Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

Update on a few projects...

Flat Fenders - the cardboard mockups are now in the recycling bin, having served their purpose to check form, shape and proportions, and as tracing templates for making the mold master parts. I'll post photos of the masters as soon as I get a few details done and get a coat of primer on them, hopefully by the end of the week.

Tactical Spare Cover - I'm told the first production run is officially underway. The colors for the first run will be black and "Coyote 498". It took longer than expected to start the production because it took a while to source the right Coyote at the right price. Apparently there have been several "official" shades of Coyote used by the military; some are known as Coyote Brown, some as tan, and the shades are all over the place from different suppliers. The current milspec color is called Coyote 498; finding Coyote 498 at a good price took some time, but it's done and everything's in the sewing company's hands now. As soon as the sewing company gives the Jeep accessories company a delivery date and they tell me, I'll let everyone know.

Overland Rack - prototype is done and uninstalled from my Jeep in preparation for installing it on a Jeep that will be in a booth at the Vendor Expo at Easter Jeep Safari. I'm planning to drive the LJ Safari to EJS, so it won't be my JK in the Vendor Expo.

 

[akpostal]

If there is a company willing to do a prototype/concept of the Overland Rack Ild be willing to pay for a lower version as I dont run the spare. With the tray an inch above the tailgate.

Im going to be getting the tailgate hinges you designed, preferably the wide swing ones.

It needs to warm up a bit for me to start trying my hand on a interior spare mount to the sport cage. Not having a garage or even a carport kinda sets things aside.

 

[jscherb]

If there is a company willing to do a prototype/concept of the Overland Rack I'd be willing to pay for a lower version as I dont run the spare. With the tray an inch above the tailgate.

Im going to be getting the tailgate hinges you designed, preferably the wide swing ones.

It needs to warm up a bit for me to start trying my hand on a interior spare mount to the sport cage. Not having a garage or even a carport kinda sets things aside.

You don't need a custom version of my Overland Rack - a rack like the one you're describing can be built very simply with off-the shelf parts and nothing more than a drill and a few wrenches.

Supplies you'll need:

• MORryde Tailgate Reinforcement and HD Hinges (I highly recommend the reinforcement as well as the hinges; the reinforcement would provide plenty of weight capacity - you've seen my video of the 225-lb. gorilla test )
• One pair of Rockler 15" x 21" shelf brackets or equivalent (http://www.rockler.com/heavy-duty-steel-shelf-brackets-black-finish). These brackets are made from 1/8" steel and powder coated, they're very sturdy and would also look good in this application.
• A hitch rack basket, Harbor Freight 60771 or equivalent (http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...lb-capacity-aluminum-cargo-carrier-60771.html). The HF basket is almost 4' wide and might be a bit wide for this application so you might try to find a slightly smaller one. I used the HF basket on the prototype Overland Rack but I resized it to tailgate width and about 17" deep; that can be done with a hacksaw and a pop-riveter. I can describe the process if you decide to use the HF rack and resize it.
• Some hardware store items such as a pair of mending plates and some bolts/nuts/washers (8mm is required for the spare carrier holes, the others can be whatever size you want - 5/16 is a good size for this application)

How to:

1. One of the shelf brackets gets bolted to the hinges. This is done with a flat piece of steel slipped inside each hinge; you'd drill appropriate holes in the shelf brackets and the piece of steel and bolt them together, sandwiching the hinge between. Any home center or hardware store would have appropriate flat steel, typically called a mending plate, they're maybe 1" x 5" zinc plated with maybe 4 holes in them.

2. The second shelf bracket bolts in place of the spare carrier. Appropriate holes to be drilled in the bracket to match the hole spacing of the spare carrier bolt holes (which accept 8mm bolts).

3. The rack basket, minus the receiver tube, gets bolted to the top of the brackets. Appropriate holes to be drilled in the basket and brackets.

Here's an anim I hacked together using the images on the Rockler and HF website (BTW the shelf brackets come in a left/right pair but there's only a photo of the left bracket on their site so I used two lefts in this amim).

The wide-swing hinges are only in production so far for the TJ. I've made prototype wide-swing hinges for the JK but I haven't decided if there would be enough demand for them to recommend to MORryde that they put them in production. Anyway the standard-swing HD hinges would work fine in this application.

 

[jscherb]

Update on a few projects...

