Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Back to the Trail Kitchen project... I've made a minor change to the Trail Kitchen charging wiring, and I've got the new fridge Dometic sent me, so I'm doing some testing of the current draw and how well the charging system works. A week or so ago when the new fridge arrived I posted about its WiFi interface - it's turning out to be very handy. Wnen driving I keep my phone in a holder just to the left of the steering wheel and it's perfect for monitoring the Trail Kitchen battery - the Dometic app shows the input voltage so I can check the status of the battery when the Jeep isn't running, and verify that there's enough voltage for charging when the Jeep is running.

DometicWifi_zpsvalrl5ep.jpg


And I'm sitting in the family room writing this post and at the same time monitoring the kitchen battery voltage from my easy chair in front of the TV. Very nice.
 
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OregonJKU

Active member
Hello Jeff,
Well I finally got through all 219 pages of this thread, and like I said in my previous post on your other thread, you are Amazing. Again not only for your ideas and enhancements and the way you share but in this thread you shared your amazing travels. I found your trail kitchen particularly interesting. Could you share the full dimensions, again without the fridge? You also inquired about the remaining space in the back of the Jeep, i.e., a cabinet. As some have commented, people may want that space for themselves. But what about a cabinet in place of the fridge for people who don't want one. The cabinet could be a kit as you suggested where shelving could be arranged as needed. Just a thought. Keep up your amazing ideas.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Hello Jeff,
Well I finally got through all 219 pages of this thread, and like I said in my previous post on your other thread, you are Amazing. Again not only for your ideas and enhancements and the way you share but in this thread you shared your amazing travels. I found your trail kitchen particularly interesting. Could you share the full dimensions, again without the fridge? You also inquired about the remaining space in the back of the Jeep, i.e., a cabinet. As some have commented, people may want that space for themselves. But what about a cabinet in place of the fridge for people who don't want one. The cabinet could be a kit as you suggested where shelving could be arranged as needed. Just a thought. Keep up your amazing ideas.

This image shows the dimensions of the preproduction Trail Kitchen to the nearest inch. The final production version may differ slightly from these dimensions. There are also optional trays in the works for larger fridges and those would alter the overall dimensions if installed. The side Molle panel shown in the photo is probably going to be optional.

TrailKitchenDimensions_zpshg7raxvq.jpg


I haven't really considered the Kitchen being installed without a fridge (or at least a large cooler) in the tray. It would be possible to put a cabinet in the tray instead of a fridge although I don't know how much demand there would be for that. If there's enough demand for it, it could be an option.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
One final detail for a factory-style result - the factory grille has a weatherstrip across the top to seal the grille to the hood. I ordered one last week but it didn't arrive until today. It's now in place.

GrilleWeatherstrip_zpsqrkfjsot.jpg


It's finally a nice day so I took the Jeep through a car wash and this afternoon I took a bunch of "project complete" photos; will post a bunch later today.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
To show the difference with the new grille I also took some photos to match up with photos I took when I finished the flat fender project.

BeforeAndAfter1_zpsgwonxhfg.jpg


BeforeAndAfter2_zpssv0esmrf.jpg


BeforeAndAfter3_zps0p8zxrni.jpg


It's rare that the entire fleet is clean at the same time so I took a few photos of all the Jeeps, these photos are good for comparing with grills of earlier models... the black one on the left is a 2006 Wrangler Unlimited with my CJ Grille Kit and LJ Safari Cab installed. In the center is the 2013 JKU with the JL Style Grille, CJ-2a style flat fenders and a JKU Safari Cab. And the pickup on the right came out of the factory as another 2006 Wrangler Unlimited; I turned it into a pickup about 9 years ago. Total of the three odometers is a little bit under 400,000 miles.

Fleet1_zpsoipbclde.jpg


Fleet4_zps6bakmzyg.jpg
 

Onaplin

New member
Man Jeff, those are three beautiful jeeps, if I do say. I will say that I think the JKU would look perfect with a mild a/t tire. Your flat fenders opened up so much room.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Man Jeff, those are three beautiful jeeps, if I do say. I will say that I think the JKU would look perfect with a mild a/t tire. Your flat fenders opened up so much room.
Thank you. The fenders will support 35's with no additional lift but for what I use this Jeep for I don't need anything near that large. Maybe some day I'll put 33's on.
 

Onaplin

New member
Thank you. The fenders will support 35's with no additional lift but for what I use this Jeep for I don't need anything near that large. Maybe some day I'll put 33's on.

A Durutrac or even Goodyear's regular Wrangler series in 33's would look perfect. Albeit, I know you use the LJ on most trails.
 

OregonJKU

Active member
This image shows the dimensions of the preproduction Trail Kitchen to the nearest inch. The final production version may differ slightly from these dimensions. There are also optional trays in the works for larger fridges and those would alter the overall dimensions if installed. The side Molle panel shown in the photo is probably going to be optional.

TrailKitchenDimensions_zpshg7raxvq.jpg


I haven't really considered the Kitchen being installed without a fridge (or at least a large cooler) in the tray. It would be possible to put a cabinet in the tray instead of a fridge although I don't know how much demand there would be for that. If there's enough demand for it, it could be an option.
Hi Jeff,
Sorry for not replying earlier. Thank you for providing the dimensions. BTW I believe there is a fair amount of interest but perhaps I should have said chuck box or kitchen box instead of cabinet, see https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/pictures-of-camp-kitchens.52557/
 

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