[Hoseman]

Bare with me guys. Photo-bucket did a number on my build thread so I am now in the process of trying to fix all of the broken links.

This is my Jeep, there are many like it but this one is mine...

ok, so after harvesting info and tips from you guys and gals for several months (thanks everybody) I have finally decided to put together a build thread for my 2011 JKU Sahara in Sahara Tan. My vision for this build is an Overland/Expedition type build for camping and adventuring with my two young boys.

So, here's the picture from the ad where this whole thing started -



I grew up in the Sierras and have been four wheeling my whole life (mostly in pick up trucks) but this is my first Jeep and I am having so much fun with this thing that I am kicking myself int he butt for not buying one sooner.

Once I got the Jeep home it got the immediate "seal of approval" from my kids -



first thing to do? Why it was to peel off those factory Sahara and Wrangler decals of course...

now to get her dirty!

 

[Hoseman]

Next order of business was to get rid of some of the shiny silver stuff.

like the silver bumpier appliqués -



ahh, much better -



and while I'm at it how about plastic-dipping that bright Jeep grill logo? time for a little masking...





and several hours later some unmasking...

 

[Hoseman]

and the finished product (with a little dirt in this photo) -

 

[Hoseman]

So now it was time to get off the street and have a little fun...



After our first couple of outings to the Sierras and on the Cali Central Coast -



one of the first things we learned was that we needed some serious floor mats!

So a set of Quadratec floor mats were soon added to the Desert Fox -





after dragging on a few things it became apparent that we needed a little more clearance so... a lift kit was soon to come.

 

[Chrisboedy]

Congrats! I dig the cammo tire cover

 

[Hoseman]

Congrats! I dig the cammo tire cover

thanks man, that tire cover is actually an alice pack cover from when I was in the military in the early 90s.



it doesn't fit perfect but does the majority of the visible part of the spare tire, as seen in the picture below which also shows that SmittyBilt tail gate MOLLE cover -

 

[Jeremy KrawlOff-Road.com]

Ahh the chocolate chip pattern!!! Great use of the Alice pack cover!! Nice looking Jeep so far!!

Jeremy

 

[Hoseman]

Ahh the chocolate chip pattern!!! Great use of the Alice pack cover!! Nice looking Jeep so far!!

Jeremy

thanks Jeremy! I've got a bit of catch up to do on the photos so please keep an eye out and let me know what you think as the build progresses.

 

[Hoseman]

A few early other mods included the rear view mirror mod. people either love it or hate. Personally I love it! With the limited visibility out of the back window I'll take every bit of increased vision I can get. If anybody is not familiar with the mirror mod and would like some pics then let me know and I will take some comparison photos.

Next up, I wanted to do something with that big whip of an antenna...



At first I tried the plasti-dip treatment which made it look better but this long antenna was still just huge and swinging around when hit by branches etc. So, I went with a 13" antennaX.



The reception definitely suffered but looks cool and is short and out of the way now. The poor reception would have been a deal killer if I didn't listen mostly to satellite radio (sirius) and my iPod/iphone.

 

[Hoseman]

Next up was that lift I was talking about... decided to go with the Teraflex 2.5 coil spring lift. Here's a before pic showing the Desert Fox's stance -



After a couple hours of work with my buddy...







Everything fell right into place -

 

[Hoseman]

as a side note... in order to run the stock tires/wheels with the 2.5 TF lift I had to use spacers. I went with 1.5 Synergy spacer. ran them for about 4 - 5 months with no issues. This was only temporary until I saved up enough cabbage to buy the new wheels and tires.

 

[Jeremy KrawlOff-Road.com]

Sweet! What wheels and tires did you go with? They are kinda hard to see in your avatar. Nice Job on the lift. I ran a TF 2.5 on my last Jeep and it served me well.

Jeremy

 

[Cameron138]

Biased, But sahara tan is the best Love the build and the color match looks great, would probably kill for a sahara tan hard top! Keep up the good work man.

 

[young gunna]

i really like this color, those pictures in the sierras look like it was an amazing trip

 

[Hoseman]

Still trying to play catch up here with the photos of the progress. Here's another simple mod we did... Mopar Fuel door swap -



before -



And after the install -

 

[Hoseman]

Sweet! What wheels and tires did you go with? They are kinda hard to see in your avatar. Nice Job on the lift. I ran a TF 2.5 on my last Jeep and it served me well.

Jeremy

The Wheels I went with were the AEV Savegre in black -



And mated them up with 315 Goodyear Duratracs -



So it was off to the tire shop to have them mounted -

 

[BlueBabySound]

Looking good!

 

[Hoseman]

Looking good!

Thanks bro,

Here's a couple of "after" photos from the tire / wheel upgrade -

 

[Hoseman]

Forgot to mention also added these Mopar tail light guards -

 

[Hoseman]

And a little finishing touch for the wheels were these 45 caliber valve stem caps that I made (just had to go back in and trim a little excess glue from the cap) -



And the spare tire was now a bit bigger so no more chocolate chip Alice pack tire cover : (