Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

I made a mount for the spigot.

I could have mounted the spigot right in the countertop but doing it the way I did allows it to come apart with no tools to make it easy to store.

Next I'll install the sink panel in the Trail Kitchen and test the entire setup in the Jeep, but I've got to get the kitchen back first - I lent it to the company to give the engineers an example to use for their production engineering. I should have it back in about 10 days.

I'm also working on sourcing quick disconnects for the hoses, and finding a hose that's a little more flexible than the clear vinyl hose I've been using.

 

[jscherb]

...

My suggestion of the molle panel located above the battery would give a mounting location for the all those dials & LED readouts and plug ins...

Following up on this suggestion, here are two images to show the size of the Powertank mount relative to the existing components in the Jeep. The red dashed line is at the top of the battery box.

A quick and crude photo-edit:

There is a small bit of the Powertank Molle panel above the battery box, but anything mounted there would prevent removing the cover of the battery box.

Seems like a no-go.

 

[jscherb]

Scherb.

You've done well with limited & crude images which I presented to you. However, you're taking for granted that the molle bracket can't me moved or relocated. In the images of the molle panel mounted on the sports bar, it shows the panel mounted on the inside of the sport bar rails.. one can invert these mounting hardware and place the molle panel on the outside of the sports bar as this would place the working LED readout in more of a relative and accessible location.

Even though I threw an image of your LED read out onto the Molle panel, it could be turned horizontal as to accommodate for the addition of any plugs there after. Otherwise you've proved to me that this setup can & will work to suit our needs, even though you may have doubts. Also, because of the safari hard top design, one can mount another power bank which could then be accessible from outside the vehicle via the louver rear windows. Again don't view the picture for or how it's been mounted to the sports bar as supplied by the Powertank image. This molle panel can be repositioned inside & outside the sports bar, flipped upside down etc. Even incorporate two panels into one area for multiple mounting locations.

Even if the Powertank product could be cut and modified to work, it doesn't make sense to me to cut and modify a $130 product to replace mounting solutions that cost a dollar or two. Or to design something that requires restricting the side window when it isn't necessary.

If you don't like my current mounting location for the power panel there are several other locations it could be mounted out of the way and those mounting solutions also each cost a dollar or two. I'll probably make a prototype of one or more of them in the process of testing the full kitchen.

Jeff

 

[jscherb]

Someone over in my trailer thread mentioned the idea of using my TrailTop components on an M1101 trailer, so I just had to draw a trailer concept for them, and of course I added an appropriately painted Safari Cab. Just had to share it here...

 

[jscherb]

A final piece of the sink plumbing - quick disconnects so the sink and water source can be removed, and also so other accessories like the hose nozzle can be quickly swapped in place. I found some very nice ones that are very affordable, and they've got a shutoff feature so water won't leak when they're disconnected. I'll be contacting the manufacturer on Tuesday to get some samples coming my way.

 

[jscherb]

The sample quick disconnects for the Trail Kitchen water connections have arrived. In this photo a female shutoff connector is at the top, a female open connector is in the middle, and a male open barb connector is at the bottom. They fit 3/8" I.D. hose, which is what the pump connections are and what the sink connection is, so everything is compatible.

I put shutoff connectors on the output and inputs of the pump and I'm using open barbs on the water source and the sink. I think a shutoff connector isn't needed on the sink, when you remove the sink you can just let that hose drain on the ground (or down the sink drain). Same with the water source, when you're pulling the Rotopax or Rubican to fill it the short piece of hose in the cap will go with the container and not need to be sealed. If this works out differently in practice, all of the connectors can be the shutoff variety, it's just a small cost difference.

This video shows the Rotopax water source connection and the output connection for the sink and hose.


I'd like to find a more flexible hose than the clear vinyl I've been using for testing. Maybe I'll find something in the RV surplus outlets I'll be stopping by next week during my trip to Indiana.

 

[MattJ]

Looks great Jeff - can you tell us the name of the company that makes the quick disconnect fittings? I'm thinking I should add one to my plumbing on the AEV rear bumper water tank if they make a T-junction with a shutoff feature!

 

[jscherb]

Looks great Jeff - can you tell us the name of the company that makes the quick disconnect fittings? I'm thinking I should add one to my plumbing on the AEV rear bumper water tank if they make a T-junction with a shutoff feature!

