Habitat Owner's Thread

[kb7our]

By popular demand, it seemed to make sense to start an owner's thread for the AT Habitat that is separate from the release thread, so here it is. May the fun begin!

 

[kb7our]

AT rear storage tray, a 3rd brake light, and slide out Pelican case

A few new updates to Habitat 12:

 

[Frostymug]

Can you tell us where you obtained the third brake light.

 

[jrueppel]

A few photos from our shake down cruise across Nevada over the Winter Holidays. We got ahead of the storm but the weather stayed crazy cold for the trip.
Too cold for humans to enjoy but the little husky loved it.


I've been working a getting the sleep system dialed and adding lights up top. More photos coming soon.

 

[brianjwilson]

I would like to know about the third brake light as well. Is it an enclosure the you picked up somewhere?
My J30 should be here next week and I'm playing with ideas for the brake light. I relocated mine behind the spare but the trasharoo bag covers it.

And what are your thoughts on the A/T gear rack? Is it worth the steep price? Easily adjustable? I could have my buddy build a rack for less, but I don't mind paying more if it is really worth it...?

 

[kb7our]

Can you tell us where you obtained the third brake light.

http://www.ronfrancis.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RW-43

 

[DingusKahn]

Subscribed.
I spent all morning cleaning the inside of my Jeep after AT got done with the "repairs" to the crappy texture job the painter did. They didn't take the top off to sand it down and that fiber material DUST was everywhere. Clean now and ready for a trip... If I had the time. Two of my kids are getting married within the next 6 weeks.

 

[kb7our]

Subscribed.
I spent all morning cleaning the inside of my Jeep after AT got done with the "repairs" to the crappy texture job the painter did. They didn't take the top off to sand it down and that fiber material DUST was everywhere. Clean now and ready for a trip... If I had the time. Two of my kids are getting married within the next 6 weeks.

Welcome aboard, DK! I hope things turned out well for you. Congrats and all the best with the weddings!

 

[kb7our]

I would like to know about the third brake light as well. Is it an enclosure the you picked up somewhere?
My J30 should be here next week and I'm playing with ideas for the brake light. I relocated mine behind the spare but the trasharoo bag covers it.

And what are your thoughts on the A/T gear rack? Is it worth the steep price? Easily adjustable? I could have my buddy build a rack for less, but I don't mind paying more if it is really worth it...?

Ditto on the brake light being covered if one desires to use something like the Trasharoo. I have the little AEV light which is anemic at best. This light just seems to peek through the AEV tire carrier setup just right and doesn't require drilling into the top as I was initially thinking I might do with a recessed light. A little pricey but what else is new and it is quite functional. I tapped wiring from the right rear tail light easy enough.

The rack is adjustable several inches vertically and a few inches horizontally. I have mine low enough to just clear the fridge case without rubbing it and pushed forward to just touch the back of the small rear seat headrest but not interfere with the seat back. Mount system is top notch and utilizes the existing cutouts in the zippered rollbar covers and does not require modifying anything. Build quality, functionality, and finish made the rack worth the cost for my needs and I was not disappointed in what I found when I opened the package and completed the install. It's well executed in my opinion. I suspect a gear review might appear in OJ one of these days.

 

[brianjwilson]

Fair enough, that's the kind of review I was looking for. Thanks! Sounds like it may be worth coughing up the money for the AT rack then.

 

[kb7our]

Mattress Restraint System and 12V Outlets

Just opened her up and this is what it looks like inside. Carpet is a cheap piece from Wally World.

A queen size fitted sheet fits nicely around two Nemo Cosmo Insulated mattresses stuffed inside their pillowtop. What you can't see here is the 12V mattress pad stuffed inside as well.



Fill end near the Habitat opening for easy access. The Nemos have a built in inflator but I use a Coleman rechargable for a 15 sec fill per side with the manual pump being an emergency backup.

Seadog SS folding pad eye secured with 1/8" rivets (5 pad eyes per side). I used 5 spring clips on the right side and just the pad eyes on the left side.

Line-Lok Tent Cleat to tie off the end and quickly release tension on the 550, then hooks slip right out of the pad eyes on the right and the cord is tossed against the left side between mattress and side wall when not being used - a very fast setup.

