One of the Jeep's biggest asset for the trail
is its size. Problem is, this is also one of the biggest obstacles
you'll have to deal with when packing for a trip. Towing a trailer
is how I deal with the problem for most camping/wheeling trips. But,
when you're going on those long 3 to 5 day trips where setting up a base
camp is not an option (i.e., the Rubicon), storage can be a problem.
You'll have to find a way to pack your spares, camping equipment, food,
etc. all within the small space of your Jeep. This page contains
a description of how I deal with the problem.
As I mentioned above, one way to deal with your
storage problems is to tow a camper. I tow a Coleman Sun Valley tent
trailer. This trailer weighs shy of 900 lbs so it is well within
the tow capacity of the Jeep. I've done a spring-over axle conversion
which gave the trailer about 4" of lift. This was done because I
was dragging the hitch in some of the areas I go camping. The problem
with doing the conversion was now the jacks were too short. I replaced
the stock jacks with longer ones. I would very much like to put on
larger tires because it is much better on the bearings than the tiny ones
I have now and would certainly look better. However, the jacks I
have now are as long as I could find. Besides, because this trailer
doesn't get used very often tires tend to dry rot quickly. The small
tires are inexpensive to replace.
For onboard storage, there are many aftermarket
products available. Certainly one that is common is the tire and
gerry can carrier. Mine carries two gerry cans and the hi-lift jack
in addition to my spare. It is made by Canyon City and comes with
reinforcement for the stock hinges. The reinforcement sandwiches
the sheet metal fenders inside and the hinges are then bolted through the
body and into the reinforcement.
A significant amount of cargo storage can be
attained in the rear assuming you don't need the entire back seat.
Simply boxing in the rear will provide secure storage area below with about
the same area on top to store coolers, camping gear etc. on top of the
box. The one thing to keep in mind if you build one of these boxes
is that if you do not build access from the rear, you will have to unload
anything on top of the box to get after what you need inside. This
proved to be a real pain in the ass for one of my friends. I wanted
mine to sit flush with the wheel wells so we screwed angle iron into the
sides just low enough to allow the pressboard to sit flush. Another
thing I had to consider was transportation of weapons. I needed a
place to store shotguns and rifles on hunting trips. For this, I
put a door on the front of my box with a couple of latches and leave it
open when I'm carrying weapons. I simply slide the weapons in from
the rear through the box with the barrels under the seat as I had done
prior to installing the box. I carry a 12 volt cooler on long trips.
For this I installed 12 volt receptacles in the rear. I installed
these dead center on the box and high because we have a charger for the
camcorder also. With the receptacles in this location they can be
easily reached by the passenger while under way. On top of the wheel
wells I installed flip up tie downs to secure the cooler, drybox, etc.
Next, I realized I had more storage available
to me above the cooler. I built and installed a steel rack on the
inside of the cab just high enough over the box to allow room for the cooler
and drybox. This gave me significant additional storage I could keep
from being exposed to the elements. With the top off I could store
as much as any exterior rack. Although I went to the Rubicon heavily
geared and comfortable and could have easily kept my top on.
Now once all the camping gear, spares, food,
clothing are all onboard. You're gonna have to find a place to put
your canoe! Needless to say, I could also use this for storage of
other things, but everything fit in my Jeep just fine and the only thing
on this rack, made by Olympic, was my canoe. I bought the rack used
from a Friend, stripped the ugly chrome off of it and painted it black
