jscherb

Thanks. I've got a bunch of long "Safaris" still to come this year. Two days after I get back from Boston I'm driving the LJ Safari to Colorado for an overland expedition. Five days after I get back from that trip I'm driving my Retro Wrangler pickup to Florida. And 2 1/2 weeks after returning from Florida I'm driving the JK Safari to SEMA in Las Vegas followed by a few days of desert adventure in Death Valley. Looking forward to all of the trips.

Four Low

Great Adventures, particularly the SEMA show, where you'll see your products on display, and in use. The Jeep community really benefits from your talents .

jscherb

I'm on the way to Colorado for some trail time; today on my way through Indiana I stopped at MORryde in Elkhart and took a look at their work-in-progress on the parts for the Ovlerand Rack. The parts are very nice.



I posted photos and a video of my prototype Overland Rack a few months ago, here's one again...



They say the way to show both the Overland Rack and the Slide-out Kitchen at SEMA in November.

Also picked up a preproduction set 8 of the new HD Door Hinges (a full set for a JKU) for testing. While there I snapped this cell phone shot of a set on one of their test Jeeps. Hardware isn't final, this set is installed with hex-head stainless bolts but may do blackened stainless button head Allen screws for production.

jscherb

I got word today from Joel at Retrofit Offroad that the Multipod LEDs I've posted about in this thread are now available on their web site. The various custom mounting brackets haven't made it to the site yet, but they're all in stock and they're working on the photography and text of the listing so they should be up soon as well.

jeepmojo

per pod light (not) thought they were going to be in expensive and thats not even the mounts , wiring harness switch ! Thats laughable Those will get dusty on a shelf id imagine .
To bad cuz the idea wasnt bad

ill just grab ( 6 )of these with a 2 year warranty

for the price of 1 of those



https://www.amazon.com/LIGHTS-Motorc...hts+adjustable

jscherb

Take a look at the KC Flex lights (http://www.kchilites.com/light-type/led/flex-led.html)- the Multipod lights have the same specs and quality optics as the Flex lights. The precision optics provide for either a 10-degree spot beam pattern or a 20-degree spread pattern and maximum beam distance. Flex lights are a high-end high-quality product and on the KC site, a pair of them lists for about $250, although they're available singly from multiple sources for about $95.00 each.

The Multipods are high-end lights with precision optics like the Flex lights, but with a mid-range price. And with an available range of custom mounts for specific locations on JK and TJ Jeeps, they can be installed easily in more places.

In the electronics world there will always be cheaper alternatives and those cheaper alternatives may be perfect for some applications or for people on a budget. And even though many of the cheaper lights on the market use Cree LED chips and may be advertised to have the same specs as high-end products, the optics make a big difference in the quality of the light beam pattern and distance of the beam.

The goal of the Multipod project wasn't to be the cheapest on the market. The goals included:

- A high-end high-quality product at a mid-range price
- Precision optics for optimal beam spread and distance
- High-quality all-aluminum housings and mounts for long life on the Jeep (no zinc-plated brackets that will rust)
- A range of easy-to-install custom mounting solutions for the JK and TJ, plus universal mounting using the AMPS industry standard.

If cheaper lights suit someone's needs then they should buy them.

jscherb

I've posted photos of my RTT on the Safari Cab...



... and photos of the new Garvin rack basket I've adapted to the Safari...



And I've adapted the RTT crossbars to mount on top of the Garvin:



I haven't put the RTT on top of the Garvin yet because I haven't had time, but one thing I've been thinking about is the extra length of the Garvin compared to the RTT - there's probably 16-18" of the Garvin ahead of where the RTT will mount. Seems like that space should be used, so I sketched the following idea for an "RTT Companion" storage box.







The contents of the box could easily be accessed from within the RTT, just unzip the front flap and screen and open the top of the box. Could be a good place to store pillows, bedding, etc., stuff that would be needed once the RTT was opened up. And it could be easily accessed using the door hinge steps I'll be prototyping when I get back from this trip.

These are just rough "idea starter" sketches for now. I've sketched it as being done in diamondplate aluminum, but it could be molded in fiberglass. I also sketched it as being rectangular, but it could be tapered in the front to cut wind resistance - if I were to streamline it a bit I'd definitely want to mold it in fiberglass because it's much easier to sculpt nice shapes in fiberglass.

I'll do more sketches after I install the RTT on the Garvin and I see how much room is really available.

jscherb

Since I posted the instructions for making the DIY Awning here (https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...7/#post4301544), I'll post some test results on the trail even though I was testing it on the LJ not the JK.

Here are a few photo using the awning at Hurricane Pass in Colorado this week (12,370'). I'm very pleased with how it performed. There was a light breeze at this altitude so I needed the guy lines/stakes to secure it but the ground was very rocky so instead of pounding the stakes in I laid them on the ground and put rocks on them - worked fine.









I tried it in some higher wind earlier on the trip and there is one improvement I can recommend. The Ikea window shade I used has a maximum extension of about 6', of which I'm only using 4'. In higher winds the return spring on the shade isn't strong enough to resist the wind, so the wind pulls the shade out futher than the necessary 4'. The solution is to shorten the shade length so that when the fiberglass poles are inserted they put tension on the fully extended/shortened shade. I'll make this mod to the shade when I get back from the trip.

jscherb

I wired up the Multipod LEDs on the Garvin rack for a quick test tonight. I've got 4 Multipods mounted on the front of the rack:



Here's what they look like after dark. Headlights only:



Headlights + LEDs:



LEDs only:



From the front:



In other LED news, here's a 20" Multipod light bar I've been sent for testing. Actually more than testing, some assembly is required and I've been asked to write the assembly instructions for it, so I'll do that in the process of checking it out. I may also experiment with installing it as two 10" bars.

jscherb

Update on the 2-door factory hardtop slider window kit, the company says:

More detail: everything has been manufactured for the first production run, the windows are made and the retrofit (installation) kits are made but the window company is waiting on the boxes to package each kit in so they can ship them to the company, apparently there's been a delay in them receiving the boxes.