Jacamo JLU

[drrobinson]

Picked up our first Jeep this week, 2021 Bright White Wrangler Unlimited Willys, 2.0l / 8 speed.

At the dealer

I do my own work (except warranty items) and I’m looking forward to tapping into the wealth of information here. I‘ve done two other similar builds in the Nissan platforms (Xterra and Frontier), but I am totally new to Jeep So please be patient with me.

This will be a mild build for adventures in the mountain west and Mexico, We tow a Hiker Trailer (Extreme Off Road 5 x9) When overnighting.

Sponsored

 

[drrobinson]

BUILD INDEX
Links to this build thread in the section below. The number in the brackets [XXX] is the post number in this thread.

INTERIOR

• HotHeads Headliner
• WeatherTech FloorLiner HP [003] Interior Protection
• WeatherTech Cargo/Trunk Mat [003] Interior Protection
• Fishbone Wheel Well Storage Bins
• Console Vault
• Goose Gear Stealth Sleeping Platform
• ARB Elements Fridge
• Blue Ridge Overland Gear Seat Back Molle Panels
• Blue Ridge Overland Gear Attic

EXTERIOR

• Rydonair Antenna [004] Stubby Antenna
• Threedom Lock Caps
• Debadged (Hood, Tailgate)
• WeatherTech Front & Rear Mud Flaps
• Teraflex Tire Carrier

ENGINE & POWERTRAIN

• Hood Struts - Rival Hood Lifts

SUSPENSION

• Air Springs AirLift 1000

ARMOR

• Rock sliders/step - Barricade Tubular Rock Sliders
• Skid Plates - [007] Skid Plates

WHEELS & TIRES & BRAKES

• ARB Compressor OBA [006] ARB Compressor OBA
• Trailer Brake Controller - Redarc Tow Pro Elite

LIGHTING

AUDIO

• Sound Deadening - HotHeads Sound Assassin - Hardtop Kit

COMMS & NAVIGATION

• Dash Mount - 67 Designs JL Mount The Rail
• GPS - Garmin Overlander
• HAM - ICOM IC-2820H
• GMRS - Midland MX275

 

[drrobinson]

INTERIOR PROTECTION - FIRST MOD

WHY
It’s already winter here in the Colorado mountains and snow and mud is a regular thing. This vehicle is going to get dirty alot, but I like to keep it to a tolerable level.

PARTS

• WeatherTech FloorLiner HP - Front and Rear
• WeatherTech Cargo/Trunk Mat

NOTES

• I researched most of the options (Rugged Ridge, Husky, Quadratec, Mopar, etc) but didn’t read anything compelling enough to take me away from my goto WeatherTech’s. We have used them in 8 vehicles and have always been satisfied.
• First time I have used the HP Floor Liners. They do seem a little nicer, and from what I can tell they don’t have the curling problem on the edges that some people have noted for the regular WeatherTech liners in the JLU (At least not yet). I’ll report back if this shows up.

 

[drrobinson]

STUBBY ANTENNA

WHY
I always replace factory whip antennas with something short enough to not get destroyed by branches on the trail. It also makes cleaning the windshield and clearing snow much easier. I rarely use terrestrial radio so I don‘t mind the negative impact on reception.

PARTS

• Rydonair Antenna 13”

NOTES

• Nothing remarkable about the install
• The few FM stations I get in the mountains where I live still come in

 

[ExpeditionBuilds]

Picked up our first Jeep this week, 2021 Bright White Wrangler Unlimited Willys, 2.0l / 8 speed.

At the dealer

I do my own work (except warranty items) and I’m looking forward to tapping into the wealth of information here. I‘ve done two other similar builds in the Nissan platforms (Xterra and Frontier), but I am totally new to Jeep So please be patient with me.

This will be a mild build for adventures in the mountain west and Mexico, We tow a Hiker Trailer (Extreme Off Road 5 x9) When overnighting.

