d110pickup
SE Expedition Society
If you're not familiar with the Defender frames each side is a box about 3" wide X 8" tall, not the typical C channel. They are much stiffer.
Land Rover ideas for Jeeps
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I'm a fan of having cargo box(es) on the roof rack, I've done quite a few posts about them in this thread already. Here's a Land Rover from the January issue of Land Rover Owner; it's got two large boxes on the roof.
They've set up the tent to deploy off the back:
And what's interesting about the roof rack is that it doesn't have a rail all the way around - notice there's no rail around the back, enabling the tent to sit on the floor of the rack and open out the back where there's no rail.
These boxes are definitely too tall:
I would like to do a box that isn't taller than the stowed roof top tent to avoid increasing the already high wind resistance of the Jeep with the roof top tent up top.
Speaking of wind resistance, Land Rovers I guess don't do the kind of speeds I do (I regularly do 75pmh+ on the way out west to begin an expedition), check this sticker on an expedition-outfitted Land Rover 130 pictured in the magazine:
Maybe that would be a popular sticker on fridge-equipped Jeeps?
.
They've set up the tent to deploy off the back:
And what's interesting about the roof rack is that it doesn't have a rail all the way around - notice there's no rail around the back, enabling the tent to sit on the floor of the rack and open out the back where there's no rail.
These boxes are definitely too tall:
I would like to do a box that isn't taller than the stowed roof top tent to avoid increasing the already high wind resistance of the Jeep with the roof top tent up top.
Speaking of wind resistance, Land Rovers I guess don't do the kind of speeds I do (I regularly do 75pmh+ on the way out west to begin an expedition), check this sticker on an expedition-outfitted Land Rover 130 pictured in the magazine:
Maybe that would be a popular sticker on fridge-equipped Jeeps?
.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
For my purposes I think I prefer a single large cargo box on the front of the rack. I posted this photo earlier in the thread:
Another one:
One way to go would be to fabricate a box but before I decide that I looked to see what might be available for a reasonable price. I found 3 on eBay that would fit within the width of the rack, wouldn't be higher than the RTT and ship from the U.S.A.
$116+ (multiple sellers, multiple prices):
$165:
$195:
Another one:
One way to go would be to fabricate a box but before I decide that I looked to see what might be available for a reasonable price. I found 3 on eBay that would fit within the width of the rack, wouldn't be higher than the RTT and ship from the U.S.A.
$116+ (multiple sellers, multiple prices):
$165:
$195:
pith helmet
Well-known member
Jeff, been said plenty but this is the coolest thread that ever was.
I like the box idea but I am using lightweight gutter/hinge mounts for my current rack. Not ideal but we don’t use a RTT and it’s planned for light gear to open up space inside so I can lower the sleeping platform some.
Could you share a pic or two or explain the method used of mounting through the hard top into the cage? These are the Smittybilt defender mounts....impressed with them but they certainly have limits, mostly the strength of the fiberglass. Thanks.
I like the box idea but I am using lightweight gutter/hinge mounts for my current rack. Not ideal but we don’t use a RTT and it’s planned for light gear to open up space inside so I can lower the sleeping platform some.
Could you share a pic or two or explain the method used of mounting through the hard top into the cage? These are the Smittybilt defender mounts....impressed with them but they certainly have limits, mostly the strength of the fiberglass. Thanks.
Chorky
Observer
storage boxes are a great idea but what about a better interior storage idea, or even under the body? maybe something to store in that somewhat empty space dirctly behind the seats but before the tub comes up 6" to go over the rear axle/tank. I always cringe at the idea of adding so much weight up top and the idea of a slightly off camper road causing a rollover. Then again, had maybe a few too many pucker moments the last few years. It's always kina bothered me how theres a lot of wasted space. For example, truck beds - theres plenty of room between the sheetmetal to have side boxes for storage, even in a factory bed.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I would never want to subject a factory hardtop to the weight of an occupied roof top tent with the way the Smittybilt rack attaches to the hardtop. Maybe it's ok for lesser loads but when I designed the Safari Cab hardtop I didn't want to have any limits (other than common sense) on the weight I could put on the rack. The fiberglass roof is reinforced directly under where the rack channels bolt to the roof and there are four places inside the top where the reinforced area is supported with brackets to the roll bar.
