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Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD

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Themistocles

Themistocles

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I have had a bit of electrical work building up over the last few months; Rigid LED light bar, HIDs, rear LEDs, rock lights, marker lights, and step lights. I had been waiting until I had a totally free weekend so I could do all the electrical at once. After 3-months of waiting, I finally gave up on the notion of ever having a totally free weekend and figured I would just do it piece by piece as I had some time. I figured I would start with my Rigid 10" LED light bar as it was probably the easiest.

Overall the install was easy, took about 3.5 hours and most of that was spent figuring out the best way to mount the bar on my Roam front bumper. There were a few easy options, but all had drawbacks I didn't want to accept. The biggest issues were protection of the bar and blocking as little airflow as possible, cooling in JLURD is already a limiting factor for towing without sticking things in front of the grill. I finally decided where and how to mount the bar and completed the job easily.

The factory aux switches and already pulled pigtails made the job so much easier. That is a factory option winner in my opinion.

The aux switches are tied to wires in the cab and under the hood next to the battery (diesel).

Aux 1: Brown / Pink - 40 Amp
Aux 2: Green/Pink - 40 Amp
Aux 3: Orange/Pink - 15 Amp
Aux 4: Blue/Pink - 15 Amp

Wires uncurled from factory location
Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD 20201017_101914 (2)


I decided to run the LEDs off the 40 Amp Aux 1 switch thinking that I would put in a pigtail for the HIDs and run my front floods (Rigid LED) and spots (Baja Designs HIDs) off one switch. Doing that would result in a draw of just under 15 Amps for normal use, but would peak around 30 Amps for cold start-up. Since the start-up load would only be over maybe 200 - 300ms it might not blow a 15 Amp fuse, but I was not willing to take that chance. I am now reconsidering and think I may go back in and wire them separately to the 15 Amp switch (LED) and 40 Amp switch (HID) (Aux 3 & 1). I'll run them off one switch for a while and see if I like it. Upside is it leaves me three vacant switches and I can turn them off more quickly on only one switch. Downside is that I have less control and must run them together.

For install location I decided I wanted to install the bar where it would be protected from trail impacts as much as possible and would not block airflow to the radiator. I considered mounting on top of the hoop, or directly to the front of the bumper. However, both those locations would have facilitated me knocking the bar off fairly quickly and on top of the hoop would have caused blockage/turbulence in the air going to the radiator. I was a bit worried about leaving space for a winch projecting out of the top of the bumper. I grabbed measurements for the Warn Evo, the Smittybilt XRC Gen3, and the Quad Stealth. From what I can tell all three will fit in the space left.

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD 20201023_135131 (2)


Front View

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD 20201023_135053 (3)


Lights are bright, need to get them out on the trail to test, but overall very happy with them. I picked up this bar on the Rigid Outlet for about 100$...money well spent I think.
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Themistocles

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A big thank you to @AppleJacks23 for posting front and rear weights from a stock JLURD in his build journal. I should have gone to the scale and done exactly that before I started to make mods.

From A.J's post:

Measured weight of front 2700 lbs
Measured weight of Rear 2340 lbs
Calculated Curb weight (soft top w/half tank of fuel): 5040 lbs (53.5%/46.5% F/R)

Published Curb Weight: 5061 lbs (52%/48% F/R)
Published weight of Front: 2631 Lbs
Published weight of Rear: 2429 Lbs
(Published weights are from Motor Trend)

The difference here between published numbers and as driven numbers is interesting...as it clearly shows more weight on the front.

A.J's JLURD is a soft-top and weighed with about 1/2 a tank of diesel

Diesel weighs about 7 lbs/gallon so add about 70 lbs for full tank (probably)
Soft top weighs about 20 lbs hard top about 150 so add another 130 lbs for hardtop option

So a hardtop JLURD with a full fuel tank, as driven, weighs about 5240 stock.

If we assume a 40 / 60 split Front / Rear of extra fuel and hardtop weight that would mean 2780 lbs on the front and 2460 lbs on the rear for a stock hardtop JLURD with a full fuel tank.

GVWR - 6100lbs
GAWR Front - 3100lbs (3100 - 2780 = 320lbs below GAWR)
GAWR Rear - 3100lbs (3100 - 2460 = 640lbs below GAWR)

Now a little math to start to think about what weight will be on trail -

OEM Wheel & Tire: 75lbs (slightly different based on which tire you get but 75 is a good average)
Total OEM weight in Tires and Wheels: 375lbs
Aftermarket Wheel & Tire: 100lbs (35") / 110 lbs (37")
Average Aftermarket 35" Wheel & Tire weight: 500lbs (200lbs Frnt / 300 lbs rear)
Weight Gain: 50lbs Front / 75lbs Rear

OEM Front bumper with tow hooks and fogs: 35lbs
OEM Rear Bumper: 15lbs
Total OEM Bumper weight: 50lbs
Average Weight Aftermarket Steel Bumpers: 160lbs (70 front / 90 rear)
Weight Gain: 35lbs Front / 75lbs Rear

OEM Rock Rails (JLUR): about 50lbs
Average Aftermarket Rock Rails: Avg 100lbs (Split 50/50)
Weight Gain: 25lbs Front / 25lbs Rear

Average U.S. male weight 195lbs
Average U.S. female weight 165lbs
Average Passenger Weight: 360lbs (split about 50/50 front - rear)
Weight Gain: 180lbs Front / 180lbs Rear

Winch OEM: 0 Lbs
Winch Aftermarket: 80lbs (with synthetic line)
Weight gain: 80lbs Front

Basic set-up with passenger as driven:
Front plus 345lbs + OEM 2780 = 3125lbs (OVER GAWR by 25lbs)
Rear plus 355lbs + OEM 2460 = 2815lbs (285lbs from GAWR)

Total very basic "as driven" setup = 5940lbs (160 lbs less than GVWR)


Now add a cooler, and a kid or two, and a tool box, and some recovery gear, and a tent, and air compressor and now you are 100 - 200lbs over GVWR (6200 - 6300lbs).

This gets me back to my whole "diesel needs its own springs and properly valved shocks" point. It also, to me, suggests that weight should be a significant factor in build design. It has been and will continue to be in mine.

@Matsonian...MC please...please come through on this.

Sorry, math and no pictures...bad post.
 
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Kian

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love the build so far. and enjoyed the write-ups, please keep it up!!!
 
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love the build so far. and enjoyed the write-ups, please keep it up!!!
@Kian thank you. I will definitely keep going on this. Having a blast figuring out the build. I have finally compiled a fairly comprehensive list of future mods. I will try to get that out this weekend.
 

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Kian

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@Kian thank you. I will definitely keep going on this. Having a blast figuring out the build. I have finally compiled a fairly comprehensive list of future mods. I will try to get that out this weekend.
Can’t wait to see it!
I’ve got a couple things like wheels and tires going on this weekend as well :)
 

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Total very basic "as driven" setup = 5940lbs (160 lbs less than GVWR)

Now add a cooler, and a kid or two, and a tool box, and some recovery gear, and a tent, and air compressor and now you are 100 - 200lbs over GVWR (6200 - 6300lbs).

This gets me back to my whole "diesel needs its own springs and properly valved shocks" point. It also, to me, suggests that weight should be a significant factor in build design. It has been and will continue to be in mine.
This is almost exactly where I am with my build. I knew the weights were about at your above calculations, and driving around remote southern Utah last weekend I found the bumpstops WAY too often, even in what seemed like a very slow pace. I was hoping for a 2-2.5" lift, but now considering 3-3.5 just to get a little more up-travel.

I too really like almost all of the MetalCloak ( @Matsonian ) system and would be ready to buy, but without a diesel spring I just keep adding to my shopping cart then abandoning after thinking about it.
 

JLURUBI

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I have had a bit of electrical work building up over the last few months; Rigid LED light bar, HIDs, rear LEDs, rock lights, marker lights, and step lights. I had been waiting until I had a totally free weekend so I could do all the electrical at once. After 3-months of waiting, I finally gave up on the notion of ever having a totally free weekend and figured I would just do it piece by piece as I had some time. I figured I would start with my Rigid 10" LED light bar as it was probably the easiest.

Overall the install was easy, took about 3.5 hours and most of that was spent figuring out the best way to mount the bar on my Roam front bumper. There were a few easy options, but all had drawbacks I didn't want to accept. The biggest issues were protection of the bar and blocking as little airflow as possible, cooling in JLURD is already a limiting factor for towing without sticking things in front of the grill. I finally decided where and how to mount the bar and completed the job easily.

The factory aux switches and already pulled pigtails made the job so much easier. That is a factory option winner in my opinion.

The aux switches are tied to wires in the cab and under the hood next to the battery (diesel).

