[BrimstoneGuns]

All right, here's something slightly different for you guys...

First off, OUTSTANDING forum, I've learned so much in the last month of constant lurking! I've got a pretty good idea where I'm going with my project, but thought I'd throw it up here and see what else you folks could come up with

I'm the new owner of a '94 Grand Cherokee with the 5.2L and the QuadraTrac. Previous owner did a claimed 5.5" lift and put 33"s under it.

Here's the interesting part! I'm a professional gunsmith who does a lot of work for local law enforcement, including the regional SWAT team. My daily driver is a blue Miata, and let me tell you, it's hard for your ego to recover from stepping out of something like that in front of the SWAT team... So, I traded my Z28 for this Jeep, and I'm happy I did!

I'm looking to do an expedition type build. It needs to be civilized on the road first and foremost, with mild off road ability. The suspension is pretty much finished, just needs a little TLC and we should be there. But the rest of the rig needs to be ready for anything!

I want to turn the AC into OBA, looking at that Flatland 4x4 CAD files for front and rear bumpers with the tire carrier, because the back needs to be able to carry a small arsenal. Whether I'm delivering firearms to the teams or taking them out for testing, I need to be able to securely carry a number of rifles, handguns, ammo, targets, eyes and ears, range bags, etc.

I also want (in addition to the OBA) duel batteries, a cell phone booster, iPad integration, enough tools to fix most anything in the field, and a basic 'bug out bag' that lives in the rig. Also have a fairly complete armorers kit (thinking of running a small small die grinder off the OBA???) so that I can do whatever firearms repair in the field, rebuild your basic AR, 308, Glock, 1911, on the spot. So not just a tool kit, but some kind of basic fold/pull out work station..?

Now the point of this rig is not JUST to be awesome, but to look professional and give Brimstone Gunsmithing that 'awesome' factor when we do our show and tell with folks.

I've built cars, never messed with Jeeps, never even done a 4x4, so I'm wide open to suggestions.

This rig needs to embody the, 'Bug out bag, zombie apocalypse, SHTF, 2012,' concept, but classy and professional at the same time. I know there's another expedition thread on here somewhere that I've been following with great interest.

If you were going to use a ZJ to build a rig for Alice from Resident Evil (I understand that an H1 might be a better choice, let's move beyond that...) How would you do it???



No, it doesn't have a front bumper. Just saves me from having to pull the old one

[iser]

subscribed! i like your idea A LOT. i'm an infantryman, so i am totally in love with what you want to do with your jeep. wish you all the luck!

so what i want is something somewhat similar. i want an expedition vehicle that has the capability to do work (in my case, i would like to have a workstation with very basic workshop abilities. i live in the barracks. i do not have space for my workshop. so at the moment, my jeep is my workshop. all the tools i work on my jeep comes out of my jeep and goes back inside the jeep). so space is something that is very short.

i found that compartmentalizing is the best way to go. just zoning it out. took out one of the seats already (rear passenger seat) and i'm using that section as tool storage. i have all my tool boxes neatly stacked. the rear driver seat is the passenger/movable item section. i have my 72-hour bag there right now. then the first half of the trunk is a storage space for vehicle maintenance and misc supplies. then i use the last half of my trunk as a workspace. i want to build a fold out so i can have a bigger workspace.

there are lots of threads on different storage system people use in the trunk. i'm sure you'll find something you like once you start searching.

[Myusername1674]

Sounds like fun! Im subbed! I think it will be alittle tricky putting all that in there without sacrificing the rear passenger seats, but you may be fine with that.

[Kevinyj95]

I aswell am a fellow gunsmith. I have been thinking for awhile now of makeing Rifle racks on the side trunk area aswell as the rear hatch. But what I have noticed is in the rear if too much ammo is in the back it does sag so thats something to look into. I had been looking into different gun racks but theres nothing interesting out there. I was considering at a time to put a dog partition fence between the trunk/backseat area makeing a wall rack. Although Im not sure if you have seen them but some military vehicles have mounting racks on the ceiling of the vehicle which is something to look into aswell. I would like to make a cage area in the rear and line it with mounts and racks. possibly raiseing the rear floor in the back and putting in a storage area for ammo tools handguns etc. Ive been thinking this over for awhile. In the back under the seats is a perfect place for foam inlines to put pistols and short firearms. You could fit a ar or m4 if you break it down first. Or you could go the other way besides small arms and mount an m60 in the back. lol Looks like this is going to be a fun thread to watch.

[LordHobbit]

There is a thread around here about rear compartment storage. There is one post about a couple drawers a guy put in the rear of his, looks way good and might be just what you need.

Make sure that 5.5 lift is long arm.

The red looks great!

[BrimstoneGuns]

Thanks for the ideas! Iser that's a great idea. In my shop now I use flat organizing trays (tackle box kinda things) to sort parts for guns we work on a lot. For example, I can just go to the AR-15 tray and there's pretty much everything I need to 'tune up' the average AR. All the small parts/springs anyway. I can grab that tray, take it to whichever bench I'm working at, and go to town! Now I just need cabinet designs to store the organizers... I've got some ideas, and have been perusing those storage threads with great interest!

