2005 LJ Adventuring Build

[speedkills]

Have you considered asking your children to get stuff off of the roof for you? Seems like at least 50% of them would love the opportunity.

[Paul]

That is really nice, and something you don't see too often. I bet you get a LOT of questions at gas stations about it.

[RockyMtRebel]

Sharp!

[JandDGreens]

open_circuit previously posted:

[Jim]

Paul previously posted:

[cnstaco]

Looks good man! Nice to see you wrenching on that rig.

[open_circuit]

Lots of parts arrived this week. Assembled the water system and tested. Cut superstrut for the platform side rails and have stock for the crossbars. I'll cut the crossbars Saturday and put the rear shelf in. I was very pleased today to confirm that half slot superstrut slots align with the holes on the LJ body tub without additional drilling.

With the rear platform installed I can confirm clearance for the slide tray and begin to cut and drill the aluminum angle that will hold together the slide tray. Lots of photos and details to come Saturday when I get everything I to the Jeep.

[Paul]

open_circuit previously posted:

[open_circuit]

Paul previously posted:

[open_circuit]

The rear platform is installed. I need to figure out the extendable / sleeping portion of the platform before I can finish the decking with some carpet so it looks nice.

I started by cutting two ~50" long pieces of B series superstrut to run along the top of the body tub rails. The B-series strut is 9/16" x 1 5/8". The strut I used is the half slot version (probably the commonly available one) and the half slots lined up with the factory holes in the tub rails such that I did not have to drill any additional slots or holes. I ran strut full-length along the tub so I can mount things on top of this anywhere along the tub and I hope that the long piece of strut will help distribute the load evenly across the body tub rail.



I next cut two pieces of strut to span the width of the Jeep tub. I used 1/4-20 cone nuts, washers, hex bolts, and lock washers to attach these pieces to the slotted rails on the sides of the Jeep. For normal use, I want a solid deck behind the rear seat to allow us to store items across the full width of the trunk area without having to build up a "floor" of stuff in the main well first. I cut a piece of 3/4 plywood that I had lying around to fit around the roll bars and seat belts. I drilled holes for 4 t-nuts in the plywood -- both a clearance hole for the screw and a recessed hole for the flange so I could flush-mount the t-nuts. The deck now easily screws into the strut crossbars and can be replaced with a longer piece when I don't need the rear seat. In this case, I would slide the forward strut crossbar further forward also.





Rear seat up in driving position:


Rear seat folded to allow platform to extend over


I think I'll end up cutting a couple more segments like the rear deck top to build my "sleep in the Jeep with the rear seat installed" platform. If possible, I will connect the pieces with piano hinge so they can fold neatly onto the rear cargo deck. I am still trying to decide how to support this platform using one additional crossbar and an extension into the front seat area (with the front seats folded forward).

While I was at the hardware store picking up hex bolts for this build, I also saw some 1/4-20 eye bolts (https://www.lowes.com/pd/DuraSteel-1...olt/1001363920) with machine screw shanks, so I picked up a couple. I installed these in the crossbar near the seat outside of the rear deck as convenient tie down points. I will likely pick up a couple more to install in the other crossbar.

[speedkills]

Really fun to watch this come together, thanks for the pics.

[Spieg]

Great job Trent. Looks a bit familiar from somewhere though


Pretty sure that top was designed by Jeff Scherb. I'll see if I can get him to give me an estimated weight limit.

[open_circuit]

Yes, that's right JScherb is the mad scientist behind this top design. I understand he sold or licensed it to GR8Tops

[open_circuit]

It's been several weeks since I made any progress on the Jeep with the cold weather. I got back at it today for a while.

I purchased an awning to mount to our roof basket in January, but the brackets that came with it clearly were not going to work so it has been sitting in my house waiting for me to build some brackets. I bought some aluminum flat bar to make into backing plates for both the traction boards and the awning a while ago. As with my traction board mounts, I cut the flat bar into 4 even size pieces and drilled clearance holes for the M8 screws. I use these pieces as backing plates behind the frame of my roof basket. The awning has a piece of T-slot aluminum on the back which captures the hex head of an M8 bolt. The T-slot and this backing plate allow me to securely clamp the awning to my basket.

With the awning mounted, I was able to open it and set it up for the first time. I was glad to see it is pretty easy to set up with two people and seems like it will handle some moderate weather.

[Jim]

Looks great!