Looking for a aftermarket hardtop

I'd guess in qty 6 pairs they be maybe $60/pr. plus shipping but I'd have to ask MORryde for a current quote.

Very tempting at that price. If you happen to speak with them I would be interested.

I noticed on your Jeep you have the exogate tire carrier, by any chance did you design that?
 
Yes, I designed the Exogate.

And recently I've been working on some new cargo/gear carrying accessories for the Exogate, if people are interested I can start a thread on the subject.
The exogate is highly regarded on this forum! Mine is slightly modified for my use but it is one awesome product. Would love a thread on upgrades/modification to it you’ve developed.
 
Yes, I designed the Exogate.

And recently I've been working on some new cargo/gear carrying accessories for the Exogate, if people are interested I can start a thread on the subject.

Yes, lots of members have the exogate, including me. Would love to see the new designs.
 
Yes, I designed the Exogate.

And recently I've been working on some new cargo/gear carrying accessories for the Exogate, if people are interested I can start a thread on the subject.
You will really like it here Jeff. We aren't "anti other forums" ...just anti idiot .

A lot of guys here are very hands on, your presence here will be appreciated a lot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MountaineerTom
You will really like it here Jeff. We aren't "anti other forums" ...just anti idiot .

A lot of guys here are very hands on, your presence here will be appreciated a lot.
Thank you. I feel very welcome already :). I'm glad there's a lot of hands-on people here, I like to post how-to info so hopefully I can help people here with their own projects.

I started my first thread this morning: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/updating-backdating-the-tj-grille.31660/

Yes, lots of members have the exogate, including me. Would love to see the new designs.

The exogate is highly regarded on this forum! Mine is slightly modified for my use but it is one awesome product. Would love a thread on upgrades/modification to it you’ve developed.

I'll start a thread about Exogate enhancements soon. I've built some new accessories for it but haven't installed them on the Jeep yet so maybe I'll wait until I get some time to install them to start that thread. These new accessories also work on the MORryde JK tailgate reinforcement and I've installed and tested them there but haven't had time to do the install on the LJ yet.

The new Exogate accessories include jerry can/Rotopax carriers, a cargo rack basket that mounts either above or behind the spare, and a folding bicycle rack, all are part of a new generic cargo carrying system I've come up with for the Exogate.

Enough highjacking of this thread now... back to the aftermarket hardtop subject.
 
You're talking about the rear stanchions to support the roof when the sides are off?

View attachment 140138

I had them set up to be production products although unfortunately Gr8Tops never went ahead with them. About two years ago I arranged for a small production run for a handful of Safari Cab owners on JeepForum, here are some of the parts from that run.

View attachment 140139

MORryde manufactures them but a minimum production run needs to be 4 or 5 sets.

If you wanted to make your own, I made the first prototype set out of EMT conduit, they're in this photo alongside the production parts. I don't know if the production parts actually work with the Gr8Tops Safari Cab without modification because I don't know where they put the bolt holes in the roof or the tub. They're not too hard to make though...

View attachment 140141

BTW the original design of the Safari Cab also allowed for the rear panel (and barn door) to stay in place when the side panels are removed; that's the way I mostly run it in the summer these days (with the roll-up soft sides). Unfortunately Gr8Tops decided to mold the sides and rear corners as one piece; in my design they're separate pieces so this is possible:

View attachment 140140



jgaz recommended the forum to me; he's a good friend of mine from the Expedition Portal.

Hi @jscherb - I wanted to revive an old post of yours, and wanted to inquire about the rear stanchions. If I wanted to have them built locally could you PM the specs to me? I have that spare gr8tops hardtop hat laying around and I would like to make some sort of summer top. Any chance you could share the specs of the rear stanchions? Thank you!
 
Hi @jscherb - I wanted to revive an old post of yours, and wanted to inquire about the rear stanchions. If I wanted to have them built locally could you PM the specs to me? I have that spare gr8tops hardtop hat laying around and I would like to make some sort of summer top. Any chance you could share the specs of the rear stanchions? Thank you!
I can't share the final engineering drawings but I can share these images which were part of the initial concept drawing set. The production design stanchions were each formed from a single piece of 1/8" steel plate. The only critical dimensions are the height (25.75") and the locations of the bolt holes in the top and bottom flanges, which need to match the holes in the Gr8Tops roof and any holes they put in the tub. The stanchions have two holes in each flange; I don't know if Gr8Tops puts one or two holes in the back of the roof and the tub but these need two holes in order to be rigid enough.

1592950712283.png


The first set of stanchions I made as a proof-of-concept were made from steel tubing with mounting flanges welded to the top and bottom, that style might be easier for you to make/have made. Both sets:

BikiniAndHardware-1.jpg


The stanchions are intended to be used with the Safari Cab door surrounds; the surrounds are an important part of the support design for running the roof without the side panels. If you intend to run the roof without the door surrounds then the roof should be tied to the roll bar. The original design included roll bar brackets as shown in this drawing:

1592950732883.png


Another way the back of the roof can be supported is with brackets like these to the roll bars - these brackets transfer the weight on the roof rack to the roll bars so no weight is borne by the fiberglass but they also function to support the back of the roof when the sides are off.

