I was on the fence with the design at first but they're starting to grow on me. The amount of light they put out is going to be huge too when they're released.

 

Speaking of huge amounts of light...

I've been posting only about the individual LED pods and the mounting ideas I've been working on (with Donny's help!). The manufacturer also makes preconfigured light bars, which come in 20" and 50" lengths. I'm not testing those, that's being done by the company that's working to bring these to the Jeep market. Today they sent me a few photos of their initial testing.

Both bars on one of their test Jeeps:



Some comparison photos. In each photo only the light(s) in the caption are turned on.



Blinded by the light...

 

I came across a Coyote tan and brown flag the other day so I picked it up to try with the Coyote Tactical Spare cover.



Yesterday the company that's working on bringing the spare cover to market contacted me asking for my input on putting Velcro on the covers for patches; they're getting ready to start a first production run and are trying to decide what to do with Velcro for patches.

I told them I thought a 3" section of Velcro on each side plus either a 6" or 3" length of Velcro on the face. Most patches I've seen are 3" or so wide, so maybe instead of the 6" strip that I put on the face of this prototype a 3" strip would be better.



There's a 6" strip of Velcro on the face of this black one with a 3"-wide flag. If it would be most common to put only one patch on the face, then maybe a 3" strip of Velcro would be better than a 6".



Any opinions on the Velcro for me to pass along to them?

 

How is the Velcro attached to the tire cover? Adhesive or sewn on? Also, the Velcro should not be so obtrusive. If it stands out, someone will try to easily remove the attached pouch. Lot of EVIL out there!

 

The Velcro will be sewn on. Adhesive-backed Velcro won't stand up to repeated use or to the weather.

But the pouches attach to the webbing (which is also sewn on), not the Velcro. The Velcro is for patches, insignia, etc. similar to current military attire, the webbing is for Molle pouches.

If you're in a "high risk" environment, you might not want pouches on the spare cover; probably you'd have them on the spare cover for trail use but maybe not on a trip to the mall?

 

I like the way you have it on the Coyote, 6" for rank insignia, signal flags, and 3" for flags

 

Last week I posted an idea for mounting the LED light pods using off-the-shelf 1" ball mounts (https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...5/#post4270862). Many of the mounts on the market adhere to the AMPs standard mounting pattern, so this morning I made an adapter plate to to adapt the LED pods to the AMPs standard. All I have at this point is the ball that's bolted to the light in the photos below, I haven't picked up a bottom half of the mount yet - there are lots to choose from and I haven't decided which to get for testing. The adapter is very simple - a piece of 1/8" aluminum with a few holes in it.

 

I spent the last few days making some changes to the LJ Safari Cab and I don't think I've ever photographed the two Safari Cabs together, so here's pair of Safari Cabs...









In spite of what the grille on the black Jeep might lead you to believe, it's a 2006 Wrangler Unlimited.

 

Back to the LED project... I built a prototype A-pillar mount for 3 LED pods.





The mount is adjustable from level to about 10 degrees down angle. I didn't think it would need to adjust above level.



A view with the door open:



This same mount can be used on either side of the Jeep.

I'm going to add a second mounting position for the pods forward about one inch. By doing that, the pods can be mounted either on the outside of the mount as shown in these photos or on the inside of the mount.

Tonight I'll be powering these up to see how well they work, photos to come.

The same idea will work for the TJ/LJ, but the dimensions of the mount would be slightly different. I plan to make up a TJ version, but before doing the TJ version I'll probably to a prototype JK hood hinge mount to hold 1, 2 or 3 LED pods.

 

As soon as it got fully dark, I did a quick test of the three LEDs mounted to the driver's side a-pillar. In this first photo I think you can see how much brighter than the headlights the 3 LEDs are.



On the left is the headlights only; on the right are the LEDs only. Photos taken from the driver's seat, in normal driving position. The Jeep is pointed at the middle of the center garage door.