Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

My first color choice would be the tan/leather combo.

Thanks for the input. Based on the responses everywhere I've asked, tan/leather is by far the most popular, followed by green/leather. I'll recommend to the company that they do tan/brown leather first, and consider doing olive drab/brown leather as well. I sewed my green prototype with a forest green cloth but I think OD would be more popular than that so I'll recommend OD.

The half doors with the power locks, power mirrors, etc are an impressive concept execution. Nice work.

Nothing about the project was hard, but it is a detective story - figuring out which connectors everything has (they varied a lot over the years even though the things they're connecting are compatible across all years), figuring out the pinouts of those connectors, finding the right connectors in the junkyard and swapping them in place of the wrong ones. The MOPAR connector repair kit site I linked earlier in the project is the go-to-resource for a project like this, and doing reverse lookups on it reveals other vehicles with the same connectors that might be found in a junkyard. The only thing that requires knowledge many people might not have is how to pop the pins out of the wrong connectors and insert them in the new ones (or, in some cases, just rearranging them in the connector because the Jeep changed the order).

Does the company plan to release a kit or instructions that will allow the molle panel to be used in an LJ?

I haven't recommended to the company that they produce an LJ (or TJ) version of the overhead Molle panel - their engineering time is better spent on JK and JL accessories. TJ accessories sell far less than JK accessories these days, and things that are LJ-specific even less.

The main Molle panel is the same in the JKU and the LJ, but the mounting hardware is different, but with a little bit of work the panel can be adapted to the LJ. When the product becomes available if you buy one I'll be happy to show you what's necessary to adapt it to the LJ.

 

[jscherb]

In October I was in the process of sewing a cover for the winch and I had pretty much completed a prototype when I had to put it aside while I went on a road trip to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas and then Overland East in North Carolina.

Today I made a few last tweaks to the pattern and sewed a final version in heavy arctic vinyl. Unlike most vinyls, the arctic vinyl remains soft even in very cold weather, so it's good for year-round use. It's also very thick, so it'll stand up to a lot of abuse.

Now that the cover is done, and I installed the synthetic line the other day, the winch project is complete - ready for use on the trail.

 

[jscherb]

Since I've now got front half doors and will have rear half doors soon, it's time to finish a feature I designed into the Safari Cab hardtop but never completed - roll-up soft sides. Today I removed the side panels and in their place installed the c-pillars that will seal the rear doors and provide a place for the front of the soft sides to attach. I molded the c-pillars back when I molded the rest of the parts for the hardtop but haven't used them until now.

The pillars will be painted Spice to match the hardtop.

I've posted concept drawings in the past showing what the sides will look like both rolled up and rolled down...

Back when I was doing the original construction of the hardtop I came across a closeout on factory Spice soft top fabric so I bought it. It's a perfect match for the Spice paint on the hardtop.

I'll be sewing the side panels over the next few weeks; I've got a few other projects going on right now so the panels will be a bit of a background project.

 

[jscherb]

A while back I was working on a "gullwing" hatch concept for JK factory hardtops. I made up this prototype hatch but hadn't installed it on the Jeep until now. The side panel is a Safari Cab panel but it has a factory hardtop curved window mounting surface, I made the panel so I could test hatches as they would fit on a factory hardtop.

I've done other hatch prototypes using standard RV-style baggage doors as well, here's one:

I haven't gone any further with these prototypes but the proofs-of-concept showed that both designs are workable.

 

[rubicon91]

A while back I was working on a "gullwing" hatch concept for JK factory hardtops. I made up this prototype hatch but hadn't installed it on the Jeep until now. The side panel is a Safari Cab panel but it has a factory hardtop curved window mounting surface, I made the panel so I could test hatches as they would fit on a factory hardtop.

I've done other hatch prototypes using standard RV-style baggage doors as well, here's one:

I haven't gone any further with these prototypes but the proofs-of-concept showed that both designs are workable.

I like these. If I were having one I would want it to open down so it could be utilized as a shelf as well or table. But that is me

 

[jscherb]

I like these. If I were having one I would want it to open down so it could be utilized as a shelf as well or table. But that is me

I designed the RV-style cargo hatches so they can be installed either way, either hinged up like hatches or down to serve as a table. Here's a very early photo taken before the hardtop was finished...

 

[rubicon91]

I designed the RV-style cargo hatches so they can be installed either way, either hinged up like hatches or down to serve as a table. Here's a very early photo taken before the hardtop was finished...

See now we are talking i like that but of course you already know that from our previous conversations

 

[jscherb]

See now we are talking i like that but of course you already know that from our previous conversations

Maybe we should put a hatch like that in your Ursa Minor (after we install your barn door) .

 

[rubicon91]

Maybe we should put a hatch like that in your Ursa Minor (after we install your barn door) .

Sounds good to me!!

 

[jscherb]

I picked up the tempered glass for Donny's barn door this afternoon. In the photo below it's just sitting on top of the glass gasket, it hasn't been installed. Looks like it'll be a perfect fit but the bad news is that it's the wrong tint. The glass has the same tint as the factory tinted hardtop windows, but Donny and I wanted to go darker because Donny lives in Florida. The glass company is making a new one with the right tint, which other than the delay of waiting for that piece of glass, I guess is good news because now I've got an extra piece of glass that I can use in the next barn door I find a reason to make.

 

[jscherb]

Found this cool bag in my favorite miltary surplus store - these were issued to Russian medics during the Soviet-Afghan War. From the description on the surplus website: "All metal hardware. Cotton canvas construction. The front and back of the bag are rigid so the bag keeps its shape. Measures approximately 11’’ high x 13’’ wide x 4’’ deep. Genuine European Military Surplus."

I thought it was very cool looking plus I liked the rigid front and back of the back because it'll hold it's shape well when it's loaded up and on the tailgate panel. Here it is on a black+leather tailgate panel:

Notice that it hangs a lot nicer than the Molle pouches to the left of it, that's because of the rigid back and front and because of how I decided to hang it - it only comes with one strap on the back that's designed for a belt to go through it so as-is it won't hang on the panel. I was going to sew Molle-style straps to the back but since Molle straps are often a pain to thread through a panel I decided to try something new. Instead of straps I added two clips on the back; the clips make it very quick and easy to hang and remove the bag, so I'll call if a "Grab-n-Go" proof of concept .

 

[jgaz]

Slick! Now that bag is an idea that could make me consider a panel like that.

Does your surplus store have a mail order web site? Or is it a local warehouse or store front?

 

[jscherb]

Slick! Now that bag is an idea that could make me consider a panel like that.

Does your surplus store have a mail order web site? Or is it a local warehouse or store front?

Here's a link: https://colemans.com/vintage-russian-military-first-aid-satchel. It was 20% off when I bought it, I guess the sale is over.

There's a photo of the back of the bag on that page, it's got a single fixed belt loop on the back so as it is it won't attach to a panel, it's designed to have a belt go through the loop. You'll have to sew Molle-style straps on the back if you want to hang it on a panel like the one I'm testing.

The startup company that's doing the panel (and other bags) will be going bags similar to this, and probably with the 'Grab-n-Go" style clips on the back. I sewed a prototype a few weeks ago and sent it to the company.

 

[jgaz]

Thank you. I’m a long time Colemans customer

 

[jscherb]

I've been asked to design a few JL accessories so I stopped by the dealer to make some measurements on a JL this morning, while I was doing that the parts guy came up to me and told me he had a package for me... my rear half doors came in. The dealership treats me very well and agreed to sell me a pair for only a little bit above their cost, so I ordered a set about two weeks ago. Good thing I was driving the pickup today, the box is huge...