Barn Door for JK factory hardtops
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Yes, there are two different plans for those recesses. One option is filler blocks, another is a third brake light pod that wold cover them up; the pod also includes work lights. Tom's been working on a design for the pod, he'll be posting his design soon for everyone's comment and input.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I made up a prototype filler for the hinge recesses. It's just shot with some black primer I had handy, so the color/sheen isn't exactly the same as the hardtop finish, but with the right finish I think these would be barely noticeable.
Tom's got another solution for the hinge recesses that he'll be posting later this week.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Not yet, hopefully it will be soon. A few prototypes have been made for testing.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The next step in this project is making the brackets to attach the barn door upper to the tailgate. All of the methods involve "stakes" that bolt into the recesses on the inside of the fiberglass upper. The differences are in how the stakes attach to the tailgate.
The "least hardware" way to do it is to do it the way I've been running my LJ barn door for almost 4 years - put something like nut inserts in the tailgate and bolt through the stakes into the nut inserts.
I use allen-head screws to secure mine and an allen wrench to remove them, but screws with hand-knobs could be used as well.
The "stake and nut insert" system has worked great on my LJ, but it might be that people don't feel comfortable installing nut inserts in their tailgate so a simpler-to-install solution might be a better way to go for most people.
One simpler method would be to mount the hardware using longer bolts for the spare tire carrier. All that's needed is to drill the bolt holes for the carrier through the inside skin of the tailgate and use longer bolts to attach the spare carrier. The ends of those longer bolts stick through the inside of the tailgate and serve as studs to mount the barn door hardware to. It's really easy to do - you remove the spare carrier, chose a drill bit just smaller than the inside diameter of the threads in the spare carrier mounting holes, and drill through those holes to the inside skin of the tailgate. Then from the inside, enlarge the holes you just made with a larger bit so the longer bolts can go through.
Tom's got a really cool idea using the "spare carrier through-bolt" technique that includes a fold-down table option and cargo storage options; he's done some CAD renderings of the design. He'll post them for your feedback soon. Once he does the post, we'd both like to hear your comments on the idea and any other ideas you might suggest for the hardware.
The "least hardware" way to do it is to do it the way I've been running my LJ barn door for almost 4 years - put something like nut inserts in the tailgate and bolt through the stakes into the nut inserts.
I use allen-head screws to secure mine and an allen wrench to remove them, but screws with hand-knobs could be used as well.
The "stake and nut insert" system has worked great on my LJ, but it might be that people don't feel comfortable installing nut inserts in their tailgate so a simpler-to-install solution might be a better way to go for most people.
One simpler method would be to mount the hardware using longer bolts for the spare tire carrier. All that's needed is to drill the bolt holes for the carrier through the inside skin of the tailgate and use longer bolts to attach the spare carrier. The ends of those longer bolts stick through the inside of the tailgate and serve as studs to mount the barn door hardware to. It's really easy to do - you remove the spare carrier, chose a drill bit just smaller than the inside diameter of the threads in the spare carrier mounting holes, and drill through those holes to the inside skin of the tailgate. Then from the inside, enlarge the holes you just made with a larger bit so the longer bolts can go through.
Tom's got a really cool idea using the "spare carrier through-bolt" technique that includes a fold-down table option and cargo storage options; he's done some CAD renderings of the design. He'll post them for your feedback soon. Once he does the post, we'd both like to hear your comments on the idea and any other ideas you might suggest for the hardware.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Tom will be posting his mounting hardware design and his 3rd brake light pod design over the next few days, so look forward to those and please give constructive feedback on his designs.
I won't be able to do any more work on this project myself until the beginning of August because Tuesday Heather and I are getting in the LJ Safari and taking off for Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. That's on the Arctic Ocean, at the north end of the Dalton Highway ("the haul road" you may have seen on Ice Road Truckers). Leaving from upstate NY, we'll make our way out of the lower 48 from North Dakota, and from there we'll head for the Alaska Highway and to Fairbanks. Then the trip up the Dalton and back.
So stay tuned as Tom takes you through his mounting hardware design and his pod design; after tomorrow I hope to have internet access at least once a day so I'll stay in touch - hopefully I'll be able to respond within 24 hours if you've got questions or comments.
My Safari Cab LJ outfitted for the trip:
I won't be able to do any more work on this project myself until the beginning of August because Tuesday Heather and I are getting in the LJ Safari and taking off for Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. That's on the Arctic Ocean, at the north end of the Dalton Highway ("the haul road" you may have seen on Ice Road Truckers). Leaving from upstate NY, we'll make our way out of the lower 48 from North Dakota, and from there we'll head for the Alaska Highway and to Fairbanks. Then the trip up the Dalton and back.
