Picked Up A Traitor Jeep (tj)

The project continues.

Other side plate cut out:


After that was welded in, I cut the top plate for the storage compartment:


Marking where the latches go:


Thankfully, they come with a nice diagram:


Since I'm not particularly great with woodwork and don't have a ton of wood tools, I drilled holes in the corners for the radius, and larger holes in the middle of the side to fit a saber saw blade:


Post cut-out. It looks a bit amateur hour because it is. I did clean up the hole with some sandpaper wrapped around a file:


The latches fit, and then I adjusted the clamping distance. When I take all this apart for paint, I'll make better retainers for the latch. The U-shaped retainers are for thinner material and I have them upside down to hold things in place for fitting:


Fitting the end plates to the storage compartment:


Tacked and ready for real welding:


Both sides done!


Then it was on to angle iron picture frames to add support to the 3/4" plywood shelf:


The shelf will be in two parts. The forward part will bolt solidly to the side frames. The rear part will hinge up for better access to things up towards the front:


Lots of storage space under there for groceries, Costco runs, Coolers, etc. While giving the dogs plenty of room up above:


Next will be more wood cutting, adding hinges, figuring out bolts for the front shelf, paintg, and gluing rubber mat to the top of the wood surfaces.

 

Didn't get much time in the shop today, but did finish weld the shelf frames and cut the plywood for them:


Most importantly, the cooler fits:


I like it. It's even stout enough I can climb onto the shelf with no issues.

Tomorrow night, I'll work on hinges, bolts, and latches.

 

Started drilling holes to screw the picture frames to the plywood:


Cut the rubber matting because I needed it to place the hinges. It's also good to let it flatten out before I glue it:


Hings in place. I needed the matting to get thing hinges in the right place for the rear shelf to fold flat over the front one. I'll trim the excess off the hinges when I take it part for painting:


Installed latches for the rear fold-up section:


In addition to folding the shelf all the way forward flat, I made a cable to hook it to a seat belt bolt if desired. That should allow access to the storage area while leaving just enough room for the dogs to stay in the Jeep:


The hinges are just proud of the mat, so they won't be too annoying:


Next steps are making attachments to bolt the front half of the shelf in, screwing the front half of the shelf to it's frame, and adding a middle hinge.

After that, I'm going to experiment with a crazy idea related to this shelf before I take it out for paint and glue.

 

I needed to go into the office today and I wanted to drive the Jeep. Last night was a thrash to get the front half of the shelf bolted in so I could get all the tools out of the way.

Used some angle iron to cut out 4 brackets:


Then I put rivnuts in the vertical tubes on the fender bins:


Finally, I used brass thread inserts in the bottom of the plywood to attach the shelf in an easily removable way. Just undo the four bolts that go in horizontally and it pops right out:


It doesn't look like much, but that took me over 3 hours. Lots of cutting/grinding, and 24 holes drilled.

Surprisingly, all this new junk in the back was quiet on the washboard gravel roads going to work. I was expecting all sorts of new rattles.

 

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work on Thurday. It was a good test.

Under the shelf is two grocery bags, my backpack, a 40lb bag of dog food, a large pack of TP, two soda 12-packs, and plenty of room for more stuff:


Back half flipped up for easy access. I like it!

 

Here's the next step I wanted to get laid out before I took everything out for paint

I want the ability to sleep in the Jeep for one night at a time here and there so I don't need to get to a hotel every night when I'm out exploring. I don't want a roof top-tent or anything expensive. I also don't want to set-up an external tent.

The idea is that with the driver's seat flipped forward and some temporary platform extensions, I have enough room to lay down. I can't shut the back from the inside, or get around the steering wheel through the left door, so I need to get in the right door to get on the platform.

This is just a mock-up, but this is the basic idea. One removable panel with supports will attach to my new rear shelf behind the driver's seat:


Another removable platform with supports will attach to the first one and extend to the dash over the console area. This is the side I will need to crawl in:


Head goes in the back left corner, feet up by the dash. Easy to set-up and remove in a few minutes. Add a pad, a sleeping bag, and a pillow, and you have a comfy space to sleep. There's even enough room for a dog on the right side:


A quickly set-up, easy six feet of space is more than enough for me. I think it's going to work:


Now that I know what I need to modify on the existing shelf, I can pull it all out, add a couple brackets and paint everything. That will get the Jeep fully functional while I work in the sleeping parts of the platform.

