2014 Jeep JKUR ("Q") Overland Build

[KellyM]

Yeah, there's room, but not much. Another option I was riffing on with Rin, would be to move the fridge to the passenger side, and nix the "tailgater" table. Rin might have already tried it since we spoke about it. I also have an Eezi-Awn K9 table, but it's nice to have the tailgater as a quick option for prep (say, at a pit stop for a quick bite).

Nice set up, bjunc!

We love the Trailgater for the quick lunch stop, coffee in the morning, and prep work since it is higher than our roll top table. It is not a mod that we would be willing to give up. YMMV.

We have the AT slide for our fridge and stove and like that we can cook from either side or on the end. We usually cook on the outside (driver side) of the stove.



I like the idea of two drawers in the GG unit instead one the one in our AT drawer. As a side note, I would be a little nervous having my recovery gear in a place that requires the tailgate to be openable to retrieve the recovery gear in case I got stuck tail down. I keep mine in a action packer on top of the drawer. Just my quirkiness.

We also have the TrekPak dividers. I couldn't wait to get them, but then never installed them as we ended liking the interim setup we used while waiting for the TrekPak dividers. We use our drawer as a chuck box keeping pots, pans, utensils, silverware and misc. cooking gear in it, and use small plastic cases to contain similar smaller items (e.g., spices in one, utensils and silverware in another and dry food in another). I'm not sure I have a picture, but it has worked for us for 10K miles worth of trips.

 

[Topo.Ranger]

You've got yourself a good looking jeep! I'm glad you posted something about the propane tank and the mount. I was looking for a better setup than the Adventure Trailer propane mount that drills through the hardtop. There isn't a supporting plate on the inside of the hard top and I just didn't see that being too sturdy with the 5# tank on it. right now i just use the typical 20# bottle that you can exchange. I want something smaller and more compact.

 

[RBA]

That's a great setup you have! That GooseGear fridge/stove and drawer system is sweet but for some reason I have this hangup about the price. ~$3,000 just seems so high...oddly I spent that much on my suspension and even more on my RTT but still have a hard time justifying that for drawers.

 

[bjunc]

I like the slim tank. That's a cool idea.

Thanks. It works well. If I need to use the Hi-lift, it's easy enough to take off. I think if I put the fridge/stove on the passenger side, it might work even better as I won't have to play limbo under the propane hose...

 

[bjunc]

You've got yourself a good looking jeep! I'm glad you posted something about the propane tank and the mount. I was looking for a better setup than the Adventure Trailer propane mount that drills through the hardtop. There isn't a supporting plate on the inside of the hard top and I just didn't see that being too sturdy with the 5# tank on it. right now i just use the typical 20# bottle that you can exchange. I want something smaller and more compact.

Glad I could help. I haven't seen this exact setup before, and it's really contingent on the AEV hi-lift jack mount, but I think it works well.

 

[bjunc]

That's a great setup you have! That GooseGear fridge/stove and drawer system is sweet but for some reason I have this hangup about the price. ~$3,000 just seems so high...oddly I spent that much on my suspension and even more on my RTT but still have a hard time justifying that for drawers.

Yeah, I can see that. To be honest, this setup was more like 4k. I will say though, it's worth every penny. It strikes the balance between strength/good looks/weight/functionality in my opinion. Definitely an investment.

 

[bjunc]

Battery Swap: Odyssey 34R-PC1500T

It's been on my todo list for a little while now, but finally got around to swapping the stock battery out. Plunking $270 on a battery doesn't exactly fall in the "sexy" category of mods...

Anyway, the swap took just a few minutes, and was a piece of cake. No special considerations.

 

[bjunc]

Roof Top Tent: Alu-Cab Expedition III

This has been on my list for a while. The interim solution was an OzTent RV5. I would extend the tent's awning over the tailgate, which actually worked pretty well.

Anyway, while the OzTent is fast compared to other tents, it's not as fast as they lead you to believe. Sure, the OzTent is 30 seconds to pop up. It's tied down on the roof rack though, so you have to get it down, and take it out of that unnecessarily tight bag. Then you roll out the floor saver, THEN you pop it up. Then you install the awning poles, and stake it down. Then you set up the cots, etc.. 15 minutes later...

