jscherb

I think I've posted about this project before - I've been working on a slider retrofit kit for JK half door uppers. The idea is that the slider window would get installed in a factory upper half door, replacing the vinyl window. Here are some prototype slider windows installed in factory uppers:



In addition to working with factory uppers, the retrofit kit is designed to work with Bestop and Rugged Ridge uppers.

Another idea for half door uppers I'm experimenting with is a "hard shell retrofit kit", which is the same as the kit above except the factory canvas skin gets replaced with a fiberglass skin to form a hard shell upper.

Here are the parts - a slider window, a fiberglass skin, and a factory upper shell with the canvas skin removed. The factory weatherstrip is used, and doesn't even have to be removed from the factory shell shell to perform the conversion from soft shell/vinyl window to hard shell/slider window.



The fiberglass skin in the photo above was molded with black resin, so the inside doesn't have to be painted. The outside was molded with white gelcoat because that's what I had on hand, but could be molded in black, and even could be molded with a texture to match the hardtop. Fiberglass takes paint very well, so it could be painted to color-match the body color of the Jeep as well. In this next photo the parts are just sitting together, they haven't been assembled yet but you can see the white gelcoat finish of this prototype:



The fiberglass skin is attached to the shell with 3M VHB tape (3M? VHB? Tape). This tape is very commonly used in the RV and automotive industries (and other industries) for structural bonds between parts. The VHB tape should be a strong and very DIY-friendly way to attach the fiberglass skin to the plastic shell, although since this is the first prototype, the bond will have to be tested in actual use to see if it's strong enough.

I've painted this prototype with in black with a slight texture. Here are a few photos of the assembled upper...

jscherb

I'm in the process of finalizing the design of the wiring harnesses for the JK Safari Cab. The Safari Cab wiper and defogger are compatible with the factory JK hardtop wiring, so they'll plug directly into the factory hardtop connector for wiper/defogger control, although since the wiper and defogger are part of the barn door, the wiring will have to enter the barn door on the tailgate hinge side. An "extension cord" is required because the factory hardtop connector is on the driver's side of the tub.

The extension will have factory 6-pin hardtop connectors on each end (male on one end, female on the other); one end will plug into the factory hardtop connector in the Jeep, and the extension will run under the carpet/plastic cubbyhole to the other side of the Jeep, and then it will follow the existing third brake light wiring from the tub to the tailgate and plug into the barn door. The extension is pretty simple:



The sleeve the factory wiring runs through from the tub to the tailgate isn't large enough for the extension to run through as well, so I'll make up a zippered cover; it'll zip over the new extension plus the existing factory wiring. I made up one of these when I installed a test barn door on a friend's JKU last year and it worked great:



Installed on my friend's JKU, it looked like this. He was also designing a tailgate cargo system, which is seen in this photo, but the important part for this post is how the wiring extension goes inside the zipper sleeve.



A hose for the washer fluid also follows the extension under the carpet and through the sleeve to the barn door because the washer nozzle for the Safari Cab is installed in the barn door.

That's half of the necessary wiring for the hardtop, and it's pretty easy - a plug-and-play extension that runs under the carpet. The other half of the wiring equation is getting switched and battery power to the hardtop to run the vent windows and other accessories that might be mounted in the top. That's for the next post, stay tuned.

jscherb

The second part of the JK Safari Cab wiring is bringing switched and unswitched power to the hardtop for the power vent windows and electrical accessories that might be installed in an overhead console.

The basic plan is to pull power directly from the battery for both the switched and unswitched power. The JK battery connectors have stud terminals on them, which makes it easy to attach extra wires for power and ground. Both will need to be fused, so some provision will have to be made for mounting fuses. The switched power needs to be on when the ignition is on and off when the ignition is off, so that'll be done with a relay that's operated from some other existing switched circuit. Since there are switched circuits accessible in the TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module) right next to the battery, that's where the switched control will be taken from. So what's required is 3 fuses (battery power, switched power and the relay control line), plus one relay.