Aux 1: Brown / Pink - 40 Amp
Aux 2: Green/Pink - 40 Amp
Aux 3: Orange/Pink - 15 Amp
Aux 4: Blue/Pink - 15 Amp

Wires uncurled from factory location
Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD Kilroy


I decided to run the LEDs off the 40 Amp Aux 1 switch thinking that I would put in a pigtail for the HIDs and run my front floods (Rigid LED) and spots (Baja Designs HIDs) off one switch. Doing that would result in a draw of just under 15 Amps for normal use, but would peak around 30 Amps for cold start-up. Since the start-up load would only be over maybe 200 - 300ms it might not blow a 15 Amp fuse, but I was not willing to take that chance. I am now reconsidering and think I may go back in and wire them separately to the 15 Amp switch (LED) and 40 Amp switch (HID) (Aux 3 & 1). I'll run them off one switch for a while and see if I like it. Upside is it leaves me three vacant switches and I can turn them off more quickly on only one switch. Downside is that I have less control and must run them together.

For install location I decided I wanted to install the bar where it would be protected from trail impacts as much as possible and would not block airflow to the radiator. I considered mounting on top of the hoop, or directly to the front of the bumper. However, both those locations would have facilitated me knocking the bar off fairly quickly and on top of the hoop would have caused blockage/turbulence in the air going to the radiator. I was a bit worried about leaving space for a winch projecting out of the top of the bumper. I grabbed measurements for the Warn Evo, the Smittybilt XRC Gen3, and the Quad Stealth. From what I can tell all three will fit in the space left.

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD Kilroy


Front View

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD Kilroy


Lights are bright, need to get them out on the trail to test, but overall very happy with them. I picked up this bar on the Rigid Outlet for about 100$...money well spent I think.
Looks good! I really like the front bumper. sent an email to Roam, but can’t get a reply and no phone number. Seems odd. Did you purchase direct from Roam or find it somewhere else?
Thanks picking up my Diesel Sunday
 
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Themistocles

Themistocles

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Looks good! I really like the front bumper. sent an email to Roam, but can’t get a reply and no phone number. Seems odd. Did you purchase direct from Roam or find it somewhere else?
Thanks picking up my Diesel Sunday
I primarily used email to contact (@ROAM ) I think I talked to them on the phone a couple times, but didn't save their contact info. If you haven't already try [email protected]. He was very responsive and replied quickly to all my emails. Also ROAM has a Facebook Page that they seem to respond to pretty well...at least it has recent messages on it. Overall, I am very satisfied with their products...not perfect, but no regrets at all about buying. Let me know how your build goes. Would love to see pictures.
 

JLURUBI

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I primarily used email to contact (@ROAM ) I think I talked to them on the phone a couple times, but didn't save their contact info. If you haven't already try [email protected]. He was very responsive and replied quickly to all my emails. Also ROAM has a Facebook Page that they seem to respond to pretty well...at least it has recent messages on it. Overall, I am very satisfied with their products...not perfect, but no regrets at all about buying. Let me know how your build goes. Would love to see pictures.
Thanks
Just noticed your comments on the front bumper sitting a couple of inches lower than the stock bumper. Any issues or regrets? Considering the RockHard Patriot as well
 

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Themistocles

Themistocles

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Thanks
Just noticed your comments on the front bumper sitting a couple of inches lower than the stock bumper. Any issues or regrets? Considering the RockHard Patriot as well
No regrets. Some trade offs. There were a few must have features when I was considering a bumper. The first was aluminum not steel. I get that steel is a bit stronger and can be bent back in shape...but with a vehicle already approaching weight tolerances I made the choice that any bumper I put on would have to be aluminum. That cut the pool of potentials dramatically.

I also decided the bumper had to have a lowered winch plate that brought the top of most winches down below the level of the grill. The diesel already struggles with cooling (that was a limiting factor on tow rating). I did not want anything sitting in front of my radiator and blocking airflow.

With those two must haves I was down to only a few options. The ones I seriously looked at were Genright (amazing craftmanship but high price and average looks), Roam (good price, average craftmanship, great looks), and Rockhard (high price, average looks, unknown craftmanship). Obviously looks are totally subjective so my estimation of appearance is only valid for me...but I am the one that has to look at my JL everyday. In the end it came down to Genright or Roam...obviously I went with Roam.

From what I can tell the clearance on the Genright would have been a bit better than Roam, but not by much...as there are a few OEM parts that require coverage and drop down a bit limiting approach angle regardless of bumper.

