Land Rover ideas for Jeeps

[jscherb]

Put a lid on the shoe bag in case it rains and some drain wholes .

I put a drain hole in the bottom of each pocket and finished the holes off with grommets:

The ARB shoe bags don't have lids either; since the bags hang under the rain fly of the tent opening lids haven't been necessary so far but if I ever discover that lids are necessary I'll add them, it's a quick sewing job.

 

[jscherb]

This could be useful on a roof rack, perhaps as a source of warm water after it got heated by the sun?

I did some searching and found that they're available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sturm-Military-Surplus-Swiss-Liter/dp/B003P43Q5Y

 

[jscherb]

So not a Land Rover but I came across this German youtube channel where they have some similar ideas for adapting the Jeep with various storage options (and made a pop top with a RTT). Thought it might be of interest / was relevant.

Back when I was designing the modular conversion for Wrangler factory hardtops I did some rough design sketches of a factory hardtop converted to a Dormobile-style pop-top.

The conversion would use the same fiberglass TrailTop components I used when I built the pop-top for my Jeep-tub camper:

For reference, this is a Series Dormobile:

 

[shays4me]

The Doormobile conversions really put the Land Rover Series over the top in the cool factor for me. There's a lady named Terri Anne Wakeman who has a nice site chronicling her build and adventures in a series 2 Rover and I've spent many hours looking around there. http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/

 

[jscherb]

The other day I posted a photo of 16'-long pieces of square tubing on top of my LJ and I said the metal was for a Land Rover inspired rack project. Here's what's up... I've got a Garvin rack basket that I use on both the LJ and the JKU:

Sometimes, especially when I've got the roof top tent up top, I could use a little extra space on the rack. The long racks on many of the Defenders pictured in this thread have inspired me to design an extension to the rack basket.

The Garvin can be disassembled into 3 pieces and I could make an extension to go between the existing pieces, but my plan is to make an extension that attaches to the front of the basket without requiring disassembly of the main basket. Since I don't always need the extra space, it'll be easier to just bolt the extension to the basket when I need it rather than disassemble/reassemble the main basket each time my needs change.

What I'm planning will be something like this:

The current basket is 6' long; I'm planning to make a 2' extension for a total of 8', which will come up to the windshield on the JKU and hang over the windshield a few inches on the LJ. At that length, it'll need some extra support, so I'll add a gutter-mount crossbar for the extension since both Jeeps have gutters all around.

 

[jscherb]

One of the things I could put on the extended rack along with the RTT is boxes to carry expedition gear - camping gear, maybe spare parts, etc. Some boxes to put up there would be nice.

One option would be to make up a box like the one I showed a cardstock mockup of earlier in the thread:

Or...

Most of the expedition-equipped Land Rovers with roof racks in the magazine photos have boxes on the rack, either plastic or aluminum.

I see plastic boxes on racks in the U.S. from time to time but I rarely see aluminum boxes here. At Overland East last year one vendor had aluminum boxes on display and I saw this ad on this forum the other day, but I haven't seen many on Jeeps here.

Maybe we don't see many aluminum boxes used in/on Jeeps here because they're a bit expensive compared to plastic boxs.

Aluminum boxes, even custom made ones, can be had quite affordably in South Asia. Shops that make aluminum boxes are common in both India and Nepal. I gone into these shops a few times and asked about the pricing; they'll make whatever size you ask for and they're pretty reasonably priced. I haven't figured out how to get one home without the shipping of the box home costing too much although one of the companies I've done some design work for does manufacturing in India, maybe sometime I'll ask them to include a box or two when they send a product shipment to the U.S.

This shop is in the Thamel market area of Kathmandu Nepal, doesn't look like the guy is too busy . His boxes are painted.

This photo was taken in a different shop, there's a sheet of aluminum on the floor and the guy is measuring out a box before cutting. It would be fun to walk in with a sketch and walk out with a custom box.

 

[jscherb]

Something I'm considering for the extension is making the top rail a bolt-on. Sometimes a top rail would be useful, but in this photo, the front part of the rack is just a platform with no top rail and the box looks great there. If I make the rail a bolt-on then I can install the extension as a platform or as a basket.

