Stumptaco's has gone over to the darkside..XJ style.

[mizedog]

Great kitchen build! I might suggest that due its length, adding two small rubber casters on one end. The may mean triming the corners of you flip-up counter, but would make moving it around the garage and to/from the Jeep easier. I learned this the hard way when I was a working musician (always moving around big, heavy speaker boxes and amps).

As soon as I can sell my '08 JK , I'll be moving into a late 90's XJ. You're giving me great ideas.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

As soon as I can sell my '08 JK , I'll be moving into a late 90's XJ. You're giving me great ideas.

WOW, the grass is always greener isn't it? :hehe:

 

[StumpXJ]

Couple updates

Got a few updates, the cutting board material came in on Friday. If anyone needs any of this stuff for whatever reason, I HIGHLY recommend the using www.cuttingboardcompany.com They will cut any size and any thickness piece that you will need, and it is very reasonable. I paid 22.50 for this piece, that needed to be exactly 23 1/2" X 11 5/16" (1/2" thick), that price included priority mail shipping to me. I ordered this on Monday, and I got it on Friday. Remember that I live in Germany, pretty darn impressive if you ask me. It is not officially mounted yet, but will be soon, and then the kitchen will be almost finished.

The wife and I went to IKEA today, and I picked up some dedicated camping knives, pots, frying pan, and utencils. I also picked up a rediculously strong magnet strip to hold everything at arms length while I am cooking. I was not to sure about using a magnet to hold this stuff until I realize how strong it was.

Here is a few mock-up pictures showing the cutting board in place where it will go. Obviously it will hinge up and be the "door" for the front section. Now I can figure out my latching system since I have all of my doors completed.

This is the other reason I went to IKEA, to pick up the Diode light strip for my RTT. gpwpat did this originally a few weeks back, and looked like exactly what I needed. Here is his install thread, with way more pictures than what I did.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17289&highlight=ikea

Mine are the exact same lights, but I got the white instead of multiple colors. I put mine on the bar closest to where our heads lay, so they will point towards our feet. This will keep the direct beam out of our eyes, and will provide plenty of reading light as we both enjoy reading while laying in bed.

Its still light out, but when it gets dark I will snap a few shots.

You can see them right over my wifes shoulder mounted on the tubing:

(My camera sucks, sorry.)

More later. ~ James

 

[StumpXJ]

Ok, its dark out, and the lights work fantastic. I really wish I had done something like this sooner. Its hard to describe, the light is very easy on the eyes, but its also really bright. Worth every penny (or euro in my case) if you ask me! I forgot to mention, but all I did was splice it into a male cigarette plug. The cord stays in the tent side pocket when it not being used, then it just plugs into my cigarette lighter socket when we are camping. I wired the sockets to be "hot" full time.

Once again, my 70 dollar digital camera is not quite up to the task of good photos, or maybe its the operator but you get the gist of it.

 

[Nuclear Redneck]

Very nice!

And the lights in the tent look pretty as well! Seriously, very good craftsmanship.

 

[OverlandZJ]

Awesome James! Is that a 6" suspension?

I dont remember if Germany uses road salt, if they do make sure you coat those control arm and disconnects exposed threads with anti-sieze.

I'm thinking i need a set of those LED lights.

Any idea where you and the wife will wind up when you return to the states? I'd sure like to cross paths with ya sometime.

 

[StumpXJ]

Hey John, it is the 6.5" kit. They guys at clayton told me this set-up could be used with anything from 4" of lift all the way up to 8.5" depending on which springs I choose. The kit I ordered is the 6.5 kit though. I figure with the weight that I will have on the jeep with armor and camping stuff, it will sag some, so it should be good to go.

I decided to go with the Interco TrXus tires, in 35 x 12.50 size. They are a little over 34 inches in total height. Its a little taller than I originally wanted to go with, but with all of the mud we have around here, I have a feeling it will come in handy.

Thanks for the heads up on the threads, yeah Germany does use road salt, and since the taco demise, I have been using anti-sieze on just about everything I have removed or replaced. This XJ has to last me a while...

We are not sure where we will end up, it really depends on where the wife gets her job. I can pretty much work anywhere. She has return rights to Jacksonville Fla. when our tour here gets finished, but neither of us have any desire to move to Florida. Ideally we want to live in the Northwest, perhaps the Portland area, but wont know until about 6 months before our time here is up which will be Oct 2010. My wife's family is in Peachtree City, Georgia, and we may end up there around the Atlanta area. I dont really want to, but would pick that over JAX any day. In all honesty, we wont know till we get there! Either way though, I am always up for a road trip. maybe we can all do a Expo Portal Jeep wheeling weekend somewhere.... sounds like fun to me!

You should not think twice about getting the LED's for your tent, they are the bee's knee's for lighting inside the RTT. Head straight to IKEA, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.

~James

PS, I just finished clearing/sealing/painting the kitchen. She should be finished tommorow!

 

[StumpXJ]

Kitchen update

Well, my last day of a 4 day mini vacation resulted in me finishing the kitchen. I decided to go with a teak colored sealer, and I think it turned out really good overall.

I am still debating on what to do as far as mounting it in the jeep or just keep it as a stand alone by adding legs on both ends. I think I may end up using it as a stand alone unit, that way I can use it under my awning, and there wont be anything permanent mounted in the rear of the jeep.

Anyway, here she is. I borrowed some stuff out of the kitchen for illustrative purposes.

~James

 

[SEREvince]

Dude! Did you OD on coffee? I was just there what, Sunday?

Looks great!

I think this one is a nice prototype! You should start on the final product right away!


PS: Dibs on the "prototype"!

 

[OverlandZJ]

The StumpXJ is really coming around James, looking fwd to the pics with lift installed.

:safari-rig:

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Oh man, that is cool! Great work! :clapsmile

 

[StumpXJ]

Thanks guys, yeah Vince, I was busy after you left Sunday!

Just got off the phone with the Clayton Off Road boys, and ordered a SYE and Tom Woods Drive shaft. This means the Jeep will be out of commision for a couple weeks while I install the lift and get a measurement to Tom for the drive shaft. Good thing the wife is going to Turkey for a month for her job in about 10 days! I will be needing her car.... This suspension and tire thing is getting expensive rather quickly. Just will be glad when its all installed!

~James

Oh yeah, I threw in a wireless winch controller while I was at it.

 

[StumpXJ]

Teal J has new shoes.

Got the wheels, tires, and center caps in today from Summit. Stopped by the local auto hobby shop on the base and mounted them up and balanced them myself. One of the tires kicked my butt getting the bead to seat, but I managed to get it done after a bit of sweating and cussing.

I think with these should fit right on! I didnt have to waste $3,500.00 bucks on suspension afterall.... Not having any tire rub is overrated...LOL.

At the last minute I decided against the bigger 35's and went for the more "conservative" 33's, although these are pretty big. looking forward to see how they perform.

Now the suspension just needs to hurry up and get here!

~James

 

[SEREvince]

Jealous

I LOVE the TRXus!

 

[StumpXJ]

Green with envy huh? You were right dude, I think these will do just fine in Frances finest muddy trails...

I am commandeering your "Teal J" reference also, it has a nice ring to it. Actually, I saw another guy today while mounting the tires who had the exact same year and model, but it was a two door. The best part? It was TEAL!

~James