Land Rover ideas for Jeeps

[jscherb]

Jscherb, I love that picnic bag! I'd totally add one of those in that exact color scheme to my King Ranch F150, and my CJ5 Jeep

Thanks!

Check with Adventure Tools, they might have something like that.

When I was doing the design for my picnic bag, I checked everything on the market that I could find to see if there was anything that met the requirements. I didn't find anything that met these requirements:

• Compact size, no larger than 12 x 12 x 8
• Room enough to hold a nice lunch for two; the benchmark was two footlong subs or Subway salads plus two drinks and cold packs.
• Insulated section for drinks and food
• Non-insulated section to hold complete place settings for two - plates, silverware, collapsible cups, napkins.
• Space for condiments/salad dressings and bottle opener
• Additional storage for flat items like trash bags
• Attaches easily to the seat so it doesn't take up too much room in the vehicle
• Includes top handle for carrying as well as a shoulder strap and backpack straps for hiking away from the vehicle to a nice overlook for lunch.
• Molle capability so additional storage can be added, such as additional insulated drink holders.

I've met all those requirements in this design and I didn't see anything like it on the market when I was doing the design.

It has space in the non-insulated side for all of this and more:

With the shoulder strap and one insulated drink holder on the side:

After I sewed the picnic bag, I decided that a simpler bag with just the insulated section would also be useful for drinks and snacks on the road or trail. It looks like this; it has Molle on 3 sides, and two insulated drink holders are hanging on the sides in this photo:

Maybe add some additional pouches for snacks?

In addition to the Zip & Go zipper for the seat back, this one also has Molle straps on the back so it can attach to any Molle surface:

On a tailgate Molle panel:

The insulated section of both bags is the same size; all of this easily fits inside:

I couldn't find anything on the market that matches the features and capabilities of these two designs so I sewed these.

 

[krick3tt]

Talk to Paul at Adventure Tools, they make custom things. Made me a custom item. He is always a good man to talk with and ideas do not always come from one source.

 

[jscherb]

As long as I'm on the subject of sewing things for the Jeep that have some inspiration in Land Rover ideas...

Some Defenders have a bulkhead behind the rear seat and there are a number of bags available to hang there.

Wranglers don't have a bulkhead, but something similar could hang on the back of the rear seat, I think Rugged Ridge and Smittybilt offer for the back of the rear seat although I've never seen them in use in a Jeep. I wonder if they work on the split rear seat of a JKU/JLU? Probably can't fold down one half of the seat when something like that is installed across the back.

This isn't a large panel like the Exmoor seat-back panel, but I was thinking about this a few weeks ago so I made a "Zip & Go" compatible attachment for the split rear seats that works with the moveable headrest as the seat folds forward. In my JKU the passenger side of the rear seat is removed and replaced with a floor storage compartment, so I can only hang something on the drivers side rear half of the seat:

The seat folds down just fine with a bag in place:

Or, instead of zipping a bag to the seat mount, a Molle strip can be zipped to the mount.

With some Molle bags attached:

If I want to remove the Molle bags, I can just unzip the Zip & Go Molle strip rather than unthreading the Molle straps on the back of the bags.

 

[jscherb]

Thanks!



When I was doing the design for my picnic bag, I checked everything on the market that I could find to see if there was anything that met the requirements. I didn't find anything that met these requirements:

• Compact size, no larger than 12 x 12 x 8
• Room enough to hold a nice lunch for two; the benchmark was two footlong subs or Subway salads plus two drinks and cold packs.
• Insulated section for drinks and food
• Non-insulated section to hold complete place settings for two - plates, silverware, collapsible cups, napkins.
• Space for condiments/salad dressings and bottle opener
• Additional storage for flat items like trash bags
• Attaches easily to the seat so it doesn't take up too much room in the vehicle
• Includes top handle for carrying as well as a shoulder strap and backpack straps for hiking away from the vehicle to a nice overlook for lunch.
• Molle capability so additional storage can be added, such as additional insulated drink holders.

I've met all those requirements in this design and I didn't see anything like it on the market when I was doing the design.

