JK Unlimited Expedition Build

[anotherguy]

I have the exact same setup, works great! Let me know if you have any questions.

I love you. I had been trying to figure out a way to mount the same setup and couldn't find a good place in the vehicle and yours makes perfect sense! I can finally install the damn thing and get it off my desk where it has been sitting since I last fiddled with it three months ago. Thanks!

 

[dstock]

I love you. I had been trying to figure out a way to mount the same setup and couldn't find a good place in the vehicle and yours makes perfect sense! I can finally install the damn thing and get it off my desk where it has been sitting since I last fiddled with it three months ago. Thanks!

Haha! No problem, if you have any questions just give me a shout!

 

[NMBruce]

I have the exact same setup, works great! Let me know if you have any questions.

Is that a home made plastic piece to hold the parts?

 

[dstock]

Is that a home made plastic piece to hold the parts?

Home made sheet metal cut to sort of go with the lines of the fender, and then I Plasti-dipped it. Have a couple neoprene washers under the plate on the fender bolts to prevent paint damage.

Also ran a strip of velcro under the battery side of the plate where it rests on the batteries to prevent any additional movement.

 

[moto-treks]

M.O.R.E. dual battery tray

I finally had time to work on the M.O.R.E. dual battery tray today. Getting it installed took me a little over half a day.

The biggest problem was keeping the wires out of the way while removing the old tray and installing the new M.O.R.E. tray.
It is definitely a tight fit with the two batteries. OEM up front and Diehard Platinum Grp 35 in the back

Next up is installing the National Luna Split-Charger Kit

 

[moto-treks]

Finished wiring up the National Luma dual battery controller. Since I have a winch I upgraded the wiring to 2 gage as suggested by National Luma (Thanks dstock for pointing that out.) I though the supplied 4 gage was thick but these guys are monsters. There is not a lot of space around those batteries once you get 2 of them in there. The DieHard is a little shorter than the OEM battery. This gave me just enough room to mount the controller/solenoid to the side of engine compartment. I'll be getting another Diehard in the summer, or once the OEM dies, which should provide a little more space for the wires.

After trying several locations for the controller/monitor I ended up tucking it away in the glove box. I'm sure I'll be pulling it out to monitor the whole setup for the first few trips but after that, a check every now and then should be OK.

The JKU build is almost complete. Next month I'll be heading to Baja via Arizona where the guys at Adventure Trailers will install some draws. That should finish off the major additions.

 

[moto-treks]

Big day for the JKUR

I parked her at Adventure Trailers today to have them install their storage system. The other JKUR in the picture had the same setup installed and was coming back for some modifications. I can't wait to she how it looks when I return. Then, it's down to Baja for a test run of the whole setup.

 

[BPMOU]

Great build. I'll be in the market for a new vehicle this spring and trying to decide between a JKU, 4runner Trail or a 100 LC. These JKU builds keep swaying me in the Jeep direction.

 

[moto-treks]

I was in the same position a year ago. My decision may have been swayed to the JKU since I owned as CJ5 years ago but I'm glad I went with another Jeep. The new motor is everything you read about, plenty of power and the MPG isn't that bad. I saw 16 MPG on my way to Prescott. If I remove the tent it's more like 18. I also like that you have the option of running totally topless - one of the things I really enjoyed with the CJ5 when off road. The road manners constant amaze me too. This Jeep handles much better than the Jeeps of old.

My wife and I spent 9 months living out of the CJ5 and we are both excited about taking this one to places all over the globe.

 

[dstock]

After trying several locations for the controller/monitor I ended up tucking it away in the glove box. I'm sure I'll be pulling it out to monitor the whole setup for the first few trips but after that, a check every now and then should be OK.

The JKU build is almost complete. Next month I'll be heading to Baja via Arizona where the guys at Adventure Trailers will install some draws. That should finish off the major additions.

When you get tired of fishing for the controller in the glove box (I went the same route originally), I mounted mine to the dash, it's out of the way and can be removed when needed, cord can be tucked back into the dash.

 

[moto-treks]

I thought of using that location put I put the switch for this there.

 

[moto-treks]

Prior to heading down to Baja I added 2 Alu-boxes from Equipt Expedition Outfitters. These ended up fitting perfectly in front of the RTT. Either box can be opened from the side making it easy to access their content. When I get home and the weather warms up I'll bolt them to the rack.

(Sorry for the artsy photo)

 

[dstock]

Prior to heading down to Baja I added 2 Alu-boxes from Equipt Expedition Outfitters. These ended up fitting perfectly in front of the RTT. Either box can be opened from the side making it easy to access their content. When I get home and the weather warms up I'll bolt them to the rack.

(Sorry for the artsy photo)

Very nice!!

 

[moto-treks]

I've been home only a day or two after leaving on Dec 14th to head down to Baja for a little vacation in the sun.

It wasn't all play as I stopped off at Adventure Trailers in Prescott AZ to have them install their Stage I & II storage system while I flew off to North Carolina for work. I had spent the majority the year researching storage systems designs trying to figure out what I wanted and how to build it. As the year drew to an end, I realized I wan't going to have time to build anything so I opted to buy something. After a few calls and emails to Mario I decided that they had done all the hard work in designing their system for a JKU. With my built date set I set off for Prescott on December 13th. A few days later I met Martyn at the shop to drop off my Jeep. Martyn gave me a quick tour and then we talked about what they would be doing for the install.

When I returned to AT my Jeep was ready to go. I was impressed with the quality craftsmanship the guys at AT did with the install. Clint went through the details explaining all the modifications and answering all the questions I had. I ended up with the Stage I and II storage system, refrigerator combo-slide, rear cargo rack, National Luna LED light and hot water/shower setup.

After picking up my Jeep I drive to LA and met my wife and we took off to Baja.

We spent 10 days waking up to this views like this

I had previously installed the Tailgate Tray and I still consider it one of my best modifications. I seems like whenever I open the tailgate I use the tray.

Refrigerator combo-slide. The drawer under the fridge is designed for a Partner stove but I decided to leave it as a detected drawer.

Stage I Drawer

The hot water heater can heat to 180 degrees which is then mixed with cold water out of the 13 gallon water tank.

Once the sun sets

the Nation Luna 15 LED light provides plenty of light to clean up after dinner.

All in all, we are very happy with this setup. Now, we just need to wait for the snow to melt to give it another trail-test.

 

[marktutone]

Very Very cool rig.