Well looking sharp but sad to see you go. Have fun and enjoy it and many adventures ahead.
What did you do to your JK today?
- Thread starter Lxxtsy
- Start date
Had a great day “yesterday“ in the El Dorado National Forest with friends.
Jermbob28
JK Enthusiast
OP
Sooo, I decided to stop by 4 Wheel Parts near me and boy it was a mistake, lol....I cracked my tire carrier last year and been in the market for one. I ended up with the Smittybilt tire carrier. It was between the Rugged Ridge or Smittybilt carrier. The Terafelx version is out of the price range and this fit the bill. Hopefully get this installed over the weekend.
Jermbob28
JK Enthusiast
That is the one I have, it has been great the last couple years! Adjust it the first time was a pain but I have been happy with it.
Had a decently warm day today. So I decided to put on my Smittybilt Mag-Armor after letting it bake in the sun all day.
Ordered three of them one for mine, wife’s and son’s. They arrived yesterday. I put mine on for fun to see how it would fit over the winch and rack above the spare tire. It actually covered the entire Jeep even with the rack. Nice to have the rubber bound holes in the middle, used a small bungie wrapped around the sliders. Only concern is if it will tear trying to put it on as it seems thin. Guess time will tell. Thanks for the recommendation.
You'll appreciate this one more than the Teraflex. I wrote a series of posts a year or so ago regarding the Teraflex and the issues I have with the hinges. The SmittyBilt you purchased has removable hinge pins, which are great to work with when you need to lubricate them.
Aren't you carrying 37s on that carrier?
OP
I'm liking it so far and glad I went with Smittybilt. 35s is the max I'll run and shopping for tires us
OP
Few pics. I cut the 3rd brake light bracket off since I'm not a fan of it.
How/where are you going to move the 3rd brake light to? I can't stand that bracket, either, but a suitable alternative hasn't occurred to me yet, and I don't want the one that sits in the middle of the spare because I keep my spare covered... it's advertising space.
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OP
I wanted to reuse the grommet, so I cut the wire at the grommet and left the other end unplugged.
3rd brake light is federal law- how you getting around that, especially if you need an inspection every year?
OP
I've never had issues regarding the 3rd light. Never had it on my TJ either. The only other 3rd light that you will get pulled over is the license plate light not working, lol.
OP
This is the Required lighting equipment of vehicles for NC that I found online hope this helps.
So, the NHTSA required a 3rd brake light for all cars manufactured after 1986 and all trucks from 1994. There is a lot of individual state legislation that is confusing, but at the end of the day, it appears the only time a 3rd brake light becomes an issue is if there is one on the vehicle and it doesn't work. In other words, it needs to be there when the vehicle is manufactured, bought or sold. What happens outside of those 3 circumstances is up to the owner.
OP
Because you don’t have Missouri plates!
Used to live in IL. Seems when I go back to visit there is always a cop on my ass.
WestCoastDan
JK Enthusiast
Ran the rearview camera wiring into the cabin today.
I had asked previously if others just pushed the wire through the vent flap behind the spare, or if they poked it through the brake light grommet, but when I took a closer look, I found this:
I drilled and cut a hole into the plug and created a new path for the camera wiring:
Trimmed the loom back enough to allow the wire to be routed through the fabric sleeve w/ the factory wires:
I cut the original wire ties and was able to push a new zip-tie through the hole, which allowed me to secure the wiring back to the original locations:
Added a layer of marine heat shrink to secure the connection and tucked the wiring behind the carpet for the next phase.
All that's left is to route the wire to the dash, connect power & ground connections at the taillight harness, & plug it into the radio. I already flashed the radio to activate the camera.
JSCAN license - $20 (in app)
iCar Pro OBDII scanner $32 (Amazon)
Rear camera w/ bracket - $54 (eBay)
3rd brake light (inside spare) - $22 (eBay)
All-in for under $130 doesn't seem bad when you look at the price many of the cameras & brake lights are being sold for.
I had asked previously if others just pushed the wire through the vent flap behind the spare, or if they poked it through the brake light grommet, but when I took a closer look, I found this:
I drilled and cut a hole into the plug and created a new path for the camera wiring:
Trimmed the loom back enough to allow the wire to be routed through the fabric sleeve w/ the factory wires:
I cut the original wire ties and was able to push a new zip-tie through the hole, which allowed me to secure the wiring back to the original locations:
Added a layer of marine heat shrink to secure the connection and tucked the wiring behind the carpet for the next phase.
All that's left is to route the wire to the dash, connect power & ground connections at the taillight harness, & plug it into the radio. I already flashed the radio to activate the camera.
JSCAN license - $20 (in app)
iCar Pro OBDII scanner $32 (Amazon)
Rear camera w/ bracket - $54 (eBay)
3rd brake light (inside spare) - $22 (eBay)
All-in for under $130 doesn't seem bad when you look at the price many of the cameras & brake lights are being sold for.