AlabamaDan

Do you have the OEM part #?

So you toss 100-200 lbs of firewood on the roof rack?

For the skid plates, how strong do you think that the aluminum is vs steel? I'm sure you considered both, but I'm wondering why you chose aluminum over steel. Was it cost or strength?

I tossed the cheapo led bulbs and replaced the OEM bulbs, but it still doesn't work. What's pcb?

All I can say is wow! I would love to see more of all of that, especially what you've built in the back! What have you done with the windows? What kind of bar is that? Maybe you could post a video walking around and describing it.

So my interior lights stopped working - both map lights, the dome light and the cargo light. Interestingly the garage door opener stopped too. You may recall that I replaced one the map lights with a cheap eBay led bulb. It worked fine. Thursday I tried to replace the dome light with another led bulb. I couldn't get it to work and now nothing works. I'm assuming I blew a fuse somewhere. Any idea which one it is?

I've carried Christmas Trees, lumber, and various things on the roof with the standard bars, but I've never known what the limit is. I would love to be able to stand not he roof, but I'm too nervous to try. I really like your electrical conduit mounts. I think that's exactly the solution I've been looking for.

What is the weight limit of a rack on top of an R50.

Nice write up dude. I like mounting with the OE rails and electrical conduits for mounting.

Nice job.

Seems like we lack a consensus here. Some folks say absolutely for a slow static pull and others say light duty only. It appears no one likes the snatch recovery with them. Let me ask this question, if they are securely bolted to the unibody wouldn't that be how a big custom bumper is mounted as well? I was thinking about the unibody just being welded nuts in a tube. What if we instead drilled a hole all the way through the box, inserted a small pipe as a sleeve, and then a solid bolt all the way through? Follow me?

How is that roof rack mounted and what kind is it?

I post my pics online in photobucket and then link to them like this Can wait to see your pics.

Wow. Thanks guys. Those extended range tanks are cool, but for the money I guess I'll just toss a plastic can on the roof. I can buy a lot of those for 1k! In the XJ it's just a matter of bending the vent tube upward - takes time but little money. I haven't relocated my spare yet so I don't have the space either.

I'm sure these were for tying down the QX4 for transport, but are they suitable for recovery points? If I get stuck, could I hook a strap and D-Shackle to these for recovery and be pulled out?

Is there any way to increase the capacity of the OEM fuel tank? I know on Jeep Cherokees the tank is actually 20gal with a vent tube that limits it to 15gal. Modify that tube in the tank and many get 20+ gallons in their tank. Since our MPG is so poor, it seems like we need a larger capacity tank to extend our range between refueling.

I snagged a battery hold down at the JY. A little sanding and painting and all fixed. Much better than the bungee cord I had. lol

How were you monitoring trans temps?

Are you open to making another for a NPORA brother? ?

This definitely looks to be a big project, but nice job. I think it may exceed my mechanic skills. Great write up.

Hey y'all! I was at the JY today and they had a 1997 QX4 so I looked for some parts I was in need of. I was super excited to find it because of the easy of installing (so I thought) with brackets made to fit existing holes that are probably already in my frame. It's in the red box in the diagram below. I was surprised to find that it still goes through the radiator then into the cooler and then back to the transmission. I've heard folks that say they had issues with the radiator clogging and causing transmission failures. I have a brand new radiator. Should I keep this OEM configuration or bypass the radiator? It's in the red box in this diagram:

Thanks guys. Looks like LED is good, but I need to order some good ones.

They probably cost more than 77 cents! LOL. Are the ones you bought significantly brighter?

I went crazy the other week and ordered a bunch of LED bulbs from various Chinese eBay sellers. Hey, it was only a few dollars in total, so what's the harm. I received my first ones and the results are disappointing. Not sure if this is how all LEDs are or it is because they are cheap Chinese LEDs. Anyone have any experience with these? My first arrival was the map lights. Here is the package I received in the mail - two weeks from the order day. Here is the original OEM incandescent bulb lighting the interior. I installed one for a comparison Here is how the interior looks with the led Final opinion, it changes the lighting to a more white light, but it isn't as bright. Ironically I think I like the old ones better.

RainGoat - How's the full length roof rack coming?