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Another Scrambler Purchase/Road Trip - UPDATE- BODY ON FRAME AGAIN

Better late then never, the Advance adapter pilot bushing showed up yesterday. It will go into my ever expanding pilot bushing stash LOL:

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I changed out my power steering pump yesterday, not too exciting:

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The pump that was in use was one I rebuilt myself 10 years ago. It was starting to get noisy, the fluid was getting dark fairly quickly, too. The bearings had a bit of play, not too bad, but not great. The magnet inside the pump had some stuff on it, but no big particles or anything alarming.

New pump works great, no leaks so far.

I was thinking that a bad PS pump bearing might have contributed to the water pump failure, but the old pump spun free, no sticking or hard spots. Anyway, cheap insurance, easier to change this out in the garage vs the side of the road!!!

I also checked the alternator by removing its belt. It still spins easily/free/with minimal noise from its bearings. So, maybe the water pump just died early from no other front accessory contribution??

Drove the Scrambler to work today, since this is the first day in like 2 weeks with no rain forecast (20% chance, that is as good as it gets down here in the summer LOL). Clutch is working great, PS is good, too.

Getting closer to Sand Blast :fingerscrossed::woot::wave:
 
Lets see, in the last month:

1) Changed water pump at NAPA in northern VA on the way back home from PA
2) New flywheel, pilot bearing (only broken part), clutch, release bearing to fix a noise
3) Changed PS pump
4) Changed alternator yesterday, noisy bearings and erratic voltage regulation
5) Went to put it back in the garage, 10 year old starter died (it has gave me a few intermittent warning signs) (love a manual transmission, pop the clutch start action!!)

Late last year, I changed every rubber hose (fuel and coolant) at 10 years due to age. So, I guess around 10 years/50,000 miles all the replacement parts start to fail :shrug:

When I put the new starter on, I will change the battery cables, they are 10 years old. I will keep them as spares, just like the starter solenoid that was 10 years old, I put a new one on yesterday :crazy:

I love fixing stuff at home, hopefully this damn thing is ready for SandBlast/MI road trip :fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:


I actually thought about buying a trailer to pull behind my Gladiator, but several problems outside my control:

1) I need a brake controller, the Mopar one is on national back order to hell freezes over (I could go aftermarket, but I like plug and play)
2) I want an aluminum trailer (weight savings), the closest new one I can find is in Missouri!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know the Gladiator is not the perfect tow rig, and I still need to weigh my red Scrambler, BUT:

1) my Gladiator has the MAX tow package (it is a Rubicon, too, so that cuts the towing down to 7,000 pounds) BUT, it is still only a V6.
2) I was looking at this trailer, it weighs 1,575 pounds:

Featherlite 3110-0017​

3) IF my red Scrambler weighs less then 5,000 pounds, should be good. Hopefully it only weighs around 4,000 pounds.

Need to weigh my red Scrambler first, fully loaded, then decide if I want to go forward. BUT, the biggest issue now: I have the money to buy and outfit a trailer and the Gladiator, BUT I can't obtain the parts/trailer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, more road trips for the red Scrambler:crazy:
 
I bet your Scrambler will weigh somewhere between 3600-3800. I weighed my setup last year before the 44/60 combo, when I was at a similar weight to you (3600). Loaded trailer weight on the trailer axles was 4800. I imagine that was placing about 800 lbs of tongue weight. This was using my 16' tandem axle utility trailer.

I like the utility trailers for CJs as they are lighter than a car hauler. Mine is 77" wide between the rails and weighs a little under 2000 lbs. The only issue I have now is width as the 44/60 is much wider than I was previously. Brennan Metcalf is a proponent of stripped down single axle Jeep trailers. His last build used a single 7K axle with "F" rated tires. Believe it ended up right around 1000 lbs. While I've always preferred a tandem, the weight and space savings of the single is worth looking at. Especially if you keep the tires fresh.
 
I have a 20' or 22' (can't remember and it's 3 hrs from me right now) Featherlite 3182 as seen in my profile pic.

Sold my JT Rubicon this past December. 18 months and 21k miles later. JT Rubicon. 37s and geared 5.13s, trailer brake kit (first was aftermarket then was able to get the factory one), programmer.

It’s an awesome JEEP that complimented my Scramblers very well but it is a mediocre truck. I towed quit a bit around the 6k range including the trailer. It did it just fine but not like a full size. Aside from my personal Jeeps and customer Jeeps, I had my Challenger, Corvette on it a few times as well as my neighbor's Satellite. Since I used it as a business truck I can honestly say I had that trailer behind the JTR at least twice a week. Sometimes I was a quick 2 hr round trip other times it was 10hrs one way.

For a year and a half I kept telling myself it was enough but in the end it wasn’t.

My honest feedback after selling a full size, buying a Gladiator, then going back full size. If you don't plan to tow that often then you'll be just fine. I towed way too much to be using a mid-size truck. That V6 would scream at me from time to time and not due to me being hard on it. I feel I used it as advertised.
 
