Ollie's "BugEater" Build (1 Viewer)

[FJ-Ollie]

Been wanting to post my build here for awhile. Finally getting around to it...

First of all... Where did "BugEater" come from? Well, I'm a Cornhusker (Huskers now) at heart. Back in the early 1900's the Nebraska football team's name was actually the BugEaters. So there you have it. The "BugEater" is set-up for emergency response and recovery on a daily basis. It converts to expedition mode in a few hours time. It likes to play rough occasionally too. I bought it 3 months after they released the FJ-Cruiser. I bought it fully loaded minus the roof rack. I perform all my own work on my rig except for front end alignments.

Just a baby with 200 miles on it...

Here's as she sets today...

Here's a shot of me in front of it. A few of us were featured on Land Cruiser magazine. I got this shot on the day of the photo shoot.

SUSPENSION & DRIVE TRAIN:

ProComp Xtreme Mud Terrains (305/70/17's) on PrComp Wheels

Icon Racing Front Coilovers

OME Heavy Coils in the Rear with Sway-A-Way Racerunner Shocks

Factory Rear Electric locker

Active Traction Control (A-TRAC) - Factory

A-TRAC Hack (Allows use of A-TRAC and Rear Diff Lock at the same time on older FJC's)

VSC Disable Mod

Rear Locker Anytime Mod


ARMOR:

ARB Front Winch Bumper w/Warn CE XD-9000 Winch

Warn Rear Bumper

OEM Rock Rails

All-Pro Skid Plates (Front, Transmission, Transfer Case, and Rear Diff)

Self fabricated rear control arm forward mount armor.

Self fabricated rear control arm armor. (Encase factory control arms in 304 SS tubing.)


Communications:

Kenwood TM-D710 Dual Transceiver Radio w/APRS (GMRS/FRS Capable)

Yaesu FT-857D Multi-Band (2M to 80M) HF Tranceiver w/ATAS-120 Screwdriver Antenna (GMRS/FRS and 11M Capable)

Uniden CB w/Firefly antenna on a Bandi mount

SPOT Messenger


NAVIGATION:

Garmin GPSMap 478 Chartplotter

Garmin GPSMap 60Cx

APRS linked with GPSMap 478 Chartplotter

HP Pavillion Laptop (on RAM Mount) linked with GPSMap 478 Chartplotter for running Delorme 6.0, TOPO 4.0, and Google Earth (when available).


ILLUMINATION

(4 ea) PIAA 510's facing forward on roof rack.

(2 ea) PIAA HID RS800 9-Inch Shock Lamps on Front Bumper

Hella Fog Light on each side of roof rack for side illumination.

(2 ea) Rear facing Hella fog lights for rear illumination.

(6 ea) Peanut lights on undercarriage for rock lights.

Red LED inside dome light conversion for night vision protection.

Hi/Lo HID headlight conversion.


MISCELLANEOUS:

Twin VIAIR 480 Compressor System w/2 Gallon Air Tank

Dirty Parts Dual Battery System

Odyssey PC-1700 MJT Primary Battery

Dual Optima Yellow-Top Batteries for additional juice.

50 Quart ARB Frig-Freeze

10 lb Self Made CO2 System

ARB X-Jack

Molly Rear Cargo Barrier w/Gun Rack

7 Trumpet Train Horn and Alarm System

Blue Sea Lighting Control System controlling all exterior lighting.

ARB Safari Snorkel

Scan-GuageII Engine Monitoring Computer

Oil-less MAF Engine Air Intake Filter

Internal On-Dash Video Camera Mount for awesome action footage.

Self-Fabricated Gear Storage Box (POW-MIA)

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Some Action Shots

 

[FJ-Ollie]

O&B Fab Light Bar w/PIAA 520 ATP Lights (4ea) - PIAA 580 Fogs on Bumper:

Side View Lights (Hella 75 Fogs):

Rear Facing Lights (Hella 75 Fogs & PIAA LED Inclimate Weather Light):

Yaesu FT-8800R Dual Band (2M - 70cm) & Dual Transceiver Mobile Amateur Radio:

Yaesu FT-857D HF/VHF/UHF Transceiver w/ATAS-120A Antenna:

Odyssey 1700 Primary Battery (Primary battery is nly for starting and my ham radios. All my other accessories are wired to my secondary battery.):

Dirty Parts Dual Battery System (I will be upgrading the Optima to an Odyssey 1500 shortly. Need to fab a battery box.):

Spare Fuse Boxes (Convert to Breaker Boxes):

Relay Panel:

The Firewall:

DVD Player:

12V Aux Plug Switches (Dash, Center Console, and Cargo Area) - The one above the dimmer supplies power to the lighting switchgear.:

Additonal 12V Aux Plugs:
DASH:

CENTER CONSOLE:

CARGO AREA:

Accessory Switches (GPSMap 498, DVD Player, etc.)

Lighting Switch Gear (Each switch has a built in fuse):

Master Arm Switches (Horn, Compressor, and Winch):
Note: The FJ horn works in normal mode with the master switch off. When I arm the master switch the FJ horn triggers both the air horns and the regular horn.

This is a shot of Center Console:

Oznium Red LED Cabin Lighting & Underside Rock Lights:

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Donahoe (Icon) Front Coilovers:

Donahoe (Icon) Rear Shocks w/OME 896 (HD) Rear Coils (I upgraded to the HD's because my daily load out caused my rear suspention to sag 1.5" when I ran MD's):

Lucrum Bumper System (Lucrum Winch Mount and BWE"s):

Hankook DynaPro MT/RT03 285/70/17's:

OEM Rock Rails (First mod to the "BugEater"):

O&B Fab Lower Control Arm Bracket Armor & O&B Fab Reinforced Factory Lower Control Arms:

All-Pro Front Skid Plate:

All-Pro Tranny Skid:

O&B Fab Swaybar Collars:

Safari Snorkel:

ExtremeAire Onboard Compressor System (Includes 2 Gallon Air Tank):

10lb CO2 System & Fire Extinguisher:

Cargo Barrier:

Cargo Box (Fits all my daily gear and keeps it from sliding around.):

Air Horn Set-Up (7 Trumpets Total):
Note: If I arm them before getting setting the alarm, they will go off with the alarm system.

Eclipse Sun Shades:
CLOSED:

OPEN (Attach to Window):

I bought a stock roof rack until I can fab my own. I made this expanded aluminum grid for it.:

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Ramsey Patriot 9500 Winch w/Synthetic Line:

Door Installed Lifehammers (I got this idea from cruiserlarry):

Installed Fiskars Axe and Sharpener on Rear Cargo Door:

Industrial EMT Med Kit:

Daily Emergency Load Out (All this gear fits in my cargo box/area):

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Some progression pictures after I added the ProComp Wheels.

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Here's some progression shots of my wiring projuect when I did the wiring. What a PITA.

Here's some pics of the relay panel, wiring mess, and reinforcement bar.

I also hardwired my Diamond K9000 Mount while I was at it. Here's where I installed the switch.

 

[FJ-Ollie]

More progression pics...

I was stowing my new ARB Freezer Fridge in my back seat because I had no room for it in the cargo area. I finally dirched the huge Contico box I had in the cargo area and created a home for the fridge back there. Tonight I fabricated a new cargo box for the open space so I had a place to stow my gear. One of the prblems with cargo boxes is access. If it is a top loader you have take everything off the top to get inside. If it is a side loader it can be a pain to stash everything in the box and utilize all the space. So I made a combination of the two.

Side View

Front View before adding memorial.

Installed next to the fridge.

Memorial added.

All packed up.

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Here's another build progression step...

Here I added new bumpers, The cargo area has been completely redone to accomodate my new ARB fridge, new HD rear coils w/ Race Runner shocks, new LED tail lights with Manik guards, new dualband Kenwood TM-D710 to accomodate APRS, APRS from Kenwood tied to GPSMap 478 and Panasonic Toughbook laptop computer, new Clarion head unit, and new M-Pack cargo barriers with added gun rack.

 

[FJ-Ollie]

I originally installed an Extreme Outback Extremaire compressor in my rig. It was a great compressor. I had it installed in my cargo area inside my truck though. It is a loud compressor and I got tired of hearing it running in my truck when charging my tanks. Additionally, I had it installed on top of my subwoofer and when I changed my stereo to an aftermarket one the subwoofer was made ineffective. The dead woofer was taking space which could be better utilized for more economic gear storage. I started doing research but couldn't find a smaller compressor that could perform as well as my Extremaire. I finally came to a solution when I installed the ARB bumper. I ended up buying a Viair 480C Twin-Pack compressor system. The ARB has enough space in each bumper wing to mount a compressor. I just had to come up with a way to get the intakes up out of the wheel well area due to water crossings.
I installed the compressor in each wing and put a QD from each compressor through the top of the bumper so a have a connection source on each side of the truck. I then ran a 3/8" rubber line down each frame rail back to my 2 gallon air tank to feed my air horns and effectively tie the two compressors together so they air volume to each QD feeds off the cumulitive output of them both. I also valved them so if one fails or if I develop a leak in either side I can run off of one side independently sacrificing half the air volume due to the loss of one compressor. I can live with that in a pinch. I will just have to wait longer to fill a tire.

