It's suppose to be a bit warmer here the next couple days with temps reaching the 50's. I think most everyone is ready for Spring these days and get rid of all the sickness and cold.  Speaking of cold, we're just a few weeks away from the big Frostbite event at Kansas Rocks which is going to be a lot of fun.  I haven't been off the pavement since the Black Hills so I am itching to go. 

I'm still wanting to change my front bumper but am undecided on which one I really want.  I have looked at Poison Spyder and DV8 and am leaning toward those at the moment.  Once I decide on a bumper, I will get a new winch as well and Jodi will get my current setup.  That will leave her just needing a couple lights for her bumper. 

Speaking of lights, I don't want a standard light bar but this unit from KC Hilites has me intrigued.  I wonder how much wind noise this one produces, if any?

Another weekend goes whizzing by way too fast but at least it was a fairly productive one.  After a dinner get together on Friday night with other Jeepers, we got up early the next morning to head to Topeka.  We did a quick meetup to form a small caravan before heading West for the day.  When we arrived at the shop around 9am, we were one of the first there so we wound up bringing Jodi's Jeep in right away to get on the lift and install the sway bar disconnects.  Removal of the stock links was easy but we ran into an issue right away when installing the new setup.  The holes in the brackets attached to the axles were too small for the new hardware.  If we were doing this in my garage, it would be a trip to Harbor Freight or something to get a die grinder and a bit to enlarge the hole as there wasn't room to use the drill I had brought.  But since were were in a repair/fab shop, the owner had what we needed and I had the holes the right size in a matter of a few minutes.  The install went perfect after that and Jodi can now disconnect her sway bar to get out on the trails.

Our next project was the Yeti XD track bar install on my Jeep and after removing the Metalcloak one, we did some measuring to get the new Yeti the right length.  Once in place, we torqued it down to spec and we were finished with work that required the shop lift.

Attendance by 10:30am was pretty strong as the shop was full of people and Jeeps.  All 4 lifts were in use, 3 being used to install lift kits, including my friend Jonny who chose a Metalcloak lift.  Others were doing maintenance or smaller work on their Jeeps.

Next up for us was the installation of Jodi's "SPOD".  We had help with that and it only took about 45 minutes start to finish. Now she needs to get some lights and a winch to hook up to it.  It was lunch time so we headed down the road to grab lunch with friends.

 When we returned, a nearby dealership had brought a 2018 JLU Rubicon by to show off to the crowd.  There are things that I like and things that I don't like about it.  I think the interior refinements are some of the best features.  That said, I wouldn't update mine just to get one and I'm glad I have my model.  The diesel would be worth entertaining though.

We got back to work and I had a car audio guy help me figure out my rear view camera that wasn't working as it should.  It would only work if I went into the Rock Cam app first, which was a pain.  We wound up wiring it to a SPOD switch so I can just turn it off an on whenever I choose.

While there, many of us drooled over the custom LJ project that was in the works.  This thing is going to be awesome when finished, featuring one ton axles, 40's, 6.2 liter engine, Atlas transfer case, custom 3 link/4 link suspension, Posion Spyder cage and more.  Knowing all that I know today, I would just do a build like this versus get a new rig and dump tens of thousands into it.  This custom LJ will be about $60K when done, including the cost of the vehicle.

We wound up leaving the shop about 5pm, which was a full day of fun.  On the way home, my traction control light came on and it was then that I noticed that the steering wheel was not centered.  Sunday morning I got up and adjusted that back to center and had to drive it a bit to get the light to go off.  After that, I installed my Tuffy underseat security drawer.  That only took about a half hour to my surprise.  There is plenty of room for my Glock, extra magazines and more.  I still need to line it with some non-skid material.

We have two sales sessions tonight for model team members and another one in a couple weeks.  Jodi will be coming to St. Louis for a week to stay with her mom and help her out as she is having her other knee replaced, now that the first has had a year to heal up.  Leaving me a lone for a week is not a good idea and she knows that so I will not be fully responsible for what might take place during her absence. 

We will be heading out early tomorrow morning as we head to Topeka for the Wrench-a-thon.  It should be a fun day of lift kits, wiring and maintenance for members of the club.  We are pretty much set to go except my Tuffy underseat storage drawer didn't arrive yesterday as scheduled.  Hopefully it comes today.

Our former intern dropped in for a photo shoot recently and we got some great shots.  She can't take a bad picture.

We got some range time in yesterday and went through a few hundred rounds of .22LR in the new Rugers.  Jodi keep improving each time out.  I have her shooting at 3-4 yards working on her groupings and she now puts at least half of her shots into the center ring.

I shot my new Ruger Mark IV Hunter and it took a bit to get use to the sights.  Not sure I like the red front sight very much.  I may go to an optic or a scope of some sort.  It performed flawlessly though and after a mag or two, I was able to get some real tight groups at 5-10 yards.  I shot a few mags through my Glock 19 and I was very happy with those results. 

Today is Ladies Night at Frontier Justice so we will be going over after I get off work to shoot for free.  I will be taking my new Ruger Mark IV Hunter with me and I have Jodi's Mark IV outfitted with a compensator and a Halo charging ring.  I added some Loctite on the red dot mounting screws to keep them secure as last time they were loosening up from the recoil.

We are just a few days away from the Wrench-a-thon at 4X4 Land.  Jodi will get her SPOD and quick disconnects installed and I will be doing my Yeti XD track bar.  I may install a Tuffy underseat security drawer too.

Jodi and I spent the weekend recovering from our illnesses. She didn't seem to get as bad as I did but we both felt like we were in a fog for the majority of it.  I got some extra sleep in yesterday before getting up and trying to be productive.  After noting it was almost 60 degrees, I decided to get out the power washer and give the Jeeps both a bath since they were covered in winter grime.  I posted a pic of my efforts to Facebook which then prompted a friend to drop by who was in the area.  We had a good length visit, discussing our Colorado trip and more.

We were fortunate to find a chalet at the resort on another rental website.  It is actually nicer than the one we were hoping to get and we now have it reserved for our trip.  The girls will appreciate that it has two bathrooms instead of one.

Our Wrench-a-thon is this coming weekend and we are prepared to get some work done on both Jeeps. 

Fun times at our house right now as I came down sick this week, missing a couple days of work.  Naturally, Jodi has it now.  Looks like the next few days are going to be totally unproductive and miserable around here.  We were suppose to go out to dinner with friends tonight but that won't be happening.