It has space in the non-insulated side for all of this and more:

With the shoulder strap and one insulated drink holder on the side:

After I sewed the picnic bag, I decided that a simpler bag with just the insulated section would also be useful for drinks and snacks on the road or trail. It looks like this; it has Molle on 3 sides, and two insulated drink holders are hanging on the sides in this photo:

Maybe add some additional pouches for snacks?

In addition to the Zip & Go zipper for the seat back, this one also has Molle straps on the back so it can attach to any Molle surface:

On a tailgate Molle panel:

The insulated section of both bags is the same size; all of this easily fits inside:

I couldn't find anything on the market that matches the features and capabilities of these two designs so I sewed these.

We had a picnic today using the new Zip & Go Picnic Bag - I posted about it in my JKU thread so rather than post twice, here's a link to the post: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...factory-hardtops.127687/page-319#post-2927023

 

[jscherb]

This hardtop side mounted locker box caught my attention:

I haven't seen anything like that done for a Wrangler, so I drew one.

Could be a useful accessory for some people; might be a good place to carry recovery gear or perhaps first responder supplies.

 

[jscherb]

"Covered Wagon" canopies are not uncommon on trailers in the Land Rover world:

They're not common on trailers pulled by Jeeps in the U.S. and I wonder why because they can be very useful. I often carry items in mine that are taller than the tub side rail and need protection from the elements, such as furniture. Don't have any photos of carrying items like that, but here's one taken when I was bringing some landscaping supplies home from Lowes.

This magazine photo was the inspiration for my covered wagon canopy, I've posted this photo before. Maybe these canopies are more common in the Land Rover world because the British military uses them?

The original Bantam BT3-C (the commercial version of the M100) was available with a covered wagon top, here's a restored example I saw at a truck show a few years ago:

The Bantam had a wooden frame that mounted in stake pockets on the inside of the tub.

The Spen trailer made in the U.S. also offered a covered wagon canopy:

And even Willys offered one:

 

[wandererr]

gotta reach out to them

<edit> message sent

The OP’s rack is similar to my setup, and it is versatile as to what I can carry up there. One pic is of a 40 gallon water tank. No RTT for us. We sleep inside on foam cutouts. Yes we pack lightly.

So it's been a week and cricket..... outside of automated email stating that they will reach out to me as soon as possible I got nothing..... kinda dissapointed....

 

[jscherb]

So it's been a week and cricket..... outside of automated email stating that they will reach out to me as soon as possible I got nothing..... kinda dissapointed....

Sorry I can't provide any new information, but I've had almost no communication from Retrofit Offroad since the pandemic started. The last email I got from them was in December and it wasn't about the cargo window kit. As far as I know the cargo windows are basically ready to go into production and whenever the RV window company is back to normal and whenever/if Retrofit decides to go forward the product can be manufactured and made available.

I just design these things and sometimes help manufacturers get the designs ready for production (as I did with the cargo windows) but I'm not part of any of the companies that pick up my designs so I have no say in whether or when something becomes available. Mostly I just do a design for my own enjoyment and if a company picks up the design I sometimes help their manufacturer get it ready for production but that's as far as my participation goes.

If Retrofit decides not to go forward with the cargo windows, the design could be made available to another company/person to bring them to market.

 

[wandererr]

Thanks! I understand that you have no control over this. I just posted about retrofit being no responsive in case folks are looking to order stuff and expect support afterwards.

To me, you might have issues shipping, fulfilling orders and the like during pandemic but you shouldn't have issues communicating.. oh well...

 

[jscherb]

From time to time the Land Rover magazines mention jerry can covers, one that's often mentioned is this one from Camp Cover in South Africa: https://www.campcover.co.za/product/jerry-can-cover-ripstop-20-litre/

They are available in the U.S., OK4wd sells them. The other day they featured it in one of their promotional emails:

This is another one from South Africa, from a company called Wild Quagga: https://www.wildquagga.co.za/products/jerry-can-cover

One problem with both of the covers above is that there's no provision for security - I secure these cans with a locking strap through the can's handle and there's no holes in the side of the bag for a strap to go through the handle.

Also, they have holes in the top for carrying the can; rain can get in through the hole and accumulate inside the cover, which will lead to a metal can rusting. Might be better to require the cover not have a hole and unzip it to access the can's carrying handle.

