How To Turn Your Jeep Into the Ultimate Camping Machine
Readers of this blog and general Jeep enthusiasts know that the Jeep Wrangler is the ideal vehicle for off-road adventures. Whether it’s climbing mountains, fording rivers, or blazing trails across sand dunes, you can do it all—with the proper preparation—from behind the wheel of your Jeep.
To be sure, lots of these off-road excursions are destinations unto themselves. Driving to a trail, conquering it, and going back home, however, seems to leave a lot of outdoor activity on the table. Why not make the off-roading part of the journey instead?
With so many of our national parks offering OHV trails and campgrounds together, there’s no excuse not to enjoy both. Your Jeep isn’t only the premier off-roading vehicle on the market—it can also be your temporary home deep in the grounds of our most stunning and challenging parks. Here’s how to turn your Jeep into the ultimate camping machine.
Racking up the Modifications
Top-down aficionados will have to learn to compromise here: for your Jeep to function as a camping accommodation, you’ll need to keep the top on and outfit it with a sturdy roof rack, to which you’ll attach an elevated rooftop tent. Rather than sleep on the ground or in the seats of your Jeep, a rooftop tent extends out over the side of your roof and expands to let you sleep comfortably above ground. Don’t worry about the time and energy of toggling the roof on and off the Jeep, however—the Jeep roof hoist from TopLiftPros makes removal and installation a quick and easy job.
Elevate Your Suspension
When it comes to off-roading for the sake of off-roading, lifting your Jeep is a common modification. However, when using your Jeep as a camping vehicle, giving the suspension a lift has another utility: the ability to carry more weight without bottoming out. Lifting the suspension tenses up its construction, making it less likely to sink under additional weight. Start adding up things like your luggage, extra fuel and car batteries, and even a battery-powered mini-fridge, and your Jeep is carrying a lot of extra freight. Traverse more terrain and bring more things along by giving your Jeep a lift.
Fluid Storage Containers
To turn your Jeep into the ultimate camping machine, you’ll need water—and lots of it. Fortunately, exterior water vessels conveniently attach to the rear of your Jeep to add a few supplemental gallons of water to your overland-ready vehicle. The same principle goes for fuel. Rather than have a gas can rattling around in the trunk, you can mount a fuel container alongside your water container just in case you find yourself running on empty. The last thing you want is to get stranded and have to involuntarily extend your camping trip.