Help Me Become an ETS Jeep Owner!

Ok all you Jeep guys,

I take possession of mine this week. It's a 2004 Liberty Renegade and will be my daily driver. It seems to have less storage space than my Home Civic. Help!

Do you have any tricks or advice that'll save me some time and anguish?

Buy the extended warranty and watch for metal out of the axles.
(I've had axle issues in 3 of 3 Cherokees. 2 occurred in the standard warranty period. The 3rd will be at my expense with only 50,000 miles on the vehicle.)

Is there some storage room under the rear seat?
In the non-Grand Cherokees (which the Libby allegedly replaced) there is some space under the rear seat cushion. I carry the service manual and some spare parts there.

Good luck!

You think that's bad, try a wrangler, barely enough space to fit people in there, let along cargo.

Your best bet is removable roof box for when you need the space.

I'll never own another Jeep. Replaced engine, shocks, U-joints, etc. Yes, it was a Grand Cherokee. Things that went bad that weren't replaced: driver's window motor, rear defroster, seat adjustment motor, mirror adjustment motor...

Unless Dodge completely revamps the line to the basic Willie's style and builds from trustworthy simplicity...

I hear ya, Finn. I grew up loving Jeeps. Pre-Chrysler Jeeps. My dad worked for AMC when I was a kid. I learned to drive in an 80s Cherokee and a 70s Comanche. I am prepared to be disappointed with Dodge but my '89 Civic isn't going to last much longer without serious work. It's a good deal from a neighbour and since we know the vehicle's history, figure it's a good risk.

I've gone from a sedan to a mini van to a compact car and now this. Talk about streamlining your EDC!

Good call, jzmtl. We still have one that we bought for our old Blazer that should work well for tripping.

I have a 4-person Wrangler. Love it so far. But not enough miles for anything serious to go wrong yet.

Good luck with your own Jeep.

Pete2

Best of luck with your new Jeep. I have been wanting a 4-Door Wrangler since they came out but now that I am retired and don't need a car payment, I will stick with my Trailblazer and Corolla, both paid off

I'm with you, widget. No vehicle payments for us either. Had one of those once and never want another. DH is a car guy so used vehicles and as much driveway maintainence as possible is our SOP.

Under the seats is the first place I'll check, unimogbert. I didn't think of that. There seems to be enough room for a big pack and trunk organizer in the rear. In addition to the glove box a console box, there's also a console box between the front seats.

I like a Coleman stainless cooler for storage inside the vehicle. I can't remember what the interior configuration of the Liberty is but the cooler is an interior trunk if you have room. Put a black towel over it and it should be invisible with those tinted windows. And you might see if some of those interior side panels pop off and what space might be available in there.

For on top of my Honda Element I love my Yakima Loadwarrior. I have a waterproof Yakima bag that fits in it perfectly for trips.

I looked at the 04 LIberty before getting my 04 Element. It was a tough call but since I'm in the city I went with the Element because it is a Honda and the mileage was better (though not a lot).

Good luck!

Thanks Dagny. Great suggestions. I can't wait to get it home so I can start playing!

Hi,

SUVs are challenging for discrete storage of supplies. We have a Honda Pilot and Jeep Grand Cherokee and there are lots of little spaces to tuck things into. Here are some things to consider.

Find the jack storage place and add in related supplies (flares, small candle lantern, flashlight, small 12V air pump, tire plugs). I wrap all of this with those cheap "red rags" they always sell for mechanics.

Get some small "truck boxes" from sears - the are basically plastic tool boxes and some large enough to store 2 quarts of oil (very handy to keep the oil "contained"). In the jeep this goes nicely under the rear seat (holding a quart of oil and a quart of transmission fluid) along with a tow rope and a tool rollup from Duluth Trading, and a couple of reflective triangles. So I have all my auto supplies well stashed.

My Honda has some under floor storage in the cargo area and I think the Liberties has something similar. Figure out how much space you have to work with but this could be a good location for things.

