Ursa Minor Pop-Top Jeep JK

dmulk

Active member
Memory foam is rock hard at @25 degrees, I can attest to that. It softens up directly below you but the outer edges make you feel like you're in a mold! I spent the night at Craters of the Moon last spring on my way to Moab and it was COLD!!!
View attachment 699335
Will you be sticking with it?

Also, I have the longer ARB awning like you. How do you like it vs the shorter one they offer? Just curious. :)
 

shays4me

Willing Wanderer
Will you be sticking with it?

Also, I have the longer ARB awning like you. How do you like it vs the shorter one they offer? Just curious. :)
Yes, I like my mattress setup but I do plan to add a diesel furnace as soon as it warms up a bit. The 2500 awning is not as nice looking on the Jeep compared to the 2000, but it makes up for it in shade and weather protection. I set up a mockup on the ground of the two sizes of awnings and then we put our camp chairs in them. With four people we really couldn't all fit under the 2000 so it was an easy choice. I added some brackets to the other side of the top after I purchased it so I can move the awning from side to side with quick disconnects.
 

dmulk

Active member
Yes, I like my mattress setup but I do plan to add a diesel furnace as soon as it warms up a bit. The 2500 awning is not as nice looking on the Jeep compared to the 2000, but it makes up for it in shade and weather protection. I set up a mockup on the ground of the two sizes of awnings and then we put our camp chairs in them. With four people we really couldn't all fit under the 2000 so it was an easy choice. I added some brackets to the other side of the top after I purchased it so I can move the awning from side to side with quick disconnects.
Thank you for the feedback. I found a couple photos of your rig with the awning in another thread on here. Nice setup. ?????
 

Presto88

Adventurer
Yes, I like my mattress setup but I do plan to add a diesel furnace as soon as it warms up a bit. The 2500 awning is not as nice looking on the Jeep compared to the 2000, but it makes up for it in shade and weather protection. I set up a mockup on the ground of the two sizes of awnings and then we put our camp chairs in them. With four people we really couldn't all fit under the 2000 so it was an easy choice. I added some brackets to the other side of the top after I purchased it so I can move the awning from side to side with quick disconnects.
What kind of "quick disconnects" did you use there? I'd really like to take my awning off when not in use, but it's a real hassle with the setup that I have.
 

ventura911

Adventurer
How did you solve for this problem in the end? Here is what I've come up with using Velcro MOLLE panels that stick to the roof of the UM. I've also made a little video which I'll figure out how to upload shortly.
View attachment 698939
After realizing I would likely be unable to open the rear cargo deck, I went a different direction. Instead of getting a roof net, I got a 4’ x 4’ cargo net to hold the gear in my rear seat and rear footwells from flying around. It clips to the rear headrests and the front seat mounts.
 
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shays4me

Willing Wanderer
What kind of "quick disconnects" did you use there? I'd really like to take my awning off when not in use, but it's a real hassle with the setup that I have.
I believe these are the model:

Yes indeed they are. I like these ones because they work well with my side latches for opening or closing the top. I did not like that they are plastic but they've held up well and I only needed to buy half sets for the one side and in my shed for storage of the awning. A word of warning though, these do rattle so if that bothers you find a different solution!
 
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m-l_johnny

Active member
Yes indeed they are. I like these ones because they work well with my side latches for opening or closing the top. I did not like that they are plastic but they've help up well and I only needed to buy half sets for the one side and in my shed for storage of the awning. A word of warning though, these do rattle so if that bothers you find a different solution!
I used hinges to ghetto-fab my quick disconnects. Bolted one side of the hinge to the bracket on the UM, the other side of the hinge to the awning mounting spine. Replaced the hinge pin with a long 1/4-20 bolt and a locknut. Can have it removed or installed in about 5 min or less.
 

shays4me

Willing Wanderer
I used hinges to ghetto-fab my quick disconnects. Bolted one side of the hinge to the bracket on the UM, the other side of the hinge to the awning mounting spine. Replaced the hinge pin with a long 1/4-20 bolt and a locknut. Can have it removed or installed in about 5 min or less.
I did a similar setup myself before I found the disconnects I'm running now. Instead of a bolt I used a hitch pin on both ends and made some "C" shaped brackets out of square tube. For the awning side I used flat and welded some bushing stock that was cut to length and drilled out to match the pins. It worked really well but I knew I couldn't mimic the exact spacing on the new awning mounts for the other side so I removed them. The ironman disconnects are tapered so there's a little room for imperfection.
 

Presto88

Adventurer
Thanks for all the input from everyone regarding the quick disconnects for the awnings.

I have an ARB awning and the brackets on my J30 are the ones supplied by UrsaMinor. I'll have to get out there and take some measurements to see if these disconnects are going to work for me. If so, I'll probably go the IronMan route, but otherwise I guess I'll be working out some ghetto-fab like m-l_johnny.

Again, thanks for the advice.
 

Red_shift

New member
Thanks for all the input from everyone regarding the quick disconnects for the awnings.

I have an ARB awning and the brackets on my J30 are the ones supplied by UrsaMinor. I'll have to get out there and take some measurements to see if these disconnects are going to work for me. If so, I'll probably go the IronMan route, but otherwise I guess I'll be working out some ghetto-fab like m-l_johnny.

Again, thanks for the advice.

I have an ARB 2000 awning on order to use with a J30 (also on order) and was hoping that the Ironman quick release brackets would work with the Ursa Minor brackets. Let me know what you find out. It looks like the Ironman brackets would attach using 4 bolts to the ARB and 2 bolts to the Ursa Minor brackets. Just a question whether the spacing of the bolts will match both the ARB and the UM bracket.
 

shays4me

Willing Wanderer
Thanks for all the input from everyone regarding the quick disconnects for the awnings.

I have an ARB awning and the brackets on my J30 are the ones supplied by UrsaMinor. I'll have to get out there and take some measurements to see if these disconnects are going to work for me. If so, I'll probably go the IronMan route, but otherwise I guess I'll be working out some ghetto-fab like m-l_johnny.

Again, thanks for the advice.
I have an ARB 2000 awning on order to use with a J30 (also on order) and was hoping that the Ironman quick release brackets would work with the Ursa Minor brackets. Let me know what you find out. It looks like the Ironman brackets would attach using 4 bolts to the ARB and 2 bolts to the Ursa Minor brackets. Just a question whether the spacing of the bolts will match both the ARB and the UM bracket.

They bolt right up. The holes in the awning, brackets and mounts are all standardized to work. The Ursa Minor brackets actually have more holes than you'll need. As I recall Ironman doesn't provide you with all the hardware needed so you will need to source some metric bolts and nuts at the hardware store.
IMG-3762.jpgIMG-3763.jpg
 

shays4me

Willing Wanderer
And I should also add that you should buy button head bolts for the Ursa minor awning mount to quick release bracket. Install them pointing away from the top to avoid tearing your bulb seal on the top like dummy me!
 

dmulk

Active member
They bolt right up. The holes in the awning, brackets and mounts are all standardized to work. The Ursa Minor brackets actually have more holes than you'll need. As I recall Ironman doesn't provide you with all the hardware needed so you will need to source some metric bolts and nuts at the hardware store.
View attachment 700783View attachment 700784
Awesome. I've asked for brackets on both sides of my UM build. Jooc, is there a security solution for those of us that live in crappy areas where things like to walk? Some sort of locking system or does it come down to security bolts, etc?
Thank you!
Dan
 

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