Land Rover ideas for Jeeps

[Trav75]

The Belgian Army used locally built Land Rovers known as Minervas; they were basically Series models with some differences, such as sloped front fenders. Some of them were configured as battlefield stretcher carriers:

The extension that hangs off the back is supported by the NATO trailer hitch on the rear crossmember. It's a very simple platform and has a canvas cover that attaches to the main soft top back window opening.

This idea could be adapted to turn a short wheelbase Jeep (TJ, JK2dr, etc.) into a sleep-in camper. It wouldn't take much to build it - a simple platform, a brace down to a hitch receiver and a little sewing to make an enclosure that could zip to the soft top rear window zipper or a simple enclosure frame that could clamp to the hatch opening of a hardtop.

Been focused on improving sleeping for our JKU hardtop, by this post makes me want to explore more options with camping in our soft top...very ’tent like’ Wouldn’t need the extended sleeping space but some (shorter?) version of this would help with moving some cargo out of sleeping area.

 

[Trav75]

Don’t know what I’d do with the spare in that instance but doubt I’d put it out front like the one pictured. Might scoop up a deer or two.

 

[Bobzdar]

One feature I wish Jeep soft tops had is roll-up sides. They've been part of Land Rover soft tops back to the early Series models.

On a Series:

And on a Defender:

I like the roll-up soft side idea a lot, so I designed them as an optional feature of my Safari Cab hardtops, in the summer I remove the hard sides and install the soft sides. This is a feature Land Rovers don't have, the only way to get roll-up sides on a Land Rover is with the soft top, they're not an option for the hard top.

Without the hard rear panel and barn door:

Rolled down:

My JKU Safari Cab has optional roll-up soft sides as well.

BTW Jeep factory soft top sides can be modified to roll up, it's a pretty simple mod to the side panels if you've got a sewing machine. A roll-up factory side on my JKU:

The roll up sides used to be on cj soft tops, not sure why Jeep moved away from them other than they felt it better just to make them removable or they're easier to seal. I know the soft top on my s3 LR is, well, not very water tight. I suppose the easiest way to accomplish the 'look' is to just build some storage straps in to stock soft tops for YJ through JL's as storing them there instead of inside makes a lot of sense.

 

[jscherb]

Don’t know what I’d do with the spare in that instance but doubt I’d put it out front like the one pictured. Might scoop up a deer or two.

The extension could be designed so that it folds and stores inside the Jeep and when deployed it would clear the spare on the fully open tailgate. I did some quick photo-edits to illustrate...

 

[jscherb]

The roll up sides used to be on cj soft tops, not sure why Jeep moved away from them other than they felt it better just to make them removable or they're easier to seal. I know the soft top on my s3 LR is, well, not very water tight. I suppose the easiest way to accomplish the 'look' is to just build some storage straps in to stock soft tops for YJ through JL's as storing them there instead of inside makes a lot of sense.

Making roll-up sides weathertight isn't difficult, some common design practices just need to be followed. The roll-up sides on my LJ are completely weathertight, and so are the factory soft sides I modified to roll up on my JKU. For me, both of these solutions are better than trying to store inflexible factory soft top side panels inside the Jeep somewhere.

 

[Trav75]

The extension could be designed so that it folds and stores inside the Jeep and when deployed it would clear the spare on the fully open tailgate. I did some quick photo-edits to illustrate...

very nice! Thanks. you have me considering adding a sewing machine to the workshop.
n

 

[jscherb]

very nice! Thanks. you have me considering adding a sewing machine to the workshop.
n

I do a lot of design and fabrication - welding, metal forming, fiberglass, electronics, woodworking and cloth projects and I have to say that of all the tools I have my sewing machine is my second favorite power tool. For me anyway, a sewing machine is perhaps the most useful power tool one can have to outfit a Jeep for camping and overlanding. I highly recommend having one.

I actually have two. My first sewing machine is a hand-me-down from my father, he used it to sew canvas for his boat. It's an early 60's Janome New Home Dual Duty, made back when sewing machines were all metal, built to last and icons of Japanese precision. Similar machines can be found on eBay for $100 or so and they run forever so they're a great investment.

