Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[harrisonrmatt]

Some progress photos... this week I've been working on the mold master for the outer skin of the barn door; it's basically complete, in these photos it's just been shot with high-build primer.

The master is curved to exactly match the curves of the hatch glass. It's several inches larger in both directions than the later model hatch glass, that's so the parts get molded oversize and then trimmed to exact size for either the late model wide hatch hardtops or the early model narrow hatch hardtops.

Hi Jeff - question for you. I am looking make a fiberglass copy of the rear hatch glass. I have all of the hardware removed from the glass (it's bare) and I have my materials... my question is, did you line the glass with something (rows of tape, parchment paper, plastic sheeting, etc.) before you proceeded? I anticipate I will want to line it before I apply Partall #2 wax, then #10 PVA, then gelcoat.

I appreciate any tips - thanks!

 

[jscherb]

Hi Jeff - question for you. I am looking make a fiberglass copy of the rear hatch glass. I have all of the hardware removed from the glass (it's bare) and I have my materials... my question is, did you line the glass with something (rows of tape, parchment paper, plastic sheeting, etc.) before you proceeded? I anticipate I will want to line it before I apply Partall #2 wax, then #10 PVA, then gelcoat.

I appreciate any tips - thanks!

My barn door molds are not made off of factory glass, they're custom construction made to accept flat glass. The main structure of the barn door is curved to match the factory glass curves, but there a flat area in the middle for mounting flat glass. I made them to accept flat glass so if the barn door ever went into production the cost of the rear glass wouldn't be prohibitive.

You don't need to put anything on the glass except mold release wax and PVA, although when I make a mold from an existing part I typically extend the edges of the part a bit with blue masking tape, for several reasons - first, so the fiberglass layup doesn't wrap around the part and lock it in, and second so the resulting mold is a bit larger than the part to allow for molding beyond the edge of the part and then trimming. You should also tape over the holes in the glass so the fiberglass doesn't lock into those either.

 

[harrisonrmatt]

My barn door molds are not made off of factory glass, they're custom construction made to accept flat glass. The main structure of the barn door is curved to match the factory glass curves, but there a flat area in the middle for mounting flat glass. I made them to accept flat glass so if the barn door ever went into production the cost of the rear glass wouldn't be prohibitive.

You don't need to put anything on the glass except mold release wax and PVA, although when I make a mold from an existing part I typically extend the edges of the part a bit with blue masking tape, for several reasons - first, so the fiberglass layup doesn't wrap around the part and lock it in, and second so the resulting mold is a bit larger than the part to allow for molding beyond the edge of the part and then trimming. You should also tape over the holes in the glass so the fiberglass doesn't lock into those either.

Thanks! I think I have it worked out in my head how I will be designing a frame for flat glass and incorporating it to the hatch mold - a topic of discussion for another day, I am sure. I have two tops, one already cut to make modular and one 'whole' top. I am looking to clear space out and want to sell the good top, but my modular top does not have any glass, so I want to get copies of the window curvature before I sell the good top.

As for the side windows, do you have any tips on fiberglassing over a vertical surface? I believe when you did your fenders you glassed against a vertical surface, right? How did you get the mat to stay or stick to the surface? I really don't think tipping the hard top on its side is a good idea.

 

[jscherb]

Thanks! I think I have it worked out in my head how I will be designing a frame for flat glass and incorporating it to the hatch mold - a topic of discussion for another day, I am sure. I have two tops, one already cut to make modular and one 'whole' top. I am looking to clear space out and want to sell the good top, but my modular top does not have any glass, so I want to get copies of the window curvature before I sell the good top.

As for the side windows, do you have any tips on fiberglassing over a vertical surface? I believe when you did your fenders you glassed against a vertical surface, right? How did you get the mat to stay or stick to the surface? I really don't think tipping the hard top on its side is a good idea.

Working on a vertical surface isn't a problem, the resin is thick and tacky enough that everything stays in place without any trouble.

 

[harrisonrmatt]

Working on a vertical surface isn't a problem, the resin is thick and tacky enough that everything stays in place without any trouble.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[jscherb]

Here's a simple project to add a jerry can carrier to MORryde tailgate reinforcement.

The project starts with these brackets - they're made from 1/8" steel plate and powder coated very nicely. The 8x12 size is just big enough for this application: https://www.rockler.com/heavy-duty-steel-shelf-brackets-black-finish. The next larger size might be better, but one leg would have to be trimmed a bit shorter.

The brackets get bolted to the hinges, using the holes in the hinges and nut plates on the inside. Simple nut plates would be pieces of metal that are large enough to cover the hole in the hinge and have a hole in them for a bolt to pass through so a nut can be threaded on; think of this type of nut plate as a big washer to go behind the hole in the hinge.

Since it can sometimes be awkward to start the nuts inside the hinge, I used these plates, which accept 5/16 clip nuts. The plate is 1/8" stainless steel with a 1/2" hole for the clip nut to go into (these photos are of the ones I used to mount this on my LJ, the JK ones are larger because the holes in the JK hinges are larger)

You will have to drill additional holes in the bracket to have holes in the bracket that line up with the holes in the hinges. Brackets bolted to the hinges:

A jerry can tray gets bolted to the top of the brackets. You'll need to drill a few holes in the bottom of the tray to match the holes in the brackets. You could use a "military style" Blitz jerry can tray, but the consumer ones (i.e. not military surplus) are made from thinner gauge sheet metal so they're not very rigid, so I don't recommend using a consumer tray. Real military surplus ones are heavy gauge and quite rigid. Ths is a consumer tray:

I decided to use a heavy-gauge MORryde tray.

