Is my Jeep too heavy?

[Bayou Boy]

I agree 100%. It never ceases to amaze me how much crap people will expect an "Expo" vehicle to carry.

Yup. A lot of guys want to carry a 3/4 or 1 ton load around to camp in comfort but want to do Jeep trails on the way. You can't really have it both ways. Either you carry backpacking gear and go 4wheeling or you can carry a full luxury camp and stick to moderate trails.

Also, I think a lot of the die hard Wrangler guys would be extremely surprised at how capable a Thuren or Carli equipped Ram or SD on 37s actually is. A Ram HD SRW is only 2" wider than an LC 200 and only 6" wider than a Wrangler JL. Good sliders can negate a lot of that extra width and the longer wheelbase by allowing you to pivot on stuff.

Power Wagons in Moab is this week. Follow them on instagram to get a taste of what these huge trucks are actually capable of.

 

[MattJ]

Power Wagons in Moab is this week. Follow them on instagram to get a taste of what these huge trucks are actually capable of.

Here's the website: https://powerwagonsinmoab.com/

One of the sponsors is White Knuckle! They make GREAT sliders. I upgraded to their DOM sliders after my nice-looking tube steps proved that they were only good for one thing: looking nice.

 

[MOguy]

Yup. A lot of guys want to carry a 3/4 or 1 ton load around to camp in comfort but want to do Jeep trails on the way. You can't really have it both ways. Either you carry backpacking gear and go 4wheeling or you can carry a full luxury camp and stick to moderate trails.

Also, I think a lot of the die hard Wrangler guys would be extremely surprised at how capable a Thuren or Carli equipped Ram or SD on 37s actually is. A Ram HD SRW is only 2" wider than an LC 200 and only 6" wider than a Wrangler JL. Good sliders can negate a lot of that extra width and the longer wheelbase by allowing you to pivot on stuff.

Power Wagons in Moab is this week. Follow them on instagram to get a taste of what these huge trucks are actually capable of.

I think many of the die hard wrangler guys (maybe not the JKU, JK or JLs as much) got Wranglers because we were into off-roading first and then stumbled onto this. Size, maneuverability and suspension are what make Wranglers great off road but they are the same things that make it harder to use for "overlanding". I live and travel in the woods and trail get tight, even a TJ seems big on some trails.

Everything is a compromise. I am a weekend warrior and cannot imagine going for extended travels where I was days away form civilization in just my TJ. Even carrying enough fuel and water and the just basics could overload my TJ. Even in my weekend travels room (not weight) can be an issue. It will only be my oldest son and I. I don't carry a cooler, only non perishable food and water. I have a small tent and sleeping bags. I take foot warmers to through in my bag if it gets cold. We carry one change of clothes, eat out food out of the can and drink bottle water. I can't imagine taking all the stuff many take. Many of the drawer systems I see here (empty) would be more weight than I would want to carry.

When I go comfy camping with the family I have no choice but to take a trailer and maybe even an extra vehicle.

 

[Lucky j]

View attachment 513313

In my case, my YJ door broke with a 31" tire and 1 aluminium bike on a tire carried oem rack. And that was from road driving.

 

[jacobconroy]

Yeah...I'm not an off road expert (done very little of it in fact), but given the choice of negotiating a rough, twisty, tree-crowded road with a Jeep or a full-sized truck...I'm gonna choose any Jeep Wrangler.

And, to be fair, how often do guys like me need to negotiate said roads? Almost never. So, maybe a full-sized truck with a camper would be a better choice.

If only Mrs. Conroy would have let me buy a Tacoma instead of the Outback. 1/2 size truck + off road camper sounds like bliss.

 

[MattJ]

Two quick updates:

1) It's been on my mind for a couple days, but I wanted to say a special thank you to @ChasingOurTrunks for the incredibly detailed post regarding his equipment and GVWR. Must have been lots of work to weigh every single item on the packing list, and more work to post about it. That's what makes the ExPo forum so helpful and worthwhile - people taking the extra step to share the photos and details of the challenges, experiments and problems that we are all trying to solve. Keep it up!

2) Thank you also to everyone who has posted ideas and opinions about loaded rigs vs. trailers. I am now officially in the market for a trailer, realizing that it should be a better fit for my "adventure travel style", which is mostly weekend trips with kids. I'll post here if/when it all comes together. Won't be quick, that's for sure. Lots to learn.

 

[billiebob]

And, to be fair, how often do guys like me need to negotiate said roads?

