Plain Jane, the family truckster

[-miko-]

A few weeks back I had a chance to take my oldest to a Jeep Adventure Academy day at Grand Overland District near Urharrie. We went with him as the primary driver and he had a great time learning what the truck can do. Overall we were both really impressed by the day. Some of the morning talks were a bit more 101 but it did highlight a few key ideas and once on the trail the situations they had the Jeeps in were no joke. I was expecting mild trail riding but they had us lifting tires, scraping bumpers and doing some pretty decent climbs. And the best part was the patient instruction at each obstacle that worked with each driver to learn and get through it. It was a fantastic day.

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[-miko-]

And since the weather has finally turned to full spring and summer mode, it was time to get the soft top on the truck this past weekend. In the process of removing the hard top, the kids said we should go do errands with no roof on - didn't have to ask me twice!

Once we had that out of the way we got the soft top on. I was expecting to fight it a bit to get it all back on and aligned but it's pretty well designed and went on easier than I remember it being the first time we put it on.

This was also the first time having the soft top on with the steelies and Wildpeak take-offs. I really like it. With the matching top and tonneau cover, the peaked roof line, and the steel wheels, it has a Kaiser/M715 homage to it. Every step is getting it to a more utilitarian aesthetic.

 

[-miko-]

One of the items on my wish list has been a 4 wheel air up/air down system. I have a decent portable compressor but I quickly learned how airing back up after trails is a hassle - moving from tire to tire, getting the pressures even, etc.

After a little research on pre-made options and CFMs of 1/4" and 3/8" hose, I realized no one made a kit that had the exact specs I wanted. My goals where...

• 1/4" tubing to save space and easier handling. Airflow for inflation isn't an issue since the valves are the restriction points. 3/8" hose would require twice the volume of air in the hose but would deliver the same CFM into the tire.
• Oversize the lengths from tire to tire and from the input to the tires. I want it to work on multiple vehicles including my full size pickup and van.
• Schrader valve input so I can use the portable compressor that can go from vehicle to vehicle. I didn't want to swap the hose on that to a quick release so it can still be used on a single tire if needed.
• Analog gauge so that when it gets pulled out after multiple seasons of use there's no dead battery to worry about.
• Swivel fittings at each junction to make wrapping it all up so much easier.

So I put together my own design and order all the parts on Amazon.

Oops. Looks like I forgot the 3 way manifold on the list above but did manage to remember it on the Amazon list.

Once all the parts arrived it was a pretty straight forward assembly. Cut the 50' hose to start making 2 of each needed section:

• rear wheel to T fitting (using the factory fitting on one end)
• stub hose from T to front wheel
• T to manifold w/ the gauge and input valve

I ended up with a 2 foot section left over that I may turn into an extension on the input later.

For the manifold/guage I removed all the quick connect fittings and have the hoses going straight into the manifold. I may add those back in later if it's hard to wrap and store it all connected. So far it's not bad since it's 1/4" and not 3/8" and since all the junctions swivel.

The Flexzilla hosing and fittings were great to work with. Not cheap but they went together really well and feel like they'll last.

The only other thing I did was to remove the stem core from the Schrader valve so that I can air down as well as air up.

Overall I'm pretty happy with it...

 

[336mike]

Nice build!!!

 

[MajorUrsus]

Finally got time to work on a door cart. Overall I wanted it to support 3 configurations:

- Front doors only with or without Freedom Panels
- All doors with or without Freedom Panels
- All doors and roof with or without Freedom Panels

And it had to fit in a narrow spot in the garage. After researching a bunch of current options I made some plans and got started.

At first I seriously considered steel, but decided on lumber due to cost.

Did some testing of the design and found I needed a bit more space between the doors on the cart. I was also happy that the width was stable enough to hold a door without the other one on the cart.

My plan was to have a cart for the front doors and cart for the back.

I added some foam, casters and additional bracing. The front door cart has additional spot for the Freedom Panels.

They hold the doors quite well and are easy to roll in and out of the garage.

And finally the carts can be latched together to move all the doors together AND can store the roof on top.

When it's loaded up I can leave it at the back of the drive or roll it into the garage. Pretty happy with the way it came together.

OK. This is actually kind of brilliant! Great idea!

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