Tread Lightly inclusion). It was a seemless process, and I flew to Lexington yesterday where one of their drivers picked me up at the airport and took me the 25 min to the dealership. I had told Devin that I needed to be out the door as quickly as possible, due to my 5 hour drive up to AEV in Detroit (Wixom, which is 25 min NW of downtown Detroit). Devin honored that request; we presigned everything we could online; he got the SiriusXM Guardian stuff set up the day before (so that I could lock my key in the Jeep if needed a; I signed the title work when I got there (handling my own taxes in the state of Missouri); and I was on the road in less than 25 min. I’d use Dan Cummins again in a heartbeat; even the porter who drove me from the airport said he loved working there for the 3 years he had been there.

Side note: this is my 6th Jeep vehicle; I am loyal to the brand. And, I read the entire owner’s manual every time. This one is 369 pages, and I read 180 of them on my flights yesterday! My last keel was a JK that was basically a piece-mealed JL370, so I am very familiar with AEV gear and outfitting a Jeep (I had that vehicle for 10 years). This time I want AEV to do it all for me quickly; as you’ll see, I have plenty of wiring projects and other things to add.

So I was pleasantly surprised to read that the diesel engine doesn’t have a recommended break-in period.

So I set the cruise at 80 and made the 5 hour trip north to AEV without issue, averaging 23 mpg. I drive a Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel as my daily driver, a vehicle I bought new in 2014. It has 110,000 on it now, and I simply love the torque of the diesel. After 5 hours yesterday, I am convinced it’s the perfect engine for the Wrangler. This is truly my dream Jeep build.

You never use the cruise control on a new engine for at least 2,000 miles and on a diesel at least 3,000 miles. Nice color.

 

[bobholthaus]

You never use the cruise control on a new engine for at least 2,000 miles and on a diesel at least 3,000 miles. Nice color.

Owners manual said there was no break in required on the diesel engine. I’ve owned my 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland Diesel since new and i do recall babying it for the first 500 miles. What is your theory on not using cruise? Thanks… the color is unique and it does change depending on lighting. It’s pretty cool.

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