Another idea from a Land Rover magazine - inner bags for the rooftop boxes. Seems like a good idea for aluminum boxes so gear doesn't rattle around in them or dent the box from the inside.

 

[Bobzdar]

Having both a series 3 109 ex-mod and a gladiator I'm familiar with both worlds accessory wise. The LR can carry a lot more weight overall, and particularly on the roof. I think the stock Jeep hard top is only rated to carry 200-300lbs. To go over that, you have to attach to the body tub instead, and that kills the ability to take the top off easily, though there are some interesting solutions to that. LR owners seem to care a lot less about that - they either run a full hard top that they don't take off or a canvas top, and that's rare to see in overland rigs. Because the hard top sides are metal it can carry a lot more weight vs. the Jeep.

I don't see why an LR style spare wouldn't work on a Jeep. The hood isn't anything special, the only thing beefy about it is the hood prop. Otherwise it's just a dished metal hood, no special supports. The dish keeps it from deforming. The hood latches aren't anything special, either. If you made a hood that dished down to basically touching the engine it should give fine visability - it's less of a view blocker than you'd think.

 

[jscherb]

Yesterday I posted a short article about bags for the inside of storage boxes. They were from a company called FlatDog and since I hadn't heard of them before I went to the company's web site to see what else they had. I found this ground anchor:

The only ground anchors I've seen in the U.S. are either Pull-Pal or Pull-Pal knock offs, some of which look a lot like boat anchors, but all of them are bit large and somewhat awkward. This one comes with a storage bag and is quite compact when stored, probably could fit under the back seat of a JKU.

It's a pretty simple device. A piece of 1/4" steel plate with a longitudinal bend in it, 6 stakes which look like they're made from 1/2" steel rod, and a d-ring.

Here's a link to the company that sells it: https://flatdoguk.com/fd-emergency-ground-anchor~750

What do you guys think of this product? I think I'll make one or two for testing. If they work well, it will be a great piece of gear to keep in the Jeep.

 

[jscherb]

Having both a series 3 109 ex-mod and a gladiator I'm familiar with both worlds accessory wise. The LR can carry a lot more weight overall, and particularly on the roof. I think the stock Jeep hard top is only rated to carry 200-300lbs. To go over that, you have to attach to the body tub instead, and that kills the ability to take the top off easily, though there are some interesting solutions to that. LR owners seem to care a lot less about that - they either run a full hard top that they don't take off or a canvas top, and that's rare to see in overland rigs. Because the hard top sides are metal it can carry a lot more weight vs. the Jeep.

I don't care about taking the top off either - I don't like full sun on me so my configuration is perfect for me - I always leave the roof panel in place but swap out the sides - hard sides in cold weather and roll-up soft sides in summer. And on both my JKU and LJ Safari Cab hardtops the roof racks are supported by the roll bar, so they can support weight on top even when the hard sides are not installed. I haven't done stress testing to determine how much weight is too much, but the static weight capacity is definitely far more that it would be safe to drive with.

I don't see why an LR style spare wouldn't work on a Jeep. The hood isn't anything special, the only thing beefy about it is the hood prop. Otherwise it's just a dished metal hood, no special supports. The dish keeps it from deforming. The hood latches aren't anything special, either. If you made a hood that dished down to basically touching the engine it should give fine visability - it's less of a view blocker than you'd think.

When I was thinking about doing a hood to carry a spare, the plan was to build a dish into it to recess the spare a bit. In this rough simulation photo the spare is cut off a the bottom as if it were recessed into the hood. Also I've measured the distance from the top of the hood to the bottom of the windshield and on my LJ that distance is roughly the same as I'm told the distance is a Land Rover, so other than the width of my spare (which is conservative by Jeep standards), the visibility out of my LJ would be roughly the same as the visibility out of a Land Rover.

I started a thread on the idea back when I was thinking about doing it and I was very surprised by the amount of negativity to the idea in the Jeep community.

