-
Get your tickets to THE BIG THING 2026!
How would you outfit this custom LJ?
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Yesterday I modified the sand ladders so they can also serve as bridging ramps. I tested them in a roadside ditch near the house. There's no deflection at all when the weight of the Jeep is on them.
The basic idea for this mod came from mowerman: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/106547-bridging-bars-with-PAPs, but I made a number of changes to his design that I think make them stronger and easier to use.
This shot shows them on the workbench. The one in the foreground is upside down, you can see that I changed the orientation of the Superstrut from what he did - I put the open side towards the sand ladder, which supposedly is stronger. I also tapered the ends of the Superstrut to make the step up onto the ramp smaller, and to make it easier to use the ramps at an angle.
I used 1/2" spring-loaded channel nuts. The spring-loading means the nuts stay in place in the channel, and I used 1/2" because 1/2" bolts have 3/4" heads, which is the size of the Wrangler's lug wrench. No need to make sure I've got a 3/4" wrench on board because I'll always have the lug wrench in the Jeep.
I'm pretty happy with how this worked out. For less than $50 I was able to modify the sand ladders to serve two purposes, and it only takes a minute to attach or remove the Superstrut so it's easy to do on the trail.
The basic idea for this mod came from mowerman: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/106547-bridging-bars-with-PAPs, but I made a number of changes to his design that I think make them stronger and easier to use.
This shot shows them on the workbench. The one in the foreground is upside down, you can see that I changed the orientation of the Superstrut from what he did - I put the open side towards the sand ladder, which supposedly is stronger. I also tapered the ends of the Superstrut to make the step up onto the ramp smaller, and to make it easier to use the ramps at an angle.
I used 1/2" spring-loaded channel nuts. The spring-loading means the nuts stay in place in the channel, and I used 1/2" because 1/2" bolts have 3/4" heads, which is the size of the Wrangler's lug wrench. No need to make sure I've got a 3/4" wrench on board because I'll always have the lug wrench in the Jeep.
I'm pretty happy with how this worked out. For less than $50 I was able to modify the sand ladders to serve two purposes, and it only takes a minute to attach or remove the Superstrut so it's easy to do on the trail.
Last edited:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
You wouldn't necessarily have to, but it might be easier to slide under the tire without the Superstrut in place.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
You're right about the bending. Maybe I'll have a chance to test them both ways in April when I'm in the Mojave Desert. On second thought, I'd be very happy if I carried them and never had to use them!
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Another recent upgrade... new tailgate hinges. I have an Exogate, so I've been using the hinges that are part of the Exogate for the past 4 years, and they've worked great. But here's something better - heavy-duty "wide-swing" hinges. The photo below shows one of the new wide-swing hinges (top) compared to an Exogate hinge. The hinge pin on the wide-swing hinge is about 3" outboard of the hinge pin on the Exogate hinge, which has the hinge pin in the stock location. The result is that when the tailgate is opened, there's 3" more space between the spare and the tail light. These hinges don't require the Exogate, they bolt right up to a stock TJ/LJ without the Exogate as a direct replacement for the factory hinges. They also have a zerk fitting inside to keep the hinge pin greased, and they're rebuildable in case the hinge pins ever wear.
With stock hinge geometry, you can't really mount anything on the tailgate hinges because when the tailgate is opened whatever is mounted there will hit the tail light. Now there's 3" more room there to mount things, like a HiLift, an ammo can or a small fuel can.
With stock hinge geometry, you can't really mount anything on the tailgate hinges because when the tailgate is opened whatever is mounted there will hit the tail light. Now there's 3" more room there to mount things, like a HiLift, an ammo can or a small fuel can.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Dave,
The hinges in the photos are pre-production units a company sent me to test. I'm meeting with them next Tuesday so I'll get an update then, but the last I heard was they were shooting for release in late January/early February. They also should be releasing a hinge-mounted Hi-Lift carrier (the one in the photos is also a pre-production unit of theirs) and a hinge-mounted Rotopax mount, and possibly some other related pieces of hardware.
Jeff
Do you have any pictures of the roll bar tie ins for your roof rack (front and rear)? It's a great idea, and would be cool if us LJ owners could end up with stand alone roof rack tie ins to purchase and add a low profile rack such as the AEV rack for JKU's
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I don't have any photos, sorry. I never took any because at the time I designed and built the tie-ins Gr8Tops had signed up to produce the top and they asked me not to show them because they thought they might turn them into a product. Anyway, as I've built them they're too tall for the factory hardtop because the Safari Cab roof is taller, they'd have to be be modified.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
A few weeks ago I wrote about the sand ladders I picked up for my upcoming trip to the Mojave Desert. I also wrote about how I adapted them to also serve as bridges by bolting Superstrut to the back of them:
I doubt I'll need the bridging capability on the Mojave trip, but I'd like to bring the rails anyway just in case I find a place to give the bridges a good test. I won't have the rails bolted to the sand ladders on the trip, so how to store them so they don't rattle around? Harbor Freight to the rescue, the other day I picked up one of their small mover's blankets on sale for about four bucks, and with a little time at the sewing machine it turned into a nice bag with pockets for each rail...
I can easily store the bag in the back of the Jeep; it'll fit across the inner fenders just behind the rear seat (if I even bring the rear seat on this trip, I haven't decided yet).
I doubt I'll need the bridging capability on the Mojave trip, but I'd like to bring the rails anyway just in case I find a place to give the bridges a good test. I won't have the rails bolted to the sand ladders on the trip, so how to store them so they don't rattle around? Harbor Freight to the rescue, the other day I picked up one of their small mover's blankets on sale for about four bucks, and with a little time at the sewing machine it turned into a nice bag with pockets for each rail...
I can easily store the bag in the back of the Jeep; it'll fit across the inner fenders just behind the rear seat (if I even bring the rear seat on this trip, I haven't decided yet).
Another recent upgrade... new tailgate hinges. I have an Exogate, so I've been using the hinges that are part of the Exogate for the past 4 years, and they've worked great. But here's something better - heavy-duty "wide-swing" hinges. The photo below shows one of the new wide-swing hinges (top) compared to an Exogate hinge. The hinge pin on the wide-swing hinge is about 3" outboard of the hinge pin on the Exogate hinge, which has the hinge pin in the stock location. The result is that when the tailgate is opened, there's 3" more space between the spare and the tail light. These hinges don't require the Exogate, they bolt right up to a stock TJ/LJ without the Exogate as a direct replacement for the factory hinges. They also have a zerk fitting inside to keep the hinge pin greased, and they're rebuildable in case the hinge pins ever wear.
With stock hinge geometry, you can't really mount anything on the tailgate hinges because when the tailgate is opened whatever is mounted there will hit the tail light. Now there's 3" more room there to mount things, like a HiLift, an ammo can or a small fuel can.
I'd like to see if the AEV hi-lift pullpal mount will fit on these new hinges. Even if it needed to use the low profile Savvy rear lights, it would be worth it.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Looking at photos of the AEV product, there's a good chance it would fit, but it would probably depend on the size of the spare and how far to the left you could install the mount. Got any dimensions I could check, like how wide it is when the jack and pullpal are installed on it? Could be you'd have to drill a hole or two in the AEV mount to line up with the mounting points in the hinges, but that shouldn't be a big deal. The photo I posted might be a little misleading, most of the jack is outboard of the tail light when the tailgate is all the way open, so the clearance is more than it appears.
I've been told by an engineer at the company that the hinges are ready to go, but I haven't heard from the sales folks that they've been released yet. Maybe they'll debut them at the Easter Jeep Safari Vendor Expo, I don't know.
Similar threads
