Hey all, I've been reading all different vehicle forums for the past 2 yrs chomping at the bits to finish nursing school and start traveling. We have no kids right now but my wife and i are thinking about starting a family really soon. At first I wanted a deuce and a half converted to a crew cab rv, then my sane, practical side kicked in and i've been toying around with the idea of a late 80's early 90's suburban with a 6 bt conversion. Now I'm considering a wrangler(not sure on the model yet, as i am not 100% sure of alot of the differences in them besides the newer ones). I've always wanted a soft top wrangler, and am considering getting one and doing a 4bt swap, since it seems common enough to have enough info to make it easy enough for me. I was struggling with storage for a wrangler w/ soft top, since there's no obvious roof rack solution, then i saw racks with tubes that look like they go over the soft top and then go into regular racks. Since I'll be putting alot of effort into the jeep and won't have time to customize my own trailer(or the metalworking skills/equipment) I'll probably just go with one of the pop up campers and modify it a little to make it more offroad worthy, and add a box up front for storage. Is this feasable for a family of 3-4 and a couple of k-9 friends(probably a daschund and medium size dog, nothing really big)? Any of you guys do long trips with a jeep?
traveling with 1 or 2 kids and a couple of dogs?
- Thread starter bwhite829
- Start date
I just got back from a two week trip from Maryland to Moab, Utah on to Ouray then Gunnison Colorado and back to MD in my 2010 four door Wrangler with m wife and two kids, ages 14 and 11. We carried camping gear and luggage as well as fising gear. I have a cargo area deck and used a front receiver mounted box and a rear receiver mounted rack as well. It was tight, no room for the dogs, but ours are bigger, labs @ 65lbs ea.
The only Wrangler option is limited to 2007-2012 JK series Wrangler Unlimited four doors, imo.
I have both soft and hard tops, though the sift top s fun and a lot quieter than older Jeep soft tops it is a heck of a lot louder than the hard top and isn't secure. I think the hard top has to be preferred top for any traveling - for example, I switched back to my hard top prior to our trip out west to avoid the noise and to ensure relatively secure storage.
Skip the 4bt swap into a JK Wrangler, it cannot be done and meet federal or state legal or emissions standards. Even if it could meet legal requirements - and it can't - it is the wrong engine for the application.
My Jeep has an AEV 4.5" suspension and 37" tires. It rides, drives and handles great. The suspension handled all of the extra weight well too.
Life would be a lot easier if you were to choose a Dodge crew cab with the 6bt already in it.
If you go Suburban, just live with the GM 6.2. For the application it's ok and it's already in there.
JPK
The only Wrangler option is limited to 2007-2012 JK series Wrangler Unlimited four doors, imo.
I have both soft and hard tops, though the sift top s fun and a lot quieter than older Jeep soft tops it is a heck of a lot louder than the hard top and isn't secure. I think the hard top has to be preferred top for any traveling - for example, I switched back to my hard top prior to our trip out west to avoid the noise and to ensure relatively secure storage.
Skip the 4bt swap into a JK Wrangler, it cannot be done and meet federal or state legal or emissions standards. Even if it could meet legal requirements - and it can't - it is the wrong engine for the application.
My Jeep has an AEV 4.5" suspension and 37" tires. It rides, drives and handles great. The suspension handled all of the extra weight well too.
Life would be a lot easier if you were to choose a Dodge crew cab with the 6bt already in it.
If you go Suburban, just live with the GM 6.2. For the application it's ok and it's already in there.
JPK
We also just returned from a trip to Colorado / Utah. We have 2 kids (6 and 9) who have traveled thousands of miles in JKU's. When we go to the beach we also take our 2 dogs (Lab and Golden) with us and use our 2008 with the Kargo Master roof rack.
When we go out west we take the 2010 and leave the dogs at home.
Next year we are going to take the dog's if we have a roof rack for the hard top by then.
X2 on what JPK said about the AEV Suspension. My Rubicon rides and drives better than stock with the AEV 3.5". Camping is much easier with a hardtop Jeep especially if you camp in bear country.
When we go out west we take the 2010 and leave the dogs at home.
Next year we are going to take the dog's if we have a roof rack for the hard top by then.
X2 on what JPK said about the AEV Suspension. My Rubicon rides and drives better than stock with the AEV 3.5". Camping is much easier with a hardtop Jeep especially if you camp in bear country.
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jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
We camp with our 2 Vizslas and tons of camping gear with room to spare if I use the roof rack, but since building the off-road tent trailer everything gets packed in there. The JK's are nice, but there are other very nice options out there that will give you the room and prowess for less money. As for Suburbans, they were available in the 80's with a diesel and get 20+mpg, my buddy has one that he added the Banks turbo setup to and averages 22mpg, plus he can tow his flatbed trailer with a 67 Scout on 35's loaded up and 5 or 6 friends. The same engine was also available in the Blazer.
