P.J., the custom Wrangler Rubicon expedition motorhome

[Cody1771]

god i love those... maybe one day if i win the lottery or something, will definatly keep an eye on this one!

[Overland Hadley]

First off, I want to thank Mike for giving me the opportunity to create what I did...During the build I would often wonder if this is what heaven is like...That good...Thank you, sir...

From seeing your skills Paul you earned it. Good for you.

Until then, here are a few images from the trip...

Simply amazing.

[Every Miles A Memory]

Thankfully your photography skills are as good as your wood working skills!

Great to see the rig out doing what it's meant to do!

[nwoods]

Subscribed with interest!

[PaulJensen]

Test Drive - 1


(above) Parking lot...Getting food...



(above) Freeway on-ramp...Welcome to Washington....(color picture)...

The basics...I'm road testing The Jeep I've been working on for months...The road plan is to circumnavigate the Olympic Peninsula...I have no schedule other than be back home in four or five days...

My first impressions of driving The Jeep...It's smaller on the inside than it seems...Up front at least...But once you settle into the size, it feels as custom as a set of dentures....No space up front seems wasted, but it doesn't feel crowded...

It's heavy...Unlike my daily driver, a 2006 Sprinter, this thing has mass...Combine that with the off-road capable suspension and wheels, it feels unlike a race a car...

With those observations out of the way, onward...


(above) First stop...Southern Hood Canal...


(above) Potlatch S.P.


(above) Last week this place accepted six inches of rain...That might have been in a day...???...


(above) You'll see that I'm a recreational photographer...


(above) I brought a pair of Panasonics...LX-3 & 5...Also in another set of twins, Wide and Zoom...


(above) The Test Drive will continue...


(above) ...tomorrow...



(above) Walking to the beach...


(above) North...


(above) Land O'trees...


(above) Wet...


(above) Not warm...


(above) To get it open is like this...Before you turn off the motor, the switch for the compressor is to be turned on...Let it run, get out, open up the back, get in, find the switch for the pneumatic rams to mechanically lift the roof...Push switch up, observe the roof lift...Stop before fully raised...Release the tent from the roof...The engine is still running...Wrap the front tent part outside of the rams and zip the front to back tent parts...Push roof lift switch to fully raise the roof...Insert the plywood boards that are the emergency roof stops...(You never know)...Finish attaching the tent to the lower cabin...Velcro and Snaps...Open up the front tent window and insert twin plastic eyebrow window supports...Velcro the trap and you're done...elapsed time about ten minutes...


(above) Inside for the night...After dinner (a store bought sandwich)...Going through the pictures...


(above) Next morning after putting the sleep stuff away and rolling up the tent...To bring the roof down, you reverse the set-up...Duh...


(above) No hurry...


(above) Some of these are out of sequence...


(above) Looking out of the tent window...


(above) The side tent flap rolled up...


(above) Fence post...


(above) It comes from the sky...


(above) Perma-damp...


(above)...Looking up...

More later...

[Overland Hadley]

You are up early Paul. Is there a swell?

[PaulJensen]

You are up early Paul. Is there a swell?

How do you think I get as much done...???...The swell is overloaded and the wind is wrong at the closest beach...And it's dark...

[PaulJensen]

...continued...


(above) Tent flaps all rolled and strapped up...


(above) Back in sequence...Day 2, rolling north...


(above) This is one of the most beautiful drives I've done...Another one is the Sonoma Coast in California...Where driving is a pleasure of the highest order...


(above) Mostly dry day...


(above) We own the words Iconic Bridges...


(above) The Jeep is great photographic platform...


(above) In front of the driver is a steel bar fitted with gizmos and trays...The tray directly in front of the driver is of the perfect size for my cameras...To get these shots, the LX-3 was fitted with the wide angle and rested on the tray...The camera was always on and when the mood was right, I dipped the shutter...


(above) The Jeep has more than enough places to recharge camera batteries, at all times...


(above) Thus no worry about taking too many pictures...


(above) Shot while rolling...


(above) On and off...


(above) Who owns the words...???...


(above) I've always driven by, today I stop...


(above) The foundation of proper nutrition...


(above) Donations for The Boys...


(above) What do you want to know about the fine folks of our region...???...


(above) This, right here, could be my ultimate shop...


(above) The north to west turn was done after lunch...


(above) The dry side of the Peninsula...


(above) Postcard view...


(above) Like steppin' off the time machine set to 1963...


(above) Leaving civilization as it's known up here...


(above) The jewel of the Strait...Salt Point County Park...


(above) Parked for the night...


(above) View from the parking pad...That's Canada...You can smell it...

More later...

[PaulJensen]

...continued...


(above) Most of the campsites are this close to The Strait of Juan de Fuca...


(above) Lowering light, time for a walk...


(above) Like the first time seen by man...


(above) It's cold......


(above) Up in the hills...


(above) ...it's colder...


(above) Tonight, it's top down camping...


(above) With my back against the fence...


(above) Nightime...First time the rear light gets field tested...


(above) More than enough...


(above) Jazz is playing...


(above) Kinda Blue...


(above) It works...


(above) Yeah, it works...


(above) Top down cooking...


(above) The stove is 7,000 BTU...


(above) Humidity with the roof down is concentrated...Factor in an open window...


(above) On the curbside bench...I slept here...Twenty five or so inches wide...The bench is over five feet long , but with the flip up table at the front end, it supports me fully...I used to be 6'3"...I haven't measured myself in the last week...

More Tomorrow...

[BenHedrick]

Wow...! Thanks for sharing and one day my friend, one day, I hope to go on my own similar trip.

Ben