Advice for hang glider pilot and 'soon to be' new Jeep owner (long post)?

[Choff]

Hi guys,
I've been in full research mode for a few months now and have been reading a lot of the posts here for the last few hours or so. I couldn't see any posts that relate to my situation so I thought I'd post, asking for advice.

My wife and I took up hang gliding last year. We both learnt to fly in Victoria. Most Victorian HGers drive Subarus and swear by them. They handle the highways and the little bit of rough stuff near the Vic launch site and landing sites well.

I live in Country SA and most of my local sites are on private property and require some real 4x4 action to access. My poor commodore has spent more time off road than on it since we started flying but I am always foced to leave it parked at the bottom of the hill at the start of the 4x4 only stuff and hope to catch a ride with another pilot.

Some of these hills are very steep and rocky. and a lot of farmers wont allow a petrol car/truck on their land in case it starts a fire. Even the 'easy to get to' sites are pretty rough and I'm sure a subaru wont make it to most of em.

I'm able to lease a car through my job. The only catch is that it must have everything I need, fitted by the caryard before delivery.

While looking at 4x4s I saw the meanest, toughest looking thing I've ever seen, a new Wrangler Unlimited. Not only do I like the looks but I also like the price. I can outfit a brand new Wrangler 4 door with a lot of bling and have it still be cheaper than a Patrol. A new Suzuki is just too small (my hang glider, packed up, is a 6 metre long tube)

We often go camping, hang gliding or not, and somtimes take the 2 kids with us (4 and 6 years old).

So what I'm after is some advice/guidence on what to bolt onto a 4 door wrangler to meet my unique needs and still come under the price of a new Patrol. I figure a list of assessories and parts in priority would be helpful. I just work my way down the list until I hit the budget limit.

I have a quote from a dealership in Adelaide with a heap of stuff I just listed off the top of my head.

I got things like Black Widow drawer system and dual battery set ups to air lockers and lift kits.

I know I'll need a roof rack but the one they quoted is only rated to 30kgs and one glider weighs that in it's bag and we plan on not sharing gliders if we can help it.

I figured I'd wait for the new 2011 model to come out as well but they tell me it wont have the offroad pack and that there will be no diesel Rubicon either.

I also inquired about the new Mopar camper trailer ( was curious). They didn't know what I was talking about and rang America. I was told it wont be available in Australia.

So there ya go guys. Any ideas on what's needed, that a dealership can fit, to get me on the top of rough, steep, rocky hills while not starting fires in long dry grass and able to carry 2 hang gliders, a kayak and some camping gear and 2 kids while doing it?

Thanks for any help and for reading my long winded post.

[brenttj]

dont worry about the dealer provided stuff for lifts use dbor good gear, can you afford the Rubicon ??

[SeaComms]

Have a look a the rack in raffs thread, his carries a fold out tent and other gear (and you sleep up the top) so the rack must be pretty solid.

http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/...d.php?t=100736

[BennyWA]

Whatever you can afford I guess! The lift and larger tyres will help in a big way for a start. Lockers for peace of mind too. You sound like you've got it sorted!
Here's some more roof rack options-
http://www.wooders.com.au/index.php?...th=368_154_395
I'm sure the dealer would include it in the cost if it comes from a different source?

[TOYROX]

Offroading is all about traction, and keeping the wheels on the ground.
Go for tyres a little larger in diameter and more aggressive offroad tread.
2 inch lift to help get over the obstacles.
Lockers provide excellent traction assistance when needed.
Winch for when you get too ambitious, overexcited and forget the limits of the vehicles capabilities.
From what I read here the manual diesel is hard on clutches, purhaps the auto.

I think if the Mopar camper were available here the cost would be prohibitive.

Have a look here for some more ideas, http://www.quadratec.com/

[craigperth]

Also try Fletch on here... he sells wranglers to all states and will help you kit it our pre-delivery... heck he might even help you with DBOR and some PP lift kits...

You will love hte jeep, I do a lot of highway driving for work... it handles bloody well on the highway, even with the top off (strap your glider to the roll bars)...

But I would fit a lift kit (min 2 inch... mopar or Polly Performance 2.5") maybe some larger tyres... 33" would be nice... and its really bad terrain some lockers... Rubicon comes stock with lockers but its a petrol only choice... ARB lockers are great.

But they are very capable stock 4x4's.... better than a cruiser (slightly more clearance about 5MM more) and better than a poootrol stock...

[Choff]

Thanks for the links and advice guys,

There's a few racks out there that all seem similar but have a huge difference in price. Anyone know what is best or worse?

Jeeps have an almost unlimited array of aftermarket mods available, It's going to be hard to know where to stop.

In simple terms I'm looking at the must haves as follows,

----
Diesel Auto
Roof rack
Bull bar and winch (any ideas what size winch is suitable?)
2" or 2.5" lift
33" tyres (will Mickey Thommo MTZ's fit the standard alloys?)
Air lockers and upgraded compressor (for tire re-inflation)
Tow bar

----

This should get me to the top of the nastiest hill....I think.

If I can sqeeze the budget more then I'll look at the following dream items...
Long range fuel tank
Rock rails
Snorkel
Dual battery system (I'm told the deep cycle battery must be stored in the jeep as opposed to under the hood as it wont fit, is this true?)
Black Widow twin drawer system with fridge slide
Diff covers (I'm told the jeep has thin diff housings and needs these, true or false?)
Back bar and spare wheel carrier.

-----

It's going to be a juggling act but I have the option of buying the jeep after the lease is up at a cheap price so maybe I'll buy it and keep adding stuff to it. There's...just....so...much...bling...available.

I understand that Americans are allergic to diesels but why wont they offer a diesel Rubicon in Australia?