Overlanding in 4xe

[winojoe]

Thanks. Surprisingly, all the electrical stuff didn’t fail during our latest 6,000+ mile trip. And no electrical fires - which is always a bonus.

The drawer is kinda makeshift. It’s actually a lateral fridge slide from American Adventure Lab https://americanadventurelab.com/product/mass-wide-slide/
Sounds like AAL is working on an actual drawer - which would have been a better approach - if it existed.

The fridge slide is definitely overkill for the job, as we just used it for camp stove, pots, pans, utensils, etc. But I had a real tough time finding a drawer that was the right size to fit underneath our Vector GGB shelf, and this was the perfect size. It’s meant to mount to a floor or base. So I had to buy some cheap “L” brackets and additional bolts on Amazon to mount it underneath the shelf. I also picked up a cheap piece of aluminum at Lowes for the front to make it more like a drawer. Lastly, I bought some pick-n-pluck foam, and my wife spent the time to custom fit everything we wanted to carry. The drawer slides are way too heavy-duty for this application, but it worked flawlessly. This winter, I’ll probably do something different with the front - and powder coat it black instead of the weathered aluminum look we’re rocking now.

Let me put in a plug for the folks at American Adventure Lab. They were so very helpful, and rushed it out to me so I could have it the night before our trip to have time to install it. Great folks to do business with.

Here are a few pics of it being mounted with the ”L” brackets to the shelf:

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I have the AAL drawer and "Flip and Slide" refridge stuff. The customer service is outstanding.

However I'm selling it simply because it's very heavy. Also the design is not great. Things constantly fall between the holes which is a source of major frustration for me.

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[Jeeperz Kreeperz]

Nice build.

What kind of MPG are you getting on the higway with all that gear?

Have you weighed it fully loaded? I'm guessing you're substantially over GVWR with passengers and cargo. Any drivablilty issues with that much weight?

I'm thinking about adding a Gobi Rack and RTT but those to items alone leave me like 20 lbs for cargo lol.

Thanks.

Just scroll up a few posts in this thread and you’ll see my posts on gas mileage. Start with this one here: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/overlanding-in-4xe.76751/post-1634846

Or this one that also discusses my ‘weight problem’
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/overlanding-in-4xe.76751/post-1635051

I never weighed it, but kept a spreadsheet indicating I was at about 1,200 - 1,300 pounds of cargo/people (cargo limit is 850). This would have been downright dangerous without Airlift 1000 Airbags for rear coil springs - best $100 I spent on the Jeep, hands down. If you’re towing any serious weight, or overloading your Jeep, you need this mod. I’ve posted numerous times about it - even detailed install tips, etc. Just search the forums.

Eventually, I switched to a small overlanding trailer, and moved the RTT onto that. I think our cargo is more equally distributed, and I’m probably right at about 850 cargo/people in the jeep when we take trips with the trailer, and total trailer weight with cargo is around 2,100 pounds - well below the 3,500 max for the Wrangler.