Ursa Minor Pop-Top Jeep JK
- Thread starter cobblecrazy
- Start date
ventura911
Adventurer
Can’t make that one, but I’ll be at OX PNW in July.How many J30 owners are planning to be in Flagstaff for Overland Expo? Just curious.
that_dude
Member
I’m planning on hitting PNW in July too. Really wanted to go to Expo West, but May is always so busy for me.
Not sure whether or not I’ll camp on-site though. “Camping in a field amongst hundreds of other overlanders” doesn’t exactly sound amazing ?. I may look for some dispersed camping in the area and hit the Expo during the day…but camping in the surrounding areas might be crowded too with Expo in town so we’ll see.
Not sure whether or not I’ll camp on-site though. “Camping in a field amongst hundreds of other overlanders” doesn’t exactly sound amazing ?. I may look for some dispersed camping in the area and hit the Expo during the day…but camping in the surrounding areas might be crowded too with Expo in town so we’ll see.
Thankfully I have a couple friends with some parking in Flagstaff that I can pop the top for a night or two and camp outside their apartment. I'm not super interested in camping with a bunch of people I don't know either. That said, I have a friend coming from Colorado for the show that I'm looking forward to seeing. Also would like to meet and thank John and meet some other J30 owners if the opportunity presents itself.
Dan Grec
Expedition Leader
The best thing about Overland Expo is walking through the campground checking out everyone's setup. Have a look at what they've made themselves, what they've modified, etc.
WAAAAY more informative than the vendor show.
-Dan
campertramper
Active member
Congratulations! It looks amazing! 4 awning brackets on the passenger and driver side? Are you planning a switch solution where you can move the awning back and forth as needed or something else? Also, love your front bumper with the integrated winch!
Thank you. Yeah, basically had all 6 mounts (including the rears) installed. I'll likely try John's simple solution to begin with before considering another prefab solution.
John is the gentleman that came up with the hinge tamers (which the guys installed for me and I saw in action yesterday...they are definitely an extra layer of clever protection!).
Because of where I live, people like to take things if they aren't welded to the Jeep (and sometimes they take the whole jeep!) so I need to be able to remove them when I'm not travelling.
It will be nice to have the versatility of moving the awning. I'll also be installing the ARB 1250 on the rear. And may use a pair on one side for a shower tent and or external ladder configuration.
It just made sense to do them all.
For those of you waiting....some thoughts and context for the radio silence post order:
Kris, Zach and John (installer) are three really cool guys. After hanging with them for the day, I realized how much they actually do around that place. The lack of communication early in the order process during the waiting period isn't due to disorganization or some nefarious plot to take your money and run. Occam's razor applies here. They are extremely busy and prioritize the queue.
The team is also creative, thoughtful, organized and....methodical when it comes to making sure everything with the builds and installs go well.
They are constantly in motion there. There's zero slack from what I witnessed.
On top of all of this, Kris talks about spending his day off on Sunday on a local, voluntary, Jeep recovery rescuing someone that "ran out of talent" and rolled their gladiator down a cliff. He's proud that this recovery group deliberately doesn't take money for their efforts. "It's not right and keeps us honest" was his basic reply.
That's how dedicated these guys are to our hobby.
I showed up 10 mins early at 07:50 for my Monday morning install to find Kris sweeping and cleaning the shop from a very busy week prior building tops trying to get people to overland expo west. Where Kris gets the energy I don't know. Pretty awesome to witness first hand.
The rest of the crew is already there also cleaning and organizing and getting ready for the week's builds and installs.
So yeah, I know it's a long haul from order to build to install date but as you get closer you will get pinged by John (the owner) to confirm your install dates.
Don't sweat it.
Just sit tight. Watch and then re-watch and watch again all the J30 videos you can find on YouTube. Come here and also visit the Facebook Ursa Minor Owners Club sites for therapy as you wait.
There's passion here. It's a custom, handcrafted build and not something coming off of an overseas assembly line and it's worth the wait.
(In between phone calls, sourcing parts, dealing with customers during the install, answer questions on Facebook and chatting with the owner in Portland to make sure needs are met, Kris is ....building tops.)
Kris, Zach and John (installer) are three really cool guys. After hanging with them for the day, I realized how much they actually do around that place. The lack of communication early in the order process during the waiting period isn't due to disorganization or some nefarious plot to take your money and run. Occam's razor applies here. They are extremely busy and prioritize the queue.
The team is also creative, thoughtful, organized and....methodical when it comes to making sure everything with the builds and installs go well.
They are constantly in motion there. There's zero slack from what I witnessed.
On top of all of this, Kris talks about spending his day off on Sunday on a local, voluntary, Jeep recovery rescuing someone that "ran out of talent" and rolled their gladiator down a cliff. He's proud that this recovery group deliberately doesn't take money for their efforts. "It's not right and keeps us honest" was his basic reply.
That's how dedicated these guys are to our hobby.
I showed up 10 mins early at 07:50 for my Monday morning install to find Kris sweeping and cleaning the shop from a very busy week prior building tops trying to get people to overland expo west. Where Kris gets the energy I don't know. Pretty awesome to witness first hand.
The rest of the crew is already there also cleaning and organizing and getting ready for the week's builds and installs.
So yeah, I know it's a long haul from order to build to install date but as you get closer you will get pinged by John (the owner) to confirm your install dates.
Don't sweat it.
Just sit tight. Watch and then re-watch and watch again all the J30 videos you can find on YouTube. Come here and also visit the Facebook Ursa Minor Owners Club sites for therapy as you wait.
There's passion here. It's a custom, handcrafted build and not something coming off of an overseas assembly line and it's worth the wait.
(In between phone calls, sourcing parts, dealing with customers during the install, answer questions on Facebook and chatting with the owner in Portland to make sure needs are met, Kris is ....building tops.)
campertramper
Active member
Makes sense to me! Yes, I've seen John's videos on reversing the awning from side to side with the double bracket solution - it's a really good idea. I have the ARB 2000 on the driver's side and the 1250 on the back - I really like having both - it gives so much versatility! BTW - I've been thinking about exploring if Helox locking nuts would fit on an ARB awning to help prevent theft. I use them on one of my bikes and just love them! https://hexlox.com/
Interesting. I'll check them out.
rustypayne
Active member
Chris had a family emergency back east and took a few weeks away. I think he is planning a new video for this coming weekend. In good news he has Orangie back running great but a filthy mess from sitting in the PNW for 6 months.
shays4me
Willing Wanderer
Thanks, I don't want or need to know everything about his personal life, I was just worried about him. I hope the family emergency ends well. Chris doesn't know me other than a brief encounter in Moab, but I've gotten to know him through the years watching his youtube videos.
campertramper
Active member
I was wondering the same thing. Thanks for the update everyone!