Yes, that was the Suburban 6.2 I was referring too. But I found that they also offerred a 6.5l diesel which might be a better choice. I also have a buddy with one who has done some turbo work and put a chip in it. His runs great, gets darned good milage and has +200k miles on it with minimal and typical maintenance requirements you would expect from any truck. The GM diesel is a bit noisy compared to some modern diesels, but, hey, can't have everything. Here's a link to info on the Suburban diesels and what years they were offerred: http://www.dieselsuburbans.com/DieselSuburbanFacts.htm
On the JK hard top, I forgot to mention that the front two panels over the driver and front right passenger seats really works pretty well and they are easy to take off and store in the back or on a roof rack for a day "al fresco." Quick and easy off and on. I thought the "Freedom Top" was a huge joke, just a gimmic, when I bought my JKU, but I was wrong. I take the panels off pretty regularly and love the option of doing it. Not the top down joy of a soft top, but a darned good compromise.
Nice Jeeps NOCIBUR, especially the AEV '10! Did we meet in Moab this past EJS with AEV for their customer run on Steel Bender? (My '10 is white, with a Hemi and snorkle, small (and nearly useless) roof rack, aluminum RROR skids...)
JPK
On the JK hard top, I forgot to mention that the front two panels over the driver and front right passenger seats really works pretty well and they are easy to take off and store in the back or on a roof rack for a day "al fresco." Quick and easy off and on. I thought the "Freedom Top" was a huge joke, just a gimmic, when I bought my JKU, but I was wrong. I take the panels off pretty regularly and love the option of doing it. Not the top down joy of a soft top, but a darned good compromise.
Nice Jeeps NOCIBUR, especially the AEV '10! Did we meet in Moab this past EJS with AEV for their customer run on Steel Bender? (My '10 is white, with a Hemi and snorkle, small (and nearly useless) roof rack, aluminum RROR skids...)
JPK
Thanks for the info. I had heard of the diesel burbs but didn't know much about them. I should do more research I guess. I have always wanted a Jeep, but I guess I'll get one later as a project but will go with something more practical for family tripping. How does the diesel excursion compare to the suburban as far as dependability and durability? I don't think I'll be doing alot of traveling in foreign countries save Canada on the way to Alaska for a while, so parts availability isn't too big of a deal as far as internationally.
At work we have a primarily Ford fleet - pre Nobamanomics more than 120, now under 80. Short version: The older Powerstrokes run trouble free forever. The newer Powerstrokes are an expensive, troublesome pita to maintain, breakdown frequently and have driven us to the point that if Nobamanomics ever ends and we ever order new chassis cabs they will be Dodges with the Cummins diesel (only because GM's 3500 trucks don't have the GVWR we need and the 4500 is HUGE.) First troublesome Powerstroke year that I recall is '05 or '06, but it might have been earlier.
JPK
JPK
My kids grew up in the back of 4WDs and sandrails. You really need to decide what you plan to do with the vehicle. If you enjoy camping and exploring the desert then a suburban or excursion (diesel) is great! If you want to do some exploring in tighter areas a good SUV maybe enough (4Runner, Land Cruiser, Grand Cherokee...). If you enjoy more technical 4wheeling than the JKU Wrangler is a great option. We've run plenty of technical rock trails (like Fordyce, Rubicon, Broken Arrow...) with 3 teenagers (16,16, 19) and our 75lb Doberman in our JKU.
Proper packing is a must, especially when your kids are still in diapers. You don't need your entire kitchen to reheat pre-made spaghetti, powdered formulas can be kept in ziploc bags instead of cans, dogs only need one bowl for food and water.....
Some people like using a "hitch hauler" to gain extra cargo space while on the road and it's easily removed and left at base camp for daily exploring/wheeling. Also roof and jamboree racks are your friend.
Where do you plan to do the majority of your "traveling"?
Proper packing is a must, especially when your kids are still in diapers. You don't need your entire kitchen to reheat pre-made spaghetti, powdered formulas can be kept in ziploc bags instead of cans, dogs only need one bowl for food and water.....
Some people like using a "hitch hauler" to gain extra cargo space while on the road and it's easily removed and left at base camp for daily exploring/wheeling. Also roof and jamboree racks are your friend.
Where do you plan to do the majority of your "traveling"?
We aren't sure where we will be doing most of it. I start nursing school next yr and we will be doing alot of travel nursing and homeschooling whenever we have kids. We live in pensacola right now, but she has family in cleveland area so we'll be going back and forth between there some no doubt, but I've got a huge interest in mountains, alaska fishing, new mexico, etc...and i asked her yesterday and she said she really wants to explore the NE colonies sometime.
Gotcha. But I'm not sure if it is the ULSD itself or piss poor engines which would be having issues no matter what fuel they run on.
JPK