2-Door JK JeepKitchen - AT Chaser - Globetrotter - National Luna build thread

[jacobconroy]

So, I finally took some pictures for a build thread and plan to keep posting as the build progresses. Today, I finalized my JeepKitchen install in the JK. Since the JeepKitchen needs a flat surface to mount correctly, I scribed a test plate and have been driving around town with it for a few months. When I got my National Luna Power Pack this week, I decided to finalize the floor plate.

After removing everything, I added a scribe plate to template the final floor plate. I wanted the plate to follow the contour of the rear gate:



Here is a pic before tracing out the new floor plate. I also needed to add some material to the front of the plate to mount the Power Pack.



Next, I traced the new plate, cut it out, and put it back to test the scribes.



Then, I put the JeepKitchen back in to mark the bolt holes, trace the location, and in general...make sure everything was going to work the way I expected it to.



Test fitting the Power Pack followed.



After removing the plate and drilling out all the bolt hole locations, I installed these "thingamajigs". Can't remember what they are called.



Then the carpet Yo! Bought a 4 x 15 foot roll of black carpet from Amazon. $23.00 Prime.





Then I bolted both the JeepKitchen and Power Pack in.

 

[jacobconroy]

A bit more of the install

Note the little "foot" to allow the weight of the Power Pack to sit on the center console cupholders"


And....success!



Tomorrow afternoon I will install the wiring for the Power Pack and post more pics. Stuff about the Adventure Trailers Chaser/Globetrotter will be posted as mods are installed.

 

[Comanche Scott]

This looks really clean and light weight. VERY Nice! :beer:

 

[jacobconroy]

Thanks. When I bought the AT Chaser, I was pleased to find that I can extend and use the JeepKitchen while the Chaser is attached. That's very cool. Was pretty sure I'd need to disconnect every time I wanted to grab something from the cooler. Since space is so limited in the 2-Door, there is a lot of room to pack other stuff around the JeepKitchen without smothering the Fridge. It's coming together!

 

[jacobconroy]

Wiring up the National Luna Power Pack

Nice weather today. Took some time to wire up the NL Power Pack. After stripping the passenger side and vaccuming (it's still not clean), I decided to run the wires up the passenger side of the center console. I may regret this later if I put in an aftermarket console (It was impossible to post this picture right-side up...for some darned reason):


Mess, mess, mess. I encased both the + and - wires all the way through with 3/8 wire loom. It fit perfectly:


Used a die grinder to take the lip off the back end of the console skin. This kept the wire from pushing it out (and rubbing through the wire insulation someday):


Looking at the passenger-side firewall (left-side):


And the right-side. I found a major wire harness going thought the firewall (and to the main distribution block). There was plenty of space in the grommet for two fat wires


The Power Pack fuse housing with the JK battery removed:



I connected power to the main 12+ input at the primary distribution block, and connected - to the body ground (that connects directly to the battery). Put everything back together...and it works!

By the way, anyone figure out why iPhone pictures will not upload right-side-up? If you turn them 90º between each try, they will work every way...except RIGHT-SIDE-UP! Crap. Sorry for the screwy pictures.

 

[jacobconroy]

Lift

I got sidetracked after going on a wheeling trip with a guy that had AEV deadlocks. CL had a slightly used AEV 2.5 DS lift for sale, so I bought it. Didn't take many photos during the install, but here they are:

Halfway done:


and done:



I gained about 3 inches, close as I can tell. Was too lazy to measure it beforehand.

 

[jacobconroy]

Beadlocks

Then I found a guy on CL that had eight AEV Pintler beadlocks for sale. I bough them too and picked up 5 almost-new KM2 35s. After mounting them myself I changed the wheels out today:




It was a heck of a lot of work. 5 wheels/tires took 6 hours to mount, but no leaks so far. Got lucky. Once I find another set of KM2s I'll mount up deadlocks for the Chaser.

 

[jeepster1407]

Very Nice!

 

[rubicon91]

Then I found a guy on CL that had eight AEV Pintler beadlocks for sale. I bough them too and picked up 5 almost-new KM2 35s. After mounting them myself I changed the wheels out today:

View attachment 398699
View attachment 398700

It was a heck of a lot of work. 5 wheels/tires took 6 hours to mount, but no leaks so far. Got lucky. Once I find another set of KM2s I'll mount up deadlocks for the Chaser.

Looks great!

 

[Happykamper]

Looks like someone is having fun. Good job .

 

[AggieOE]

That does look great! Plenty of tire and lift to air down and get where you need to go.

 

[jacobconroy]

I took them out for the first time yesterday afternoon with some folks to find some snow on the logging roads. I was completely amazed at the difference. Moved me from 5th in line to 2nd in line. The guy with beadlocks and 37s was still breaking trail. All in (for used gear) I spent about $2500 on the lift, rims, and tires and don't regret it. I did wind up with three extra beadlock rings for the trailer, but can't afford more KM2s just yet.

Pretty exciting.

 

[jacobconroy]

New propane setup

Today I got around to installing the new propane tanks and associated parts. I like the way it turned out and it seems to work well. I didn't get around to posting some parts. A Teraflex HD hinge, tire mount, and Alta rack have been added in the last few months.

The propane tank is meant to be mounted horizontally, has a guage (accuracy not-yet-proven), and since it has a separate fill valve, I was able to put a quick-disconnect fitting for swapping hoses easily (stove, heater, fireplace). Here are some pics:

Brackets bought from Amazon. These things are cheap and heavy duty...but were not even close to a circular shape when they arrived. I spend two hours bending them into an acceptable shape. This is a temporary mount to check fit:


But this was too wide. The brackets are a mirrored pair, so reversing them brought them close enough to fit the 20 lb tank:



A shot of the end with all the important parts:


With the gate open:


I think it's going to work. With the tank full, the gate will deal with the weight. Who knows for how long though. More hours were spent putting all the quick-disconnect fittings on hoses and checking for leaks. Tomorrow will be spent finalizing the tank mount. Brother-in-law will need to figure out a way to add a padlock to the brackets and re-powder coat them.

 

[jacobconroy]

Propex and Teraflex

So, the reason I blew all the money on the Teraflex hinges and rack...was pretty much to change everything over to propane (from white-gas) and have a place to sit the Propex heater this fall and be able to open the gate (to access kitchen and fridge) in the evening without disconnecting any heater parts.

Today I gave it a test setup, and plan to sleep in it tonight. Not sure if it will be cold enough to use the heater though.

First try:


Access to fridge and kitchen while heater is functional (and even running):


I am pretty excited about this. There will no-doubt be some bugs to work out, but come fall I might be able to do quick-and-dirty camping with minimal effort on Friday evenings.

Had a little time to mount the new Partner Stove too and light it up. Propane is niiiiiiice!


More to come tomorrow. Might have time to finally put the awning on the rig.

 

[jacobconroy]

Fiamma F35 Pro awning, beer opener

Yesterday I received a set of Frontrunner Slimline II "standard" brackets, so I installed a Fiamma F35 Pro that I had laying around. It's my first awning (except for camper trailers), so it will be a good test to see what I want/need in an awning. The brackets:

I love Frontrunner stuff. They ship fast and have a lot of accessories to play with. This time they shorted me about 4 washers. Luckily I had some nice bronze ones left over from the beadlock install. Next, I removed the innards from the awning:

Temporarily mounted the new brackets to see how things will be:

Then, some helping hands to choose a mounting point that will allow the legs to attache to the rig (later...when I can find or make the parts):

Some marking and drilling: