Triple-purpose JK Build

[udoxx]

This post really gets me excited and motivated to use up my leave days for a long family trip. So, I thank you for all the effort and time you are putting into keeping us all informed. I love real world experiences and prefer them over marketing brochures, lol! My only problem is why are there so many things you must repair or upgrade on your Campa. I know those things begin around 22k, I wouldn't expect so many QA issues.

 

[XXXpedition]

pretty daring....
first you get a brand-new trailer, then you take it appart and mess with it :elkgrin:

 

[jsmoriss]

My only problem is why are there so many things you must repair or upgrade on your Campa. I know those things begin around 22k, I wouldn't expect so many QA issues.

Yeah, that was a bit of a letdown. I don't really mind the leaking hose problem -- Chris thought he was using a better hose, and in the end, once replaced, it's even better than it would have been (I moved a hose connection to get hot water at the small sink too). The leaking central bin is another matter though. Chris should have known about these problems already -- some rivets in the top hinges were not blind (they had a hole through their center), some seams where not tight enough, and even the hole in the side where the power wire comes in is not sealed. I also found several loose rivets and even one missing.

I think the above would probably annoy anyone, but I'm rather fussy about things -- well, maybe I'm very fussy about things. It bothers me that many of the holes were not de-burred, one side bin had a seal made of two pieces instead of one, another side bin had a different thickness of seal (the lid doesn't pop up like the others), half the lid shocks are missing a retaining pin, the Zarges cases were mounted too far (maybe 1/2" or so) to the outside of the rack (clearance issue with the tent awning poles), I could have used larger Zarges cases (was told available space was smaller than it really is), the jerry can holders are pre-drilled for other uses, the side awnings were too long, the lights are not LEDs, one of the three valves is not the locking kind, the sink had a leak, and the switches were not all sealed (I shorted one next to the sink).

Chris offered to meet me in Champlain NY and fix all this stuff over a period of 2 days, but I couldn't spare the time, and preferred to do it myself -- that way I could make sure it was done to my satisfaction. Like I said, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Chris has shipped me everything I've asked for -- his after sales service is excellent -- but QA on the finer details could have been better.

js.

 

[jsmoriss]

pretty daring....
first you get a brand-new trailer, then you take it appart and mess with it

No choice really.

I had a few mods already planned for the trailer -- a mount for the Partner Table, a mount for some Waffle Boards, and replacing all the lights by LEDs -- but I wasn't expecting all these fixes. Well, at least now I pretty much know this trailer inside and out.

js.

 

[JRhetts]

....BTW, anyone know what I can use to treat 44 gals of water at one time? Filtering water for drinking is one thing, but I'd like to use un-filtered (hot) water for dishes, and in some areas, that could be a problem. I would need to treat that un-filtered water somehow. Hm....
js.

Attached is a spreadsheet I calculated for my purposes. It is sufficient dosage to kill most anything but not overdo things, which I find we tend to do.

 

[jsmoriss]

Attached is a spreadsheet I calculated for my purposes. It is sufficient dosage to kill most anything but not overdo things, which I find we tend to do.

Thanks, but Bleach is a no-no for Stainless Steel (the water tanks on the Campa are made of stainless steel).

I was thinking of using iodine, but according to http://www.high-altitude-medicine.com/water.html#chemical :

"It should not be used by persons with allergy to iodine, persons with active thyroid disease, or pregnant women."

I have a lazy thyroid gland and take Thyroidine daily. A charcoal filter might filter out most of the iodine, and could also act as a sediment pre-filter for the Katadyn.

I also found this interesting:

"Addition of a small amount of vitamin C (50 mg) to your water after the contact time with the iodine will render the water nearly flavorless!"

js.

 

[jsmoriss]

Bleach is a no-no for Stainless Steel (the water tanks on the Campa are made of stainless steel).

I'm thinking Micropur Classic and Micropur Forte in liquid form would be the way to go. I could use the Classic for areas where the water quality is suspect for doing dishes, and the Forte for areas where the water might contain viruses (unlikely in North-America I think). I may also get a clear under-sink sediment filter (that I'll connect inline before the pump) for those occasions when I have to pump water from a lake, etc.

Micropur in liquid and powder forms is difficult to find in North-America, not to mention Canada. Anyone know where I could pick some up?

Thanks,
js.

 

[jsmoriss]

The dog kennel platform is almost finished. These wire kennels tend to rattle quite a bit, so I glued all the loose bits and added gas line to the doors. In the future I'll replace them with custom build aluminum kennels, but these'll do for now.

The Partner Table mount is almost done. The straps will do for now, until I can figure out a better solution to secure the table.

When the platform is lowered like this, the spare tire mount prevents the table from being removed.

