Hickey's 2015 JK Rubicon "Build" thread

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
As a card-carrying member of the "Old Bald Guy w/ White JK" club, I decided I had better copy Mbryson's "build" thread with my own. I'm forever living in his shadow (the shadow of his hairline).

This thread will start off with some easy bolt-on stuff, but I'll be including some light fabrication as it progresses.

This is my second JK, the first was a 2012 JKU Rubicon. I liked the 4 door okay, but I didn't love it. I needed 3 seat belts in the rear though, so I couldn't justify a 2 door at the time.

FYI JK is the designation for 2 doors, JKU is 4 doors.

My oldest turned 18 last year and doesn't ever ride with us anymore, so the 2 door was calling my name. It was time to replace the tires on the 4 door, and I planned to go bigger with the next set. Bigger required a lift, so I bit the bullet and traded away 2 doors.

The day I picked it up.



I had the dealer install the new Mopar 2" Performance lift before I signed the papers. This lift comes with a new CV front driveshaft and Fox shocks. As you can see, It's also not a 2" lift. A little over 3" is what most people see from this lift. The stock Rubicon BFG's look a bit small under there.


I ordered Cooper ST MAXX 315/70r17 tires before I brought my new Jeep home. This is right after I put the new tires on.



First flex pic.

 

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Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
The first mod, was to add better steps/rock protection. I went with Expedition One sliders. The dealer had a JKU in the show room with these sliders, and I fell in love.



My sweetheart is 5'-2", so a step was most definitely required.

With the steps mounted, top removed, and Spiderwebshade installed, it was time to get my new Jeep dirty in Moab!





 
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Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
"shadow of my hairline".....

(I'll have to check out those Expedition One sliders)

They are really nice. Body mounted, and they haven't moved at all since I got them. We always take the Jeep to any stores now, because it's just about impossible to get a door ding in a parking lot with those sliders on there.
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
In early September, I ordered a bumper kit from www.tabandslot.com for the front. This is a precut and bent kit that needs to be welded and painted by the buyer. I lost the pics of the build, but here is the bumper right after bolting it on.



I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and I have a rear bumper kit ordered.
 

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
That is a pretty slick bumper, I'd for sure have gotten something like that a year ago had I know about it. I tried going to their website and they sure aren't helping anyone find their products easily are they? Thanks for sharing.
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Tab and Slot isn't currently selling their bumpers. They had a youtube video about their welding tables go viral, and they are severely backlogged on table orders. They haven't produced any bumper kits for a few months, but they plan to in the future after they get caught up on orders. They've had to move to a larger facility and buy two more lasers.

This is the assembly video on my front bumper. It's over 30 minutes long, but it goes into great detail about the bumper design.

https://youtu.be/Jpd3qYIlucs
 
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Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Best I could find, only listings for TJs at the moment. I'd guess that Hickey bought his off ebay as it seems like thats the method of purchase most mentioned on the other boards. Their ebay store is empty though right now.

I'm pretty intrigued by this design style though. I'm no awesome welder but the hardest part for me is always getting the angles right and repeatable which the tabs do for you.

These bumper kits are really great. I'm not the best welder by any measure, so I smoothed over the exposed welds. All of my best welds are always on the inside, where no one can see them. :hickey:

If you can melt metal together, you can put one of these together.

The best part is, this kit was $139 with free shipping.
 

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
I like the new factory Rubicon wheels. There really aren't any new wheels I really like so I think I will be keeping my Rubicon wheels and going with a bigger tire. I ran Expedition One bumpers on my TJ and LJ. They took a beating thats for sure and they look good but I like this little bumper you have. What are the Inspection Rules on front bumpers? I had to put my stock bumpers on my TJ once because my tires stuck out too far.
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
I believe the bumpers are supposed to be "track width" which means center of tire, to center of tire. At least that's what it means to me. I suppose I'll have to build some curb feelers to bolt onto the sides of the bumpers when inspection time comes.

I originally intended to modify the bumper and add width to it, but I couldn't come up with a good looking design. I was also happy to have the clearance while in Moab. I scraped this bumper a few times. A full width would have caused me a lot of trouble.
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
I can never get enough time down there. I need to find a condo in Moab with 2 car garage and about 500 Sq ft of living space.


We should all go in on one? It would be REALLY busy for some events but for the most part, I bet it would just get used somewhat regularly throughout the year
 
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