Helloooooooo!

Hi guys, just joined the forum after picking up my 2015 JK Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock and wanted to introduce myself. This is my 4th Jeep, and of course my favorite so far. I'm in the Newark area and looking to find a great group of people to link up with. I won't turn this into a build thread but I'll give you a little glimpse of the progress in just a few weeks of wrench time.

The day I brought it home...

But of course it's summer time now, so that hard top had to come right off, which means I had to install the garage hoist....

While I was doing that, I threw on some of the heavy duty hood clamps and installed two Tuffy security boxes under each seat, a Bestop center drop in security box, a Tuffy rear deck lid and a hood lock...

But of course, that's just the beginning. Because my plans for this are more "overland" rather than "rock crawling" I have some specific mods planned. I upgraded all of the lighting to LED, (front headlights, fogs, and tail lights) and installed a Warn Zeon 10-S platinum winch tightly packed into the front bumper.

Of course, while the bumper is off, I might as well add a hoop bar and lighting, right? Added some IPF lights, along with some Rigid Industries A-pilar LEDs. So the final product came out like this.

But, with the winch, the lights (present and future), and my goal of "overlanding" I wanted to be able to run my ARB fridge for long periods of time, so next came the dual battery kit from Genesis Offroad, running two Odyssey batteries and a smart isolator to control them.

The kit has an optional monitor which I ran to the interior A-pilar and mounted. It will monitor both batteries and allow you to manually override to start the vehicle from either one. (sorry for the crappy pic)
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For now, that's where I am, but I have several parts backordered, such as an SPOD, and a GOBI rack so that I can throw those kayaks on top that you see hanging in my garage. I'd love to lift it slightly with bigger tires but I need to see where adding the Gobi puts my height in relation to my garage. Tragically it might be a no-go. [/size]

I'm going to take a look through the membership information and hopefully will submit my application soon. I look forward to hearing from some 'local' Delawareans about their Jeep adventures!

Cheers!

Thanks all!

Quote from whatevah

Wow, you've been busy! Tell us more about the ARB fridge, is that mounted or just loose in the back? What destinations do you have in mind for your overland journeys? I've been going to Colorado and Utah the last 2 years, I'll add in Wyoming this year. Welcome aboard!

Thanks folks. The ARB fridge is easily the best home away from home luxury I've ever bought. There are several models, mine is the small one at 37 qts but is plenty for me. Truth be told it started as a method to keep the beer cold on camping trips and never needing ice. It's extremely well built, digitally controlled and has built in, user-adjustable battery protection circuitry so it won't run your battery down and leave you stranded. In my camp use, I've found that it will hold 40 degrees with an outside temp of about 85-90 plugged in for about 2-3 days before needing to start the vehicle. It is extremely efficient but that's what you pay for. With the dual battery setup now I should be able to run for about a week without starting. The nice thing is that is will freeze too, so if you have someone in your group that is a diabetic or needs meds stored colder, it will take the temp down to 0 if you want. The thermal cover (which is extra) really makes a difference.

My previous Jeep was a Grand Cherokee and the fridge just sat in there in the back. It has rubber feet to keep it from sliding. Now, with this JK, I'm not 100% sure yet how I want to handle it being that I have the Tuffy security lid. It won't fit under it, but it will sit on top. The jury is still out on that.

As far as destinations go, in 2011 I did a road trip from DE across the US (in the Grand Cherokee), camping my way across the country and hitting several national parks out west before circling back and heading home to DE. The plan is currently prepping for 2016's return trip but I'll likely target either Yellowstone or Yosemite - pretty much the only two major parks left on my list. I might try and swing through Zion NP again, as it was one of my favorites.