Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

I'd feel mighty flattered if Jeep engineers were inspired by something I did.
:beer:

I'll let you know when I get a thank-you note from them .

While I didn't invent any of the features in question - all have been used on other vehicles in the past, it is curious how things like the barn door, side-mount jerry can carriers, and the features I listed yesterday from this year's concepts all showed up after they had been implemented on my Safari Cabs. Probably just a coincidence, great minds thinking alike, whatever.

 

[jscherb]

The "free sample" Dometic fridge in the back of the JKU; I'm about to begin working on design ideas for mounting it - slides/shelves, etc. I've got a swivel idea I want to try out too.

 

[jscherb]

A few weeks ago I showed how I installed a spigot in a Rubican water container. I wrote about needing a vent in the container to ensure smooth flow of water and posted a photo of a vent I ordered, but the vent hadn't arrived before I had to leave for Easter Jeep Safari. The vent has arrived, here are some photos of it installed and a video showing dispensing water...

 

[Jurfie]

I'll let you know when I get a thank-you note from them .

While I didn't invent any of the features in question - all have been used on other vehicles in the past, it is curious how things like the barn door, side-mount jerry can carriers, and the features I listed yesterday from this year's concepts all showed up after they had been implemented on my Safari Cabs. Probably just a coincidence, great minds thinking alike, whatever.

Probably scared you'd seek royalties.

 

[jscherb]

Probably scared you'd seek royalties.

Hard to collect royalties on something that'll never see the light of day on a production Jeep .

 

[akpostal]

Finally got the Morryde HD hinges installed. They dont open as wide as the stock hinges do, the rear glass rubs on the rack.

Im gonna have to push the rack out before putting in the third bracket for the rack.

 

[akpostal]

Why in the hell run the hinges if you dont have anything hanging off the gate?

Could the gate and glass even be fully opened with the antenna in the way?

ETA: How do I get a Morryde sticker?

 

[jscherb]

Finally got the Morryde HD hinges installed. They dont open as wide as the stock hinges do, the rear glass rubs on the rack.

Im gonna have to push the rack out before putting in the third bracket for the rack.

There have been several revisions of the factory hinges over the years. Jeep issued a TSB several years ago about the tailgate stop rod pulling out of the socket on later models. The tailgate stop rod is a marginal design and if the hinge opens slightly too far the stop rod can pull out, part of the fix in that TSB was to install new rev hinges to replace the originals which may open too far for the stop rod. Two different revs of factory hinges:

The MORryde hinges open a proper amount so that the stop rod won't be a problem.

Why in the hell run the hinges if you dont have anything hanging off the gate?

Even without a load on the tailgate, the factory hinges will eventually begin to sag. The design is inadequate - the steel hinge pin swings in just two sections of 3/16"-thick steel, so eventually even without much use or weight the steel-on-steel factory hinge pin will rust, wear and sag.

Since the MORryde hinges have a stainless steel hinge pin running in 2" of bronze bushing and are greasable they won't have this problem.

Some people install the MORryde hinges just because they like the look though .

Could the gate and glass even be fully opened with the antenna in the way?

Doubtful. This Jeep is owned by someone from Aries, I guess they really wanted to fly that Aries flag at EJS.

ETA: How do I get a Morryde sticker?

Don't know if MORryde stickers actually exist, but you could contact ryan.wertz@morryde.com and ask.

 

[jscherb]

I'm researching fridge installation options. Dometic sells a slide (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dometic-cfx-slide-cfx-sld3540us-for-cfx-35-cfx-40), but according to specs I find it only extends the fridge 24", which is ok but a double extension slide might be more useful.

It turns out MORryde sells a double-extension slide that should be perfect for this fridge, it's their SP56-132 model: http://www.morryde.com/products/92-freezer-sliding-trays

I sent an email to MORryde them to send me one of those slides to test, when it arrives I'll get serious about the fridge project .

 

[rubicon91]

I'm researching fridge installation options. Dometic sells a slide (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dometic-cfx-slide-cfx-sld3540us-for-cfx-35-cfx-40), but according to specs I find it only extends the fridge 24", which is ok but a double extension slide might be more useful.

It turns out MORryde sells a double-extension slide that should be perfect for this fridge, it's their SP56-132 model: http://www.morryde.com/products/92-freezer-sliding-trays

Oh wow that is interesting. I didnt know they had that. I would love mine to go out a tad further than it does as my cargo tray above it does not allow me to open the lid all the way so i have to take it off each time I want something out of there. Not a huge PITA but still a PITA with my ARB 50qt. Hard to tell on the website Jeff but is that pic that they show the only way the fridge could sit? I would need it rotated as shown in the pic here.

 

[jscherb]

Oh wow that is interesting. I didnt know they had that. I would love mine to go out a tad further than it does as my cargo tray above it does not allow me to open the lid all the way so i have to take it off each time I want something out of there. Not a huge PITA but still a PITA with my ARB 50qt. Hard to tell on the website Jeff but is that pic that they show the only way the fridge could sit? I would need it rotated as shown in the pic here.

The photo on the MORryde site is of their SP56-115 slide; the SP56-132 slide I asked them to send me does go the other way.

I'm hoping they'll get the slide to me before May 4 - I have to go to Boston then for Alex's graduation and from Boston I'm driving to Florida. If I get the slide in time I'll make the drive with the fridge and slide in place and you can see it when I get to Florida.

 

[rubicon91]

The photo on the MORryde site is of their SP56-115 slide; the SP56-132 slide I asked them to send me does go the other way.

I'm hoping they'll get the slide to me before May 4 - I have to go to Boston then for Alex's graduation and from Boston I'm driving to Florida. If I get the slide in time I'll make the drive with the fridge and slide in place and you can see it when I get to Florida.

Sweet sounds great! Thanks Jeff.

 

[akpostal]

There have been several revisions of the factory hinges over the years. Jeep issued a TSB several years ago about the tailgate stop rod pulling out of the socket on later models. The tailgate stop rod is a marginal design and if the hinge opens slightly too far the stop rod can pull out, part of the fix in that TSB was to install new rev hinges to replace the originals which may open too far for the stop rod. Two different revs of factory hinges:

The MORryde hinges open a proper amount so that the stop rod won't be a problem.

I gotta say the install was easy and they are much beefier then the stock units. Very happy with the product. Ill push the rack out tomorrow and get the third bracket mounted.

I was going to mount my CB antenna to the rack, but thats not the best place for it. I plan on getting the driver side rotopack mount you designed, how comfortable would you feel about mounting a 102" steel whip on there?

 

[jscherb]

I gotta say the install was easy and they are much beefier then the stock units. Very happy with the product. Ill push the rack out tomorrow and get the third bracket mounted.

I was going to mount my CB antenna to the rack, but thats not the best place for it. I plan on getting the driver side rotopack mount you designed, how comfortable would you feel about mounting a 102" steel whip on there?

I don't have any experience with that type/length CB antenna, so I don't know what to say. Don't you normally bend the end of that type of antenna down and secure it to some other point on the vehicle? If so, where would it be secured? Anyway... the side mount has a 1/2" hole in the top for mounting the antenna, and it's very sturdy, so if the whip mounts to a 1/2" hole and the base isn't too wide it should be ok.

I've had a 48" fiberglass antenna mounted there and it worked out very well, it's installed in this photo:

 

[akpostal]

I ran a 102" whip on my Blazer and Postal Jeep on ball mounts, never tied it down. Ill run a 48" fiberglass antenna for offroad, the 102" will be for daily use.

I think the fender mount of yours should be more then sturdy enough for the 102".

ETA: Does the Rotopax mount work with the Rubican? I cant remember.