Teardrop Build Finished - Now with Camping Pics!

Well when I say finished, I mean it's pretty much done.  As with many projects like this I'm not sure they're ever really complete.  Oh I need to add a few shelves to the teardrop, figure out where and how to store everything better, add a game room for the pool table.  Just a few little tweaks.  The important thing is the teardrop's done enough to go camping! Here's the conclusion of last month's action packed blog post:

The Galley Hatch - Closed

The Galley Hatch - Open

Teardrop Driver Side

Teardrop Passernger Side

Our Teardrop's Maiden Voyage!

And here's our first teardrop camping trip:

Overall the teardrop camper did great and the memory foam mattress slept well.  This has been a really fun project that I'd recommend to anyone wanting to upgrade from tent camping.  See ya next time!

Teardrop Camper Build Part 1

Last weekend I started a new project called a teardrop camper.  Teardrop campers are basically beds on wheels usually with a hatch in the back that houses a galley for cooking and entertaining.  These campers are very small and are great for hauling to offroad locations behind a Jeep.  First task was to purchase and prep a 4x8 utility trailer.  After a couple days of looking I found this one on Craigslist:

After a few hours of grinding rusty bolts off and a touch of paint I made it to here:

I proceeded to cut the rails off, then started on the wood.  I built a floor and undercoated it with roofing tar to seal it.  Then came the walls.  These are each 1 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood, so the height is 4' and length is 8'.

Not a bad day's work.  Next I built the ceiling with the roof 'joists' also called spars in the teardrop community, and installed it.  I managed to find a couple of windows from a camper that was being parted out, once again Craigslist to the rescue.

After cutting out the ceiling for the roof vent I then started building the galley wall and inside cabinets.

And here's a view of the backside of the wall showing the galley.

Next comes the roof and a little coaxing with straps.

And that ends the first 2 weekends of my teardrop camper build.  Hopefully I can get good weather again next weekend when I finish what's left of the framing and then teach myself how to use fiberglass for sealing the whole mess.  Check back next week for the continuing saga that is my teardrop camper.  I can tell the anticipation is palpable.

Ride with Zach Bowman from Autoblog

So late Friday a friend of mine called me and said a buddy of his got a new Jeep and wanted a guide up at Windrock.  Now my buddy is the guide, he just needed my Jeep and 733t driving skills.   So despite needing to get a ton of stuff done around the house I did what any of us would do and said OK I'm in.

It turns out the guy that got the new Jeep was doing a write up on it for http://www.autoblog.com and the new ride was a brand new 2012 Jeep Wrangler that the manufacturer loans out for testing. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera chick (Wifey) so I only got a few pics with my crappy camera after it was over. But just imagine if someone gave you a new Jeep to test out, yeah we drove it like we stole it.

I'll post a link to his article when it's posted, he should have some awesome pictures of the ride and a much better write up since I'm just a hack and he's the pro.  :) 

Check out the waterline on the door!

Ben's Rubi

 My Junk

Here's a video of the creek crossing in my Jeep:




Click HERE for the Autoblog article.

Offroading for a good cause

This weekend our Club headed up to Brimstone Recreation in Huntsville, TN for a toy run to benefit the underprivileged children of the area.  Admission to the event was a toy (duh) or a $10 donation.  T-shirt sales and a raffle was held to increase funds for this worthy cause.

There were some really nice rigs there:

After we registered and dropped off our toys we headed up the trails:

And were greeted with some awesome views:

And some tough trails:

Judging by the activity on the trails, there had to be at least 100 people at the event and we only saw a small portion of the park.  I can't wait to go back again for next years event!

New Springs and Assorted Jeep Goodness

So after a year or so of little in the way of upgrades this past month has yielded some big changes to the Jeep.  I've been running the puny Dana 35 rear axle which is fairly weak and has a tendency to snap the axles when coupled with larger tires and a heavy foot on the gas pedal.

Last month I ordered a Ford 8.8 axle from East Coast Gear Supply.  This axle is much more robust than the D35.  I passed on changing this in my backyard and instead had Jason at Rock Your 4x4 do the install.  He's a member of our club and I'd highly recommend him for Jeep work.

I then ordered a pair of Rusty's 3 inch springs for the front as my old springs were sagging and the 2inch budget boost wasn't giving me enough clearance.  The rear netted about 5/8" more lift with the axle change so nothing was changed out back.

Before

A Jacking Calamity

Yes that's a winch cable holding the hi lift jack

The likely culprits

The next day

Almost finished

Tada!

Caryville Flats and The Flame

Our club had a fun ride that covered both of these very cool spots in Royal Blue recently.  The flame is a pipe sticking out of the ground that vents natural gas and seems to be perpetually burning.  Caryville Flats is a spot on the south end of Royal Blue that offers a breathtaking view of the Lafollette area and beyond.

Just pass the KY...

.../TN border on I-75 lies the Daniel Boone National Forest.  Thanks to a few tips and relentless research by the crack (smoking) team here at IronJeep we found some trails up there!

Intentions are to eventually post exact directions and reports in the trail section over at the mothership http://www.ironjeep.com.  We also hope to return soon and get more pics and some videos.  As it stands, I definitely think a club ride up here would be worth the trip.  We found trails from easy to moderate and didn't nearly scratch the surface of what's available in this area.

The KY officials seem to be taunting us with this sign:

 So gentleman, the gauntlet has been cast, we must return for high water. :P

And I leave you with a pic of a happy Jeep, she's been clean too long: