Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

"Useful idea, useless idea or dumb idea?"

Useful as heck IMHO. I used the same idea on the inside of the front, and rear doors on my 75 dodge van. I slept in the van all the time when I racing dirt bikes in Michigan in my younger days. The mosquitos in Michigan would make it difficult to sleep most nights without screens. Never tried to drive with them installed.

Thanks. I tried driving with it on just to see how firmly the magnets held it in place. I don't really think most people would use them while driving, but I could imagine certain trail situations where they might be useful. I'll try it at interstate speed when I get the chance, but up to 50mph today they held firm.

 

[jscherb]

BTW I had the pleasure of meeting up with Jeff at expo and seeing the safari cab in person. Man that top is a thing of beauty. Looks awesome. I wish he could have had it closer to event for more to see. It was in day parking way off site from Event. I loved it. Great work Jeff.

Donny,
Thanks!! Great seeing you as always, and I'm glad the Safari Cab passed the "Donny test" .
jeff

 

[Nicaragüense]

The magnetic idea works great, if you wanted you could add a wider magnetic strip to icrease the holding power. The trucking industry has something similar but it has a plastic surround and gets wedged between the top edge of the door glass and the upper edge of the door. This setup is less flexible but can be used at highway speeds in windy conditions without a problem. Www.breezewayscreens.com the drawback here is that they dont roll up to store easily and the height is not adjustable. But being rigid frames with a screen you can even attach a fan on it you want to circulate air a bit more.

 

[jscherb]

I'm in Elkhart, Indiana today and tomorrow for meetings with a company that's signed up for some of my designs. When I'm in the "RV capital of the world", I usually find a little time to visit my favorite RV surplus place - this place buys surplus components and materials from many of the major RV manufacturers, so they've got pretty much everything you'd need to build an RV from scratch.

Today I came across some windows that are basically the correct size to mount in the Safari Cab hard barn door. This one's a quarter slider:

I carried one out to the Jeep to see verify that it would fit, in this selfie photo I'm trying to hold the window in place in front of the barn door.

I'm not suggesting a quarter slider should be installed in the barn door, but a full slider could make sense - either one that has two panes that slide sideways, or one that's split vertically and slides up/down.

I don't plan to do this in my Safari Cab because a slider would preclude having a rear wiper and I use the rear wiper often, but a slider is an option that could be part of the barn door. Since they had the correct size on hand I couldn't resist carrying one out to the Jeep to pose it.

 

[akpostal]

Would that quarter slider fit on the side window of a JK? Or is there a quarter slider that would fir the side of the JK hard top?


Keep up with the ideas, you have some impressive ones, and good work.

Is there any progress on the JK sliders, hatches?

 

[jscherb]

Would that quarter slider fit on the side window of a JK? Or is there a quarter slider that would fir the side of the JK hard top?

Keep up with the ideas, you have some impressive ones, and good work.

Thanks.

This window is the right size for the barn door, it wouldn't fit in the side opening. The surplus place has hundreds of random windows and hatches which were excess from RV manufacturers, so you never know what you might find. The last time I was there I found hatches to fit my 2-door factory modular project....

And one to fit my LJ Safari:

Last year I found these tilt-out windows that would fit the JKU (shown in a Safari Cab panel):

It's always worth stopping by there, you never know what you'll find. Yesterday I picked up a bunch of gas struts for the side hatches on my military trailer chuck wagon project (I had gotten the hatches there last year).

Is there any progress on the JK sliders, hatches?

In late September the company told me they were going to initiate the production orders for the late model JKU slider retrofit kit in October. I haven't talked to them since then so that's the latest info I have.

I haven't done anything else with hatches for the JK or JKU lately except for a hatch prototype I showed in the factory modular conversion thread.

 

[jscherb]

Hard to believe, but I've already got about 6,000 miles on the JK Safari Cab. A trip to Florida, a trip to North Carolina for Overland Expo, and now I'm in Indiana, it adds up quickly.

Over the first few months there have only been a few very minor things that needed attention -

- the headliner panels are held in place with Velcro; I didn't use long enough strips of Velcro initially so they were sagging a bit. That's been fixed.

- a few of the roof rack bolts seeped slightly in the rain at first. This was not unexpected because I initially didn't seal them because I wanted to wait until I installed the roll-bar brackets for the rack in case I decided I needed different length bolts for the brackets. When I installed the brackets I sealed the bolts and they've been fine since then.

- I need to adjust the spring tension of the rear wiper arm - it needs to press a little more tightly on the glass to do a perfectly clean sweep.

Considering this is the first Safari Cab out of the molds and especially since it was made in my home garage, I'm very pleased with how it's working. Other than those small items above, the 6,000 miles have been trouble free, and my overall experience with the top has been great -

- it's completely weathertight (once the final sealing was done on the roof rack bolts). It's been through Florida downpours and 6 hours in the rain on the way to Overland Expo and the weather always stays outside - nothing leaks.

- because of the insulated headliner, it's quieter than the factory hardtop.

- the barn door makes cargo loading and access so much easier than the factory liftgate.

- I didn't expect to like them so much, but the power vent windows in the back really improve the air flow through the Jeep.

This photo was taken yesterday on the road at a "snack stop" - had to visit one my my favorite places for some frozen custard...

 

[Comanche Scott]

For those not needing a rear wiper, a tilt out window in the barn door would be awesome.

Pretty fun watching how the whole process goes. You do an awesome job of explaining how things go from design, to prototype to selling the design, to seeing it produced. :beer:

 

[jscherb]

For those not needing a rear wiper, a tilt out window in the barn door would be awesome.

If you've still got the factory third brake light installed, a swing-out window wouldn't be able to swing out too far. Would be better without the third brake light stalk it would open a bit further. A slider window might be more functional in the barn door?

Pretty fun watching how the whole process goes. You do an awesome job of explaining how things go from design, to prototype to selling the design, to seeing it produced. :beer:

Thanks. I know I write a lot of detail, glad to know it may be appreciated.

 

[jscherb]

Quick quiz - what do this FJ40 I photographed at Overland Expo and my JK Safari have in common?

If you said they both have a roof top tent you'd be correct, but that's not the answer I'm looking for. Removable hardtop? Yes but not the answer. 4WD? You're getting colder.

There are probably lots of things they have in common but the answer for this quiz is rear side vent windows. The Safari Cab vent windows are FJ40 parts. Technically the window glass isn't, because I had new tinted/tempered glass made to replace the clear FJ glass, but they're identical to the FJ glass and the window hardware is straight off an FJ40.

I saw several FJ's at the Expo and I've been looking at the Safari vent windows for so long it was strange for me to see the windows in their natural habitat so I had to take the photo of the FJ. There is one other difference in the vent windows though - mine are powered. I used Chevy Venture minivan vent window motors to power them, which is another in the list of vehicle I stole parts from when I designed the Safari Cab.

The list of parts donor vehicles for the JK Safari Cab includes:

Toyota FJ40
Chevy Venture minivan
Chevy Lumina minvan
Jeep XJ Cherokee
Jeep ZJ Cherokee
Jeep CJ7
Jeep TJ
Land Rover Discovery
Isuzu Trooper

 

[Comanche Scott]

Rats! I guessed round tires... :elkgrin:
Just kidding around.

I think the powered pop out windows are awesome. In fact if you go way, way, way back in this thread you'll find I had made that suggestion.
But I think in the back of your mind, you had already thought about it. :victory:
My friend had an older FJ40, and traded tops for the newer style with the pop outs, which is why it was in my mind.
Great ventilation without a lot of added noise.

Have you sat down, and listed all the design features you've done to get to this point. I mean, the list would fill more than one page single spaced, small print. It's kind of like looking at a highly modified vehicle which from 10 feet away, just looks cool. Then when you walk up and really start looking, the jaw just keeps dropping lower and lower at all the details.
I've had the privilege to do custom builds, and be part of other builds, so this kind of work is pretty exciting to me. Your top would keep me captivated for quite a while. It is so incredibly useful, and well thought out.

