2-Door JK JeepKitchen - AT Chaser - Globetrotter - National Luna build thread

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
probably too late but Firestone in Missoula does them for $17 a tire mount and balance. which is more than your buddy charges but if you get in a pinch it is not bad. Freaking les schwab said $50 a tire for me I said F Youl I will never buy another tire from you guys again. I have spent literally $1000's there as I have been going there since 1977. hell in 2014 I bought 4 full sets of 5 over size toyos from them alone. Hey there is a guy in Big Timber wanting to buy bead lock pinters. https://forum.aev-conversions.com/forum/aev-for-sale/parts-for-sale/257331-wtb-pintler-beadlocks

Turned out that the manager of the tire store I visited plays music with my parents...so he only hit me for $70.00 to mount and balance the five wheels/tires.

Gotta love living in a small town.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
Got a pic of the pooches at bed time last night. I decided to sleep in the Chaser for this trip.

I had forgotten how comfortable that Globe Trotter tent is. The vestibule is awesome. The bed is awesome. Now I'm seriously considering switching back to the Chaser for the rest of the year.

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jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
Officially...no more heaters. Well...kinda.

I'm done with the Propex. It's simply too much work. I'll put it in a box, file it in my "Indiana Jones" pile of gov't secrets (in cedar boxes), and play with it later. In the upcoming season I'll use the Buddy Heater in the Chaser when needed.

Last night I had a 0º down quilt and it was a little chilly at about 4AM. I had a cheap military wool blanket on hand. Spreading it over the quilt was heavenly. Slept like a boss. I'll buy one more cheap wool blanket for safety, store it in the RTT, and call it good.

Of course, my point of view might change come fall. Maybe I'll buy a real "full-blown winter sleeping bag" at that point.

Propex heaters don't often work. Write that down.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
So, the Chaser...I'm a believer now. My plan is to offload the gear in the Jeep to the Chaser. Big plans regarding the kitchen, power, solar, etc.

The Globe Trotter tent is a bit of work to set up,. and especially to put away, but it's so comfortable when in use. I plan to install a wood stove and a bunch of other stuff in the near future.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
Last night I went camping at it was 45º at 6 PM...so I slept in the Jeep RTT for fear of cold. I think I have fixed the Propex issue.

I had placed a screen on the combustion intake of the Propex in an effort to keep bugs out. For the last couple of weeks I've been wondering if this might be causing the "blocked combusion intake/output" faults.

So, last night I pried the screen out with my pocket knife and guess what? No fault codes last night. It was very cold too (below freezing).

I'll test again, but I think this wound up being "my bad".

Roads were dirty:
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And camp:
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In other news, this is the first time I took our 9-month old puppy camping alone. He was a little **********. Whining, shaking, scared, etc. I soothed him and loved on him and kept him in my lap.

And at 7:30 AM this morning he p!ssed all over everything in my RTT. I was furious!

Spent all day cleaning out my RTT mattress and washing down quilts, pillows, everything.

Little Bo isn't going to sleep in my RTT again until he is two years old. Dammit.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
:LOL: Poor puppy.
It's really out of the ordinary for a dog to pee in such a confined area.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was my fault. I was a little tipsy at bed time and probably forgot to make him pee one last time before bed. At home we have them trained to bark at us if they need to go out and I had assumed he would do the same in the tent. He didn't. He's lucky he's cute or I'd make a nice soup out of him. :)

Finally got around to plugging the holes in the Propex today. I ordered some large corks from Amazon and chained them to the roof rack with some stainless hardware.
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The eyelets make them really easy to hold for both insertion and removal, and they are tight enough I don't think the wind will suck them out when driving.

I may not have mentioned it, but I found a hornets' nest in there three weeks after installing the Propex on the rack. It's necessary to plug those holes. Can you imagine crawling into your RTT after dark, half drunk, and when you turn on the heat....a handful of pissed-off bees get pumped into your tent?

