Have jeep will travel

[Wandererr]

Or rather more accurately have a vehicle will travel.

My folks have instilled in me a travel bug. At age 6 I recall going on this crazy monster of a trip where we visited countless national parks and monuments. One of my most amusing memories is getting out of a tent in Yellowstone to a sight of a buffalo taking a leak on some poor campers tent :)

Fast forward many years: my first vehicle was an 86 XJ... Had issues as it had the Chevy 2.8V6 but it took me many fun places and gave me plenty memories. Since then I have always owned at least one jeep.

Currently we have two jeeps and a Subaru. Each vehicle serves it's purpose and they have all been used to travel across the states. My current project is converting the JKU to a self sufficient vehicle which will sleep 2 adults and a kid - UM is on order.

Self sufficiency - well... My problem is that I have everything plus a kitchen sink... I try not to leave anything to chance which results in heavy loaded rig... So the second part of the project is figuring out what I can leave behind ;)

The goal is to have the JKU setup this year with with plan of a road trip out to Yellowstone next year with some side trips along the way.

Normally I'd tow the trailer but it takes longer and I want to be "nimble"

 

[Billiebob]

Food is a big part of the load, how much refrigeration, how to cook, how many days between shopping.
So number one is menu and resupply.

Keeping the menu simple, planning maybe 3 day stints, changing menus every third day. Buying for 3 day diets. Having that "leftovers day" to empty the cooler before tomorrows shopping trip. Definitely involve the child in this, actually if the child is engaged, give this job to them. Be the enabler, mentor and let your child grow.

Three people, pack only for three. Knife, fork, spoon, bowl, plate, napkin. DONE. Portions, live the menu at home, pack from experience for the trip.

MAKE LISTS long before the trips. Stroke out things, add if needed.
On the trip, MAKE LISTS, what worked, whats missing, new ideas, brainstorm AND value the kids insights.
And review when packing for the next trip. If you never used it last trip......... put serious thought into leaving it out of the next trip.

Ursa Minor on a JKU is the ultimate overlander for a close family of three. Might be very close but a great choice.

lol we have had 2 Jeeps and a Subaru for 20 years.
But the children are 36 & 40 so the similarities end there.

 

[Wandererr]

Starting with the UM and sleeping arrangements: wife and myself upstairs, the kiddo on the 60% folded downstairs with storage above and the fridge next to her legs in the back.

Food wise I'm good with meat bread and potatoes ;) my normal diet could be: sliced bread with bacon in the morning, sliced bread with bacon, cheese for lunch, steak and baked potato for dinner. The wife though wants variety and green stuffs :)

In any cas3, we have been able to pack before on the trips with shopping being done every couple days. Just recently the two of us took a 4 day trip where we had all the food packed at home and when we returned we had enough for about a half a day more.

The extras that I need to shed weight on is the spare parts, tools and the like. Depending on where and when we travel i even went as far as packing a rifle and extra ammo for the rifle and the handguns.

 

[Billiebob]

you live in a different world than me, in 65 years I have never needed a gun.

but to more practical considerations, meat bread potatoes, absolutely the worst overlanding diet.
Meat, great, Bread, no.
Salads, Fruit absolutely. Greens keep you regular.
Diet controls those other evolutions. Google what marathon runners eat to avoid the need for rest stops and eat that camping.
Food should be fuel, sometimes food can be comfort but if you want to travel light, diet can be a huge part of it.

Parts, on anything less than a international expedition you should NEED zero parts.
Maintenance before you leave, a spare tire, booster cables just in case, done.
I carry a tool box mostly in case of a deer strike or act of stupity, but I carry no spare parts.

In 40 years I've needed the booster cables once, the spare tire 4 times.
I carry zero in spare parts, but I will get my shop/mechanic do a full 60 point inspection, oil change, before any major trip. In 40 years that works flawlessly.

ps, I drive a Wrangler so parts, service are available worldwide. If I drove something more exotic like a Discovery I might want some parts,
but I picked a Wrangler to avoid that need.

 

[Wandererr]

It's like a spare tire... You carry it and hope it not to use it ;)

 

[Billiebob]

It's like a spare tire... You carry it and hope it not to use it ;)

might as well start with a Snap On Tools truck
you are the one asking how to reduce weight

 

[Kent R]

Or rather more accurately have a vehicle will travel.

My folks have instilled in me a travel bug. At age 6 I recall going on this crazy monster of a trip where we visited countless national parks and monuments. One of my most amusing memories is getting out of a tent in Yellowstone to a sight of a buffalo taking a leak on some poor campers tent :)

Fast forward many years: my first vehicle was an 86 XJ... Had issues as it had the Chevy 2.8V6 but it took me many fun places and gave me plenty memories. Since then I have always owned at least one jeep.

Currently we have two jeeps and a Subaru. Each vehicle serves it's purpose and they have all been used to travel across the states. My current project is converting the JKU to a self sufficient vehicle which will sleep 2 adults and a kid - UM is on order.

Self sufficiency - well... My problem is that I have everything plus a kitchen sink... I try not to leave anything to chance which results in heavy loaded rig... So the second part of the project is figuring out what I can leave behind ;)

The goal is to have the JKU setup this year with with plan of a road trip out to Yellowstone next year with some side trips along the way.

Normally I'd tow the trailer but it takes longer and I want to be "nimble"

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[roots66]

Hello R, welcome to the OB family.
You can always go the base camp route and bring all you need in a trailer and leave it secured while you explore the area.

 

[Road]

Or rather more accurately have a vehicle will travel.

My folks have instilled in me a travel bug. At age 6 I recall going on this crazy monster of a trip where we visited countless national parks and monuments. One of my most amusing memories is getting out of a tent in Yellowstone to a sight of a buffalo taking a leak on some poor campers tent :)

Fast forward many years: my first vehicle was an 86 XJ... Had issues as it had the Chevy 2.8V6 but it took me many fun places and gave me plenty memories. Since then I have always owned at least one jeep.

Currently we have two jeeps and a Subaru. Each vehicle serves it's purpose and they have all been used to travel across the states. My current project is converting the JKU to a self sufficient vehicle which will sleep 2 adults and a kid - UM is on order.

Self sufficiency - well... My problem is that I have everything plus a kitchen sink... I try not to leave anything to chance which results in heavy loaded rig... So the second part of the project is figuring out what I can leave behind ;)

The goal is to have the JKU setup this year with with plan of a road trip out to Yellowstone next year with some side trips along the way.

Normally I'd tow the trailer but it takes longer and I want to be "nimble"

.
Welcome to the madness, @Wandererr. Sounds like you're introducing yourself and current situation more than asking for advice. There's a lot of advice on here and other adventure forums.

I grew up like it sounds you did; traveling all the time, camping a lot, seeing all sorts of things and having it all shape who I am still.

Efficiency and self-sufficiency can be fun challenges. They are often the primary motivation behind the way I choose gear, pack for adventure, and use it when out wandering North America.

Hope you find topics of interest here and share more experiences!
.

 

[Wandererr]

.
Welcome to the madness, @Wandererr. Sounds like you're introducing yourself and current situation more than asking for advice. There's a lot of advice on here and other adventure forums.

I grew up like it sounds you did; traveling all the time, camping a lot, seeing all sorts of things and having it all shape who I am still.

Efficiency and self-sufficiency can be fun challenges. They are often the primary motivation behind the way I choose gear, pack for adventure, and use it when out wandering North America.

Hope you find topics of interest here and share more experiences!
.

Howdy! You're correct ;). At the moment I do have a rough plan about the diet but the issue is having things that are useful.

Here's a story for all'y'all:

I built a camping trailer and had a spring failure:. The original spring back from the base I used for my build, failed. The leaf spring first on one side and then later on the other side has flattened and almost inverted. Side of the freeway in the desert on my way to camp .. what to do... Nothing around me.... I built crude bump stops using firewood pieces that I cut to size and drilled through to secure against each other ad sandwich between the frame and the spring.

Some might say: failure should have been prevented by having the trailer built right.... Well, the trailer had close to 4K miles with no issues. I still have no clue what made one side fail. That failure caused the other side fail...