Jeep Wrangler Habitat Official Release
- Thread starter elcoyote
- Start date
DingusKahn
Adventurer
No emails as of late for those of us with deposits down. Been pretty quiet. Hopefully that means they are working hard to get them out.
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
No news is good news. Mario has had a production meeting with UMV and things are looking good. We realize you are all being very patient waiting for the Habitat, and once you get yours we believe it will be worth the wait.
There were a number of engineering hurdles to overcome along the way and once those were addressed the top had to be put through it's off road paces.
We have learned over the years product that fairs well on road may not do so well when it's taken off road, and for some reason we seem to attract customers who like to push the limits :sombrero:
kb7our
Explorer
Limits? What limits?
Martyn, ask Mario or John to throw us another bone or two! How are the new hinges, critical torsion rod, structural reinforcement, UM tent pattern, Nemo tent finalization (starting point for 6-7 mos delivery of the Nemo version), new issues, etc?
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Wade, as you know the JK Habitat is Mario's baby so he's best equipped to answer your questions. He's in Colorado at the Jeepers Jamboree until Monday, I'm sure he'll have answers when he gets back.
We did have a new design of hinge made it's both thicker and taller, we found that the original one was pinching the lid and causing distortion. The new design is working very well.
The new hinges in conjunction with the internal steel framework is proving to be flawless.
On the torsion system we are not seeing any problems. The immediate reaction here seems to be to compare the Habitat system to the FlipPac and make the assumption they are the same. None of the parts are the same, and the design is different in many ways. A serious amount of design and engineering went into this, cudos here to UMV, SoCal Teardrops, and AT. Three very capable companies putting there collective thinking caps on.
UMV is ready to move ahead with the tent construction, and we are waiting to hear from Nemo on their version of the tent. If I was to offer any personal advise, it would be to go with the UMV tent as we don't have a firm delivery date on the Nemo version.
New issues. No negative ones. The Third prototype has been on numerous Jeep Jamborees so it's been put through it's paces off road. It's also been over the Rubicon, again no issues. We are happy with this rendition.
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kb7our
Explorer
Ditto on the thanks and continued appreciation for the updates but most importantly, the hard work we know is going into this amazing creation.
I'm leaning toward the UMV tent myself and so am looking forward to seeing exterior and internal pics showing the latest refinements. Also curious if UMV expects to provide an awning/canopy option.
Looking forward to another drive up to Prescott soon!
I'm leaning toward the UMV tent myself and so am looking forward to seeing exterior and internal pics showing the latest refinements. Also curious if UMV expects to provide an awning/canopy option.
Looking forward to another drive up to Prescott soon!
lx450landcruiser
Explorer
kb7our
Explorer
:box:
What's the latest estimate for getting Habitat's in the hands of early adopters with the UMV V2.1 tent? Looking forward to some pics of the tent fit and finish detail as have been shared here from OE11 with the Nemo version in order to make a decision to pull the trigger now or wait until midyear 2012 (or later) for the Nemo version. John - looking forward to seeing the latest refinements. Would also be nice to know when the final Nemo is submitted for manufacturing to get an idea when the 6-7 mos windows starts plus how much additional time to actually get the tent mounted on a Habitat and "delivered" (probably add a few months?) - 4Q12 maybe?
Thanks Habitat Team!
What's the latest estimate for getting Habitat's in the hands of early adopters with the UMV V2.1 tent? Looking forward to some pics of the tent fit and finish detail as have been shared here from OE11 with the Nemo version in order to make a decision to pull the trigger now or wait until midyear 2012 (or later) for the Nemo version. John - looking forward to seeing the latest refinements. Would also be nice to know when the final Nemo is submitted for manufacturing to get an idea when the 6-7 mos windows starts plus how much additional time to actually get the tent mounted on a Habitat and "delivered" (probably add a few months?) - 4Q12 maybe?
Thanks Habitat Team!
DingusKahn
Adventurer
Delays
I agree kb7. I can handle missing this summer not having a Habitat. But I ain't gonna miss another summer. In fact, I will be SORELY disapointed if I don't have it by Overland Expo 12. but it sounds like they are getting close.
The last email update was encouraging.
I agree kb7. I can handle missing this summer not having a Habitat. But I ain't gonna miss another summer. In fact, I will be SORELY disapointed if I don't have it by Overland Expo 12. but it sounds like they are getting close.
The last email update was encouraging.
Ursa Minor
Active member
Racks
No - Aside from the weight (which for a bare rack is about 14 lbs for a typical Thule mounting/towers/bars) the issue with installing a rack is the cap of the shell is a composite sandwich with internal open spaces to reduce weight. This structure may not be able to to take the compression of the bolts that would secure a rack depending on where you drill.
If you want to throw a kayak/canoe up there for a trip, it would be better to go with foam pads, for bikes a tray style on a hitch receiver may be the way to go.
No - Aside from the weight (which for a bare rack is about 14 lbs for a typical Thule mounting/towers/bars) the issue with installing a rack is the cap of the shell is a composite sandwich with internal open spaces to reduce weight. This structure may not be able to to take the compression of the bolts that would secure a rack depending on where you drill.
If you want to throw a kayak/canoe up there for a trip, it would be better to go with foam pads, for bikes a tray style on a hitch receiver may be the way to go.
Ursa Minor
Active member
Awning, Tent
Hang tight, I am working on both the tent AND a numbe of other integral components as we start building the production shells. I'll get photos as soon as things are worthy of posting.
I have not considered designing any sort of awning/canopy primarly due to lack of time...
cheers, John
Hang tight, I am working on both the tent AND a numbe of other integral components as we start building the production shells. I'll get photos as soon as things are worthy of posting.
I have not considered designing any sort of awning/canopy primarly due to lack of time...
cheers, John
kb7our
Explorer
Thanks, John! We know the Habitat is not UMVs only product and there are other things you need to spend time on. If I still had my Element (traded in manual to get daughter an automatic Jeep Patriot a few years ago) I WOULD have your camper top on it today. I say this because if the UMV Habitat tent V2.1 is similar to your ECAMPER fit and finish (pretty darn schweet as I have seen one close up) then I will be happy to own one for some AZ desert winter camping hopefully soon. Based on the Nemo timeframe estimate provided on this thread and not my own, although this version seems still a ways off and unlikely to make OE12 delivery, at some not too distant date the timeline on the two tents will converge sufficiently that the decision to wait out the Nemo may override actual usage time going with UMV 2.1. Nothing you don't already know. Obviously you haven't resolved the personal cloning need you mentioned earlier in the thread.
AZUnlimited
Adventurer
Does anyone know if the Habitat will be able to support a traditional awning/canopy? Fiamma, Hannibal, Foxwing??