Barn Door for JK factory hardtops
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I agree, I much prefer the experience of a print magazine to the "turn the pages on the screen" interface that many magazines use in their online versions.
I've got every issue of JP back to the first one, and they're in a searchable database so if I need to find an article it only takes a few seconds, it's very handy. A few screen shots:
Here's a sample search for the articles I've written (or have been written about my Jeeps). ,I wrote a bunch of articles for Jrations magazine when that was around, and there's one in the list in a railroad magazine - I wrote about exploring historic Colorado narrow gauge railroad sites in a Jeep...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Back in October I posted about shoe caddies I made for my roof top tent, starting here: https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...factory-hardtops.127687/page-275#post-2693203
Reading the January issue of Land Rover Owner International this morning I came across this:
I didn't know these existed before today but they're almost identical to the ones I made. I checked the ARB USA site and couldn't find them so maybe they're only available in other countries.
Reading the January issue of Land Rover Owner International this morning I came across this:
I didn't know these existed before today but they're almost identical to the ones I made. I checked the ARB USA site and couldn't find them so maybe they're only available in other countries.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The Overhead/Drop Down Molle panel is designed to work with the factory hard top and factory soft top. It is not designed to work with fastback tops because those tops eliminate almost all of the space that the panel stows into.
MattJ
Adventurer
Got it. Thanks. I was thinking there might be a way to have a removable tool organizer in your hardtop window-cargo system that easily swaps to the molle panel when it is time to put the soft top on for summer. But most people running factory soft-tops don't switch back-and-forth to hardtops, do they?
I'd love to have your window-cargo system in my hardtop, but am trying to figure out what to do with all the tools and other items stored in it when I switch to a soft-top for the summers.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Speaking of the Overhead/Swing Down Molle Panel, here are some recent work-in-progress photos from MORryde engineering on the lockbox version:... just got the March issue of JP (maybe the last issue ever?), it's always fun to see things that originate in this thread getting coverage in a magazine...
The Molle/Quickfist grid is still in the panel, if a solid box without holes is desired a carpet or rubber mat can be installed over the grid.
I believe before production they'll be changing the latch to the flush style I used on the Cargo Window project:
These are photos of the prototype I made before I turned the design over to MORryde. The lockbox isn't visible in the third photo because it's in the up and stowed position.
I just gotta say, you are one amazing human. I am new to this site, and just read this entire thread, I absolutely can not wait for the JL grill to be released! I don't even have a JK yet but it will be one of the first things I do it when I find one I like. That grill is a game changer in my mind.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thanks but I'm not so amazing, just ask the people who know me personally
. I'm just a guy with enough time and on his hands, resources and a few basic skills to be able to implement my ideas.I haven't gotten an update on the JL Style Grille for the JK since just before Christmas but I'm expecting sometime in the next few weeks I'll be receiving a "release candidate" sample from the plastic molding company that's doing the work for the startup that picked up the grille design from me. Assuming that sample is acceptable, it should go into production shortly.
BTW speaking of grilles, I've been working on a retro-styled grille for the TJ lately, haven't posted about it here because it's not really relevant to this thread. This is a photo of the work-in-progress on the mold master sitting next to a stock TJ grille; the new grille has slots intersecting the headlights like the older CJ's and the JL...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I didn't round the slots because I wasn't trying to replicate the CJ grille exactly in this project, my goal was "what if the TJ designers did slots intersecting the headlights when they designed the TJ". I've already done an exact CJ grille for the TJ, it's been on my LJ for the past few years:
I did a design study transforming the Willys MB grille to fit the TJ a while back, here are some of the images from that work. Wouldn't be hard for me to create a TJ-MB grille in fiberglass...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Update on a bunch of things.
JL Style Grille for the JK: the other day I posted that I hadn't had an update on the grille since Christmas - I got an email update today. Several "production candidate" grilles have been molded and one will be sent to me in the next few days for verification and testing. They say they just have to assemble the bottom mounts and the mesh mounts (they're bonded on after molding) and then they'll ship one to me and one to the company that plans to market them for final fit testing.
JK/JKU HD Door Hinges and Accessories: When I designed the HD door hinges for the JK/JKU, MORryde picked them up right away because they matched MORryde's best-selling HD Tailgate Hinges. Since doing those hinges, I've designed a bunch of bolt-on accessories for them - unlike any other hinges out there, the hinges are designed so that accessories can be installed in a minute without loosening the main door hinge bolts. A bunch of those accessories have been picked up, some by MORryde and some by Retrofit Offroad. In addition to the hinges, accessories for the hinges on the martket now or soon to be available include folding steps, Rotopax carrier, HiLift carrier and a Universal Grid for mounting any other gear that makes sense to mount there.
