Barn Door for JK factory hardtops
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Maybe so but it would make showering inconvenient when the shower curtains are blown by the wind up against your body and you're trying to wash or rinse off.Not a problem for me, but potentially a problem for my fellow campers.
Jurfie
Adventurer
jscherb
Expedition Leader
At about 10:30 this morning it was 45 degrees outside and sunny so I laid the Swiss Army surplus water bag on the driveway to see how it might heat up at this temperature. I laid it on some cardboard packing material so the cold driveway didn't sap any heat that might be generated.
At noon the outside temp was 53 degrees and the thermometer I stuck to the bag had just hit the 90 degree mark. I'm impressed. At 50 degrees ambient temp getting to 90 at this latitude (not the direct sun capital of the country) in only 90 minutes seems very good to me.
I left the bag on the driveway a bit longer to see how much hotter it might get.
1:00 - water temp 96 degrees, ambient temp 53.
1:30 - water temp 98 degrees, ambient temp 58.
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It started to just hit the 100 degree mark before the sun went behind the trees. Not bad for starting at an ambient temp of 45 and not going above 60 all day.
At noon the outside temp was 53 degrees and the thermometer I stuck to the bag had just hit the 90 degree mark. I'm impressed. At 50 degrees ambient temp getting to 90 at this latitude (not the direct sun capital of the country) in only 90 minutes seems very good to me.
I left the bag on the driveway a bit longer to see how much hotter it might get.
1:00 - water temp 96 degrees, ambient temp 53.
1:30 - water temp 98 degrees, ambient temp 58.
It started to just hit the 100 degree mark before the sun went behind the trees. Not bad for starting at an ambient temp of 45 and not going above 60 all day.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
The testing of the proof-of-concept shower room the other day revealed one improvement I need to make (besides swapping the cheesy Ikea shower curtains for something nicer) and that's stronger hinges to support the tubes that form the shower rod around the perimeter. I'll pick up stronger hinges the next time I'm in Home Depot or Lowes.
There are two choices I'm considering to replace the Ikea shower curtains. One is to use a set of the canopy walls I used a while back when I did the DIY changing room for under my RTT. The price has gone up quite a bit since I ordered the last set, but they're still a good value. The set comes with 2 10'-wide walls with zippers on each end, and one wall has a zipper in the middle.
I only need about 140" to do the shower room, so I'll have 100" and one or two full length zippers left over depending on how I decide to sew the new walls. The leftover fabric is enough for one side wall for the new canopy I built a few weeks ago and a storage bag for the new shower wall set so it won't go to waste. I would have to put grommets along the top for the shower curtain rings, but that's only a little labor, I've got plenty of grommets on hand.
The other option is to buy two of these:
They're the correct size already and they do have grommets for hanging them from the rods, but they don't have zippers (at least one is necessary to close the "door" to the shower room) so I'd have to buy a zipper or two. It's a bit cheaper to go with this option. I'll take a look at the quality of them in Walmart tomorrow and then I'll decide.
There are two choices I'm considering to replace the Ikea shower curtains. One is to use a set of the canopy walls I used a while back when I did the DIY changing room for under my RTT. The price has gone up quite a bit since I ordered the last set, but they're still a good value. The set comes with 2 10'-wide walls with zippers on each end, and one wall has a zipper in the middle.
I only need about 140" to do the shower room, so I'll have 100" and one or two full length zippers left over depending on how I decide to sew the new walls. The leftover fabric is enough for one side wall for the new canopy I built a few weeks ago and a storage bag for the new shower wall set so it won't go to waste. I would have to put grommets along the top for the shower curtain rings, but that's only a little labor, I've got plenty of grommets on hand.
The other option is to buy two of these:
They're the correct size already and they do have grommets for hanging them from the rods, but they don't have zippers (at least one is necessary to close the "door" to the shower room) so I'd have to buy a zipper or two. It's a bit cheaper to go with this option. I'll take a look at the quality of them in Walmart tomorrow and then I'll decide.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
MORryde forwarded an email to me this morning:
Yes, I own a Jeep and yes I've tested it extensively. And yes I give a damn. I have one on the passenger side that I use for an ammo can whenever I don't have my Overland Outfitters Saddelbag on that side; on the driver's side my fridge battery lives in it, I keep the battery there even when the kitchen and/or fridge are not in the Jeep because the battery gets maintained whenever I run the Jeep. It's out of the way over the curved inner fender and plenty strong enough for a battery. My battery cover is made from soft top fabric, and I clip a power panel to it so I can power things from the battery when the Trail Kitchen isn't installed (the kitchen has its own power outlets so this isn't needed when that's installed).
It's always fun to get unsolicited comments like these.
Yes, I own a Jeep and yes I've tested it extensively. And yes I give a damn. I have one on the passenger side that I use for an ammo can whenever I don't have my Overland Outfitters Saddelbag on that side; on the driver's side my fridge battery lives in it, I keep the battery there even when the kitchen and/or fridge are not in the Jeep because the battery gets maintained whenever I run the Jeep. It's out of the way over the curved inner fender and plenty strong enough for a battery. My battery cover is made from soft top fabric, and I clip a power panel to it so I can power things from the battery when the Trail Kitchen isn't installed (the kitchen has its own power outlets so this isn't needed when that's installed).
