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Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build

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CactusDave

CactusDave

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Installed Road Armor fender and fender liners. Those fender liners were a challenge! They were like a semi-custom fit, as I had to break out the RotoZip and bench grinder to get them to fit. Also, my passenger side fender hangs too far away from the Jeep. It must have been welded on a Friday afternoon....

And now that they're on, I don't like how they interface with my rear bumper. My rear bumper was flush with the stock fenders, but the Road Armor fenders are narrower. I'm picking up a matching Road Armor rear bumper tomorrow to swap it out.

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build IMG_1634

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build IMG_1631
 

APiratesLife4Me

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Got my front axle trussed with the Artec armor kit, RCV's installed in the front axle, a Metalcloak front differential cover and skid plate installed, and Teraflex 1" spacers added to the rear to level out the Jeep.

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build IMG_1631
Hey Dave - did you have to trim/notch the portion of the truss under the coil spring perches?

I'm gearing up to do my truss soon and by eyeballing it, seems like there might not be enough room for the bump stop extension nut under the coil spring perch with the truss in there. I don't have the lift/extended bump stops yet, so I can't tell by tossing the truss in there on mine.

One more - did you have any trouble with the rock sliders trying to occupy the same holes/realestate on the frame rails as the Rusty's skid plates? I have the LOD Signature sliders as well and have been considering just an engine skid because I can't confirm the sliders will play nice with a full belly system.

The Jeep looks killer!!! Great job!
 
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CactusDave

CactusDave

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Hey Dave - did you have to trim/notch the portion of the truss under the coil spring perches?

I'm gearing up to do my truss soon and by eyeballing it, seems like there might not be enough room for the bump stop extension nut under the coil spring perch with the truss in there. I don't have the lift/extended bump stops yet, so I can't tell by tossing the truss in there on mine.

One more - did you have any trouble with the rock sliders trying to occupy the same holes/realestate on the frame rails as the Rusty's skid plates? I have the LOD Signature sliders as well and have been considering just an engine skid because I can't confirm the sliders will play nice with a full belly system.

The Jeep looks killer!!! Great job!
Thanks! I'm not sure about the truss. I didn't put it on, as welding is not a skill of mine (yet).

As for the skid plates, there is one mount on each side (near the rear) that shares a bolt. In the picture, it's the bolt with the armored washer. It doesn't seem to affect how the sliders fit though.

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build IMG_1635
 

APiratesLife4Me

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Thanks! I'm not sure about the truss. I didn't put it on, as welding is not a skill of mine (yet).

As for the skid plates, there is one mount on each side (near the rear) that shares a bolt. In the picture, it's the bolt with the armored washer. It doesn't seem to affect how the sliders fit though.
That's really helpful. Much appreciated!
 

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CactusDave

CactusDave

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Installed a Road Armor rear bumper to replace my Warn Elite bumper. I don't like it as much as the Warn, as Warn's bumper's brackets and structure is much more stout. But the Warn stuck out further than my new Road Armor fenders, so it looked odd. The license plate bracket was also much more sturdy on the Warn than the Road Armor.

I also installed Rigid Industries SR-M Pro difussed backup lights, which was multi-hour project due to the bumper design. More details on that on this thread: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/road-armor-rear-bumper-lights-warning.62320/

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build IMG_1761
 
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ExpeditionBuilds

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Installed a Road Armor rear bumper to replace my Warn Elite bumper. I don't like it as much as the Warn, as Warn's bumper's brackets and structure is much more stout. But the Warn stuck out further than my new Road Armor fenders, so it looked odd. The license plate bracket was also much more sturdy on the Warn than the Road Armor.

I also installed Rigid Industries SR-M Pro difussed backup lights, which was multi-hour project due to the bumper design. More details on that on this thread: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/road-armor-rear-bumper-lights-warning.62320/

View attachment 398416
Interesting the differences you found in build quality between the two brands. What about modding the ends of the Warn to make it meld better? Seems like it would be the best of both worlds.


-Steven
 
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CactusDave

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Interesting the differences you found in build quality between the two brands. What about modding the ends of the Warn to make it meld better? Seems like it would be the best of both worlds.


-Steven
I wish, but I'm not sure how to do that. I would somehow need to trim about three inches of width of each side. As it turned out, selling my old bumper offset much of the cost of the new one.

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build IMG_1572
 
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CactusDave

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I swapped by LOD Signature Rock Sliders for LOD Destroyer Rock Sliders. I never scraped the Signature sliders, but on my first trip out with the Destroyers, I scraped on both sides. They sit lower and wider than the Signature Series, but I like the look better.

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build IMG_1773
 

Renhilio

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Nice build! Question on the Destroyers. What kind of wheeling do you do? And what kind of impact did they take? I’m on the fence potentially for the same rails, but I’m having a hard time figuring out how weak/strong they actually are.
 
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CactusDave

CactusDave

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Nice build! Question on the Destroyers. What kind of wheeling do you do? And what kind of impact did they take? I’m on the fence potentially for the same rails, but I’m having a hard time figuring out how weak/strong they actually are.
I wheel trails that are rated up to 6-7, and they have taken hits on both sides now. They use the exact same mounting points and hardware as the signature series, but they stick out probably 4 inches wider and 3 inches lower at the widest point than the signature series. The signature series angle up as they get wider. Because of all of that, I seem to be hitting them more often. They haven’t moved from the hits though.

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build AC2D9434-98A7-4642-B2D6-61ABC94B2A64


Here is one obstacle that I encountered recently that I really wished that I had the narrower sliders.

Jeep Wrangler JL Cactus Dave's Storm Trooper Rubicon Build C5FD86C3-01FA-4B1A-8CAA-AECEB32189C9
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