The building of the beaver

Black Beaver

New member
So I figure it's time. I started out with a 2004 tj, and I loved it.
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I bought it all moded out and that always kinda bugged me, but I still drove it for about a year and a half. But after a while I wanted something newer with more cargo room for long trips, and something I can personalize myself. So I traded it in in April 2014. After wait for it... 10 hours of negotiations with the dealer I walked out with a brand new 2014 jku sport.
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Doesn't look like much when I first bought it. And after taking it wheelin one time with those puny tires I popped two of them. So I had to upgrade. First mod was a set of Copper ATP 265/70/17, on Pro Comp series 7005 wheels.
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I wanted to wait and save up for wheels, tires, and lift at the same time, but I kinda needed new ones since it's a daily driver too.
After getting caught in the dark on a fishing trip in the Uintah mountain range I knew I needed a lighting upgrade. So I bought some KC cube lights. I have always had good luck with KC.
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It didn't take long till I wanted a little more lift out of it so I got some money for Christmas and I bought a Teraflex leveling kit. Just for a little extra ground clearance. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1440106699.241549.jpg
In April of 2015 I started making preparations for a Moab trip. So I bought some quick discos and an ARB high output air compressor. So I can air up after I hit the trails. And when I get money for lockers I will already have the compressor for them.
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Then came the much waited trip for Moab. It was a great trip. I'm going to try and make it a yearly birthday thing now. Seeing as I'm only 3 hours away.
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Let my friend drive on Fins N' Things. It was his first time ever driving off road. Besides fire roads. I felt bad I was having all the fun.
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The only downside to that trip was on Top of the World trail. Kinda got high centered and ripped off my air dam. Haha that was fun.
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Well I needed more clearance now, but didn't have they money yet. On my way back from Moab I had a lot of good flutter on the highways. Especially when a semi was coming the other way. So I upgraded my hood latches to the Rugged Ridge aluminum hoot latch. No hood flutter any more, and looks better. I did some interior lighting as well from Northridge.
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Love the LEDs on the inside.
 
When Northridge was having there sale on Rock Kralwer stuff I went for it and bought the stock mod kit with crown extended brake lines. I thought it would look goofy with my small tires but I don't think it looks too bad.
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Well this is how she sits as of right now. I can't decide what I want next. Either skids, tires, or bumpers.
 
Thanks guys

Nice rig and looks like a fun trip! With the little more height id go for a bit bigger tires!
That's what I was thinking about, either Toyo RT's or Hankook Dynapro Mt. But I have a hard time getting rid of the tires because they only have roughly 16,000 miles on them. But I will admit. I do some some 35s in the near future.
Jeep looks great!  it looks like it's screaming for bumpers.
It really does scream bumpers. Haha, but I can't decide on what ones I want. There are so many good looking and functional ones to choose from.
 
I love my LOD bumpers! They are made here in the U.S. in Indiana and seem really beefy without being ridiculously heavy.
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It was so tough trying to decide on bumpers. I'm really happy with these.
 
I love my LOD bumpers! They are made here in the U.S. in Indiana and seem really beefy without being ridiculously heavy.
It was so tough trying to decide on bumpers. I'm really happy with these.

I really do love the look of LOD bumpers. There are on the list of bumpers that I have been looking at.
Here is my list of what bumpers I'm thinking about:

LOD sig series mid width.
LOD armor lite stubby.
Expedition one core series.
JCR crusader mid width.
Poison Spyder brawler lite/plate gussets.
Poison Spyder brawler mid.
Or just trim the front bumper.
 
That's a nice list. One of the final deciding factors for my rear bumper was the tail-gate linked swing gate. I can't stand the cheesy looking latches on most of the swing-gate style bumpers. The door-linked option is good for ease-of-use, looks super-clean, and you'll never drive off forgetting about the open swing-gate that is now dangling over in the lane next to you. Good luck with your decision. It's a tough one for sure!
 
That's a nice list. One of the final deciding factors for my rear bumper was the tail-gate linked swing gate. I can't stand the cheesy looking latches on most of the swing-gate style bumpers. The door-linked option is good for ease-of-use, looks super-clean, and you'll never drive off forgetting about the open swing-gate that is now dangling over in the lane next to you. Good luck with your decision. It's a tough one for sure!

I can see where door links would be nice. I lift my swing out tire carrier open a few times and drove off. But I want to mount roto paxs to it and I don't think door links allow for that. It's still a toss up.
 
I came home from work to see these. I decided to do skins and sliders before bumpers. Haven't decided if I want to paint them now. Or wait till the weather gets warmer.
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Yeah I would do skids cause who cares if you hit your under carriage it won't damage anything with skids thus what I'm wanting to save up for. I did a lot of damage with no skids out in calico. Aha it's a wise choice. Can't wait to see up dates on your rig! And how did you make your own build page? I'm wanting to do one also.
 
Yeah I would do skids cause who cares if you hit your under carriage it won't damage anything with skids thus what I'm wanting to save up for. I did a lot of damage with no skids out in calico. Aha it's a wise choice. Can't wait to see up dates on your rig! And how did you make your own build page? I'm wanting to do one also.

You know what skids you're getting? I just started a new thread/topic in the jeep build forms page. If that makes sense.
 
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