I never see covers like this mentioned in the Jeep community, even though they were standard Army issue:

I believe the Army issue ones were for keeping water cool, not for fuel.

Covers are very common in the marine space:

A search on "sewing jerry can cover" will turn up quite a few pages of designs and instructions. There's even a step-by-step sewing plan for one in one of the sewing reference books I have here - Canvas for Cruisers, it's a book about sewing for marine use. Most of the marine patterns make fairly loose-fitting covers, perhaps not ideal for use on a Jeep on the highway.

Jerry can covers are very popular in the marine space because most of those are plastic for carrying water and UV will degrade them, but why are they popular in South Africa - the web sites for both I mentioned show metal NATO cans in them. And why not popular in the U.S.? The next time I talk to Jim at OK2wd (he's the owner) I'll have to ask him how well they sell here.

And from Australia, this isn't a jerry can cover, it's a bag the size and shape of a jerry can, designed to fit in jerry can carriers: https://www.drifta.com.au/product/drifta-jerry-can-holder-bag/

Seems like the bags might be a good idea to carry gear when you can spare jerry can carrier space for one, and the jerry can covers might not be a bad idea either, although probably more useful as UV protection for plastic containers like Scepter than for metal cans.

 

[jscherb]

I had some fabric left over from other projects so I sewed a quick jerry can cover. The new cover addresses what I consider some design flaws in the first two commercial covers in the last post - mine has holes in the side for a locking strap, it doesn't have a hole in the lid to allow rain to enter, and it doesn't have a solid bottom so any water or spillage that gets inside the cover will drain out the bottom. I also added PALS grids on both sides so MOLLE gear can be attached.

Holes in the side allow a locking strap to go through the handle of the can. This is just a piece of webbing threaded through for the photo, it's not a locking strap:

The cover is insulated with foam and a mylar inner lining; the insulation on the cover is visible in the photo above.

The bottom is open so any water or spillage that gets inside the cover will drain out.

A while back I designed and sewed an insulated Rotopax cover to prevent the "Rotopax bulge" in the sun, I used the same fabric and insulating foam. Also made a Molle recovery gear bag out of the same fabric that can attach to either the Rotopax or this new Jerry Can cover.

 

[dibsen]

Dudes,
This three was made for me! I used to have a SIII 109" that I brought back with me from the UK. Since being back in the states i have picked up a couple of jeeps. Let me know if this has been covered but I have a left over roff skin from my 109" that I am planning on using in some shape or fashion on my CJ-6 resto-mod. Once I get to that spot I will be sure to post up in here.

 

[dibsen]

I had some fabric left over from other projects so I sewed a quick jerry can cover. The new cover addresses what I consider some design flaws in the first two commercial covers in the last post - mine has holes in the side for a locking strap, it doesn't have a hole in the lid to allow rain to enter, and it doesn't have a solid bottom so any water or spillage that gets inside the cover will drain out the bottom. I also added PALS grids on both sides so MOLLE gear can be attached.

Holes in the side allow a locking strap to go through the handle of the can. This is just a piece of webbing threaded through for the photo, it's not a locking strap:

The cover is insulated with foam and a mylar inner lining; the insulation on the cover is visible in the photo above.

The bottom is open so any water or spillage that gets inside the cover will drain out.

A while back I designed and sewed an insulated Rotopax cover to prevent the "Rotopax bulge" in the sun, I used the same fabric and insulating foam. Also made a Molle recovery gear bag out of the same fabric that can attach to either the Rotopax or this new Jerry Can cover.

Solid work!

 

[JDaPP]

I would personally love a jerry can shaped cooler, that with your cover would free up some space + make my camping life super convenient.

 

[jscherb]

I would personally love a jerry can shaped cooler, that with your cover would free up some space + make my camping life super convenient.

Here you go (https://military-tent.com/gemifoco4ga1.html):

There's also one with 3 interior compartments (https://military-tent.com/german-military-food-containers--3-part3.html):

The insulated cover I sewed today wouldn't fit this because the top of mine is sloped to match the slope on the cap side of the jerry can - the top of this cooler is level. Easy to sew one with a flat top though.