Originally Posted by jscherb

Thank you and thanks for the input.

Current status of the 2dr factory hardtop slider window kit: Two weeks ago I received a preproduction retrofit kit from the manufacturer and I've signed off on it for production. I expect to hear any day now from the window company that they've got a preproduction slider window ready for my sign-off. Once I sign off on the slider window it should only be a short time before the full kit is available for purchase.

Originally Posted by jscherb

Since my Safari Cab hardtop doesn't accept Freedom Panels, today my friend Donny and I tried a prototype skylight panel in his Jeep. He's got a Gobi rack on his Jeep, so it was also to see how the openable skylights would work with the rack (answer: just fine).





In this photo he's reaching up to open the skylight:



A view from the driver's seat.



The prototype is tinted the same as the factory tint on the hardtop windows; Donny and I thought for Florida at least (where Donny lives) a darker tint would be a good idea, as would be a fabric shade of some sort to keep the sun from beating in when it's not wanted. I think for where I am in upstate NY the current tint would be nice, but definitely a darker tint for the hot zones. I'll sew a prototype shade when I get back to my sewing machine.

Originally Posted by 2qik2see

N I C E ! Wow..that'd be awesome to have! It'd pay dividends..huge dividends..if the factory were following your ideas/creations. You've done it again..GREAT JOB!!

Originally Posted by jscherb

In the process of making up the prototype 2-dr factory hardtop slider window retrofit kit, I also made up a "blank" one just to see what ideas might come out of it.

One use for a blank kit would be to turn the Jeep into a panel truck, but really the idea would be to provide a "blank canvas" for DIY-built hardtop mods. Like the slider window retrofit kits, the blank kit would provide a flat mounting surface is an easy-to-use base for whatever the DIY-er wanted to build.

A blank retrofit kit installed to make "panel truck":







Some of the things a blank retrofit kit could be used for...

- Building a Rotopax mount (oh wait, someone's done that Blackout Kit Bare Bones Package - 2 Door JK) But a DIY version using a blank retrofit hit would almost certainly work out to be way less than the $659.98 of the one in the link .

- Building your own cargo hatch/storage compartment using a standard RV hatch



- Installing standard RV-style windows



I'm working on coming up with other uses for a blank kit to see if it's worth going any further with it - any ideas?

Originally Posted by jscherb

One other thing I'm thinking of implementing on the modular hardtop - the windows on either side of the barn door on my Safari Cab really improve visibility out the back:



It wouldn't be too hard to do the same thing to a factory hardtop. On a late model (wide hatch) hardtop, they'd look something like this concept drawing:

Originally Posted by 2qik2see

Ohhhhhh sweet!!!! Is that glass panel curved or flat? It really does improve the vision back there!!