A ratchet strap secures the can very well.

The MORryde trays are available in two versions: http://www.partspros.com/8120018.html and http://www.partspros.com/8120017.html. The low side MORryde tray is made from thicker steel than the high side tray, so for maximum stiffness that's the one to use.

The can clears just fine with the tailgate fully open.



It's also a good place to carry an ammo can; this is a 25mm can.

The same thing can be done for the MORryde TJ/LJ tailgate reinforcement. The MORryde JK and TJ hinges have different holes and the spacing of the hinges on the tailgate is different between the two model Jeeps, but I was able to drill the one set of shelf brackets so they fit both Jeeps.

 

[jscherb]

If the soft tops came with the plastic "door surround" pieces I'm sure people would appreciate you selling or giving them away rather than tossing them. Everyone is always hunting for them!

-Dan

Good idea, I'll list them for free on Craigslist. Hopefully someone locally can use them.

 

[OregonJKU]

I finished my tailgate table project. It's on a JK tailgate in the workshop in most of these photos, here's a quick video showing how it works...


Some still photos for a better look...

Stowed:

Table open. An Overland Outfitters Cutlery/Tool Keeper is installed on the back panel.

A cutting board slides out from underneath the table:

Anything mounted on the Molle panel is still accessible when the table is down because the Molle panel is hinged:

In addition to slots for Molle pouches, the panel has four sets of holes for Rotopax mounts, and five rows of holes for mounting other things, such as with Quickfist clamps. In this closer view, there are three Molle pouches, a military shovel mounted with QuickFist clamps and a folding cup holder.

Mounting holes are provided for either one 2-gallon or two-one-gallon Rotopax containers (in these images the containers are drawings pasted on the photos).

And it wouldn't be complete without a this:

Fully outfitted and open:

The same parts also mount on the JL tailgate; for both the JK and JL it's a no-drill installation.

Hi Jeff,
Looks fantastic! Have you found anyone interested in taking it to market?

 

[jscherb]

Hi Jeff,
Looks fantastic! Have you found anyone interested in taking it to market?

Thank you. I generally don't try to find companies to take my designs to market - I do these designs for my own use and enjoyment (I like designing things) but if a company wants to pick up one of my designs, I'm happy to talk to them about it. There is one company that would like to market this table, but if they pick it up it would be a lot of work for me - the company doesn't have internal production engineering or manufacturing capabilities, so it would be up to me to arrange manufacturing. I could do that, but it's not my preference - I'd rather move on to my next design idea than spend my time managing something through manufacturing. So at this point I don't know what will become of this table.

I have been doing a few minor design refinements, and I've also verified that it works on TJ and YJ tailgates - my original design was that all but one of the parts would work on JL, JK and TJ/YJ tailgates but I hadn't installed in on a TJ tailgate until a few weeks ago:

 

[Zeep]

Can you do a close up on the latches you are using?

 

[jscherb]

Can you do a close up on the latches you are using?

These: https://www.mcmaster.com/1889a34-1889A34

 

[OregonJKU]

Thank you. I generally don't try to find companies to take my designs to market - I do these designs for my own use and enjoyment (I like designing things) but if a company wants to pick up one of my designs, I'm happy to talk to them about it. There is one company that would like to market this table, but if they pick it up it would be a lot of work for me - the company doesn't have internal production engineering or manufacturing capabilities, so it would be up to me to arrange manufacturing. I could do that, but it's not my preference - I'd rather move on to my next design idea than spend my time managing something through manufacturing. So at this point I don't know what will become of this table.

I have been doing a few minor design refinements, and I've also verified that it works on TJ and YJ tailgates - my original design was that all but one of the parts would work on JL, JK and TJ/YJ tailgates but I hadn't installed in on a TJ tailgate until a few weeks ago:

OK thank you. We really like your design

 

[jscherb]

OK thank you. We really like your design

If there's a company or person who wants to bring the table to market I'll be happy to explore it with them.

My son is now wanting to outfit his JK 2dr for camping and is looking at tailgate tables, stoves, etc. He's coming home for a few days so we can make some mods to his Jeep and one of the things we'll probably do is install this table in his Jeep so he can experiment with it and see what features he wants in a table. I'll post photos of it in his Jeep when we do that.

 

[OregonJKU]

If there's a company or person who wants to bring the table to market I'll be happy to explore it with them.

My son is now wanting to outfit his JK 2dr for camping and is looking at tailgate tables, stoves, etc. He's coming home for a few days so we can make some mods to his Jeep and one of the things we'll probably do is install this table in his Jeep so he can experiment with it and see what features he wants in a table. I'll post photos of it in his Jeep when we do that.

We'll probably order one that is already on the market but imho none are as nice and complete as yours.
Your son is very lucky! ;-)

 

[jscherb]

We'll probably order one that is already on the market but imho none are as nice and complete as yours.
Your son is very lucky! ;-)

We'll see how lucky he feels in a few days... he also wants flat fenders like the ones I have on my JKU so I'll be teaching him how to make fiberglass parts this weekend. I hope to have him do most of the work himself, I'm tired of fiberglass work. If he does do most of the work, at least I'll feel lucky .