Converting a factory JK/JKU hardtop to modular

[jscherb]

Had I kept the Jeep, that would have been the next mods on my list. :beer:
The usability of that feature is epic!
I was looking into making an insert for the rear opening of the soft top, so the soft barn door (for the top like you have) would have worked out great.

Early in this project I posted some concept drawings showing both a soft barn door and a hard barn door with a factory soft top...

There would be a surround for the barn door that would clip to the rear bow of the soft top and the back of the tub. It would zip in to the soft top using the same zipper the factory rear window zips in with. There would be partial clear panels on each side of the barn door surround. The barn door and surround would be the width of the tailgate for all years of hardtop, so the factory tailgate hinges would work fine.

I did the same thing for my LJ and it worked out very well.

I made the surround for the LJ out of metal but the JK surround would be fiberglass. It would be the same shape as the factory hardtop jamb for the liftgate, and would accept the same factory weatherstrip. That way the barn doors would be compatible with both the factory soft top and factory hard top, as well as my Safari Cab.

I've already got the mold for the surround, sort of... the surround would be molded in the Safari Cab rear panel mold with a dam inserted to limit the size of the jamb to just a narrow shell...

I hope one of these days to get around to doing one of these surrounds for the soft top. Got too many other projects going on though, haven't gotten to it yet. Too many ideas, not enough time .

 

[Comanche Scott]

I remember this, and it was definitely motivational after dealing with the stock rear soft top window for over a year. :beer:

I was planning to form a piece of Aluminum T strip, and rivet the zipper to the aluminum strip. Then encapsulate that it in a woven carbon fiber, saturated in a semi flexible epoxy, and vacuum bag the whole thing.
This way the rear facing leg of the T would also make a rain gutter, and the soft barn door would be an easier fit with all the flexing the top does.

 

[jscherb]

The company that's selling the 2dr factory hardtop slider window kit sent me this photo that one of their customers sent them. The dog is happy to get some air!

 

[jscherb]

Another 2 door with the slider kit installed.

 

[Chili]

I like them on the 2 door better than the 4 door. I would actually only consider buying them for a 2 door but since I have a 4 door which already has an extra set of windows, no need. I can see why 4 door owner who keeps their dogs in the cargo area would want them though.

What I am interested in are the cargo hatches.. Especially after seeing how useful the one is on Andrew St. Pierre White's Landcruiser. You were working on those too, right?

It would be great to be able to quickly access the rear cargo area from the side without dealing with the swing out, or in instances where you can't (using a hitch accessory like a bike carrier or trailer that won't allow your tailgate to open enough to lift the glass). Any idea if that will ever make it to production?

Being opaque, I'd probably only run one on the driver's side.. Though, if made from glass it would be even better and I'd put them on both sides!

 

[jscherb]

...It would be great to be able to quickly access the rear cargo area from the side without dealing with the swing out, or in instances where you can't (using a hitch accessory like a bike carrier or trailer that won't allow your tailgate to open enough to lift the glass). Any idea if that will ever make it to production?

Being opaque, I'd probably only run one on the driver's side.. Though, if made from glass it would be even better and I'd put them on both sides!

Cargo hatches could be done either opaque as shown in the first photos below, or as a combo slider window/hatch as shown in the bottom photo of a similar window/hatch on a pickup cap.

Either style could go into production, but it's not up to me - I don't sell anything, I just design this stuff. If the company that does the slider windows decides that there's enough demand for either of these and wants me to get them into production, I will work with the window and hardware companies to make it happen.

 

[Comanche Scott]

If I had a two door JK, the sliding window kit would be high priority. Looks excellent, and very functional. :beer:

 

[clownmidget]

Gull Wing Side Windows on JK/JKU hardtop

Having had a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-60 & FZJ-80 and lamented how many options Jeep folks had I'm perplexed that now I have a JKU the options for gull wing side window retrofit for the hardtop is non-existent while there are at least four (!) for the Land Cruisers....

Land Cruiser Phil's
(https://sites.google.com/site/landcruiserproducts/windows)

yodaTEQ's
(https://yodateq.com/products/gwsea-a-80-combo?variant=38662956485)

emuwing's
(http://www.emuwing.com.au/products/80-series-land-cruiser/)

and wagongear's
(http://wagongear.com/shop/flip-up-hatch-window/)

While the sliders are a nice mod, the FZJ-80's had that feature already, and a bit better in that the front and back each had the ability to slide. Complete access like the gull wing would be so great when you've added a rear tire swingout.