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD Roam Bumper - Close Side_LI


The two arrows show where OEM parts (with Roam covers) are dropping down and begin to impact approach angle and limit how much thinning of the bumper would make a difference. The red line shows what I wish Roam had done. The middle of the bumper is on almost exactly that line...but the two ends bump out to make pretty light cutouts. I would have kept the middle angle across the bottom of the entire bumper even if it made the light cutouts a little less pretty.

This picture shows the middle and the bumped out ends.

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD side front _LI


I wish they had just continued that middle bottom angle across the whole bumper. Also the bottom part of the middle section comes down a bit farther than it has to (red arrow). They could have shaved an inch off that without any problem.

Now with all that said, would I have choose differently if I had it to do over again...probably not. Since buying my Roam I have had my hands on a Genright and the craftmanship is just spectacular, definitely better than the Roam (but Genright is nearly double the price), and the craftmanship on the Roam bumper is not shoddy at all...it is just not the world class welds/construction of Genright. Knowing what I know now and without considering budget trade offs (spend this much on bumpers have to wait to but the next thing...) I might end up with the Genright, but even then it would be a close decision. Add budget constraints in and I would absolutely buy the Roam again. it isn't perfect, but it is very good. I hope that helps.
 
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JLURUBI

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No regrets. Some trade offs. There were a few must have features when I was considering a bumper. The first was aluminum not steel. I get that steel is a bit stronger and can be bent back in shape...but with a vehicle already approaching weight tolerances I made the choice that any bumper I put on would have to be aluminum. That cut the pool of potentials dramatically.

I also decided the bumper had to have a lowered winch plate that brought the top of most winches down below the level of the grill. The diesel already struggles with cooling (that was the limiting factor on tow rating). I did not want anything sitting in front of my radiator and blocking airflow.

With those two must haves I was down to only a few options. The ones I seriously looked at were Genright (amazing craftmanship but high price and average looks), Roam (good price, average craftmanship, great looks), and Rockhard (high price, average looks, unknown craftmanship). Obviously looks are totally subjective so my estimation of appearance is only valid for me...but I am the one that has to look at my JL everyday. In the end it came down to Genright or Roam...obviously I went with Roam.

No from what I can tell the clearance on the Genright would have been a bit better than Roam, but not by much...as there are a few OEM parts that require coverage and drop down a bit limiting approach angle regardless of bumper.

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD side front _LI


The two arrows show were OEM parts (with Roam covers) are dropping down and begin to impact approach angle and limit how much thinning of the bumper would make a difference. The red line shows what I wish Roam had done. The middle of the bumper is on almost exactly that line...but the two ends bump out to make pretty light cutouts. I would have kept the middle angle across the bottom of the entire bumper even if it made the light cutouts a little less pretty.

This picture shows the middle and the bumped out ends.

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD side front _LI


I wish they had just continued that middle bottom angle across the whole bumper. Also the bottom part of the middle section comes down a bit farther that it has to (red arrow). They could have shaved an inch off that without any problem.

Now with all that said, would have choose differently if I had it to do over again...probably not. Since buying my Roam I have had my hands on a Genright and the craftmanship is just spectacular, definitely better than the Roam (but Genright is nearly double the price), and the craftmanship on the Roam bumper is not shoddy at all...it is just not the world class welds/construction of Genright. Knowing what I know now and without considering budget trade offs (spend this much on bumpers have to wait to but the next thing...) I might end up with the Genright, but even then it would be a close decision. Add budget constraints in and I would absolutely buy the Roam again. it isn't perfect, but is very good. I hope that helps.
Thanks good information. I emailed Anthony we’ll see what he says
 

JLURUBI

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Thanks good information. I emailed Anthony we’ll see what he says
Not building bumpers until next year..... Any pictures showing the rear corner wrap around?
I ran the ADD stealth fighter on my 2018. It’s a reasonable weight (~65 lbs when I weighed before the install) so it’s still in the running for the rear
I like the Roam innovator front, but it’s only available in steel and at 100lbs I can’t consider it
Thanks
 
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Themistocles

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Not building bumpers until next year..... Any pictures showing the rear corner wrap around?
I ran the ADD stealth fighter on my 2018. It’s a reasonable weight (~65 lbs when I weighed before the install) so it’s still in the running for the rear
I like the Roam innovator front, but it’s only available in steel and at 100lbs I can’t consider it
Thanks
Took a while, been a busy couple of days. Pictures below.

Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD 20201209_172323


Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD 20201209_172307


Jeep Wrangler JL Diesel Build - 2020 Sting-Gray JLURD 20201209_172312
 

JLURUBI

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Thanks looks like fairly good corner coverage.
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