Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

Many of the for-hire vehicles and OLA and UBER taxis here in India here have roof racks. It's a good idea since most of the taxis are what we'd consider a subcompact so there's not much room for 2-3 passengers and luggage. Pretty much all of the racks are similar to the one pictured below - simple aluminum extrusions, plastic mating pieces in the corners, and square stock for crossbars. I don't think I've seen any racks for Jeeps that look exactly like this and as I've been seeing these all over the place here I've been thinking it might be a good look on top of a JK/JKU - lightweight, low profile, probably low wind noise. Might even be a better look on some Jeeps if the aluminum was anodized black instead of being left natural.

The way it mounts to the Jeep would have to be designed specifically for the Jeep, but maybe it could be something like I've done on the Safari Cabs that ties the rack to the roll bar structure so no weight is borne by the fiberglass. Mounts could be designed so that the rack is just above the roof, unlike these where there's several inches of space between the rack and the roof.

Might be an interesting business idea for someone - track down a source for extrusions and corner pieces like these and turn them into a Jeep roof rack that doesn't require an exoskeleton/support down to the body. As far as I know these are made here in India but I've seen them all over Asia and I've got to think similar components could be found in the U.S.

Some concept drawings...

Raw aluminum:

Black:

With a load:

What do people think of the idea?

 

[Bobzdar]

Many of the for-hire vehicles and OLA and UBER taxis here in India here have roof racks. It's a good idea since most of the taxis are what we'd consider a subcompact so there's not much room for 2-3 passengers and luggage. Pretty much all of the racks are similar to the one pictured below - simple aluminum extrusions, plastic mating pieces in the corners, and square stock for crossbars. I don't think I've seen any racks for Jeeps that look exactly like this and as I've been seeing these all over the place here I've been thinking it might be a good look on top of a JK/JKU - lightweight, low profile, probably low wind noise. Might even be a better look on some Jeeps if the aluminum was anodized black instead of being left natural.

The way it mounts to the Jeep would have to be designed specifically for the Jeep, but maybe it could be something like I've done on the Safari Cabs that ties the rack to the roll bar structure so no weight is borne by the fiberglass. Mounts could be designed so that the rack is just above the roof, unlike these where there's several inches of space between the rack and the roof.

Might be an interesting business idea for someone - track down a source for extrusions and corner pieces like these and turn them into a Jeep roof rack that doesn't require an exoskeleton/support down to the body. As far as I know these are made here in India but I've seen them all over Asia and I've got to think similar components could be found in the U.S.

Some concept drawings...

Raw aluminum:

Black:

With a load:

What do people think of the idea?

I like the Rhino-rack backbone that adds supports that tie to the body sides where the hard top bolts in - so there's no issue with removing the hard top as the supports just stay right in the top. Their 3 mount system is apparently good for over 250lbs (dynamic) so static would probably be in the 700-800lbs region (ie easily enough for most RTT's and occupants). The mounts themselves are about level with the ridges on the roof so you could bolt something like the above directly to them rather than using the roof rack feet that raise it up.

http://www.rhinorack.com/rhino-rack-backbone

Waiting for the JL version.

Also, I think I'm going to order up the trail kitchen from Morryde, I got ahold of them and got dimensions, pricing etc., just need to call and find out the situation on the sink as right now it's not available and I'd rather wait on that than order the standard counter extension and then replace it when that comes out.

 

[jscherb]

I like the Rhino-rack backbone that adds supports that tie to the body sides where the hard top bolts in - so there's no issue with removing the hard top as the supports just stay right in the top. Their 3 mount system is apparently good for over 250lbs (dynamic) so static would probably be in the 700-800lbs region (ie easily enough for most RTT's and occupants). The mounts themselves are about level with the ridges on the roof so you could bolt something like the above directly to them rather than using the roof rack feet that raise it up.

http://www.rhinorack.com/rhino-rack-backbone

The way I designed the Safari Cab roof rack brackets, they can be removed with the hardtop - they bolt to factory holes in the roll bars, so to remove the hardtop, all that's necessary is the remove those bolts (and of course the bolts holding the hardtop to the tub). But the Rhino Rack method is a good way as well.

Also, I think I'm going to order up the trail kitchen from Morryde, I got ahold of them and got dimensions, pricing etc., just need to call and find out the situation on the sink as right now it's not available and I'd rather wait on that than order the standard counter extension and then replace it when that comes out.

