No worries. Enjoy your trip. I have the rack in hand now. Shipping was quicker than i even expected. Just post when you get a chance.
TJ storage / packing solutions?
- Thread starter Rock Toy
- Start date
I do have a few photos with me that may help you and I can post more detailed photos when I get home but these may help you get started. Here's how the panel mounts in the JKU:
The JKU has a bar between the side roll bars and the panel hinges to that. The rear of the panel is supported by a hoop that hinges to brackets attached to the down bars with round u-bolts.
Two things need to be done to mount it in an LJ. First, some method of mounting the panel to the LJ roll bars so it can swing down is required. One way to do this is to add a cross-bar to the roll bars. In my LJ I did this with a length of 1" square tubing and two u-bolts (actually muffler clamps). This photo shows that bar in place:
In a stock hardtop you'll probably want to mount the crossbar level with the bottom of the roll bar. My Safari Cab hardtop has a higher roof than a stock hardtop so I mounted the bar higher than you'll probably want to in order to provide adequate storage space on top of the panel.
The second thing that needs to be done is to mount the ends of the supporting hoop to the down bars. Since the LJ roll bars are spaced closer than the ones on the JK, the width of the hoop ends up being the same as the distance between the centers of the LJ roll bars. Since the hardware that comes with the panel mounts the hoop inside the JK roll bars it can't be used in the LJ.
For mounting in the LJ I used marine "deck hinges", which are used in marine awnings and bimini tops. I mounted the deck hinges to mounting plates I made from a flat piece of metal; the plates get bolted to the roll bar. This is a deck hinge:
Deck hinges are available at many marine supply places, here's one sources: https://www.sailrite.com/Deck-Hinge-Nylon-Black
You can just barely make out a deck hinge at right in this next photo. The bolt head in the photo secures the metal mounting plate for the deck hinge to the roll bar, more about that in a second. Also visible in the photo is a bracket with holes in it that goes at an angle up to the ceiling of the hardtop, that's not part of the molle panel installation, that's one of the brackets that supports my roof rack to the roll bar so ignore that for this discussion.
There are two ways to bolt the mounting plate for the deck hinge to the roll bar. In the photo above, I screwed a 1/2" thread-cutting bolt into the back side of the tube that the seat belt bolts to. The inside diameter of the tube turns out to be the correct size for the self-threading bolt to thread into. Here's one source for thread-cutting bolts: https://www.mcmaster.com/90096A358/?SrchEntryWebPart_InpBox=self-threading
An alternate way to bolt the mounting plate to the roll bar is to replace the 7/16" bolt that secures the seat belt to the roll bar with a longer bolt that goes all the way through the roll bar and use a nut on the end to secure the mounting plate.
I know the LJ photos above don't show the detail but they're all I have here on my computer while I'm traveling. I can provide more details as necessary when I return.
An alternate way to hinge the panel to the roll bars that doesn't require a cross bar to be installed is shown in this next photo. I've used this method to install the panel in a 2dr JK, which doesn't have the cross bar that the JKU does. It uses muffler clamps, corner braces from Home Depot and it hinges the panel using a pin through the end of the panel. If you'd rather try this method I can provide detail about it.