So stay tuned as Tom takes you through his mounting hardware design and his pod design; after tomorrow I hope to have internet access at least once a day so I'll stay in touch - hopefully I'll be able to respond within 24 hours if you've got questions or comments.
My Safari Cab LJ outfitted for the trip:
Comanche Scott
Expedition Leader
Safe travels, and hoping you guys have an awesome adventure! :beer:
Will look forward to following along with Tom's ideas.
Scott
Will look forward to following along with Tom's ideas.
Scott
Kmrtnsn
Explorer
Thanks!
jscherb
Expedition Leader
This morning I was doing some mockups of the barn door with a tailgate so I could get a few final dimensions for the mounting brackets (need to order some metal for the brackets before I go away on the trip). Took a few photos of the pair together.
I couldn't resist colorizing the barn door with my paint program and adding a tinted window
.
I couldn't resist colorizing the barn door with my paint program and adding a tinted window
.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
This looks fantastic! Great work guys.
Another idea for the lift glass bracket recesses: what about making some sort of bolt on bracket to hold a hi-lift horizontally above the barn door? Or a narrow awning?
Thanks!
The Hi-Lift idea is a good one, unfortunately the factory top fiberglass up there isn't anywhere near strong enough to support a Hi-Lift. An awning could definitely be supported there.
ModuluS Support System
I guess this is my formal introduction here on the forum. I am the Tom that Jeff has referenced and the one lucky enough to get to work with him on the Barn Door project. I can't tell you how much I've learned on just the one project and looking forward to taking on my own project with some guidance from Jeff on the 3rd brake pod.
I've been interested in the tailgate storage and tables for the trips and camping we do. Now that the JK Barn Door is a reality (thanks Jeff!) I thought this would be a great opportunity to incorporate the supports into a total system.
For clarity I've nicknamed it ModuluS (Modular Storage and Support System) and the basics are a 25" x 12" tall unit that mounts to the rear tailgate via the method that Jeff talked about above. Below is different variations and options you could purchase from a basic to advanced system.
The basic system above incorporates the upper barn door supports and gives you storage spots approximately 1" deep. The slots around the outside would allow accessories to be mounted to the face and I could envision and am looking for easy to mount bungies so the pockets could be loaded with items.
Using the basic system and attaching the ModuluS table assembly gives you a fold down trail table and Molle storage as well as additional slots for items like quickfists as you can see with the axe mounted above.
With the table folded down you should have plenty of worksurface and you can see accessories mounted in the pockets. A first Aid kit could be velcroed into the left pocket and a flashlight and utility knife is inside a foam insert that could be installed.
With the table installed and folded up you can see that the overall thickness is just a bit thicker than the bulge in the tailgate so it will not take up much cargo room.
I have some different Molle pouches ordered and will plan on making the deluxe version for testing. The system as designed is made entirely of aluminum for weight savings. Calculations were run to show deflection of the upright posts and they should be well within the limits for it to function correctly.
So....after the long explanation what do you think and what additional options would people be interested in seeing?
I guess this is my formal introduction here on the forum. I am the Tom that Jeff has referenced and the one lucky enough to get to work with him on the Barn Door project. I can't tell you how much I've learned on just the one project and looking forward to taking on my own project with some guidance from Jeff on the 3rd brake pod.
I've been interested in the tailgate storage and tables for the trips and camping we do. Now that the JK Barn Door is a reality (thanks Jeff!) I thought this would be a great opportunity to incorporate the supports into a total system.
For clarity I've nicknamed it ModuluS (Modular Storage and Support System) and the basics are a 25" x 12" tall unit that mounts to the rear tailgate via the method that Jeff talked about above. Below is different variations and options you could purchase from a basic to advanced system.
The basic system above incorporates the upper barn door supports and gives you storage spots approximately 1" deep. The slots around the outside would allow accessories to be mounted to the face and I could envision and am looking for easy to mount bungies so the pockets could be loaded with items.
Using the basic system and attaching the ModuluS table assembly gives you a fold down trail table and Molle storage as well as additional slots for items like quickfists as you can see with the axe mounted above.
With the table folded down you should have plenty of worksurface and you can see accessories mounted in the pockets. A first Aid kit could be velcroed into the left pocket and a flashlight and utility knife is inside a foam insert that could be installed.
With the table installed and folded up you can see that the overall thickness is just a bit thicker than the bulge in the tailgate so it will not take up much cargo room.
I have some different Molle pouches ordered and will plan on making the deluxe version for testing. The system as designed is made entirely of aluminum for weight savings. Calculations were run to show deflection of the upright posts and they should be well within the limits for it to function correctly.
So....after the long explanation what do you think and what additional options would people be interested in seeing?