MagicMtnDan
2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
That's gonna look great! (It already does)
Barn Door for JK factory hardtops
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thank you. So far everything is going according to the design and plan.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thank you.
The way I've designed the barn door wiring, it's completely plug-and-play. There's a wiring extension that plugs into the factory hardtop plug in the tub on one end and into the barn door on the other, nothing else to do - everything's compatible with the factory hardtop wiring.
I don't have a timeline for the Safari Cab project. Over the next few days I'll be installing the windows in the prototype side panels, and the next thing to do will be to make the molds for the roof components.
Can't comment on pricing, because I don't sell anything. If either the barn door or the JK Safari Cab hardtop are going to be available for purchase some company or person is going to have to sign up to bring them to market, and pricing would be up to them. There have been preliminary signs of interest from several companies, but nothing's progressed beyond that yet.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Some more digital doodling... a 2dr Safari Cab. It's got side slider windows, Alpine windows in the roof, and using the integrated roof rack support it's got a Smittybilt Defender rack basket with the light mount option with lights color-matched to the body, and the rack is loaded up for an expedition. In the background is the same Jeep with the flat-top factory hardtop.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
A test assembly of the JKU Safari Cab parts so far.
The parts pictured are JKU parts, but the same idea applies to the 2dr version, here's a 2dr concept drawing with the same style windows I installed in the prototype JKU side panels. The parts are starting to look like the concept drawings
.
The parts pictured are JKU parts, but the same idea applies to the 2dr version, here's a 2dr concept drawing with the same style windows I installed in the prototype JKU side panels. The parts are starting to look like the concept drawings
.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Some views from inside... should be a lot better visibility out of the back of the Safari Cab than there is out of the factory hardtop. Also even though the windows are the same height on the outside, the visible area is 1.5" taller with the windows I used - the factory bonded windows have a very wide bonding flange on the inside that restricts the visible area quite a bit - 14.75" height for my windows vs. 13.25" for the factory windows, even though they're the same size on the outside.
With a vent window open:
In the photo above you can also see the bolt flange where the side panel bolts to the end panel, and on the floor in the background is one of the Toyota FJ40 hardtop side panels I took the vent windows from.
With a vent window open:
In the photo above you can also see the bolt flange where the side panel bolts to the end panel, and on the floor in the background is one of the Toyota FJ40 hardtop side panels I took the vent windows from.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
About a month ago a posted a concept drawing showing a removable soft tonneau cover for the roof:
I tried the tonneau from my Jeep-tub trailer on the mocked up Safari Cab parts to see what it might look like. This tonneau is a little too wide for the JK hardtop, and in the photo it's just sitting on top - in actual use the tonneau rails would be bolted to the top and would conform nicely to the curves of the top, but this gives a pretty good idea of what it might look and how it would compare to the factory top - it's pretty flat so it wouldn't look very different...
Without the tonneau sitting there, you can get an dea of what the roof might look like with just the rails in place. Again, this set is too wide for the JK top, and they'd be bolted in place to conform to the curves on the top. When the cover was off you'd have a full open roof.
The rails would be removed when the hard roof panel would be installed.
I've run hundreds of miles in the rain with this tonneau on my trailer, and it's been completely weatherproof, so I think something like this would work out very nicely on the hardtop.
When I get to the appropriate point in the project I plan to have my friends at the tonneau company make me a tonneau custom fit for this application to do some testing.
I tried the tonneau from my Jeep-tub trailer on the mocked up Safari Cab parts to see what it might look like. This tonneau is a little too wide for the JK hardtop, and in the photo it's just sitting on top - in actual use the tonneau rails would be bolted to the top and would conform nicely to the curves of the top, but this gives a pretty good idea of what it might look and how it would compare to the factory top - it's pretty flat so it wouldn't look very different...
Without the tonneau sitting there, you can get an dea of what the roof might look like with just the rails in place. Again, this set is too wide for the JK top, and they'd be bolted in place to conform to the curves on the top. When the cover was off you'd have a full open roof.
The rails would be removed when the hard roof panel would be installed.
I've run hundreds of miles in the rain with this tonneau on my trailer, and it's been completely weatherproof, so I think something like this would work out very nicely on the hardtop.
When I get to the appropriate point in the project I plan to have my friends at the tonneau company make me a tonneau custom fit for this application to do some testing.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Next up for the JK Safari Cab project is to build the roof molds. Here's what the current parts look like:
Here's what the basic roof will look like:
I've drawn in a rain gutter that goes all the way from the front to the back; this is because I intend the top to be equipped with opening ear side windows and a gutter above those side windows should make it possible to keep them at least partially open sometimes in inclement weather.
And here's the roof with two Alpine windows:
Optionally two more Alpine windows could be installed above the rear seat door openings.
Here's what the basic roof will look like:
I've drawn in a rain gutter that goes all the way from the front to the back; this is because I intend the top to be equipped with opening ear side windows and a gutter above those side windows should make it possible to keep them at least partially open sometimes in inclement weather.
And here's the roof with two Alpine windows:
Optionally two more Alpine windows could be installed above the rear seat door openings.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
How about a nifty sliding ragtop?
Here's a place that will make a custom-sized one: http://www.sunroofsource.com/custom-size-ragtop/, I'm sure they could make one just the right size to fit the JK Safari Cab
.