Hunty's Jeep JK Extreme

[Hunty]

Hi Guyz
I was reprogramming my aeroforce gauge earlier today and noticed that I had a bolt almost completely out - it had worked loose somehow.


As I stated in my Cape trip report that nothing had worked loose and my Jeep had survived the nearly 8,000km trip so it must have worked loose since then LoL .


I am not sure what the bolt does and didnt really look into it - my guess is that it has something to do with lowering the front windscreen - that or its structural / roll cage related D'oh.


Either way I believe all Jkers should check for this condition ASAP as an important matter of safety.


My advice to all JKers is take a look and see if yours is OK.


its easy to get to .......


Thanx to Paul JK (AJOR) - Jeep Legend........you can access it via the hole in the plastic A pillar.


Cheers Hunty

[Hunty]

Hi Guyz
I have just recently dumped the Roof Top Tent in favour of a light weight camper trailer, I really loved the roof top tent for the following reasons;


1. Jeep is shorter LoL.
2. Easier to reverse.
3. Great breeze up in the tent.
4. Doesnt take much toll on my Jeeps 4x4 ability.
5. Cost under $1k - Ebay.


Why did I ditch it for an old second hand camper trailer?...;
1. I like to setup camp and then go wheelin!
2. I hate zipping up the dust proof / water proof bag. Hate is probably not a strong enough term. It just pissed me off and $h!t3d me to tears!
3. I almost fell down the ladder a couple of times trying to stagger out for a leak in the middle of the night. LoL
4. I like the extra space (and my old 42inch plasma fits nicely on the mattress).
5. It only weighs 210kg's and doesn't require checking to register.
6. loads of storage space.
7. Doesnt take much off my GVM (21kg).
8. I get better fuel economy towing it than than I got with the Roof Top Tent.


Just went camping with my 4 kids + 1 extra boy friend & 1 sons best friend, I piled on top of the camper trailer;
2x Tents.
3 swags.
1 BBQ & gas bottle.
1 waeco fridge.
tarps.
folding chairs.
Plasma TV inside on the queen size bed.
6 fishing rods & tackle.
camp furniture inc table, cooking surface and sink.
microwave, toaster & Cappuccino maker.
Sleeping bags pillows and bags of personal fx / clothing


I had a great weekend with my kids and love my new camper.
cheers Hunty

[aussiejk]

do notice pulling the trailer like do you have to use the gears more climbing hills etc,

[Hunty]

do notice pulling the trailer like do you have to use the gears more climbing hills etc,

Maaaaaaaaate - I did notice it on the weekend but I did have a heap of gear on top of the camper, I run 4.56's on 33's and despite me getting up it and the hilly terrain I was driving (Dharag National Park vis wisemans ferry) I still got better fuel economy than I do with the roof top tent - still got plenty of power - I went up the F3 to pick up my kids from morrisett and I used 6th and occasionally 5th and didnt drop below the posted limit! schweeeeet!...... so my answer is barely notice it! cheers Hunty

[Steve F]

Apart from taking a 40" plasma camping just being plain wrong be aware that if you transport them flat the weight of the glass in them can causing it to crack as they are not built to be transported flat only upright

The camper is cool, I love taking my camper over the RTT but the camper is not always feasible and the RTT is still pretty convenient, 21 days straight in it says something for it I had no worries zipping up the cover etc each morning. My favourite setup is the RTT on the top of the camper, easy to setup and leave and sleeps 7 with the lower room.



Cheers
Steve

[Hunty]

Hey Steve
Your setup looks sweeeeeeet!
how many watts is the solar panel?
I really wanted an offroad teardrop but I couldnt find 1 under $12k and.... on road teardrop for under $8k - so i went with the camp trailer - OK you watched me zip up Miraz's & my RTT every day on the Cape trip and you didnt share any of your smart@ss pils with us LoL - - so whats your secret to getting your RTT zip bag back on painlessly??cheers hunty

[Steve F]

I didn't see you guys pack up the RTT's that often No real trick to it though, I just made sure the flaps over the windows were attached to their toggles and this helped it fold up quite tidely. Once it was folded up a quick run around each side to tuck any bits in that hung out and then putting the top on was easy, if the zipper is hard to reach in places put a longer cord on it.

Ooops mised some questions, that solar panel you see there is just the little 30W portable one, the camper has a 170W panel on the roof, it can be removed to get full sun if needed but I've never had to and keeps my 100AH battery charged all the time. So 200W if I need it through a MPPT regulator which will take the 48V of the 170W panel and turn it into a charging voltage for the battery, I've seen it putting out 6A just sitting on the roof not aimed at the sun or anything



Cheers
Steve

[Hunty]

WoW Steve
Thats good electrickery mate - I love your green teardrop, still wish I had one! - r u saying that you can run your fridge virtually endlessly? - brilliant!

170w @ 48v = over 600w @ 12v or do you mean that after regulator you have 170w @ 12v?
sweet
Cheers Hunty

[Steve F]

WoW Steve
Thats good electrickery mate - I love your green teardrop, still wish I had one! - r u saying that you can run your fridge virtually endlessly? - brilliant!

170w @ 48v = over 600w @ 12v or do you mean that after regulator you have 170w @ 12v?
sweet
Cheers Hunty

Yep, fridge will run endlessly as long as there are a 3 or 4 hours of sun in the day. If I miss a day then I can catch up on the next day or put the firdge in the Jeep for a day or so to reduce the load on the camper battery and let it charge up. So yep, totally self sufficient with the camper and Jeep

Actually checking the specs max voltage of the panel is 36V, it's a 24V house panel with a max power voltage of 36V, after the regulator it tops out at around 15A going into the battery If it's getting 15A that is close to the typical load of my fridge for a 24 hour period (I have it down low at night) Add in the little extra from the 30W panel and I really only need 1 1/2 good hours a day to be self sufficient.

Cheers
Steve

[nitrobrent]

Campsite looks great Hunty,close to the water.Do you mind sharing where it is?Cheers Brent