I've sewed soft top mods, roll-up soft sides for my LJ Safari Cab, custom Molle gear, the pop-up camper canvas for my Jeep-tub trailer and lots more. There's very little you'd want to do for a Jeep or camper that it can't do.

A few years ago I added a higher-end machine, it's a Sailrite Ultrafeed walking foot machine. It's a powerful machine for very heavy duty sewing and I can do a few things with it that the Janome would struggle with but for almost anything that someone would want to sew for a Jeep or camper, a machine like the Janome is all you'd need.

I'm in the process of drafting a post for this thread for early net week showing some other recent sewing projects, stay tuned.

 

[jscherb]

Bags on the sides? Definitely have never seen this on a Jeep. Would anyone do this on a Jeep? Not sure anyone except the military does it on Land Rovers either.

 

[Trav75]

Bags on the sides? Definitely have never seen this on a Jeep. Would anyone do this on a Jeep? Not sure anyone except the military does it on Land Rovers either.

For me not likely given so many other options but if so, a pannier system like on adventure motorcycles might work. A frame over like some of the racks that work with soft tops with bags that mount securely. But you might need HUGE side mirrors. Since I have no roof rack, I did carry two of my giant canoeing dry bags on a recent Colorado trip in case I had cargo overflow. Figured I’d tie to rear tire if needed.

 

[Trav75]

A frame that supported bags on either side of spare could be functional. A bar From one side of bumper to the other and used regardless of changing tops or no top. Like roll bar but external. I can’t see out of the back glass anyway.

 

[jscherb]

HiLift mounted on the spare

HiLifts are not as popular as fashion accessories on Land Rovers as they are on Jeeps, but they do show up from time to time. Here's a mount for the spare. It seems pretty substantial.

I've seen a few Hilifts on Jeeps in the U.S. mounted on the spare, but never "upside down" like this next one on a Discovery. I think they did that so the head of the jack doesn't hang too low and reduce departure angle.

I built myself a similar mount a few years ago:

It used the mounting stud from the MORryde spare mount jerry can holder with a new bracket to suit the HiLift.

 

[Mc Jedi]

Bags on the sides? Definitely have never seen this on a Jeep. Would anyone do this on a Jeep? Not sure anyone except the military does it on Land Rovers either.

Being in the Pacific Northwest, all I see are branch catchers. Going down a tight forested road with bags hanging off the side just seems to be tempting every bush and tree to do all they can to rip them off.

 

[krick3tt]

That is what I see as a problem with the new Defender with the box and ladder on the side. The things with Jeeps, or at least the ones I have seen, and stuff on the sides is that the stuff is within the fenders of the older ones, petrol cans and such, not so much with the newer versions.
We have branches, bushes and trees in CO as well. I have lost side mirrors.

 

[jscherb]

Been there, done (some of) that, part 7.

This article was about a Land Rover trip to the Grand Canyon.

A few years ago I had a magazine assignment to do a story on the Grand Canyon Railway so I did a lot of what they talk about in this article, although I didn't have time to do the trip down to the river.

Info on the trail to the river: https://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/grand_canyon/peach_springs_canyon.html

For the magazine assignment I was driving a rented 2wd Cherokee out of Las Vegas and I did do quite a few miles on forest service roads to get photographs of the train in scenic wild settings, but the trail from Peach Springs down to the river was way out of the way for what I needed to do for the magazine so I couldn't do it on that trip. We plan to take that trail in one of our Jeeps and camp at the riverside the next opportunity we get.

My article as published:

 

[jscherb]

I've gotten a lot of inspiration from some of the "soft goods" for camping and overlanding shown in Land Roverb magazines. Here are some examples:

A "pockety-hangy-downy thing"? Is that Brit for hanging organizer? "Bivvi Organizer" is short for Bivouac Organizer BTW. What's different about this one is that it hangs with magnets.

Canvas Kitchen - If all you need is a simple place to hold some utensils and a work surface, maybe this would be useful.

A bunch of toiletry bags have been covered in the magazines.

Same thing from the other magazine:

Another one:

And some first aid bags:

Next post: some of what these have inspired me to design and sew.