Overland MJs

[Muncher]

7 minutes ago, Pete M said:

these fold-out shades are super popular (and expensive)

Definitely cool tho

[fiatslug87]

Yeah, I've been looking into one of those for my wife's FJ Cruiser, I'm thinking of the Alucab 270.

[Sir Sam]

On 7/30/2020 at 11:13 AM, Pete M said:

a few windows made into storage bays

 

 

 

I'm planning something similar in my Defender, but instead of replacing the window I'm going to replace the panel with the window, this way I still have my sliding window, but then I can also have a flip up or down window. 

 

I'm not sure which I would prefer right now, the flip down could make a table, but the flip up would make it easier to get into the back.

 

Thats also a similar color scheme to what I am planning, though maybe a little darker on the main paint.

[87Warrior]

Depending on you end goal, it is important to remember that less IS more when living out of your vehicle. I find that a lot of enthusiasts buy a ton of stuff for their vehicles, never use it to its full potential and realize the vehicle is now useless for what they really wanted. Just something to keep in mind as you build.

 

Last year I spent 2 weeks driving the New Mexico and Colorado portions of the Continental Divide Trail. Four of us total (3 female) in a 100 series Land Cruiser. Organization and accessibility were the biggest problems we had. Here we are fully loaded out. The fridge would slide out easily when the duffle was put on the tailgate.

 

To solve this problem, I started looking at storage solutions and came up with this storage idea...That I need to build.

 

But in the end, remember you don't have to have all the extra stuff to go out and have a good time. Don't get caught up in the gear. A reliable vehicle is all you need.

[gogmorgo]

Another point about gear is that more stuff means you’re carrying more weight, and weight is usually not to your advantage.

But there are also advantages to carefully choosing what gear you bring. As an example, the sleeping bag in the upper right here is pretty bulky:

My entire camping setup, sleeping bag, pad, pillow, and tent would fit in the space that sleeping bag is occupying, and together weighs under 10lbs. That wasn’t deliberate for car camping because I bought it for backpacking trips, and I’ll admit the mid-level backpacking gear is still pretty spendy compared to Walmart gear, but it’s pretty nice to have all my “shelter” gear fit into a typical school bag. 
It’s definitely nice to have more “normal” kitchen gear and food storage than the hiking gear, but the backpacking kitchen also occupies so little space it’s convenient to toss in if I don’t know I’ll be spending the night camping, or even just as emergency gear on a road trip.

 

In brief, backpacking gear is light, durable, and compact. It saves a ton of space in the vehicle. 

[87Warrior]

@gogmorgo You are absolutely right! Most of the gear in there is clothing. One wife and two pre-teen girls require A LOT of clothing. Two small tubs hidden under the bags contain 1 week of food and a complete camp kitchen. It was maddening to me to bury the gear, but it helped them stay comfortable on the 2 week trip w/o laundry which was totally worth it...and since it wasn't a regular trip for those 3, we used the big/old sleeping bags vs. buying new synthetic gear. I still cannot believe we unpacked and repacked that load nearly every single day for 2 weeks.

 

Personally, I have found a hammock to be the most versatile piece of camping gear you can have. Perfect for hot weather, cold weather and quick breaks. With down quilts it takes up 1/4 of the space of that green Coleman sleeping bag. 

[Pete M]

when your truck really isn't a pickup anymore, the hitch racks can be a real lifesaver    (note that this is one week into my 3 week adventure and the zipper on that "waterproof" rack bag had already failed )

 

 

[BeatCJ]

I want a slide in camper for my MJ. it could be pretty simple, but I don't want a pop up. I've been thinking about building one when I get my to do list whittled down to merely impossible...

[neohic]

8 hours ago, 87Warrior said:

... But in the end, remember you don't have to have all the extra stuff to go out and have a good time. Don't get caught up in the gear. A reliable vehicle is all you need.

Curious what the restroom situation was like. I understand it’s a nosey series of questions, but I also think it’s something most don’t think about when tracking out where they haven’t been.

 

Easy to pop up porto-tent? Everyone dig their own hole? Community latrine? Bio bags in a bucket?

[derf]

I always wanted to try the bumper dumper...

[87Warrior]

26 minutes ago, neohic said:

Curious what the restroom situation was like. I understand it’s a nosey series of questions, but I also think it’s something most don’t think about when tracking out where they haven’t been.

 

Easy to pop up porto-tent? Everyone dig their own hole? Community latrine? Bio bags in a bucket?

The answer is yes....

 

Part of my planning involved pinpointing the location of all latrines along or near the route. This proved useful for the gals. Now, this didn't always provide enough relief. The next most used option was a tree squat for urinating, followed by bagging the TP in a Ziplock bag and putting it in the trasharoo. On a few instances we did resort to relief over the rear of a log for log dropping. Luckily everywhere that occurred the ground could be dug so it could be buried. The TP was collected in a Ziplock and put into the trasharoo for disposal. 

 

Bio bags in a bucket or stool on tripod will be the next addition for twosies. Once used they would go in the trasharoo. I did have a pop-up shower tent along that could have been used as a porta-john, but we never had a privacy problem outside of our detour to the Ouray, CO area. 

