Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

Sliders installed!

Looks awesome! Congrats on the install.

 

[akpostal]

Sliders installed!

That looks slick. Cant wait for the 2 door sliders.

 

[Yuke]

Make sure you talk to Joel and voice the demand!

 

[akpostal]

Make sure you talk to Joel and voice the demand!

Already emailed them.

 

[jscherb]

The company posted a video of the new slider kit yesterday...

 

[jscherb]

The volt/amp meter arrived so I connected it and did my first test of the fridge running on battery. This photo was taken in the late afternoon just after I had powered up the fridge. The temp in the fridge is 67, it's just starting to cool to the 20 degrees I've set it for. When running, the meter shows 11.9 volts and about 3.5 amps. When not running and with the battery almost fully charged the meter showed 12.5 volts last night.

It didn't take too long to get down to 20 degrees inside the fridge, and I left it all night to cycle on and off to maintain that temp. When I first checked it this morning, it was showing 23 degrees and it was running, so it had apparently just cycled on to cool back to 20. I don't know exactly at what temp it cycles on, but I think it may be at 5 degrees above the set temp because I did catch the display at 25 one time last night when I when checked it. When the fridge is cycled off, the voltage meter shows 12.5 volts at full charge and about 0.1 amps.

When running this morning, the meter showed 11.9 volts (same as last night when running) and about 3.5 amps. I waited until cycled off at 20 degrees and the meter showed 12.2 volts - a drop of only 0.3 volts after running for more than 12 hours.

Next I'll complete the wiring harness so the fridge battery can charge from the rear power outlet of the Jeep. Should be that recharging from 12.2 volts won't take long - I'd guess a quick errand or two in the Jeep and it'll be back to full voltage, but I'll be testing that as soon as I complete the rest of the wiring.

 

[jscherb]

Fridge update: 24 hours after starting the fridge on the aux battery, that battery showed 12.1 volts when the fridge cycled off, and 11.8 volts when it cycled on. The temperature has been set at 20 degrees, and varies from 20-25 while it cycles on and off. I'm impressed with how little the battery has been drained to keep the fridge below freezing for 24 hours.

The wiring harness:

The fridge runs off the aux battery when the Jeep isn't running; when the Jeep is running the fridge runs off both the Jeep power and the aux battery in parallel and the aux battery gets charged. The volt/amp meter shows the voltage going to the fridge and the current the fridge is drawing.

Next I need to find a box to install the meter, fridge outlet and terminal strip in.

 

[SGNellett]

You know, I'm looking at those sliders, I wonder how much of a market there would be for a similar product in other vehicles, like a Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade? Pretty much any large hardtop SUV without rear vent windows....

 

[RubiconGeoff]

Nothing to come up with, I'll be using the ammo can tray I've already got installed. The full tray and mount isn't visible in the photo I posted this morning because it's hidden by the fridge, so here's a photo of the same thing mounted on the other side of the Jeep.

I've already got a bunch of these, they're a good size for the battery, and they mount the battery very near the fridge so they seem like a perfect solution.

Agreed, this is a nice solution. But studying the picture, it doesn't look like it's wide enough to fit the length of a large capacity Group 31 battery, especially once it's in a battery box. It looks like a little Group 34/78 is as big as it will fit. Are you able to confirm/deny this before I order one up?

 

[jscherb]

Agreed, this is a nice solution. But studying the picture, it doesn't look like it's wide enough to fit the length of a large capacity Group 31 battery, especially once it's in a battery box. It looks like a little Group 34/78 is as big as it will fit. Are you able to confirm/deny this before I order one up?

I looked up the size of group 31 batteries, and they seem to be 13" long x 6 13/16 wide. The ammo can tray I.D. is 13" x 8", so probably the battery would just fit, but without a box. You almost certainly want a box to put the battery in. Since the tray just bolts to the mount, you could source a third party tray designed for group 31 batteries (and large enough for a box) and bolt it to the mount.

FYI the battery I'm using for the fridge is for my LJ's... since I've got two LJ-based Jeeps and one JK, and because one of my LJs is my main offroad/expedition Jeep, my spare battery is for the LJ - group 34 I think.

 

[jscherb]

You know, I'm looking at those sliders, I wonder how much of a market there would be for a similar product in other vehicles, like a Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade? Pretty much any large hardtop SUV without rear vent windows....

You know, I'm looking at those sliders, I wonder how much of a market there would be for a similar

product in other vehicles, like a Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade? Pretty much any large hardtop SUV without rear vent

windows....

I have no idea about other vehicles, but if I did sliders for any vehicle after the JK I'd do the TJ .

 

[Comanche Scott]

They also make an insulated wrap for the fridge that makes it even more efficient.

Did you look at voltage drop through the harness between battery and fridge for B+/B-?

 

[jscherb]

They also make an insulated wrap for the fridge that makes it even more efficient.

I've already planned for that, but I don't plan to buy one, I'll sew it myself. I'm going to use a Harbor Freight mover's blanket that you can always get with a coupon for less than $4.00: http://www.harborfreight.com/40-in-x-72-in-moving-blanket-69504.html

I sew a lot of things with these blankets, like the pouches to protect my TrailVision cameras and monitor when they're not in use:

I think the blanket will provide a decent about of insulation for the price.

I'll show the sewing details when I do it; unfortunately I won't get to sewing it for a few weeks because I have to leave on Thursday for a few week trip.

Did you look at voltage drop through the harness between battery and fridge for B+/B-?

So far I've only done preliminary testing. I'm finishing up a panel mount for the volt/amp meter and the power outlet, I'll get that installed tomorrow morning and then real testing can begin. I'll be taking the fridge on the trip.

 

[jscherb]

I made up a panel to mount the volt/amp meter and fridge outlet. It bolts to existing holes in the ammo can holder I'm using for the battery.

I should have the correct slide soon, I'll install it as soon as it arrives and then I'll try out some new slide/table ideas I'm working on.

 

[Bam2413]

Jscherb,

Is there anyway to contact you through email or something? Tried to send PM and it is not letting me. I have a few questions but hate to hijack your great threads!