I don't know the exact status of the sink option; several months ago I gave them all of the engineering details of the prototype and the sourcing of the components but they haven't given me an expected date for it yet - they don't always communicate these things to me and I've been traveling a lot and out of touch with them on the details, sorry.

 

[OregonJKU]

Also, I think I'm going to order up the trail kitchen from Morryde, I got ahold of them and got dimensions, pricing etc., just need to call and find out the situation on the sink as right now it's not available and I'd rather wait on that than order the standard counter extension and then replace it when that comes out.

Hi Bobzdar, did Morryde say the trail kitchen is now available to order? I checked their website and didn't find it.

 

[jscherb]

Hi Bobzdar, did Morryde say the trail kitchen is now available to order? I checked their website and didn't find it.

The latest info I have is that the first production run has been completed and the Trail Kitchen is in stock at MORryde. I'm told they have sent ordering information to their various resellers (like Retrofit Offroad, Extreme Terrain, etc.), but I do not know if any have been ordered/shipped from MORryde to the resellers. Since they are in stock you could probably buy one direct by contacting MORryde.

The only other current news I have is that MORryde is planning to send (or did send) a Kitchen to Retrofit Offroad; Retrofit is scheduled to be an exhibitor at the Smoky mountain Jeep Invasion and will have a Trail Kitchen on display in their Jeep there. That event is August 24/25 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

I emailed with them over the past few days to arrange for them to ship a production Trail Kitchen to me to arrive when I get back from India next week. I need to upgrade from my preproduction one because there have been a few minor dimensional changes between the preproduction Kitchen I have now and the production Kitchen; as soon as I'm back I'm scheduled to build prototypes of a few new options for the Kitchen and I need to do them on a production unit. I'll be posting details of the options projects as I do them, stay tuned.

 

[jscherb]

Many of the for-hire vehicles and OLA and UBER taxis here in India here have roof racks. It's a good idea since most of the taxis are what we'd consider a subcompact so there's not much room for 2-3 passengers and luggage. Pretty much all of the racks are similar to the one pictured below - simple aluminum extrusions, plastic mating pieces in the corners, and square stock for crossbars. I don't think I've seen any racks for Jeeps that look exactly like this and as I've been seeing these all over the place here I've been thinking it might be a good look on top of a JK/JKU - lightweight, low profile, probably low wind noise. Might even be a better look on some Jeeps if the aluminum was anodized black instead of being left natural.

The way it mounts to the Jeep would have to be designed specifically for the Jeep, but maybe it could be something like I've done on the Safari Cabs that ties the rack to the roll bar structure so no weight is borne by the fiberglass. Mounts could be designed so that the rack is just above the roof, unlike these where there's several inches of space between the rack and the roof.

Might be an interesting business idea for someone - track down a source for extrusions and corner pieces like these and turn them into a Jeep roof rack that doesn't require an exoskeleton/support down to the body. As far as I know these are made here in India but I've seen them all over Asia and I've got to think similar components could be found in the U.S.

Some concept drawings...

Raw aluminum:

Black:

With a load:

What do people think of the idea?

Here's another similar but slightly different extrusion-based roof rack that drove past today. Anyone else have any thoughts on the idea of a JK/JKU roof rack made using these components? I have someone that might be interested in pursuing the idea. This one is also pretty high off the roof, but I think the JK/JKU version should be made to hug the roof pretty closely.

 

[jscherb]

Spotted this contraption the other day on a Mahindra jeep in rural taxi service in Rajasthan. It seems to be fixed in sockets bolted to the tub, so not terribly convenient if you need to open the tailgate, but with a little different design a heavy-duty cargo net on the back like this seems like it could be useful sometimes. Maybe something hanging off the spare that could be stored inside when not in use and deployed when needed?

Thinking about this also gave me some other cargo net ideas that I haven't seen implemented in a Jeep yet, so I may make up a few prototypes of different net ideas.

 

[OregonJKU]

The latest info I have is that the first production run has been completed and the Trail Kitchen is in stock at MORryde. I'm told they have sent ordering information to their various resellers (like Retrofit Offroad, Extreme Terrain, etc.), but I do not know if any have been ordered/shipped from MORryde to the resellers. Since they are in stock you could probably buy one direct by contacting MORryde.

