ok so I have a first trip report on both the Jeep and Trailer. If it's ok I'm going to crosspost this on both threads since one compliments the other.
This weekend we drove a hair over 700 miles with the Jeep and 600 miles with the Jeep/trailer. First off I was nervous as I could be about going that far on it's first trip out. We went to a hammock forums.net hammock hang in the Ozarks. This was a camping and kayak trip so we went fully loaded with food/camping gear/kayaks/paddle gear.
First off the Jeep handled the trailer great on the interstate once I was able to relax a little(just nervous first minute out). When we loaded it up I took this pic and told my wife there is no telling how many hundreds of hours were sitting in the driveway between the two projects.
Once on the interstate I had noticed that the temp gauge was having a hard time remaining consistent. I'm going to add an overflow bottle for the radiator and fab up some sort of a fan shroud to help focus the electric fans purpose. We ran approx 60-65 on the interstate.
To access the campground we had to go down a 5 mile or so gravel road that was in pretty bad shape. It was storming all the way home today and I really believe the locker made it possible to get out of there this morning. I wouldn't doubt it rained 3-4" last night.
We also drove to some area sites to view Elk and Waterfalls
The only mechanical problem with the Jeep was the windshield wiper linkage broke about halfway home so thanks to a good coating of rain x I was able to make it home without the use of windshield wipers.....going to have to look at it tomorrow to see what actually happened.
Now for the trailer......It towed well and we used the fridge/power while in camp. Everything worked great with a couple of exceptions. First off I need to find a set of latches or something because running two straps across the trailer makes it a PITA to get into the trailer so this is a priority for me. The gas struts have enough strength to open with the tent and both kayaks on the trailer so other than the straps the access couldn't be any easier.
We were not planning on using the CVT tent but I made a mistake and left my sons quilt set at home so he slept in the tent for the three nights. This was the first time I've set it up since the day my back disc went out.....I'm trying to get over the bad mojo between me and that tent. :nono: I slept last night in the tent because it was going to be raining and didn't want to break down both my hammock and tent in the rain. We had ALOT of rain last night and there were no issues with leaks or wind(awnings were tied flat) but I must say I was very disappointed in the comfort of the mattress. I think I will probably have to use a thermarest on top of the mattress. My son(granted he is 12) didn't mind the mattress but for me it just won't do.
A few pics on the way home. It was pouring rain for the entire 300 miles and I'm pleased with the way it handled towing/driving in the rain through the mountains/curves. We loaded the kayaks upside down to try to keep the amount of rainwater caught in the cockpit to a minimum.
The ground was very un-level and the jacks did a great job of getting everything fairly level.
The trailer also showed a few areas for improvement. The latches that I've already pointed out and also a few others. I need to find a better way to organize my stuff in the trailer. We had a small action packer with our kitchen stuff and it worked great. I think I'll probably pick a couple more of those up to keep the camping and boat gear in. I'm also going to take a real hard look at everything we took on the trip and start trimming some bulk/weight......I definitely carry too many things that we don't use but that's a fault of me not the Jeep or the trailer.
When we got home I cannot express my level of satisfaction of finally being able to use both the trailer/Jeep for the purpose they were built.