 

I like it, off the ground, dry,easy quick set up.... room for a dog to talk to.....some beans, hot dogs and chips you got it all...

 

I carry a one burner stove that uses those green propane bottles. Will heat 2 liters of water in 2 minutes or so. Great addition to a rig for a non planned meal of dehydrated chow. Or to refill the thermos. Peak makes a good meal, and Mountain House has some good choices. I personally carry hot chocolate, instant flavored potatoes, ramen, soup, etc. A cheap backpackers pot is handy. If you need to spend a night out....might as well be as comfy as you can. I think the one I have is a Stryker brand.

 

Great ideas. I've got one of those one burner stoves around here somewhere and it (plus propane bottle) would easily fit in one of the new side compartments.

 

Today I tore everything out for some final welding and paint.

Empty (except for dog hair and dirt):


Rolled Rustoleum semi-gloss black from a quart can on the plywood. I dont' want it to rust :



Hoping to glue the rubber on top sides tomorrow night.

This metal stuff needs some work before paint:


I want to weld some anchor points on top, add brackets for the front shelf, and then do a bunch of grinding/sanding cleanup before painting. Hoping to have all that done by the end of the week. We'll see.

 

Iirc, I used the bolt that holds the rear most seat belt retractor in as a tie down point. Think I changed the bolt out and used an eye bolt or something, maybe a bracket under the bolt. Bolt is a weird metric size. It is high off the floor but is solid.
The stove I have is similar to a jetboil but half the price. Works great.

 

Like your sleeping set-up. If you could fab some quick disconnects for your passenger front seat you could just remove it at night and really increase your sleeping area. I often camped in my cj5. I unhinged and removed the passenger front seat and the mount for it. only 3 bolts, used a 3 in foam pad, feet up near the heater/dash and head in left rear corner. Small cooler in the driver side floor. 12 volt light on roll bar, single burner gas stove, and a urinal for night calls. I had a canvas tarp I spread over the top for a little extra insulation and privacy if needed. Ah fun times, thanks for reminding me.

 

Cold weather has been sapping my motivation to work in the shop, but I'll get back to this project soon.

In the meanwhile, I pulled the TJ out to try it in the snow for the first time:


It does surprisingly well, the BF Goodrich All Terrain K02 2023 Rubicon take-off tires seem to have pretty darned good traction in the snow. I even chugged up to the top of one of the ridges. Not much snow on the top, but you have to get through some foot thick stuff to get up there:

 

The newer BFG KO2s are 3-Peak rated (great for snow). There's a little symbol designator near the bead. On my 33x10.50s its right between the "A" in T/A and the bead. This is one reason I opted for the KO2s over the KM3s.

What is the 3PMSF Symbol And What Does It Mean for Your Winter Driving Safety? (lesschwab.com)

 

Indeed. You can see how much snow they grab. Always a sign of a good snow tire.

 

My son in law has a TJ. He called me one afternoon and said his driveshaft was flopping around. I drove to him and helped him remove the shaft. He drove around with the TC in 4h for weeks until I gave him my old 99 ram 1500. He said he got better mileage and it seemed like it had more pep with only the front axle do the work. Lol

 

Your sweet camper works

 

Starting to look like someone is prepping for a Rubicon Trip!

 

When we get snow events, the TJ becomes our main squeeze. It’s never failed to get us on or off the mountain. Even last Tuesday nights wet 6-8” of snow I had to leave the 4x4 Tacoma a few turns from home, Anna had no problem getting up the hill and to the house. We’re running 35 km3’s, and no doubt the ko2’s could be better, but those km3’s do work very very well on that jeep. I Even had to break a trail to a buddies house to bring them groceries and winch her car off of a boulder she’d slid into.

 

I've been surprisingly impressed with this thing and the K02s. We drove it on a 60 mile round trip down to Chief Timothy park on the Snake River today and It did really well:


The K02s are about average on sheet ice (witch is expected without a real winter compound or studs), but did absolutely great anywhere with snow/compact snow.

When we got home, we ran the dogs up one of our 200ft tall ridges to run the dogs. It just crawled right up:






I've been considering buying dedicated snow tires for it, but I really like it as is and will spent the money on something else. Love this Jeep: