Land Rover ideas for Jeeps

[Paddler Ed]

Continuing with the theme of canvas storage options - canvas door panels.

The sculpted inside door panels of the JL, JK and even TJ don't lend themselves well to things like this, but on the more spartan door panels of a Series Land Rover they adapt well:

I like that for my HJ45....

 

[shays4me]

These storage pockets that go on the inside of a Land Rover hardtop are interesting.

They seem to install inside a Land Rover hardtop with no drilling. The inside of a Series or Defender load area doesn't usually have a roll bar like a Jeep, so there's good access to the pockets.

There are a bunch of Molle and pocket panel type things for Jeeps that attach to the roll bars in the back, but I've never seen anything like this that attaches to the hardtop itself. Some way would have to be worked out to attach something like this to the smooth inside of a Jeep hardtop, so I'm sure that's why nobody's done anything like this for the Jeep market.

Sorry for the late reply as I haven’t been on the forum for a few due to some huge life stuff happening but I wanted to comment on this. I’ve got some bags for my jeep that are a similar design but triangular for the back side of the roll bar. They’re called gama bags I think and they attach with a metal surround that bolts to the roll bar. The downside with the triangle is that everything loaded in them wants to go down into the bottom but I’ve found they work great for holding four of our camp chairs. I have an ursa minor top with no windows so they fit well in it. Not sure others would like them with windows though. Overall they are a good product when considering how much stuff is in my jeep and how little storage space I have.

 

[jscherb]

I have an ursa minor top... considering how much stuff is in my jeep and how little storage space I have.

Since you have an Ursa Minor and are constrained for space, have you ever thought of a box like this?

Or how about a rack over the windshield?

A concept image with an Ursa Minor:

 

[shays4me]

	Since you have an Ursa Minor and are constrained for space, have you ever thought of a box like this? Or how about a rack over the windshield? A concept image with an Ursa Minor: I have but after packing my kayaks on top when I went to the redwoods I don’t care to put much of anything up there. It packs it ok, but lifting the top every night becomes a pain. I ended up unloading the rack every night. Since my jeep is overweight anyway and I’m a safety ninny I’ve learned to pack less and I can get my whole camping setup under my rear sleeping platform, minus the cooler and food box, downstairs mattress and sleeping bags. It’s still pretty crammed behind the rear seat but our camping will soon transition to three and that will lighten the load.

 

[shays4me]

The biggest problem I see with the jeep as an overlander vs the old defender is payload. You really can’t add much weight to a four door jeep.

 

[jscherb]

Inspired by the photos of recovery gear mounted on the bonnet of Land Rovers:

...I decided to see what I could come up with for Jeeps. Because the hoods of Jeeps are made of very thin sheet metal mounting things directly to the sheet metal probably doesn't make sense so I did a mockup of a mounting panel for the hood. The panel in these photos is from a prototype of something else I did a few years ago so it's not exactly the size I would make one of these for use on a real Jeep but it will serve as a discussion starter.

I mounted the panel to the hood hinges and the front of it is supported by the windshield bumpers and secured with the windshield footman loop. The hood hinges aren't factory JK hinges, they're HD hinges which are designed to enable things to be mounted to them, so this panel can be installed without disturbing the bolts securing the hinges to the hood. And it can be removed in minutes, making it perfect for installation only when needed for an expedition.

I put mounting studs for a Hilift on the panel and a pair of Quickfist clamps to hold a shovel.

Could also mount my sand ladders there (or MaxTraxx if that's your choice), the sand ladders aren't attached in this photo, they're just sitting there...

If I were to make one of these for real use, I'd make it larger as shown by the dashed line in this next photo but I did this mockup just as a conversation starter so I used a panel I had on hand instead of making a larger one just for this mockup.

I know there are HiLift mounts that attach to the hood hinges of Jeeps, but I don't believe there's a large grid like this that can hold multiple pieces of kit (er, gear, sorry for the Brit term ).

Seems like something like this might be very useful on a trail Jeep; the recovery tools need only be carried for that expedition and the panel and tools could be removed in minutes and left in the garage for daily driving. Would anyone want one of these on their Jeep?

