Recent content by jscherb

If I were trying to convert a fixed-mount RV window into a swing-up window I would remove and eliminate the clamp ring on the inside of the hardtop and hinge the outer frame of the window directly to the hardtop. You would have to figure out some way to latch the window closed. Most swing-up...

RV-style sliding or gulllwing+sliding windows can be made quite reasonably, but only in quantity. I haven't worked with any window manufacturers since about the COVID pandemic so it's been a few years, but back then windows could be made for less than $100 each in fairly small quantities, like...

I never installed a sunroof in mine but I did some analysis back then about what would be required so I can offer some advice on that as well if you decide to go ahead with that project. BTW my homemade Safari Cab and LJ is still going strong, here's a recent photo. Project was finished in...

I can't recall if I ever posted detailed instructions for installing a rear wiper in the Safari Cab, it's been many years since I designed and built the original Safari Cab (the copyright on the drawing I did during the design process below is 16 years ago!). I did a quick Google search and...

A drain channel isn't necessary with some types of sunroofs. There are sunroofs called "pop-ups" that surface mount on the roof and the glass (or lexan) covers the channel and prevents water collecting in the channel when the sunroof is closed. The top surface of the sunroof is slightly raised...

The triggers definitely are a nice feature of this system. But I don't think I'll have a need for the specific features of this system in any of my vehicles; I'll keep it a short while in case I get any questions from the review that I need the hardware to answer and after that I'll probably...

I like it a lot. First - a few details about mine - I've got the TrialMaster edition, which is the top end off-road version. It's full-time 4wd with lockers in the center diff and front and rear diffs. I've got the factory dual battery option and the High Load Auxiliary Switch Panel including...

This photo, taken in 2010, is of an early test-fit shortly after I molded the parts. I hadn't cut any of the window holes yet and had paper printouts taped on showing what the rear windows would look like... Back then (before Gr8tops got involved), I thought people might be interested in a...

Now that Ineos has released the Grenadier (about a dozen years after I designed and built the first Safari Cab), I prefer to think that it's more like a Grenadier :). Maybe the Grenadier looks like a Safari Cab since mine came first? These are both mine:

Yes, that's a Gr8Tops-built Safari Cab that I designed. This is mine, its homemade and pre-dates the Gr8Tops versions:

Not exactly sure where you want to mount the gauges, but a while back I did this auxiliary gauge/switch panel. The prototype was drilled for one gauge, four switches and a USB power port, but the panel is sized to fit up to four 2 1/8" gauges. It could mount just behind the tray in the center...

Auxbeam's new "Knob Switch Panel" is an 8-circuit unit with some groundbreaking features, including the ability to dim lights controlled by it, various "bling" options such as chase lights and strobe lighting. There are also external trigger inputs and can turn on a circuit when some other...

Since you brought up building a house... we had a lot of requirements when we were househunting and no house we looked at had everything we needed. The house we ended up buying was this one, which dates to the early 1800's: It has an attached garage in the back built in the 1920's but that...

Thank you very much for the kind words. I'm not sure if I have enough to say about my process to devote an entire thread to it, but I'll try to summarize what I think works for me here. I consider myself more of a designer than a builder. Yes I build things, but everything I build is a result...

Thank you very much. The truck I built in 2008, I started with an almost new LJ with about 10,000 miles on it, cut it in half, lengthened the frame, added a bed and closed the cab. The goal was to build a modern version of the classic Willys pickup. It's been a great hauler for 17 years...