Contributor II
Congratulations on your first child, they change everything, for the better, and soon you will have trouble remembering what life was like before they came and took over.
:)
Converting from rock crawler to overlander
- Thread starter Trail_pilot
- Start date
:)
Thank you. Ya it has really changed my perspective on things. I still use the jeep to go out rock crawling with friends every once in a while but I want to use it more to get the family out camping in some remote back country spots that I know my wife would love. Its just getting this thing from being a no nonsense rock crawler to being able to hold a conversation while driving down the road is a bit of a challenge lol. We got ear muffs for the little guy and I still need to fix the exhaust ( has just a turn down pipe behind the skid plate with no muffler) and i will put the hard top on for longer trips if i need to.
Contributor II
You seem most capable from what I can tell and I have no doubt you will accomplish your goal, best wishes on that journey.
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
I have been looking for a set north of the boarder for my patriot for a while now.
As for your Jeep, make it drive good on road, off road and take some gear. Pack in the family and get outdoors. Jeeps are the best.
So a few things have changed recently. I have added a few more "rock crawler" additions to the jeep as well as some storage changes to the back. I was recently accepted to go on a 3 day trip with 4wd magazine ( Canada version) to participate in "#campcrawl2020" where we are to hit some Ontario's hardest trails and camp in between. There is a tech inspection So I needed to make sure I had all of the components required to enter, as well as make sure that everything a dialed in the best it can be for the trip. I don't have a harness but that isn't a requirement, I did however have a harness bar in my garage that I hadn't installed yet. I got that mounted up, mounted a quick release fire extinguisher, made up a 3rd brake light and mounted a Bluetooth speaker for long highway drives. I also mounted the roof basket from my Compass inside to add in a second layer of mounting. 
Then I brought it over to a buddy's shop to help me solve an issue with the rear suspension. The shock mounts had been relocated on the axle when it was swapped in, and sat a little high. It's nice because they stay out of the rocks but made me run a short shock. I had issues with breaking shocks in half because bar pins would fail and caused damage to other parts. I decided it was time to outboard the shocks Soni have the proper amount of travel for the run. Added some shock towers from a local fabrication company and some 12" travel billstien shocks and it flexes and drives mint!
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Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
I will have to build a smaller basket and relocate some mounts when I want to put the back seat in for my son to come along, but my wife has no interest in the jeep at the moment and it has brought me some interesting opportunities lol
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Like another jeep for overlanding? and make this one back into a full blown crawler? ha ha ha.
Ha ha ha. Unfortunately not. This one is surprisingly comfortable for what it is but I also have a Compass Trailhawk that is my daily driver/camper overlander. My wife likes to pack everything lol.
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Contributor II
You should check out elementfire.com for a much better, smaller and lighter fire extinguisher solution. Get rid of that monster and have a much cleaner more eco friendly fire extinguisher on your rig.
I know the fire extinguisher isn't great and will corrode the hell outta things if I have to use it but it's one of those things you hope you never have to use and I needed it mounted for the upcoming event and getting things across the border may not make it in time. Also I like the mount, it's not in the way and I know that it's easily accessable if I need it and isn't going to come loose if I am in a roll over. It's the same mount they use in offroad race trucks so I am pretty confident it will do it' job well.
Contributor II
Did you look at the link I gave you, it will not cause any problems if used. I understand the event, this is a going forward thing to think sbout.
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
The compass just told me it wants some love too. He said he wants a lift and bigger tires for christmas. Ha ha ha. Our patriot loved it's new sneakers!
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
I hadn't had a chance I had to pack everything up ( wife, baby, dog, ect) and head north for the weekend right after work I'll have a look at it now
Ha ha. Ya I thought about doing something to the compass but I just don't see anything other than lights, or maybe a slightly longer basket happening. The Patriot had larger tires and wheels spacers but the tolerances on this thing are so tight that it's hard to predict what sort of scrub radius I will get out of larger tires or if they would even fit. I can stick my finger in between the stock tires and strut and tough both with 1 finger. Also I have no idea about the comanche it's been there for years and I get asked all the time lol.
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
I had the same issue with our pat. 1.25 spacers to increase the space and went from 215/60/17 to 235/65/17. It looks like a Jeep now, not a Weiner dog. Have a look around. I'm sure a little more tire can fit under it.
