jscherb

Sourcing components for the skylight project was a challenge. The latch I sourced overseas from an aftermarket parts manufacturer, its original application is for a Mazda pickup truck that's not sold in the US, so the parts aren't available here. The hinges are custom; I designed them specifically for the skylight application and arranged for their manufacture.

For a one-off project like yours, if there's a u-pull junkyard near you a visit there may turn up parts you can use. Check out the pop-out windows on minivans and extended-cab pickups, chances are you'll find something that will work.

I sourced the parts for the powered pop-out vent windows of my JK Safari Cab at the local u-pull; the motors and related hardware came from a Chevy Venture minivan; the hinges are from a late 70's FJ40 hardtop and the power switches are from a Land Rover Discovery. The glass I had custom made and tempered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KytfmQV7Lb0

jeepmojo

but air armor makes a compressor in the can ! i have one in my jeep attached to side rail
i like it , works well

jscherb

Yes, thanks, I've seen it. I prefer a compressor with a 100% duty cycle, which is what the compressor I've been supplied with is rated for.

jeepmojo

i guess the air armor 240 has a 20 min cycle
it fills a 35 in under 5 min
mine are 33s so i havent needed to go beyond that time line of 20 min
i do like the portability of it in the ammo can .
its worked out well for me seeing i dont run it over that 20 min time period anyway.
i do like its rugged construction and components ( A worthy investment) for the average
daily driver weekend trail type drivers. for the price , i think its well worth it, but obviously its not arb twins onboard I do prefer the rubber 25 ' hose over coil type just because those are a pita usually from my experience
. https://www.specialopstools.com/air-...SABEgKbSvD_BwE

jscherb

A few weeks ago I posted about my trip to the RV Industry Association's annual trade show and said that I had talked to several RV plumbing vendors there about components for adding a pump to supply water to the Trail Kitchen sink. I'm now been testing several pumps to understand their behavior and capabilities before I design the pump mounting. I've got a test set up by the kitchen sink consisting of a 5 liter Rubican as a water supply, a power supply with clip leads to power the pump, and both a spigot and a hose nozzle to test flow and pressure.



I'm waiting on two spigots to come, but here's a test with a hose nozzle connected. The pump has an integrated demand switch, so when I start water flowing the pump turns on and when I stop the water the pump turns off - you can hear the pump starting and stopping.


Conclusion so far - these pumps provide plenty of pressure and flow. I never doubted they would be adequate for the sink, but the stream from the hose nozzle was better than I expected. The on-demand pump cycling works very well.

I've got another pump to test, but the specs are very similar to this one so I expect similar results. Hopefully will also have a spigot or two tomorrow to test with.

Also, I'll be on the lookout for a low-flow shower head to experiment with. Based on the specs, the flow should be fine

for one of today's low-flow heads. Still thinking about how to heat the water. If there's enough rack space, putting the container on the roof in the sun will warm it up pretty nicely - I've got plenty of room on my rack even with the tent up there, but that may not be true for everyone so if anyone has any alternate water-warming ideas let me know.

jscherb

I'm in the process of making up some Trail Kitchen power panels for testing. After I wire them one will go in my Jeep to replace the earlier version I've been using for the past few months.



These aren't the final colors, but beggars can't be choosers - I went to the local fab shop to get some metal to make the panel boxes and they had some pre-finished red and purple aluminum scraps in their scrap bin that were large enough for this project so that how they ended this color. I'll paint them black eventually.

Also got word this morning that the sample folding faucet I've been waiting for will ship today or tomorrow.

jscherb

I received the third and final spigot and another pump for testing for the Trail Kitchen sink. I like this spigot best - it folds down for storage. Also different in this test is the water source is a 2-gallon Rotopax, for the other tests I was using a 1-gallon Rubican. And this is the sink I'll be using with the kitchen, I'm checking the reach of the spigot into the sink.


This being the spigot I'll be going with I'll mount it at the sink and I'll install a pump in the Jeep for more testing.

jscherb

I installed the new Trail Kitchen Power Panel and Charging Kit in the Jeep, everything works as designed and expected. In this photo I'm charging my phone from one of the USB outlets in the Power Panel. Apparently my phone draws 0.21 amps when charging and the display is lit .



In this next photo the Jeep is running and the display on the Power Panel is showing the charging voltage.

jscherb

I mounted a sink pump in the Jeep for testing this morning. Fits nicely behind the Molle panel under the battery. The simple aluminum mounting plate allows the pump to easily be mounted on the Molle panel, and should work with most any metal Molle panel.



Haven't mounted the spigot at the sink yet, but here's quick a hose test.


Water source for the hose test is a 2 gallon Rotopax. The Rotopax can also mount to the Molle panel, so if all that was wanted was a powered water source without the full kitchen, this configuration could be used.





The kitchen battery wouldn't be necessary for this application, the Power Panel could be used without the battery, or on a JKU the pump could be plugged into the factory rear power outlet.

mrw

JK* Hardtop update
Jeff, I ended up putting the windows in fixed and not operable. Installed the top last night with my son and it turned out great. The next part of the project will be to make some insulating panels for the new top. It was too cold to wash the Jeep so a final pic will have to wait. I can't thank you enough for your help and all that you share on the forum. I would never have taken this on without the info you have shared with your builds. Thanks again.Attached Thumbnails