Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jgaz]

Jeep should be all over those front door pockets as at least a replacement of that low quality mesh.

Better yet, offer them standard on at least the upscale trim options.

 

[jscherb]

Very nice! If offered I'd be interested in purchasing a pair of the door pocket samples and maybe the passenger grab bar bag, assuming they might all cost a bit less than the upcoming production models....I'm not trying to be cheap, I was just born this way.

I didn't discuss price in detail with them when I made the suggestion but I did say that I thought they should be offered at a significant discount from the full price of the final product and I expect that's what they'll do. Whatever they decide, I won't be part of the pricing decision because I'm not part of their business.

 

[jscherb]

Jeep should be all over those front door pockets as at least a replacement of that low quality mesh.

Better yet, offer them standard on at least the upscale trim options.

The factory pockets really are a disappointment for most people - if you actually use them, the netting will stretch very quickly. I've heard from many people that they can no longer close their doors when there's stuff in the pockets because the stretched pockets hang down so far they get caught in the closing door.

Don't know about Jeep providing this design, but if they cared they're certainly smart enough to provide a better pocket that doesn't stretch. Not so sure of that though, the JL and Gladiator doors have much wider pockets but they seem to be made out of the same stretchy nets .

Because of that, the company has asked me to provide them with a design for a version of these new pockets for the JL and Gladiator. I can do the basic pattern work at the dealer but I can' t finalize a design without having a JL to install and test the pockets on; probably the dealer won't approve of me popping the door panels off at the bottom to slip the pockets in place so if anyone somewhat nearby has a JL or Gladiator I can work with I'm sure we can talk the company into providing a JL set in exchange for the help.

A typical saggy net on a JK:

And on a JL (Gladiator is the same). Seriously, this is on a vehicle that could cost $60k or more?

 

[Alloy]

The factory pockets really are a disappointment for most people - if you actually use them, the netting will stretch very quickly. I've heard from many people that they can no longer close their doors when there's stuff in the pockets because the stretched pockets hang down so far they get caught in the closing door.

Don't know about Jeep providing this design, but if they cared they're certainly smart enough to provide a better pocket that doesn't stretch. Not so sure of that though, the JL and Gladiator doors have much wider pockets but they seem to be made out of the same stretchy nets .

Because of that, the company has asked me to provide them with a design for a version of these new pockets for the JL and Gladiator. I can do the basic pattern work at the dealer but I can' t finalize a design without having a JL to install and test the pockets on; probably the dealer won't approve of me popping the door panels off at the bottom to slip the pockets in place so if anyone somewhat nearby has a JL or Gladiator I can work with I'm sure we can talk the company into providing a JL set in exchange for the help.

A typical saggy net on a JK:

And on a JL (Gladiator is the same). Seriously, this is on a vehicle that could cost $60k or more?

You do very nice work.

 

[pith helmet]

The factory pockets really are a disappointment for most people - if you actually use them, the netting will stretch very quickly. I've heard from many people that they can no longer close their doors when there's stuff in the pockets because the stretched pockets hang down so far they get caught in the closing door.

Don't know about Jeep providing this design, but if they cared they're certainly smart enough to provide a better pocket that doesn't stretch. Not so sure of that though, the JL and Gladiator doors have much wider pockets but they seem to be made out of the same stretchy nets .

Because of that, the company has asked me to provide them with a design for a version of these new pockets for the JL and Gladiator. I can do the basic pattern work at the dealer but I can' t finalize a design without having a JL to install and test the pockets on; probably the dealer won't approve of me popping the door panels off at the bottom to slip the pockets in place so if anyone somewhat nearby has a JL or Gladiator I can work with I'm sure we can talk the company into providing a JL set in exchange for the help.

A typical saggy net on a JK:

And on a JL (Gladiator is the same). Seriously, this is on a vehicle that could cost $60k or more?