It's always fun to get unsolicited comments like these
.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I guess it's my day to hear from companies I've done designs for, Fedex just dropped this off:
It's from Quadratec, a thank you present from them for me helping them with their 30th Anniversary YLJ project. I've posted this photo before, I designed the seat-back bags for them:
They're not just for the Anniversary Jeep, now they're also in the Quadtratec catalog, here's a pair in a JL:
They also attach to the JK seats and Overland Outfitters is readying a band for TJ/LJ seats for them to attach to as well.
It's from Quadratec, a thank you present from them for me helping them with their 30th Anniversary YLJ project. I've posted this photo before, I designed the seat-back bags for them:
They're not just for the Anniversary Jeep, now they're also in the Quadtratec catalog, here's a pair in a JL:
They also attach to the JK seats and Overland Outfitters is readying a band for TJ/LJ seats for them to attach to as well.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
For pandemic reasons I didn't go to Easter Jeep Safari this year, but it would be fun to be there to see the Quadratec YJL in person. The only part of the YJL I've seen in person is the seats - when I went to Quadratec last fall to test-fit the custom Zip & Go bag attachment to their Corbeau seats they weren't allowing anyone inside their buildings so they put the seat outside the door to their studio and I did the test fit outside. A couple of photos from that session:
The Quadratec YJL is at Moab now, with the bags in it (they're visible in this next photo they posted on Instagram). Sure would be fun to see it in person...
The Quadratec YJL is at Moab now, with the bags in it (they're visible in this next photo they posted on Instagram). Sure would be fun to see it in person...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I finished the shower room/changing room this morning but it's raining out today so I'll wait to install/test it until tomorrow. I replaced the cheezy Ikea shower curtains I used for the proof-of-concept with nice fabric shower curtains from Target, added a zipper to close the curtains for privacy, installed stronger hinges and sewed this bag. With the bag the shower room can stay installed to the roof rack during travel or trails and deployed quickly when needed.
Hopefully tomorrow it'll be nice weather and I can install, test and photograph it.
Hopefully tomorrow it'll be nice weather and I can install, test and photograph it.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
One detail for the shower enclosure I needed to take care of - a mat for the ground under the shower. I expect showers would probably be taken with something like flip flops on your feet, but a mat would be nice as well. I found a polypropylene outdoor rug at Target yesterday. I chose polypropylene because it doesn't absorb water, it's lightweight and it folds/rolls easily so it can fit nicely in the shower enclosure bag I sewed yesterday.
At 4' x 6' the rug was much too large for the shower, but I also wanted to have a rug inside the changing room under my RTT, so I cut the rug into a 4' x 4' piece for the RTT changing room and a 2' x 3' piece for the shower.
The best way to cut a polypropylene rug is with a hot knife because the heat will seal the edges of the cut so it won't unravel. A hot knife is part of my arsenal of sewing tools, I use it all the time to cut synthetic fabrics like acrylic, nylon and polyester to yield edges that won't unravel and don't necessarily need hemming.
If the weather stays nice, I'll set up the shower for testing this afternoon.
At 4' x 6' the rug was much too large for the shower, but I also wanted to have a rug inside the changing room under my RTT, so I cut the rug into a 4' x 4' piece for the RTT changing room and a 2' x 3' piece for the shower.
The best way to cut a polypropylene rug is with a hot knife because the heat will seal the edges of the cut so it won't unravel. A hot knife is part of my arsenal of sewing tools, I use it all the time to cut synthetic fabrics like acrylic, nylon and polyester to yield edges that won't unravel and don't necessarily need hemming.
If the weather stays nice, I'll set up the shower for testing this afternoon.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Inside there's a mat on the ground, and the Power Shower unit:
The shower unit has a removable shower head:
A view from above showing the 20 liter (5 1/4 gallon) water bladder (almost empty in this photo).
The shower curtains are from Target; I sewed 72" zippers on the edges to join them together in the back and to provide a closure for privacy. The zippers have reversible pulls, the pull can be used from inside our outside the enclosure.
Quick work on the Cricut using infusible ink, the logo is permanently dyed into the fabric:
I think I'll replace the cheapo Ikea shower curtain rings with something more secure but other than that I'll declare the project a success.
The shower unit has a removable shower head:
A view from above showing the 20 liter (5 1/4 gallon) water bladder (almost empty in this photo).
The shower curtains are from Target; I sewed 72" zippers on the edges to join them together in the back and to provide a closure for privacy. The zippers have reversible pulls, the pull can be used from inside our outside the enclosure.
Quick work on the Cricut using infusible ink, the logo is permanently dyed into the fabric:
I think I'll replace the cheapo Ikea shower curtain rings with something more secure but other than that I'll declare the project a success.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
Because I've been involved in many of the calls and meetings Overland Outfitters has had with Quadratec, I'm often copied on emails between them. Today I was copied on an email from QT to OO; QT has been working on some videos for OO and QT just finished the first one. It's fun for me to see companies like QT doing videos for things that started life as prototypes on my sewing machine and are now in production... here's the video link they sent: