RUFFSTUFF Center Unibody Stiffeners / JEEP XJ

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Cherokees are like never ending projects but when you have to travel and live in one for four months with your wife it needs to be in a good operating condition. I've been building and using the Jeep as a work truck and offroad toy for the last two years and although it's pretty solid its going to need some work before we leave for Scandinavia. In this video I install some center frame stiffeners from Ruffstuff Specialties. It's a fairly big job and i'm not the best welder but its made a huge difference to the Jeep to date and it would be the first thing I would do if I bought another XJ. This video is originally and MCQBushcraft upload from my other channel but I have started this new channel and moved all the Jeep/Adventure stuff here. Thanks for watching

[@666Necropsy]

up in the rust belt, that tar based undercoating is A HUG NO GO. underneath the salt and water combine to rust it out even faster. maybe its the freezing temps up north. we cannot use that stuff with good results. seen a few horror stories.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

@@666Necropsy thats a shame. I guess the salt can brake it down then get underneath which is worse than nothing at all. There should be some kind of factory coating on all cars these days that can handle this kind of thing. Im pretty sure the technology is out there...

[@matthewzombies1458]

I wish I was near you because I really don't like those welds not to mention you didn't weld that whole flat edge under the jeep I would weld for free I love welding i'm very good with those weird angles as well kinda have to be in my work.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

@@matthewzombies1458 That's very kind of you. I revisited the welds about a year ago. Welded the whole flange on the underside of the frame. I can weld pretty good these days but back then I wasn't quite as experienced. Its been about five years and its holding good. Thanks for watching.

[@tomd1939]

This guy is great. And he sounds like he should be narrating a documentary

[@jtmoffroad]

My xj buddy introduced me to this channel. All I can say is WOW!!! I’m a jeep youtuber from the states. I can’t find a single flaw in anything you do and honestly you inspire me to do better with everything I do. Rust is a never ending battle for me. I hope I can follow what you’ve done. The ideas you’ve come up with fab work wise are really ingenious and I’m really just overall impressed with your build all together. Can’t wait to finish watching the rest of your videos! Keep up the awesome work man!! You got a new sub!

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Thanks for checking out the channel and appreciate the comments on the build! Rust is a major issue back in the UK and I must of invested more time into treatment and prevention than anything else. Hope you enjoy the future videos and thanks again!

[@jtmoffroad]

Workshop & Wilderness Adventures i believe it but at least it looks like it pays off! I’ve had to patch my yjs frame multiple times due to rust. You’ll have to check my channel out. I’ve got a bunch of offroading vids but a lot of my time is spent working on stuff and some time spent going to salvage yards. Here’s one of the most annoying rust fixes I’ve had to do on my jeep kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2all3emetdlhqc . Hope you enjoy! Thanks for commenting back! It’s exciting hearing from different jeep youtubers! Not very many of us!

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

@@jtmoffroad I will head over now and subscribe. Just seen the first part of the link, love the 95 wrangler, a real classic and it looks awesome. Rust is such a pain in the ass, I feel your pain... Yeah definitely, look forward to checking out your videos!

[@jtmoffroad]

Workshop & Wilderness Adventures awesome thanks! Yea I would love to be able to conquer rust

[@corheeremans2820]

You did a incredible job Mike, thanks to let us seen this!

[@gaderrtyboi]

Inspirational, I’ll be doing this at some point in time on my XJ. Cheers

[@666Necropsy]

best job ive seen doing the frame stiffeners. great job mate. you really showed more detail then other youtubers are doing. i dont know how these other guys are not using seam sealer.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Appreciate that. I watched a ton of frame stifferner videos before mine arrived and I just kept thinking 'rust'. Sandwiching two sheets of metal together open all round the edge is a death sentence in my part of the world. Safe to say over two years later I have no rust and the sealer is still intact with no signs of fatigue or failure from the stifferners 👍

[@666Necropsy]

@@WorkshoptoWilderness weld through primer is a must. i have been looking for some good high zinc primers. for me there is no other way. i need to do everything i can for rust. in the oil industry they use this paint with coal tar. not sure how that stuff works. its used on ships too. ive seen companies state there paint with high zinc base coats will be rust free for 7-15 years. it varies widely on base coats used. so it should be good. still researching this stuff. its a serious industrial coating system. milspec, iso certified paints.

[@iamepimethus]

To do all of that without a lift or air tools...wow!!

[@rsjohnson7436]

The set I got from RuffStuff fit the unibody frame rail contour but the slots cut for the cross member bolts weren't even close. I contacted them and they did NOTHING to remedy the situation and only suggested that I had the sides swapped (which would have been impossible). Never another word or any follow up from them. My IRO stiffeners fit perfectly. I'll never buy any RUFFSTUFF products again.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Ah that sucks. I cant remember if mine were misaligned. I think they were and I had to fix it. For me it wasn't really anything I could ask them about because I was in the uk and it made sense to just sort it myself

[@blott-mtb5528]

First comment! Hope you are still enjoying life to the fullest friend!

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Thanks Joshua, still enjoying it all and gradually getting settled over here. I think it's going to be tough with regards to paperwork but we will give it a good go. Thank you!

[@sdchaps]

Mike, any reason you chose not to weld the lip of the stiffener to the floor?

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

I was recommended not to do that by Ruff Stuff. It seems others say you should also not do that. When I think about it, I can understand why. The lip is to give the Stiffeners a slight side wall I suppose.

[@md_gaming8831]

Welder and setting used to weld the stiffners?

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

MD_Gaming the welder was a EWM Picomig 180 plus. I used .8 wire but with the welder you tell it the metal type and thickness and it’s digital so it controls the rest. I had it set to a pulse mode to avoid blowing through the thin frame. I did this a while ago so it’s not that fresh in my mind plus it’s not my welder

[@albertort1]

What size tire are you running?

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

32x11.50R15. Personally I would have gone with a 33x10.50 knowing how it handles now.

[@EtronX]

Great channel 👍🏻 One quick question, what year is your car is it a manual drive? Best regards from Norway 🇳🇴

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Hi thanks for watching. It's a 1999 and it's a manual AX15.

[@EtronX]

Workshop & Wilderness Adventures. Thanks for the quick reply 👍🏻 I was just watching your Norway travel series . I love the filming and the narrative. Brilliant work 👍🏻 I am an avid motorcyclist and recognize a lot of the places you have been to. Can’t wait to get back on the road again. Enjoy your new life in Sweden 🇸🇪 If you ever plan on heading to the North of Norway, please fire off a message. We have a house at Sørvær. Great place to visit.

[@tricky4g63]

I've got to say it really disappointing that you have pulled alot of your older videos on your Cherokee especially on the sill or rocker install you did it was one of the best and most in depth videos on the internet

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

I haven't pulled any videos on it. Every video I made is uploaded on the channel? Really dont understand what your saying, why would I intentionally do that?

[@tricky4g63]

@@WorkshoptoWilderness just wanted to say thank you for sorting out the rocker panel video that you tube took down. Also wanted to apologize if I offended you for stating that you took the video down it was not my intention. I love your channel and have used alot of the ideas and methods you have shared on my xj and my son's xj. Thank you for the great videos I've enjoyed all of your content and am looking forward to your future videos!!!

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

@@tricky4g63 Ah I'm glad you liked the videos enough to point it out to me. I had no idea that they took it down so I reacted poorly. I apologise for that. I've been filming a lot more for this channel so hopefully you enjoy whats to come.