Lord Hobbit, problem is that many of the rifles I deliver/test regularly are to long to fit lengthwise or sideways. Or rather, they fit sideways but at floor level the tailgate is to narrow for them to pass through. This pretty much eliminates a drawer idea, which was my first thought before I started actually playing with it. I'm thinking it's going to be a padded tray with a lid. The tailgate side can lift up while the back half is fixed, and has cubbies/cabinets built on top to store the heavy or permanent stuff. It's a hassle, but I can't think of a better way to securely store them out of sight, where they aren't going to get bumped around... I'll draw up a concept tomorrow and see what you guys think...

myusername, I've got to keep the rear seats which you're right, doesn't actually leave much space... I think I can work around it though.

One brilliant thing I found on here was a small table that dropped out of the tailgate on a... Wrangler?? Can't remember for sure, it was built as a trailer. I'm going to have a bumper mounted tire holder anyway, with 33"s it would be easy to build a small table that could just fold down from the tire holder when it was swung open, giving you a pretty solid work space. It'll take a little engineering to keep it from rattling and something to keep the surface clean, but I think it'll work well!

Lol, I don't want to create another long arm/short arm debate, but here's my plan. It came with JUST stock arms, and since this is NOT a crawler, and I need to devote money elsewhere, it's getting brackets as soon as possible. That rear tire is pulled in really close to the fender right now! As time and funds afford, it's getting long arms. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not going to damage anything by running drop brackets for the time being... right? Worst abuse this rig is getting in the near future is really un-maintained gravel forest roads... and maybe the occasional trek across my lawn How do YOU get to your driveway??

[jtackerman28]

Get long arms if you want it to ride nice

[KoreaZJ]

Originally Posted by LordHobbit

There is a thread around here about rear compartment storage. There is one post about a couple drawers a guy put in the rear of his, looks way good and might be just what you need.

That one is WhiteOut's creation, really nice job. Thread... HERE

[BrimstoneGuns]

That's brilliant, and I also love the way the extinguisher is mounted! This is exactly what I was thinking of at first, but like he said, they are only 34" deep. That's way to short, and see how narrow it is once you bring them in far enough to clear the inside of the tailgate? Also to narrow. So you'd end up getting one full size rifle in diagonally, and that's it. Not going to work for this.

Although I suppose I could build these on the bottom just like this, then have the 'tray' holder on top. Might have to play with that idea.

And do the long arms just make the ride smoother, or do they actually let you feel the road better? I've always driven sports cars, and I've got to admit, I feel pretty insulated. I understand that the front bushings are hammered (probably the ball joints as well) so they were all going to be taken care of sooner. If the long arms will actually improve feel and handling, that will bump them up the food chain. Again, this rig needs to be civilized on the road first, since that's where it's going to spend 99% percent of it's time. I think right now it can do everything off road that I will need it to. Not to say I wouldn't mind improving off road ability!! But that goes farther down the list as just 'fun'

[jtackerman28]

Long arms make the ride better.

[KoreaZJ]

Take out a rear seat (or both) and make the box longer.

[Mickey_D]

An idea for the storage :

Put your drawers for parts on the bottom. No need for them to be really that wide if all the drawers will hold are "tackle box" organizers.

Then build the rest of the cabinet up higher with a single, wide drawer for putting the rifles in. Have the top of this drawer up with the level of the top of the rear seats. Without going down and measuring I think that width would handle most any rifle with the exception of a Barret .50 or some of the high end sniper rifles. Certainly wide enough for AR and such. I would think even an AK would fit that width so long as it didn't have the bayonet attached.


As for your OBA. Ditch the Sanden compressor that's there for a side head York. You'll need to get creative with mounting brackets (and probably have fun finding a serpentine belt pulley for it) but it will be worth it in the end. ALL of your OBA system hoses should be 1/2". I ran 3/8" on mine and kicked myself the whole time. Get a couple decommissioned SCUBA tanks and install them in the area of the rear bumper that's directly behind the rear wheels. It's wasted space anyway. Just plumb the tanks in parallel and stick a quick disconnect on the top of the rear bumper for easy access. You could also put a quick disconnect on the front bumper as well.

Trust me when I say that after having an operational OBA, you'll wonder how you ever lived without one. And you'll never want to live without one again.

[BrimstoneGuns]

Mickey D, I like it! That's kinda our thing, high end sniper rifles, but if the measuring works out I think that's what I'll do.

And thanks for the advice about the OBA too. I'll be keeping an eye out for SCUBA bottles now. That wouldn't really have been on my radar before

[WhiteOut]

That sounds like a good idea. Just add another full width drawer on top. Each drawer is 19" wide so you should be able to get a 40" wide single drawer on top.

When I made mine it was primarily for tools and recovery gear. I keep a 200 piece tool kit, extensive first aid kit, flares and chem light sticks in one side. The other had 3 snatch straps, tree saver, D-rings, winch remote, LED drop lights, few spare parts and all the OBA accessories.

Thanks for the comments by the way. I'll grab another pic or two for you tomorrow since it has changed a bit since.

[JohnnyZJ]

umm........... sorry.......

if you want to do anything reliable in a ZJ, better make the driveline reliable first. on a 94 ZJ umm...... i'd rebuild the motor/tranny and swap out the tcase and diffs. what good is all your goodies if your trannie goes? or motor? or tcase?

thats what i'd start with.......... then you can go from there. thats my 'resident evil build'


because well, when the zombpocalipse comes, we're taking my ZJ, not the stock JK, or the truck.... yea, the ZJ............ gigiddy