OK, you'll probably need a sewing needle to deflate your head... sorry about that. :elkgrin:
It really is pretty awesome though.

 

[jscherb]

Rats! I guessed round tires... :elkgrin:
Just kidding around.

I think the powered pop out windows are awesome. In fact if you go way, way, way back in this thread you'll find I had made that suggestion.
But I think in the back of your mind, you had already thought about it. :victory:
My friend had an older FJ40, and traded tops for the newer style with the pop outs, which is why it was in my mind.
Great ventilation without a lot of added noise.

I actually bought a complete FJ40 hardtop when I was starting the LJ Safari Cab project, I thought I might use the vent windows in that project but I ended up not using them. This photo shows one of the FJ40 side panels (with frost on the glass) in 2010 next to the CJ-8 Scrambler I had before I bought the LJ for the LJ Safari Cab project. BTW the Scrambler had a very rare factory export "World Cab" hardtop, which was a big part of the inspiration for the LJ Safari Cab design.

But I'll credit you with inspiring me to use the vent windows on the JK Safari Cab project. Thanks, they're one of my favorite features .

Have you sat down, and listed all the design features you've done to get to this point. I mean, the list would fill more than one page single spaced, small print. It's kind of like looking at a highly modified vehicle which from 10 feet away, just looks cool. Then when you walk up and really start looking, the jaw just keeps dropping lower and lower at all the details.

No, I guess this thread is about as complete a record of the features as there is, I haven't written them down all in one place. There are also features designed into the top that I never posted here, so this thread isn't even complete. I've tried to imagine as many different configurations and options as possible, and where something might depend on another part, as often as possible I've designed the parts to accommodate those designs. For example, the upper jambs/door surrounds have recesses to support a factory soft top header so that a soft roof could be easily implemented. That feature is in the fiberglass parts even though I haven't implemented a soft roof yet. There are many options I haven't yet implemented, I guess if I ever decide to license the design to a company for production I should write down a list of all the options and features so they could decide what to implement.

I've had the privilege to do custom builds, and be part of other builds, so this kind of work is pretty exciting to me. Your top would keep me captivated for
quite a while. It is so incredibly useful, and well thought out.

OK, you'll probably need a sewing needle to deflate your head... sorry about that. :elkgrin:
It really is pretty awesome though.

Thank you, and thanks for al your input. Your input has made a difference in the final design and features.

 

[Dan Grec]

I've been thinking a lot about the JK as a camping vehicle, perhaps with an Ursa Minor tilt-up camper top or one of my camper top design ideas for the Safari Cab. In those campers, there's access between the "upstairs" bedroom and the inside of the Jeep. The camper top has screens to allow ventilation while keeping insects out, but the Jeep does not. So why not equip the Jeep with screens?

I think it's an awesome idea, though note that on a standard J30 pop-up, once it's in "sleeping mode" there is no air moving between the downstairs and upstairs sleeping area.

Also note about 40% of the upstairs canvas can be opened as bug screen (or wide open), which is how I've been sleeping with mine for months now.

I slept downstairs a couple of times in my setup, and your bug screens would be awesome for that use!

-Dan

 

[Zeep]

Forgive me if I have missed it, but have you incorporated any type of hold open feature, on any of your Barn door projects?
I was in the back of my Jeep yesterday, while off camber, and had to hold the tailgate open with my hip. I'd love to see how you address this issue.

 

[jscherb]

Forgive me if I have missed it, but have you incorporated any type of hold open feature, on any of your Barn door projects?
I was in the back of my Jeep yesterday, while off camber, and had to hold the tailgate open with my hip. I'd love to see how you address this issue.

The later model Wranglers (2011+?) come from the factory with a tailgate stop which holds the tailgate in the open position. It's a very poorly engineered piece and subject to failure - Jeep has issued at least one TSB about it failing - but it does hold the tailgate open just fine. For earlier model JKs and TJ's, there are a number of aftermarket solutions available from Rugged Ridge and others. My JK is a 2013 with the factory stop and it works fine.