Building custom soft top for the LJ

[squint]

No windows is definitely a different look. I thought it might be interesting to take some pics before the windows go on, but I am not quite to that stage yet (but close). Having such a busy schedule, I have only had time to work on this 20 minutes to an hour at a time. If I waited for a day off, this project would never be completed so for now, it is baby steps.

The arched flap was completed with the zipper and velcro sewn in yesterday. It does not lay perfectly flat since sewing around corners tends to create some waves, but it looks ok and functions as expected. This morning I attached the other side of the zipper to the back window panel. Now adjustment/fitting of the rear quarter panels begins, starting with velcro first, then an attachment rail for the back will be fastened to the rear door with factory bolts and finally, the vertical zippers will be sewn into the front and rear panels. This is to insure everything will be pulled taught vertically first and finally, horizontally. I don't expect every panel to be exactly perfect in terms of waves/wrinkles, but hey, it's a soft top, so it will be as close as possible.

If the attachment rail does not work as planned, I can simply add twist locks instead, but I expect it will work just fine.

[jeepdreamer]

I love your "I can do it" attitude towards this. I'm not sure why but this kind of thing is so far out of the realm of what I (and many) would attempt...Its neat to see someone taking it on. You may have mentioned it earlier but what happens when your done? Are you planning on taking this to manufacturing? There are so few choices out there for quality replacement stuff for our Jeeps, this would be nice. Besttops quality has become iffy at best since they left the US to manufacture and they are about it for soft stuff. Unless one has super deep pockets for some of the other options out there.
Also, how hard would it be for you to take what you've developed and create a new soft half cab? And a rear cargo (tonneu sp?) cover that uses rails instead of snaps would be awesome.

[squint]

I love your "I can do it" attitude towards this. I'm not sure why but this kind of thing is so far out of the realm of what I (and many) would attempt...Its neat to see someone taking it on. You may have mentioned it earlier but what happens when your done? Are you planning on taking this to manufacturing? There are so few choices out there for quality replacement stuff for our Jeeps, this would be nice. Besttops quality has become iffy at best since they left the US to manufacture and they are about it for soft stuff. Unless one has super deep pockets for some of the other options out there.
Also, how hard would it be for you to take what you've developed and create a new soft half cab? And a rear cargo (tonneu sp?) cover that uses rails instead of snaps would be awesome.

First, thanks very much for a rather huge compliment. Just knowing that someone out there is interested/inspired by this project is beyond reward. I am humbled by that comment when I think of all the amazingly creative people coming out with incredible ideas on this forum. The sharing of ideas across platform is what makes this place so alluring and inspirational.

When pondering the idea of this top, I tried to imagine a barrage of critical comments coming from my peers asking why the design didn’t address a variety of different challenges.
This tends to be a more forward thinking crowd (instead of just rocks, mud, buggies and straight axels- don’t get me wrong, I have a place in my heart for all of these things too) however I am blown away that I have not received any criticism. I believe it is a tribute to the maturity and open mindedness on this forum. With that said, please feel free to question anything- I really don’t mind.

Originally, I had absolutely no intention of selling this top. It was simply another challenge much like many of the other ideas (some crazier than others) that came into my mind and I pushed forward.

A considerable amount of time was invested just thinking about the feasibility of the design. Before the build phase ever began I came up with multiple ways to do every step, with backup plans for every inch, top to bottom. When the decision came to start the project, I came to the realization that I may want to offer it to others and perhaps either sell the idea or turn it into some type of business. This was never set in stone, but simply a possibility, since it was going to consume a great deal of my time. As a result, altering the design with the necessity of standing up to universal compatibility as opposed to catering to my own needs/vehicle only, became equally important. As a for instance, taking into account the height on a typical 4 to 6 inch lift with 35 “ inch tires. - It still has to fit into a 7’ standard garage door opening (let’s face it- not everyone has an 8 or 9 foot garage door). The first design was for a much larger, taller roll cage than the factory cage which would support a similar soft top. For reasons I will not go into right now, it would have been a one-off, and most likely not practical in terms of replication.

Is the intention there to sell or produce this top at this point? That is a tough one. I will certainly take a good hard look at it once it is completed.

