Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

I molded the second and third grilles some weeks ago but have been too busy to test-fit them on the Jeep until this morning. Here are a bunch of comparison photos. The new grilles haven't been painted yet and need a final fine trimming for fit, but these photos do show what the various options look like.

First, the factory grille (with aftermarket slot inserts):

The first grille out of the mold, painted and with mesh in the slots:

The second grille; 2 1/2" LED turn signals recessed flush with the face of the grille:

The third grille, factory turn signals recessed:

I think I'll paint one of the new ones for use on my Jeep, as soon as I decide which one I like best.

 

[jscherb]

Over the past few days I've been working on molds to make the outer shells for fiberglass JK half door uppers with slider windows. These are the molds prepped and ready to make parts:

Yesterday I molded two front shells and one rear shell for fiberglass JK half door uppers. The rear shell can be used on either side I only made one mold which means I can only mold one of those at a time. They've only been preliminarily trimmed to remove the sharp edges of the fiberglass, they'll be trimmed to exact size during assembly.

I'm doing these as a "hard shell retrofit kit", which means that these fiberglass outer shells replace the fabric shell/vinyl window on the factory uppers. The modified upper retains what's good about the factory uppers - great fit and excellent weather resistance, while providing a paintable hard shell exterior with a slider window.

By the end of the week I should have the complete uppers assembled and ready for testing on a Jeep with half doors.

 

[Bobzdar]

The trail kitchen looks amazing, going to try retrofitting one to my JL when it's available. I do most of my cooking on a fold up camp kitchen as it is, but one that slides in nicely like that and allows a fridge/cooler above it would be ideal.

 

[jscherb]

The trail kitchen looks amazing, going to try retrofitting one to my JL when it's available. I do most of my cooking on a fold up camp kitchen as it is, but one that slides in nicely like that and allows a fridge/cooler above it would be ideal.

Thank you very much.

The company plans to do a no-drill installation kit for the JK. The last I heard they were looking for someone with a JL they could use for measurements and test fitting, I don't know if they've found anyone yet.

I heard the other day that the first production run of the Trail Kitchen has been completed, so release is imminent. They've made a few minor dimensional changes to the production version so they'll be sending me one as soon as I get back from an upcoming trip; I've got a few more accessory designs to do and I want to make sure I do them with the production dimensions.

 

[Bobzdar]

Thank you very much.

The company plans to do a no-drill installation kit for the JK. The last I heard they were looking for someone with a JL they could use for measurements and test fitting, I don't know if they've found anyone yet.

I heard the other day that the first production run of the Trail Kitchen has been completed, so release is imminent. They've made a few minor dimensional changes to the production version so they'll be sending me one as soon as I get back from an upcoming trip; I've got a few more accessory designs to do and I want to make sure I do them with the production dimensions.

Are they planning on making your extension table and sink add-ons? The modularity of it is great. I like the cupboard idea you posted earlier as well, would make it easy to store utensils and spices/rubs right with the kitchen. I'd been debating making a chuck box to carry all of my stuff, but I like the ability to just slide it out and then back in to stow, as opposed to unlashing everything, taking it out, setting up and then the reverse. That's fine if staying in one spot for a few days, but if you're just spending the night that's time that could be better spent.

If they're anywhere near central VA, they could borrow my JL for a couple of days to test fit.

 

[jscherb]

Are they planning on making your extension table and sink add-ons? The modularity of it is great. I like the cupboard idea you posted earlier as well, would make it easy to store utensils and spices/rubs right with the kitchen. I'd been debating making a chuck box to carry all of my stuff, but I like the ability to just slide it out and then back in to stow, as opposed to unlashing everything, taking it out, setting up and then the reverse. That's fine if staying in one spot for a few days, but if you're just spending the night that's time that could be better spent.

If they're anywhere near central VA, they could borrow my JL for a couple of days to test fit.

The company is planning to offer a range of options for the kitchen and the sink is on the list - they included it in their display at Overland West a few months ago (photo from the event below - I cooked lunch for everyone and my reward was to wash the dishes ). I just recently sent them the design details for the extension table and they seemed very impressed with it so I'd say that's a likely option as well. I'm overdue to meet with them to review status of the options and plans for the product so at the moment I'm a little out of date.

I'll be building the prototype drawer unit in a few weeks when I get back from an upcoming trip. Once the prototype is done, we'll see how people react to it and then the company will decide whether to offer something similar as an option. If they don't then either I or they will probably release DIY plans for it.

MORryde is in Elkhart, Indiana, probably not close enough to central VA to make it convenient for you or them to use your JL to help with the JL mount design.

 

[Bobzdar]

Thanks for the update, I'll be on the lookout for it! Looking forward to seeing what the drawer unit looks like.

 

[jscherb]

Today I finished basic assembly of a complete set of JK/JKU hard upper half doors, in this photo they're freshly painted "hardtop black". I'll do final assembly (installation of slider windows and reinstallation of the factory weatherstrip) tomorrow morning and then I'll call them done.

 

[jscherb]

This is the finished set of "factory" fiberglass hard shell upper half doors - they are what I'm calling a "hard shell retrofit kit" - the inner shells and weatherstrip are Jeep factory parts; I removed the fabric skin and replaced it with a hard fiberglass outer skin and tinted slider windows. I've painted them "hardtop black", but being fiberglass they could be painted body color or any other color.

Since I don't have half doors, I can't test these on my Jeep. I've been searching for a set but haven't managed to buy any yet.

 

[MattJ]

Another impressive project from The Wizard himself! Looks really good. And of course I like the reflection of your Jeep fleet in the windows in the first photo . . .

 

[jscherb]

Another impressive project from The Wizard himself! Looks really good. And of course I like the reflection of your Jeep fleet in the windows in the first photo . . .

Actually it was a genie in a bottle, not a wizard. I was polishing an old bottle and a genie came out and granted me one wish so I asked for hard upper half doors .

Seriously though, thanks. It was a fairly simple project actually once I figured out how to bond fiberglass to the slippery plastic the factory uppers are made from.

The reflections were a coincidence, although once I noticed them I adjusted the camera angle slightly to capture both Jeeps .

 

[rubicon91]

Oh man those uppers look amazing. Great Job Jeff!

 

[jscherb]

Oh man those uppers look amazing. Great Job Jeff!

Thanks Donny! I'll bring the fronts next time I come down, we can try them on your Jeep. If you get rear half doors by then I'll bring the rears too. I'll be there the week of Sept. 9, see you then.

 

[jscherb]

I spent most of February in India and posted lots of photos of Mahindra jeeps I spotted while on the trip. I'm back in India again, so here's another Mahindra, this one's a Thar in airport security service I spotted while at the Amritsar airport.

 

[jscherb]

Since I'm not an employee of any of the companies that bring things I've designed to market, I'm often out of the loop (that's a nice way of saying "forgotten") when the companies do things like press releases. I just received this one in email, it was released back in May. I hadn't seen this until yesterday.