Walkaround Our Overland Jeep Cherokee

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

After five months of building and preparing the Jeep XJ for its maiden voyage through Europe up to Northern Scandinavia the trip has finally begun. We have packed up all our worldly possessions and left the UK to find a new home in Sweden. We estimate that we will be living in the Jeep XJ for 4 to 5 months and hopefully It will take us to some truly stunning locations the further into the wilderness we go. In this video we are in the Netherlands in a campsite and for now we must stay in campsites until we reach Norway where wilderness, mountains and wild camping on the back roads are allowed. We also give you a tour of our setup and what we are using in the Jeep. Thanks for watching! Instagram - instagram.com/workshopwildernessadventures/ Facebook - facebook.com/Workshop-Wilderness-Adventures-2127584970825155/?modal=admin_todo_tour

[@samahmed3373]

Great video and Beautiful dventure . I do have .Jeep cherokee 2000 xj and I would love to rebuild it did you build by yourself or someone did it for you here in 🇬🇧mate..

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

@@samahmed3373 Cheers Sam, I've been building it for around six years now. Its come along way from its origin but its been a hell of a job. Most of the videos are on this channel. They are good Jeeps to work on, do you plan on building up yours?

[@samahmed3373]

@@WorkshoptoWilderness much appreciate it for your reply yes I am going to build it but the worst thing is I'm not mechanic or handyman 😂

[@loupdescoteaux6541]

Amazing how far you've come with the Jeep really inspiring!

[@hArtyTruffle]

Wow! Great organising! Lovely to hear so many birds. Shame they can’t eat more caterpillars 🤭

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

The bird song is something I miss. You get it up here in the North but its not the same. It literally took several months to get all of the dead catipilars off the Jeep....

[@hArtyTruffle]

When my son was a wee lad, he was diagnosed with coeliacs. Yes, the bread is very expensive. I think I tried to bake gluten-free bread for him but it wasn’t very nice. I used to buy a lot of rice cakes. Cheap and versatile. He grew out of it eventually.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Ah that's really good that he grew out of it. Megan's came on after some kind of stomach bug in Turkey. She cant eat gluten or she's gets really unwell. The food seems to be a lot better these days with all the allergies that are becoming more common...unfortunaily.

[@peterunswild641]

This has just made me even more convinced I want a Cherokee xD I currently have a Suzuki jimny and love him to bits but it’s time for a new character

[@ZeroGravityBox]

This is literally my dream. Have fun fellow adventurers!

[@dananelson5434]

Impressive amount of gear in the space you've got. Great milage too. Glad you're having a good time on your travels. Thanks for sharing guys.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

It was like a game of Tetris but it all went in pretty good. Thanks for watching!

[@stevekirkey1677]

Awesome video, LOVE THE XJ

[@tomd1939]

30 mpg? I wish we had that diesel option back in the states

[@deegee4313]

Bro I appreciate you

[@JordanNiks]

Mike and Meg I love this walkthrough! Thank you for the insight!

[@bayareasolarpower]

I really like your set up, got some good ideas for my xj. Keep up the good work!

[@craftsmancollaborative]

Can't get enough of this build. Keep it up

[@BloodSweatnBass]

WHEN PARKED THE COVER ON THE HOOD COULD GO ON THE WIND SHIELD AS A LIGHT BLOCKER.

[@fam.hendriks-rutjes3537]

Very nice conversion. We had a 96 2.5 td drove iT 5 years. Completly overhoald the engine after 2 years of driving it around. But after issues with heatercore and drivetrain sold it and got a 01 4.0ltr in 2013. Still driving it with 350000 km on its back👍👍

[@Southernlandbushcraft]

Great set-up mate. I love your content. Living out of a vehicle has its own challenges. As you know, it becomes routine after awhile. I have a 4.2l Nissan Patrol and its pretty well set up for touring Australia. But there's always something I want for it. It never ends lol. Great country side your traveling. Drive safe. Cheers

[@JgCompTech]

Wow what a great build you have there! Probably the most British video about a jeep. Not sure if you do this but i belive you can store your sleeping bags inside the roof tent. Have you done any quirky things in the tent, ie power, lights etc? Keep up the good work and i'm about to watch your next video. :)

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Thanks for watching. I did us very well on the trip and it's still an ongoing project as all these things are! We slept using wool blankets and normal pillows as opposed to bags because of the duration of time we were away. Kind of nice to sleep in a normalish bed but the downside is that it doesn't fit up top like bags would. I've wired in some sockets in the tent now and also rear and side lights for camping. Its -17 here though were we are now and the tent is like a block of ice. We are renting a small house but I think I may have to store the tent for the winter. Thanks for watching.

[@marcus5ryan]

Love those fender flares, have been looking for some I thought were perfect for my xj haven't been able to find. Those are perfect look I'd like. What flares are those?

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

They are pre facelift Cherokee fenders with a rubber flare extension bolted to the original fender. I've made new ones now but back then they got me through Europe without police attention.

[@michaeljenkins9506]

Wow nice set up! Your xj is perfect! 33mpg is amazing what motor is in there? Great content!

