Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

I like your 5L Jerry can mount. I use that size to carry premixed chain saw gas.

You show the mount on the MORryde hinge on your LJ. Thanks, that gives me a reason to take on another project.
If you don’t mind, what gage metal did you use to bend up your prototype.

I’ve never carried the 5L on my Jeep because if I’m using the chain saw and need that much gas, I’m driving the truck in order to haul what we cut.

Because I was using scrap left over from other projects, I made it in two pieces. The back is 14-gauge steel and the tray is 16-gauge steel.

 

[jscherb]

Also, if you are able to explain what mechanically is going on inside the hinge, that would be greatly appreciated. Looks like a shaft for the pin was welded to the hinge arm... I'm not quite sure what the brass/gold-colored component is. Thanks!

The brass colored component is a zerk fitting for applying grease into the hinge pin bushing, which is bronze.

...Are you able to share some measurements and materials for the pair you made for Tom? It looks like some C-channel, rectangular tubing, and a few hardware bits. I am assuming hot rolled steel?

These hinges are basically identical to the MORryde HD hinges (which I designed for them), except I built these as a wide-swing version. I hope you'll understand, but I don't think they want me giving out all the dimensions and design details of their production hinges. I'm sorry but once a company picks up something I've designed, I have to treat the design differently than something I did only for my Jeep.

 

[harrisonrmatt]

The brass colored component is a zerk fitting for applying grease into the hinge pin bushing, which is bronze.

Ah I see. So this fitting was only necessary because the pin was enclosed/encased on the hinge arm? It looks like the factory hinge is not enclosed, so to simplify the design I will have to come up with, I can simply create a tub bracket, hinge arm, and pin/bushing kit and just keep it greased...? I was initially concerned with weather/elements hitting the moving parts there (probably why the factory hinge comes with plastic covers), but should this really be a concern I need to consider?

These hinges are basically identical to the MORryde HD hinges (which I designed for them), except I built these as a wide-swing version. I hope you'll understand, but I don't think they want me giving out all the dimensions and design details of their production hinges. I'm sorry but once a company picks up something I've designed, I have to treat the design differently than something I did only for my Jeep.

I understand - makes sense. So the design and measurements I can come up with on my own, it seems pretty straightforward. Do you have any thoughts or insight on where to source a pin/bushing kit? I figured something from Doorman (this as an example) would be strong and capable enough, considering it's a replacement for a passenger truck door.

 

[jscherb]

Ah I see. So this fitting was only necessary because the pin was enclosed/encased on the hinge arm? It looks like the factory hinge is not enclosed, so to simplify the design I will have to come up with, I can simply create a tub bracket, hinge arm, and pin/bushing kit and just keep it greased...? I was initially concerned with weather/elements hitting the moving parts there (probably why the factory hinge comes with plastic covers), but should this really be a concern I need to consider?

Weather should be accounted for. The factory hinge pins are exposed and the plastic covers don't do anything to prevent rust, which causes the factory hinges to rattle and sag.

I understand - makes sense. So the design and measurements I can come up with on my own, it seems pretty straightforward. Do you have any thoughts or insight on where to source a pin/bushing kit? I figured something from Doorman (this as an example) would be strong and capable enough, considering it's a replacement for a passenger truck door.

That may work; there are also good bronze bushings that can be found in many hardware stores and places like Lowes.

 

[harrisonrmatt]

Weather should be accounted for. The factory hinge pins are exposed and the plastic covers don't do anything to prevent rust, which causes the factory hinges to rattle and sag.

That may work; there are also good bronze bushings that can be found in many hardware stores and places like Lowes.

I took a look at mine, and maybe I'm the exception, but there isn't a single sign of rust on or around the pin - my JK is about 5 years old. Could be a geographic thing, or maybe I got lucky with a better paint/seal job from the factory. If I can work in a pin encasing element to the design (similar to yours) without too much trouble, I'll just do that. Otherwise I'll just plan to do a good job of sealing the bare metal parts. Appreciate the insight for sourcing pins and bushings, I wouldn't have guessed the the local hardware store would carry anything substantial. I'll check there first.

 

[jscherb]

This is the scene at the Smokey Mountain Jeep invasion in the MORryde/Retrofit Offroad/Overland Outfitters booth. The orange JLU belongs to Retrofit.

Overland Outfitters had lots of new product for sale.

And borrowed one of my trailers for the show for a lot of their inventory.

Some new things...

MORryde was showing a preproduction locking jerry can strap:

Also a preproduction JL side mount:

Retrofit was showing a preproduction JL tailgate hinge Rotopax mount:

And was showing this JK 2dr hardtop slider window kit with a note on it about JL sliders:

Overland Outfitters was showing this preproduction JL HD Molle tailgate panel in heavy canvas and leather along with this really nice bag with "Grab & Go" clips on the back for attaching to the panel. Their JK HD Molle panel is in production and it looks like they were selling a lot of them along with a lot of these bags.

Haven't had much time to see the rest of the show yet, but I did stop by the Gr8Tops booth where they've got an LJ Safari Cab on display.

 

[jscherb]

At the Smokey show MORryde gave me a preproduction sample of their new door hinge HiLift mount to verify and test. I didn't install it on my Jeep there because my HiLift was mounted to the Overland Rack for the show so it had to wait until I got home. Installed it this morning.