The samples I've got are made by United States Plastic Corp.; I just checked and the line does not include a tee fitting.

 

[jscherb]

I finally had a few minutes to put together a prototype for the Ammo Can Air project.

Background: I've wanted to do something with on board air for a while, so in November at the SEMA Show I talked to a compressor manufacturer about the project and they provided me with a sample compressor and air tank. I've got several ideas for permanent mounting of the compressor in the Jeep, but first I wanted to do a portable solution, partly to get some experience with the compressor to help me with the design of the other mounts and wiring.

For this first prototype I've mounted the compressor on a base that fits inside a Fat50 ammo can. There's enough room in the can for the jumper cables to connect the compressor to the Jeep's battery and a 25' coiled air line.

I haven't done a cover to protect the wiring yet but that's part of the plan.

It's wired with a pressure cutoff switch - the switch is closed up to 115 psi, then it opens and shuts the compressor off. When the pressure drops below 90 psi, the switch closes and the compressor starts up again. When it's first connected to the battery it'll run a few seconds until pressure is built up in the hose and then it will shut down until air is used. In this video it's already been powered up and pressurized, so the compressor isn't running as the video starts. As I put air into the tire the compressor starts up:


For an initial prototype I'm pleased with it, but I believe the compressor performance is being limited by the jumper cables. I bought an ultra-cheap set at a surplus outlet just to have something to get started with and when I cut the ends off and stripped the insulation I was shocked to find what's probably 16-gauge copper wire at the core. No way you'd ever pass enough current through that to jump a car, and even passing the 20+ amps that the compressor requires will cause significant power loss, so next I'll be doing some voltage and current measurements and replacing the cables with something appropriately sized to the compressor's needs.

It works as it is though and shows a lot of promise, now on to the finer details.

 

[jscherb]

Along with the compressor that the company at SEMA provided me for testing, they provided a 2-gallon air tank. I've set up the tank so it can be connected to the ammo can compressor with a short air hose so I can test performance with and without a tank. Once I swap the joke jumper cables for some wire that can carry the necessary current I'll do more testing and then decide about on-board mount designs for the compressor and maybe the tank.

I've got some heavier cable on the way so testing will resume as soon as I replace the joke jumper cables.

 

[jscherb]

Latest project, haven't posted much about it in this thread but since it's an "accessory" for the Jeep here are a few photos...

 

[MattJ]

Looks great - any pictures of the interior ready to show yet?

 

[jscherb]

Looks great - any pictures of the interior ready to show yet?

Mostly the interior is empty at this point, but there are some photos of the interior and the plan for installing the Trail Kitchen in my trailer thread starting here: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...per-building-components?p=2415948#post2415948

 

[Comanche Scott]

Very nice! :drool:
How awesome would this top be if it had an electric Moon roof! :victory:
Put it on a timer to close. Then kick back and watch the stars before drifting off to sleep, somewhere outside Moab, UT...
Man, I need a vacation.

 

[jscherb]

I spent the morning at MORryde today meeting with the product engineers and the sales/marketing people. Lots to report...

- JK HD door hinges. We blessed the final preproduction versions to go into production so they'll be available very soon.

- Overland Rack. Reviewed the changes the engineers made after the first prototype they were showing at SEMA. Product looks great and they expect it will be available for sale in time for them to have final product available at Easter Jeep Safari.

- Trail Kitchen. Reviewed their 3D CAD model for their production design. They've made some improvements to my design that I really like and we also discussed several additional options for it including the powered sink I've been working on. I also reviewed my designs for the Trail Kitchen Power Panel and Charging Option with them, and they'll be moving forward with those. I brought the two Power Panels I prototyped to show them and they wanted to move so quickly on them that they kept one of my prototypes even though there was more work I needed to do on it. Their goal is to have The kitchen for sale by Easter Jeep Safari, or at the very least will be showing the final production version in their booth at the EJS Vendor Expo.

Speaking of shows, in addition to the EJS Vendor Expo at the end of March, they're likely to be an exhibitor at Overland Expo West to show the new overland and kitchen products. If they do that show I'll probably attend it as well. I told them they can use my JKU Safari in the show and I'd use that as an excuse to plan a short camping trip after the show. If that happens I'll have my Jeep outfitted with all the overland gear; hopefully I'll see some of you there.