I've found a perfect relay/fuse holder - it supports one relay and three fuses, and is small enough to mount right next to the battery in the cramped JK engine compartment:



I haven't decided on the exact routing to get this harness from the engine compartment back the the rear of the tub, but I'm thinking of running it down the passenger side because that's where the wiper/defogger extension will plug into the hardtop; might as well have both electrical connectors on the same side. Depends on where I can find an existing hole in the firewall to pass the wires from the engine compartment to the interior.

This harness will be an easy plug-and-play installation - mount the fuse/relay panel to an existing bolt in the engine compartment, attach the power and ground wires to the existing studs on the battery connectors, plug the switched power control into the appropriate place in the TIPM, and route the harness to the back of the Jeep. Oh, maybe drilling a hole in the firewall to get the wiring through if a usable one doesn't exist already, I still have to study that.

jscherb

The first part of the Safari Cab wiring is ready to install - the extension that plugs the barn door wiper and defogger into the factory harness. This extension will plug into the factory hardtop plug in the tub, run under the carpet to the passenger side, and out to the barn door following the factory third brake light wires.



Before I run it under the carpet and the plastic panels, a quick test... the wiper works just like the factory one, with the proper delay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvXrWrh4AM0 As soon as my fuse block/relay socket arrives I'll make up the accessory power harness.

jscherb

From time to time in this thread I've posted photos of the JK half door slider window project I've been working on. Today I took a prototype set of sliders for a high-speed test ride today in my friend Donny's Jeep. This was actually the first time I've ever ridden in a half door JK with factory uppers, and I was surprised how much flapping the factory canvas/vinyl uppers do at speed - seems worse than my TJ soft uppers. But with the sliders installed, the uppers are very quiet - no flapping or noise. If you were blindfolded, I'll bet you couldn't tell whether the Jeep had full doors or half doors sliders based on the noise level. I couldn't be happier with how the project worked out.



A couple of inside views.





We didn't do the supersize drink test at McD's, but we did do the tollbooth test... test passed!

jk bobby

subscribed!!! awesome work jscherb!

jscherb

Thank you!

jscherb

If you're serious about it, you should start your own thread on the idea instead of hijacking this thread so you don't have to wade through all of the posts in this thread to get the feedback on your idea.

What you're suggesting isn't a difficult project once you figure out how to mount the hatch on the curved window mounting surface of the JK hardtop, and an inexpensive one if done with the right hatch manufacturer. Depending on what you decide to do for storage inside, the roll bar may be awkwardly placed, but an inside compartment to accommodate the roll bar isn't too hard to do.

jscherb

Forgive me for posting a photo of an LJ, but the product in question does work very nicely with the JK as well.

It's always fun to be surprised by a photo of your Jeep in JP Magazine... this is in the January 2016 issue; the photo was taken this year at Easter Jeep Safari, I was testing the subject rack.



For the record: I am not an employee of the company mentioned.

To bring this back on the JK topic, here's what the rack looks like on my JKU, both folded and with cargo on it...

jscherb

Travel and other commitments have kept me from doing any real work on the JK Safari Cab for a while, but I plan to get back to it and finish up the construction in about a week after I get back from the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

In the meantime, I've been doing the design and engineering work on a potential next project... I've been thinking about doing a "Retro Rhino" hood/grill kit for the JK. If you're not familiar with the term, "Rhino" is the common name used for the first version of the FSJ Gladiator and Wagoneer front grille of the early 60's.



The early FSJ Rhino grille was also the inspiration for the Jeep Nukizer and J-12 concepts of the last few years:



A "Retro Rhino" front end kit for the JK would consist of a new fiberglass hood and most grille components, new flares and possibly new fenders, although the factory JK fenders would be easy enough to modify to fit the new wider grille. A few infrastructure bits would be required, such as widening the radiator core support for the wider front grille, but the goal for the kit would be for it to be a complete bolt-on, meaning no mods to the JK and that the JK could be returned to its original state if the kit were ever to be removed.

Here's a digital concept:



And with the Safari Cab: