The torsion bars for the JK Habitat/J-180 were built by Foote Axle in Los Angeles. They were heat treated and not a simple process to make, nor were they inexpensive. Making them was not an exact process either with a lot of trail and error that took several months of R&D to perfect. They are quite different from the Flippac torsion bar in that they have a different spline, a different diameter and are shorter. The Flippac torsion rod is inherently flawed and merely copying the specs of one will only be another failure in the future. They also have a proprietary spline that would require expensive tooling to re-create. Given the failure rate, I personally would not want to work with the forge that made the originals.
AT has no intention of making replacement torsion bars for the Flippac. We have discussed the possibility of creating a conversion kit using gas struts but there a lot of obstacles to making it work well and we refuse to make anything that is substandard. We are very busy with the new Tacoma Habitats and a conversion kit is far off on our priority list. My advice for all Flippac owners for now it be gentle with your Flippac opening, it you have anything on the roof, remove it. If you have a heavier mattress, remove it. The less load on your torsion rod, the less likely it is to fail.
