Ursa Minor Pop-Top Jeep JK

J

JARunning

Member
Happy to have had our j30 installed last week. #266.
It was a pleasure to meet John, see their new shop in Portland and check out the extraordinary craftsmanship put into these things.

I’m looking forward to many camping trips in it.

Bonus points since the Jeep even still fits in the garage! Barely, so it looks like I won’t be lifting it anytime soon though...

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P

Presto88

Adventurer
Looks great! Can you give me any details regarding those brackets that you have on the side? I assume they are for mounting an awning? That's my next step, but I just don't know where to start.
 
J

JARunning

Member
Presto88 said:
Looks great! Can you give me any details regarding those brackets that you have on the side? I assume they are for mounting an awning? That's my next step, but I just don't know where to start.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Those are indeed for an awning. I had Ursa Minor put them on pre-installation as it was just easier than trying to drill through once the whole thing was mounted up.

Pretty simple brackets on spacers, sounded like they normally have on hand. Pair of SS bolts run through the four cutouts in the top and the rear two nuts are accessible while the front are pretty well hidden.

I am still torn between an Eezi-awn Manta or just a big ARB on the side and another small arb on the back...
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J

JARunning

Member
ratled said:
JA Looks good! What is the hieght of the opening if you don't mind? Also, any other pics?

ratled
Click to expand...

Thanks ratled!
My garage opening is 82”

So for my stock Rubicon Recon, the highest point in the rear is right about 80.5” with the j30 but otherwise more or less empty/unloaded.

Would be more like 79” for a bare roof j30 without the Yakima rack rails.

It rides perfectly fine as-is (smoother and quieter than before with just the oem hardtop), but I'm going to add either airlift bags at super low pressure, timbren bump stops or small spring spacers to level it out and make up for the 1” or so that the rear is sagging now from stock with the j30 and camping gear loaded up.

Few more pics too... I'm super happy how the Teraflex hinge and external rack is working out for a bit of extra storage:
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P

Presto88

Adventurer
So those awning brackets came from UrsaMinor? I'm going to have to drop John a line and see about getting a set. Thanks!

But first, I have to figure out what awning I'm going to get....

By the way, I REALLY like your Terraflex rack too. Damn! That is just a nice setup! Congrats!
 
V

vtmactech

New member
Will latches on side be blocked by an awning? When I eventually get mine I plan on having the latches on front. How long of an awning are you getting?
 
rubicon91

rubicon91

Explorer
vtmactech said:
Will latches on side be blocked by an awning? When I eventually get mine I plan on having the latches on front. How long of an awning are you getting?
Click to expand...

Mine is being built now. I have an ARB 2000 awning that will be attached to the side. When talking with John at Ursa Minor the 2000 will work with the latches on each side. Where he would have to move them to the front he said is if I went with the largest ARB awning. So I would imagine it will depend on what awning preference you have. Regardless I would imagine John could put the latches wherever you would like.
 
J

JARunning

Member
vtmactech said:
Will latches on side be blocked by an awning? When I eventually get mine I plan on having the latches on front. How long of an awning are you getting?
Click to expand...

On mine, the rear edge of each latch is 85" from the rear corner of the top.
An ARB 2000 awning is ~79" give or take a bit for the bag, so it should fit just about perfectly with a couple inches to spare. - that's what i'm leaning toward at the moment.

The entire roof line of the jeep with j30 mounted is 92" long, so even if the latches were moved to the front, a 2500 at ~99" will have a bit of overhang front and\or rear. would still certainly work, but the 2000 feels like a better fit.

- put another way, the j30 roofline is 2340mm, so right in between the ARB 2000 and 2500 awnings that are conveniently named for their length...
 
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rubicon91

rubicon91

Explorer
JARunning said:
On mine, the rear edge of each latch is 85" from the rear corner of the top.
An ARB 2000 awning is ~79" give or take a bit for the bag, so it should fit just about perfectly with a couple inches to spare. - that's what i'm leaning toward at the moment.

The entire roof line of the jeep with j30 mounted is 92" long, so even if the latches were moved to the front, a 2500 at ~99" will have a bit of overhang front and\or rear. would still certainly work, but the 2000 feels like a better fit.

- put another way, the j30 roofline is 2340mm, so right in between the ARB 2000 and 2500 awnings that are conveniently named for their length...
Click to expand...

Chris Shontz with venture4wd has the 2500 Awning with the latches on the front. Here is a link to his thread here on Expo. This may help you see the length and all. http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/169699-Heart-of-Adventure-Wandering-in-a-Jeep
 
pdxfrogdog

pdxfrogdog

Adventurer
Here are a couple views of my J30 & ARB 2500 equipped jeep. The 2500 is more or less centered on the roof. The rear of the awning roughly aligns with a short awning on the back.

New buyers should be happy for the improvements to the brackets... now they are slotted to give you some built-in adjustment. I had to do some major drilling which was not fun given the relatively thick SS bar stock they are made from. Also, they look to be coated with LineX now. Mine were coated with more of a rattle can type liner. Also, if you haven't set on the awning vendor yet, suggest confirming bolt size. ARB works. I used to have a CVT that had larger bolts... It was easier to sell and replace than drill out 12 holes through the brackets. It would be a different story if you could put them on a drill press before mounting.

If you are thinking about a side awning I would definitely get the brackets at order time. The front attachment point is really tough to get at.

awning_side by MQ, on Flickr

awning_front by MQ, on Flickr
 
ratled

ratled

Adventurer
Just out of curiosity, what roof racks is everyone using on these? I see several options listed on the build site.

ratled
 
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