for extended time in the pat,
may want to consider moving some of your gear out side your pat,
you mentioned tail gate for cooler and such, but those can be cumbersome to get around when accessing the back,
might want to move stuff to the roof, basket, storage box, storage bag, etc..
will you be staying at 1 place for extended period of time?
if so may want to make out side of jeep comfortable,
a hammock can attach from roof, to single tree, and give you an outdoor sitting/laying place, hammocks are also light and pack small.
can set up a tarp extended out from the roof, to give you shade/dry area,
for water, if you dont want a large water tank, look into water filters, can filter out the nastiest of swamp/lake waters and make it drinkable
based on pic, if you are staying in the field for 1-2 weeks, will have alot more gear to move around when you want a sleeping area

the metal shelf baskets also look like they take alot more room than necessary,
would this work instead?

 

I am a little worried about the trailer basket getting in the way when trying to access my stuff, but I might just have to deal with reaching over.


I plan to get a roof box to hold clothes and hiking gear, Like i said, I just gotta find one that only takes up about half of the width of the roof rack space.

I have been looking into hammocks, but Im worried that the rails wont be able to handle the weight being PULLED from being tied to it.

As far as the shelving goes. I looked into those box drawers, but they are waaaay to expensive and not long enough to sleep on. Plus that is just taking away from the already limited headroom there is. These metal baskets seem good because they let me see what is in there without having to dig through them. I have some better ideas to keep it from tipping over that I am going to try working on this weekend. Also these wire baskets are actually the perfect size to allow my 25" wide mattress pad next to it and I can easily attatch lamps, and other gear with carabiners to them.

I may attempt building some sort of deep cell battery box with built in inverter so I can charger batteries and devices while out in the field and without having to power the vehicle.

The seat directly behind the drivers seat has always been folded down since the day I bought it because I put my pelican case with random photo gear and my photo gear backpack on top of that...

Thanks for all the suggestions! This should be a fun project and it will be interesting to see how things change after my first couple trips on the road haha

 

Welcome!

Something like this might work for you. The cargo space is deep enough you could sleep on top of this type of storage.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/SUV-Cargo-Caddy/747243.uts

 

A couple more
http://www.thefind.com/furniture/info-suv-storage-drawer

 

Looks nice. Roof racks and a hammock would help, as the other guys mentioned, and maybe some sort of grille guard with storage on the front bumper? Not for much, but would provide extra storage if it doesn't hinder airflow to the intake and radiator too much. Nice to see somebody out of Omaha, I worked for a company called Werner for about half of last year, they're based in Omaha.

 

Not sure if anyone has gone this route yet, but when you look at how tall the interior space is, it might be worthwhile to look at storing long, flat, or squishy items up against the headliner (specifically in the cargo area, not so much over the driver & passenger seats), using either some adjustable plastic buckles on nylon straps, or a section of cargo net. Your headroom would be impacted in the back where you sleep, but when you're laying down it doesn't really matter much.

 

for fishing common to see bungy cord or similar stretched out across the roof panel, and fishing poles stored up there,
same idea sure can come up with multiple uses

 

Your work is great, I was crazy impressed. I'm excited to see how this build goes, and I'd +1 on the roof storage idea.

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Hmm, I've had ratchet straps on the roof of mine, and pulled/pushed the rails a few times to see how strong they were. They seem pretty strong, but I understand the concern, might want to try strapping on a hammock with different weights in it, gradually increasing it, see when it starts to creak, maybe?

 

Thanks for all the interest. I thought I was the only one who was interested in something like this haha.

Id love to have the ability to hook a hammock up on a hot day with a breeze!

That headliner storage idea sounds awesome, it would be perfect if I could secure my tripods up there without worrying they would slide forward and in to the back of my head if I stopped abruptly haha.

I tested my shelves with some sharp and bumpy turns today and they held great. I still want to hookup a bar to the shelf that can slide into one of the trunk space cover slots for some more stability while driving.

My next big purchase will probably be installing a hitch, getting a basket and a cooler. then i'll move onto the roof rack situation

I got bored after work so i thought I'd make a list of items I plan to get either on Amazon or locally. I'll probably add things as time goes on and I might even offer items on it as payment from clients of mine.

http://astore.amazon.com/jeep01-20

 

That headliner storage idea sounds awesome, it would be perfect if I could secure my tripods up there without worrying they would slide forward and in to the back of my head if I stopped abruptly haha.

I can see what you're saying about the headliner storage being a potential threat, especially if you don't have everything well-secured.

Depending on the size of your tripods, maybe you could get a length of 6" PVC pipe, two screw-on end fittings, and secure the pipe to one of the roof rails (or to a future roof rack). I've seen contractors do this for carrying smaller-diameter pipes or other long, narrow items. Just food for thought.

I still think the headliner storage would be great for flat or soft items (clothes, blankets, etc), and if you were concerned about stuff coming out in a panic stop, you could keep the headliner storage over the cargo area only.

Though i will admit, I've considered methods of securing a large maglite or an aluminum baseball bat to the headliner within reach of the driver's seat, for reasons.