 

[jscherb]

Having had a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-60 & FZJ-80 and lamented how many options Jeep folks had I'm perplexed that now I have a JKU the options for gull wing side window retrofit for the hardtop is non-existent while there are at least four (!) for the Land Cruisers....

Land Cruiser Phil's
(https://sites.google.com/site/landcruiserproducts/windows)

yodaTEQ's
(https://yodateq.com/products/gwsea-a-80-combo?variant=38662956485)

emuwing's
(http://www.emuwing.com.au/products/80-series-land-cruiser/)

and wagongear's
(http://wagongear.com/shop/flip-up-hatch-window/)

While the sliders are a nice mod, the FZJ-80's had that feature already, and a bit better in that the front and back each had the ability to slide. Complete access like the gull wing would be so great when you've added a rear tire swingout.

Gullwing windows for the JK or JKU would be very easy to get into production, and instead of $450 each (the cheapest ones you linked to), they could probably retail for $450 a pair. The proven window retrofit kit for the JK or JKU that's already in production for the slider window kits would be used, and that accepts standard RV-style windows, so all it would take is having an RV window manufacturer build windows to fit in the opening in the retrofit kit. A combo slider/gullwing like the one in the pickup cap photo a few posts above would be easy to do - the RV window industry is based on standard tooling and small production runs, typically 25 pieces of glass (but varies by company), so an initial run of 13 pairs of windows would be all that's required. The retrofit kit is already in production so that's easy too.

The only missing piece is a company or person who wants to bring these to market and sell them. I don't sell anything, I just design this stuff. I can get them in production pretty quickly but I'm not interested in selling them.

 

[Midnightsun]

I like the sliding window. Prob as far as I would go with my 2 door hard top but I would cut the centers out of my freedom top and slap a piece of safety glass in them for cool dual sun roof.

 

[JDaPP]

The factory is catching up with this thread, here's a photo showing how the side panels can be removed from the new JL hardtop...

Easy enough to do with a JK hardtop following instructions in this thread .

Although the one in this thread has an optional B-pillar (seen in the photo above) for attaching roll-up soft sides to. I wonder if the JL has roll-up soft sides or it that's something I'll have to build .

For the new jl top it looks like they have two handles /latches to lock it in. Would it be very hard to incorporate into what you have done with the jk top?

 

[jscherb]

For the new jl top it looks like they have two handles /latches to lock it in. Would it be very hard to incorporate into what you have done with the jk top?

It would require a little additional fiberglass work; there would need to be mounting points added for the latches, and the jamb surfaces would need to be shaped differently so the latches pulled the panel against the jamb properly to seal the joint. If you look closely at the JL photo you can see how the jamb hangs down al little except where the latches go. Wouldn't be too hard to make that shape (and a matching shape on the panel), but would require a different series of steps and forms than what I've documented in this thread. It's more advanced work than I've described in this thread - to answer your "would it be very hard..." question I'd say not for me or someone with experience in fiberglass mold work, but it would be an advanced project compared to what I think are the DIY-friendly instructions for the modular conversion in this thread.

 

[jscherb]

I like the sliding window. Prob as far as I would go with my 2 door hard top but I would cut the centers out of my freedom top and slap a piece of safety glass in them for cool dual sun roof.

When I had the glass company make the glass for the prototype pop-up skylights I also gave them a drawing for fixed skylights that would install with ordinary automotive window gasket, I figured I'd prototype non-openable skylights as well in case there was more call for them rather than the openable ones. They made me a set of tempered/tinted glass to those specs but I haven't installed that glass in Freedom Panels yet. Installing those fixed skylights would be a fairly simple project but right now I don't have another set of Freedom Panels I want to prototype with so I haven't done it yet.

 

[woody367]

jscherb, can you send me your email address or phone#so I can talk to you about SMC work on my TJ hardtop?
Thank you bob

 

[jscherb]

jscherb, can you send me your email address or phone#so I can talk to you about SMC work on my TJ hardtop?
Thank you bob

You can email me through this forum by clicking on my user name in the upper left corner of any of my posts and selecting "send email".

If the reason you want to contact me is to ask for advice about doing repairs on a hardtop, why don't you start a thread about it and post photos of the damage - I'll respond to the thread with advice on how to do the repair and you (and others) can ask followup questions in the thread. Repairing damaged hardtops is a common question and if that's what you want to contact me about we might as well document it in a thread so others can benefit too. If you start a thread email me a link so I don't miss it.

And if that's not the reason you want to contact me, email works fine.

jeff