How would you outfit this custom LJ?

[jscherb]

OO has a number of things that hang on zippers - their Backpack and 15" Zip & Go bags hang on the seat back and their Saddlebags hang on zippers over the rear inner fenders. Recently they added a zipper attachment for TJ/LJ and YJ seats to hang the Backpack/Zip & Go bags, I posted about this a few weeks ago when they sent me production samples (shown here with an insulated drink cooler bag I recently designed and sewed and I'm calling the "Cool Roll"):

But they haven't done a zipper attachment for their Saddlebags, which is one of their most popular products for the JKU/JK/JLU/JL. I decided to remedy that, if only for my Jeep - I designed and sewed a "universal" zipper strip for the LJ that mounts to hardtop holes in the tub side and is compatible with all of the OO zipper-attached bags.

This is their JKU/JK/JL Saddlebag, it's form-fitted to the curves and slopes of the inner fender and coincidentally fits very nicely against the LJ inner fenders:

Their 15" Zip & Go bag:

The "Cool Rool" insulated drink bag I mentioned above. It's not a product, although perhaps they'll pick it up for next season.

I don't know if OO will be interested in this new zipper strip; they tell me they don't sell too many products to LJ people (they sell tons to JK and JL people) so maybe they'll have better things to do with their time but maybe I'll see if I can get them to do a limited run of these and offer a promotion to LJ folks.

 

[jscherb]

From Thanksgiving through usually the end of March, this is what the LJ looks like:

Facing out of the garage, plow at the ready to be lowered so I can plow straight out of the garage. Since I have two other Jeeps to drive, leaving the LJ in the garage ready to plow works out well for the winter months.

In addition to the plow, I also carry tow gear in case I come across someone who needs help getting out of a ditch or snowbank. My recovery strap lives in a bag either on the back of the driver's seat or now on the new tub-side zipper strips I made the other day.

I usually have kept the shackles for the strap on the floor behind the driver's seat but after making the zipper strips I decided to make a pouch for the shackles.

On the back are three HD MOLLE straps and a Zip & Go zipper along the top. Since shackles are heavy, I reinforced the back of the bag with a double thickness of heavy 1 1/2" webbing, which the zipper and the MOLLE straps are sewed to.

With the Zip & Go zipper it can attach to the seat back or to the new tub-side zipper strips I just sewed.

The tow strap is in the bag on the driver's seat.

In either location the tow gear is out of the way but still convenient to access.

I have a MORryde Storegate on my LJ's tailgate so I can't use OO's new TJ Tailgate MOLLE panel in the LJ, but I've got one of their new panels on a test tailgate so I tried the new pouch on there too.

 

[jscherb]

The LJ earning its keep today. We got a little more than a foot.

 

[jscherb]

Work in progress on the power pods for the roof of the LJ. Checking the fit on the salt-encrusted Jeep (it's been plowing):

Sockets installed in the housings:

I did these for the JKU a few weeks ago and since I have the same XJ Cherokee rack on the LJ and use the same Garvin rack basket with accessories (solar panel, for example) I'm putting the same connections on the LJ roof.

Have to do the mounting studs/power connections and then they'll be ready to install.

The pods on the JKU:

I'll run the wires down the inside of the b-pillar so the connectors are near the floor, just as I did in the JKU:

Once these are installed, I'll be able to use various electrical accessories on the rack very easily, and both the LJ and the JKU will have the same connections so anything I do on the rack for one Jeep can be used on the other.

 

[jscherb]

I finished the power pods for the LJ roof rack:

The studs will be cut to length when I install them. The stud closest to the socket is positive, the other is negative.

Might not install them on the LJ roof for a while; the LJ is in its plow duty phase of the year and I only take it out for plowing so it's unlikely I'll need powered accessories on the rack until the plow comes off.