Most of the trick has been finding the available spaces to safely tuck in the basics (don't want loose projectiles in the car) and organizing things. I do keep a gym bag in the car for things that don't stash. I also have the pet barriers to help keep things in the back of the car.

Oh, for what it is worth, my 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee has been running fine since we got it (new) with only routine maintenance and a couple of minor repairs due to age. We love it and will probably keep it around until we can pay cash for the next Jeep ( I want the 4 door Wrangler).

Good luck with your Jeep,

-Eric

"small "truck boxes" from sears - the are basically plastic tool boxes and some large enough to store 2 quarts of oil (very handy to keep the oil "contained")"

I found a product called Oil Safe after I had an oil container leak all over my Jeep. Luckily I didn't have carpet in my old CJ7 but it was still a pain to clean up.

https://www.fluiddefense.com/C-180/Oil-Transfer-Containers.aspx

A little pricey but compared to cleaning up a spilled quart of oil, it seems worth it.

Thanks for the ice, Eric. These are just the kinds of gems I'm looking for. ETS but without flying projectiles is my number one concern.

Thanks Yucca! I'll check it out. DH will too. (He runs an auto parts store and it could be a good addition.)

I keep most of my stuff in my '05 TJ in ammo cans - one of the really big ones (think it's a 20MM one) and two of the "fat .50" cans. I also keep a mechanic's bag in the back with ratchet straps, bungees and such in it. For carrying larger items I have a hitch-mount cargo rack that I put on when I need it but don't usually have on the Jeep.

I keep a ton of tools and spare parts inside the Jeep, no-one ever messes with the stuff because it's all hidden in cans and a bag that are always covered in mud, grit, grease, and dirt so it looks like there's nothing worth stealing.

I swapped out the rear bench seat to a racing-style bucket seat to give me more room and mounted my Hi-Lift jack to the roll cage across the back pillars horizontally. Both my fire extinguishers are mounted to the roll cage right behind the front seats and there's a little storage under the rear bucket seat.

swapping out the rear seat to buckets is a pretty good idea. Glad you mentioned it.

Smittybilt also makes Molle webbing seat covers that are pretty cool that I've been eyeballing getting a set of. These are the TJ model but they make them for different rigs.

http://www.4wd.com/Jeep-Interior-Parts-Accessories/G-E-A-R-Front-Seat-Cover-by-Smittybilt-for-Jeep.aspx?t_c=9&t_s=333&t_pt=3813&t_pn=S%2fB5661001

I tried the GEAR seat covers and got rid of them. There's not much rear-seat room to start, and the kids didn't like to have stuff in their face. Also a potential for injury during an accident.

I do have the GEAR rear hatch cover in my 4-door Wrangler (JKU), but I don't think that idea would work with your lift-up hatch. But this is where I keep about 30 pounds of tools and my main first aid kit.

I don't know about the Liberty, but in the 4-door JK there is a huge amount of room under both front seats and the rear seat. Plenty of room for medium-size organizers filled with food rations, water, gloves, flashlights, etc under the front, and I've managed to fit entire drive shafts under the rear seat, along with my boots, umbrella, jumper cables and recovery bag.

In the back there is probably a compartment under the floor where your spare tire, jack and such are stored. There's usually some room there.

From a safety perspective, be careful to strap-down anything heavy with ratchet straps to prevent them from becoming projectiles in case of an accident.

For long trips I either load my stuff onto a utility trailer (easiest to deal with when camping/wheeling) or put on the roof rack and cargo box (family holidays).

Good luck with the new wheels. Let me know when you want to talk about a lift, big tires and a winch. ;^P

Yeah, I didn't think about the legroom issues with those. I think even putting one on the back side of my passenger seat (has no bucket seat behind it) would be problematic due to legroom for my daughter getting in/out of the back through that side. I think light stuff might work hung on his rear hatch, just wouldn't want to get crazy with it.

Seeing someone else who carries a spare driveshaft is awesome. I like to keep a spare rear driveshaft, a spare unit bearing, 2-4 of both sizes of u-joints and a spare rear pinion yoke.