Let’s start with the mechanical improvements.

There’s a small company out of Idaho called Northwoods Performance that manufactures the lift kit I installed. It includes a set of 1.5” strut spacers paired with high performance springs all around. The ride on and off-road is substantially improved.

Ground clearance now sits at ten inches.

Attached at the front is a basic 3” steel tube bull bar for if I happen to hit a snowbank or need to push someone out, each of which seem to happen more often than I’d like. Northwoods Performance manufactured the high clearance front exhaust pipe and 3/8” steel skid plate, shown here.

I also upgraded the tires to Kumho AT-51’s, which increase ground clearance, dramatically improve off-road performance and are extreme-snow rated. No more switching out in winter!

Upon opening the tailgate, my first ever attempt at woodworking is visible.

I took out the rear seats and built a platform substructure which I bolted to the frame of the car to keep everything nice and secure. The cabinet has seven sliding drawers and holds my toiletry and cook gear, as well as some dry food. There’s a sliding table that comes out the back that is self supported with plenty of room to cook a meal and drink a beer, one could even play a game of cards if their heart desired.

The entire platform and cabinet are constructed out of 3/4” plywood, 1x2” whitewood board and 1 1/2” wood screws.

I cut out a trap door above the spare tire well (now stored in the roof box), attached a piano hinge and a hook to keep it open. This is where I store clothes and detergent. The main lights are also strung under the door to illuminate the wardrobe a during any post-sunset layer additions.

The sleeping platform is covered in Tolex, the same material used to cover guitar amps. It’s incredibly durable, water repellant and creates just the right amount of friction.

Also pictured are integrated toothbrush and towel holders. It’s worth noting the cook towel is dirty because I had to wipe the outside of the car for this shoot. Don't worry Mom, my rags aren’t normally that filthy.

A keen eye will notice there isn’t any platform behind the driver seat, this is so I can sit upright inside with my legs in the footwell. So many SUV builds I’ve seen only allow you to sleep inside with no room for activities, and that just isn’t very rad.

Similar to the tailgate, I built an interior sliding table for meals and general use. Sitting on the table is my 444 watt/hour battery, with AC and DC output in the form of 2.1 amp USB and 120v wall plugs. This is charged by my solar panel, pictured below.

In the window there’s a custom cut piece of Reflectix coated in black rubber. These insulate in cold weather and black out the windows completely for stealth camping in town. I also have velcro-attachable screen windows to get on mosquitos nerves.

Up top I’ve attached high strength cross bars, a 16 cubic foot roof box, and custom mounted sliding solar panel. The panel is rated at 100 watts and flexible, though I’ve hard-mounted it to 1/2” plywood. This was then attached to heavy duty 40-inch locking drawer slides under the roof box, with additional support built up inside the box.

The panel can usually produce 70 watts on a clear day, which is enough to fully charge my battery in about 10 hours. The system can also jump start a car, which is very handy when your soon to be former pal played the radio a bit too raucously the night before.

Rain guards have been added above the windows to allow airflow at all times.

A buddy of mine gave me the idea to switch out the gear shifter with a trekking pole handle. So I did! This is the pole I thru-hiked the AT with, and it still had a full season of life out west afterwards.

I got lucky and found the 8 x 1.25 nuts I needed to stick inside the shifter in a miscellaneous metric hardware bin. I had to grind them down so they would fit inside the handle, but after that it was just some two-part epoxy and a 24-hour wait and I was in business!

The view from the captains quarters.

Here I can sit upright and stretch, cook dinner or in the most dire of circumstances, work on my computer. The mattress is a 4” trifold foam mattress with washable cover. At 76” x 24”, it’s the perfect size for me and fits splendidly in the back of the RAD4.

The pillow was swiped from my brother.

The center console armrest got covered in velcro on the inside for easy access to camp and driving essentials. I have extra velcro up top for any additions to the kit.