Flat Fenders - the cardboard mockups are now in the recycling bin, having served their purpose to check form, shape and proportions, and as tracing templates for making the mold master parts. I'll post photos of the masters as soon as I get a few details done and get a coat of primer on them, hopefully by the end of the week.

Tactical Spare Cover - I'm told the first production run is officially underway. The colors for the first run will be black and "Coyote 498". It took longer than expected to start the production because it took a while to source the right Coyote at the right price. Apparently there have been several "official" shades of Coyote used by the military; some are known as Coyote Brown, some as tan, and the shades are all over the place from different suppliers. The current milspec color is called Coyote 498; finding Coyote 498 at a good price took some time, but it's done and everything's in the sewing company's hands now. As soon as the sewing company gives the Jeep accessories company a delivery date and they tell me, I'll let everyone know.

Overland Rack - prototype is done and uninstalled from my Jeep in preparation for installing it on a Jeep that will be in a booth at the Vendor Expo at Easter Jeep Safari. I'm planning to drive the LJ Safari to EJS, so it won't be my JK in the Vendor Expo.

BTW the company just confirmed to me that they plan to retail the Tactical Spare Cover for $99.99. The product is being made in the USA, the sewing company is in Elkhart, Indiana.

And just for the record, I did the Tactical Spare Cover project for the company as a hobby project - I didn't ask for, nor will I receive, any compensation for it other than perhaps a free sample or two. Also I am not an employee of the company. For me the project was all about having fun with my hobby.

 

[TrailBadger]

You're a good soul Jeff always enjoy your topics..

 

[jscherb]

Update on a few projects...
...

Tactical Spare Cover - I'm told the first production run is officially underway. The colors for the first run will be black and "Coyote 498". It took longer than expected to start the production because it took a while to source the right Coyote at the right price. Apparently there have been several "official" shades of Coyote used by the military; some are known as Coyote Brown, some as tan, and the shades are all over the place from different suppliers. The current milspec color is called Coyote 498; finding Coyote 498 at a good price took some time, but it's done and everything's in the sewing company's hands now. As soon as the sewing company gives the Jeep accessories company a delivery date and they tell me, I'll let everyone know.

...

One other thing I forgot to mention - the company told me last night that there will be a limited number of Tactical Spare Covers done in olive drab in both 32" and 35" sizes in the first run, so the color choices are black, Coyote 498 and olive drab.

 

[Comanche Scott]

That's great news.
I'm looking forward to ordering two of the tire covers.

 

[akpostal]

You don't need a custom version of my Overland Rack - a rack like the one you're describing can be built very simply with off-the shelf parts and nothing more than a drill and a few wrenches.

Supplies you'll need:

• MORryde Tailgate Reinforcement and HD Hinges (I highly recommend the reinforcement as well as the hinges; the reinforcement would provide plenty of weight capacity - you've seen my video of the 225-lb. gorilla test )
• One pair of Rockler 15" x 21" shelf brackets or equivalent (http://www.rockler.com/heavy-duty-steel-shelf-brackets-black-finish). These brackets are made from 1/8" steel and powder coated, they're very sturdy and would also look good in this application.
• A hitch rack basket, Harbor Freight 60771 or equivalent (http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...lb-capacity-aluminum-cargo-carrier-60771.html). The HF basket is almost 4' wide and might be a bit wide for this application so you might try to find a slightly smaller one. I used the HF basket on the prototype Overland Rack but I resized it to tailgate width and about 17" deep; that can be done with a hacksaw and a pop-riveter. I can describe the process if you decide to use the HF rack and resize it.
• Some hardware store items such as a pair of mending plates and some bolts/nuts/washers (8mm is required for the spare carrier holes, the others can be whatever size you want - 5/16 is a good size for this application)

How to:

1. One of the shelf brackets gets bolted to the hinges. This is done with a flat piece of steel slipped inside each hinge; you'd drill appropriate holes in the shelf brackets and the piece of steel and bolt them together, sandwiching the hinge between. Any home center or hardware store would have appropriate flat steel, typically called a mending plate, they're maybe 1" x 5" zinc plated with maybe 4 holes in them.

2. The second shelf bracket bolts in place of the spare carrier. Appropriate holes to be drilled in the bracket to match the hole spacing of the spare carrier bolt holes (which accept 8mm bolts).