Over the years I've tested a number of LED lights from Auxbeam and each set comes with a very nice harness. I modified one of the harnesses with SAE plugs so it can plug into the cabin side of the power connections. I'll modify the light ends (at right in this photo) to be the proper length and add an SAE plug the next time I have the rack on one of the Jeeps; that way I can run any of the Auxbeam lights on the rack just by plugging the harness into the power pod connectors.

 

[pith helmet]

NIce work, as always on the power pods.
Unrelated question; what tires do you run on your jeeps?Ive noticed you usually have a Michelin on there whether at home or out west.

 

[jscherb]

NIce work, as always on the power pods.
Unrelated question; what tires do you run on your jeeps?Ive noticed you usually have a Michelin on there whether at home or out west.

Thank you.

For over 10 years I've been using 265/75r16 Michelin LTX M/S (standard load range, not the load range E version) on both my LJ and my Retro Wrangler pickup. They are very quiet and smooth on the 80mph interstate runs from here to Colorado or Utah, and they've never let me down on the trail or on high-tire-risk places like the Dalton Highway up to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska.

 

[jscherb]

Recently I posted photos of OO's Saddlebags in my LJ. Designed for the JKU/JK2dr/JL2dr (large size) and the JKU (a bit smaller), both form-fit well against the LJ's sloped/curved inner fender...

The JLU bag in the LJ:

The larger JKU/JK2dr/JL2dr bag in the LJ (this is their upcoming limited edition all-black version):

Today I had to go to the local u-pull for something so I brought both size bags along to see how they might fit in a TJ (I don't have a TJ here so I often do TJ measurements and design work using whatever TJs they happen to have at the moment in the u-pull). Neither bag really fit nicely in the TJ, mostly because the TJ's inner fenders protrude almost as far forward as the main hoop of the roll bar and they're not as sloped as the JK/JL inner fenders. I took photos but no point in posting them because I don't recommend the bags for the TJ, while they could be adapted to mount to the TJ, they just aren't shaped to match the TJ's inner fenders so I can't recommend them for the TJ.

I took a photo of the TJ inner fender so I could do a concept sketch of what a TJ version of the Saddlebag might look like. A TJ version wouldn't be wedge-shaped like the JK/JL versions, it would have a flatter bottom to match the flat top of the TJ inner fender. It would look something like this (I didn't try to duplicate the early morning frost on the concept bag ):

Wouldn't be hard to make up a prototype, but I doubt OO would be interested. Their premium quality products do very well with the JK and JL crowds, but they tell me their TJ sales lag behind the other models. I keep trying to get them to show some more love to the TJ folks, and they have released a few TJ products recently, but I won't wear out my welcome with them by trying to push too many TJ ideas on them.

 

[jscherb]

A few weeks ago I posted about how I always carry my tow strap and shackles in the LJ during the winter because I might come across someone stuck in the snow. Today I came across this mail carrier with two wheels deep in a roadside ditch. Only took about 2 minutes to free her.

 

[Zeep]

Good job Jeff, keep the mail coming!

 

[jscherb]

I'm in the process of installing the power pods on the roof of the LJ Safari Cab. I installed a pair of these on the JKU roof a few months ago (and posted about them in my JK thread) and I'm just now getting time to install them on the LJ. The LJ is salt-encrusted right now because it's in the plow duty phase of the year...

With these installed, anything electrical I want to put on the rack (solar panel, lights) can be easily connected with a simple SAE plug.

I've only done the driver's side so far, hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to do the passenger side and interior wiring.

 

[jscherb]

Got the second power pod installed this morning.

Don't mind all the road salt on the Jeep, in a few weeks the plow will come off and the salt will be washed off.

I really like that these pods look like part of the roof rack, you don't even know they are there unless you look closely.

I've got a little bit of wiring to finish inside the Jeep, before these can be used, but that won't take long.

