2005 LJ

jscusmcvet

Adventurist
Have not posted much jeep stuff on here yet, but here it is...
-2005 LJ Rubicon
-2.5" Rough Country springs
-Bilstein 5100 shocks
-Rokmen 1/2 inch body lift
-Metal Cloak front upper and lower control arms, quick discos, trac bar.
-Rock Crawler belly up skid, Warn diff skids, Skid Row radiator skid, various other skids as the mood strikes
-Big Daddy Off Road prototype front bumper (his first one ever)
-Big Daddy Off Road Rear bumper with tire swing
-Big Daddy Off Road rock sliders
-Superwinch TS9500 Winch
-Rampage frameless soft top

Today, in preparation for a drop down tailgate, I remounted my BDO rear bumper and tire swing. I cut off the "underbody protection" as it was extra weight and really did not work well. I welded caps on the end. My welds are not perfect, but it works. Not bad for someone with no training and an ancient stick welder to work with. Looking forward to seeing @Yuman Desert Rat this weekend and picking up a few parts form him.
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https://www.treadwright.com/collections/filter/products/warden-ii-w2316e?variant=9474897987

Ordered these in a 235/85/16 today. Have been very impressed with them on Ann's Tacoma over the last couple thousand miles. Should be here in a week. Pics then.
I hope you have good luck with them. I have never been a fan of recapped tires, with the exception of use on semi trucks. Sounds like you've had good luck with them so far though.

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Thanks Scott. We just crossed over 3k on the ones on the Tacoma with no issues. Most problem we had was that the E rating is a bit stiff for the Tacoma (and will be on the jeep) so we had to experiment with the air pressure to get the right ride and tire profile.
 
I hope you have good luck with them. I have never been a fan of recapped tires, with the exception of use on semi trucks. Sounds like you've had good luck with them so far though.

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@Scott - Not to sound like a sales pitch, but there is a difference between a "retread" and a "remold." When you recap a tire with a new tread it doesn't go through the entire molding process. What TreadWright is doing is reusing cores and molding new tires (both sidewall and tread) on the core using old manufacturing molds (like BFG's older all terrain molds they no longer use). It's a very intensive process that is more involved that just doing a retread. I would never run retreads on a 4x4 (nor do I think anyone should) but running a completely remolded tire is a different issue and I see no problem with it. I actually know a few people running TreadWright tires and they have no complaints.
 
Thanks Dean. I am confident in the tire. I am more worried, honestly about going to an AT tread... but I think it suits my normal us of the jeep better. I am quite sure it will get me stuck in Uwharrie when it is wet, but... that's what winches are for.
 
The problem I have (in my head) with recycled tires, regardless of process, is that the sidewalls/tread ply's have already endured one life cycle of abuse, now that same core of structural ply's is being asked to endure another life cycle of abuse. Heavy duty truck tires are designed to be recycled, passenger car/light truck tires, not so much.

I'm sure there are people that are smarter than I am that have thought this stuff through. Considering that the tire is literally where the rubber meets the road, I prefer to buy new tires.

I have made the switch to AT tires on my overland vehicles. Completely different terrain out here, little if any mud. When I first got into this racket years ago, we were all assured that we couldn't even travel a dirt shoulder with AT tread tires without getting stuck. When we built our LJ, it was Machelle's daily driver. There was no way I was going to tolerate the whine/decreased fuel economy etc. of MT's, nor was she. To date, (11 years now) I don't know that I have ever had to negotiate an obstacle that the AT tread pattern hasn't been able to conquer.
 
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Bob - All I can say is we are getting great service right now on the Tacoma from these tires. That includes road and at least a few miles of dirt every day, for the last 3000 miles. If it turns out to be a mistake (and it might) It will not be the first time my cheapness has gotten the best of me.

As for the AT, I know with your level of off road experience you understand the benefits of an MT tire in certain conditions. Reality for me (as it sounds like for you guys on your LJ) is that besides my road in and out of the property, I spend so much more time on the pavement with this as my DD, it is a change that is probably overdue. If it gets me stuck on the trail, well... I have been stuck before. In the end I think the MT thing was an ego thing for me... so as I am old and broken these days, the ego takes a back seat to reality :)
 
^^^^That's why they paint them different colors, different things work for different people. Treadwright wouldn't have been in business this long if they didn't work for the majority of their customers.

