New Light Bar

First off, let me apologize for having neglected this for so long. I have been a little busy lately with school, work, and getting married. Although getting married was well worth the neglect.

Despite all of this lack in time, i have found a little time for a project I've been planning out in my head for a few years now. It was a simple project, but for whatever reason i kept putting it off. All in all, what i wanted so badly to do was to weld a bracket on to my existing bumper (The Decapitator) and hook up some off-road lights on the front of Manti.

I will post pictures soon, but let me tell you how the project went. All it took for materials was a 3-foot piece of 1/2" angle iron, some sand paper, and a can of spray paint. The tools required were a good welder, a small grinder, a drill, and a small circular saw.

All i did was measure how high up on the bumper i wanted to put my bracket. From there, I cut my angle iron at the short (4") length i wanted, cutting the sides at a 45-degree angle. After welding those initial pieces to my bumper, i measured the space between them, and cut my back piece. From there all i had to do was grind down my welds a bit, drill my holes where i wanted my lights to mount, sand the entire bumper, and then paint it.

It was a very simple project, and I'm not sure why it took me so long to do it, but I'm extremely happy with the results. I'm one step closer to Moab next April!

Tires???

One very difficult decision when building a Jeep, are what tires to use. On my '97 TJ, until recently, this has been an ever changing look. I started with my stock 28" street tires, and actually was able to handle those for quite a while. I guess it was me being naive, but for my quick "gravel road"/"construction zone" Jeep trips those little tires did the trick.

I began really wheeling in the Tillamook State Forest about an hour west of Portland Oregon. It only took a couple of trips out there, and a trip to the Oregon dunes, to realize how weak and useless those 28" street tires really were.

I will go into greater detail about the build in the future, but long story short a 4.5" lift was on the books. I began with 33" x 10.5" x 15" BF Goodrich all-terrains. These tires were a perfect mix of low road noise, great snow traction, and good traction in the mud. In fact, I recommend BFG all-terrains to anyone who wants an off road tire, but doesn't actually go off road very often.

Since then I have used and had friends and family use many tires, and here are my opinions. After using the Goodyear MT/R, I found the tire to have moderate road noise, fast road wear, and to be pretty expensive. All in all i was not super impressed. Another popular tire that I have been around for a while is the Toyo Open Country M/T. This tire has more road noise that the Goodyear, but wears less and is a little easier on the pocketbook. I have also been around boggers and other less expensive tires, but those tend to wear fast and have a lot of road noise. The cheaper tires all tend to have the same quality. The last set of tires i would like to talk about are the tires i have remained with and unless there are any amazing new developments, i will continue to buy. These are the BF Goodrich Mud Terrains. Due to the low road wear, moderate road noise, and low price, I have found them to be the one of the best tires out there...especially for the price.

My BFG Mud Terrains have been under my '97 TJ for 5 years now, and have at least a year or two left in them. My next set will be a little larger, but will be the new design. I'll let you know of my thoughts on those after i get a fair chance to test them.

How We Got Here

After 7 years of using, abusing, and building my '97 TJ, my goals are finally in sight. I am going to begin my build reports with those that I have done in the past. There has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears poured into this project. Go ahead and ask any questions about any build or project. I have made my mistakes...now you won't have to!

From The Begining!