The center bin lids open a little less, but still more than 16" (the width of the center bin openings). If I had to do it again, I might offset the table a bit so one lid could open higher. We used steel nutserts, which are a real PITA to install, so although I'd like to offset the table, it may stay like this for a while. I've been thinking of adding some air intakes to the center bin, and eventually mount an ARB 45 in there -- if I do, I may have to offset the table to get better access to the fridge.

To mount the table, I had to remove the fire extinguisher that came with the Campa, so I replaced it with this one. I'll probably mount a matching one on the other side.

js.

 

[jsmoriss]

Back from Parry Sound...

Melanie and I just got back from a trip to Parry Sound and Algonquin Park. This makes our second trip with the trailer - gradually working towards longer trips. Melanie is looking forward to our next trip - probably a month around the East Coast. I'd like to add two solo canoes for that trip, so hopefully I'll find a job soon.

We spend one night at Presqu'Ile Park, one night at Killbear Park, two nights in Kiosk (Algonquin Park), and two nights in Brent (Algonquin Park). I'd planned to use some backroads on the way to Kiosk, but as those backroads turned to logging roads, then muddy trails, and finally un-used trails, we had second thoughts. We made it about 1/2 way through from the 69 to Kiosk before turning around. I would guess we still had 4+ hours to go for the second half, but that's a big guess. The trails could have dead-ended, there could have been downed trees, swamps, etc. No way to know. We had a good amount of recovery gear, but I left the waffle boards and pullpal at home, and the chainsaw is still on the 'to buy' list. Still... I proposed camping farther along the un-used trail and continuing the next day. Melanie isn't there yet -- she preferred camping in Kiosk, so I picked out a route to get us back onto the 69 a little farther north. You can see our track and planned route here: http://public.mvlan.net/content/Jee...lanning/Algonquin Park/69 to Kiosk Tracks.kmz As you can see, we still had several hours of trail left. It was a choice between camping on the trail, getting to Kiosk very, very late, or turning back for the highway. Melanie picked number three. If we'd been with another Jeep, we probably would have pushed on...

I have a plan to drive right through the park next year, south to north, in case anyone's interested. I expect it'll get a little interesting with some downed trees, river/stream crossings, maybe some minor bridge building, etc... I'll post the proposed route in the Canada forum later...

So, here's a whole bunch of pics, starting with those backroads from the 69 to Kiosk...

The back-road from the 69 to Kiosk started out nice and easy:

Then we hit some logging roads:

Serious logging roads:

After taking a wrong fork, we had to turn around:

And recce the turn we missed:

So without knowing what the other half to Kiosk looked like, we decided to turn back at this point:

A few pictures of our camp site in Kiosk...

js.

 

[jsmoriss]

More pictures...

Everyone likes pictures, right? Here's a few more...

The Zarges cases packed and ready to go -- sleeping bag & liner, pillow, long-johns, tuques, books, water bottle, and pee bottle. It all fits, but I'll probably get some wider Zarges cases this winter.

Soap, towels, etc. in the side-bin, garbage can, dry goods, PETT, shower enclosure, Snow Peak fireplace in the center bin.

Cold fridge on the left, cool fridge on the right.

Hoses and tools in the other side-bin.

Hannibal awning sides, dog training stuff, flyfishing gear, Snow Peak tables, and clothes (packed after this picture).

Melanie sewed some mosquito nets for the rear windows. We'll do the fronts for next year.

Command center.

The dog's little corner. We used the ARB 45 fridge for the dog's food. He's raw fed, which can be a challenge when camping. He eats on a mat that we also keep in the freezer. We take out a meal when we get to camp, keep it in a plastic bin in the trailer, and feed him the next morning after breakfast. This pretty much keeps smells to a minimum. The freezer could hold 1 week of food for 2 dogs, and the platform was designed for 2 kennels. We may get another dog in the future, but we're not sure yet...

Setting up the bedroom. We chose the small Overzone. The medium would have been nice, but I wanted to keep the width to a minimum in case we have to haul the trailer through some tight / banked trails. For next year, Melanie will sew some mosquito net pockets to hang in the tent and stash our clothes.

The beach umbrella was added to our gear list after our first trip.

js.

 

[jsmoriss]

Doing dishes with hot water on-demand is the only way to go.

A little fire over breakfast as we wait for the sun to come up -- rather essential these days to take a shower and dry the tent. One night it got down to 5C! Brrrr!

js.

 

[jsmoriss]

About the Campa trailer...

