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Thanks. I'm pretty happy with how they are turning out. Naturally, I wish they were even lighter, but it's a bit of a balance between weight and durability.

This is an overdue update on this project, but here is a quick rundown of the current state of the vehicle design and build. Overall, it is going very well. I have been working on the project 7 days a week for the last 6 months and it is all really taking shape now. We relocated back to the...

Years ago, our old Italian roof top tent (Maggiolina) used a #25 roller chain (basically a small bike chain) to synchronize the multiple lift acme screws. It made a nice synchronized lift from one hand crank. It worked great, made a satisfying sound, and was very smooth.

You are totally right that a pickup option would likely yield more payload capacity. That being said, we have had a lot of different rigs over the years, and this one would be about keeping things simple and agile. I've done a lot of weight estimating on this layout based on the gear that we...

Yup, those are photo of our water system when I was making it. We were super happy with the jerry can setup (5 were under a dinette seat like in the photo, and the 6th lived under the kitchen sink in a holder). It's super easy to pop one or two out, fill them at a garden hose, a spigot at a gas...

I tend to agree. This rig is really about being small and simple.

Thanks! I think this will be a great little travel vehicle for two people. It's really just like you described: a blend of comfort and capability. I'm excited to start detailing it out.

Hey, I just noticed your build and was checking it out. You have a cool plan. I look forward to watching your progress. It seems that we are both thinking the same things about a light weight structure that plays nice with the jeep frame. I'm planning on a lot of composite parts. Your plan...

Long ago, I did consider this. When you look at some of our other general overlanding preferences (4x4, solid front axle, manual transmission....), there aren't' many regular cab short bed full-sized pickup options. It also makes our sea container shipping requirement difficult without making...

When I started this layout a few years ago, I thought the gladiator would be the best choice, but when I started getting into the design details, a regular JKU worked just as well for the habitat that we were planning (about ~94" long), but the JKU would be a lower starting price. As we want a...

I totally agree. Fully loaded this needs to come in well under the rated gross weight to be a good travel vehicle. Plus, I don't want to spend a bunch of time and money doing a lot of drivetrain upgrades. Right now, I'm keeping margin on 5,400 lb fully loaded. The weight budget looks doable...

I’ve actually seen that video before, but I kind of skimmed it previously. I just watched it start-to-finish, so thank for the link. I like how he is excited and humble about it. That truck has a lot of really nice features. I love that slide out storage.

I’ll remove the back part of the roll bar behind the B-pillar just like Dave did on the AEV Outpost II. The layout of the JK and JL roll bar cross-beams are actually pretty different, so I would integrate the habitat a bit differently depending on what year Jeep I end up getting. I would also...

I agree, I also really like the Maltec truck that Tim and Kelsey from Dirt Sunrise have. I've chatted with them about it a bit. I love the mileage and range that they get with that truck. On the Dalton Highway, they were able to make it to Prudhoe Bay and back without refueling. On that same run...

This is a travel rig concept that I've been working on in the background for the last few years. We are considering building it to fill the place of our trusty old Unimog that we built in 2017-2019. This would be a vehicle for my wife and I to travel in for moderate length overland trips...

Your truck looks great. I hope you have a good time at Expo. Sorry we will miss you there this year! Michael

I've always liked those Sailrite sewing machines. I don't know if it's just my general curiosity of mechanical things or the nice anodized blue, but I've always liked those. I'm glad that it was behaving for the dodger work. That looks like a good work area. I was just looking through the...

400Ah of lithium will be great. We have 300Ah of lithium (Battle Born LiFePO4), and we are happy so far. I'm really pleased with how little the LiFePO4 batteries weigh. We went with a Victron SmartSolar MPPT charge controller and a Victron BMV-700 Battery Monitor. They are quite easy to...

That is a hard decision. Even though these projects are very rewarding, they are a ton of work spanning so many months. When we got to the point that you two are at now, I was pretty tired and felt like I needed a break. I pushed though it, but I think it would have also been good to take a...