3. The rack basket, minus the receiver tube, gets bolted to the top of the brackets. Appropriate holes to be drilled in the basket and brackets.

Here's an anim I hacked together using the images on the Rockler and HF website (BTW the shelf brackets come in a left/right pair but there's only a photo of the left bracket on their site so I used two lefts in this amim).

Thank you sir. For those prices that looks even better for what I want.

 

[jscherb]

Thank you sir. For those prices that looks even better for what I want.

If you catch the HF rack during a good sale, or use this one (http://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-deluxe-cargo-carrier-66983.html) with one of their 20% off coupons, you can probably build the rack for around $100, or a few bucks more if you have to pay shipping to get the components.

BTW I have a smaller version of the same Rockler brackets here - the ones I have are 8x12 and work very well for making jerry/ammo can mounts for the tailgate.

They're a perfect size, all it takes is drilling an extra hole or two in them to match up to the holes in the hinges.

They would work for mounting an ammo can, they're shown here with a 30 cal ammo can tray:

Or a jerry can. The jerry can tray in the photos below is available, so there's no fabrication involved, just drilling a few holes in the bracket and the tray.

 

[akpostal]

Looking at those shelf brackets I can use the the bolts of the tire carrier alone right and left and not interfere with my license plate and light . Throwing my cooler and ammo cans on the rack Ill still want the heavy duty hinges.

If the rack was left full width do you think it would hit the body or top when the gate is fully opened?

I know it seems counter intuitive to mount the spare upright in the back of the cab but the cooler and any other equipment can take up more floor space.

 

[jscherb]

Looking at those shelf brackets I can use the the bolts of the tire carrier alone right and left and not interfere with my license plate and light . Throwing my cooler and ammo cans on the rack Ill still want the heavy duty hinges.

You could just mount the brackets on the spare carrier bolts, but I'd still recommend putting one of the brackets on the hinges - having the bracket spacing wider will result in the rack being more stable under load. It also moves the center of the load support closer to the hinges, so there's less leverage at work under load.

If the rack was left full width do you think it would hit the body or top when the gate is fully opened?

As long as the right side of the rack isn't further right than the tailgate hinge pins, it shouldn't hit the body when it's open. In any case, if it does contact the body or tail light, mount the basket slightly to the left.

As for interfering with the liftgate, the rack has to be a certain distance out from the tailgate. What I'd do it mount the brackets and then set the basket on the brackets without bolting it in place. Open the tailgate and swing the liftgate open and if the basket is in the way, move it out on the brackets a bit and then drill and bolt it to the brackets.

I know it seems counter intuitive to mount the spare upright in the back of the cab but the cooler and any other equipment can take up more floor space.

You should do what works for you and not worry whether people get it or not .

 

[akpostal]

Thank you for the links and tips.

Still looking forward to the JK window sliders.


The idea for mounting the spare in the cab is really simple using unistrut.

ETA: What if two sets of brackets were used 90 degrees apart using just the spare tire bolts to brace the rack? I may have to cut some of the bracket bracing to clear my license plate holder.

 

[jscherb]

...ETA: What if two sets of brackets were used 90 degrees apart using just the spare tire bolts to brace the rack? I may have to cut some of the bracket bracing to clear my license plate holder.

I don't think I understand what you're asking, sorry.

 

[akpostal]

One bracket goes out to support the basket and the other bracket goes to the side for bracing, per side.

I suck at graphics, Im ordering parts either tomorrow or over the weekend. Ill post pics when done. As long as the weather is in the 20s it shouldnt take to long.

ETA: Now Im looking at ammo cans and maybe a new cooler.

 

[KD702]

Well our idea of get away is leaving everything behind. So dragging a flat screen along for the ride then setting it up after your arrive to your destination isn't my idea of enjoyment.. We're simple folk who just want to sit and watch nature go by and not have to watch it on a television/monitor unless I'm editing a video. So in this respect, I guys a side mount system like Jeff posted would be useful when nothing's mounted on that would end up getting in the way. Save this space for later I suppose.

Hey to each their own......But it was a joke, I too leave most of the electronic world behind every chance I get. If it is 2 weeks in the Mt of Idaho I have a GPS and cameras....If it is a week long Canoe trip in the Q or BWCA, the only thing that runs on any electronics is the camera. but for those that are out on a month long drive across the Alcan highway, working slowly and enjoying the trip may...and I say may want a movie night......to each their own