Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

I had a piece of self-stick chalkboard vinyl on hand, so to see what the hatch might look like in a more hardtop-like color, I "painted" the hatch with it. It doesn't match the somewhat glossy gelcoat finish on this quickie test panel exactly, but it gives and idea what a hardtop-color hatch might look like.

Using the chalkboard vinyl on the hatch gave me another idea... why not skin the hatch with a mural? (these are digital simulations)

 

[Gonzzo]

The next step is up to the company - if they decide to go ahead and bring the first window kit to production, my next step would be to arrange for the windows they choose (probably sliders) and the retrofit kit to get set up for manufacturing. It's likely they'd do the late model JKU first because that's what they've had me do the prototypes for, but they could decide to do some other model first. Or they could decide there isn't enough interest to make it worthwhile to go into production, I don't know. My goal is to finish up the prototypes in the next day or two so they can decide what they want to do.

Hi:

Let me know if I can help "grease" some wheels.

I NEED these windows!....

Thanks again!!!......

 

[jscherb]

Someone asked to see the difference between the full size and no-trim window options on a 2 door, so I'll post their answer here - this anim shows both...

 

[jscherb]

And as long as I've got my drawing program warmed up, here's what a 2dr hatch might look like. This is a trim option hatch, a no-trim hatch would be slightly smaller.

 

[jscherb]

Hi:

Let me know if I can help "grease" some wheels.

I NEED these windows!....

Thanks again!!!......

Thanks. I've pretty much finished my work on the prototypes for now, I'll wait to hear if the company wants to go to the next step and I'll keep people posted.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to find some time to finish up the JK Safari Cab, I plan to do one final fitting to verify everything and then I'll start the finish/paint work.

 

[Ryan1035]

I'm still following every post in this thread. I acquired a hard top and 2 sets of freedom panels so I can work on a setup for overlanding. Any advice you have so I can construct a modular barn door door similar to yours would be very helpful. I'm actually looking at putting some flush mounted led's in for side and rear illumination as well as hatches on the sides, but using as much of the area as possible for a hatch as opposed to retrofitting the small factory opening.

Still looking forward to a modular top option that your working on too

 

[jscherb]

I'm still following every post in this thread. I acquired a hard top and 2 sets of freedom panels so I can work on a setup for overlanding. Any advice you have so I can construct a modular barn door door similar to yours would be very helpful. I'm actually looking at putting some flush mounted led's in for side and rear illumination as well as hatches on the sides, but using as much of the area as possible for a hatch as opposed to retrofitting the small factory opening.

Still looking forward to a modular top option that your working on too

Here are a couple of points about the barn door to think about as you design yours:

The factory hatch opening is curved in both directions, so in order to fit and seal properly, the barn door needs to be curved in both directions too. You'll need to figure out how to duplicate those curves. I did it by making my barn door molds with the proper curves, so the fiberglass parts that come out of the molds are properly curved in both directions.

You didn't say if the hardtop you're working with is an early model (hatch opening = tailgate width) or late model (hatch opening wider than the tailgate), but that's important - if you're working with the later model, a barn door won't work with the factory tailgate hinges because the passenger side of the hatch is outboard of the hinge pins, which means the part that's outboard swings inward when the barn door is opened. You'll need "wide swing" tailgate hinges in order to make a barn door work on a later model hardtop. I've posted about wide swing hinges earlier in this thread but can post detail again if you need them.


About hatches in the side - the hardtop sides are also curved in both directions, so you'll need to account for that when you put hatches in.


I'm happy to try to answer any detail questions you have as you get more into your design.

 

[Ryan1035]

It's a 2016 hard top. I went with a newer one due to the larger field of vision. I really like your hinge design, and was looking at making something just like it, but using door hinge pins with brass bushings as the pivot point as opposed to bolts, unless you know something about going that route that I don't.

Also with the hinges you designed, I was looking at having the door pieces of the hinge extend the full width of the door for mounting my 60" hi-lift horizontally as well as quite a few jerry cans or possibly even use VP Racing fuel cans instead due to their ease of use when refilling the tank. The hardest part or that is compensating for that dreaded curve that the back door of the JK has some unknown reason.

In your initial trials, do you see any viable way to make the factory hard top modular by cutting at all of the "seams" and adding flanges to connect the top and sides?

To counter the curves in the side pieces, I am probably just going to make a mold off of the side themselves and duplicate the panel as a solid piece, and still debating whether to have a top or bottom hinge for the access panel.

