Traveler III
Nice set upThe tent is up, the awning is on. More pics after this weekend's maiden camping voyage.
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2015 JKURHR Build
- Thread starter First State Overland
- Start date
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Took some time tonight to finish the Genius install. The intent with this was to tuck away a good shore power charger if I were to be parked for several days. Knowing that solar power is the next project, the intent here is to supplement that. The G7200 has several settings and can be set with a number of different battery types. While the ARB fridge draws minimal power and the tent LEDs and phone chargers can go for days before draining the battery, this charger will essentially let me power all of the electronics off of shore power when available, using the batteries as a bank, and I won't have to start the Jeep every few days to bring the batteries back up.
I tucked this away in the glove box so I could lock it when not in use. I did have to cut small portions of the back of the glove box that work to both run wires through and fit the until in snugly. You can't tell it's modified at all without pulling the glove box off. When it comes time to plug it in, I pop open the glove box and plug it in and run the extension cord through a small gap in the passenger side window and boom - shore powered Jeep.
I ran the line up through into the engine bay and connected it to the additional volt meter / terminal connector. I connected the charge line to the main cranking battery and the smart isolator for the dual battery handles the distribution of the charge between the two batteries. The little volt meter shown below isn't necessary but it's nice to have. It will constantly flash a tiny LED showing status.
I tucked this away in the glove box so I could lock it when not in use. I did have to cut small portions of the back of the glove box that work to both run wires through and fit the until in snugly. You can't tell it's modified at all without pulling the glove box off. When it comes time to plug it in, I pop open the glove box and plug it in and run the extension cord through a small gap in the passenger side window and boom - shore powered Jeep.
I ran the line up through into the engine bay and connected it to the additional volt meter / terminal connector. I connected the charge line to the main cranking battery and the smart isolator for the dual battery handles the distribution of the charge between the two batteries. The little volt meter shown below isn't necessary but it's nice to have. It will constantly flash a tiny LED showing status.
Nice rig, been thinking of doing the dual battery thing myself, especially after the wife saw a friends ARB fridge :)
So I had a problem with getting the tent on and off by myself. Wouldn't fit in the garage, and didn't want to leave it sitting out in the hot sun all the time, so I got the bright idea to buy a cheap set of aluminum ramp parts (like you'd use for loading a 4 wheeler into a pickup truck) only I put them on a set pf 12 foot 2x6s. Being that the tent isn't really heavy (160lbs) I just needed to control the slide on and off. The ramp parts had two pins at the ends to keep them from sliding off long with foam adhesive to protect a tailgate, and I put them around the bottom bar of my Gobi rack. Then anywhere the wood touched or came close to the paint, I attached carpet to the ramp. You can see it in black towards the top. But I only attached it to the underside so the tent could slide easily. The rails on the tent base act as guides so the tent slides straight.
Once I slide it backwards, it pretty much just hopped on the track and slowly slid down by itself. Being that this is my first time taking it off, my plan for putting it back on is to drill an eyelet in the base of the side of the tent and bring my synthetic winch line back over the top of the Jeep and pull it up. The Gobi rack has bars in the right places to "bend" the winch line without rubbing or tearing on the Jeep itself. I'm pretty sure I can just slowly walk it right back up and be done. I'll post shots going back on with the winch later this summer as I use it again.
Once I slide it backwards, it pretty much just hopped on the track and slowly slid down by itself. Being that this is my first time taking it off, my plan for putting it back on is to drill an eyelet in the base of the side of the tent and bring my synthetic winch line back over the top of the Jeep and pull it up. The Gobi rack has bars in the right places to "bend" the winch line without rubbing or tearing on the Jeep itself. I'm pretty sure I can just slowly walk it right back up and be done. I'll post shots going back on with the winch later this summer as I use it again.
Enthusiast III
Great build thread. Mine is going very similar to yours just a bit slower. I was reading through your thread and saw your custom Gobi mount for your rear awning. I just emailed them about how people mount awnings to the rear due to the offset bars. They replied with this.
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Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Enthusiast III
Also I'm in the market for an RTT. I've been eyeing the CVT Mt. Shasta for a while. How do you like it? I asked them about upcoming sales and they told me they had none in the works but would give me 10% off, which is great. Their shipping is killer though, $200. What kind of sale did you get on yours? I'm hoping Memorial Day weekend they do something.
Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Great build thread. Mine is going very similar to yours just a bit slower. I was reading through your thread and saw your custom Gobi mount for your rear awning. I just emailed them about how people mount awnings to the rear due to the offset bars. They replied with this.
Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
This is awesome that apparently someone came up with the fabricated mounts for the rear. While that's definitely a cleaner attachment point, it does cause the awning to mount further down and back. I would have a pro and con with that as it would be in direct line with my rear mounted lights (as opposed to now where the awning extends over the lights and keeps them usable). However, on the plus side I would have no interference with my tent. Right now with the rear awning on, there is one wire pole for the back side window that I can't get the proper insertion angle for due to that awning, so it doesn't hold the tent window shade up as it should. Very minor inconvenience. So for me, it's lights or a droopy window shade.
I bought mine with the Labor Day sale - IIRC. The tent has been great in my outings so far. Due to my own fault, I scraped the cover and chewed up the corner of the cover pretty good rotating it on my blacktop driveway. One of those "kick yourself" moments. Definitely get the anti-condensation mat. Apparently after I ordered mine, they introduced a precut one made of better materials. The secondary channel for the annex room is a waste of money. Especially for those with Gobi stealth racks. It's impossible to get the zippers to line up AND have the back part in the channel. If you're going to use the annex room, just zipper the three sides without using the back side channel. It will stay up just fine with three sides zippered. The offset of the Gobi bars creates an impossible angle. The mattress seems comfortable at first but with two people on it all night you can start to feel the floor a bit. The next trip, I'll be tossing an air mattress up there to and trying that out. My only other item to note is you need to be level. The first night I wasn't paying attention and parked on what looked to be just a slight slope. In the tent we noticed it so we slept with our heads up naturally, but during the night, as we tossed and turned, out sleeping bags slid down the tent and we woke up with all this space up by our heads and our feet against the downward wall. Lesson learned - balance the vehicle. The Labor Day sale was the Mt. Shasta for $1,196 ($500 off) + the Stargazer (sky lights) option for $300 and free shipping. So I jumped on it.
In anticipation of the lift and tires upgrade at the end of the month, I decided to go ahead and install the Teraflex HD tailgate / tire carrier. Along with this process, the Rugged Ridge hi-lift jack mount would no longer work, but Teraflex made a version of their own. While I never thought the RR one would fail, it didn't do anything but add weight to the tailgate. I liked the way the RR carrier could secure with a padlock vs the TF version using bolts and an optional Rotopax lock if you wanted. The TF carrier is worth every penny. I'm pretty sure I could jump up and down on the tailgate with no wearing of the hinge at all.
The install was simple, but when it came time to put the jack on the carrier, I ran into some things that needed a little force. My 48" jack didn't quite line up with their holes so it was a matter of placing a retaining bolt and spacer than the other and cranking them down together. Additionally, the Rotopax lock didn't line up either so it was pretty much get everything started and crank all three down and "mold" the steel around the jack for a secure fit. Once it's on there, it's not going anywhere. Which is a bummer should you actually need to use the jack.
In the TF videos they warn you of attaching the Rotopax to the jack and smashing the light. What they don't tell you is that the jack carrier will rub a Gobi rack ladder when the tailgate is fully opened. You can see the angle of opening and the contact point dead center of the image below. To keep the ladder on that side I ended up loosing and adjusting the ladder closer to the Jeep and leaving it loose enough so that corner could flex but still be safe to climb on. Not my favorite solution, but short of grinding and repainting, that's what I went with. The carrier has a built in antenna mount as well, which moved my antenna from behind the spare tire to along side the jack. That's when I found out my coax cable wasn't long enough. :-/
Next up, AEV 2.5" Dual sport XT lift and 33" Nitto Trail Grapplers. (Yes, 35s probably look better, but I have a garage clearance issue and I wanted more flexibility.)
The install was simple, but when it came time to put the jack on the carrier, I ran into some things that needed a little force. My 48" jack didn't quite line up with their holes so it was a matter of placing a retaining bolt and spacer than the other and cranking them down together. Additionally, the Rotopax lock didn't line up either so it was pretty much get everything started and crank all three down and "mold" the steel around the jack for a secure fit. Once it's on there, it's not going anywhere. Which is a bummer should you actually need to use the jack.
In the TF videos they warn you of attaching the Rotopax to the jack and smashing the light. What they don't tell you is that the jack carrier will rub a Gobi rack ladder when the tailgate is fully opened. You can see the angle of opening and the contact point dead center of the image below. To keep the ladder on that side I ended up loosing and adjusting the ladder closer to the Jeep and leaving it loose enough so that corner could flex but still be safe to climb on. Not my favorite solution, but short of grinding and repainting, that's what I went with. The carrier has a built in antenna mount as well, which moved my antenna from behind the spare tire to along side the jack. That's when I found out my coax cable wasn't long enough. :-/
Next up, AEV 2.5" Dual sport XT lift and 33" Nitto Trail Grapplers. (Yes, 35s probably look better, but I have a garage clearance issue and I wanted more flexibility.)
