I'm in the "get a van" group. Or get a VW camper van if you really need to sleep in the ceiling. Even doing this kind of modification to a Ford Econoline, Chevy/GMC Beauville/Vandura or Express, or Chevy/GMC Astro/Safari would be easier/safer than trying to make it happen on a ZJ. Those vans all come to mind as common, tough vans, and some are AWD or can be converted to 4x4 with relative ease if that kind of thing is something you don't want to leave behind. I'd rather convert and Econoline to 4x4 than try to invent a ZJ camper.

A ZJ with a sleeper conversion to the roof would take a tremendous amount of planning and skill (or a fortune to pay someone else to do it if you can find someone with the skill). ZJ's aren't true body-on-frame vehicles, and messing with the roof means messing with some relatively important structural integrity that will have to be accounted for in the design. If you absolutely LOVE ZJ's and need to have this AND have a ZJ at the same time, go for it, but I strongly suggest you just look for a vehicle that can already give you want you want.



P.S. I agree that if you're so skittish about removing your interior, you're in way over your head with this vision of yours.

 

Roinofako
I guess what I really want are schematics. Running a new oil line for my furnace, and trying to fix some ugly sheet rock bumps are what’s stopping me. If I started work on it now, I might be sleeping in the ZJ as is.

I did wreck my Subaru headliner and a door panel. My head liner in the Subaru now is some of the blue sleeping pads from Wal-Mart held in with strips of old plywood paneling tie wrapped to the cross bars. It really works great, not sure anyone else could live with it but good insulation and plenty of places to stick stuff. I would like to do some pictures as I go, I’m not so good with that kinda stuff though.

KGM if I could afford a 4wheel van, short wheel base and 12’ box that might be ideal except for gas mileage. Denver huh, you weren’t the guy on Hagerman pass giving me grief about driving past that 4wheel only sign in the Subaru last year where you?

Jimbo Slice A combination of plywood and XPS foam covered with painted canvas (poor man’s fiberglass). I would like to do it all in fiberglass but that gets expensive.

OverlandZJ Every time I see one of the built up vans I get the same idea, I cut the back off a VW bus and put it on a 49 GMC pickup back in the 70’s, worked pretty good. Now that was a hippy ride. The roof radius is hard to deal with. When you say the roof is structural, how do you deal with a sun roof that’s the only hole I will cut in the roof? I plan on removing the rear hatch that must add something to the structure I would guess? One thought that popped out was if I cut the rear hatch straight across, right at the well or whatever, for the license plate I could turn it around and scribe it to the front of the roof at the angle I want, that could be the nose of the build? Good for bird watching!

Redriver, at least a 10’ er. Great video so thanks.

I’m retired; I thought my wife and I had agreed to get on the road for a few years, talk about talking past each other for 40 years! Anyway I would like to get on the road for several months twice a year, I think this will do it for me; the ZJ can get me where I want to go. I usually drive straight through to Colorado, and like I said I could just pull over and climb into the sleeping thing without getting out. Last year with the Subaru I had a bunch of moving before I could sleep, big dog didn’t help either.
Thanks all

 

Rats like to jump up and sleep on the top of my XJ :-(. When they leave, they leave little "presents" for me :-(...

 

try something similar to this

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/j...thread-665127/

you could just buy a small aluminum boat and turn it upside down and figure out something with that, the aluminum boat would be better against the weather than the fiberglass, it would have the curve in the front for the aerodynamics for cutting the wind drag, and being that its aluminum it would be just as light as the plywood and fiberglass, but stronger.

 

that or buy a junk jeep for $300-500 and do this lol

http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/anyth...nsf56k-150475/

 

Now where getting somewhere, thanks, The trailer might come later, if only to save a camping spot.