Meet Rex Part 2

The wheel base was stretched to 121" given better departure and approach.

It's Armored all around. TnT made full rear fenders for me, and we used Poison Spiders fenders in the front.

PSC's

These aluminum sliders are tough and give good protection.

The tie rod and drag link are parallel. No bump steer even though I run 43"s

I have king bump stops in front, JKS ACOS in the rear. They help make for soft landings.

 

The wheel base was stretched to 121" given better departure and approach.

I love this pic! I haven't seen to many stretched JK 4 doors.


That is one nice rig bud. That's a JKO of the Month for sure!

 

I'm speechless! That is one of the badest setups I've ever seen! An I don't mean just the suspension setup..the paint job is sweet the bumper setup is all out! Those sliders look down right burly! sick rig man!

 

Rex Part 3

This Aluminum belly armor is really good. Light weight, good protection. I've had Rex completely high centered and the armor held.

High centered. I broke a front drive shaft u-joint. Easiest way to turn around on the tight trail was to spin Rex on the rock using the belly armor.

TnT designed and built a full cage for me. Notice they made nice speaker mounts, and LED dome lights.

 

Rex Part 4

more on the cage:

This is a trunk, shelf, and tie down.

I have 43" Super Swamper TSI/SX's on Trail Ready 20" Beadlocks.

Rex runs Dynatrac Dana 60s, Full Floats. Competition upgrades to brakes and shafts.

http://s827.photobucket.com/albums/...t.com/albums/zz195/LeftHandRubi/rock junction/?action=view&current=DSC01510.jpg

To air up, Rex has a Warn 20CFM compressor.

Rex has removable B pillars. A TnT innovation. When it is cold out I like to out the hard top and doors back on.

Rerouted brake and sensor lines. Can't have them getting hung up.

Trim and Gusset on the frame for steering clearance for the 43's.

 

To air up, Rex has a Warn 20CFM compressor.

Thats the VTC right? How do you like it? Are you running it with an additional tank? Is it 100% duty cycle?

I think this is the compressor I am going to get.

Thanks

 

Meet Rex Part 6

Inside are 4 Black Leather Corbeau Off Road seats. All with Harnesses.

The Swaylok sway bar works really well. With just a flip of the lever it unlocks. Super simple. TnT mounted it way up out the way of the tires. (I'll find a better pic later)

Rex is powered by a 5.7 L Hemi, with an AEV kit, a Jeep speed systems radiator, BOR programming, and 6.1 injectors. I had heat issues that I think are fixed. Also there is an Atlas 5:1 t-case in there.

For those wondering, Rex weighs right around 6000lbs.

 

See Rex on "Die Trying" in Montrose

Finally it wheels. Check out this video:

http://youtu.be/1fch7j6K_EQ

Overall I like Rex a whole lot. It drives 75-85 no problem off road or on. Very stable. Very smooth. Also crawls. TnT did a great job for me.

We have just a few more tweaks and Rex will be "done".

 

pretty cool!

 

Bad Ass Rig You Got There !

 

Nice build!

 

Nice.... those rear fenders and rear bumper tuck are awesome...and the removable B-Pillars make the 4Dr look the way it should with the top off.. That IS Innovation !!

Congrats on a sweet ride, although not a big fan of the color combo !!

 

Great write-up Pat! I looked at your Jeep for an hour @ EJS and still missed some things!

 

TnT did a really good job. With these big tires and stuff it is no longer breaking like it did with other suspensions.

Wow! This is probably the most thouroughly built, ingeniously thought out JK build I've ever seen! Absolutely awesome build!
WE NEED TO WHEEL TOGETHER!

Nice.... those rear fenders and rear bumper tuck are awesome...and the removable B-Pillars make the 4Dr look the way it should with the top off.. That IS Innovation !!

Thanks. It is Bob at TnT who is the genius.

Congrats on a sweet ride, although not a big fan of the color combo !!

Agreed. i know there packer sticker somewhere on Rex. I'm a vikings fan. Had to have some purple.

Nice build!

Bad Ass Rig You Got There !

pretty cool!

I'm speechless! That is one of the badest setups I've ever seen! An I don't mean just the suspension setup..the paint job is sweet the bumper setup is all out! Those sliders look down right burly! sick rig man!

Thx guys. You meet me on a trail, I'll let you drive it. It is quite surprising how well it handles. Only to feel it is to drive it.

 

WOW!

Wow! This is probably the most thouroughly built, ingeniously thought out JK build I've ever seen! Absolutely awesome build!
WE NEED TO WHEEL TOGETHER!

