24 November 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

If anybody is interested in the Moab wheels and Goodyear Wrangler MT/R tires that came with the Jeep, leave a comment.

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16 November 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

I took the Jeep back and had them replace the power steering pump.   Problem solved.  The new pump is silent.  Don’t believe a service writer if he tells you they are all noisy.

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14 October 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

Originally submitted at 4 Wheel Parts

1997-06 TJ Wrangler, Rubicon and Unlimited;Black OETexture;Easy Installation;Installs over the small coin tray above the radio;No trimming required;Attaches using two small screws;Creates usable space;Limited Lifetime Warranty
Daystar’s Dash Panels create usable storage space on applications w…

Upper Dash Storage Panel by Daystar

Great Producct

By TX OUtdoorsman from Houston, TX on 10/14/2009

4out of 5

Pros: Functional, Easy To Install, Attractive Design, Lightweight

Best Uses: Customizing The Interior

Car & Truck: Jeep enthusiast

I bought this to provide a mounting surface for the control head of my ham radio, but it would work just as well for a GPS, MP3 player or similar accessory. It has a great mounting surface on the front and let me avoid a lot of drilling on my dash. If I want to remove it, I just take it off and put the two mounting screws back in without it and it will look like they are holding in the OEM tray. It also functions well in its intended purpose as a tray to hold my handheld radios and GPS. They would slide out of the OEM tray when I hit a bump.

(legalese)

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14 October 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

Originally submitted at 4 Wheel Parts

Heavy Duty Winching Accessory Kit; Incl. Recovery Strap; Gloves; Shackle; Choker Chain; Snatch Block; Tree Trunk Protector; Camouflage Case;
HEAVY-DUTY WINCHING ACCESSORY KIT Designed for winch capacities to M12000 with 7/16″”(11mm) wire rope. Kit includes: - Heavy-duty snatch blo…

Heavy Duty Winching Accessory Kit

Good kit, good value

By TX Outdoorsman from Houston, TX on 10/14/2009

4out of 5

Best Uses: Recovery

Car & Truck: Jeep enthusiast

I thought about piecing a kit together to try to save a few bucks, but decided to buy the turn-key solution and am glad I did. When you need it, you generally don’t have a lot of time to look around for the pieces. This keeps it all neatly organized and ready to go. The tube for the chain in the bottom of the bag is a really nice feature you don’t recognize until you open it up for the first time. When headed off road, I just have one bag to grab and put in the back of the Jeep.

(legalese)

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14 October 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

Originally submitted at 4 Wheel Parts

ATV Hook And Strap; Hook With Safety Latch; Warn Logo Pull Strap;
REPLACEMENT HOOK & STRAP WARN ATV hook with safety latch. Includes hook strap.

ATV Hook And Strap

Don’t Drive Down the Highway With it On

By TX Outdoorsman from Houston, TX on 10/14/2009

2out of 5

I bought one of these straps as I recognize it is an important piece of safety gear. I put it on the winch hook to recover a stuck vehicle on the beach. When I finished, I needed to get out of a moving lane of traffic, so I left it in place. After an hour drive home on the freeway, the end was frayed. So, this was a one use item for me. They should make them a bit more fray resistant, but next time I will take it off before getting on the highway.

(legalese)

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10 October 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

One thing I noticed about the Jeep when I got it was that the power steering pump was noisy, like it was low on fluid.  I talked to the dealer about it when I took the Jeep in for its 12,000 mile service and he said that they would replace it under warranty, but that it checked out fine and that all Jeeps have noisy power steering pumps.  I put up a poll at www.Jeepforum.com and 75% of respondents said theirs don’t make noise.  A number of the ones who said theirs were noisy also said that they were going to replace theirs.  I think the bottom line is that I am going to have it replaced.  On the subject of Jeep dealers,  I can tell when a Zerk fitting has been touched and when it has not and it is clear that they did not lubricate the Jeep when it was in for service.  The service writer said that they may have missed a few because most vehicles don’t have them any more.  Excuse me, you are a Jeep dealer.  If your guys don’t know how to service Jeeps, find another line of work.  I did it myself and taught my son how to do it.  We discovered that two grease fittings were missing altogether.  A competent mechanic would have spotted that if he was doing a lube job.  I guess if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself.

