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The Journey of a 'Kid' and His Jeep: Hobbes

LeoTheDragon

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Hello everyone! On November 28, 2018, I took delivery of my very first BRAND NEW Punk'n Metallic 2019 Jeep Wrangler JLUR. I've never bought a brand new car before and I've never owned a Jeep, so this is pretty exciting to me. When I was first looking at the new JLURs, I was going to buy a white one. When I was at the dealership for a test drive, I saw this color rolling through the lot and instantly fell in love with the color. I actually don't even like orange, but there was something about this specific shade of orange on this Jeep that just called out to me. I can't explain it, but the next thing I knew I was calling in an order for one.

I've been a part of a lot of forums for essentially every vehicle I've owned, but I've never really done a journal or build thread mainly because I never really had the patience to stop and take pictures and talk about what I've done. Usually I'll buy some upgrade (most of the time very impulsively, hah!) and just install it right away and call it good. I'm taking a different approach this time and going to take as many pictures as I remember to and document every process/mod/destination/whatever about my Jeep and the journey we are about to take together.

I name all of my cars and I picked out my Jeep's name the day I put in the order: Hobbes. The inspiration came from the comic Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, which is something I grew up on as a kid and still continue to read from time to time. It captivated me as a kid and I actually attribute a lot of my creativity today to Calvin. For those who don't know, Calvin is a six-year-old kid who has a tiger named Hobbes. The entire world sees his tiger as a stuffed animal, but he becomes anthropomorphic when they are alone. They basically do all sorts of crazy stuff together and touch on endless issues pertaining to society, environment, politics, philosophy, etc. If you've read the comics, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't read any I highly suggest you do so. It's not just a 'kids' comic - there are so many themes there that I feel adults can take away from. Great stuff. When asked who my hero is, my immediate response will always be Bill Watterson.

ANYYWAYY... Hobbes and I are about to go on an epic journey through the US. I have a unique job in that it's 100% remote so come next year, I'm going to pack up all my essentials and hit the road through every state in the US (thinking about even shipping Hobbes over to Hawaii just so I can say I've hit all 50 states). I've sold my house and am in the process of selling all my other toys (save for one of my motorcycles) and non-essential belongings and storing the rest in a spare room at my parent's house. I'm thinking about creating a video blog to document my journey. I'm going to document all of the mods I do on Hobbes here and post photos along the way that I take. When I start talking/typing, I kind of get carried away, so I apologize in advance if I drone on forever. If you can look past that, I hope you enjoy this journal/build thread!

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LeoTheDragon

LeoTheDragon

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Here is the window sticker for Hobbes so you can see what I started with:

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And where I spent even more money.... My financial adviser would not be happy about my financial decisions as of late. But I do what I want!

Exterior
  • SunTek Paint Protection Film - Full vehicle wrapped
  • SunTek Ceramic window tints (50% windshield, 20% front, rear TBD (recently learned it's just privacy glass with no heat rejection so I am going to get a light film done to have that property)
  • Method Race Wheels Trail Series 701 (17x8.5 | 0 mm Offset | 4.75'' Backspacing)
  • BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 Tires (315/70R17)
  • Gorilla Wheel Lock Lug Nuts (96644BDX)
  • AntennaMastsRus 17'' All-Terrain Flexible Rubber Antenna
  • ACE Engineering Rock Sliders
  • JCR Offroad Winch Plate
  • Warn Zeon 10-S Platinum Winch
  • JCR Offroad Bull Bar
  • Factor 55 Flatlink E (Expert) Shackle Mount
  • Factor 55 Flatlink Rope Guard
  • Mopar 7'' LED Lamp Kit (82215386AB)
  • Mopar 5'' LED Lamp Kit (82215385AB)
  • Rough Country A-Pillar LED Lamp mounts
  • Mopar LED Lamp Kit Bracket (82215729)
Interior
  • Bartact Roll Bar Fire Extinguisher Holder
  • Bartact Paracord "Oh Shit" Handles
  • Bartact Flashlight Holder
  • Mopar Cargo Area Liner (82215669AB)
  • Mopar All Weather Floor Mats (82215203AC)
  • Mopar Tailgate Reinforcement Kit (82215356AB)
  • Mopar Door Sill Guards (82215394)
Accessories
  • H3R Performance HG250R Fire Extinguisher
  • Warn Medium Epic Recovery Kit (97565)
  • - (2) 3/4'' Shackles (18,000 lbs)
  • - 2'' x 8'' Tree Trunk Protector (14,000 lbs)
  • - Snatch Block (12,000 lbs)
  • - 2'' x 30'' Recovery Strap (14,400 lbs)
  • - Gloves
  • - Backpack
  • Iunio Portable Folding Shovel
  • Iunio Portable Axe
  • AMYIPO Molle Bags/Pouches
  • JeCar 8.4'' Screen Protector
  • Warn Winch Damper
  • (4) Seatbelt Cutter/Window Breaker
  • Maglite ML300LX Flashlight
Wish List / Researching
  • Exhaust
  • LED Backup Lights
  • Metalcloak Undercloak
  • Lift Kit (really on the fence about it, gonna wait to see what clearance is like with 35'' tires)
Pictures
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LeoTheDragon

