Who You?
Dear Verne, who the hell are you?
Bob
Via email
Well Bob, my name is Verne Simons. I grew up in North Carolina and now live in Arizona. Some of you may recognize my name from freelance articles that have been splattered throughout Jp magazine over the past eight years or so. Before that, I worked for two years as then brand-new Jp Editor John Cappa’s sole feature editor. Editor Hazel, whom I have known since I first started working at the magazine way back in 2000, recently asked me to write the Your Jeep column on a regular basis. I am totally stoked to be involved in the magazine on a regular basis again! Basically I am a Jeep nut who is also a total nerd.
My first car was an ’83 CJ-7 that was handed down through my family. It looked great (chicks dug it!), but the factory carb made it basically undrivable most of the time. Since then, I have owned two TJs, three XJs, a YJ, a WJ, a ’49 CJ-3A that you might recognize, and I have been building a ’56 CJ-5 from the ground-up, which is being covered right here in the pages of Jp. I love traveling, photography, cooking, eating, animals, BBQing, eating BBQ’d animals, mountain biking, RC crawlers, being outside, camping, wrenching, and wheeling. I am a cheap bastard who would usually rather learn how to do something myself than pay someone else to do it for me. I have also spent time as a paleontologist, traveled all over the world, taught college classes in Ohio, and now work as a part-time alligator wrassler. Yeah, seriously. Now Bob, who the hell are you?
Rubi or Regu
I have a really nice ’07 two-door JK Rubicon with a 4-inch Teraflex long-arm lift and 35-inch tires. My wife and I have enjoyed wheeling in Arizona and the southwest, including the Rubicon Trail. The vehicle goes pretty much anywhere I point it. My problem is space. We enjoy camping more than anything and it’s always a challenge to get all the camping gear, clothes, recovery gear, kitchen sink, and so on, packed into the little Wrangler. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to get everything we need for a week or more in the back country. To handle the overflow, I have a Body Armor roof rack and basket that won’t fit in the garage, so I have to remove the basket after each trip. I thought of digging out the slab in the garage to give more vertical height. I thought of getting a trailer for tent and gear. I thought of getting a Yakima cargo carrier to get another 15 cubic-feet of space. Finally I thought of simply getting a four-door Wrangler.
I’m struggling with the decision of getting a Rubicon or a Sport. Thanks for the recent article “Rubicon vs. Regular” in the May ’11 issue. I really love the 4:1 low range of the NV241OR T-case, and I like the electric lockers (although I hate the placement and operation of the locker switch). I’m not crazy about the inherent weakness of the front axle, although I have had no problems so far. And I don’t like the lift. The 4-inch lift makes it hard for old bodies to get in and out of the Jeep; so much so that my wife tore her shoulder cartilage and has to undergo surgery this month.
I am hoping to put 35s on the new vehicle with no lift (or a small spacer lift). If I go with the Sport, I am particularly concerned about the 2.72:1 transfer case (not sure of the model). I would replace the Dana 30 front axle with a Dana 44. I would add selectable lockers (thinking of ARB air lockers, but where would I put the compressor?). I would also like to replace the T-case with the Rubicon model or equivalent. Hopefully all these mods will cost less than the extra I would pay for the Rubicon, and would be better suited to the type of wheeling I like to do. Can you help me with my decision? Particularly, what’s involved with the transfer case swap, and where would I get one?
Rob Hewitt
Phoenix, AZ
The ’12 models have the improved 3.6L Pentastar V-6, however the auto transmission is the five-speed WA580 currently used in the 5.7L-equipped Grand Cherokee and Dodge vehicles. Advance Adapters has yet to determine if it will have a Rubi-Crawler available for that transmission/T-case combo. Otherwise, I’d say the no-brainer would be to get a 3.6L/auto-equipped Sport and add the Rubi-Crawler to have your choice of 2.72:1 or 5.44:1 low range.
As for your front axle, I’d suggest a Dynatrac ProRock 44. To save a bit of money, you could buy the axle from the ball joints-inward and reuse your Dana 30 knuckles and brake assemblies. They’re the same parts as the Dana 44. I would strongly suggest checking the option box for Dynatrac’s ProSteer ball joints since the factory units wear quickly.
For the locker, Dynatrac will tell you the ARB Air Locker is the strongest, but I’ve really liked the Eaton E-Lockers I have in my Wrangler. They’ve proven durable for me and there are no air lines to run. Just an electric rocker switch that you can have mounted wherever you like. If you do go ARB, you can probably squeeze a compressor under the rear of the floor (basically under the rear seat area).
To run 35s, check out the Daystar “Comfort Ride” combo kit, PN KJ09154BK. It includes 1¾-inch suspension spacers and a 1-inch body lift that will give you enough clearance for the 35s you want to run. You’ll retain the factory springs for a comfortable ride and it is low enough that the suspension and steering geometry won’t be impacted.