 

[ratled]

Yesterday I posted a short article about bags for the inside of storage boxes. They were from a company called FlatDog and since I hadn't heard of them before I went to the company's web site to see what else they had. I found this ground anchor:

The only ground anchors I've seen in the U.S. are either Pull-Pal or Pull-Pal knock offs, some of which look a lot like boat anchors, but all of them are bit large and somewhat awkward. This one comes with a storage bag and is quite compact when stored, probably could fit under the back seat of a JKU.

It's a pretty simple device. A piece of 1/4" steel plate with a longitudinal bend in it, 6 stakes which look like they're made from 1/2" steel rod, and a d-ring.

Here's a link to the company that sells it: https://flatdoguk.com/fd-emergency-ground-anchor~750

What do you guys think of this product? I think I'll make one or two for testing. If they work well, it will be a great piece of gear to keep in the Jeep.

I have been carrying a picket line set up for years for my ground anchor. Ground anchors are great when there are no boulders or trees. The issue I see with the above set up is the stakes appear to be a little short - I would use about 18" in the ground. Also I would like to see the steel plate longer - spread out the ground resistance.

 

[jscherb]

I have been carrying a picket line set up for years for my ground anchor. Ground anchors are great when there are no boulders or trees. The issue I see with the above set up is the stakes appear to be a little short - I would use about 18" in the ground. Also I would like to see the steel plate longer - spread out the ground resistance.

Based on the size of the stakes and plate compared to the guy's shoe in the photo, I'm guessing the plate is 15 or 16 inches long and the stakes maybe 16". I was thinking about making the stakes 18" as well, haven't thought about the size of the plate yet.

16" stakes are available commercially (see below), I haven't found 18" stakes yet but they would be easy to make from rebar (and cheaper). The ones below are made from 3/8" rebar, 1/2" would probably be better.

 

[MCX]

Yesterday I posted a short article about bags for the inside of storage boxes. They were from a company called FlatDog and since I hadn't heard of them before I went to the company's web site to see what else they had. I found this ground anchor:

The only ground anchors I've seen in the U.S. are either Pull-Pal or Pull-Pal knock offs, some of which look a lot like boat anchors, but all of them are bit large and somewhat awkward. This one comes with a storage bag and is quite compact when stored, probably could fit under the back seat of a JKU.

It's a pretty simple device. A piece of 1/4" steel plate with a longitudinal bend in it, 6 stakes which look like they're made from 1/2" steel rod, and a d-ring.

Here's a link to the company that sells it: https://flatdoguk.com/fd-emergency-ground-anchor~750

What do you guys think of this product? I think I'll make one or two for testing. If they work well, it will be a great piece of gear to keep in the Jeep.

I could be missing something, but this seems like a disaster waiting to happen. If that metal plate comes free with a lot of tension while pulling, it's going to fling back at a high rate of speed and be a flying metal projectile aimed right at the front of the vehicle.

 

[ratled]

Based on the size of the stakes and plate compared to the guy's shoe in the photo, I'm guessing the plate is 15 or 16 inches long and the stakes maybe 16". I was thinking about making the stakes 18" as well, haven't thought about the size of the plate yet.

16" stakes are available commercially (see below), I haven't found 18" stakes yet but they would be easy to make from rebar (and cheaper). The ones below are made from 3/8" rebar, 1/2" would probably be better.

The hook could make it hard to to pound into hard/frozen ground. On the upside it would make it easier to slide a tire iron under there to help recover them. I would not use 3/8ths - 1/2" is a must. Also if you are going to pad up a plate consider allowing the stakes to be put into the ground on an angle, say 75 degrees, away from the pull to give better ground resistance

 

[jscherb]

The hook could make it hard to to pound into hard/frozen ground. On the upside it would make it easier to slide a tire iron under there to help recover them. I would not use 3/8ths - 1/2" is a must. Also if you are going to pad up a plate consider allowing the stakes to be put into the ground on an angle, say 75 degrees, away from the pull to give better ground resistance

Agree on all points.