BCEx: Very nice rear rack setup!! I'd be interested to know what sort of competitive price you had in mind before I go buy more steel and fire up the welder. Particularly after nearly losing some of my strapped-down stuff when I accidentally got a bit airborne on the dunes...
EdB: The trick to making a TJ livable for multi-day trips is in organization. I've been working on a camping trailer for multi-day, multi-person trips and hope to have it completed soon, but was pleasantly surprised just how well organization helped make the TJ more comfortable and efficient on the UPOverland trip. In the past I've always kept things in duffels and plastic milk crates, tucked in nooks and crannies, and whatnot, thinking that soft and packable made for a more efficient use of space. Though undoubtedly true in volumetric terms, this always made it a pain to actually get to the stuff. So this time I tried something different:well-packed, well-chosen boxes!
Immediately behind the front seats I had two small (8gal? 9gal?) action packers holding my kitchen and camp supplies (one box) and my food (human and dog, the other box), sitting on top of an 81mm rocket case filled with spare parts, fluids, only-needed-if-stuck-real-bad recovery gear pieces, etc. Tools were in soft-side bags on the floor behind each front seat, as was the air compressor. My folding chair and tripod were also tucked behind the seat, widthwise. My entire campsite was in one full-width Contico SUV box at the back of the vehicle (tent, mattress, sleeping bag, stakes, first aid kit, ground tarp, extra tarps), and my coolers and 6 gal water were alongside the rocket box, behind the front seat; the coolers consisted of one soft-side 12-can cooler, and one MaxCold tip-top playmate-style cooler. My clothes were in a duffel that was, at various times, either on the passenger floor or atop the action packers. And my books/maps/cameras/radio/etc. was in a backpack that was hung off the passenger seatback when the top was up, or placed on top of the rear windows when the top was taken down. Winch controller and recovery/tree straps were on the driver side floor to the left of the seat and beneath the seat, and D-shackles, an extra hatchet and dog bowl/leashes were on the passenger side.
I was able to pack the entire vehicle up in the rain one morning without opening any of the soft top windows, or getting the interior wet. And everything stayed put throughout the trip, and was easy to get to when I needed it.
At no time in the course of four days did I feel cramped or disorganized. Everything had its place, and when I got home I still had enough food for another 4 days! My accumulation of stuff was barely taller than the tub sides, and was strapped down with ropes run through eye bolts that I put through the hardtop mounting holes.
Admittedly I was traveling with myself and my dog, but the additional gear required for a second person instead of a canine would have been minimal. With the addition of a rack, you could easily carry a larger cooler or a small/medium Engel/ARB fridge, and still have plenty of space for enough supplies for 4-8 days for two people, resupplying only with ice and fuel along the way.