Top view of the rack, you can see the rack channels directly on the roof:
And this is a view inside the back, one of the brackets is visible. I used existing threaded holes in the roll bar to secure these brackets so no roll bar modifications were required except to punch a small hole in the cloth roll bar cover for the bolts to go through.
In the front there are two brackets on top of the main hoop of the roll bar, these also bolt into existing threaded holes.
There's less room between the roll bar and the inside of a factory hardtop so I doubt the brackets I designed would fit but maybe something similar could be made.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Seems to me the space under the vehicle would best be used for an air tank or auxiliary fuel tank that you can install and forget, not something I'm going to have to crawl under the Jeep to access somehow on a regular basis.
I agree with carrying as much weight as possible low in the vehicle, though, and earlier this year I added a floor compartment to my JKU. I almost never have more than 3 people in the Jeep, so I designed a set of brackets to a) allow the passenger side of the split rear seat to be removed and b) to make assembling a storage compartment a bolt-and-play operation with simple wood pieces.
It holds a good amount of gear and storing heavy things in there improves the center of gravity.
This bracket set makes it a simple project with no drilling in the Jeep or any modifications to the Jeep other than unbolting the passenger side of the seat and bolting the storage compartment in place.
Most of the brackets above are for the compartment structure, one of them enables the driver's side seat to be installed without the passenger side:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Or I could have a custom box built or build one myself. I've been sketching some design ideas...
The first concept drawing shows a latch on the front implying it'll hinge in the back. But I'm thinking maybe I should put the hinge in the front and latch it in the back - that way it could be accessed from within the tent.
Some years ago I designed a cargo box for Gr8Tops and worked with a box company to get it into production, so one option would be to go back to that company and ask them to do this box. One good thing about doing it that way is that if anyone else wanted one the box company could make more, perhaps a group buy could be done to reduce the cost.
This is Gr8Tops box, I use it whenever I have the soft sides on the LJ and need secure storage:
Another way I might go is to make a box out of fiberglass. It wouldn't take much to make a mold for a simple box like this.
The first concept drawing shows a latch on the front implying it'll hinge in the back. But I'm thinking maybe I should put the hinge in the front and latch it in the back - that way it could be accessed from within the tent.
Some years ago I designed a cargo box for Gr8Tops and worked with a box company to get it into production, so one option would be to go back to that company and ask them to do this box. One good thing about doing it that way is that if anyone else wanted one the box company could make more, perhaps a group buy could be done to reduce the cost.
This is Gr8Tops box, I use it whenever I have the soft sides on the LJ and need secure storage:
Another way I might go is to make a box out of fiberglass. It wouldn't take much to make a mold for a simple box like this.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
If you want to see my fiberglass work I don't need to do yet another fiberglass project, I've posted many projects from start to finish over the years.
A few examples...The hardtop on my LJ is my own design and made in fiberglass in my home garage. Also the CJ Grille Kit on the LJ (fiberglass hood, fenders and cowl panel to integrate a factory CJ grille onto a TJ/LJ):
The JL-Style grille and the MB/GPW-style flat fenders on my JKU, as well as the hardtop on the JKU:
My most recent project was an updated grille for the TJ with JL/CL styling, shown here hanging above a stock TJ grille...
And the fiberglass project on my workbench right now is an MB/GPW-style grille for the TJ, these are some shots of the mold master work taken two days ago...
Colorized:
A fiberglass box seems like a boring project compared to these
.I’ve been following all the fiberglass projects, but we haven’t seen you build a fg box yet! Sounds silly, but I want to see how you build something “simple” like a box.If you want to see my fiberglass work I don't need to do yet another fiberglass project, I've posted many projects from start to finish over the years.
