1973 Wagoneer - Full Size Camping Goodness

[Dr. Marneaus]

Well, the tent works. We just went to a campground this weekend for the initial shakedown run.

About 200 miles on the jeep this weekend, trailer towed great. It set up great, broke down fairly slowly, but apparently I can leave the annex attached. That will make things alot easier.

Anyway, it performed well. I have some adjustments in my way of setting it up and tearing it down that I need to make, but I'm pleased so far.

Basically its to the point where all I need to pack into the trailer is the large bin, small bin (kitchen gear), chairs, cooler, wood, and water. Then toss whatever clothing we pack into the jeep, and off we go. It all fit great in the trailer. Looking forward to refining this process.

Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr

 

[Bobzdar]

How did you spin the trailer around, was it light enough to just do by hand? Very cool setup!

 

[Billy_Bottle_Caps]

Very cool

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

How did you spin the trailer around, was it light enough to just do by hand? Very cool setup![I can pick it up and turn it and move it a little when its mostly full. When its mostly empty (just the big bin, some firewood, and the spare tire in it) I can wheel it all around my yard provided I dont hit soft sand. If im going any serious distance by hand its nice to have a helper but its far from necessary.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

So on this last trip towing the RTT trailer through the mountains in Plumas County California, I remarked to my wife

‘You know, as much as I ********** and moan about this thing, and as much frustration it has caused and money it has cost....it really has taken us a ton of places. We really USE IT. We have seen so much of Nevada, driven it across the state, all around around Northern California. We take it on road trips. The past two years we have taken 600 mile weekends out to Boonville and back. We’ve been to national and state parks, towing campers and loaded with gear. We have done miles and miles and miles of back roads just exploring. It took us on the trip when I proposed to you. And even though there have been some troublesome patches with it acting up, it’s always gotten us home. We really have used this jeep and gone a ton of places in it despite its inefficiencies being a 45 year old gas guzzling relic. And on top of all that, these past few months it’s actually running better than it ever has now that the EFI and timing are dialed in....’

We sometimes lose track of the progress we have made and the successes we have had, and focus only on the failures. I don’t really know what made me realize the above. Maybe it was just a serene moment cruising around on a trip I never even knew would be possible 8 years ago when I bought it. Maybe I’m writing this because I am about to do a 300+ mile weekend down to Mammoth Lakes and back. I hopped in the wagon this AM and didn’t even have a second thought or hesitation about the fact I’m gonna run hundreds of miles and up to 10,000’ elevation this weekend.

I dunno. For all the trouble and difficulty and disappointment, there is also good, and it’s those good things and those accomplishments that we commonly lose sight of.

 

[Zeep]

^^^ Without doing a full repost of your quote, I'd have to say, that was very well said. I think all of us lose sight of our accomplishments from time to time.
BTW what did your better half, have to say?

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Well, right after that post I took off on a trip, and 150 miles from home i blew a transmission line. Thanks jeep. I fixed it, and drove home after filling the trans back up.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Here's a link to my official trailer thread:

https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/marns-basic-m-416-build.197589/

 

[trailscape]

Haha.. Never pat the jeep on the back too hard. They be a stubborn mistress.

 

[Jeepin' Pete]

I just want to say thank you for such a meticulously documented build thread! I've learned a lot, and you're perseverance with an old, stubborn Jeep is pretty impressive.

With the spare tire in the cargo area, have you considered putting anything in the OEM spare location? It seems like a lot of space that could be used for a water tank, compressor...

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Well, the second trip with the trailer and tent was a success. Still in "shakedown" mode, not taking any extreme distance trips or hardcore trails, but this trip was further, had much more backroading, was an off grid "dispersed" camp site, and had some decently varying weather conditions.


I loaded my stuff up on Thursday night, then drove the beast and trailer to work on Friday. Left the office around 2pm, and headed south down the 395. The destinationwas Green Creek area, just south of Bridgeport, CA. I was meeting up with another member of Sierra Nevada FSJ's who was coming from Sacramento. We were planning to stay at the actual campground, but upon my arrival, it was already closed for the season. Being in a national forest, that was no problem, because dispersed is allowed. Fire restrictions were in effect which kinda puts a damper on things, but oh well.

On the way. Basically just about 125 miles of highway then 12 miles of dirt road in varying conditions, most of it was just a heavily washboard graded road.
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr

Upon finding the campground closed, I headed back out the way I came, about a mile, passing some camping areas that were occupied and some that were empty. Located a nice spot right on the bank of Green Creek and was set back a ways from the road:
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr

Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

We chatted and stayed up for a bit, but then crashed out. Temps werent too bad, it was cold but not extreme. Temps were in the upper 30's that night. The next moring, breakfast was cooked, then we headed up to Virginia Lakes to do a bit of fishing. It was a fruitless effort but the scenery was good, as always.

Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr

We returned to the campsite to some weather, snow flurries mostly just on and off. Dark skies, but it was still beautiful in a somewhat foreboding way. Dinner was cooked, and right before we decided to turn in, a small snow squall came through and droped about half an inch if icy snow in about 15 minutes. That night it dropped into the low 30's.

Morning came, and we both had deadlines to meet, so we simply packed up and headed on our ways. Again, beautiful scenery on the way out.
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr

So, overall the trip was anti-climactic. The truck ran fine, no surprises or issues, and I actually landed about 12mpg towing between Bridgeport and Reno. So, thats good.

The tent is meeting my expectations, all the modifications I have made thus far are working as planned. I am getting a little more accustomed to set up and tear down, and its going a bit faster. The annex is still annoying and was overkill on this trip since I didnt have dog or wife with me, but it was good practice. Packing it up wet and cold however, proved troublesome. I wasnt able to fold it so it would fit in its bag, and subsequently it would not fit back in the bin I keep in the trailer. Mostly user error though. The battery and LED lights were a great help. The tent stayed comfy and warm in the cool temps, and I was dry through the storm.

Trailer towed well the whole time, didn't even really notice it. I hit some good jarring rocks and potholes on the roads and trails, and the trailer was fine. I didnt get it super off camber or anything, but then again I never really intend to. All in all, I'm very pleased with the performance of this setup.

 

[cheapthrills]

Sounds like a good trip

87 grand Wagoneer
90 grand Wagoneer (stalled 5.3l project)
95 ford bronco

 

[Regcabguy]

Square was better back then and still is in the Mideast and Africa. You can pack a lot of passengers and gear into a square vehicle.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Looking to replace my shocks. I have load leveling coil over shocks on the rear, and im just plain sick of how harsh the ride is.

Luckily this thread came to the rescue! I was able to go back and get the part numbers I used, which allowed me to cross reference the travel, extended, and collapsed lengths.

Now I'm just trying to decide between soem Bilstein 5125's or Rancho 9000 XL's.