Up next was a bit of an upgrade to the winch. Factor 55 has an awesome hook and shackle (closed loop) replacement for the OEM warn hook that comes with the winch. It's called the Ultrahook and it took 5 minutes to replace and has a ton of wonderful features that I'm not going to go into, but look into it if you're looking for the best of both worlds in terms of hook and shackle use.
Next up, we finally have liftoff! (or should I say lift-on?) Yesterday the AEV 2.5" Dualsport XT went on, with the geometry correction brackets so I don't die from the infamous death wobble. In tandem, I upgraded from the factory Rubicon tires to Nitto 33" Trail Grapplers (295/70/17). I would have liked to run 35s but with that size, you lose MPGs and can start to get into wear and tear and I'm not looking to rock crawl - just overland. Plus with this combo, I now have 1/16th of an inch clearance with the top of my garage. *WHEW* I was sweating that measurement. I did have to put a 1.5" spacer on because of the tire width to prevent rubbing at full lock.
What a difference this combo makes! They are a little louder but the suspension is a dream in terms of not feeling every little bump on the road. The biggest thing I noticed is that these tires really grab and pull. The old BFG MTs from the factory never really pulled but these are designed to pull you up and over surfaces so when you're on the highway and there's something like uneven pavement, you really need to anticipate crossing it and keep both hands on the wheel at speeds. Instead of cutting through standing water or hydroplaning, they seem to also pull in the direction of the puddle. A little getting used to, but over all it's great and now there's no sagging when I load up the tent and water and all the overlanding "stuff". And perhaps the best part is that now, at 6'5", I can stand up under the awning and the rear tail gate glass without hitting my head!
What a difference this combo makes! They are a little louder but the suspension is a dream in terms of not feeling every little bump on the road. The biggest thing I noticed is that these tires really grab and pull. The old BFG MTs from the factory never really pulled but these are designed to pull you up and over surfaces so when you're on the highway and there's something like uneven pavement, you really need to anticipate crossing it and keep both hands on the wheel at speeds. Instead of cutting through standing water or hydroplaning, they seem to also pull in the direction of the puddle. A little getting used to, but over all it's great and now there's no sagging when I load up the tent and water and all the overlanding "stuff". And perhaps the best part is that now, at 6'5", I can stand up under the awning and the rear tail gate glass without hitting my head!
Extended the front and rear differential breathers and installed some limb risers today.
Got tired of trying to find decent MaxTrax mounts for a Gobi rack that didn't cost me an arm and leg to import from Australia so I made my own for $20 worth of parts from Home Depot and the cost of the MaxTrax pins. Obviously these have to be mounted once I'm out of the garage, same as the RTT, but they are sturdy. I need to figure out the correct positioning yet as my RTT will swing open on top of them if mounted this way.
Enthusiast II
None at all. It will fit both length wise to open on the side or width wise to open towards the back.
Today the Front Runner jerry can holders showed up. I planned for these to mount to the front insert portion of the Gobi Rack. This way I could remove not only the cans, but the entire rack portion with the can if I wanted to. They will also ride nicely in front of my RTT when the RTT is line up long ways (to open on the side.) It comes with hardware to use with the Front Runner rack, but works just the same if you use slightly larger washers to account for the Gobi mesh hole size. This thing is about as solid as they come, lockable in several different ways and bonus, it matches the Jeep. (I won't lie, the cans are purposely black for that reason. :) No one ever said overlanding couldn't look good! )
This is the insert for the Gobi Rack sitting on the table frame I used to hold everything up while putting it together. Shown here with all 4 cans and securing straps.
And then one of the Gobi insert on the Jeep without the cans.
This is the insert for the Gobi Rack sitting on the table frame I used to hold everything up while putting it together. Shown here with all 4 cans and securing straps.
And then one of the Gobi insert on the Jeep without the cans.
Enthusiast II
Pathfinder I
Enthusiast II
WOW, we're impressed! Nice work!
Can someone point me in the best direction to start researching introducing solar and or 120v to charge up the dual battery system.
Can someone point me in the best direction to start researching introducing solar and or 120v to charge up the dual battery system.