All the time. Thats why I camp, to get places most others never try.
Turning around on a power line trail after running into snow.

 

[Bayou Boy]

All the time. Thats why I camp, to get places most others never try.
Turning around on a power line trail after running into snow.
View attachment 513979

That's not exactly the best example. Any full size truck will get more places than that rig.

 

[billiebob]

That's not exactly the best example. Any full size truck will get more places than that rig.

No, lockers, Rubi 4LO, I've towed the trailer up slopes that 4x4 pickups had to winch up.... or take a run at. That trailer only weighs 1500# fully loaded. The big issue is how much crap people take camping.

But agreed, any pickup could turn around there. The response was to the question ...

"And, to be fair, how often do guys like me need to negotiate said roads? Almost never. So, maybe a full-sized truck with a camper would be a better choice."

How often do you need something smaller than a FS pickup....
All the time.

And no, most full size pickups will not follow me, especially if I drop the trailer.
So lots of us guys driving Wranglers do it because we like to go beyond the limits of a pickup or van.

 

[dreadlocks]

Just about any bone stock base model wrangler ever made will be capable of completing all but the most insane trails, with good AT tires and a driver who knows how to pick good lines.. they can get to places trucks cant with ease.

A trail I like around here called spring creek I could do in a stock jeep, but no full size trucks no matter how bro dozered could get past the first obstacle.. you literally hadda climb 4-5ft ontop of a rock the size of a jeep and make a 90+ degree turn, or fall a few thousand feet to your demise.. its hairy enough in a Jeep I cant imagine a truck getting through it.

But, wheeling gnarly trails is usually something you put great effort into locating and doing.. if you stick to "roads" then you'll never encounter stuff like that, I cant tell you how many times Ive encountered forest service roads I thought were rather torn up and in poor condition, glad I came prepared with good tires and AWD, only to encounter a bunch of subaru's and minivans at the top of the pass taking photos like ******.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

Two quick updates:

1) It's been on my mind for a couple days, but I wanted to say a special thank you to @ChasingOurTrunks for the incredibly detailed post regarding his equipment and GVWR. Must have been lots of work to weigh every single item on the packing list, and more work to post about it. That's what makes the ExPo forum so helpful and worthwhile - people taking the extra step to share the photos and details of the challenges, experiments and problems that we are all trying to solve. Keep it up!

2) Thank you also to everyone who has posted ideas and opinions about loaded rigs vs. trailers. I am now officially in the market for a trailer, realizing that it should be a better fit for my "adventure travel style", which is mostly weekend trips with kids. I'll post here if/when it all comes together. Won't be quick, that's for sure. Lots to learn.

Very kind words, thank you! It was an exciting project that we’ve been meaning to tackle for years. I love gear and my wife loves organizing so it was a nice way to spend a day!

Of course now that we know how heavy we were, we went with pairing things down, but it got to the point where we were sacrificing so much kit that it was compromising the experience.

I wish you the best of luck with the trailer hunt. We are still working on a solution on our end but we are excited with the prospect of figuring stuff out. The North American overlanding market is the best it’s ever been in terms of weight saving kit, trailers, and vehicles.

 

[jacobconroy]

All the time. Thats why I camp, to get places most others never try.
Turning around on a power line trail after running into snow.
View attachment 513979

Agreed here, but different strokes for all them folks! I have a fairly built Jeep (for camping...not crawling) and an off road trailer. When it's just the Jeep if I can get in, I'm pretty sure I'll get out. When pulling the trailer I'm much less confident. I once encountered a rock slide 1 or 2 miles up a FS road with the Jeep & trailer and had to back all the way out. Not fun. Hundreds of yards of drop-off and a very narrow road.

When I finally got out I had a stiff neck and a hoarse voice, LOL. But, that's the bottom line as to why my Jeep is so heavy. Trying to duplicate all the features of the trailer to get rid of the trailer.

 

[MattJ]

https://explorationoutfitters.com/p...patriot-campers-offroad-pcor-arrives-may-2019

 

[JimHR]

Theres a lot of good info here and the same thing I am trying to figure out. My rig is heavily moded out and don't want to pull a trailer getting ready to hit my bucket list. Hardest thing is should i get a RTT or a ground tent, need to carry water, shower etc. Not sure how it will all work out.

In Silverton Colorado 2017

 

[FosterWV]

Overlanding has become Overloading, "make camping simple again"

Joking aside coming from rock crawling, we've found the best mix is a nice base camp trailer and using the jeep to explore.