Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[Comanche Scott]

Talk about a full on wardrobe for the Jeep!

Wish a vendor would pick this up. :beer:

In the paint color voting... I really like the body color with the tan or white top. Also would make it easier for the different top options, as nothing has to match the sides.

Pretty cool stuff Jeff! :sombrero:

 

[jscherb]

I did the second test fit of the Safari Cab parts on the JK today. Here's a shot with the sides, back panel and upper jambs in place.

The next step was the drip rails; these get bolted to the tops of the side panels and jambs, and serve as the mounting flange to secure the roof to the rest of the hardtop. In this photo they're held in place with clamps, it was taken just before I drilled the bolt holes. The drip rail goes along the full length of the sides and across the back.

Next I'll do a little more trimming to fit the roof panel exactly to the drip rails.

 

[jscherb]

Part of the design all along has been that the roof panel can be swapped for a soft roof. The soft roof would be very similar to a pickup truck tonneau cover. Here's an edit of a photo from my last post with the soft roof draw in place.

 

[jscherb]

Here are a few photos with the roof in place; a little bit of trimming/fitting still has to happen at the front corners. The photos aren't the best because the white fiberglass is so bright it confuses the camera so the exposures leave a little to be desired.

 

[jscherb]

Now that I've got the roof trimmed and fitted, I can make the mold for the windshield header. I've waited until now to make this mold so I could measure to precisely fit it to the roof once it was trimmed and in place. I'll be using TJ latches, they latch down on the loops on the windshield just fine and they're much more easily available used than JK latches.

I'm also planning to add some additional capability to the header - I'll mold an overhead gauge/switch panel into it. Controls for anything in the hardtop can go up there, like the switch for the power vent windows, or anything else that might be needed in the Jeep - extra gauges or other switches.

Here's a rough idea of what I'm planning. The gauges/switches just show what might fit in there, I don't have any specific plans at the moment for what will go in there except for the power vent window switch.

 

[jscherb]

Today I tested the fit of some of the alternate sides. In this next photo I've removed the window side panel and installed the c-pillar for the soft sides.

I drew some soft sides on the photo, rolled up and rolled down. I drew them in tan so they would be visible in these illustrations, but black is probably a better color.

With the soft sides the rear panel and barn door can remain in place as in the photos above, or the rear can be swapped for a soft panel as well, like in this photo of my LJ.

 

[jscherb]

Then I swapped on the cargo hatch side panel:

Opening down for use as a table/work surface:

The roll bar is inconveniently placed, but I accounted for that a while back when I made a cardboard mockup of the inner compartment. The inner compartment is wider and deeper than the window opening, so there's more room in there than you might think.

 

[jscherb]

The cargo hatch side would be great on an overlanding/camping Jeep, so I popped the top. It's just propped up with a board right now, but it could make a pretty decent camper, there's room for 2 to sleep above the roll bars.

 

[Lee_N]

<snip>
I'm also planning to add some additional capability to the header - I'll mold an overhead gauge/switch panel into it. Controls for anything in the hardtop can go up there, like the switch for the power vent windows, or anything else that might be needed in the Jeep - extra gauges or other switches.

Here's a rough idea of what I'm planning. The gauges/switches just show what might fit in there, I don't have any specific plans at the moment for what will go in there except for the power vent window switch.

Need to make it hold 7 switches instead of 4, although that might violate a trademark. :sombrero:

 

[txemmons]

Love it! Impressed as always

 

[jscherb]

I'm working on the mold for the windshield header, which is the last piece I need to mold before I can start final assembly. This next photo shows the header master sitting inside the roof mold (I've flipped these photos upside down so it appears the roof is on top). When I make the header mold, I'll do it in the roof mold like this, so the flanges on the header are an exact match for the profile of the roof. Two TJ latches are sitting in place. Photo 1 shows the basic header.

My plan is to mold the switch/gauge console as a separate part, so a Safari Cab could be assembled with or without one as needed.

I'm considering two options. The first is a panel for switches only (photo 2), and the second one is a little larger and could hold a combination of switches and gauges (photo 3). There should also be room to hang a GPS from beneath either panel (photo 4).

 

[jscherb]

Love it! Impressed as always

Thanks!

 

[akpostal]

About the fold-down table, and a little storage, how about this?

It's a previous project of mine, I call it the StoreGate. In the above photo I'm test fitting it on a JK tailgate. I've got two different versions, on my Jeep-tub trailer I mounted a locking storage/fold-down table version, and on my LJ I've got one with a bungee net to hold the cargo in place:

Were there no manufacturers to take this to market?

Any news on the retro fit rear window kits for the stock hard top?

 

[jscherb]

Were there no manufacturers to take this to market?

I'm working with two different companies right now that are interested in bringing the StoreGate to market. Cost estimates for doing the plastic shell are done, now the company is working on estimates for completing both styles - the locking door/table style and the cargo net style. That company has "first dibs" on it, if they don't go ahead with it, it seems likely the other company will.

Any news on the retro fit rear window kits for the stock hard top?

I recently finished a JK Half Door Slider Window design project, and a company has picked it up for production - they're just about to initiate the first production run. That company is very interested in the hardtop slider retrofit kit, but they want to get the half door sliders out first. I have gotten manufacturing quotes for the retrofit kit parts that enable RV windows that require flat mounting surfaces to mount on the curved window mounting surface of the JK hardtop, so work is progressing on it.

Here's what the half door sliders look like BTW, it's a retrofit kit that installs the sliders in factory uppers as well as Bestop and Rugged Ridge uppers:

 

[jscherb]

Update on the JK Safari Cab project... I finished up the windshield header so it's ready to be molded. Haven't decided on the header console yet. I've made up 3 different mockups in cardstock. In this photo there's a switch-only console, one that holds a combination of switches and gauges, and a third one that mounts to the windshield trim and not the roof panel (the one with the curved base) - that one could stay in the Jeep with any top - Safari, factory hardtop or soft top.

Here's another view of the one that works with the factory tops. It attaches to the windshield trim panel, so it works with any top (or no top).

I have a couple of weeks to decide which one(s) to mold, I'm in Colorado right now in the LJ Safari doing a week of offroad exploration .