 

@derf I have a makeshift bumper dumper here at home. It has been used locally, but to be honest I much prefer to isolate in the woods either using natural resources like a log, or finding a stable spot for a bucket/support. Maybe it bugs me to prepare my dinner over the spot a bumper dumper would be used, my tailgate.

[Pete M]

cheap and easy.  

 

bonus points if you have an airtight screw on lid for the bucket. 

 

super bonus if you get a Home Depot bucket you can also use it as an orange emergency cone if you're stuck on the side of the road.   (just don't do both uses at the same time)

 

[87Warrior]

@Pete M The first portable seat I hauled on a week long trip with the MJ was a Luggable Loo seat on an old 5 gallon hydraulic fluid bucket with the bottom cut out. Heck, I may still have it in the attic! It's one of those things that takes up a lot of space that you can't really make have two uses. It is less of a problem in a pickup than an SUV.

[rokinn]

A two gallon pump up pesticide sprayer (or two if you have the room) (new of course) works great for showering, doing dishes, or just hand washing.  Left in the sun it will solar heat.  Not quite as hot as say a solar shower or roof top system as shown above but certainly plenty adequate.  I usually bring a solar shower along to supplement hot water.  Dispose of any used water like dish water in a hole away from any stream or lake.  Using compostable bags for the bucket toilet is a good thing environmentally.  If you have the room, a bucket of sawdust is good for odors as well as the composting function or dried leaves from the surrounding environment will work also.  Neither of these are a necessity though.  

 

I've always used down bags for lightness and compressability as well as warmth.  Just don't get them wet.  They need airing for a bit after sleeping in them for the night to get rid of accumulated body moisture. 

 

Coin tissues or compressed towels come in handy and are very compact.  Add water and they expand to a 10" x 10" semi reusable towel. 

[Pete M]

I'm still looking for my folder of camper vans and Jeeps.  might be in an older harddrive I guess.    It was full of pics that had some good ideas in them for odds and ends and storage.

 

I did come across these two while looking for something else

 

 

 

 

I seriously want a fold down tailgate shelf on my KJ! 

 

 

 

[fiatslug87]

Orangeboxx makes some really nice fold down tables for some Jeeps, don't know about KJs. I have some stuff from them for my wife's FJ Cruiser, great quality. A little pricey but for Black Friday they usually have 30% off.

[neohic]

Been following these guys for a long while now. They always have the latest and greatest in gear and toys! Admittedly some of their videos are a little corny but the content is there. Best video series of their in my opinion is their first Yukon trip. Kind of a dream of mine as well!

 

 

[Sir Sam]

[neohic]

How’s the condition of the tent after being wrapped up for so long? Mine hasn’t been open in four years now and I have some concerns. 

[Sir Sam]

8 hours ago, neohic said:

How’s the condition of the tent after being wrapped up for so long? Mine hasn’t been open in four years now and I have some concerns. 

good, it was dirty, a few stains now I think I could scrub the tent more and get it looking nicer. The side screens and front screen are in good shape. The rear screen is in sorry shape. But overall it’s not like it rotted away. 

[89 MJ]

I am going to revive this thread because I think my MJ is soon to become more of an overland type rig. I plan to run a topper with a roof rack, where I would mount my "water heater" (black PVC as previously mentioned). I think I would also run deep-cycle batteries to run lights on/in the topper, something to have pressurized water, and maybe an outlet or two. I also think I would want to run some sort of U-shaped shower curtain and a shower head off of the black PVC for showing. I probably have a slide out grill/cooking area that would come out from under the bed platform. I would also have black curtains that go over the topper windows with Velcro. 

@Pete M, you could make another MJ trailer that is just for camping with one of your many beds and then use your current trailer as a, well, trailer.

 

[neohic]

5 hours ago, 89 MJ said:

 

@Pete M, you could make another MJ trailer that is just for camping with one of your many beds and then use your current trailer as a, well, trailer.

 

... or just buy mine. 

[89 MJ]

41 minutes ago, neohic said:

... or just buy mine. 

That works too. 

[MiNi Beast]

ive been working on mine to do more overland adventures with. biggest goal is reliability. i can fix stuff but some thing you can't f8x out on the trail so i would like to ensure if do fix something its something i have planned for and can be done trail side. 

[A-man930]

On 8/1/2020 at 8:03 PM, Pete M said:

these fold-out shades are super popular (and expensive)

 There are some DIY options for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2lcv6eP4t8&ab_channel=OverlandUnderBudget 

 

 

On 8/1/2020 at 7:15 PM, neohic said:

Confirmed. 
 

I really like the idea of this. When I go out I like to keep things as simple as possible as far as power usage goes. I’ve never carried an air compressor but rather a small CO2 tank. The regulator I usually have on it tops out at 120# which is awesome for running air tools on the trail or a nailer around the house for a quick job. That same regulator could be set all the way down to 10-15# for running a shower. No power. No fuss. 
 

Noted for potential future build. 

This is awesome