I can imagine it, lol.
 

mobydick 11

Active member
hi Jacob i am reading your build for the second time now . thanks for doing the two door build . it is neat to see how it has evolved . I think you are on your third stove now . I am trying to get started on some thing similar . but i think i have already changed my mind about a RTT on the jeep and going to do a trailer . I am still stuck on starting with a two door or 4 door . I really like the 2 door but i know the 4 is more practical .If you were starting over would you have chosen a 4 door ? people are reading and are interested in your build ,don't give up on us .
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
hi Jacob i am reading your build for the second time now . thanks for doing the two door build . it is neat to see how it has evolved . I think you are on your third stove now . I am trying to get started on some thing similar . but i think i have already changed my mind about a RTT on the jeep and going to do a trailer . I am still stuck on starting with a two door or 4 door . I really like the 2 door but i know the 4 is more practical .If you were starting over would you have chosen a 4 door ? people are reading and are interested in your build ,don't give up on us .

I'm glad that someone is getting some use out of this thread. (y) Like you, I think that 2-doors are the only "real" Jeeps, but yes, I would have to say that the 4-door is more practical. If you intend to use one for camping or traveling, there is only one real question:

Will anyone ever go with me?

If the answer is yes, then you will need a 4-door Jeep. When camping with or without the trailer I would not be able to take kids, a wife, or a big dog. Now, it could be done with a 2-door and a trailer if you have NO camping gear in the Jeep at all and small kids that can fit in the rear seat of a 2-door JK, but it would be cramped both in the Jeep & the trailer.

If I had to start over again I would choose differently. I always thought that the Ursa Minor J30 & a Rubicon JKU would be the best setup for one or maybe two people. With the JL available, it would be a good time to pick up a low-mileage Rubicon JKU and a used J30.

For ME (one person camping...and that isn't going to change in the future) a perfect setup would be a newer 2-door JK (with the 3.6 engine or maybe a diesel) and an off-road teardrop trailer (like SO-CAL or other). My dream has always been to take a topless Jeep on a trip with a teardrop trailer. Still might happen someday. The problem is that I'm north of 40 now and we are focusing on getting rid of debt. Spending another 40 - 80 thousand dollars on a new camping setup simply isn't in the cards. :(
 
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jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
I packed up for a trip earlier this week. Caught some pics of how I pack the rear up...in case anyone is interested.

To the left from the rear:
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To the right from the rear:
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An overview from the rear"
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Behind the passenger seat"
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jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
A trip a couple of nights ago. I decided to stay in a FS campground. Never going to do that again.

It was a nice-flat spot:
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When I pulled out my expensive "biking chair" I found that it had fallen apart. Some nuts had come undone and fallen off somewhere. This is the second time that my $400.00 camp chair has failed me. I spent the night sitting on a pitch-covered FS table bench. Not mad though.
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A very nice rib eye from a Snow Peak grill:
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The puppies in their sleeping bag... little Bo (at 9 months old) is a spaz when it's just him and I, but when he is with his older sister he knows how to behave:
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The bonafides:
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I used my Festool light to liven up the area under my awning:
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Ever wonder why these trees are bending to the right?
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Maybe snow had something to do with it?
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mobydick 11

Active member
Looks like you are well organized and have what you need . I do not think i would like the chain saw inside the vehicle though . O i just took another look ,is it battery powered ?
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
Looks like you are well organized and have what you need . I do not think i would like the chain saw inside the vehicle though . O i just took another look ,is it battery powered ?

It's a battery-powered Stihl MSA200 + all the necessary accessories (two batteries and high-speed charger)...at great expense. And yes, it dribbles bar oil all over everything. :) For now, my solution for the "dribbling" problem is to pack the saw with a towel under it to absorb the stuff that "Chain-saw-America" can't seem to fix.

I'm working on the dribbling problem though. Imagine "A diaper-genie for expensive chainsaws". :)
 
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