As for creating a half cab version, the intention was already there since the hardware design supports such a thing perfectly. This would be accomplished utilizing the existing zippers on the front quarter panels and the bikini top. This would provide a little more room than a typical windjammer (by a few inches). While in this mode, the rear hardware (the C and D pillars with bows) could be removed or left in place depending on preference. This would not only allow for different “looks” but more importantly, the mounting of additional equipment such as shelves, netting, lights, roof racks, along with an endless amount of items that may or may not have even been imagined as of yet.

I have never really needed a tonneau cover personally, since my dog loves to ride in the back, but adding such a thing would be easy as it would simply slide into the tub rails and the new rear rail that is being created.

[squint]

After much thought, The decision was made to scrap my original idea on the back panel connecting to the door by way of tenax snaps (also manufactured as "dot pull it up fasteners"). These would have allowed for quick realease of the rear window from rear door. The advantage was asthetics in that the top would extend as low as its matching counterparts on the left and right, lending visual continuity across the rear. The disadvantage was too large to ignore; there would be an extra step (releasing the window from the door) when opening the door. Of course, the tenax snap idea was much easier. With this direction selected, I spent much of the last week fashioning two sets of brackets. Being that the zip up window will not be as wide as the factory soft top, I needed a shorter tailgate bar. The first set of brackets addresses this issue. I had already welded a plate in anticipation for this and another idea ( more on that later) at 90 degrees (on the mounting rail) to which the bracket is bolted. The second bracket addresses the missing part of the groove/channel which allows the soft top to connect via belt plastic, which will eventually be tack-welded to the mounting rail. This missing channel I speak of is just to the left and right of the rear door where the factory soft top bracket was removed.

Complicated curves, zippers intersecting and difficult measurements resulted in the rear portion of the soft top being the most difficult and time consuming section of all. It all came out ok though.

All horizontal zippers are both installed and operational. The vertical zippers are attached to one side of the fabric, but still need to be sewn to the adjoining pieces. A planned additional velcro flap still needs to be sewn into the top of the rear quarter panels to seal a gap and increase vertical tension.

[squint]

Here are some pics. Remember, the rear still has two additional zippers coming so that the rear window can be zipped up. The whole back side zips off as well and the rear quarter panels are designed to simply fold over if I wish to roll up the whole back panel, (quarter panels, back window and all.)




And this shows the rear door functioning:

[brianjwilson]

Nice work, I like it!

[67390FE]

This is a work of art, Congrats!

[Mbogo]

It looks to be well worth the effort! The fit and finish is better than anything you can get on the aftermarket, and it's custom built to your needs. Well done!

[squint]

Thanks! There is still a ways to go and my wife has not had the time to invest so I have been on my own for a while. Who knew I would ever learn to sew and actually enjoy it? I don't see myself sewing clothes since that would be boring, but sewing for the Jeep is exciting. At this point, there are lots of loose ends and a few things with which I am not completely satisfied. I am currently working on several methods on overlaying the rear zipper, extending the rear brackets for a firm fit, and working on the windows prior to sewing them onto the sides and back. The curves on the windows are very tricky and I am considering going with squared corners. These would offer a flatter surface, but I prefer the look of the curves. Still debating... What do you think?

[jscherb]

Thanks! There is still a ways to go and my wife has not had the time to invest so I have been on my own for a while. Who knew I would ever learn to sew and actually enjoy it? I don't see myself sewing clothes since that would be boring, but sewing for the Jeep is exciting. At this point, there are lots of loose ends and a few things with which I am not completely satisfied. I am currently working on several methods on overlaying the rear zipper, extending the rear brackets for a firm fit, and working on the windows prior to sewing them onto the sides and back. The curves on the windows are very tricky and I am considering going with squared corners. These would offer a flatter surface, but I prefer the look of the curves. Still debating... What do you think?

Squint,
I had originally designed curves in the corners of the windows for the Safari Cab roll-up side curtains but we ended up going with square corners because even the professionals at the soft top company couldn't get the curves to sew up without wrinkles. The combination of the curve, the sailcloth fabric and the binding tape to seal the seam just wouldn't sew flat enough. I was at the soft top company today and we fitted a new set of side curtains with some sewing/manufacturing improvements, see my LJ thread for photos,... http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...12#post1134412
Jeff