I have also installed the Warn Wireless Winch remote system as well.

Here's the images of the installed system (sorry I didn't get a chance to clean the truck )...

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Got tired of my sliders in my OEM roof rack and decided to make my own platform. Items used, 1/2" dia all-thread, Nylock nuts and fender washers, 3/8" air hose, 1/8" SS expanded metal, and 1/2" conduit clamps. Will paint the outer nuts black when I get the time.

 

[FJ-Ollie]

I have had a RAM laptop mount in my rig for a few years now. I started out with a Panasonic Toughbook then migrated to an HP Pavilion dv3 laptop. The laptop mount tray for the RAM mount is bulky and cumbersome. The mount sets over the passenger seat so it is a pain to have passengers on board when you picot the setup over the center console you are banging your hand around on the bottom of it. If you raise it high enough for everything to clear underneath then the laptop blocks the drivers view out the passenger side windshield when the laptop is open. Additionally, when the laptop is clamped up in the RAM tray, the clamps block a lot of the plugs and disc drive access on the HP computer since everything is on the sides of the new computers.

Well, I fabricated a solution yesterday. I got my hands on a 1/4" thick piece of 12" x 12" fiberply board (fiberglass) and cut it down to 7" x 10". I removed the mounting ball from the bulky RAM mount tray and found a good location on the fiber board and marked the hole positions for the mount ball mounting holes. I drilled the holes and counter sunk the top side of the holes so the srewheads would be fluch. I then attached the mount ball to the board and layered the entire top of the board with the loop-side velcro. I layer the bottom side of my laptop, ensuring not to cover any vent holes, with hook-side velco.

I now have a super strong holding lower profile laptop mount. I can get to everything on the sides of my laptop, It holds tighter than the RAM Mount tray, and I can now have passengers in my truck without much issue at all. If the velcro gets weak I will switch to dual lock tape. However, if I have to go that route I'm worried about not being able to remove my laptop.

Old Laptop Mount Setup

Lap Top Mount - Old.jpg (85.78 KiB) Viewed 6 times



New Laptop Mount Setup

Laptop Mount Open.jpg (91.22 KiB) Viewed 6 times

Laptop Mount Lid Closed.jpg (79.73 KiB) Viewed 6 times

Laptop Mount Pad.jpg (80.82 KiB) Viewed 6 times

 

[FJ-Ollie]

And here's how it looks as of January 2011 if you see it rolling around SoCal.

 

[swampthing]

Wow dude - that's a lot!

I like the mesh floor in the OEM rack...way more practical and sturdy now that you put the supports in there as well!

I've contemplated ditching mine for an ARB or similar to provide more function - I'll have to investigate doing the same as you!

As far as your cross support - what is it? Some sort of pipe inside of air hose? Did I read that right?

 

[thestunts]

Ive got a FZJ80, but fancy looking around as a few friends have FJCs ... but that eclipse sunshade is awesome ! I'm totally getting one now.

P.S. Your rig is awesome man !

 

[holmanm]

I thought I had a extravagant interior setup, but I bow to the master.
Awesome rig.

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Wow dude - that's a lot!

As far as your cross support - what is it? Some sort of pipe inside of air hose? Did I read that right?

I used 1/2" all-thread rod. Then I split an air hose and put thart around the rod. It's holding pretty well. It's not as strong as a Gobi or ARB but it works for now.

Ive got a FZJ80, but fancy looking around as a few friends have FJCs ... but that eclipse sunshade is awesome ! I'm totally getting one now.

P.S. Your rig is awesome man !

Thanks. I got the Sunshades through Larry Bernstein at Dirty Parts.

I thought I had a extravagant interior setup, but I bow to the master.
Awesome rig.

Thanks. I like yours too. Nice setup.

 

[1337Rig]

Do you have a can opener in there?

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Do you have a can opener in there?

Nope... I keep a John Wayne on my key chain.

 

[FJ-Ollie]

Do you have a can opener in there?

Nope... I carry a John Wayne on my key chain.