Ratbert's AEV JL370 JLURD Build Thread

[Rubi6mt]

Absolutely awesome build! Can't wait to hear your impressions once you put some miles on it including the added weight.

Can't wait for my AEV build to kick off though I'm going a slightly different route. Have owned my JLUR 6-speed for a year and finally decided to pull the trigger.

OK4WD in NJ (one of the first AEV dealers) will be doing the complete outfit. Look forward to comparing notes

Sponsored

 

[Ratbert]

When is this? I'm going up there on the 31st with a small group. I plan on being in the back and just bypassing/bailing on obstacles if it's sketchy

It's a very small group. I'm not sure which day they're doing it, but it's on my wife's birthday weekend and we'll be doing some of the runs around Telluride / Ouray that weekend.

 

[Ratbert]

what are those MPGs like with the 4.63 gears?

I needed to have my fuel tank as empty as possible for the shop to install the aluminum skid plates (requires dropping the tank). As a result I was watching my consumption closely on the 20-ish mile trip to their shop while the dash lit up about running low on fuel.

For the last thousand-ish miles I'm getting 23.3 MPG. That includes a few trips to the mountains, several rock crawling excursions, and about 5 hours of steep rock crawling on a 7/10 trail from 10k to 12k feet and back Saturday. I'm thinking that that's pretty good, especially when my wife was abusing driving it for much of that. I'm beginning to think that she really likes the sound of that diesel

Hopefully it'll be out of the shop Wednesday. Apparently I'm the first person on the planet that's attempted to put a MetalCloak / Adventure Rack Systems rack on AEV bumpers. I'm not sure what I'll do if CORE Off Road can't get it to work, but I'm thinking that @Adventure Rack Systems will step up to help in case we run into issues.

 

[Ratbert]

Apparently they will have to be "creative" and won't be able to use the bottom bolt in this picture, so the roof rack won't be as strong as it's designed to be. MetalCloak didn't seem to have any great suggestions for CORE Off Road.

Hopefully it'll still have sufficient dynamic strength to support an iKamper plus an awning on the Rubicon Trail. Hopefully.

cc: @Adventure Rack Systems

 

[Ratbert]

My Epic Kraken arrived today.

The simplicity of its design was a big selling point to me. Unlike the ARB under seat kit you don't cut any carpet and you don't chop off part of the duct work. No holes to drill either.

The first thing that my wife noticed was the quality of the hose bag and how small it was. We're accustomed to hosing taking up quite a bit of space. Not with this system.

Everything seems to be of really high quality. We'll see how installation goes. I'm still trying to figure out the best approach to running the main wire to the battery.

 

[jack bauer]

My Epic Kraken arrived today.

The simplicity of its design was a big selling point to me. Unlike the ARB under seat kit you don't cut any carpet and you don't chop off part of the duct work. No holes to drill either.

The first thing that my wife noticed was the quality of the hose bag and how small it was. We're accustomed to hosing taking up quite a bit of space. Not with this system.

Everything seems to be of really high quality. We'll see how installation goes. I'm still trying to figure out the best approach to running the main wire to the battery.

Once they come back in stock it's on the list!

 

[Ratbert]

Once they come back in stock it's on the list!

I'm picking up my JLURD in the morning from the shop that installed the rock sliders and skid plates. It'll have to go back for the roof rack since they ran into so many issues with the AEV bumpers and I'm thinking that they'll have to fabricate something to attach it.

Hopefully I'll have some time to install the Kraken before we head to Telluride / Ouray for my wife's birthday this weekend. Yes, it was her idea to spend her birthday rock crawling!

 

[Ratbert]

We really like the RockSlide Engineering sliders so far. They make it much easier for my wife to get in and out of the Jeep. We did Ophir and Imogene passes yesterday, but those aren't technical enough to really use these beasts.

Ditto for the Next Venture Motorsports aluminum skids. They look pretty damn good IMHO, but the DEF / muffler rear covering could be perceived to be a bit excessive by some. Those need to be protected, so it is what it is.

 

[Ratbert]

The Epic Kraken went in seamlessly. Airing up is now soooo simple that I'm (hopefully) no longer putting off airing down in dread of having to go through the pain of airing up again.

My left rear TPMS sensor is apparently a bit faulty, so it shows decreasing pressure fine but doesn't show increases until you get to 30 or so PSI. Not a big issue with the Kraken since all four end up basically at the same pressure. Adding that to the list for the visit to the dealership next week.

Warning: it sits fairly far back under the passenger seat and impinges somewhat on the toe space for someone sitting being the passenger. I have rubber floor mats and have those bent up at the front, covering the whole thing. Hopefully that doesn't impact air flow too much.

 

[Rangemaster]

We really like the RockSlide Engineering sliders so far. They make it much easier for my wife to get in and out of the Jeep. We did Ophir and Imogene passes yesterday, but those aren't technical enough to really use these beasts.

Ditto for the Next Venture Motorsports aluminum skids. They look pretty damn good IMHO, but the DEF / muffler rear covering could be perceived to be a bit excessive by some. Those need to be protected, so it is what it is.

You got a lot done and still have 30 day moving permit. Looks Good.

 

[Ratbert]

You got a lot done and still have 30 day moving permit. Looks Good.

Hopefully Lindsey at Dan Cummins didn't screw up the CO registration like she did for that temp KY tag. Hopefully.

 

[dragoneggs]

Enjoying your build! I have had my Kraken for a couple months now and absolutely love it. One of my best mods. Another is my Redline hood struts.

 

[Ratbert]

Enjoying your build! I have had my Kraken for a couple months now and absolutely love it. One of my best mods. Another is my Redline hood struts.

My wife has a hard time with the hood stem thing when she takes it rock crawling, but we no longer have to pop the hood to air up thanks to the Kraken. That pretty much negates our primary reason to consider those hood struts.

 

[GladiSD]

Absolutely. Plus it's all covered by a 3 year warranty. Just be aware that coverage for the AEV side of it requires a visit to a certified dealership.

There’s a little more to it than that. I had a defective light from AEV on my factory build. They let me take the light off myself and sent me a package to ship it back in and had a replacement light out to me asap. They gave me an option to go to a dealership, or replace the light myself. They honor their warranty either way. Anything to avoid a dealership.

 

[rohdawg]

The Epic Kraken went in seamlessly. Airing up is now soooo simple that I'm (hopefully) no longer putting off airing down in dread of having to go through the pain of airing up again.

My left rear TPMS sensor is apparently a bit faulty, so it shows decreasing pressure fine but doesn't show increases until you get to 30 or so PSI. Not a big issue with the Kraken since all four end up basically at the same pressure. Adding that to the list for the visit to the dealership next week.

Warning: it sits fairly far back under the passenger seat and impinges somewhat on the toe space for someone sitting being the passenger. I have rubber floor mats and have those bent up at the front, covering the whole thing. Hopefully that doesn't impact air flow too much.

I have the Innovative Designs version and it sits exactly the same way. Haven’t had a problem with air flow.
I purposely left the mat that way to reduce kicks from back seat passengers.

Sponsored