The only other current news I have is that MORryde is planning to send (or did send) a Kitchen to Retrofit Offroad; Retrofit is scheduled to be an exhibitor at the Smoky mountain Jeep Invasion and will have a Trail Kitchen on display in their Jeep there. That event is August 24/25 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

I emailed with them over the past few days to arrange for them to ship a production Trail Kitchen to me to arrive when I get back from India next week. I need to upgrade from my preproduction one because there have been a few minor dimensional changes between the preproduction Kitchen I have now and the production Kitchen; as soon as I'm back I'm scheduled to build prototypes of a few new options for the Kitchen and I need to do them on a production unit. I'll be posting details of the options projects as I do them, stay tuned.

Hi Jeff, OK thank you for the update.

 

[Bobzdar]

Hi Bobzdar, did Morryde say the trail kitchen is now available to order? I checked their website and didn't find it.

It's not on their website, I emailed sales@morryde.com (was in jscherb's post) and got routed to Austin, who get me set up. Mine should be here in 2 days at which point I'll do a write up on here, I'll send you his email if you want to talk to him/order one. I ended up going with the kitchen and the clip on table, waiting on the fold out portion as they said the sink will be available later this year and I think I want to add that rather than the fold out table. I also didn't get the molle panel as the JL already has molle mounts in it.

 

[OregonJKU]

It's not on their website, I emailed sales@morryde.com (was in jscherb's post) and got routed to Austin, who get me set up. Mine should be here in 2 days at which point I'll do a write up on here, I'll send you his email if you want to talk to him/order one. I ended up going with the kitchen and the clip on table, waiting on the fold out portion as they said the sink will be available later this year and I think I want to add that rather than the fold out table. I also didn't get the molle panel as the JL already has molle mounts in it.

Hi Bobzdar, thank you for your reply. Since you said you'll be getting yours soon and will be doing a write up, I think we'll wait for that. BTW do you know what materials they used (wood or metal) for the kitchen table and clip on table?

 

[OregonJKU]

Hi Bobzdar, thank you for your reply. Since you said you'll be getting yours soon and will be doing a write up, I think we'll wait for that. BTW do you know what materials they used (wood or metal) for the kitchen table and clip on table?

Hi Jeff, been meaning to ask you, do you believe there is enough room in the JKU to have two trail kitchens side by side?

 

[jscherb]

It's not on their website, I emailed sales@morryde.com (was in jscherb's post) and got routed to Austin, who get me set up. Mine should be here in 2 days at which point I'll do a write up on here, I'll send you his email if you want to talk to him/order one. I ended up going with the kitchen and the clip on table, waiting on the fold out portion as they said the sink will be available later this year and I think I want to add that rather than the fold out table. I also didn't get the molle panel as the JL already has molle mounts in it.

The Kitchen isn't in my Jeep at the moment so here's a photo on the garage floor - this is approximately what you ordered (minus the fridge of course).

The Molle panel is also installed on this one, which you didn't order. When you get the sink option you might consider adding add the Molle panel, it's a convenient place to mount the sink water source (shown below in my LJ).

 

[jscherb]

Hi Bobzdar, thank you for your reply. Since you said you'll be getting yours soon and will be doing a write up, I think we'll wait for that. BTW do you know what materials they used (wood or metal) for the kitchen table and clip on table?

The tabletops are Starboard HDPE plastic: http://www.kingplastic.com/products/king-starboard/

 

[jscherb]

Hi Jeff, been meaning to ask you, do you believe there is enough room in the JKU to have two trail kitchens side by side?

The base Trail Kitchen is about 18" wide. If you don't have the subwoofer taking up space in the back I would think two could just fit although I haven't tried it.

I'm wondering what you would do with two... two fridges or something else? In a few days I'll actually have two Trail Kitchens here because MORryde is sending me a production unit (my current one is preproduction) so I could possibly give it a try if there's a good enough reason to make me want to remove my subwoofer for the test .

 

[OregonJKU]

The base Trail Kitchen is about 18" wide. If you don't have the subwoofer taking up space in the back I would think two could just fit although I haven't tried it.

I'm wondering what you would do with two... two fridges or something else? In a few days I'll actually have two Trail Kitchens here because MORryde is sending me a production unit (my current one is preproduction) so I could possibly give it a try if there's a good enough reason to make me want to remove my subwoofer for the test .

Hi Jeff, actually we're thinking the second slide out could make it easier getting access to storage boxes. Also if the trail kitchens comes with the slide out drawer, a second drawer would be handy.