Inc's Jeep

[Inc]

I bought my Jeep Liberty in 2005, new from the dealer. I drove it for a few years in completely stock form since my original intentions were to let the wife have it and I didn't want to put a whole bunch of off road mods on it if she was just going to drive it to the grocery store and back. I really grew to like the KJ and decided I would keep it for myself and make it how I wanted it. I have owned a CJ5, 2 YJs, and 2 TJs and then I bought the KJ. My intention was to buy another TJ and build it up, but the KJ ended up being my new project instead.

Basically stock with just the roof rails and rock rails painted black and home made roof rack with axe, shovel and hi lift mounts as well as spots for 2 gas cans.

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Then a flashlight mount, a fire extinguisher, and a mount for an eventual on board air tank.

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Then I picked up a Flowmaster Super 44 Off Road Muffler.

Flowmaster Super 44 Off Road Muffler Sound Clip

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[Inc]

Garmin Etrex Vista CX portable handheld GPS mounted to windshield.

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I've always preferred d-shackles to tow hooks, so I took off the rear hook and picked up a tow hitch and d-shackle.

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Decided I wanted a way to air up tires on the trail and got this setup off eBay

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[Inc]

Frankenlift

It was time I gained a bit more capability and ground clearance so I checked out all the lifts available for KJs and ended up choosing the Frankenlift Premium II from All J's. I ran the suspension lift in stock form on the front of the jeep but in the rear I used 2 extra ISO pads per side to level it out. Worked great and the lift was awesome.

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The tires and wheels I was running were Interco Trxus MTs in 31x10.5x15 with Pro Comp Rock Crawler steel wheels in 15x8 with 3.75" backspacing.

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I live in Reno, NV and during the summer here it gets into the 100s and I also make a yearly drive down to Las Vegas for some wheeling and relaxing so I thought it would be a good idea to find a way to keep the engine a bit cooler. I chose the Gen Right Hood Louvers because they looks great, are well made and are less than half of what a lot of other metal lovers cost.

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[Inc]

My Renegade came stock with front and rear tow points and skid plates. I decided to paint them all red, but eventually went to gray and lastly black before I recently sold them off.

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I picked up a Ruff Stuff Diff Cover for my rear axle. Riff Stuff makes some ridiculously beefy stuff. Their diff covers are no exception. Mine leaked so I called Dan, the onwer, and he replaced it free of charge. He stands behind his products 100%. Mine new one eventually developed a leak and decided rather than return it I'd just sell it. If the things didn't leak, I would have kept it.

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I didn't like how tall the roof rack I made sat on my jeep so I sold it, and took the axe and shovel mounts off and mounted them to the roof rails and I bedlined the roof.

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That left me with a need for a mount for my hi lift. I flipped my rear spare tire holder upside down, remounted it and welded a piece of steel strap to it with some bolts welded through it and mounted my hi lift to it. It was a great mod that was really handy and never damaged the rear door or anything.

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[Inc]

Next came a need and desire for a front bumper. I knew there were a few options out there for KJs but none of them fit into my future plans for my jeep. I wanted something small and compact that would work with a winch, and looked good (as far as my taste goes). I looked around and searched for bumpers that might work. I have always been in love with the Prerunner bumper made by Fabtech for Wrangler TJs and LJs. It fit all the things I wanted and looked for in a bumper for my jeep except it isn't made for a KJ...
So I luckily had a buddy with this bumper and I was able to take measurements off his and modify mine to work on my jeep. I added a Harbor Freight winch plate that I cut and welded in to place and I love the way it turned out.

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[Inc]

I picked up a Firestik antenna and Cobra CB and installed them on my jeep next. I took off the stock antenna and bought a ball mount and mounted it in its place. I then picked up a splitter box that would plug into the stock radio and plug into the cb as well so my Firestik would act as both my CB and AM/FM antenna.

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While the KJ has a lot more storage space than a TJ, YJ or CJ, it still didn't allow for a lot of tools to be neatly organized in one place that is secure and easy to get to. I decided to make a rear storage compartment that would house a lot of tools needed for trail repairs and other various things you encounter while out and about.

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After I sold my Ruff Stuff diff cover I was in need of its replacement. I found the Rockcrusher through a local dealer. It is every bit as beefy as the Ruff Stuff, but lighter and in my opnion, looks a bit nicer too.

