Rear Air Ducts

[claybuster84]

Hi all, I am neck deep in a full restoration on an 80 Cherokee Laredo and wondered if anybody had added rear air ducts in the ceiling when installing a new headliner? If so, what did you use for duct and routing?

[letank]

Probably easier to use a center console with existing ducts, as most other cars are fitted with in that way, some of the minivans have ceiling ducts.

[claybuster84]

So the reason I want ceiling ducts is that I plan on camping in the rear of the Jeep and want ducts in the ceiling for above the bed rather than below.

[letank]

Time for a trip to the junkyard and check how the minivans are rigged.

Post edit: as Tim wrote below, sleeping inside any vehicle in cold weather is not a good idea.
The ground is a good insulator, even sleeping in the snow a simple pad offers a good barrier... yes I was stuck in soft snow overnight once, in the morning the snow was hard enough to pull out from that mess.

2001StuckIntheSierra.jpg

[tgreese]

How do you imagine this will work? Normally the heater only functions when the engine runs, and sleeping through the night with the engine running does not seem wise. Do you have any experience camping and sleeping in the back of the car? Are you thinking about heat or air conditioning?

IME it's much warmer to sleep on the ground or in a tent. The car shell is a massive heat sink and your body warmth will be conducted away. Also, you can buy sleeping gear that will keep you warm in just about any cold temperatures you can imagine. Here's REI's page for below zero - https://www.rei.com/c/sleeping-bags?ir= ... +0+degrees - one of these bags should keep you warm even inside a car.

[devildog80]

Not to mention the A pillars are not beefy enough to run ducting through them, to get into the ceiling space for vents.
You might look into a separate battery/exterior generator and use a DC powered heated floor system, for radiant heat? Like a heated seat type?

[Yeller]

Not to get political but research your favorite gear suppliers before handing them your cash…..

Many of them heavily suport groups that want everyone banned from the back country in anything with an engine.

Example:
https://forum.expeditionportal.com/thre ... ds.112516/

[tgreese]

No political statement intended. I used to shop REI a lot and liked their generic equipment. They sold a duck down bag that was quite nice, warm and cheap. Sleeping bags can be very expensive.

Here's a list- https://bestunder250.com/stores-similar ... nt-Bell%20

You can also shop the maker's sites and buy direct, like North Face, Sierra Designs, etc.

Easier to check the political activism of individual stores than to ask for stores with a specific political agenda.

[letank]

Good infos here, I used to buy at REI, but nowadays (at least 10 years ago) there are less expensive alternatives.

Yes, you can buy from the manufacturer, albeit some have moved far away... it was nice to visit the tent place and get your new poles! who twisted my tent pole? not me, it was the bear!

[claybuster84]

Thanks for the info thus far guys.

1) I am planning on a bed insert for the Cherokee with my kitchen and camp gear below. I am looking at a full build out with a 20 gal water tank mounted in the rear spare tire area and adding additional fuel capacity. The reason I am looking at this is the fact I do long-distance off-road trips through Baja and in other areas where I'm gone for 2 weeks at a time staying somewhere new every night. It's a security and ease of setup reasoning. I am currently completely gutting and rebuilding the Cherokee due to rust repair, so I have a blank slate. I was thinking about running ducts through the rockers and up the B-pillar into the ceiling and dumping out vents in the ceiling. It also would be nice to get air back there while driving for better air flow and distributed temp control.

2) As for the political side, I am currently working closely with the Blue Ribbon Coalition with hopes of a board position in the near future. I attend committee and board meetings already just waiting for an actual position to open up. If you do not know who they are check out www.sharetrails.org. I closely research companies that support anti-access causes and will not buy from them.

[Yeller]

Thank you for the work you do with Blue Ribbon, great cause and one that I support.