Barn Door for JK factory hardtops
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
MagicMtnDan
2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
Just a thought...
Your designs look great but will they work with the Jeep roof racks on the market? I'm thinking about the Gobi rack and the new, sliding roof rack from LoD. It'd be great to design your products to work with them!
Your designs look great but will they work with the Jeep roof racks on the market? I'm thinking about the Gobi rack and the new, sliding roof rack from LoD. It'd be great to design your products to work with them!
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The Safari Cab design includes integrated roof rack supports which pass all of the weight directly to the Jeep's sport bars - no weight is borne by the hardtop itself. Because of that, you don't need an exoskeleton rack like the Gobi to support heavy weights on the roof - a simple rack/rack basket will do, which is a lot less expensive (and in my opinion more attractive) than a huge exoskeleton rack. And designing the top to fit existing exoskeleton racks would limit my ability to change the roof profile (the Safari Cab has a higher roof than the factory flat-top).
If there's some reason I'm missing that an exoskeleton rack would be preferable to integrated roof rack support, please let me know. After using the integrated rack mounts on my LJ Safari Cab for the past 4 years, I can't think of a reason why I'd want to swap it for an exoskeleton rack.
A roof top tent with two adult occupants is no problem for the Safari Cab integrated roof rack mounts, and even with the hard side panels removed and the soft sides in place, loads on the roof are no problem.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
A little more about roof racks...
I designed the LJ Safari Cab to easily accept the roof rack from an XJ Cherokee, although other racks can be made to fit without too much trouble. The integrated rack mounts in the hardtop are positioned where the XJ rack will need them to transfer loads from the rack to the sport bars.
I chose the XJ rack for that hardtop design for three reasons:
1. There were millions of XJ's made, most with roof racks, so they're plentiful and inexpensive in most junkyards ($15 in my local u-pull).
2. They look right on a Jeep because they are from a Jeep. Nobody's ever asked me "is that a Ford Explorer roof rack on your Jeep?"
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3. Because millions were made, there's terrific aftermarket support for things to mount to the XJ racks.
For example, the light-duty XJ crossbars aren't adequate for supporting a roof-top tent. When I mount the tent on mine, I use Surco XJ rack channel adapters mounted to the crossbars that came with the RTT. Plenty strong enough, and tall enough so the XJ crossbars don't have to be removed when the Surco brackets + RTT is in place:
Included in the aftermarket support for the XJ rack are plenty of accessory solutions, such as kayak carriers, bicycle carriers and rack baskets, although the basket I use is made from two Harbor Freight receiver racks and cost me about $75 to assemble:
I haven't decided exactly which rack I plan to support on the JK Safari Cab, but unless I find a good reason not to, I may go with the XJ rack again.
I designed the LJ Safari Cab to easily accept the roof rack from an XJ Cherokee, although other racks can be made to fit without too much trouble. The integrated rack mounts in the hardtop are positioned where the XJ rack will need them to transfer loads from the rack to the sport bars.
I chose the XJ rack for that hardtop design for three reasons:
1. There were millions of XJ's made, most with roof racks, so they're plentiful and inexpensive in most junkyards ($15 in my local u-pull).
2. They look right on a Jeep because they are from a Jeep. Nobody's ever asked me "is that a Ford Explorer roof rack on your Jeep?"
.3. Because millions were made, there's terrific aftermarket support for things to mount to the XJ racks.
For example, the light-duty XJ crossbars aren't adequate for supporting a roof-top tent. When I mount the tent on mine, I use Surco XJ rack channel adapters mounted to the crossbars that came with the RTT. Plenty strong enough, and tall enough so the XJ crossbars don't have to be removed when the Surco brackets + RTT is in place:
Included in the aftermarket support for the XJ rack are plenty of accessory solutions, such as kayak carriers, bicycle carriers and rack baskets, although the basket I use is made from two Harbor Freight receiver racks and cost me about $75 to assemble:
I haven't decided exactly which rack I plan to support on the JK Safari Cab, but unless I find a good reason not to, I may go with the XJ rack again.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Bill,
I've got several different methods to adapt standard flat RV windows to the factory hardtop that I'd like to test, but I've been too busy working on the JK Safari Cab molds to take time to do that.