A lot of what we do out here is about floatation in soft/deep sand. AT's inherently work better as they float on top where MT's tend to dig, making the problem worse. When I'm in the big rocks, the bigger lugs of the MT tread work better as I'm less likely to completely deform the lug (slip) or tear it off the carcass. The edges on my AT's do tend to take a bit of a beating when I get the LJ into the rocks.

When we do get mud out here it's like peanut butter, even Boggers clog up with it.
 
Thanks Dean. I am confident in the tire. I am more worried, honestly about going to an AT tread... but I think it suits my normal us of the jeep better. I am quite sure it will get me stuck in Uwharrie when it is wet, but... that's what winches are for.

I ran the older BFG A/T tread for over 10 years (6 different sets on just as many Jeeps) and they never left me hanging. There were times I out-wheeled guys with M/T's. I find they do better in almost every type of terrain except deep mud. On the other hands mud terrains only do marginally okay in every type of terrain and only do well in deep mud. I am not impressed with the mud terrains I have now and will be so happy when I can go back to an all terrain. I wouldn't be too worried if I were you and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.
 
My tires were delivered. Tracking had them arriving the other day and when the fedex driver called (they call the house and Ann goes out to the road) there was only one tire. She took delivery of that one and gave m e a call. I checked tracking and it said delivered... but there were three missing tires. I emailed Matt with Treadwright and he responded in a few minutes. Turns out the other 3 were out for delivery, just on a different Fed Ex truck (!). Not sure how that happened, but 1) the tires were delivered later that same day and 2) Reaffirms my positive customer service experience with Treadwright... response was quick and correct.

Tires mounted up yesterday at a local garage. $40 mounted and balanced, so I am into a brand new set of 32" all terrains for less than $500 total. I like the way they look. Shop filled tires to 40#. From previous experience this is too high for e rated tires on the jeep so I dropped pressure to 30#. We'll see how that does on the road and adjust as needed. This morning took a quick trip across the creek bed and up a steep section of the perimeter trail I am building on our property and performance was fine. I will continue to report as needed.
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Had the tires in somme pretty good downpours yesterday. Really held the road well, better than the KM2's they replaced... due to the increased siping I would guess. Also brought the front tires back up to 35# and it seems to ride better there, less road noise for sure.
 
Due to the generosity of one of my Anvil buddies, (Thanks JR!) who won the Hendricks Off Road gift certificate at ARV,
I was able to replace my Rampage soft top with a Bestop Trektop NX frameless top and new soft uppers. After a while having the new top I will do a quick comparison.
Bestop is slightly quieter - not enough to really make a difference. The flip top sunrider portion is sweet and super easy to use. No leaks so far. Drawbacks is you cannot just pull the back window and doors and run it that way.
Rampage is cheaper, both in price and construction. Leaks at door because the top fabric does not extend beyond the top of the door... so I have never been able to get water to stop leaking in through the opening. I do like how easy it is to remove the back window, take the half door uppers off and have a reasonably open jeep.
All in all I would buy the Rampage again if $ was an issue. If not the Bestop is clearly a more well designed product. Looks are comparable.
 
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Last time we were out in the woods here on the property, I would up hung up on my stock gas tank skid. It mashed up high enough that the engine could not get any fuel... winched off and all was good, but cannot risk that again, so...

Contacted Skid Row Skidplates. They had a scratch and dent deal on a gas tank skid. Pretty easy install. I could have gone with one of the skids that gained more clearance, but this was a good deal and I am a fan of their products...
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And the obligatory sticker...
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I'm running Skid Row Plates on the Tundra. Good quality products that can take some beating. You should be happy with them.
 
I'm running Skid Row Plates on the Tundra. Good quality products that can take some beating. You should be happy with them.
Yep... I already use their engine/trans, radiator and LCA skid plates, so I suppose the gas tank skid completes the package. Are they near you in PA?
 
They are near me, and I know the owner.
I have been buying from them since 2004/5 or so and have always been happy with their products. The engine skid has saved my bacon a bunch of times. Nice people it seems also.

I did have to make some adjustments today. The gas tank skid would impact my rear diff skid on bumps. Today at lunch I pulled off into a parking lot and pulled off the rear diff skid. Looks like I am in the market for a low clearance skid or a replacement beefed up diff cover.... never ends...
 
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