Your scrambler likely weighs close to mine. My 5.3L is actually pretty close in weight to your 4.0. I also have the AX15, stock axles, rear cage, and on 32s. I know it's not exactly the same as your but I would bet pretty close. Mine weighed 3700 lbs with a quarter tank of gas (20 gallon tank) and without me in it. Just remember that whatever gear/additional people you add subtracts from your towing capacity.
 
sdsupilot said:
I bet your Scrambler will weigh somewhere between 3600-3800. I weighed my setup last year before the 44/60 combo, when I was at a similar weight to you (3600). Loaded trailer weight on the trailer axles was 4800. I imagine that was placing about 800 lbs of tongue weight. This was using my 16' tandem axle utility trailer.

I like the utility trailers for CJs as they are lighter than a car hauler. Mine is 77" wide between the rails and weighs a little under 2000 lbs. The only issue I have now is width as the 44/60 is much wider than I was previously. Brennan Metcalf is a proponent of stripped down single axle Jeep trailers. His last build used a single 7K axle with "F" rated tires. Believe it ended up right around 1000 lbs. While I've always preferred a tandem, the weight and space savings of the single is worth looking at. Especially if you keep the tires fresh.
Click to expand...
Besides stability the main reason I would stay away from a single axle trailer is because of the brakes. I want both axles with brakes to stop that additional 5000+ lbs and not just one. My trailer used to only have brakes on one axle before I added the second. Made a HUGE difference.
 
AdamH said:
I have a 20' or 22' (can't remember and it's 3 hrs from me right now) Featherlite 3182 as seen in my profile pic.

Sold my JT Rubicon this past December. 18 months and 21k miles later. JT Rubicon. 37s and geared 5.13s, trailer brake kit (first was aftermarket then was able to get the factory one), programmer.

It’s an awesome JEEP that complimented my Scramblers very well but it is a mediocre truck. I towed quit a bit around the 6k range including the trailer. It did it just fine but not like a full size. Aside from my personal Jeeps and customer Jeeps, I had my Challenger, Corvette on it a few times as well as my neighbor's Satellite. Since I used it as a business truck I can honestly say I had that trailer behind the JTR at least twice a week. Sometimes I was a quick 2 hr round trip other times it was 10hrs one way.

For a year and a half I kept telling myself it was enough but in the end it wasn’t.

My honest feedback after selling a full size, buying a Gladiator, then going back full size. If you don't plan to tow that often then you'll be just fine. I towed way too much to be using a mid-size truck. That V6 would scream at me from time to time and not due to me being hard on it. I feel I used it as advertised.
Click to expand...

This is my honest assessment as well.

Can it do it? YES
Will it do it as well as a full size V8 truck? NO
Every once in awhile? PROBABLY
 
Wow all that work you do on the BR rigs and he wouldn't even lend you the truck and trailer for a little road trip ? :rotfl:
 
Belizeit said:
Wow all that work you do on the BR rigs and he wouldn't even lend you the truck and trailer for a little road trip ? :rotfl:
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I think his Ford is having more issues right now then all of the Michigan bound Scramblers :eek:
 
My Scrambler weighs in at a bit over 4200 lbs. You know what’s different, so yours is probably a bit less. I’d like a Featherlite trailer too, but there’s no dealer anywhere close to me. I’m considering an Aluma (sp) trailer, I want to go to a 10k, mine is a 7k, so I can haul my tractor.
 
Loaded down, about to head to Michigan :fingerscrossed:

20210731_085442_HDR.jpg

Unfortunately, my red Scrambler is fat, the CAT Scale doesn't lie :eek:

20210731_094216.jpg

This is fully loaded down for a week of camping, full fuel tank, full big Yeti ice chest, spares, tools, everything except me.

This would put me right under the max for my Gladiator :shrug:
 
Yes, drove it across the scales at a Flying J truck stop down the road from my house. I really did not think it was this fat!!!. I'll weigh it again when I get home, unloaded, to see how much crap I am actually hauling!!!!

But:

(X5) 33" tires vs small OEM tires
Winch and winch mount
AX15 vs stock transmission
Roll cage
Heavy gas tank skid
Rock rails
Heavy rear bumper/tire carrier
Even the Warn rear axles/front hubs add weight
Bigger tie rod and drag link
Stronger steering box mount and cross over brace
Stronger shackle hangers and shackles
Better drive shafts

It will be interesting to see how much it weighs unloaded.

This could explain why I am sagging springs, even after adding an extra main leaf to each pack.
 
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spankrjs said:
This would put me right under the max for my Gladiator :shrug:
Click to expand...

If you were towing, I would assume most of the gear loaded into / onto the scrambler would be in the Gladiator. Does not change your total load, but it could change the handling dynamics. Also allows a lighter trailer. Just sayin.
 
So the factory spec is 2733 lbs appx, and actual seems to be around 3000. So you’ve got 1760 lbs of extra “stuff” in there. It’s pretty easy to get 1700 lbs added on. Don’t feel bad.
 
Even a full tank of gas in the scrambler is 122 lbs. (20 gallons). It's amazing how quickly everything adds up.
 
Randyzzz said:
So the factory spec is 2733 lbs appx, and actual seems to be around 3000. So you’ve got 1760 lbs of extra “stuff” in there. It’s pretty easy to get 1700 lbs added on. Don’t feel bad.
Click to expand...
I wonder if the factory spec was a stripped scrambler - base model, no top, no doors. As bare as you could order one.
 
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