Land Rover ideas for Jeeps
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
shays4me
Willing Wanderer
I agree. I wish my ursa minor was like his. It’s a much better setup for extended travel.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I agree about the roll bars - they take up too much space. Makes it very difficult to campers, especially something like this soft top that expands into a camper...
This would replace the hardtop or soft top on a Jeep. The front part (over the seats) would be basically the same as a stock soft top and the rear would have a frame with perhaps a slightly taller roof. The sides would unzip and expand outward and a sleeping platform would go across the Jeep resting on the top of the tub.
Back when I was designing the LJ/TJ Safari Cab hardtop, I sketched a similar concept that used the hard roof with soft sides that unzipped and popped out like those on many pop-up campers.
And I also did some experimenting with swing-up hard side panels:
But the rear down bars of the Wrangler's roll bar limit the width of the sleeping platform, so without roll bar mods this may not be a very practical idea on a Wrangler. Even on a 2dr JK and JL and the LJ, which have the widest rear windows, you don't end up with enough width for two people to sleep comfortably.
This would replace the hardtop or soft top on a Jeep. The front part (over the seats) would be basically the same as a stock soft top and the rear would have a frame with perhaps a slightly taller roof. The sides would unzip and expand outward and a sleeping platform would go across the Jeep resting on the top of the tub.
Back when I was designing the LJ/TJ Safari Cab hardtop, I sketched a similar concept that used the hard roof with soft sides that unzipped and popped out like those on many pop-up campers.
And I also did some experimenting with swing-up hard side panels:
But the rear down bars of the Wrangler's roll bar limit the width of the sleeping platform, so without roll bar mods this may not be a very practical idea on a Wrangler. Even on a 2dr JK and JL and the LJ, which have the widest rear windows, you don't end up with enough width for two people to sleep comfortably.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
Earlier in the thread I did a few posts showing a mounting system for the side of the hardtop, these are a few photos from one of those posts:
I was thinking about the uses for something like that so I did some idea drawings. On the left are rails alone - I used bright aluminum for this illustration but black anodized would be less visible on the hardtop side. In the middle a Molle panel is mounted. On the right are two large cargo bags.
Next are some fuel/water options - jerry cans and various Rotopax.
And this next one is a hard shell cargo compartment with a swing down door/table (or it could swing up). The compartment could be several inches deep or deeper depending on what it was intended to hold. On the left there's a Molle panel inside so pouches could be kept out of the weather. In the middle is a tool board. And on the right a net is used to retain various cans and bottles.
The other day I posted a photo of an external compartment, it's the third photo in this post: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/land-rover-ideas-for-jeeps.218029/page-15#post-2839820
None of these would be difficult to construct, and the rails are an off-the-shelf item. This could do both the top and bottom rails on one side of a JKU: https://www.uscargocontrol.com/Airline-Track-48-Piece
The rails would be bolted in place (drilling in the hardtop required) but any of the cargo solutions shown above would attach to the rails when needed and when nothing is needed the windows are unobstructed.
This idea seems like it might be more useful and versatile than the products on the market that replace the windows with a fixed panel for mounting Rotopax containers. More different things could be mounted using it, it wouldn't require removing the window glass, and the window wouldn't be obscured during daily driving when you didn't need to have expedition gear mounted.
What do people think of the idea?
I was thinking about the uses for something like that so I did some idea drawings. On the left are rails alone - I used bright aluminum for this illustration but black anodized would be less visible on the hardtop side. In the middle a Molle panel is mounted. On the right are two large cargo bags.
Next are some fuel/water options - jerry cans and various Rotopax.
And this next one is a hard shell cargo compartment with a swing down door/table (or it could swing up). The compartment could be several inches deep or deeper depending on what it was intended to hold. On the left there's a Molle panel inside so pouches could be kept out of the weather. In the middle is a tool board. And on the right a net is used to retain various cans and bottles.
The other day I posted a photo of an external compartment, it's the third photo in this post: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/land-rover-ideas-for-jeeps.218029/page-15#post-2839820
None of these would be difficult to construct, and the rails are an off-the-shelf item. This could do both the top and bottom rails on one side of a JKU: https://www.uscargocontrol.com/Airline-Track-48-Piece
The rails would be bolted in place (drilling in the hardtop required) but any of the cargo solutions shown above would attach to the rails when needed and when nothing is needed the windows are unobstructed.
This idea seems like it might be more useful and versatile than the products on the market that replace the windows with a fixed panel for mounting Rotopax containers. More different things could be mounted using it, it wouldn't require removing the window glass, and the window wouldn't be obscured during daily driving when you didn't need to have expedition gear mounted.
What do people think of the idea?
zgfiredude
Active member
I think it's a great idea! I can see applications for all different users.....I'd look at it for Rotopax water or fuel as needed. I'm sure others would be interested in the compartment approach. You could even make one compartment a "kitchen" with stove, propane, and utensils to be used on the fold down "table"! The big benefit here is that it can be removed easily when not needed.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I like the kitchen idea. Without giving it too much design thought, I drew a conversation starter:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Did he post any more photos of the outside compartment on the passenger side?
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Update on the rack extension project...
With a minor modification I was able to use the same gutter mounts on the JKU.
It's still raw metal so the final step is to put a finish on it. I'll start with epoxy primer and then a top coat of either paint or Raptor bed liner, haven't decided yet.
With a minor modification I was able to use the same gutter mounts on the JKU.
It's still raw metal so the final step is to put a finish on it. I'll start with epoxy primer and then a top coat of either paint or Raptor bed liner, haven't decided yet.
Essentially a tailgate fold-down table for the sides, I like it.I like the kitchen idea. Without giving it too much design thought, I drew a conversation starter:
zgfiredude
Active member
Mount the stove to the "table" and plumb the propane from mounted bottle........stop, unfold, cook, fold, leave.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I'm shopping for a good source for L-track and components so I can build some prototypes.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Polish MP Side Compartment
I've pointed out side compartment hatches in a military Land Rovers earlier in this thread but here's a different take on it. The ones I've pointed out before are a hatch to a compartment that's inside the vehicle, but this Polish Military Police Land Rover has an external compartment:
The article this photo was part of didn't say what the Polish MPs keep in that compartment.
Not sure if there's really room on the side of any Jeep for something like this.
Also in this photo notice the tall roofline. Looking through the back window you can see someone's back, this Land Rover has a "troop seating" configuration and the roofline provides the necessary headroom.
I've pointed out side compartment hatches in a military Land Rovers earlier in this thread but here's a different take on it. The ones I've pointed out before are a hatch to a compartment that's inside the vehicle, but this Polish Military Police Land Rover has an external compartment:
The article this photo was part of didn't say what the Polish MPs keep in that compartment.
Not sure if there's really room on the side of any Jeep for something like this.
Also in this photo notice the tall roofline. Looking through the back window you can see someone's back, this Land Rover has a "troop seating" configuration and the roofline provides the necessary headroom.
