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Building A Jeep To Adventure Way OutJeep Adventure! From the June, 2011 issue of Jp By Pete Trasborg
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Adventure. Expedition. Car camping. Call it whatever you want, some of us have been want, some of us have been doing it since before there were words coined for it. After a crazy week at work, sometimes you just don’t want to deal with people anymore. While it’s a great feeling to get out into the wilderness, going to well-established campsites sometimes just doesn’t count as getting away. Sometimes you just need to go further, where there are no other people. It would be cool to just pick up the old backpack and go, but with only a weekend to do it in, you just can’t get that far away on your own two feet. That’s where the Jeep comes in. By driving, you can get as far away as you want. With your Jeep underneath you acting as your pack mule, you can carry more supplies than is possible on two feet. That allows you to take more gear, which in turn leads to a more comfortable escape. GPS units are great for figuring... GPS units are great for figuring out where you are and where you need to go. However, you should always keep a regular old paper map of the area you plan to visit with you as well as a compass. Brush up on your navigation skills before you head out. If and when the GPS dies, that piece of paper and magnetized steel will be your way out. Using the Jeep to get out to where there are no people can lead to other important issues. You have to be self-reliant. Even if you go with friends (which you should), you can’t depend on them to have the parts or tools you might need. So from food and water to parts and tools, you need to take it all with youyet you don’t want to take so much as to overload your trusty steed. It’s a fine line between not having enough and getting stranded and taking so much that your Jeep’s headlights point at the sky. It’s a fine line, but not impossible to figure out, and the more you go out, the more you will learn what you need or don’t need for your particular Jeep situation. In the meantime, here is a primer on what you need to think about taking with you.  No matter where you go you...  No matter where you go you will need to sleep—so some consideration of shelter and/or warmth for night operations is necessary. At the bare minimum, take a sleeping bag or warm blanket. If you have more than one destination, check the weather forecast and err on the side of warmth. Wrangler owners will want to take a tent along, because sleeping in a Wrangler is no one’s idea of fun. Cherokee and Grand Cherokee guys can sleep in the back of their rigs in a pinch. A pillow greatly improves sleeping comfort and is something we almost always forget.  You don’t need to take an...  You don’t need to take an entire 144-piece mechanic’s tool set with you. A simple set with an assortment of standard and metric sockets is adequate. Anything else should be on a Jeep-by-Jeep basis. However, always take at least one screwdriver with interchangeable flat and Phillips tips and at least one good pair of channel lock pliers such as these Knipex (red handles). We used to take bailing wire and duct tape, but recently zip-ties have replaced the bailing wire.  A cooler or fridge isn’t always...  A cooler or fridge isn’t always needed. You can easily get freeze-dried or dehydrated food that doesn’t require refrigeration. If you want something fresher, German summer sausage, called Landjaeger, can easily last for over a week—even in desert heat with no refrigeration whatsoever. If you have the space, a cooler or a fridge is a great idea. This Igloo Ice Cube cooler typically keeps our stuff cold for up to three days, even in the desert in the summer. Beyond three days without civilization and we prefer taking a fridge, such as an ARB Fridge. Make sure to strap down whatever you take so it doesn’t bounce around.  Jeeps are becoming increasingly...  Jeeps are becoming increasingly electrical, so we need to be prepared. At the bare minimum, take extra fuses for whatever fuse types you have, some electrical tape, some extra wire, and a test light. We tend towards 6- to 10- feet of speaker wire, not because we want to hook up speakers in the middle of nowhere, but because there are two conductors. That leaves us with 12- to 20-feet of wire in an easy-to-store package should we need it. We also take an assortment of connectors and a pair of diagonal cutters. You can cut and strip with diagonal cutters, and crimping the connectors can be done in a pinch with the inside of them.  While you can get away without...  While you can get away without a fridge or cooler and still eat well, you need water. And if you are unlucky, your Jeep may need water as well. We typically take at least 5 gallons along on a weekend trip. This Hydra water bladder is like a Camelback on steroids. It holds 2½ gallons of water and is designed to attach to the rollbar or seat back as shown here. It doesn’t take up even half the space of a 5-gallon jug, and we can always get water right from the driver’s seat, so we don’t have to stop to refill a water bottle all the time.  Once you’ve got your food...  Once you’ve got your food and drink needs taken care of, think about your Jeep. Check that your tire gauge is in the Jeep before you go. It’s important to have a full-size spare. Getting back from the middle of nowhere on a space saver just isn’t going to cut it. We always carry a Hi-Lift jack in addition to the factory jack. We also take along a real lug nut tool, such as a breaker bar with a dedicated socket of the correct size, or a one-piece lug wrench. If we don’t have compressed air, we make sure to travel with someone who does, and we always carry a patch kit such as the one shown here from Power Tank in case we damage a tire and have already used the spare.  Jeeps need fuel, so plan accordingly....  Jeeps need fuel, so plan accordingly. If you even think you are going far enough to get near the range of one tank of gas, carry extra fuel—but never inside the passenger compartment. Spare-tire-mounted cargo racks make a great place to store extra fuel.  Before you head out, make...  Before you head out, make sure that there is at least one winch in the group. We all get stuck at some point in time, and you should have at least one 30-foot-long snatch strap and two D-ring shackles. Obviously, you should have recovery points to attach said strap and shackle to. At least one point front and rear is important, but a trailer hitch can work in a pinch. We also tend to carry a shovel or military surplus entrenching tool. Take it from us—it takes a long time to dig the Jeep out by hand.  Just as you need fluid in...  Just as you need fluid in the form of water, the Jeep needs fluids as well. It is a good idea to take extras with you—at the minimum, take engine oil, ATF, and gear oil. The ATF can double as power steering fluid in a pinch, and all chain-driven T-cases require ATF. A couple of quarts of gear oil will cover either pumpkin; the manual transmission and engine are the most important components you have, so being able to refill if you need to is important. If you have the space, a spare oil filter won’t hurt; it’s very hard to get a punctured oil filter to stop leaking.  Roof racks such as this ARB...  Roof racks such as this ARB unit are a staple of the “expedition” crowd. They come in handy if you travel with two or more people in the vehicle for any length of time. However, loading heavy items such as fuel, water, or firewood on these roof racks can drastically change the way the Jeep handles both on- and off-road. If you do run out of space and opt for a roof rack, try to load light items up there first, keeping the heavy ones as close to the axles as possible.  Speaking of electronic devices...  Speaking of electronic devices dying, you should outfit your rig with extra power ports and at the very least have a plug-in AC power inverter. You just never know when you might need to charge something or run it off AC power. A dual-port 12VDC outlet and simple inverter as shown here will run around $50 and will pay dividends when you are far away from civilization.  Communication is important....  Communication is important. You need to leave an itinerary with someone who you trust will come get you—or at least notify the authorities should you fail to check in. Also, you need to arm yourself with the best communication devices possible. HAM, CB, and cellular phones are all good items to have, but something that can bounce a signal off a satellite is even better. Whether it’s via a satellite phone or a simple Spot tracker, your communication device is the most important thing you can bring in with you.
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