Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

Nashville TJ's Build - Continued

Rickyd said:
It would be kinda embarrassing to have the hitch toilet out in traffic too
Click to expand...

Wildman said:
I think it would be rather entertaining to have it on the traffic side... Just think of the reaction of people...
Click to expand...

Not to derail the thread - but years back I was driving a few of my buddies to the city to watch a baseball game. One of my buddies had started pre-gaming before we hit the road and needed me to pull over to bleed the lizard.

We were in stop and go traffic so I pulled onto the shoulder and we told him to pop the hood on the TJ and go near the passenger tire to relieve himself.

Instead, he ran up the embankment on the side of the road to piss against the sound barrier.... Cars were honking, people were yelling jokes at him, it was a freaking show....

With all that pressure, I had to pull off the next exit to hit a store bathroom because he couldn't go with everyone watching..... :ROFLMAO:
 
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The larger Wilton Vise was delivered today - so now it's decision time...

IMG_6366.JPG


The specs:

Smaller Vise:

Jaw Width: 5"
Throat Depth: 4.25"
Max Jaw Opening: 6.5"
Weight: 25 pounds
Cost: $170 on Amazon (bench mount not included)

Larger Vise:

Jaw Width: 6"
Throat Depth: 5"
Max Jaw Opening: 6"
Weight: 33 pounds
Cost: $255 on Amazon (bench mount included)

The competitors:

IMG_6371.JPG


Generally, the larger vise is a good bit beefier in every dimension - but obviously at a cost of 8 pounds of weight.

IMG_6370.JPG


The rear jaw on each vise is hollow, which serves as a convenient handle. As a result, both a fairly easy to move around.

IMG_6377.JPG


One thing I like about the smaller vise is that both the front and rear jaw are milled flat to form an anvil across the entire top. For some reason, the front jaw on the larger vise is not similarly milled to form a continuous anvil.

IMG_6367.JPG


As I noted above, the larger vise does come with a bench mount, where the smaller vise does not. The bench mount can be purchased separately for $43, so that accounts for a chunk of the price difference. I will not be using it, so it's a bit of a waste of money for me. I could not find the larger vise for sale without that mount.

IMG_6384.JPG


But the real decision point is this: How cool do they each look? :cool:

IMG_6386.JPG



IMG_6385.JPG


So after a bit of figerin' and ciphrin', I've decided to go with the larger vise. In terms of portability, there is not a big penalty paid in size or weight with the larger vise, but it is notably beefier. I believe that the larger vise will tolerate a bunch more abuse. Perhaps that will come in handy.

I think the new vise will live in the box on the truck. Since the vise will also work in the tow-pig's receiver hitch, I can foresee opportunity to use it when I am not pulling the trailer. But, if I'm pulling the trailer, obviously the truck is there as well.
 
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A bit more trailer maintenance today. When I pulled the wheels to weld on the receiver for the vise, I noticed that the suspension equalizers where loose and flopping around - a lot. That means only one thing - the bushings have left the chat.

So I ordered an equalizer / bushing / shackle set. Here it is:

IMG_6437.JPG


And here are the bushings I pulled - they still had quite a few miles left in them... :rolleyes:

IMG_6456.JPG


And here is the new setup:

IMG_6452.JPG


Not a bad job at all - mainly because this is not the first time I've had to do this. Last time was 2021 after a nasty Moab return trip, so these things basically lasted three years.

It's just further confirmation that I'm carrying way too much weight on this trailer. I think I will address that after Moab - definitely a solution involving slipper springs...
 
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NashvilleTJ said:
A bit more trailer maintenance today. When I pulled the wheels to weld on the receiver for the vise, I noticed that the suspension equalizers where loose and flopping around - a lot. That means only one thing - the bushings have left the chat.

So I ordered an equalizer / bushing / shackle set. Here it is:

View attachment 611100

And here are the bushings I pulled - they still had quite a few miles left in them... :rolleyes:

View attachment 611102

And here is the new setup:

View attachment 611103

Not a bad job at all - mainly because this is not the first time I've had to do this. Last time was 2021 after a nasty Moab return trip, so these things basically lasted three years.

It's just further confirmation that I'm carrying way too much weight on this trailer. I think I will address that after Moab - definitely a solution involving slipper springs...
Click to expand...

Trailer maintenance is way underrated!
 
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NashvilleTJ said:
A bit more trailer maintenance today. When I pulled the wheels to weld on the receiver for the vise, I noticed that the suspension equalizers where loose and flopping around - a lot. That means only one thing - the bushings have left the chat.

So I ordered an equalizer / bushing / shackle set. Here it is:

View attachment 611100

And here are the bushings I pulled - they still had quite a few miles left in them... :rolleyes:

View attachment 611102

And here is the new setup:

View attachment 611103

Not a bad job at all - mainly because this is not the first time I've had to do this. Last time was 2021 after a nasty Moab return trip, so these things basically lasted three years.

It's just further confirmation that I'm carrying way too much weight on this trailer. I think I will address that after Moab - definitely a solution involving slipper springs...
Click to expand...

How many miles do you estimate in those 3 years? How much weight for the combined trailer and load?

Trying to set my own expectations for a 10k trailer and 5,000 lbs rig.
 
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E-Ticket said:
How many miles do you estimate in those 3 years? How much weight for the combined trailer and load?

Trying to set my own expectations for a 10k trailer and 5,000 lbs rig.
Click to expand...

10-12k miles in those three years. With my fat-ass rig, tools and spare parts, the trailer all-in weighs 10,400. On paper it works with the 5200 pound axles - but in the real world...

Depending on how I have it set up, my rig is a bit over 6k.

I'm running six lug axles, with the heaviest duty tires I could find. But, I really need to be running an 8 lug.
 
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Well, the Moab damage report is in. Saw this after getting home. The top half of the antenna is missing.

Now I need to find another fly-swatter…

IMG_6954.jpeg


This thing is definitely a high-end GMRS antenna, but it does not deal well with the 1500 mile trip on the trailer.

Given last year’s experience, I actually pulled the thing for the trip out - should have done the same for the return trip.

I may try to find something a little more robust.
 
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NashvilleTJ said:
Well, the Moab damage report is in. Saw this after getting home. The top half of the antenna is missing.

Now I need to find another fly-swatter…

View attachment 616571

This thing is definitely a high-end GMRS antenna, but it does not deal well with the 1500 mile trip on the trailer.

Given last year’s experience, I actually pulled the thing for the trip out - should have done the same for the return trip.

I may try to find something a little more robust.
Click to expand...

Is there an easy way to lash it down and out of the way for trailering?
 
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My GMRS antenna has now failed twice - each time while on the trailer out to or back from Moab. I actually removed it for the trip out this year, but that was an unnecessary pain. I left it on for the return trip, and yeah - bye bye.

The failed antenna was a high-quality Laird unit, and at up over $100 I was not going to replace it for a second time.

IMG_6954.JPG


So I did some research looking for a heavy duty GMRS antenna - something more along the lines of the FireStick I have used in the past for the CB. Midland has recently released what they call their Bull Bar series, and after reading many good reviews I picked up their 28", 3db version with a spring. Here it is:

IMG_6968.JPG


At about $200, it's also not cheap. But I do expect it to last - and it fits my Yellow and Black color scheme perfectly! Here it is installed.

IMG_6970.JPG


I took some time to adjust the mount to make sure it lined up well with the CB antenna on the opposite side, because, well, NashvilleTJ...:rolleyes:

IMG_6971.JPG


Everything I've read about GMRS confirms that coiling the coax will not impact the SWR - and neither will shortening the coax. But rather than having an additional loop of cable under the dash, I shortened the coax and soldered on a new connector.

IMG_6973.JPG


Midland states that the Bull Bar Antennas come pre-tuned for the Midland GMRS radios, and in fact this antenna is not tunable. I don't understand this as I always thought that the SWR was at least partly dependent on the mounting location, and anything nearby on the rig.

So I threw my GMRS SWR meter on there and got a reading of 1.6. Not great, as I was able to get a much better 1.1 - 1.2 SWR with the tunable Laird. But as I understand it, anything under 2.0 is OK for GMRS, with a target of 1.5 for a 1/4 wave antenna like this one.

IMG_6974.JPG


'Course, the proof of the signal will be in the signaling, and I'll get out and test it soon.

I'd appreciate input from our radio experts out there as to whether my assumptions are correct,
 
Last edited:
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NashvilleTJ said:
My GMRS antenna has now failed twice - each time while on the trailer out to or back from Moab. I actually removed it for the trip out this year, but that was an unnecessary pain. I left it on for the return trip, and yeah - bye bye.

The failed antenna was a high-quality Laird unit, and at up over $100 I was not going to replace it for a second time.

View attachment 618122

So I did some research looking for a heavy duty GMRS antenna - something more along the lines of the FireStick I have used in the past for the CB. Midland has recently released what they call their Bull Bar series, and after reading many good reviews I picked up their 28", 3db version with a spring. Here it is:

View attachment 618110

At about $200, it's also not cheap. But I do expect it to last - and it fits my Yellow and Black color scheme perfectly! Here it is installed.

View attachment 618113

I took some time to adjust the mount to make sure it lined up well with the CB antenna on the opposite side, because, well, NashvilleTJ...:rolleyes:

View attachment 618115

Everything I've read about GMRS confirms that coiling the coax will not impact the SWR - and neither will shortening the coax. But rather than having an additional loop of cable under the dash, I shortened the coax and soldered on a new connector.

View attachment 618116

Midland states that the Bull Bar Antennas come pre-tuned for the Midland GMRS radios, and in fact this antenna is not tunable. I don't understand this as I always thought that the SWR was at least partly dependent on the mounting location, and anything nearby on the rig.

So I threw my GMRS SWR meter on there and got a reading of 1.6. Not great, as I was able to get a much better 1.1 - 1.2 SWR with the tunable Laird. But as I understand it, anything under 2.0 is OK for GMRS, with the target of 1.5 for a 1/4 wave antenna like this one.

View attachment 618118

'Course, the proof of the signal will be in the signaling, and I'll get out and test it soon.

I'd appreciate input from our radio experts out there as to whether my assumptions are correct,
Click to expand...
Looks like you are going to need a different back up for when it breaks
file_000000000dd8622f9832f2fb18455d1d.png
 
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