Vizoo
Adventurer
I am planning a trip across the three americas next year with my son, just bough the car for it (Rubicon) and although I'm not new to car travel, this is my first Jeep and the longest of all trips.
There are many items with brand and model options that I don't know which one is better.
So any input from you will be appreciated. This will be kind of a long post and I'm new to forums so I ask for you patience and excuse if it is not on the right place, I have numbered the items to make it easy to reply.
All of the pictures shown here (and many more) can be also seen in a larger format (800pxl) on a page I set up in my server at Options
So lets get started:
1- Tent: Rooftop for sure. Minumim width of 71". Brand are CarTopCamper (130lb $1680), MyWaySerengeti (?lb $2180), AutoHomeOverland (125lb $2600) and EeziAwn 2200T (242lb $2935)
Drawings with the fiting position of all these tents are in the link "options" above.
Things to consider:
1- I like the size of the EeziAwn;
2- I like the price of the CarTopCamper;
3- I am affraid of the quality/durability of the CarTopCamper (it is made in China);
4- I am ready to spent some nights at hotels in rainy situations.
2- Suspension: Do I need reinforced springs? The JK will be very close to its maximum load. I will change the shock absorbers to a Rancho 9000.
3- Roof rack: Things start to get complicated as the number of variables increase... Flat, Semi-flat or basket type? Fixed or lift & tilt? Top only or cage type?
4- Back Tray: This seems a pretty good idea if you need to carry extra stuff, especially if tent of choice takes all the space in the roof rack. Nice place to put the generator too and avoid flammable vapors inside the car.
5- Sand Tracks: A must have! Besides the old style aluminum, there is also plastic and fiberglass to choose from. ARB even has a folding model made of heavy duty rubber.
6- Snatch Block: Large variety of makers and huge differences in prices. Does it worth to pay for the brand name?
7- Air Jack: The concept is great and as far I could find, there are only this two options. The flat hose on the X-Jack appears to take less space when packed. Which one is better?
8- Winch mount: OK... If it is to change the whole front bumper, the options are in the hundreds.
One of my main concern is to keep the overall weight as low as possible. A full metal front bumper is around 110 lb, I believe its much heavier then the original. I found a mount plate to be an acceptable (not pretty) solution but could not find any review on how good (strong) they are comparing to the whole bumper.
9- Some extra horse power?: I had considered a turbo but I don't want to mess with the warranty on a brand new car. So a performance chip may be a good option to gain some HP and increase mileage. Many makers/models, I am trying to find reviews to chose the best one.
10- These are cool !!: Information is never too much. The option here is pay a lot for an awesome display or pay the right amount for the data only...
11- Cooler or Fridge: I must say this one has been taking my sleep... Coolers are way cheaper and a lot lighter then fridges, a good quality one is also quieter and consume less battery. The bad part is they don't freeze and they depend too much on the exterior temperature, leave it on inside the car under the sun and it won't cool at all. As for the fridges, centrifugal or reciprocating compressor? Waeco uses the first, Engel the second and it comes with a heavy price tag, it has an advantage on start current draw. I tried to find witch one is quieter but could not find reliable data. It will run on an auxiliary battery during the day. Noise, weight, consumption, best interior size, form factor...
While writing this page I came across with the model above. 30 liters capacity, drawer format and "movable" compressor up to 59 inches away from the drawer. Looks the best one! Why I have not seen this one used on any project???
(I compiled a huge list with almost all the fridge/collers models with pictures and data, it is in the "Options" page, link is here.
12- Emergency repair: I will definitely have one of these. Anyone can tell me which one is best, and why?
13- Electricity: There are many options in this topic too. My idea is to run it at night to recharge AA and D batteries, run the laptop the fridge and recharge the auxiliary battery too. So I wanted the quieter possible, to my surprise Kipor have the lower Db but after reading the users reviews I understood why people pay almost the double for a Honda or Yamaha.
14- Extra fuel/water: After seeing this, that is not much to say about the old, bulky and heavy Jerry cans.
15- Lights: Also hundreds of options. I liked this one particularly because of the filters that you may add to narrow or wider the beam. The Nbr1 in Brazil is Hella, it this LightForce a good brand?
16- Spare tire: I really don't want to get caught in the middle of Central America or the Atacama desert in the need of second spare tire/wheel. Besides of maybe not having the space for it on the roof rack (because of the tent), I would like to avoid having the extra weight that high, increasing the center of gravity. I've seen these on Land Rovers but did not find any for the JK so I started to develop my own, with extras!.
Now I just need to find someone to make it.
The chambers are to avoid the water from shifting side to side on curves, the equalizing holes to make it possible to fill all the chambers from one opening, comments?
So, this is it. I will apreciate any input that helps me get the best stuff to my trip.
Renato Costanzo
americas2011@yahoo.com
Expedition Main Page
There are many items with brand and model options that I don't know which one is better.
So any input from you will be appreciated. This will be kind of a long post and I'm new to forums so I ask for you patience and excuse if it is not on the right place, I have numbered the items to make it easy to reply.
All of the pictures shown here (and many more) can be also seen in a larger format (800pxl) on a page I set up in my server at Options
So lets get started:
1- Tent: Rooftop for sure. Minumim width of 71". Brand are CarTopCamper (130lb $1680), MyWaySerengeti (?lb $2180), AutoHomeOverland (125lb $2600) and EeziAwn 2200T (242lb $2935)
Drawings with the fiting position of all these tents are in the link "options" above.
Things to consider:
1- I like the size of the EeziAwn;
2- I like the price of the CarTopCamper;
3- I am affraid of the quality/durability of the CarTopCamper (it is made in China);
4- I am ready to spent some nights at hotels in rainy situations.
2- Suspension: Do I need reinforced springs? The JK will be very close to its maximum load. I will change the shock absorbers to a Rancho 9000.
3- Roof rack: Things start to get complicated as the number of variables increase... Flat, Semi-flat or basket type? Fixed or lift & tilt? Top only or cage type?
4- Back Tray: This seems a pretty good idea if you need to carry extra stuff, especially if tent of choice takes all the space in the roof rack. Nice place to put the generator too and avoid flammable vapors inside the car.
5- Sand Tracks: A must have! Besides the old style aluminum, there is also plastic and fiberglass to choose from. ARB even has a folding model made of heavy duty rubber.
6- Snatch Block: Large variety of makers and huge differences in prices. Does it worth to pay for the brand name?
7- Air Jack: The concept is great and as far I could find, there are only this two options. The flat hose on the X-Jack appears to take less space when packed. Which one is better?
8- Winch mount: OK... If it is to change the whole front bumper, the options are in the hundreds.
One of my main concern is to keep the overall weight as low as possible. A full metal front bumper is around 110 lb, I believe its much heavier then the original. I found a mount plate to be an acceptable (not pretty) solution but could not find any review on how good (strong) they are comparing to the whole bumper.
9- Some extra horse power?: I had considered a turbo but I don't want to mess with the warranty on a brand new car. So a performance chip may be a good option to gain some HP and increase mileage. Many makers/models, I am trying to find reviews to chose the best one.
10- These are cool !!: Information is never too much. The option here is pay a lot for an awesome display or pay the right amount for the data only...
11- Cooler or Fridge: I must say this one has been taking my sleep... Coolers are way cheaper and a lot lighter then fridges, a good quality one is also quieter and consume less battery. The bad part is they don't freeze and they depend too much on the exterior temperature, leave it on inside the car under the sun and it won't cool at all. As for the fridges, centrifugal or reciprocating compressor? Waeco uses the first, Engel the second and it comes with a heavy price tag, it has an advantage on start current draw. I tried to find witch one is quieter but could not find reliable data. It will run on an auxiliary battery during the day. Noise, weight, consumption, best interior size, form factor...
While writing this page I came across with the model above. 30 liters capacity, drawer format and "movable" compressor up to 59 inches away from the drawer. Looks the best one! Why I have not seen this one used on any project???
(I compiled a huge list with almost all the fridge/collers models with pictures and data, it is in the "Options" page, link is here.
12- Emergency repair: I will definitely have one of these. Anyone can tell me which one is best, and why?
13- Electricity: There are many options in this topic too. My idea is to run it at night to recharge AA and D batteries, run the laptop the fridge and recharge the auxiliary battery too. So I wanted the quieter possible, to my surprise Kipor have the lower Db but after reading the users reviews I understood why people pay almost the double for a Honda or Yamaha.
14- Extra fuel/water: After seeing this, that is not much to say about the old, bulky and heavy Jerry cans.
15- Lights: Also hundreds of options. I liked this one particularly because of the filters that you may add to narrow or wider the beam. The Nbr1 in Brazil is Hella, it this LightForce a good brand?
16- Spare tire: I really don't want to get caught in the middle of Central America or the Atacama desert in the need of second spare tire/wheel. Besides of maybe not having the space for it on the roof rack (because of the tent), I would like to avoid having the extra weight that high, increasing the center of gravity. I've seen these on Land Rovers but did not find any for the JK so I started to develop my own, with extras!.
Now I just need to find someone to make it.
The chambers are to avoid the water from shifting side to side on curves, the equalizing holes to make it possible to fill all the chambers from one opening, comments?
So, this is it. I will apreciate any input that helps me get the best stuff to my trip.
Renato Costanzo
americas2011@yahoo.com
Expedition Main Page