I like how they've done this mount. They're made from heavy-gauge steel and billet aluminum, they bolt right up without loosening the door hinges, and they hold the jack very securely. They can mount on either the front door or the JKU back door and don't interfere with the body when the door is open.

These bolt to the MORryde HD door hinges, as do the side steps from Retrofit Offroad and the upcoming door hinge Rotopax mount from Retrofit. Retrofit also has a "Universal Mounting Grid" coming for the door hinges that allows mounting a range of gear, including shovels and other recovery items.

I believe these will also bolt to the HD tailgate hinges but I won't be able to test that until I remove the Overland Rack that's currently mounted back there. I'll probably get to that next week.

 

[JDaPP]

Does it work if the moryde Jerry can mount is in place on the front?

 

[jscherb]

Does it work if the moryde Jerry can mount is in place on the front?

Yes, if you mount the jack on the back door

There isn't enough real estate between the front fender and the rear view mirror to fit both without interference when the front door is open.

Or, you can use the same mounts on the tailgate hinges, I tried it on a spare tailgate in the workshop this morning:

 

[jscherb]

I've been doing a lot of trailer towing in the past 10 days - about 2500 miles total. Overland Outfitters borrowed my military replica trailer to display products at the Smokey Mountain Jeep Invasion (https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...factory-hardtops.127687/page-269#post-2668763), and when I was towing it home from Tennessee I stopped in Washington to visit kids Kristen and Robert, who both live there for their jobs. Ever tried to parallel park a trailer in the city?

I did pretty well but the back of the trailer ended up about a foot further from the curb than I wanted, so Robert and I cheated ad lifted and slid the rear of the trailer to the curb.

Then this week I made another trip to DC with the other trailer, Robert's career has him moving to Philadelphia, so I brought the Jeep tub/Trailtop trailer to move furniture. Managed to fit a couch, his queen bed, coffee table, end table and a few other random pieces of furniture in the trailer and the mattress on top of the Jeep. Loading behind his DC apartment.

After we finished loading we had to get the Jeep and trailer out of the loading zone so we parked both Jeeps and the trailer in a nearby municipal parking lot and walked over to Reading Terminal Market for a cheese steak.

 

[jscherb]

Listening in at the Overland Outfitters booth at the Smokey show I heard several people ask about a fire extinguisher holder that could mount on the HD Molle tailgate panel - I think people liked the Grab & Go idea and wanted a quick way to access an extinguisher in case of fire. They may be right, almost all of the fire extinguisher holders on the market for Jeeps seem to strap the fire extinguisher to the roll bar and it could take a bit to free the extinguisher from the straps when it's needed in a hurry.

So this morning I fired up the sewing machine and made this. It holds a standard 3-lb. extinguisher, and has Grab & Go clips on the back for quick and easy attachment/removal from the Molle panel.

It could also be sewed with Molle straps instead of the Grab & Go clips so it could be used with other Molle solutions, or it could have straps sewed on the back similar to the Rollbag in the photo below for attaching it to a roll bar.

 

[jgaz]

“Ask and you shall receive”
Nice job

 

[jscherb]

A few weeks ago I posted about a side mount system for carrying gear on the hardtop I found in a UK Land Rover magazine: https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...factory-hardtops.127687/page-268#post-2664425. In a new issue, another side mount idea - this time mounting sand ladders there, and hinging them so they can serve as a table:

Might not work on a JKU because most sand ladders are longer than the distance from the rear door to the back of the hardtop, but could work on other models (LJ, JK 2dr). Or a table + Molle panel like this one I build recently could be installed there.

Maybe you wouldn't put Molle bags on it or a cutlery keeper behind the table because that would expose them to the weather, but the panel supports Rotopax containers so it could be a good place to combine Rotopax storage with a table outside the Jeep.

FWIW, it's another idea for installing aircraft-style cargo tracking on the side of a hardtop.

 

[jscherb]

Back in July I posted about a new sewing project I wanted to try - higher-style seat covers (https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...factory-hardtops.127687/page-266#post-2653077). Donny was nice enough to give me a set of seat covers he didn't need any more to use as patterns but I haven't had time to do anything on the project yet.

I'm in Elkhart, Indiana right now, tomorrow I've got meetings with four different companies on about 6 different projects, and whenever I get to Elkhart I drop by some of my favorite RV surplus stores. These places sell off parts and materials that are surplus to the large number of RV manufacturers here. I figured I'd find some nice faux leather and fabric that had been surplus to some RV manufacturer to use for the seat covers. I picked up some dark brown and some tan leather-look vinyl and some tweed look fabric.

This seat isn't exactly the same pattern as the seat covers Donny gave me, but it serves to see what the materials might look like when turned into seat covers. In this image I've done two different patterns of vinyl and fabric, haven't decided how I want to do it.

Travel and other projects on deadlines will prevent me from starting the sewing for probably a month, but at lease now I've got the materials and I can take my time deciding which color to use and in what pattern.

 

[Jurfie]

...I can take my time deciding which color to use and in what pattern.

Well, since you didn’t ask (), I think the mostly tweed with brown accents would be classy and different.