Pelican Pouch
Are you running out of storage space inside of your truck? If the answer is yes, take a look at Pelican's 1020 Micro Case. Designed to be water resistant, crushproof, and dustproof, it's a great storage pod for the off-roader who needs a safe place to store small valuables like a phone or an iPod. Information: Pelican Products, www.pelican.com
Inner Led
Brighten up the inside of your cab with an Accent Light Module from Super Bright LEDs. Using four small LED lights fitted in a condensed package, the module tucks neatly out of the way and produces an impressive amount of light for its size. Information: Super Bright LEDs, www.superbrightleds.com
Tiny Mirror
We love driving with the doors off, but hate losing our mirrors. At $1.99 a tiny stick-on mirror is about the cheapest, most worthwhile safety and visibility upgrade we can think of. Available at most auto parts stores. Switching lanes just got a bit easier.
That's Nuts
A bolt with a stripped head can test the patience of even the calmest individual, but defeat you it will not! For if you have access to a welder and a couple of sacrificial nuts, you can get that stubborn bolt right out. Weld the nuts directly to the stripped bolt head. This trick will save you from hours of fighting with vise grips.
Light Bright
We've all seen the cheap, $15 lights at Wal-Mart and auto houses. Generally we advise staying away from the little import-style lights, but we've found them to be incredibly useful as rock lights. Their tiny packaging allows you to tuck them in low, protected places while still getting full use of the light.
Drive Slug
Get rid of your selectable hubs the cheap way! Using a steel plate cut down and drilled to the appropriate diameter and mounting surface, and weld a differential side gear to it to create your own at-home drive slug. This tip is intended for the external-style Dana 60 or Dana 44 axle and requires some fabrication skill.
Limit Strap
Ratchet straps are extremely useful for everywhere from the trail to your garage. Attaching to the frame at one end and the axle at the other, the ratchet strap unloads your vehicle's suspension and allows you to work safely. And if you are in a pinch and haven't got the funds for a set of performance limiting straps, the ratchets are a cheap and easy temporary solution.
Adaptive Wheeling
Whether you're trying to get those old CJ wheels to bolt onto your new Jeep or you're giving those factory rims a little more offset, Spidertrax has you covered. Spidertrax offers a full line of wheel adapters and spacers that will keep you from spending big bucks on new wheels. Always remember when running wheel spacers or adapters to use Lock-Tight, and be certain to tighten and retorque everything as instructed. Information: Spidertrax, 800.286.0898, www.spidertrax.com
Country Cover
Keep your ride's factory differential covers protected in style with Rough Country's bolt-on differential guards. An easy driveway install, the Dana 30, 35, and 44 axle covers mount in less than 30 minutes and even come with new Grade 8 hardware and the proper torque specifications. Costing you less than what you likely pay for your monthly cell phone bill, this is a cheap investment that will be paying for itself for years to come. Information: Rough Country, 800.222.7023, www.roughcountry.com
Lock Weld
If you're equipped with a welder, a can of brake clean, and a couple free hours, then you have a practically free locker sitting in your garage. Welding your truck's spider gears inside the differential is an old-school, low-buck way to upgrade your traction aids while spending hardly any dough. Though we don't suggest this for the daily driver, it's a great way to give that old farm truck or beater rig an advantage off road.
Shock Mover
One of the most common issues when lifting a '97-'06 Jeep Wrangler TJ is that the rear shocks become too close to the lower coil bucket once the lift is installed. The simple fix is a set of shock mount relocaters from TeraFlex. The brackets bolt in place and position the shocks farther back, thus preventing the shock's body or shaft from making contact with the bucket. And at 38 bucks, they're leagues cheaper than constantly replacing damaged shocks. Information: TeraFlex, 801.288.2585, www.teraflex.biz
XJ CV
The '84-'01 Jeep Cherokee XJ is one of the most affordable and competent wheeling platforms. When you're ready to convert the rear transfer case output from a slip-yoke to a fixed yoke CV mount, we have a driveline tip that should save you a fair amount of cash. Using a stock front CV driveshaft from an XJ, you can simply take the new rear driveshaft measurement down to your local driveline shop and get the stock front shaft lengthened. Since it's already equipped with a 1310 CV and a slip shaft, you'll only spend a little bit of change to get it extended. Junkyards, forums, or used Jeep parts houses are all great places to search.
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