Next Monday I'm accompanying Overland Outfitters to a meeting with Quadratec; QT carried several of the OO products in their holiday catalogs and the products did very well so they're meeting to talk about more things they can do together. And as long as I'm being their chauffeur, OO is also trying to arrange a meeting with OK4WD so I may be going there as well.
And January is a month I make quite a few trips to the Jeep dealer - all 3 of my Jeeps and both of my trailers are due for inspection in January and I always have them do inspections and almost all Jeep mechanical work for me (I'd rather spend my time doing creative projects). They know me very well there and give me a lot of freedom to do things, recently I've been all over the JLs and Gladiators they have in the showroom taking dimensions for various ideas I have. They also occsionally offer me take-off parts they have no use for, today they gave me a JK grille and a set of JK headlights and fog lights. I'm taking the JKU there on Friday for a new thermostat, I'll write about that in some detail later in the week because there are a number of things related to that which many people might find useful to know.
JL Style Grille for the JK: the other day I posted that I hadn't had an update on the grille since Christmas - I got an email update today. Several "production candidate" grilles have been molded and one will be sent to me in the next few days for verification and testing. They say they just have to assemble the bottom mounts and the mesh mounts (they're bonded on after molding) and then they'll ship one to me and one to the company that plans to market them for final fit testing.
JK/JKU HD Door Hinges and Accessories: When I designed the HD door hinges for the JK/JKU, MORryde picked them up right away because they matched MORryde's best-selling HD Tailgate Hinges. Since doing those hinges, I've designed a bunch of bolt-on accessories for them - unlike any other hinges out there, the hinges are designed so that accessories can be installed in a minute without loosening the main door hinge bolts. A bunch of those accessories have been picked up, some by MORryde and some by Retrofit Offroad. In addition to the hinges, accessories for the hinges on the martket now or soon to be available include folding steps, Rotopax carrier, HiLift carrier and a Universal Grid for mounting any other gear that makes sense to mount there.
Next Monday I'm accompanying Overland Outfitters to a meeting with Quadratec; QT carried several of the OO products in their holiday catalogs and the products did very well so they're meeting to talk about more things they can do together. And as long as I'm being their chauffeur, OO is also trying to arrange a meeting with OK4WD so I may be going there as well.
And January is a month I make quite a few trips to the Jeep dealer - all 3 of my Jeeps and both of my trailers are due for inspection in January and I always have them do inspections and almost all Jeep mechanical work for me (I'd rather spend my time doing creative projects). They know me very well there and give me a lot of freedom to do things, recently I've been all over the JLs and Gladiators they have in the showroom taking dimensions for various ideas I have. They also occsionally offer me take-off parts they have no use for, today they gave me a JK grille and a set of JK headlights and fog lights. I'm taking the JKU there on Friday for a new thermostat, I'll write about that in some detail later in the week because there are a number of things related to that which many people might find useful to know.
It sounds so nice to be able to have a relationship like that with a dealership! Obviously they can't be giving everybody who comes in a bunch of "spare" parts, but that just sounds like a pleasant way to do business. I'm so tired of feeling that every dealership is a "stealership".
I had the pleasure of meeting you once in Moab, Jeff. You are a very likable guy and I guess that probably has something to do with their attitude.
I had the pleasure of meeting you once in Moab, Jeff. You are a very likable guy and I guess that probably has something to do with their attitude.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thanks for the nice words Jim. It's a small town thing - people in small towns seem to do things more personally than in a big city or major metro area. I've got a nice "network" of people here that are more than willing to help - Jeff who owns a metal fab shop and lets me use his big bending brake, press shear, press brake and other major tools when I have a project too big for my home tools, Jamie the painter at the body shop who always has time to give me advice, Russ and crew at Elmira Auto Paint that always have time to educate me (once Russ and the owner came over to my house when I was having a paint problem), and of course Buster, Mike and Brent at the Jeep dealership; Buster especially who understands how I use the Jeeps and how I need the Jeeps not to let me down 20 miles from the nearest road - Buster cares for my Jeeps as if he's caring for me and he's always got time to brainstorm and advise on mechanical issues. There are things that aren't so good about small town America as well - this town used to have the American LaFrance fire truck company, a Remington Rand plant (Norden bombsights in WWII), an early Willys engine plant and the American Bridge Company, just to name a few - all gone. But on balance I'd much rather be in an out-of-the-way small town than somewhere bigger.