Jeep Wrangler Habitat Official Release

[4RunAmok]

Hey John, will those work on a regular flippac?

 

[elcoyote]

Hey John, will those work on a regular flippac?

No

 

[kb7our]

No

Hehe....but they sure will on an AT Habitat . I think I see one with my name on it!!!

 

[kb7our]

Look what showed up on the dock...time to get building campers! - John

View attachment 123183

Thanks for the update. Are they "good"?

 

[kb7our]

I didn't know about the pressure adjustment until Martin told me. There are pumps on the market with some kind of pressure sensor that adjust the pressure gradually, making for a smoother delivery and eliminating water hammer. I haven't looked into them.
Yea, the 8 gallons of water.... that is really disappointing. I haven't gotten my water system working. Too busy at work, family obligations etc...
About the water bladder; I found the Plastimo 13gal "flexible tank" on line. The specs are 27.3" x 27.3 x 9". I am assuming that when there is no water in it that the 27.3" is the full outside width. Usually anything like that is the full outside measurements (kb7our, if you have the tank out, lay it flat and measure it for us please.) Then just inside that is the weld that holds the top and bottom together, leaving about 26.5 inside that expand to hold water. I measured the space in the front AT cabinet "foot well" where the tank lays. I measured the circumference side to side and front to back. Side to side measures 58.75" and front to back is 61.75. The material in the Plastimo tank that can expand is 26.5 x 2 or 53". So it can never fill the space in the foot well. The next bigger tank Plastimo has is the same one but longer, so one of the dimensions is still not going to be filled. When you add the corners that come up short on two dimensions there could be 3 to 5 gallons of space not filled. That's why I bought a different one. I found one that is 36" x 36".
My plan is to measure the water I pour into it to fill it up and then pump it dry to see how much is usable. Report later.
I'm have installer's block. I can't figure out exactly how I want it installed and I can't get motivated to finish it...

Ok I measured the Plastimo 18031 square bladder at close to 27.3" weld to weld amazingly enough. Now some good news although not scientific is the next larger rectangular bladder (18033) although is longer than the space does work well. It is obvious to me it holds more water even with the added length coming up the font of the space just a bit and although I have not done a water volume measurement, I can tell it is holding a greater amount - maybe a few gallons just as a guess. This longer bladder creeps up the back of the space where it is very shallow and so some water is squeezing in there as well. Suffice to say I like this option better than the smaller square bladder. More of the entire space is filled with this option. I'm a happy camper!

 

[DingusKahn]

Ok I measured the Plastimo 18031 square bladder at close to 27.3" weld to weld amazingly enough. Now some good news although not scientific is the next larger rectangular bladder (18033) although is longer than the space does work well. It is obvious to me it holds more water even with the added length coming up the font of the space just a bit and although I have not done a water volume measurement, I can tell it is holding a greater amount - maybe a few gallons just as a guess. This longer bladder creeps up the back of the space where it is very shallow and so some water is squeezing in there as well. Suffice to say I like this option better than the smaller square bladder. More of the entire space is filled with this option. I'm a happy camper!

That's good news. I measured mine and was surprised that it was 36" inside the weld. What's with these tank manufacturers being honest? Nice!
Made a little progress tonight, maybe I can finish it tomorrow. Fill you new water bladder full and pump it out to see how many gallons you get. What kind of pump did you get?

 

[DingusKahn]

Hehe....but they sure will on an AT Habitat . I think I see one with my name on it!!!

Yea, the fourth one back I think.. Good news indeed!

 

[kb7our]

That's good news. I measured mine and was surprised that it was 36" inside the weld. What's with these tank manufacturers being honest? Nice!
Made a little progress tonight, maybe I can finish it tomorrow. Fill you new water bladder full and pump it out to see how many gallons you get. What kind of pump did you get?

Well I acquired a freebie little Flojet and plumbled it up with the larger bladder. We'll see how it holds up and how long it lasts since it is not rated continuous use although can run dry for a bit (seems just right actually for occasional use in the Habitat). Notice how nice the pillow fills the space - sorry no pics of the previous smaller bladder but it certainly did not fill the space like this one does. Side panel open to see the pump and plumbing. Also a shot of the storage with false bottom in place (sorry that one came out blurry).



[

 

[kb7our]

As an update to my prior post, the larger water bladder with AT water heater system holds what I measured to be close to 10G total that can be pumped from the system. Keep in mind once the bladder is pumped dry there is nothing left to push the rest of the water from the water heater as far as I can tell so that leaves some unusable water in the system. This is ~2G more than with the prior smaller, square water bladder. Your results may vary, but I expect not by much . Now if there is a good solution to plumb in the Mr Heater Aqua Cube and set up the system off the back of the JKU or somewhere close (needs to vent) then that I think would be an awesome faucet/sprayer hot/cold water setup without needing an additional external water tank to drop the Mr Heater pump into.

 

[DingusKahn]

First Trip with Habitat

Finally got enough stuff done that I felt I could go out for a trip. Took the grandson on a two night trip to places I had never camped before. We explored SW New Mexico mountains. Here are a few pics. Rather than any explanations, I'll wait for questions.

Cassette toilet in the outhouse.

No flash used. Note how well the work area is lit up. Plenty of light.

With flash turned on.

BioLite Rocket Stove - generates power to charge a phone etc.

I really did give him a pillow... The Propex heater control/thermostat is on top of the black bag in the foreground.

 

[washington taco]

How well did the heater keep the tent warm? How cold did it get at night?

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Looks like a great weekend, talk about some awesome memories for your Grandson.

 

[keithro]

Unless I've missed it before, tell us about the tailgate lights, they look nice. Sink and faucet look like they are working nicely. Everything looks great!

You might want to consider some caribou cargo quick fasten mounts for the pelican case to the top of the AT Drawer. I mount my Pelican case on top of the drawer like that and it works very nicely and is locked down when the top is off. When I'm not out camping I use the same fasteners to hold down my subwoofer to the top of the drawer.

 

[DingusKahn]

Second Night out

We moved to a place in higher mountains for the second night. I live in a hot dry desert. This place is about a 40 minute drive.

I learned a lot of what I need to pack and NOT pack. Really looking forward to the light weight awnings. Didn't need them this outing, great weather.

 

[DingusKahn]

How well did the heater keep the tent warm? How cold did it get at night?

The first night was only 54F. The heater ran some, but not too much. The second night the outside temp was 44F. Inside was 60 to 64F. I bought one of those small inside/outside/atomic clocks form Wally world for $10. The outside sensor is tie-strapped to the inside of the spare tire.
The second night the heater ran A LOT. I have the duct from the heat directly up into the tent area.