Adventuremagnet  Joined: Jul 01, 2008
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I found myself with a 1998 Jeep Cherokee XJ which I'd owned since it was a couple of years old and it was time for a new car. I had seperation anxiety though...
XJs are great, but they're worthless. So I came up with a cunning plan. A dedicated camper (or expedition vehicle if you're feeling fruity).
To make it painfree to use for long trips the first change had to be LPG. The only problem with LPG is the huge amount of interior space a decent sized tank takes. As there would only ever be two of us and a dog using it the solution was obvious. Remove the back seats.
Next step was a fitted kitchen (a necessary step to get the approval from the wife). A 40L Fiamma water tank fitted nicely in the boot behind the LPG tank and the whole boot was given over to drawers and storage and a sink and then boxed in and carpeted. A compressor fridge coupled with a dual battery system finished off the kitchen nicely.
To add some weather protection to the kitchen a Land Rover Day Tent is carried. It fits nicely over the open tailgate providing a roughly 7' square area.
The sleeping accomodation is taken care of by a pop-up fibreglass roof tent. Very quick to use, and with a memory-foam mattress, very comfortable.
With the kitchen fitted there was no room left for a spare. The puny space-save was binned and a swing-away tyre carrier added which mounts a full sized spare. Extra mountaing points for four jerry cans come in handy on the carrier and it also mounts a couple of ammo boxes for odds-and-sods. Two of the four jerry cans have to be removed to open the rear door, so in normal use only two are carried but the option to carry the two can be handy.
With all the extra weight, which despite being within the maxium load for the XJ, was too much for the ageing suspension so on went an OME kit. It didn't need a lift really, but it would be rude not to, so a 2" lift went on.
The end result is a very compact but practical setup. More camper van than rugged expedition vehicle, but that was the plan.
Modifications
- OME 2" lift with medium duty springs and extra rear leaf
- New alloy wheels with General Grabber AT2 235-75R15s
- LPG Injection system, 140L Tank
- 40L onboard water (with sink and tap)
- External wheel carrier/rack
- Secondary battery
- Boot cargo drawers
Equipment
- Columbus roof tent
- Fiamma F35 awning
- Waeco Coolmatic CD-30 drawer fridge
- Land Rover Day Tent
- Jet wash / shower (12v) | |
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Adventuremagnet Joined: Jul 01, 2008
Posts: 466 | |
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| Filler for onboard water: | Advertisement  |
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Adventuremagnet Joined: Jul 01, 2008
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Adventuremagnet Joined: Jul 01, 2008
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Adventuremagnet Joined: Jul 01, 2008
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Adventuremagnet Joined: Jul 01, 2008
Posts: 466 | |
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Set up:
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saburai Joined: Mar 30, 2009
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Very nice set up. I'm interested in your deck...
[ This message was edited by: saburai on 30/03/2009 20:39 ] | |
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Adventuremagnet Joined: Jul 01, 2008
Posts: 466 | |
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| What do you mean by deck? | |
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