I imagine that I don't really need to go into the benefits / details of the Expedition III tent, but I will add that I'm very pleased with the build quality. I would like to lower the tent closer to the rooftop, but that will have to wait for another post

Maybe worth noting, is that I was debating between this and the James Baroud. I ultimately went with Alu-Cab because I also plan on mounting an Alu-Cab Shadow awning, which mounts directly to the tent's frame.

 

[bugeye1257]

Awesome progress! Surprised I haven't seen your rig around.

 

[bjunc]

Awesome progress! Surprised I haven't seen your rig around.

Thanks! Little by little. I just installed the Maxtrax and a 100w solar panel on the Exp III crossbars. I'll post the details, after I finish wiring up the solar panel to the charger/battery. My tolerance for working on the Jeep in 20 degree / windy weather, is pretty close to nill.

 

[bjunc]

RTT mounts

I really like having the RTT, but I didn't love the gap between the roof and the tent. This is due to the way the tent mounts. The breakdown looks like this:

1. AEV rollbar brackets (inside)
2. AEV (Rhino Rack) foot base plates
3. AEV (Rhino Rack) foot (aka stantion)
4. Rhino Rack HD cross bars
5. Alu-Cab Exp III brackets
6. Alu-Cab Exp III

As you can see, a lot going on, with each external component adding height. After brainstorming a few options with Rin, I figured the simplest option would be to swap out the foot (aka stantion) with essentially a spacer. I really like the way AEV utilizes the rollbar for support, so I knew I wanted that to stay. The foot base plate is a convenient way to connect the outside to the inside, so I figured that should stay as well. The crossbars are probably taller than they need to be, but I figured v1 would keep those in place as well. My next iteration might use the thinner Alu-Cab crossbars for further reduction.

Off to the drawing pad, with a micrometer, I drew up a flat spacer design that utilizes the same mounting holes as the foot. I milled these out of 1" black matte finish HDPE (Seaboard), on a ShopBot CNC. I ended up using shorter bolts for mounting to the base plate (18-8 SS Hex Drive Rounded Head M6 x 1mm x 35mm), and a longer bolt for mounting to the HD crossbar (316 SS Hex Head M10 x 1.5mm x 30mm). I was able to maintain the nylon nut already in place for the base plates, and re-use the t-nut for the crossbars.

Come to think of it, you could theoretically use these spacers with the Pioneer platform, as well as many other scenarios that use crossbars with the Rhino Rack HD dimensions.

Anyway, I much prefer the reduced gap. The first pic is the spacer back-to-back with the Rhino Rack / AEV foot.

 

[bjunc]

For Sale

Yes, you read that right! I am putting my Jeep up for sale, secretly hoping no one makes an offer. Having moved to an apartment in Miami, it's been a challenge (to say the least) to find parking, and my work schedule has not given me much time to enjoy Overlanding. I am considering two variations of this idea:

1. Sell just the Alu-Cab RTT and Shadow awning. That will bring the Jeep back under 8', and make it a lot easier to find parking.
2. Sell the whole Jeep as-is, and start thinking about starting over with a new ground-up build having refined my preferences in a rig.

I am accepting best offer for either the RTT/awning combo, or the whole Jeep. I am 1000% willing to FaceTime/Skype/etc. and go over every inch of the car, and answer any questions. For your viewing pleasure, attached a few photos from my Miami --> Flagstaff --> Miami trip from 2017 Overland Expo West.

 

[ivers]

great looking ride, i wish i had the money right now for your alucab!

 

[chadwicksavage]

I get a sad feeling in my heart every time I read that someone may have to sell their rig.

 

[bjunc]

I get a sad feeling in my heart every time I read that someone may have to sell their rig.

Yeah, a little sad. It took me a few months to get used to the idea before posting. When I bought the Jeep, I didn't even know what Overlanding was. Sliver lining, is it gives me a chance to start with a blank slate. Maybe a US Land Rover 110, with a new R2.8 Cummins and an Alu-cab Icarus roof? Maybe the LC78 comes to the states with its diesel V8, and I install the Alu-cab Hercules? Maybe a Taco with a Habitat? Maybe a Ram, Cummins, and Norweld tray. Who knows!

I can say though, a lot of time / money / experience went into this Jeep, so the next owner will have one qualified vehicle!