How to pack up a JKU for camping?

[HRPINDC]

We go camping often with our family of four (although one is a dog) and don't have many problems with the JKU. I bought four Wolf Pack containers, because I felt that they are the most efficient use of space. They get filled and fit perfectly with my Coleman cooler making the "base". On top goes hard items like chairs, stove etc. which I try to keep below the top of the backseat. On top of all that goes the soft items like sleeping bags, clothing and tent. Other items get tossed in the voids, like propane cylinders between the back seat and cooler (there's a little triangle of wasted space there due to the seat back). I have a Raingler net that divides the cargo area from the passenger area so I can pack to the roof. I usually have a little space left over. This year I plan to replace my large chairs with smaller ones, that will save some space too. You can see from this pic how the Wolf Packs fit. With two more on top, they are pretty much even with the top of the cooler. Good luck.

 

[Omar Brannstrom]

I use the frontrunner interior rack and I really like it

 

[Omar Brannstrom]

One way could be to get newer lighter smaller camping stuff like I did. Helinox chairs take very little space, I could probably fit 4 helinox chairs under the front passengers wrangler chair.

My new small camping stuff to the left, multiply this with 4 or 5 persons and the total volume will be alot smaller, take less space.

First, expeed 5 lite madrass, a small sleeping bag, helinox chair. Stuff to the right is the old bulky ones.

 

[evaliquette]

I love the window ventilation Omar!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hikingff77]

I have the same issues, I bought a simple hitch cargo rack from Amazon and it should help tremendously.

One of my biggest problems is I normally go with two small children, sometimes their older stepsister comes with and makes it even smaller quarters. And I have two medium sized dogs.

Someday I want a trailer, I have a crappy one now that I'd love to put some time and effort into, not much money, to make it something I could tow safely behind the Jeep and leave room for most us inside.

I made it to Maine and back with enough crap for a week, plus two kids shoehorned into the back seat. Not ideal, this is where the cargo basket is going to come into play. I really like how the one guy here has it secured so it doesn't wobble.

 

[PhulesAU]

JetSki Trailers!!!!! Do a spring over and you're good up to 33's , but you might have to swap hub to keep matching wheel patterns.

 

[kenaero]

Overpacked?

[/url]IMG_0033 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_0035 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_0036 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_0034 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]
As you can see I pack WAY too much stuff!:Wow1:

 

[kenaero]

Campsite

[/url]IMG_0114 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_0113 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_0112 by Ken Scoates, on Flickr[/IMG]
But this is what comes out of there.

 

[Desert Rat 1]

A hitch rack has worked pretty well for me. I carry the folding chairs, tent, canopy, small charcoal grill, gas stove, sleeping bags, gas can, etc on it and leaves enough space inside for 4 passengers, two dogs, the cooler, food, clothes, etc.
I got a 300lb. ATV rack from Harbor Freight, it's the raised rack for better clearance, I reinforced it by welding it's parts and adding gussets where needed and also welded a 4" extension to clear the spare tire.

 

[Frank]

Is the kitchen sink behind the suitcase on rollers?

As you can see I pack WAY too much stuff!:Wow1:

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

You didn't mention what kind of trails you're traveling. If they're technical, you'll need to preserve the departure angle. We're just 2 adults and a German Shepherd right now. But I figure I'll have to start considering this packing Tetris in the future. I had to go through this packing exercise when we down-sided to the Jeep. It was rough at first. But now I'm back to having plenty of extra space in the Jeep. And that's a better feeling than you got from your oversized cots you sold to save space.

Some General Tips I've learned packing the Jeep

• Think about how and when you use and need to get to each piece of gear.
• Keep the heavy things as low as possible.
• Think vertically. Use all the space.
• Make sure everything has a home.
• Take advantage of the Jeep's odd cubbies.
• Downsize your gear. I switched from 2 coleman bags and 2 bag liners to a single backless, down sleeping bag with a pad-liner. It's the size of one of my old sleeping bag liners.
• Replace all your 30+" gear. I came from a 100-series that you could get away with long gear. That dimensions doesn't exist in the Jeep.
• Bring less stuff. You won't need it.
• Only bring soft bags. Suitcases belong at airports, not off road. We only use duffel bags. And we use a lot of compression sacks. Especially for things like jackets, pillows and dirty clothes.
• Leave big tables behind. I use a stove stand and a tailgate table and that's it when solo. When the friends join, I bring a roll top aluminum table that takes up as much room as a cheap camp chair.
• If it doesn't have a good reason to be in the cab, mount it elsewhere. Keep things like, shovels, hi-lifts, axes, trash, propane, maxtrax, etc outside frees up space. Hardmounting things like compressors also frees up space.
• Measure each piece of gear on its usefulness to space ratio like a backpacker. We just ditched our trusty coleman lantern because the case was so huge.