 

well i guess i can't post my amazon store link on here, so if you want, just copy and paste it haha..

 

Walmart for about $25. Then you can use them as sitting or small table. Went camping with the wife the same way. And wish we had these. Stuff was all over the place from off roading. But know it will stay in one place. Left them outside for the night. Right know it has all are camping gear it them. And easy to pack up and unload.

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Have 2 of these small tables. Got tham at big 5 for 20 each.

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Indeed, I'd like to know how the hammock idea works out. It's something I've considered as a future investment, for possible warm-weather camping trips. Any thoughts on the potential for a little bit of front-bumper storage? Just to have some extra room for a couple spare flashlights, maybe a first aid kit, etc.?

 

I'd also suggest checking out the solar thread going on, you could hook up a 45watt solar panel on the roof to a deep cycle battery for your electric needs (charging batteries, running appliances, a small heater at night, etc).

 

Had this set up between 2 trees
Was quite comfy

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It would be cool to go solar, but at this point its not worth the money nor the hassle. I think a deep cell and a inverter should be good, I can always pay a little extra for an actual camper spot at a park if I need to recharge.

Those big storage bins are too big for the little jeep, unless I plan on doing a separate backpacking trip while on one of my trips, I really don't need that much storage. I do a lot of astrophotography so will basically be out all night and return after sunrise to sleep during the days. While Im sleeping i'd like everything to be either locked up on the outside of the jeep or inside.

Being that it is just me, and I know how to camp, I should be fine with only few outfits in case one gets wet or it gets chilly and enough food for a week. The rest is all just adding to the luxury of sleeping in a jeep haha.

 

You may want to look at one of these www.truckcandy.com

 

I have tents... I am trying to avoid setting up any sort of a tent. Preferably I'd like to be able to pull over, hop in the back, and pass out for a few hours

 

Terasec, you look like a hobo

Onelapse - the 45watt solar kit with all wiring/inverter and the battery - full solar conversion for under $300 (not expensive at all). Check the other post, IMHO for the time you spend in your riot a less than $300 investment for full renewable power is well worth it.

 

Nice job, looks great! You could look into something like this for solar. $30 I picked one up for camping/emergency power. Supplies ~1.2 Amps at 5v in direct sun, I can get it to charge my phone under a couple standard 60W bulbs too. You could use a dc-dc boost converter(<$10 on ebay) and use it to charge an old 12V battery too.

 

I kind of like the idea of a heavy duty Optima/Odyssey AGM Deep Cycle battery and a quality 300-1500 watt inverter. A 5-45watt solar panel could somewhat charge the battery but probably not very much. Solar just isn't quite that efficient yet. Kind of expensive but that would be an awesome way to go.

 

Kind of low on money, but I figure I'd post an update on this past weekend of addons. Mostly Stuff I already have and a ton of bungee cords haha.

If you look towards the top shelf, you can see 2 peg hook mounts that surprisingly fit right on, which works perfect to store my tripod and secures nicely with my smaller tripod and a bungee.

I also have my air mattress layed out to show that it does fit and it offers plenty of room, when I go to bed, I will just put my backpack in the front seat or on my pelican behind the front seat. Anyways, I am hoping to get my trailer mount and basket soon.

 

This has given me some ideas for when I work a few of the multi-day public service events that I work as an Amateur Radio Operator. Last year when I worked one of our two day events, I pulled the seats out of my Grand Caravan and put a twin sized mattress back there. I'm not sure that will work now, but I can start getting the stuff together for something like this for next year.

 

very interesting thread onelapse. I am also a photographer, have camped in my Jeeps quite a few times. Used to own Wranglers which had a little more room with the seats down. Camped in my Patriot Sport last year but it didn't have the front flat seat so I was a little sideways on a twin air mattress. Now I have a new LTD FDII with the front flat seat. what sleeping pad are you using?

do you have a link to your photography? mine is in my sig.

best wishes,
-GD

 

This is awesome to read! Please update as you go!

 

One question, onelapse, how did you overcome the problem of the gap between the folded down back seat and the flat front seat?


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That is so far down that it doesn't really effect sleeping at all, I do have a new much thicker air mattress that makes it completely unrecognizable thought.

 

Sorry I haven't updated in forever. I got busy at work so traveling was few and far between.
Here are some update since I was last on here...

• costco deep cycle battery
• 2000W inverter for power supply
• Nemo sleeping bag
• Nemo Sleeping Pad
• Yakima Railgrab kit
• Yakima Cargo Box
• Portable shower (more details on that later)
• Yokohama Geolander AT/S

On the way
RRO tow hooks
RRO Lift Kit

Wish List

• Renology 100w
• RRO Bumper with winch mount

Here are some photos of my Riot from some of my travels.
My new sleeping setup. It's Incredibly comfortable and warm. But not warm enough for me to handle below zero temps haha

Random location in Northern Nebraska

Trailhead for Zapata Falls near Great Sand Dunes National Park

Many Parks Curve in Rocky Mountain National Park

-16 degrees in Rocky Mountain National Park

 

Random location in Northern Nebraska

Wow this one's incredible!

Welcome back. Looking good!