That net is terrible. How anyone thought more of a bad thing would be a good thing is beyond understanding. As much as I love them, a JKU Sport should list at about $10k less than they do.

 

[jscherb]

We got together with Donny last night and among the many Jeep topics we discussed were the developing cracks in his Ursa Minor top (which I volunteered to repair for him whenever we can arrange the time) and some of the upcoming products based on my designs. He liked the door pockets but said he would prefer black leather instead of brown so I did a quick and rough colorization on this photo to see what black might look like:

Personally I like the original brown leather, what do you guys think?

Also yesterday I sketched some ideas for JL door pockets...

Can't really make any JL pockets until I find someone with a JL who wants to make his Jeep available for test fitting so when I find someone I'll make some for testing.

 

[bitbckt]

The brown looks better against the red to me, but I'd prefer the black against my Jeep's silver. That said, I'm just fine with the status quo - I have several OO products already installed and that brown doesn't bother me one whit.

 

[jgaz]

I like the black pouches on the black door panels

 

[pith helmet]

I like the brown for my particular Jeep color scheme of tan with black interior. Brown leather is a classic look.

 

[jscherb]

Since I finished the 2' front extension for my Garvin rack basket I hadn't taken a road trip with it. I installed the rack 2 weeks ago to test the Power Shower and other things and I left it on for this trip - I wanted to see if the extension added any noise that would become objectionable over a long trip. About 1500 miles later I can report that the rack noise level is very low and not objectionable at all.

When I get home I'll unbolt the rack and hang it in the garage above the Jeep until the next time I need it.

Both MORryde and Overland Outfitters have asked to borrow this Jeep for the Bantam Jeep Fest June 11-13; they've arranged adjoining booths so they can park the Jeep between the two booths and share it. They'll want it to show it fully outfitted for an overland expedition so I'll have to install the rack, the RTT, the Trail Kitchen and much more. Anyone else going to Bantam?

 

[jscherb]

I figured you had it very well planned out already, but just thought I would mention it!


Thinking about it a bit more, the folding water bowl is probably better clipped to the outside so as not to get anything else wet, so just your usual assortment of outside loops would be sufficient. That also means the doggie compartment could be pretty small, basically the size of 2-3 standard size pet waste bag rolls would be sufficient to hold an extra roll and some treats. And a clip to hold a full waste bag to the outside of the pack (think upside down belt clip), but that may also be easy enough for the end user to figure something out using an existing outside loop on the bag.


-Mike

Mike,
Would the folding water bowl clip to something like this? I made this clip this morning to test clipping things to the bag. In these photos it's on a tailgate Molle panel but there will be places on the bag something like tihs can be attached.

Now I just have to sew the bag to hang this on .

I've got all the materials for the bag but I've been traveling for the past 8 days and have a bunch of thing that will take my attention away from this project for the next few days but hopefully I'll get time to sew it over the next week. Supplies include: heavy canvas fabric, foam insulation, mylar fabric for the inside of the cold area of the bag, tan and brown webbing and velcro, various antique brass d-rings and clips, zippers and a shoulder strap and backpack straps borrowed from an Overland Outfitters seat back Backpack/Messenger bag.

Also I've assembled a collection of lunch supplies I've designed places for in the bag. In addition to carrying two drinks and two footlong subs in the cold area of the bag, plus extra drink bottles on the outside, I'm adding places for condiments, and two place settings. I've got a stainless place setting and a plastic one, only one setting will go in the bag at a time but I want to verify the fit with both. The red items are collapsible cups, those will go in too. And a pocket on the outside back for plastic bags (for doggie waste or other flat items) and places to attach Molle clips like the one above.

Did I miss anything?

 

[jscherb]

Over the course of this thread I've posted a bunch of things that hang on the seat back using the Overland Outfitters "Zip & Go" zipper mount that installs using the headrest posts- the headrest is removed and then reinstalled, putting the posts through grommets in the zipper mount.

In the JKU, the rear seat headrests aren't removable which means those zipper mounts can't be used on the back seat, so I designed a zipper mount that does work with the hinged headrests on the back seat.

The larger bags won't fit well on the my drivers side back seat because I've got the MORryde ammo can/battery tray installed for my fridge battery (battery removed for these photos), but on the passenger side the largest bags would fit. I don't have a passenger side back seat anymore since I built the floor compartment, so these photos are on the drivers side.

The headrests hinge when the seat is folded down, and these mounts work fine as the headrest hinges:

A smaller leather bag:

I also sewed a Zip & Go Molle strip that attaches to the zipper:

What's nice about the Zip & Go molle strip is that the bags can be removed simply by unzipping rather than unthreading the annoying Molle straps.

Haven't started sewing the picnic bag yet, I'm still working on the sewing script. Because of the amount of detail in the design and the insulated lining, things need to be sewed in a specific order so everything goes together correctly. I've designed it in three sub-assemblies; the detail in each gets completed and then the three sub-assemblies gets sewed together into the final bag. All of this requires a detailed step-by-step script to make sure something doesn't get sewed in place that prevents some other detail from being sewed - it's all got to be done in the right order.

 

[Florida Native]

Mike,
Would the folding water bowl clip to something like this? I made this clip this morning to test clipping things to the bag. In these photos it's on a tailgate Molle panel but there will be places on the bag something like tihs can be attached.

Now I just have to sew the bag to hang this on .

Did I miss anything?

I think those clips would work great!

Got room for a couple single-serve bags of chips in there? Either in the cold section or warm area is fine, but bonus points if they have some crush-resistance!

-Mike

 

[jscherb]

I think those clips would work great!

Got room for a couple single-serve bags of chips in there? Either in the cold section or warm area is fine, but bonus points if they have some crush-resistance!

-Mike

There are large backpack-sized picnic bags on the market but I don't want to carry something that big on a hike so I'm trying to keep this bag as compact as possible; also I want the bag to store/be carried easily in the Jeep - which is why it's designed with a Zip & Go attachment to hang on the seat back. My initial design benchmark is a pair of footlong subs, a pair of 20-oz. drinks, plus the Molle webbing on the sides of the bag for additional things.

This should give a rough idea of the size of the bag, I've laid a pair of footlongs and drinks on top of part of the pattern:

And if the Molle on the side is used to add extra drinks:

Obviously not everyone will eat footlongs for lunch, so I'll be testing the size of the bag with salads and things like that too.

Between the side Molle and extra space in the cold area it may be that chips can be accommodated; I think I'll sew the bag as I've currently got it patterned, load up some various lunches for two in it and see how it works. If the bag needs to be expanded or changed in some features or details that's what my prototypes are for - after doing some testing with the initial prototype a final design can be made, and if a company wants to produce it I'll turn the design over to them.

 

[jscherb]

A box of preproduction samples from Overland Outfitters was delivered today. Contents included new door pockets, a new compressor bag, three grab bar pockets and a new Camp Cabinet bag.

These are all "production candidates", which means they've asked me to verify and test them and let them know if these are ready to go. I'll do that over the next few days.

As I said the other day, samples are piling up here. I took a photo of the production/preproduction samples here that there's no longer any need for:

The photo above doesn't include everything that's no longer needed, for example the door pockets that are currently installed in the JKU which will come out so I can test the ones that arrived today. There are also a few more bags that aren't in the photo.

Some of the items in the photo are full production items that were used for photos or final verification and testing, some are production samples that might have been used in the Jeep for a while and and might have been in the Jeep for a show, and some are preproduction samples but all are fully usable and high quality.

I sent an inventory of the samples to the folks at OO and recommended they do a "sample sale" (or do something else to get them out of here ). If they decide to do a sale I'll let people know. It won't be me that's selling these, people interested in purchasing any of these will need to contact OO through their web site for pricing and availability.