This is what I currently do. But you'll have to vary this.

Top to bottom:

• Dirty Dawgs back seat cargo net. This suspends between the roll bars and creates a place to stash sleeping bags, pads, jackets, pillows and other light compressible things.
• Jeep Swag's Hidden hi-lift mount. This mounts the Hi-lift jack to the back of the rollbar and creates a structure for mounting other things.
• Jeep swag accessory bars: these let you mount shovels, axes, guns, fishing poles, etc to the hi-lift up and out of the way.
• I use the space above the hi-lift to stash our tent.
• Mount whatever you can to the roll bars. I mount my fire extinguisher and propane tank there.
• I use a Frontrunner cargo shelf. This creates yet another level to store stuff. You can fit 8-gallon action packers, chairs, compressors, fire pits, etc on top of the shelf. And the shelf gives you another flat surface to place things on when in camp. I've used it as a food prep surface when the weather was nuts.
• Below the shelf, I use a Tuffy Cargo drawer. It's an 8" tall drawer.
• On top of the drawer, I can fit jerry cans on their side, more action packers, etc. There is also enough space for your feet to sleep on top of it, but not necessary for your use.
• Inside the drawer I keep all our camp kitchen and general camping gear.
• Beside the drawer I keep whatever fits.
• I keep my fridge in the 40% seat but this won't work for you.
• Tuffy pistol drawers under both front seats for valuables and small items.
• I keep our clothing bags, hiking packs, boots, dog leashes, etc on the floor and under the seat.
• Trasharoo to store your trash, propane cans, tarps, etc.

This is all of my gear for a 5 day off road trip. Granted I was solo, but the only difference is moving the ARB recovery bag from the front footwell to the rear wheel arch. And my water can is acting as a sleeping platform riser. Normally that's in the back to. This picture is deceiving. There's room for about 4 action packers below the shelf and 3 on it.

For you'd I'd do this:

• Ceiling net, maybe front and back. If you're mounting your hi-lift and stuff outside, get a third one for above the cargo area.
• Front seat drawers
• Hidden hi-lift mount w/accessory bars etc.
• Take out the subwoofer.
• Get a full width drawer.
• Mount your fridge on a slide on top of that.
• Store bins or another drawer next to the fridge.
• Store your soft bags and stuff in the rear footwell.
• Another option would be forgoing the drawer for a cargo slide. Then you could keep your fridge and bins on that and use the Front Runner shelf.

Frontrunner cargo slide and shelf

I'd look into roof racks like Rhino Racks Backbone system. You could just unbolt it when not in use. The rack and it's feet come off, leaving just the interior frame and those 6 slightly square blocks along the roof.

Also something like a Hanson or Rock Hard rear bumper that includes cargo rack.

 

[unkamonkey]

I've seen worse. A friend showed up with his wife for a several day weekend. It looked like he placed a few things carefully and the back of the pickup looked like he just started throwing stuff in there. At least he knew where his beer and bourbon was.

 

[Greg@RME]

A full length FrontRunner roof rack really helped me out on a recent 9 day Baja trip, we also had a freezer fridge in the cargo area with a couple medium-sized RubberMaid containers for dry goods and our sleeping bags & pads, plus backpacks for clothes, etc. The downside is a lot of weight up on top, making for a JK that's a bit of a handful at high speeds. I need to loose some weight with my camping gear and keep the lighter gear on top and heavier stuff down low. It didn't help that we had 12 gallons of water, plus 10 gallons of gas up top and at the back! :Wow1: Spreading out the weight would have been smart... I'm learning, one trip at a time!

I've been thinking hard about adding the Adventure Trailers Combo Slide, with a fridge slide and stove. Now I'm running a Cadac Safari Chef that is pretty bulky and is packed away in one of the containers that ends up on the roof rack.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Rack over spare works great!

Having a rack over the spare tire is a great option.

I picked up a waterproof bag, that fits into the rack on the LoD rear bumper.
http://rightlinegear.com/4x4-duffle-bag.html
The rack is about 15.5"x 35" and the bag is about 13" tall, so not a huge aero drag on the freeway.
That bag will swallow a lot of gear.

If I was traveling with more than two people and two dogs, a trailer would be high on the priority list.

 

[Skennedy]

This was from last weekend.......LOVE having a trailer !!!!