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Thank you! It has a 2.5 Turbo Diesel in it, lots of european RHD exports came with this engine. Its low in HP at 118 but has 300nm of torque from memory. It's great for off road work and towing as it chugs along and it very hard to stall but it's not a very popular engine as it's extremely agricultural, gear timed, pushrods and heavy, easy to work on though. They are prone to overheating and cracking heads unless you swap for aftermarket head like me or keep a close eye on your coolant level.

[@roialblu]

Enjoying the videos! What happened to your headliner? How’s the noise from the roof?

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Its certainly more noisy but not so much that its hard to hear. I can still talk to passengers etc but looking back I would like new headliner if possible

[@matthewedwards1880]

Are you guys at any shows this year. I want to get into bushcraft more and overlanding as I have a defender 90

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Sadly not, there is a show here in Sweden that we might go to down in the South. Are you based in the UK?

[@chippymel]

Can you show what you did to your disc lock please. Mel

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Yeah sure I will make a video about it.

[@ZenithClarity]

Over 30MPG loaded down like that is impressive. Is that because its a diesel? I have a Cherokee with gasoline 4L. Not loaded down only gets 14-15MPG. :(

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Its more like 27 these days but that's down to my gears. Yeah its because it's a diesel. It tends not to feel the weight so much. I like the 4l engine, it's pretty bomb proof.

[@MrDudeCZ]

Hi there, very nice setup I must admit. I have been building my xj for almost 2 years now on and off and you guys have given me some pretty good tips. I really admire your european tour too. Wish you good luck and good speed. Also could you shed some light on those aftermarket heads for the VM? Or any mods for the unit in general? In connection with Jeep there is very little info on the net. Thank you and enjoy, Martin

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Many thanks, it did us well on the trip and we are settled in the north of sweden now for the winter (renting a house and working). Jeeps sitting outside and I'm still working on it. I don't think it will ever finish!! I can do a bit of a detailed video on the VM if you like. I'm no expert but i've worked on the engine a fair bit and eliminated some of the problem areas. You can get those heads from the VM Specialist in the UK. about £250 per head. Slightly thicker wall in some areas and also a better heat treat "apparently". They have been good for two years now. Thanks again!

[@MrDudeCZ]

@@WorkshoptoWilderness Hi there, well, 250 each is not cheap but probably worth it in the long run. If you wanted and had the time and data :) you could definitely put up a video about your tune up. I think I would not be the only one appreciating it. Like I previously said, there is not a lot of information on the internet, mainly because of it being mostly european option and not very popular one for the known reasons. I did my gasket some 3 years ago, had the heads machined and pressurized and it has been ok since then. It just doesn't put out a lot of power so lately I've been seriously considering a swap for the I6 as upgrades are plenty and cheap and problems less common. What would you think about this idea? In any case, jeep work is never done, my xj is currently sitting on jackstands as well, so no worries. Jeeps do that on frequent occasions :))) CHeers to Sweden, Martin

[@charlesbransoniii58]

How do you get 33mpg?! That is incredible.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Its a diesel engine so thy generally get very good fuel economy.

[@Oldblue110]

❤👍👍👍

[@officialWWM]

Wow, how much does that this weigh? It must be slow!

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Back then it was very heavy and slow. I think it was over 2350kg back then, probably more. Gears were wrong also which didn't help. I dropped about 400kg when we got to Sweden and regeared and it made the world or different. We were moving country back then though so it was like an overweight lump.

[@officialWWM]

@@WorkshoptoWilderness 400kgs is a big weight saving! That must have made big difference. I suspect fuel economy has improved too.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

It was quite a but. Roof tent, bedding, drawer system and all the spares along with clothing, glas bottles etc... it all adds up so fast and I just didn't realise it. I've since then added 35s so I've added a bit back on but I guess its not too much.

[@officialWWM]

@@WorkshoptoWilderness yes, it’s difficult. I am conscious of every extra kilo I add. I always stop and think, do I really need it, lol.

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Back then I didn't really think much off it but now I'm pretty careful. Mind you I have to be as the jeep is already pretty heavy unloaded. My tire carrier, spare and rear bumper make up 150kg, crazy. I really need to rethink it...

[@michaelaguiar1436]

Where can I get this roof rack

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Its a Frontrunner Slimline II aluminium rack. They are pretty light and well made but a bit pricey.

[@koolmofuka]

What size tires and gears do you have to get 33 mpg

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Its a diesel 2.5td and I have made some changes to the engine so I suspect thats why it may get such a different mpg to the 4.0

[@OpieDaRed]

How did mount the rooftop tent? what did u use to support it whays the roof rack?

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

Jared Howard the roof rack is a Frontrunner Slimline ll which is designed to be used with roof top tents. The roof top tent comes with a mounting system for most racks. It’s made by Frontrunner also so it’s simple to mount. Just bolts on

[@Gouveia100]

12Gig for 18 quid a month!! Dam i get 30Gig for 13€ a month.

[@koolmofuka]

It's a diesel?

[@WorkshoptoWilderness]

👍 they come as standard in Europe. Not a bad engine but you need to know a bit about them to own them.