Spaceman spiff
Member
Well, it's finally come time to sell our Jeep Comanche. I built this in 2019 to travel the United States and try to convince my wife we could do the Pan American, but life had some other plans. I'll try to remember all the specs, but I may leave out some things. We are asking 45k for the rig as is. Please feel free to ask any questions or send me a message! Even if you're not interested in buying it and want to chat about building something like this let me know
Jeep is located near Bend, Oregon. About 5 minutes from the local airport if anyone is interested in a fly and drive.
Big Picture Specs:
• The truck is a 1987 Jeep Comanche. I purchased a 1997 Cherokee and swapped over the doors, fenders, grill, full interior, and the newer "high output" engine.
• The truck is the metric one-ton version with the 7' bed. I then plated the entire frame rails with 3/16 plate to beef everything up.
• It is now running a Ford 9" axle in the rear with a limited slip and a high pinion Dana 44 in the front. The front has been trussed and has bigger front brakes from a Ford thunderbird as well as warn premium locking hubs. Both axles have 5.13 gearing.
• The suspension is new, one-ton leaf springs in the back with airbags and the front has 3" lift coils from Rubicon express. The front swaybar is off a Jeep WJ as it's a bit stiffer. It has Bilstein shocks all the way around with upgraded bump stops in the front. It also has a Crossover steering kit and upgraded trackbar from Ruffstuff Specialties.
• There is a custom front bumper with 8k lb. Smittybilt winch with a synthetic line and remote control. There are cheap Chinese led lights mounted to the bumper.
• The headlights are custom made projector units and are seriously bright. Easily the best headlights I've had in a rig.
• There are custom sliders that are welded to the frame and attached to a roll bar that ties into the cab and the camper.
• There are two fuel tanks mounted to the truck although only one is plumbed. I had plans to finish plumbing the second tank but never got around to it.
• The wheels are 17" Method 703's with the bead grip and are mounted to 35x12.5 Bfg km3's. I built the camper and truck around the goal of running 37's once I swapped to a different engine so there is plenty of clearance without adding any extra lift.
• The engine has 182k miles on it which is about 50k more than the body of the truck has,--but that number is pretty irrelevant since literally every bushing, bolt, and removable piece on the Comanche have been replaced with either brand new parts or parts from the 10 year younger Cherokee.
• Our average mpg is between 11-13 depending on how you're driving. On flat ground it'll cruise just fine at 65-70 but like most campers, if you're climbing a steep grade just get into the slow lane and enjoy the sights. I built this with the intention of exploring back roads and off-road camping spots away from the average camper. I didn't prioritize fast freeway driving or bombing through the desert but instead, wanted a capable rig to take in the sights and really explore. The Jeep is way more capable off-road than I feel comfortable pushing it and we never found the limits of where it could go.
• The camper is custom built aluminum unit attached to a steel framed flatbed. The entire camper is framed and sheeted in .090 aluminum (overkill I know...)
• It has an airplane style folding door with built in steps. The door is opened with an electric coded door latch. It is super nice to be able to throw all our stuff in the back and not worry about finding our keys to get in. I'm 6'4 and wanted plenty of head room. With the top popped the ceiling is almost 9 feet at the peak which gives a very open feeling to a tiny space.
Internal Specs:
• Inside is a two-burner propane stove, two water tanks that are 8.5 gal each and a 6 gal water heater that runs off engine coolant for a grand total of 25 gal of fresh water. Every time you drive for a little while you've got hot water. It works by mixing the 180 degree water with the cool water so you end up with a total of 9 gal of hot water. More than enough for showering and doing dishes. Fresh water drinking tap with its own filters.
• We had a Snomaster 85 liter fridge mounted in there, but this will not be included with the sale. We bought lots of stickers during our travels and they're on the fridge, so it holds a lot of sentimental value to us. The fridge slider will be left installed in the truck so you can fit another Snomaster fridge or try to fit in another one.
• There is a 100ah battle born battery as well as a custom made 100ah battery for 200ah total. 1500 watt inverter.
• The truck has a diesel heater installed that does an excellent job of keeping the cabin warm even in below freezing temperatures.
• 200 watts of solar on the roof.
• The back of the truck has a 2 gal. Rotopax to run the heater as well as a propane tank for the stove.
• Also mounted up are a high lift jack and shovel (aka the toilet). On the outside by the door is an exterior shower or the sink faucet will reach out the window so there’s two options for showering.
• All windows are by Arctic Tern with bug screens and blackout shades.
• The fold down bed is just barely under a queen size in width and is 7.5 feet long. The roof has enough clearance that all the bedding can be left on the bed so it's as easy as lowering it down and climbing in. I built the bed up top with enough room down below to still access the fridge and stove. It's not comfortable to cook a full meal with the bed down, but really nice to grab a snack or make some coffee while the other person is still in bed.
• Up top is a fantastic fan that opens towards the front so that the top can be popped open and the fan can run without letting in rain water.
• There is a Lagun table that matches the counter to extend the work space or swing out to use as a table. Additionally, it can be folded up and stored behind the passenger seat.
• All the bench seating has tons of storage as well as three drawers at the far end of the counter, one big drawer under the fridge, and a cabinet underneath the sink. All drawers and cabinets are magnet locked so they do not fly open while driving. All cushions are custom made with thick denim covers, removable to wash when needed.
• The canvas for the pop-up is made from Sunbrella and does a good job of insulating. The windows have screens, clear plastic layers, and black out shades. The canvas also has a zipper around the entire top so it's easy to remove the bed mattress or load long or large objects into the truck.
• All of the electronics are controlled by a single switch panel on the interior. It turns on and off the lights, fridge, water pump, heater, power outlets, inverter, etc. For charging there is a redarc bcdc1225d. Super simple system that charges from the solar or alternator and won't drain your starting battery.
You can find a great interior tour of the camper on YouTube. This was done by Tiny Home Tours and gives more info on the house portion of the camper.
Check the video out here:
The Jeep definitely isn't perfect, I had a list of things I still wanted to do to it including rear disc brakes, tuned suspension, 37" tires, and an engine swap of some sort. With that said however, I drove it all over—from Idaho to Alaska and down to the end of Baja and back. It has been in freezing weather and scorching weather and has been our home in both. I wouldn't hesitate to hop into it and drive across the country. The best thing about these Jeeps is that every single issue they've ever had has been documented online and you could pull into an O'Reilly’s or Napa and rebuild the whole engine in the parking lot. It has been an excellent home-on-the-road for us, and we hope that whoever buys it loves it as much as we do. I've added a few pics below or you can check out our instagram @sasquatch.the.nomad
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is Overlanding! Awesome build. Great video.