LeoTheDragon

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Ordered on September 25, 2018 from Jim Marsh in Las Vegas:

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Picked up on November 28, 2018, two very, very, very long and hard months later:
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First place I stopped by was REI to pick up a new sleeping bag and pad. I had a 500 mile drive home and was planning on stopping somewhere to just sleep in the back to test it out. Turns out at 5'6'' I can fit just perfectly stretched out with the front seats pushed up. This is "The One" bag by North Face. It's a 3-in-1 bag that handles 5, 20, and 40 degrees by alternating different layers. I got it because I need to stay as compact as possible so it beats hauling around multiple bags for different temperatures. It's wonderful, the best sleeping bag I've ever had. Pricey but worth it.
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It took some back roads to adhere as closely as I could to the break-in period, no idea where I was but the first picture of Hobbes in his natural environment:

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I eventually found my way to Furnace Creek (some area in Death Valley) where I stayed the night at a visitor center. The next morning I woke up and hit the road and practiced my non-existent photography skills (I really don't have any, I rarely have taken pictures of anything haha). Also I'm just randomly adjusting sliders on my phone to make a picture look 'good' - no experience with editing either. I should enroll in a photography 101 class somewhere so I know what I'm doing when I start vlogging.
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I stopped in Bishop, CA for lunch and to catch up on some work. Drove just out of town and slept in the back again. With the mattress pad and my awesome sleeping bag, it's really not bad at all! Next day was snow day for me, I was driving through Mammoth along 395 and probably went through some places I shouldn't have but hey, I had fun and that's all that matters.
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Daylight started fading and the weather started going sideways...

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And as I'm going through the pass, this is about all I could see (the image actually makes it look better than it was!)
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This was probably the craziest snowfall I've ever driven in, and I've been driving in snow in the Lake Tahoe area since I got my license. It was especially rough because the snow kept accumulating in the headlights and I couldn't see anything so I'd have to pull over and carve it out every 10 minutes or so. Anyone else have this problem before?

After going about 3 MPH through the entire pass, I made it out and safely home... To where I had a winch and some misc accessories waiting for me
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Nice!
 
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1quick1

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Awesome!

There was a thread about the optional LED's not getting hot enough to melt snow. I have a Sport with the stock Halogens and never had that issue so I can't speak to the LED's.
 

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Punk’n was on my list but the wife said No, no no. But come to think of it, she said the same thing about Mojito and yet here we are.

Beautiful ride. Enjoy!
 
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LeoTheDragon

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I got him back from the shop earlier this week, haven't had time to take pictures while there was still some amount of daylight. Got a full SunTek Ultimate wrap, the shop is local and they did an amazing job. They took off all the panels, doors, bumpers, and performed whatever paint correction was needed and wrapped the whole thing, including the sills and jams. I also had them remove the Rubicon and Wrangler decals but had the "Jeep" put back on. SUCH a cleaner look without all the decals.They also threw in some ceramic tinting, 20% up front and 50% windshield - I would have preferred 15% all around but they threw it in for free as a favor so I'm not gonna make a big deal out of it, it's good enough for me! It cost a lot less than what I expected so huge bonus there.

Oh, I also took the stock attenna out and installed the black AntennaMastsRus 17'' one. Amazing how such a subtle change can improve asthetics. It works well in town, though I don't listen to radio a lot so time will tell how it works when I don't have my Spotify available.

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LeoTheDragon

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Boxes!

The winch, bull bar, lights, other front bumper stuff is just sitting there because I'm still waiting for the winch plate :(

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Also waiting for new wheels to come in :(

But just adding some small accessories around the interior while I wait!

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Bartect 'oh shit' handles, flashlight holder, and fire extinguisher holder. My only hesitation is the lack of a quick release for the fire extinguisher, so still on the fence about that. Otherwise super sturdy, solid construction, steel hoops and super tough straps and stitching. And made in USA.
 

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LeoTheDragon

LeoTheDragon

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I've been getting flashed quite a bit at night (and not the kind that I like ;);)). I have noticed that the headlights are aimed a bit high so I adjusted them tonight. Turns out they're about 5.5 inches too high from the factory.

Before:
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After:
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It does make quite a difference, kind of sad I don't light up the road like before, but I also won't be making people blind anymore either. I'll have to readjust once I get the winch and new wheels on... I think this is something everyone should check since it is a safety hazard for other drivers!
 
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Cool pics, looking forward to seeing more of your adventures!
 

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Just curious where you got the 4 ft from?

The standard is 36 inches @ 25 ft back. If you're doing 4 ft, I don't know how you haven't been crashed into yet haha.
HEHEHE I actually haven't done it yet. I could of swore it was 4 foot up and 25 foot back but thanks for the clarification
 
 



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