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7 July 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

I have tried the OEM Wrangler MTR tires and they are noisy and too small for my lifted Jeep.  I have also tried the Toyo 35 X 12.50 X 17s that came with the Jeep and they are nice, smooth on the road and quiet, but they are big and heavy, too big and heavy in my estimation.  Most of the experts I have consulted said they are OK, but most say that 33s are the way to go on a Jeep, and most people go with 15 inch wheels.  If I keep the 35s, I run the risk of scraping the body on a hard bump on a trail.  They are also very heavy and I have a hard time lifting them by myself, especially after a long day in the 100+ degree Houston heat.  The weight also means more stress on the axles and brakes.  A few folks have said I should improve the brakes if I keep the 35s.  So, they are going.  I thought about 33s for the 16 inch OEM Moab wheels, but 16 inch tires cost so much more than the 15s that I can pay half the cost of the 15 inch wheels for the savings in tire cost.  I am thinking 10 inch wide wheels, because people I talk to say they handle better on the road, even if you cannot air them down as much on the trail as a narrower wheel.  One of my priorities is safe handling on the road, so that is the way I am going to go.  As to which tire, I have not yet decided.  I like the new Goodyear MT with Kevlar, but also recognize an AT is probably more in line with my needs and does better in sand.  Since the new Goodyears are literally a half and half, with two distinct types of tread, that seems like a good compromise.  If anybody reads this and has an opinion to share, leave it.

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17 June 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

I am finalizing plans for my trip to Florida to pick up the Jeep.  I cannot get the Texas plates before I go because in order to register the vehicle in Texas, I first have to have an emissions and safety inspection performed in Harris County and take the certificate with me to the tax office, along with the proof of insurance, necessary forms and, of course, a pot of money to pay the fees and taxes.  I am loading the maps for Florida into my GPS and think everything is set for the APRS system to track my progress on the return trip.  One thing I have learned over the past few days is that the rubber duck antenna on the handheld radio sitting on the console of the truck does not seem to get a signal to a digipeater, so I have not been able to locate myself on www.findu.com.  Tomorrow I may try to put a magnetic mount antenna on the truck and see if that helps.  The folks at 4 Wheel Parts in Houston and Orlando have been most helpful.  They are going to ship my extra tires and wheels and bumpers from their store in Orlando to their store in Houston so I do not have to buy a trailer and pull it back to get home with my extra parts. 

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11 June 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

One thing that every ham does when he gets a new vehicle is try to decide where to put the radios and antennas.  I have to figure out where I am going to put antennas on my 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon.  There are not many, if any, flat places to mount an antenna.  I have searched “Jeep Wrangler” on the EHam forum site and found that I am not the first to face this issue. There are those who recommend drilling a hole in the cowl between the windshield and the hood, and those who have looked for other places.  As in any vehicle, the compromises are asthetics, ground plane, overall height, durability and all the other factors that influence how well signals get into and out of the antenna.  One option is a ball mount on the side of the Jeep behind the door.  Downsides of this include the hole in the sheet metal, the risk of scraping it off with a branch off road and the fact that it will not have the best ground plane.  My Jeep has a Body Armor brand spare tire carrier with a flange on it for an antenna.  However, I am concerned about how well grounded this is and how high the antenna will be if it is mounted here.  Others have mentioned the use of brackets that bolt in the same holes as the tail lights and provide a flat mounting surface for antennas.  I would think these would work for V/UHF antennas, but am concerned a large screwdriver would not have sufficient support on one of these.  When crawling under the Jeep before I bought it, I noticed the posiblity of putting a bracket on the frame wehre the rear bumper bolts on and coming out the side to the rear corner of the Jeep.  This would offer grounding to the frame, a strong mount and even though it would be on the side, it would not stick out as far as the tires or wheel wells.  Being low, it would avoid getting hit on parking garages, but it would also run the risk of being underwater when fording.  I don’t think most screwdrivers are designed to go underwater.  I am also worried that mud coming off the rear tire would collect on the base of the Screwdriver.  Maybe a sealed High Q antenna is the way to go here?  My goal is to get into a 6 1/2 foot clearance garage without damaging my antennas (assuming the whip on the HF antenna is pulled over).  The top of the jeep is almost this tall, so having the top of a whip much more than this height will cause problems.  I use the Larson on my truck and I think it is 39 inches.  Maybe that is the solution for mounting on the tire carrier or one of the tail light brackets.  That brings up the question of where to mount the radios.  I will write more on this later, but the best options at this point seem to be an overhead rack between the windshield and roll bar or on the face of an aftermarket gauge mount that would go on top of the center of the dashboard. 

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9 June 2009 by Matt Woodruff.

On Monday, June 8, 2009, I signed the papers to begin the process of purchasing a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon from a seller in Florida.  My bank wired the money to his bank, now we have to get the title so that I can register it in my name.  I plan to pick it up on June 19 and drive it to Houston.  I am thinking about using APRS, an amateur radio tracking system, to document the progress of my return trip.

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