About Tina B:
We bought Tina on a freezing January morning from a small used dealership in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. She had a few issues and about 171,000 miles, but the price and overall condition were too good to pass up. The Jeep cost $2,900 including tax and plate transfer. We knew with a used car we’d have to put a little money into it and almost right away issues came up. That’s why we are so glad we bought the Jeep several months in advance to our departure and could work out the issues that came up. The big things were a leaky radiator and two sensors that were messing up the engine. We even took care of two recalls. Hopefully, we got the Jeep in the best shape we could and that she takes us on a safe journey.
The Setup:
The Build:
We did a lot of research and weighed the pros and cons of rooftop tent living versus teardrop trailer versus van life. I think it came down to being able to access the backcountry and dirt roads and not having to worry about towing a trailer. Tina isn’t lifted and doesn’t have a snorkel so we won’t be able to get everywhere, but we know a lot of roads out west aren’t paved. A rooftop tent seemed affordable-ish and didn’t require building much. For the rooftop tent, we went with Tepui’s Kukenam Sky because it was sold through REI where we could get free shipping and dividend money. We bought a cargo rack for the hitch to store extra water, gas, and propane. The cargo rack came from StowAway2.com and it has the ability to swing away from the hitch and give us access to the rear hatch.
Side Note…The Roof! During our research, we found little information about how much weight you can put on top of a vehicle and what kind of roof racks will work. At first, we were considering a rooftop tent that weighed almost 200 pounds and most roof rack cross bars are weight rated at 165 pounds. So, trying to figure out what roof rack kit and tent would work was interesting. Tepui Tent recommended we call our car manufacturer. So, we called Jeep headquarters for roof limits, we called several roof rack manufacturers and even talked to the guys at REI. We were surprised at how little assurance there was for putting a rooftop tent on a Jeep. So, we decided to be safe and got a lighter tent that weighed only 130lbs. Once we did that we got some assurance from the company that we bought our crossbars from that they were sturdy enough.
The inside we wanted to keep simple, but we also wanted to have an option to sleep inside the Jeep in case we have to sleep in a parking lot and don’t want to set up the tent and draw attention. We took the back seat out and used the space behind the front seats for lower storage. A plywood platform with hinges is above that lower gear and is in line with the back half of the trunk. This will also be our sleeping area if we have to sleep inside the Jeep. Then it is pretty much just plastic storage bins for our gear and food. We have an iceless cooler that runs off the solar pack and is only good until it get’s super hot in the jeep, but at least it’s something and we got it cheap on craigslist. Instead of building drawers out of wood we opted for a plastic drawer system that we picked up at Walmart. We wanted something easy to take out in case we needed to get to the spare tire. A plastic folding table is our work and kitchen space. We have a Coleman camp stove with an adaptor hose so we can use a 20lbs propane tank instead those green canisters. The last thing we did to the inside of the Jeep was making curtains for the back windows and behind the seats for extra privacy.
What we did/fixed before we left:
Tires – All 4
Radiator
Oil Pressure Sensor
Idling Sensor
Crank Sensor
Service
Rear Brakes
Oil Change
Serpentine Belt
Spare Key
Air Filter
Platform build
Curtains
Hitch Rack
Tepui Tent
Cross Bars
Resources:
Great customer service! Gave us a deal in exchange for free advertisement. We love having a hitch rack that swings to the side.
Our Roof Top Tent!
Where we went to get our roof rack. Helpful customer support. Great Deals!
Where we buy most of our gear. We’re both members… we love that yearly dividend!
Solar Power to take us off the grid!