BTW I've made the window openings in the Safari Cab molds the same size as the side windows in the later model hardtops, except that the window mounting surface is flat so standard RV-style windows can be installed in the Safari Cab. One of the reasons for making the windows the same size is so any windows that get made for the Safari Cab can also be installed in the later model hardtops with one of the methods I've come up with. I did that so that if the Safari Cab ever gets to production, whatever company does it will also be able to offer window kits to factory hardtop owners if they wanted to.
The standard RV-style windows I'm looking at include sliders and swing-up "windoors":
Also looking at combo slider/swing-up windoor units:
(The windows in the photo above are not the correct size and shape for the JK, they're generic photos from window manufacturers).
Jeff
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
Project updates...
Barn door: Tom's been running the barn door for over a week now and so far he sounds happy with it. He had to make a trip to snowy Buffalo and reports that the wiper in the barn door works well... "couldn't have lived without it", he says. Given the amount of snow there right now, he might mean that very literally. He's also shot the white fiberglass with gray primer to tone down the bright white contrasting to his Anvil JK. As far as I'm concerned the barn door project is finished, it's all done but the final paint prep and paint.
JK Safari Cab: I've just about got the side panel molds finished, and I'll be molding the first set of side panels in them right after Thanksgiving.
Barn door: Tom's been running the barn door for over a week now and so far he sounds happy with it. He had to make a trip to snowy Buffalo and reports that the wiper in the barn door works well... "couldn't have lived without it", he says. Given the amount of snow there right now, he might mean that very literally. He's also shot the white fiberglass with gray primer to tone down the bright white contrasting to his Anvil JK. As far as I'm concerned the barn door project is finished, it's all done but the final paint prep and paint.
JK Safari Cab: I've just about got the side panel molds finished, and I'll be molding the first set of side panels in them right after Thanksgiving.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Tom reports from Buffalo:
The photo above brings up one detail to deal with... the empty hatch hinge mounting locations.
One way to deal with it would be to mount some small LED lights there, using the same bolt holes:
Another would be filler panels, I made up a prototype a while back:
In this next photo, one side has a filler block and the other doesn't to show the difference:
And there's also Tom's cool light pod idea, that also moves the third brake light to the top, thereby further increasing visibility out the back. Tom first posted about that idea earlier in the thread.
What would everyone's preference be? Any other ideas for using those spaces I haven't thought of?
The barn door is functioning perfect and I've put it to good use. We had to pack a lot of items and travel to Buffalo the past two days in the middle of the storm. Not having to open the hatch made it easier to load and unload the back.
This is why we need a rear wiper up here in the North.
The photo above brings up one detail to deal with... the empty hatch hinge mounting locations.
One way to deal with it would be to mount some small LED lights there, using the same bolt holes:
Another would be filler panels, I made up a prototype a while back:
In this next photo, one side has a filler block and the other doesn't to show the difference:
And there's also Tom's cool light pod idea, that also moves the third brake light to the top, thereby further increasing visibility out the back. Tom first posted about that idea earlier in the thread.
What would everyone's preference be? Any other ideas for using those spaces I haven't thought of?
Jurfie
Adventurer
Personally, I like Tom's idea; if only to have a third brake light mounted on the top to allow removal of the OEM post-mounted one with a bigger spare. Though that doesn't solve the problem when running topless or with a soft top.
Having a couple of LED cube backup lights would be nice though, too.
MagicMtnDan
2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
I like the CHMSL idea and filler panels for the former hinge locations.
It's cool seeing you guys work through this concept and making it work!
It's cool seeing you guys work through this concept and making it work!
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I was thinking the same thing, so I drew an awning on these photos. Even without the ursa minor camper top, the awning would be great for picnicking on the trail, don't you think?
The awning would attach to the hatch hinge mount locations, which are no longer needed with the barn door installed, and could roll up for travel, or be removed completely.
Jurfie
Adventurer
The awning would attach to the hatch hinge mount locations, which are no longer needed with the barn door installed, and could roll up for travel, or be removed completely.
I like that idea!
Also, I can't help but fantasize about this setup with half-door rears and full roll-down safari sides starting behind the front doors...:drool:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I drew something like that a while back but never posted it...
And with the roof in body color:
You could turn your JKU into a something like a J8...