RoofOnly1_zpscs4wqanl.jpg


The door surrounds are also off in the photo above; the middle of the roof is supported with brackets just in front of the main hoop of the roll bar - you can see a stainless bolt head there that's holding the bracket to the roll bar and it supports the front of the roof rack as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik
I can't share the final engineering drawings but I can share these images which were part of the initial concept drawing set. The production design stanchions were each formed from a single piece of 1/8" steel plate. The only critical dimensions are the height (25.75") and the locations of the bolt holes in the top and bottom flanges, which need to match the holes in the Gr8Tops roof and any holes they put in the tub. The stanchions have two holes in each flange; I don't know if Gr8Tops puts one or two holes in the back of the roof and the tub but these need two holes in order to be rigid enough.

View attachment 171757

The first set of stanchions I made as a proof-of-concept were made from steel tubing with mounting flanges welded to the top and bottom, that style might be easier for you to make/have made. Both sets:

View attachment 171754

The stanchions are intended to be used with the Safari Cab door surrounds; the surrounds are an important part of the support design for running the roof without the side panels. If you intend to run the roof without the door surrounds then the roof should be tied to the roll bar. The original design included roll bar brackets as shown in this drawing:

View attachment 171759

Another way the back of the roof can be supported is with brackets like these to the roll bars - these brackets transfer the weight on the roof rack to the roll bars so no weight is borne by the fiberglass but they also function to support the back of the roof when the sides are off.

View attachment 171756

The door surrounds are also off in the photo above; the middle of the roof is supported with brackets just in front of the main hoop of the roll bar - you can see a stainless bolt head there that's holding the bracket to the roll bar and it supports the front of the roof rack as well.

If you were in my shoes, what is the best route I should take? Clearly this is a custom build, so could moto-bilt produce a small production run, maybe 6 sets, that I commit to purchase all 6 sets? Which of your two designs do you like better, they both seem to have pros, but I like this latest style since it has middle supports and you do not need the door surrounds? How do I get a run going?
 
If you were in my shoes, what is the best route I should take? Clearly this is a custom build, so could moto-bilt produce a small production run, maybe 6 sets, that I commit to purchase all 6 sets? Which of your two designs do you like better, they both seem to have pros, but I like this latest style since it has middle supports and you do not need the door surrounds? How do I get a run going?
The only components for running the roof panel without the rest of the Safari Cab panels that are production ready are the rear stanchions - even though Gr8Tops was never interested in them, all of the production engineering was done and MORryde did one "group buy" run I arranged for some forum people a few years ago.

The roll bar brackets are all proven and work exactly as intended, but the production engineering has not been done - I was ready to do the final engineering drawings years ago but Gr8Tops told me they didn't want to offer them as options for the Safari Cab so I never bothered to do the final drawings... just one of the many options that I designed for the Safari Cab that Gr8Tops never wanted to put into production :(.

Getting a run of 6 sets of the stanchions done is pretty easy - they've got a MORryde part number and I could put you in touch with someone there who could give you a quote to produce them. But you'd still need either Safari Cab door surrounds or roll bar brackets to safely run the roof without the side panels - I do not recommend running with the roof being held in place by only the front windshield latches and the rear stanchions, especially with the latches Gr8Tops provides - they're fine for the full Safari Cab as they offer it but I don't believe they're adequate for the roof alone.
 
The only components for running the roof panel without the rest of the Safari Cab panels that are production ready are the rear stanchions - even though Gr8Tops was never interested in them, all of the production engineering was done and MORryde did one "group buy" run I arranged for some forum people a few years ago.

The roll bar brackets are all proven and work exactly as intended, but the production engineering has not been done - I was ready to do the final engineering drawings years ago but Gr8Tops told me they didn't want to offer them as options for the Safari Cab so I never bothered to do the final drawings... just one of the many options that I designed for the Safari Cab that Gr8Tops never wanted to put into production :(.

Getting a run of 6 sets of the stanchions done is pretty easy - they've got a MORryde part number and I could put you in touch with someone there who could give you a quote to produce them. But you'd still need either Safari Cab door surrounds or roll bar brackets to safely run the roof without the side panels - I do not recommend running with the roof being held in place by only the front windshield latches and the rear stanchions, especially with the latches Gr8Tops provides - they're fine for the full Safari Cab as they offer it but I don't believe they're adequate for the roof alone.

That's too bad about the roll bar brackets and that Gr8tops did not want anything to do with it. Frustrating as you produce good stuff that I would purchase.

My only option would be go with the MORyde stanchions, and since I have both the Gr8tops door surrounds and stock ones, I should be able to get working. Could I ask you to put me in touch with your MORyde contact?

Also, agreed those Gr8tops latches are flimsy. Are there better options that fit without messing up the top?

Thank you for your help with this!!!
 
That's too bad about the roll bar brackets and that Gr8tops did not want anything to do with it. Frustrating as you produce good stuff that I would purchase.

My only option would be go with the MORyde stanchions, and since I have both the Gr8tops door surrounds and stock ones, I should be able to get working. Could I ask you to put me in touch with your MORyde contact?

Also, agreed those Gr8tops latches are flimsy. Are there better options that fit without messing up the top?

Thank you for your help with this!!!
PM me your email address and name and I'll email you and the MORryde contact to introduce you.

My original design for the Safari Cab was to use factory hardtop latches but when I was ready to make the mold for the hardtop header to support factory latches I was in discussions with Gr8Tops about them licensing the design and they wanted me to use their existing header and latches so I did. I used the Gr8Top latches on my Safari Cab, but I replaced the hooks on the latches with larger ones that provide a more positive grip on the slot in the windshield than the standard Gr8Tops latches.