My biggest issue is relocating my spare. I am currently running an Expedition One rear bumper and tire carrier, but I want to get the spare off of the back to have more space for fuel and such. I don't want to put the spare in the vehicle, because if I have to use it, I definitely don't want to put a nasty flat tire inside the vehicle. Where we predominately go play, one of our biggest issues is low hanging, large tree branches and vines that snag everything. Due to that issue, having a 12.5" wide tire on the roof can bring with it a whole new set of problems. One idea that I'm playing with is putting the spare on the roof, but recessing it into the top 6-8" so that there's only 4-6" extending above the roof line. The biggest hurdle in this plan is the rear crossbar, as it will interfere, so roll bar modifications will have to be made for clearance. I've measured the top and all of the "blind spots" or view limiters and it appears that having the tire recessed 6" will not reduce vision out of the upper part of the rear window, and going 8" won't affect rear vision enough for me to worry about it.

 

[jscherb]

In your initial trials, do you see any viable way to make the factory hard top modular by cutting at all of the "seams" and adding flanges to connect the top and sides?

Yes: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...for-JK-factory-hardtops?p=2017000#post2017000 There's also some further discussion of the idea following that post.

...My biggest issue is relocating my spare. ... One idea that I'm playing with is putting the spare on the roof, but recessing it into the top 6-8" so that there's only 4-6" extending above the roof line. ...

Don't forget to design a drain into the recess .

 

[Ryan1035]

Don't forget to design a drain into the recess .

I've looked at both a drain and a possible lid for aerodynamics lol

 

[jscherb]

It's hard to find a good place place inside the Jeep to store the soft top side panels when they're removed, so to solve that problem back in the fall I modified a factory side panel to roll up - rather than removing/storing them, I figured if they were converted to roll-ups I could have open sides without the storage problem.

I modified the panel after I had removed the soft top for the year so I didn't get to test it until today, now that winter is definitely over here I just put the soft top back on.

Rolled up:

Rolled down/zipped:

I also reinstalled my ammo can trays over the inner fenders; the cans are easily accessed through the rolled-up window...

 

[jgaz]

Any updates on the ammo can trays making it to market?

 

[jscherb]

Any updates on the ammo can trays making it to market?

The ammo can trays are in the hands of the engineering team at the company that's signed up to bring them to market. They haven't given me a release date yet, but I expect it will be in the next few months. The company has asked me to join them at a meeting next Tuesday with one of the large Jeep catalog companies and I'll be driving the JK to the meeting with the ammo can trays installed to show (a few other new/unreleased products are also installed for the meeting). If a release date for the ammo can trays is discussed at the meeting and I'm allowed to reveal it, I'll report back.

 

[jscherb]

Something else I was able to test yesterday now that I've got the soft top back on...

I've designed the soft barn door so that it can be used with the factory hardtop, the factory soft top and the Safari Cab, but since I didn't have the soft top installed when I sewed the soft barn door prototype I haven't been able to verify the fit of the barn door with the soft top. Before I sew a final skin to replace the camo prototype, I needed to verify the fit with the soft top, so I did that yesterday.

What you're seeing in this photo is the soft barn door on the tailgate, closed in front of the factory soft top rear window.

If you're wondering why I've got the factory rear window in the photo, it's because it will become part of the soft barn door assembly. The soft barn door needs a door jamb to close and seal against, so the design calls for the door jamb to be integrated with a factory rear window. By making the jamb part of a factory rear window, the door jamb panel zips into the factory soft top with no modifications to the soft top. I did the same thing with the TJ soft barn door design, this next photo shows that one and you can see how the door jamb is attached to what used to be a factory rear window. The jamb for the JK soft barn door will work the same way.

 

[jscherb]

Now that the factory hardtop is off for the season, I'll be doing a final test fitting of the Safari Cab to ensure everything fits perfectly, and then I'll begin the final finishing and paint work.

I've set things up so installation/removal of the Safari Cab is an easy one-person job - the side panels are small and light, and while the roof is a bit large and awkward for one person to handle solo, I store it above the Jeep hanging from the garage door rails so installing or removing it is pretty easy - drive under, release the u-bolts hanging it from the rails and set it down on the Jeep. It's just as easy to remove it, I lift it one end at time the few inches needed to secure it to the rails above.

In this photo the Safari Cab upper jambs/surrounds are installed; also the rear surrounds for the soft sides are in place.

There's another configuration possibility for the JK Safari Cab that I haven't posted much about before that the photo above brings it to mind. The LJ Safari Cab can be run without the hard rear panel or the side panels, here's a photo of that configuration on the trail.

There are two metal supports at the back of the roof to provide support, and the roll-up side curtains go all the way around the back. This configuration provides the maximum open air experience but retains the cargo carrying capacity of the roof and the soft sides are quick to roll down for inclement weather. It's especially nice with half doors.