Although I've nit-picked on a few things, I have to admit the trailer impressed me in a number of ways on this trip. Certainly things like fridge size, hot water, 44 gals of water, etc. are all impressive features on a trailer this size, but even more importantly is how it handles off-road. We had occasions to test it on gravel roads, dirt roads, washboard, muddy trails, etc. Where it impressed me the most was on the gravel roads. We had 40km of winding gravel road between the highway and Brent, and I was going fast. I spent my time between 3rd, 4th, and sometimes 5th -- down-shifting to 3rd for corners, where I'd slide the back-end out and step on the gas to power through the corner. The Campa tracked so well, you'd think it was connected to the frame. Amazing. Even when we hit washboard in the corners (a pucker factor for sure!) it would track with minimal bounce. I found a small difference between driving back roads with the water tanks full and empty. Although it still handled well with empty tanks, it was a rock with full tanks. So we got into the habit of filling the tanks before leaving a camp site.

We also got to haul it through some bumpy / muddy trails. With the added tongue weight on the hitch, I had to adjust the rear shocks to avoid bottoming out the suspension. The trailer didn't bounce too much at all. I have to say though, the anti-sway bar is a MUST off-road. We took it off for a bit, but quickly put it back on. It acts as a brake and you can hardly feel the trailer behind you, even on some pretty nasty trails were it was stop/go/slow/fast a lot. Without the anti-sway bar, you could definitely feel some slop between the ball and trailer.

js.

 

[DavidEllzey]

If you do some research on it I think you'll agree that clorine dioxide is the way to go:
http://aquamira.com/consumer/aquamira-water-treatment-2oz/

Best of luck!
Dave

 

[miyvh7]

Triple purpose JK

I have been following your build and lessons learned with great interest as I’m currently in the startup stages of doing a milder version of your project. I am attempting to accomplish much the same goals with a 2001 TJ Sport modified with AEV 3” lift 35” tires associated AEV armor and a AEV V-8 5 speed as our platform. As with any fine wine that gets better with age my wife and I are more inclined to base camp in a single location for a period of time and then move on to the next site to explore. To be blunt were old and like our comforts more than we used to. As such we will be pulling a small fully self-contained camper thus requiring the base camp scenario. What I am really interested in the “Command Center” of your last post. What equipment are you utilizing? Software / trip planning? Both on and off road? GPS tie in to the Laptop. And the laptop “Desk” Your review / comments about these and lessons learned would be appreciated as I have already noted many A-hah”s to date. Thanks and good luck on the employment front, as I’m in Texas sorry no help there. Keep up the post.

 

[jsmoriss]

What I am really interested in the “Command Center” of your last post. What equipment are you utilizing? Software / trip planning? Both on and off road? GPS tie in to the Laptop. And the laptop “Desk” Your review / comments about these and lessons learned would be appreciated as I have already noted many A-hah”s to date.

Before moving this summer, we lived in condo right downtown, so some mods were easier to do (on the sidewalk) than others. Obviously with an extension cord and soldering iron, you can do a lot of electrical stuff. Some of the non-GPS stuff you see in the picture are three gauges (starter battery voltage, oil pressure, and engine coolant temp), then an Alpine head-unit and switch panel (lights and compressor), then a little lower two 3-way switches (winch and backup battery integration), then another panel bellow to over-ride some electronics in the JK (fan off, ABS off, and lockers). There are also 2 gauges overhead for air pressure and backup battery voltage. There's also a CB up there as well. There's an overhead net for hats, a small light for the passenger, and the SPOT. We usually send an "ok" in the morning, then turn on tracking for the day, and send another "ok" when we stop for the day. We also have three GPS units in the truck -- a Garmin 76csx we keep for hiking, etc., loaded with topo maps of the area, then a Garmin Nuvi for the driver (with speed, distance, etc.) and as backup, and a laptop running Garmin's nRoute software. The laptop uses an external Garmin 10x GPS tucked into the overhead rollbar padding. The 10x is powered by a USB cord running down the B-pillar and into a small hub under the seat. A cable runs from the USB hub up to the laptop. Eventually I'm also planning some cameras under the truck going to a multiplexer, then a RCA->USB converter, and into the USB hub. With some simple software on the laptop, the passenger or driver will be able to check tire position etc. easily. The rearview mirror will also be replaced soon by an LCD for rear and front facing cameras.

You'll note that I use three Garmin GPSs. This is no coincidence. I can use Garmin's MapSource to plan my routes, etc., and then send the info to all the GPSs, including nRoute on the laptop. Most maps you have to buy (or unlock) for each GPS. The Garmin Nuvis also don't do topo, so we use that one around town, for driver info when we're on a trip, and as a backup for the laptop. I suggest you choose one GPS manufacturer and stick with that one, it makes things easier. I ended up with Garmin only because we bought the 76csx a few years ago for canoe-camping (before we had the Jeep).

js.