The hardtop on my LJ is my own design and made in fiberglass in my home garage. Also the CJ Grille Kit on the LJ (fiberglass hood, fenders and cowl panel to integrate a factory CJ grille onto a TJ/LJ):
The JL-Style grille and the MB/GPW-style flat fenders on my JKU, as well as the hardtop on the JKU:
My most recent project was an updated grille for the TJ with JL/CL styling, shown here hanging above a stock TJ grille...
And the fiberglass project on my workbench right now is an MB/GPW-style grille for the TJ, these are some shots of the mold master work taken two days ago...
Colorized:
A fiberglass box seems like a boring project compared to these
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I haven't made anything as simple as a box before, but the military trailer lid I made is basically a box so I'll show the steps for that project. The steps for making a box are pretty much the same.
I started by making a mold master out of MDF:
I use MDF often for this because it's perfectly flat and smooth, cuts easily, takes a finish nicely and it's not expensive.
Then I put a nice finish on it. Whatever finish (and flaws) are on the surface will be faithfully reproduced in the mold and on the final product.
I made a mold on it, I'll skip those steps, here's the finished mold:
One thing to notice about the mold - there are boards bolted to around the top of the mold - these are forms used to make an inward-facing flange around the edge. I would do the same thing for a weatherproof box, the inward-facing flange give the cover something to seal against. The board facing front in the photo is removable, I did that to make it easier to get the finished lid out of the mold (more on that technique in moment).
To begin making the "box", the inside of the mold is shot with gelcoat:
And once that's cured to the right point, the fiberglass is laid up. I added ribs to the lid to make it strong enough to support a roof top tent and reinforcement pads where the bolts for a roof top tent will go through.
The lid has been popped out of the mold in these next photos, in the first photo you can see the inward-facing lip.
I made the mold for half a cover, the two halves get bolted together to form the full lid. In this next photo, the 225-lb. gorilla test is being done to verify that the lid is strong enough...
The "box" above is not very deep and there's one more consideration when making a mold for a deeper box - draft angle. To allow a deep box to be removed from the mold, one (or both) of two techniques has to be used:
1. Draft angle. A box with perfectly vertical sides won't slip out of the mold very easily, so the sides need to be angled very slightly - the top of the box needs to be slightly larger than the bottom of the box, this is called draft angle.
2. To make a box without draft angle it would be best to make a multi-part mold - a mold that bolts together in the corners. The mold parts are bolted together, the box is molded in the mold and then to remove the box from the mold the mold is disassembled. The inward-facing flanges I did on the trailer lid above are bolt-on parts to the mold, it's the same idea except the entire mold would come apart.
If I decide to make a roof rack box out of fiberglass, I'd probably do it with a diamondplate surface texture. I've got a brand-new 4x8 sheet of thin aluminum diamondplate here, it's too thin to make a box out of but if could be used as a skin for a mold master. I'd make a wooden mold master box, skin it with this thin diamondplate and then make a mold from that. The resulting boxes out of the mold would look just like a metal diamondplate box. A box with a diamondplate surface texture would need to be made in a multipart mold; the raised bumps in the diamondplate would lock the box into the mold so the only way to get the box out of the mold would be to make a mold that can be disassembled.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
In the latest of Land Rover Owner is this piece of kit - a "force multiplier" puller block.
I'm a big believer in multiple line winch pulls, I'll gladly sacrifice pull speed for pull force. Whenever possible when I winch I use a snatch block and set up for a multiple line pull - even in my own backyard when I was testing the sand ladder winch anchor point I designed and built earlier in this thread I set up a double-line pull:
It's not clear to me exactly how this "force multiplier" is actually used, I assume it's used like a snatch block but the winch line runs through it multiples times and back to the Jeep multiple times but I'll have to research it.
I'm a big believer in multiple line winch pulls, I'll gladly sacrifice pull speed for pull force. Whenever possible when I winch I use a snatch block and set up for a multiple line pull - even in my own backyard when I was testing the sand ladder winch anchor point I designed and built earlier in this thread I set up a double-line pull:
It's not clear to me exactly how this "force multiplier" is actually used, I assume it's used like a snatch block but the winch line runs through it multiples times and back to the Jeep multiple times but I'll have to research it.