Project XXX
the new XXXpedition Vehicle

Text and Photos by Sven + Magdalena Schlögl

Some of you might remember the original XXXpedition truck (as presented in the November 2005 issue). The XJ experienced a lot and had quite some battle scars to show for it. Following our Australia trip in 2006 it was time to retire it.

After starting a new life in Germany, we purchased a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with a hardtop package. Since the fuel prices in Europe are horrendous, we decided on a Diesel with a six-speed to get as good a fuel milage as possible. Now the modified rig reaches up to twenty-four miles per gallon if we take it easy and as low as fifteen if we push it.

Once we had the vehicle sitting in our driveway we started with modifications. We hadn't taken a trip in a long time, so our first goal was to fix up the Jeep for camping. We removed the back seats and built storage compartments. Since we liked our setup in the Cherokee, we pretty much copied what we had there. A storage box with drawer was located in the trunk while two flip-top bins took the place of the rear seats. This provided a nice platform for our foam mattress to comfortably sleep two people once the front seats are pushed all the way forward.

As the human body creates a considerable amount of moisture while breathing, we needed a solution to keep the windows open at night even in bad weather. Thus we added Air Visors. This way we can leave the windows open about five inches even if it rains. To make sure unwelcome critters stay outside we installed insect screens on the rear door windows. A self adhesive Velcro is used to hold the screens in place. The hardtop came with tinted windows but to get more privacy we made up some custom Sight-Out™ Shades. As the rollbar takes up quite some room in the back, and we couldn't afford to waste any, I decided to make use of it. I attached a box left and right onto the bar to store the shades and other light-weight items. I also mounted a fire extinguisher to the rear of the rollbar. Additionally, the Jeep was equipped with several AC and DC outlets, an MP3 player and a GPS.

Now it was time to pay attention to the exterior. The rear bumper was exchanged with an ARB bar and the front was replaced by an ARB winch bumper. Due to strict TÜV regulations (technical inspection required for all motorvehicles in Germany) the hoop on it was not road-legal, so we had to cut it off. A Warn winch was then dropped in the provided spot. The rear bumper had to be modified slightly with a small cut-out for the rear fog light. To finish the sides, ARB side rails were added. All this was done at the Taubenreuther shop which specializes in building up adventure rigs. And while they were at it, they installed ARB air lockers into the front and rear differentials and finished them off with ARB diff covers. The compressor was placed under the hood and I mounted a convenient-connect just in front of the windshield so I don't have to open the hood to inflate the tires.

Taubenreuther also distributes Asfir skidplates in Germany. Asfir developed skidplates for the transmission/transfer case, oil pan and the muffler for JKs with V6 engines. They wanted to try if their products fit under a Diesel truck and we volunteered to test it on our rig. Except for the oil pan skid they did fit well. Only the tranny/T-case skid plate hung a bit low but I pushed it up one inch with minor adjustments.

The locker control switches were originally put in a Daystar panel in front of the shifter. This works on vehicles with automatic transmission but turned out to be a problem on my stick-shift. In first and third gear the shifter boot would always turn off the lockers. Therefore I modified the panel and integrated it into the overhead cladding of the windshield. Just above the ARB switches I located the ones for the additional Hella lights.

On longer trips, storage is always an issue, and we planned on using a roofrack from the start. I could not find an aftermarket rack that I liked, so I built a custom rack. The idea was to have the rear supports sit on the body just below the hardtop. There are two mounting points on each side to reduce the span to the windshield. In the front, it was bolted to the windshield frame. This distributes the weight and makes for a very sturdy rack. A friend of mine is a professional welder and helped with the work.
I added light frames like I had on the XJ to protect the additional Hella beams. One set is a Celis which has a standing light ring around the high beam. This, I figured, might be helpful to be noticed earlier when in terrain like sand dunes where the top is always seen at first. We wanted to be able to remove the two hardtop panels above the driver and passenger seats and have the convertible feel, even when the roofrack was set up. Therefore, I designed it so the floor started behind the front seats. This way we would have open air above our heads. The roofrack carries a second spare tire, fuel and water cans, storage boxes and an X-treme jack from Hi-Lift. We also carry a Handle-All by Hi-Lift.

Of course the truck also needed a sufficient lift. The JK is a pretty long vehicle and the stock clearance is quite limiting. A Skyjacker four inch suspension raised the vehicle high enough to comfortably fit 35-inch tires on black Pro Comp wheels underneath. The German technical inspection doesn't allow the tires to stick out over the fenders. Therefore I needed to swap them out. I used Xenon flares to provide for the couple more inches. This bought me the required sign-off.

The six-speed on the Diesel is geared a bit too short with 4.10s for the stock tires so I figured they would work fine with the 35"s. It turned out I was right. Still, I had a tec power chip tuning done to help turn the bigger rubber. This pumped up the horse power to 215 and the torque to over 360, more than enough to get the Wrangler moving. Now that the rig sat higher, I added another bar to the rocker rails to create a step for easier access into the vehicle.

We had had issues with the radiator getting damaged from little rocks and big insects on the XJ, so I added a screen to the JK's grill. Afterall the grill openings on the JK are very large. To finish off the rig, I installed an AEV snorkel for those unavoidable water crossings.

Since we use the truck as a daily driver as well and we have a baby now, we installed a cargo net to keep things we load where they belong. We hope that we can get our daughter interested in exploring as well and are planning to introduce her to expedition travel next year...