 

[PaulJensen]

To overcome the weight of the engine bonnet sheet metal, I chose to use L Track to disperse the load... On the underside are wide fender washers... I wouldn't mount a spare to it but the bolt-on capabilities open up a lot of options for lighter weight, exposed to the weather storage... When we beach drive, the sand trax and folding aluminum chairs go there... Strapping dry bags there makes sense too...

 

[jscherb]

Another Bonnet Bag

Or, as Paul mentioned, instead of a mounting grid like in the last post, if you're carrying softer things, maybe a bag like this? I'd worry about putting too much weight in the bag because of the lightweight sheet metal Jeep hoods are made of. Sam say he uses it for bedding and wash gear.

A few more photos of Sam's Disco showing the bag:

 

[jscherb]

More on the idea of t-tracks on the side of the hardtop for carrying gear, here's a large gear box mounted on the hardtop side:

This Land Rover is owned by an offroad tour company; you can sign up to have them guide you on a drive through places in Africa like Morocco. You drive your own Land Rover and follow the tour guide vehicle.

Also check out the specially-shaped cargo box on the roof rack.

 

[jscherb]

Land Rover parts for my JKU

When I designed the JK/JKU Safari Cab, I shopped the junkyards for appropriate parts to include in the design. For example, the power vent windows use Toyota FJ40 vent window hinges and Chevy Venture minivan actuator motors.

I did use a couple of Land Rover parts. The Alpine windows are from a Discovery 1. I used them differently though, on the Disco the tall side is vertical and the short side is horizontal on the top but I wanted these to also serve as skylights so I designed the roof so they installed with the tall side horizontally on top.

The other Disco parts are in the overhead switch panel - I used a Discovery Homelink garage door opener, and the rocker switches that operate the power vent windows are Discovery power window switches. The overhead console with the lights on isn't a Land Rover part, it's from a Chevy Lumina minivan.

I think the only Jeep parts that I used in the JK Safari Cab design are the latches that secure the roof to the windshield, the roof rack, which is from an XJ Cherokee and the third brake light, also from an XJ, but gutted and the lights replaced with LED panels. There are a couple of other small non-Jeep parts in the hardtop but they're not Land Rover so I won't mention them.

 

[jscherb]

Limpets

These seem like a good idea if you've got a changing room under your roof top tent.

Just like he describes, sometimes if it's windy the wind causes a gap between the Jeep and the changing room fabric. It wasn't windy when this photo was taken, but in the wind the fabric moves around a lot and often comes away from the side of the Jeep.

From my reading of the description these seem to require making a hole in the fabric. If something like these suction cup clips I found on Amazon were used the clip could grab the fabric and no hole would be required...

Or maybe a combination of the suction cup clips for windows and fiberglass hardtops, and magnetic ones for metal body panels.

Could even use magnets alone without clips to hold the changing room sides to the metal body panels, these look good:

Lots of ways to solve the windy day changing room problem.

 

[jscherb]

Jerry Can Holder

I haven't seen a jerry can holder of this design in the U.S. I like it.

It's from Machine Mart (https://www.machinemart.co.uk/), which is roughly the U.K. equivalent of Harbor Freight.

 

[krick3tt]

Interesting idea. Putting a lock on a fabric strap. Sure can't cut through that lock. Thinking of more like a metal locking strap. The fabric strap is to cut down on vibration.

 

[jscherb]

Interesting idea. Putting a lock on a fabric strap. Sure can't cut through that lock.

The jerry can carriers I use come with ratchet straps, which hold the cans in place very well but in places where I'm concerned with theft, it's easy to secure the cans with a bicycle lock. I'm sure the same could be done with the Machine Mart jerry can mounts.

 

[PaulJensen]

More on the idea of t-tracks on the side of the hardtop for carrying gear, here's a large gear box mounted on the hardtop side:

L - track is so versatile in this application... We have tracks on both sides of the rear cabin...

(above) 35# tandem bicycle hung from two L-tracks...