 

[jscherb]

Last night I got out my Colorado trail books to think about planning an off-road expedition for this summer. As I was going through the books I was reminded of how many of the trails I've done over the years (I've been doing Colorado expeditions for about 10 years), so I decided to make a list of the Colorado trails the LJ has done. Alphabetically:

Alpine Tunnel Road
Argentine Pass, McClellan Mountain
Arrastra Gulch
Aspen Mountain
Balanced Rock Road
Black Sage Pass
Boreas Pass
California Gulch
Cinnamon Pass, Wager Gulch (Carson Ghost Town)
Coffee Pot Road
Corkscrew Gulch, Hurricane Pass
Cottonwood Pass
Cumberland Pass
Dakan Road, Long Hollow Road
Devil's Punchbowl
Dotsero Crater
Dry Mesa Jeep Road
Engineer Pass
Escalante Canyon Road
Georgia Pass
Grizzly Jeep Trail
Guanella Pass
Hagerman Pass
Hancock Pass, Alpine Tunnel
Imogene Pass
Kebler Pass
Kendall Mountain
Last Dollar Road
Marshall Pass Railway Grade Road
Marshall Pass to Sargents
Marshall Pass via Poncha Creek
Medano Pass
Montezuma Basin
Mosquito Pass
Mt. Herman Road, Rampart Range
Nevadaville Loop
North Fork Cutoff
Ohio Pass
Oh-My-God Road, Russell Gulch
Old Monarch Pass
Old Stage Road to Gold Camp Road
Ophir Pass, Alta Lakes
Paradise Divide
Pearl Pass
Picayune Gulch, Placer Gulch
Pikes Peak
Pomeroy Lakes and Mary Murphy Mine
Red Mountain Mining Area
Rollins Pass East
Rollins Pass West
Saxon Mountain
Shelf Road, Phantom Canyon
Shrine Pass
Silverton to Animas Forks
Silverton to Lake Como
Stony Pass, Kite Lake
Tincup Pass, St. Elmo
Transfer Trail
Waunita Pass
Weston Pass
Yankee Boy Basin

If I decide to continue this project I'll have to add Utah trails (generally during Easter Jeep Safari, which I've attended in the LJ 7 or 8 times). I should also add some off-road and off-pavement miles in Alaska and trails in the Mojave Desert and Death Valley.

The LJ has done a lot of trail miles over the years.

 

[jscherb]

I finished the rooftop power pod wiring today. On the floor next to the passenger seat:

The wire from the left with the split loom on it is the lead to the power pod. The wire on the right is switched power from under the hood; it's got a cap on the plug because when the ignition is on the plug will be powered. If the plug isn't being used, the cap will protect from short circuits.

I can use the power pod multiple ways with this wiring:

1. I can plug the solar panel into the pod on the roof and run a lead from left wire to the solar controller to charge the kitchen battery.

2. I can plug the two connectors in the photo together to provide switched power up to the power pod on the roof.

3. I can insert a switch between the two connectors to control whatever is powered on the roof (typically lights).

The wiring I put in the JKU for the power pods on its roof is identical to this, and since I use the same rack basket on both Jeeps, anything electrical I do on the rack will work on both Jeeps.

The rooftop power pod project is now complete on both Jeeps.

 

[jscherb]

Back in October I made tub-side zipper strips for my LJ so I could hang OO Saddlebags there:

I sent the dimensions and details to OO in case they might be interested. They tell me they don't get much call for LJ stuff but what the heck, if I made them for my LJ I might as well send them the details. Last week these showed up:

I checked them out in the LJ and they fit fine. I don't know if they will make them a regular production product but if someone wants Saddlebags for their LJ I'm sure they would be willing to provide a set of these zipper strips since they now know how to make them.

And... last week I was working on the design for JL rear door pockets, I posted about it in my JK thread. I was sent a JL rear door panel to use for patterning and I noticed that the armrest was held on with screws so I unscrewed it and held it up against my LJ door:

With only a minor bit of adjustment to the plastic on the back of the armrest it looks like it could be installed in place of the LJ's pull strap. I've always wanted armrests on my LJ doors, this might be a good way to get them. I only have one though, maybe if I can find another one somewhere for the other door I'll install them.