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[Inc]

Next up was a rear bumper to match the front. I wanted one that would do quite a few things. I needed a swing away that would fit a 35" tire, one that would hold my hi lift (eventually a gas can or 2 as well), would add a lot of ground clearance and would also have a towing point as well. Here is what I came up with and had a builder called Dr. Smash make. It mounts with the same 6 bolts in the same locations as a tow hitch and the it also mounts with 5 bolts to the rear pinch weld which bolts to the top of the hitch receiver.

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[Inc]

Next I wanted to find a way to cary more gear on top of the jeep. I was unable to find a roof rack that I liked and would fit my needs exactly. I wanted something as low and close to the roof as I could get and I didn't want it sticking out past the roof rails either. My buddy sold me $35 of HREW metal tubing and this is what I came up with. I cut and notched the tubing to fit on my existing Renny roof rails. It turned out great I think, especially for the price.

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[HoosierJeeper]

Looks good. Really like the roof rack.

 

[Inc]

Rock Rails

The next modification was quite the undertaking and it took me about 5 days to complete. The jeep came with stock Mopar Renegade rock rails, which I used and abused until they were too misshapen to do me any good. Then I modified the stock rock rail mount arms to work with some square steel tubing. But I still wasn't happy enough with the design and style of rock rail. I wanted something with more clearance and something that was stronger and would slide over obstacles more easily. This is what I came up with.

the stock rocker panels with the plastic fascia removed, this is going to be cut out and replaced with some heavy duty material

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this is the 1/4" thick walled 2"x5" square tubing that was going in as well as this 1/4" flat bar that would provide a smooth surface for the jeep to slide over rocks on

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the rocker panels cut out

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There is a second layer of unibody behind the first, that needs to be removed as well

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The new stuff sitting where it will be welded in.

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These supports go from the back side of the pinch weld to the unibody frame rails and are welded in, they act as extra supports for the new rock rails if they get crunched inwards.

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These pieces of angle iron acted as additional shelf pieces for the new rock rails to sit on and added another connection of support from the new rock rails to the unibody

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The rock rails are welded in on top to the body sheet metal, and the shelves welded in as well. The bottom flat bar is welded in place too. Then end caps welded in to fill in the gaps left open.

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All finished up and painted

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[Inc]

When I got rid of the stock bumper, the washer bottle hung way down and looked aweful just sticking out there, so I took it out and drove without fluid for a year or so. Then I decided to relocate it, so I made a cradle in the engine compartment and fit the pump and motor into the washer bottle and into the cradle.

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After almost 5 years the stock battery died and I opted for a Blue Top Optima, which yielded more CCA and a better price than the Yellow or Red and is also deep cycle.

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[Inc]

Sfa

And finally the current mods being done to my jeep

Solid Front Axle Conversion

There is a thread that already exists for this in the SFA section so I am just going to post a couple pics and link to it in the other section. It isn't finished, but just needs rear gears, exhaust, brake lines and a front driveline.

Inc's SFA Build

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[Inc]

Looks good. Really like the roof rack.

Thanks. It is almost where I really want it to be. Maybe someday.

 

[Inc]

Winch

I also forgot to add this, my Superwinch EPi9.0S 9,000 winch.

I purchased it from Amazon for $663 shipped to my door and this is the reason I bought it.

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[HoosierJeeper]

One more mod idea-

Tint the front windows to match the rear. In FL where I am, it's the best mod I've done.

 

[Inc]

One more mod idea-

Tint the front windows to match the rear. In FL where I am, it's the best mod I've done.

I have tinted the fronts, but I had a shop I have connections with in UT do them the to legal limit. Turns out the legal limit in NV, where I live, is darker than the UT limit, so I need to redo it to match the rears. (banghead)

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I have 25% I believe....matches very well.

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[Dave]

Awesome pics and jeep, Inc.

Dave

 

[Inc]

I have 25% I believe....matches very well.

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I can't remember the # or % of tint I had them do, but I think it is 20 or 25 like yours that would be perfect and is the legal limit here in NV.

Awesome pics and jeep, Inc.

Dave

Thanks.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I'm pretty sure 25% is the legal limit for the front here....I kinda want a bit darker, but don't want a ticket....