Good luck with the new build David! Looking forward to watching this come together.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5HJ5REOo6XbFuakJem6TTw


-Steven

 

[drrobinson]

ARB COMPRESSOR OBA

WHY
Got to have a way to air back up! I used the ARB single compressor on two previous vehicles and loved the convenience of having it permanently mounted out of the way under the hood. I realized that “under the hood” in a JL 2.0 l is pretty impossible. I just couldn’t find enough room anywhere.

After some research the only options I found were firewall bracket (behind the driver’s side fender liner, and the passenger’s side frame rail mount. The frame rail mount just looked to exposed to trail damage and water. The firewall mount is up out of the way for rock damage and high enough for any water fording I’m willing to do. However, it’s right next to the catalytic converter and really doesn’t get much airflow. The vendor that produced the bracket now has an aluminum heat shield available, but I’m still suspicious the heat is going to shorten the life of the compressor. Hopefully it lasts a few years and doesn’t thermal shutoff during normal duty. I’ll report back.

PARTS

• ARB CKM12 High Output On-Board Compressor
• ARB Air Filter Relocation Kit
• ARB Reenforced Hose 1M
• ARB Remote Hose Coupling Mount Kit
• ACM Under Hood ARB Compressor Mount Bracket & Heat Shield

NOTES

• After reading several other people’s install notes and watching some YouTube videos, I was prepared with extra fender clips. Sure enough 6 broke during remove. I’m guessing the fact that it was 35 degrees at the time didn’t help
  
• If you have WeatherTech front mud flaps you need to remove the inner most screw before pulling the fender off.
• Instructions for install are very detailed. Mostly correct, except there are 5 10mm bolts holding the fender on in addition to the clips. (At least on my 2021)
• I decided to extend the intake hose up past the brake booster to keep it out of the heat (it’s plastic)
• I extended the coupler forward to a spot right behind the bumper where it’s easy to get at. Lots of mud and snow spray in this area, so I got a “dust cap” from ARB To try and keep the crud out of the coupler. I used one of these on my last truck and it seemed to do a pretty good job. We shall see. I’m guessing when I change the front bumper, this will be relocated..
• I also covered the stainless steel hose with wire loom to try and preven any chafing On the break lines and power steering housed that it runs by along the driver side frame rail. It’s zip tied in several places to keep it away from those as much as possible.
• I removed about a mile of electrical tape from the ARB wiring harness and used wire loom to cover it from the compressor all the way across the top of the firewall to the battery And aux switch leads. I left the locker connectors and wires in the harness just in case I decide to use air lockers later.
• I’m not totally thrilled with the location of the inline fuse, but I didn’t feel like cutting up the 10 gauge hot lead to the battery. I may go back for that sometime later. For now, unless you know what you are looking for, it doesn’t stick out too badly.
• I wired the relay switch to the Aux 4 switch lead by the battery. The Positive lead directly to the battery, and the Negative to one of the grounding lugs next to the battery on the fender. Aux 4 made sense to me because it’s one of the lower amp circuits and the really doesn’t require much.
• I rotated the compressor body and the manifold to position them as far away from the Cat as possible. The limiting factor is the fender liner. I hate rattles, so its positioned to not touch anything.

Here’s a picture of the install. You can just see the heat shield between the compressor and the Cat. There is a couple inches between the heat shield and the Cat, and a couple inches between the heat shield and the compressor body. (After this pic I taped up the air locker connectors to keep as much crud out of them as possible )

 

[drrobinson]

SKID PLATES

WHY
The Willys come with the Rubicon Fuel Tank and Transfer Case skid plates, but the Engine and Transmission are pretty exposed. We don’t do any rock crawling, but often end up on pretty rocky trails here in Colorado. We had pretty good luck with Aluminum skids on our other trucks so we going for aluminum again to keep the weight down (28 lbs for both).

PARTS

• ASFIR Engine & Transmission skid plate
• Asfir Transfer Case skid plate

NOTES

• Nothing remarkable about the install

RESULTS

Sponsored