JIMNYFUN

To be honest, I think I'm infected now with the 'Jimny upgrading virus'. I'm not the only one for sure, seeing all those videos and pictures of worldwide SJ enthousiasts and upgraders. As there are hundreds of parts and accessories produced for the SJ by many manifacturers no wonder such a virus is easy to get :)

As upgrades range from cheap (euro 20-50) to expensive (eur 1000 and up) you can easily align it to your budget. In my case I have a wife who prevents me spending from too much money :)

 

Here are some of my thoughts of next upgrades and gear

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Making the JIMNY ready for camping trips and holidays (1st priority)

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• This is why I bought the roofrack system (and placed the cargo barriere). 

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• Buying a tent: one that can be enhanced from 2 to 4 users (2 for quick setup on trips and 4 for longer stays at one place, so you have more living space). As these rooftents look quite adventurous on top of the Jimny they are imo not practical when camping longer periods at the same place. Because everytime you need the car, you have to tear down the tent. For 1 night stays and sleeping in the jungle they are nice, but as they cost about eur 1250-4000 it's the question if this is worth it instead of buying an easy to set up regular tent.

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• Awning fitted to the roofrack

       Certainly no necessary equipment but may enhance comfort at camping. Separate extensions can be bought

       to add flaps to the sides, building a shelter for rain and too much sun. As these awnings are fitted onto the

       side of the roofrack, take no extra space and are very easy to set up, I'm considering to buy one in time, but

       it's not my first priority.      

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• Transport of luggage on the roof and in the back

       If the dog goes with us on camping holidays, most of the luggage has to be placed on the roofrack. To prevent

       that everything gets wet a waterproof flexible carbox or several waterproof bags are necessary).        

       After consideration of several options I think I will finally go for waterproof bags/duffels. This is the most

       flexible sollution as they can be used both in the back and on the roof, but also in other circumstances for

       example using them as flight bags. They are available in lots of different sizes. As I will use them on the

       roofrack, I prefer the bigger ones of 100-140L so it won't get cluttered by a lot of bags. 

        

      The luggage has to be tied to the roof. So I plan to buy several car roof straps.

    

       I also plan to buy several stackable plastic boxes that can be used in the trunk of the car for all kind of   

       loose stuff. I like the Front Runner boxes as they are rigid, are stackable and very efficient in using the

       available trunk space.   

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• Jerrycans

  • For immediate access to a supply of drinkable water ​

  • Extra fuel : an extra supply of 20L of gasoline may come in handy in unforeseen circumstances or on long trips in an unknown area.  

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• Shovel​, axe, survival knife, firesteel

  

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Making the JIMNY ready for offroading (2nd priority)

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Although I did some 4x4 offroading courses in the past it's not my first priority right now to make the Jimny ready for some serious offroading. I plan to do a refreshment course in the near future and also some greenlaning as part of future holidays. In the meantime I'm focussing on taking the Jimny on some camping trips in nature, so that's why my focus is currently on getting all the basic camping stuff and to be honest, getting all this stuff will flatten my available budget too :)  

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But I'm sure sooner or later my Jimny will go offroad too. So I already researched the necessary gear to be prepared for some serious (but not extreme) offroading.  But as I plan to go step by step when it comes to offroading, there's enough time to experience to what point my current trim keeps sufficient and when the moment comes it needs an upgrade. 

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This is what I'm thinking about :

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• Lifting kit

       Maybe not necessary when no extreme offroading is done, but hey man it looks great and makes the

       Jimny have a huger, more robust look certainly if all terrain or mud tires are mounted too...

       The price for this (around eur 2000-3000) makes me doubt though when only done for cosmetics.
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• Sand plates

       Studying offroad videos and the comments of experts this is an essential when offroading and should be in

       everyone's base gear, especially when offroading solo. Also applicable to all the other gear they tip :

       ALWAYS GO FOR SAFITY AND QUALITY! (so not for the cheaper products...) 

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• Manual or electrical winch

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• Straps and shackles

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