I have really enjoyed the drawers I built a few years back, it kinda shocks me how much I like them. They hold a ton of stuff I like to carry and still allow for a lot of gear to be lashed down for trips. I like them so much they would be pretty high priority to make for any new ride in the future. That said, I have wanted to make a few adjustments and mods to version 1.0 so I pulled them out today in preparation for an upcoming trip with my 10 year little girl to Glacier National Park and surrounding areas of Montana.
I have a lot of little things to do and a few big items on the list. In no particular order I hope to:
- Pull the rear seatbelts
- Clean up the carpets a bit
- Pull the 20 gallon water tank
- Install a 7 gallon water tank
- Hard mount my subwoofer into the left over space from the old water tank.
- Disconnect the factory subs
- Fix my air compressor (it broke free from the rubber isolators)
- Move the fuse block to a more accessible location
- Replace the footman loops with eye bolts for the turnbuckles
- Move the rear mounting position to clear the water pump.
- Replumb the waterlines for the water faucet
- Glue the leading edge of the carpet again, it is dangling.
- Add my "attic" back in after a few mods.
Today I only had an hour or so, but I managed to pull the drawers with the help of a few friends, pull the rear seat belts, clean up the carpet and disconnect the factory sub.
It's amazing, I bet the rear of the 100 rose 1-1.5" with the drawers removed. There's a lot of weight rolling around back there.
I hadn't seen or cleaned the carpet in a few years now...
Here is the main reason for the redo... the 20 gallon water tank. It's awesome when we are in Moab for a week to have 20 gallons of water on tap but it really starts to eat up weight and space. We NEVER used all 20 gallons, ever, not even close and filling it was a pain as you needed a hose and filter and it always liked to slosh around. I decided I could cut my water needs by over half and still have plenty for a long weekend with one of the kids. If we need more (we won't) we can always add another jug to meet the need.
Here is the new 7 gallon water tank next to the v1.0 20 gallon water tank. There is a HUGE difference in size and volume. I have found when I go camping/wheeling with one of my 3 kiddo's we use about 2 gallons a day. We usually bring 5 gallons total on almost ever trip and I haven't run dry yet. I figure the 7 gallons will give me a bit of a buffer to stay out for an additional day if needed.
Here's we are going with this version 2.0 The water tank will sit on the passenger side and still allow for a small shelf/storage on top and the Sub will get a new enclosure built and take up the remaining space on the drivers side. I love having a 10-12" sub but it can really eat up space on a longer trip. I have pulled it out on longer trips when 2-3 kids come along on a trip just for the space, that's getting old, I like my tunes. Also, strapping it down in case of a rollover means it has to sit between my tie-down rails and that is precious cargo space for all my other gear that comes along. This solution is going to be awesome. It'll allow me to pack my new-found-love Weber Q in it's place... win-win.