Left side 550 just loops through the pad eyes.

Marinco 12V outlet on each side.



Deflated and ready for closure (on the Nemos you just pull open one valve per mattress located on the opposite end and that's it).

 

[Martyn]

Subscribed.
I spent all morning cleaning the inside of my Jeep after AT got done with the "repairs" to the crappy texture job the painter did. They didn't take the top off to sand it down and that fiber material DUST was everywhere. Clean now and ready for a trip... If I had the time. Two of my kids are getting married within the next 6 weeks.

Sorry you found dust in the Habitat. We were unable to take the top off the vehicle due to the aftermarket plates, pipes, and fittings that had been installed.

We tried to keep as much dust out of the Jeep as possible, but obviously our efforts were not 100%.

 

[kb7our]

JASTH

Just
A
Simple
Third
Hand



Once the top is closed to this point, the helper strap holds it there for a quick good tuck in on each side and then it's ready to remove the strap then press down on the top and latch closed. Left side used based on the way the torsion bar works.

 

[Dan Grec]

Hey Everyone,

Thanks very much for this thread and the information and photos!

I have a question surrounding leaving bedding in the roof :

I'd like to know about leaving bedding in the roof when it's folded away. My basic plan would be a 4 inch high density foam mattress, a queen size douvet and two pillows.
I'm wondering if I can leave any or all of that up top when I fold the roof down?

I plan on only having bedding in the forward part of the roof (over the hood), everything else up top would be completely bare (no pads, nothing) i.e. above the seats and cargo area.

What's the thickest I can get away with?

Thanks!

-Dan

P.S. If anyone wants to post more pics of the habitat, I'd love to keep seeing them. Inside and out is great.

 

[kb7our]

Hey Everyone,

Thanks very much for this thread and the information and photos!

I have a question surrounding leaving bedding in the roof :

I'd like to know about leaving bedding in the roof when it's folded away. My basic plan would be a 4 inch high density foam mattress, a queen size douvet and two pillows.
I'm wondering if I can leave any or all of that up top when I fold the roof down?

I plan on only having bedding in the forward part of the roof (over the hood), everything else up top would be completely bare (no pads, nothing) i.e. above the seats and cargo area.

What's the thickest I can get away with?

Thanks!

-Dan

P.S. If anyone wants to post more pics of the habitat, I'd love to keep seeing them. Inside and out is great.

Maybe UMV or AT will chime in to further advise. If you mean a queen size douvet with a comforter inside then my guess is that is too much along with 4" of foam. My setup sits about level with the top of the sides of the front section (maybe 3"?) and I keep a twin size down comforter stuffed in a douvet cover and in a separate stuff sack as it won't work leaving it on the mattress. Easy enough to pull it out and toss it on the mattress, along with two pillows.

I spoke directly with both UMV and AT about my mattress setup to be sure I would not over stress anything. I asked UMV about rivets and such for the pad eyes as I was initially thinkng about drilling into the sides. According to AT my torsion bar was adjusted ever so slightly to make it fairly easy for one person to close with roughly 12 lbs give or take in the forward section, which meant the Nemo setup would work well and it certainly does. The key is making sure nothing is binding and you are not forcing material to compress to the point of stressing the structure. It all seems pretty bullet proof but I suppose it can still be broken somehow if one is not careful about the amount of stuffing and compressing then latching that is done. I found that the key to making closure as easy as possible is to tuck the sides in as far toward the center and underneath one of the poles (I think it must be the front one) as possible. Of course what I may have going for me is the fact that I do not use the roof panels so all the air easily escapes when closing and some material has extra space to expand inside the Jeep. Although I do need to use some pressure to press the top down to latch, it is not a large amount and the torsion bar and overall structure does not seem to be stressed. I figure the Nemo setup I am using compresses even more than the factory mattress but I could be wrong. Anyway, it seems dialed in for some good summer testing. If the weather holds up and work isn't too crazy, I'm heading to Toroweap with a small group for the first time next Fri-Mon for the next trial run. Short of our Select Comfort at home, the setup is the cat's meow in comfort and life is too short not to be comfortable even when in the boonies.

Good luck getting yours dialed in!