nextreme

Soon I will need some way to store my hardtop. I cannot hang it from the ceiling in my garage so I was going to get a cart for it. The only thing is the carts are EXPENSIVE. I had seen a few homemade ones in pics on the forum here but no write ups. Curious if anyone here has built one for the 4 door yet. I will probably make it out of wood.

Any ideas?

MJS_Jeep_888

Amen - those pre-built carts are pretty damn pricey... my wife doesn't like the idea of my hard-top dangling above her car in the garage, so I'm also looking to fab some cheap cart... I'm also thinking wood would do a fine job, with some foam padding or blankets to protect the impact points of the top against the wood, to prevent scratching...

Gr8gugly

I built one a few years ago for my TJ. When I got my JK I justmodified it a little. Basically I just built a platform out of 2x4's and put in on casters. On one of the long sides I put 2 small wooden blocks to keep the bottom of the hardtop from moving when in the vertical position. On the other side I mounted 2 2x4's on top of each other across the length of the cart. In effect it brought the back end up 3" which was perfect to keep it balanced in the upright position. If I were building it from scratch I would have included spaces under the platform to store the freedom tops. I know this may not make sense from the description so I will try to get measurements and pics if you are interested. I covered the whole thing in padding and carpet .

Robar

I use 2 furnature dollies that I got from Harbor Freight Tools for about $18 each and connected them with a 2x4.

nextreme

I would appreciate any pics and measurements. I would much rather spend less than $100 to build one then pay $250 + TAX and shipping (CDN) for the Bestop one which doesn't even hold the freedom tops. I definitely see what you mean by putting spaces underneath for the Freedom Tops. I don't really work with metal but I am definitley no stranger to working with wood.

Thanks
Scott

Gr8gugly

Sorry it took a while to get back to you guys. Here it is. The overall dimensions of the base is 30" x 64".



Like I said the base is just a 2x4 rectangle with casters mounted in the corners. ( I think I cut a few corner braces to mount the casters to) I covered it in 1/2 wafer board just because that is what I had. There really isn't any load bearing on the middle of the cart so I didn't use thick sheeting or add any extra bracing in the middle.




Each of the front corners has a small wooden "stop" block to keep the top from sliding off the front. They make contact with the fiberglass top and not the glass.




The back is just 2 lengths of 2x4 to support the top in a more upright position. If you just put the top on a flat board it would flip backwords. The two boards stacked the way they are ( total of 3" lift) make the top pretty stable. Much more than the way I had the TJ set up. When I would try and move my TJ top around it was kind of top heavy. I can move this one around by myself all day and it is extremely steady.



Finally I covered it all in padding and carpet that I happened to have available. Like I said the only thing I would do different if I were building this from scratch is I would make a spot for the freedom panels under the top somewhere. Maybe this winter when I put the hardtop back on I will try this. Also I had every intention of getting a big tarp and covering the entire top so it doeasn't get so dirty, but it got warm before I got the top so.....

I f you guys have any questions let me know.

Gr8gugly

I forgot to mention costs. This one is old , but I ran a quick cut list and here is what I came up with:

4- 2x4 studs (96") @ about $2.50 each $10
1- 4' x 8' sheet osb wafer board $5.00 $5
4- casters (4 inch swivel) @ $4.00 each $16
carpet and padding (dumpster diving) free

Should be a total of around $30 - $35.

round eyes

What about mounting to the wall???
I am wondering if the shell integrity is compromised by having it on its end or side. Seeing those bikes mounted on the wall makes me think that maybe the shell could be placed forward side down against the wall.

What do you guys think? All the weight on the leading edge a bit too much?

MJS_Jeep_888

I'm not 100% certain, but looking at the prefabbed carts out there, they store the hardtop the same way. Also, based on the fact that Gr8gugly has been using this for his TJ's hard top for however many years, I'd have to guess that it didn't cause any problems.

Thanks for posting the pics and specs, Gr8gugly (Moogly! - gotta love Zappa!).

07JKX

i wouldnt mount it to the wall... i have two carts... one for doors and one for hard top (which i sold)... they have to heavy duty wheels on the bottom so i can take the off the jeep and literally set the mon the cart next to me and then roll everything out of the way into some safe spot....

you know how garages are, stuff may be one place one day and somewhere else the next. With wheels you can always move the parts somewhere safe and isolated