Ursa Minor Pop-Top Jeep JK

[Ursa Minor]

🎂Popping on to the portal to note this thread is officially 11 years old today and to say thanks for all the suggestions and comments in these pages.

Reading it through from start to finish is about as close to a history of our Jeep campers, our company and our customers as you'll find, including all the twists and turns. Rough numbers as of today we have shipped over 800 of them to 15+ countries, and almost every state. While our famous owners have their own tales, threads and YouTube channels, we've had more than a few quietly get all the way south to Punta Arenas or other distant borders. Time flies, I will soon have kids driving the Jeep...strange, since I ain't a day older since this thread was begun...

OK back to it....got stuff to design, build, install, or fix so we can all get out there a little farther off the asphalt...

John

 

[campertramper]

Anyone find or make a ceiling net for the rear cargo area? Blue Ridge Overland Gear’s vehicle attic is designed to go over the rear seats, but I’m looking for something that will allow me to store lightweight stuff behind the rear roll bar. Perhaps it can be modified?

View attachment 659353

I was looking for something similar, but taking up half the space. i always leave one access panel in place and climb up and down the other side. I asked Blue Ridge to make a half net and never heard back from them. I suppose one could fold it in half...

 

[jscherb]

I was looking for something similar, but taking up half the space. i always leave one access panel in place and climb up and down the other side. I asked Blue Ridge to make a half net and never heard back from them. I suppose one could fold it in half...

A while back I posted instructions for making an overhead cargo net: https://forum.expeditionportal.com/...fit-this-custom-lj.46300/page-62#post-2973659

The example in the instructions is for an LJ but the same technique could be used to make a version for any other Jeep with roll bars.

That example goes between the roll bars but if you're looking for overhead cargo storage that goes in the back behind the roll bars, MORryde makes a swing-down MOLLE panel that may work for you. This video doesn't provide a full view of the panel but it does show it swinging down for access. The panel stows up above the bottom of the roll bars so it's not really visible when stowed.


Some better views are on the MORryde site: https://www.morryde.com/products/overhead-molle-panel/. There are versions for the JKU and JLU.

 

[dmulk]

How many of you J30 owners are going to be at the American Adventurist gathering in Quartzsite AZ in February? Kris from UM and I will be there. Would be great to check out each other's rigs and compare setups. Cheers!
-Dan

 

[Don_TLR]

How many of you J30 owners are going to be at the American Adventurist gathering in Quartzsite AZ in February? Kris from UM and I will be there. Would be great to check out each other's rigs and compare setups. Cheers!
-Dan

Thanks for the heads up, but Unfortunately sold out so I guess I won't be attending..

 

[dmulk]

Thanks for the heads up, but Unfortunately sold out so I guess I won't be attending..

If you put yourself on the waitlist you'll likely be invited. People are saying that there's never been a situation that someone on the waitlist was ever not allowed to make it.

 

[campertramper]

Has anyone out there tried taking out the ursa minor stock foam pads and replacing them with blow up mattresses? As a side sleeper I'm uncomfortable with the 2" foam.

I'm toying with trying these:
Exped MegaMat 10 Sleeping Pad - https://www.rei.com/product/113719/exped-megamat-10-sleeping-pad
Big Agnes Goosenest Inflatable Cot - https://www.rei.com/product/232452/big-agnes-goosenest-inflatable-cot?color=BLUE
Ursa Sleep System - https://kammok.com/products/ursa-sleep-system

 

[campertramper]

Has anyone out there tried taking out the ursa minor stock foam pads and replacing them with blow up mattresses? As a side sleeper I'm uncomfortable with the 2" foam.

I'm toying with trying these:
Exped MegaMat 10 Sleeping Pad - https://www.rei.com/product/113719/exped-megamat-10-sleeping-pad
Big Agnes Goosenest Inflatable Cot - https://www.rei.com/product/232452/big-agnes-goosenest-inflatable-cot?color=BLUE
Ursa Sleep System - https://kammok.com/products/ursa-sleep-system

I'm also now considering the HEST Dually Long - https://www.rei.com/product/185155/hest-dually-mattress
The bed area on the Ursa Minor is 85 x 51 x 2". This version of the HEST is 78 x 50 x 3.9".

Has anyone on the thread tried this?

 

[sabjku]

Has anyone out there tried taking out the ursa minor stock foam pads and replacing them with blow up mattresses? As a side sleeper I'm uncomfortable with the 2" foam.

I'm toying with trying these:
Exped MegaMat 10 Sleeping Pad - https://www.rei.com/product/113719/exped-megamat-10-sleeping-pad
Big Agnes Goosenest Inflatable Cot - https://www.rei.com/product/232452/big-agnes-goosenest-inflatable-cot?color=BLUE
Ursa Sleep System - https://kammok.com/products/ursa-sleep-system

No, but I took my stock cushions, overstuffed them with an additional 1.5" of memory foam, cut to each size cushion, and now have 3.5" of comfort, overstuffed in the stock covers. Lived out of my Jeep for 9 of the last 18 months traveling around the US, and it's much more comfortable.

 

[campertramper]

No, but I took my stock cushions, overstuffed them with an additional 1.5" of memory foam, cut to each size cushion, and now have 3.5" of comfort, overstuffed in the stock covers. Lived out of my Jeep for 9 of the last 18 months traveling around the US, and it's much more comfortable.

Thanks for sharing! Any trouble closing the top with 3.5" of foam? Also, do you have a generation 2 or 3 of the JK?

 

[sabjku]

Thanks for sharing! Any trouble closing the top with 3.5" of foam? Also, do you have a generation 2 or 3 of the JK?

Gen 2 version, made in 2017 I believe. No issues at all, and I keep a zero deg sleeping bag, summer down quilt, and wool blanket up there as well.

 

[campertramper]

I'm also now considering the HEST Dually Long - https://www.rei.com/product/185155/hest-dually-mattress
The bed area on the Ursa Minor is 85 x 51 x 2". This version of the HEST is 78 x 50 x 3.9".

Has anyone on the thread tried this?

Well, I tried the HEST camping mattress today in store at REI Flagship in Denver and I was hugely impressed. It's extremely comfortable! I pulled out my ursa minor foam cushions at home and went back to REI with an empty bed area in my Ursa Minor. I tried the Dually Long (I had to purchase it to take it out to the parking lot) and then I spent about an hour trying it out. In the back of the Ursa Minor/vehicle the width was fine, but I hadn't realized that the interior tapers a little as you get to the foot area in the front. As a result, I had to squish the mattress to get it in there. First I tried closing the top with the mattress pushed all the way to the rear of the vehicle. I really think that my hinge tamers helped the foam not push the fabric into the hinges. With this configuration the top didn't want to lock in the back. Next I tried pushing the mattress all the way forward and it closed and locked just fine. Next I tried it with my sleeping bags up there. It closed and locked fine. Finally, I tried it with sleeping bags and pillows up above. Since the mattress is shorter than the Ursa Minor, with this solution there is 7 inches of space behind the mattress at the back. I use two of the large Klimit camping pillows currently and I was able to squeeze them in to that 7" gap. The ursa minor closed up pretty nicely. Next, I returned the Duelly to REI and exchanged it for a HEST Foamy one person mattress (they only had one). The dimensions are the same as 1/2 of the Duelly, but I think that there might be some advantage to having two separate mattresses up in case I need to use the hatch in a hurry. The Foamy also has a more robust, perhaps waterproof fabric on the bottom, making it superior to the Duelly. I've ordered a second Foamy and will try them out together this weekend after it arrives. My thoughts so far is that this solution could really work. I'm not sure if I'll have to trim down the foam width a little towards the feet area. It's very close to perfect. I know that this is pushing the limit of what John recommends for mattress height in a Gen 2 JK Ursa Minor, (he recommended a maximum of 3.5" but so far it seems to fit with 3.9". One of the things I really like about HEST is that they are in the business of making awesome camping mattresses - they also have sheets and pillows and comforters and I've already ordered the sheets. I'm going to try it out for a while. My next trip isn't coming up until the end of March so I may need to nap up there to really give it a try. The main downside is the price. About $600 for the two mattresses and $100 more for two fitted sheets. Still, if it improves my sleep in the Ursa Minor it will be well worth it to me.

 

[shays4me]

Well, I tried the HEST camping mattress today in store at REI Flagship in Denver and I was hugely impressed. It's extremely comfortable! I pulled out my ursa minor foam cushions at home and went back to REI with an empty bed area in my Ursa Minor. I tried the Dually Long (I had to purchase it to take it out to the parking lot) and then I spent about an hour trying it out. In the back of the Ursa Minor/vehicle the width was fine, but I hadn't realized that the interior tapers a little as you get to the foot area in the front. As a result, I had to squish the mattress to get it in there. First I tried closing the top with the mattress pushed all the way to the rear of the vehicle. I really think that my hinge tamers helped the foam not push the fabric into the hinges. With this configuration the top didn't want to lock in the back. Next I tried pushing the mattress all the way forward and it closed and locked just fine. Next I tried it with my sleeping bags up there. It closed and locked fine. Finally, I tried it with sleeping bags and pillows up above. Since the mattress is shorter than the Ursa Minor, with this solution there is 7 inches of space behind the mattress at the back. I use two of the large Klimit camping pillows currently and I was able to squeeze them in to that 7" gap. The ursa minor closed up pretty nicely. Next, I returned the Duelly to REI and exchanged it for a HEST Foamy one person mattress (they only had one). The dimensions are the same as 1/2 of the Duelly, but I think that there might be some advantage to having two separate mattresses up in case I need to use the hatch in a hurry. The Foamy also has a more robust, perhaps waterproof fabric on the bottom, making it superior to the Duelly. I've ordered a second Foamy and will try them out together this weekend after it arrives. My thoughts so far is that this solution could really work. I'm not sure if I'll have to trim down the foam width a little towards the feet area. It's very close to perfect. I know that this is pushing the limit of what John recommends for mattress height in a Gen 2 JK Ursa Minor, (he recommended a maximum of 3.5" but so far it seems to fit with 3.9". One of the things I really like about HEST is that they are in the business of making awesome camping mattresses - they also have sheets and pillows and comforters and I've already ordered the sheets. I'm going to try it out for a while. My next trip isn't coming up until the end of March so I may need to nap up there to really give it a try. The main downside is the price. About $600 for the two mattresses and $100 more for two fitted sheets. Still, if it improves my sleep in the Ursa Minor it will be well worth it to me.

I'm looking for a single width mattress for my downstairs sleeping platform. I want something that will stow easily when we're on the move. It's got to be good since I want my daughter to be comfortable when we're camping. If you don't keep the girls happy, you won't be happy! Any ideas on this? I have no clue and am so far from a decently stocked sporting goods store that its pathetic!

 

[campertramper]

Well, I tried the HEST camping mattress today in store at REI Flagship in Denver and I was hugely impressed. It's extremely comfortable! I pulled out my ursa minor foam cushions at home and went back to REI with an empty bed area in my Ursa Minor. I tried the Dually Long (I had to purchase it to take it out to the parking lot) and then I spent about an hour trying it out. In the back of the Ursa Minor/vehicle the width was fine, but I hadn't realized that the interior tapers a little as you get to the foot area in the front. As a result, I had to squish the mattress to get it in there. First I tried closing the top with the mattress pushed all the way to the rear of the vehicle. I really think that my hinge tamers helped the foam not push the fabric into the hinges. With this configuration the top didn't want to lock in the back. Next I tried pushing the mattress all the way forward and it closed and locked just fine. Next I tried it with my sleeping bags up there. It closed and locked fine. Finally, I tried it with sleeping bags and pillows up above. Since the mattress is shorter than the Ursa Minor, with this solution there is 7 inches of space behind the mattress at the back. I use two of the large Klimit camping pillows currently and I was able to squeeze them in to that 7" gap. The ursa minor closed up pretty nicely. Next, I returned the Duelly to REI and exchanged it for a HEST Foamy one person mattress (they only had one). The dimensions are the same as 1/2 of the Duelly, but I think that there might be some advantage to having two separate mattresses up in case I need to use the hatch in a hurry. The Foamy also has a more robust, perhaps waterproof fabric on the bottom, making it superior to the Duelly. I've ordered a second Foamy and will try them out together this weekend after it arrives. My thoughts so far is that this solution could really work. I'm not sure if I'll have to trim down the foam width a little towards the feet area. It's very close to perfect. I know that this is pushing the limit of what John recommends for mattress height in a Gen 2 JK Ursa Minor, (he recommended a maximum of 3.5" but so far it seems to fit with 3.9". One of the things I really like about HEST is that they are in the business of making awesome camping mattresses - they also have sheets and pillows and comforters and I've already ordered the sheets. I'm going to try it out for a while. My next trip isn't coming up until the end of March so I may need to nap up there to really give it a try. The main downside is the price. About $600 for the two mattresses and $100 more for two fitted sheets. Still, if it improves my sleep in the Ursa Minor it will be well worth it to me.

This is what it looks like with both mattresses installed.

 

[campertramper]

I'm looking for a single width mattress for my downstairs sleeping platform. I want something that will stow easily when we're on the move. It's got to be good since I want my daughter to be comfortable when we're camping. If you don't keep the girls happy, you won't be happy! Any ideas on this? I have no clue and am so far from a decently stocked sporting goods store that its pathetic!

Hello again shays4me! Well, I haven't tried everything on the market, but these HEST mattresses are amazing and they do roll up - see https://hest.com/collections/hest-pillows-and-mattresses
If one fits downstairs (and I'm not sure that it will), it would make a great sleeping pad. This is what they look like rolled up, but they are still pretty big and bulky. There's also a blow up mattress designed to fit downstairs in the wrangler that might be worth considering. Foam pads are a bit faster to set up though.