Project Red Roof Inn

[BigDaveZJ]

Trey?

[northgazj]

Here's a quick n' dirty MSPaint of the basic tube work.

Reinforce the horizontal section and make a platform for one of the smaller rooftop tents that will fold out to the side of the Jeep. Underneath the platform could be storage and when the tent is up, you could have two poles on either end to attach an awning that extends over the back for additional shelter. Think about what alot of the Toyota guys fab on their expedition trucks. I'll try to find a picture of what I'm talking about.

[BigDaveZJ]

At 6'5" 300lbs I ain't sleeping on the back of my Jeep, lol.

[northgazj]

http://picasaweb.google.com/travelin...SaleAkaDragon#


like this, except the tent sits lower.

edit: just realized that is a hard shell tent and not a fold out, but you get the picture.

[BigDaveZJ]

Yeah, not gonna do it. Don't have a problem setting up a tent when I go camping, and not gonna spend the $1,000+ for one of those tents.

[piku303]

http://picasaweb.google.com/travelin...SaleAkaDragon#


like this, except the tent sits lower.

edit: just realized that is a hard shell tent and not a fold out, but you get the picture.

does anybody think this jeep/its people are a little interesting...?

[dangerousdave]

that looks like a terrible way to camp. a tent on the ground would be so much easier than having to have a ladder with you in your trail supplies.

[KDUB]

Dave, It sounds to me like you want to do something similar to Larry Trim, owner of TrailReady, did to his ZJ. I saw this in 4Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Mag. It might be worth looking into. Just a thought. Here's a link to some pictures from the article.

http://www.4wdandsportutility.com/adventures/west/0811_4wd_2008_idaho_trail_tour/photo_20.html

[BigDaveZJ]

Similar yea, just don't think I'll put the tire up that high though.

[BigDaveZJ]

So I was talking to Putz (wannabe_offroad) today and he had a good idea that might work instead of the 4Runner rollup window. It would take away some of the open air-ness of the rig, but still could be cool. I could graft a sliding glass window in there from the back of a pickup cab, like an S10, maybe even bigger. Might have to make some measurements.

[Derek33]

Ever think about taking the hatch off a zj from a junkyard and just attaching it to where you have cut? should be the same dimensions... roughly at least. It would be clutch to find a hatch with the opening glass.

[BigDaveZJ]

I don't think the pop-up glass would clear the spare tire, and it would probably end up being too tall for the area anyways.

[SuicideTireZJ]

So you mean you're doing something like swampy did to his rig back in the day?

[BigDaveZJ]

Possibly yeah. My fab skills are at the level where I can make stuff work, but it's not always pretty, so we'll see what happens.

[BigDaveZJ]

So the more I look at the rig I don't like the idea of the spare sitting on top of the "bed" area. I think it will make a lot of things trickier having it there. So then there is the dilemna of where to actually put it. I'm leaning towards a bare bones tire carrier/rear bumper. Nothing fancy, just some 2x4 with some clevis mounts and the swingout tire carrier. Should be pretty simple, and cheap, to make. Since that frees up the top of the bed area, I saw this from Tomken: http://www.tomken.com/catalog.php?se...%26cat%3DCARGO

Thinking something like that would be cool, give me a good place for fuel and water cans on long trips, as well as any other cargo that ends up there.

And if all goes as planned, the swingout tire carrier will also allow me to re-incorporate the rear hatch/tailgate and have it swing up exposing the drawer system I'm trying to figure out in the other thread.

And I said I wasn't gonna do anything to the ZJ over the winter . . .

[BigClay]

Since that frees up the top of the bed area, I saw this from Tomken: http://www.tomken.com/catalog.php?se...%26cat%3DCARGO

Thinking something like that would be cool, give me a good place for fuel and water cans on long trips, as well as any other cargo that ends up there.

Is that the same rack they used on the ZJ build on trucks?

[BigDaveZJ]

Dunno, don't recall seeing it. Is it the same Ryan?

[JohnBoulderCO]

Swing out tire carrier? Are you welding the the part you cut off back on?

What happened to the "big rear bobbing" that you were going to do? That sounded pretty cool to me.

[SuicideTireZJ]

Seriously, I agree with John. This is going down a road I am not cool with. Because my opinion totally matters.

I guess if it were my rig, I'd dovetail it, make a tailgate out of your liftgate, seal the seats in the back with something and make a plexi rear window and an easy simple steel frame for it. Then throw the spare right behind that, vertical in the bed, with some kind of rolling tuffy storage console or something. I know you plan on using this as an expedition rig, but most of your stuff will be in the trailer, right? I mean how much storage do you think you'll need in the rig itself?

[BigDaveZJ]

I'm going to try and make it work without a trailer. I figured I'd be looking at 3-4 grand to make the trailer function the way I want it to. I can get my Jeep where I'd like it for expedition wheeling for under a grand and sacrifice VERY little in terms of crawling (only the departure angle from the rear tire being on back). We'll see how it goes, if things don't start to pick back up at the store, my Jeep is going to sit exactly like it is right now.

[JohnBoulderCO]

Use Pam's for the expedition wheeling, it still has the roof.

Cut yours some more! Bob and dove it, that's free, except for the cut off wheels and blades.

[Ted_Z]

You can fab that tomken rack yourself in an afternoon out of EMT conduit. I've got a couple large bolts & nuts (~1") you can have if you want to make a hinge for your rear carrier.

I like the idea of the drawer system, then a rack over them for bulky items like coolers and sleeping bags.

With regard to using a factory hatch, even with a pickup style window I think it would be worth using so the lines are a bit cleaner and you have a rounded edge and the back of the roof line. Then just fill in the lift glass area with sheet/strap as needed to fit the pickup type window. Less fab too.

[BigDaveZJ]

Sleeping bags go inside where it's dry, or in an action packer on the basket maybe. WTF is EMT conduit? I know what an EMT is, and know what conduit is, but dunno WTF they have to do with each other!

John,
Some of the trips we hope to do are remote enough where there is no way in hell I'd take just one rig, so I want both to be as equipped as possible. Also, if I can store more stuff in my rig, that might leave the back of Pam's open so we could have room for the dog.

[nate]

Less chance of critters attacking you. I usually keep a 12 guage by my sleeping bag in case a bear gets a little too friendly, but I'd sleep WAY better up there vs on the ground.

that looks like a terrible way to camp. a tent on the ground would be so much easier than having to have a ladder with you in your trail supplies.

[Ted_Z]

EMT conduit = electrical conduit AKA thin walled tubing sold at home depot for a few bucks a 10' section.

This is what I'm visualizing based on your description: