My Jeep

kdog

One of my more expensive photography accessories is my Jeep. It takes me to remote places to photograph. I just spent the past few weeks doing a big suspension upgrade which has really eaten into my photography (and Dgrin) time. I just finished it up this past weekend and went out for a test drive and to snap a few pictures.







This one is a friend's brand new Jeep. I envy the Jeep, but not the amount of money he has tied up in it.


These are all the new parts I put into my Jeep.


And here's what my poor Jeep looked like early in the project. :huh


Phew, sure glad it's done! :thumb

Cheers,
-joel

SimpsonBrothers

Nice work.
I put that (almost) same kit on an XJ and it took about 4 hours. Nothing ever lines up how you want it.

kdog

SimpsonBrothers wrote: »

Nice work.
I put that (almost) same kit on an XJ and it took about 4 hours. Nothing ever lines up how you want it.

FOUR HOURS!? You did all that drilling, tapping, replaced all the control arms, springs, swaybars, shocks, axle housing conversion complete with welding in the new JJ carrier, setting pinion angles, caster, and toe-in, all in 4 hours? You must do this for a living. I spent 2 1/2 weekends working on it, but granted I really took my time.

SimpsonBrothers

Yeah, me and one other guy. We already had all the tools.

And yes, it wasn't my first rodeo

kdog

SimpsonBrothers wrote: »

Yeah, me and one other guy. We already had all the tools.

And yes, it wasn't my first rodeo

Looking good!

I looked at the XJ kit and it doesn't look as involved as the TJ kit. Still, 4 hours is great time. It practically takes me that long to get the vehicle on jack stands.

cbbr

Nice jeep. I get out to AZ annually and love having a $X$ for the access when I am out there.

Azzaro

Hi Joel......I'M ENVIOUS.......:D gary

dlplumer

You da man

Now when are you going to take me out on a shoot?

CWSkopec

dlplumer wrote: »

You da man

Now when are you going to take me out on a shoot?

Assuming Dan will be in the passanger seat and the gear will be in back, I call roof rack! (will bring my own straps!)

We've missed your photos, but at least it was time well spent! Looking forward to seeing some images from far out places soon!

kdog

Thanks, guys!

Rides for all, next time we get together for sure.

Andy

Sweet Jeep, 'Dog!

I just got this one, brand new today, switched from a 4Dr Wrangler X to this 2Door Sahara

kdog

Andy wrote: »

Sweet Jeep, 'Dog!

I just got this one, brand new today, switched from a 4Dr Wrangler X to this 2Door Sahara

Hey Andy, looking good! So why did you trade in the 4 door?

I debated mightily on whether to put the lift on my TJ, or trade it in for a JK. It was a tough decision, those JKs are very nice. They're more off-road worthy from the factory than were the stock TJs.

Sexy6Chick

You did a great job with the lift, Jeep looks great! We'll have to hit some trails together now! Don't be intimidated by the silver one, we still have this one that's a bit more tame:

kdog

Sexy6Chick wrote: »

You did a great job with the lift, Jeep looks great! We'll have to hit some trails together now! Don't be intimidated by the silver one, we still have this one that's a bit more tame:

Thanks, Natalie! If you guys ever want to escape the heat, I've got a really good mountain ridge trail I can take you on here. It runs the entire length of the Hualapai Mountain range from Kingman to Yucca, about 40 miles. It's rugged, but non-technical. I'm sure your tamer truck could handle it fine. Google Boriana Mine Trail if you want to read about it. From Yucca, we could take Alamo Road to Signal Road which are dirt roads that come out south of Wikeup. Right on your way home. I would split off and go north back to Kingman. Something to think about.

Sexy6Chick

kdog wrote: »

Thanks, Natalie! If you guys ever want to escape the heat, I've got a really good mountain ridge trail I can take you on here. It runs the entire length of the Hualapai Mountain range from Kingman to Yucca, about 40 miles. It's rugged, but non-technical. I'm sure your tamer truck could handle it fine. Google Boriana Mine Trail if you want to read about it. From Yucca, we could take Alamo Road to Signal Road which are dirt roads that come out south of Wikeup. Right on your way home. I would split off and go north back to Kingman. Something to think about.

I ALWAYS want to escape the heat! haha. I'll talk to the husband about it! I'd love to go up there and see that area..haven't been close to there yet.

rwells

Lookin' good Joal

Ah, I miss my Jeeps :cry

sgonen

I miss your Jeep - nice upgrade ... Toroweap in 30 minutes
Oh.... yes, I miss your shots too

rwells

sgonen wrote: »

I miss your Jeep - nice upgrade ... Toroweap in 30 minutes
Oh.... yes, I miss your shots too

Newbie mistake

Jeroen

Cool Jeep. I love the smileys. I like shot nr 2 best.

0||||0

kdog

rwells wrote: »

Lookin' good Joal

Ah, I miss my Jeeps :cry

Dude, those are some fine looking Jeeps there and it looks like you used them too. Sorry you had to give them up.

kdog

sgonen wrote: »

I miss your Jeep - nice upgrade ... Toroweap in 30 minutes
Oh.... yes, I miss your shots too

Thanks, Shimon! Say, is it Toroweap weekend!? Have an awesome time man, even if you probably won't see this until you get back.

kdog

rwells wrote: »

Newbie mistake

Which?

kdog

Jeroen wrote: »

Cool Jeep. I love the smileys. I like shot nr 2 best.

0||||0

Thanks! I like #2 the best as well from a photographic standpoint. The smiley light covers I'm not so sure about. They come with the KC Daylighters, so I had no choice. The lights are awesome though -- 150W each. They are a huge benefit when you're traveling on dirt roads at night.

Jeroen

kdog wrote: »

[...] when you're traveling on dirt roads at night.

We live in different worlds...

kdog

Jeroen wrote: »

We live in different worlds...

You're welcome to visit my world any time. I never considered a Jeep to be a necessity until I moved to Arizona.

rwells

kdog wrote: »

Which?

I thought that was in reference to my initial posting. I forgot to put the pics in a gallery for posting. Just red x's. I fixed it later.

kdog

rwells wrote: »

I thought that was in reference to my initial posting. I forgot to put the pics in a gallery for posting. Just red x's. I fixed it later.

Gotcha. Too many parallel threads going on to keep track of.

bgarland

Nice Jeep Joel. Nothing sweeter than new suspension.

We Arizonans do seem to enjoy our back country rigs.

Sexy6Chick

bgarland wrote: »

We Arizonans do seem to enjoy our back country rigs.

That we do!clap

kdog

bgarland wrote: »

Nice Jeep Joel. Nothing sweeter than new suspension.

We Arizonans do seem to enjoy our back country rigs.

Whoa, tell me about THAT TRAILER! :wow

bgarland

kdog wrote: »

Whoa, tell me about THAT TRAILER! :wow

They are called King kampers here in the US. They are made by Kimberley Kampers in Australia. It will go almost anywhere my 4Runner will go and has all the comforts of home when you get to your camp.

So as not to fill your thread up with my toy, here's a link to a thread that describes the trailer in detail and shows you all the different ways you can set it up from quick and easy to full blown MASH unit with wood burning stove.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20712

Let out a yell if you have any questions.