 

Wow! This is probably the most thouroughly built, ingeniously thought out JK build I've ever seen! Absolutely awesome build!
WE NEED TO WHEEL TOGETHER!

We go a lot, so let's do it. I'll have Rex back in town after Jeep camp. Anything is fair game then. Same thing I said to the others, you have to drive it to believe it.

 

This thing is unreal!

 

i saw rex at the vendors show in moab at ejs this year! definatley an amazing build buddy. ! great job

 

Thanks for sharing the pics! That is one awesome machine.

 

Killer rig! Rex has always been of particular interest to me because of your involvement with TNT Customs. I like their gear and work and they are only a few hours away. However I never knew they worked with aluminum, what custom work they offered, what they were capable of, etc.....because their web site sucks in the worst kind of way. I may have to consider some of their aluminum stuff!

Can you detail some of the weight reduction process that happened? What Rex had, what was changed to what, weight savings, etc? Lighter weight rigs are becoming of much greater interest to me as of late.

 

Can you detail some of the weight reduction process that happened? What Rex had, what was changed to what, weight savings, etc? Lighter weight rigs are becoming of much greater interest to me as of late.

When TnT got it, it had a broken Terraflex 6" lift with 41's (The rear control arms broke off the frame. Bob from TnT found me on the trail and told be he could build something that I can't break, then he had folk from his shop come down to Wheeler Lake trail head area and they hauled my jeep to his shop while my kids and I went wheeling with him and the folks from JKCrawlers for the weekend.), a Poison Spider front bumper, a HD Customs Switchblade (i was doing testing for Jarrett) with a 41" IROK on it, a full set of rock hard belly armor, fab four sliders, a tuffy security drawer, a full rear seat. Overall weight: about 7200 lbs empty. I was breaking stuff right and left. Also my hemi would get wicked hot running up steep grades. Also the DD ride was not good. Bump steer, sway, etc.

Along comes Bob: "Cut the weight--put it on a diet. I'll make part out of aluminum. It'll hold up." "My Y-Link front arms, and three link rear arms solve the fundamental problem of binding that four links have...it's drive better and wont bind on itself causing structural failures" "You rig is stupid tall, got to lower it"

So, he started on it. They have been making it "Pat-proof". I only kinda laugh. As I said at the beginning of this thread I had three goals: a) Must drive well on highways both too and from trails and around town---yes even with big tires, b) Must be able to crawl extreme trails without breaking (because I drive back home), and c) I want to be able to drive really fast on offroad trails (like desert racing).

Notice how clean the underside is? Very little hanging down below the skids and axles. Minimizes hangups. The sliders are about an inch wider than the Fab Fours. This is useful because a 121" wheelbase is kind of long (but great for approach, departure, and big ledges).

So, Rex is what I get back. Goals accomplished. Total weight 6000lbs. Drives better, rides better, crawls better. Last week were were out with buggies. They trailered it back to Grand Junction after hitting Rangely. I drove the 90+ miles after wheeling right there with them. I am totally impressed with the aluminum. Bob's a friggin genius. I can't help but be pleased.

 

Just plain awesome rig!!!

 

Nice....I'm absolutely convinced at this point that going as lightweight as possible is the only way to roll. I removed about 400 pounds from my 2-dr and the difference is pretty remarkable. I can only imagine 1200 pounds!

I'll have to keep those guys in mind in the future. Sounds like good chit.

Wheeler Lake did ya in, eh? Good thing you weren't trying to climb Cleveland Rock or something, it woulda been a bitch to get you out of there. There is something about Wheeler though....something stupid breaks every time I go there. For me last time, I broke a Poly shock. I'm kinda surprised I haven't twisted off a rear UCA mount yet myself.

 

That thing is a monster!! Nice vid as well. You must be proud of that rig, crazy work by TnT

 

Thanks for finally sharing rex with us. I keep catching glimpses of it here and there in other threads but was anxiously waiting to get some more in depth detail about the build specs. rex is absolutely killer, I think it takes the cake for my favorite 4 door on this site.

 

Fuckin built rig man!

 

That thing is sweet. I have no idea why the yellow cage looks cool with the rescue green, but it does for some reason. Its kinda mardi gras colors, yellow, purple, and green. Very cool.

 

I've been wondering about this rig since the Prichet Canyon pictures of EJS.

that b-pillar design is ingenious

 

Shit. I need whatever job you got man

Sick, sick, sick JK

 

Thanks all.

Few other things in response to questions:

That is a TMD hood
The gears are Superior 5.13's
The t-case is an Atlas 2 speed 5:1