I'll be doing all of the testing of the first prototype top myself. When I built the LJ Safari Cab I did thousands of miles of on-road testing, and hundreds of miles of off-road testing in Colorado and, Moab. I tested in hard side and soft side configurations, and with heavy loads on the roof rack. I'd do the same testing with the JK Safari Cab.

But if the JK Safari Cab gets picked up by a company for production and they need testers, I'll tell them to look in this thread for volunteers.

 

Thank you. Your description of the Canback 4Runner sounds like a description of the Safari Cab .

I really like the soft sides for the trail - we often do Colorado trails in September, and the weather could be sunny and warm one day or sunny and warm at the base of the trail, but by the time you get to the high mountain passes it's raining or snowing. So we start out the trail with the half door uppers off and the sides rolled up, and by the time were at 10,000 feet or above we've got everything buttoned up.

 

I very much like your craftsmanship and the visual outcome on the JK too. However - to my taste - it takes too much after the original Land Rover Defender design. See i.e. here: Land-Rover Series history, photos on Better Parts LTD or here Stik Old Land Rover photos on Pinterest Fact is, they already though all the possible combos (soft/hard/semi top) through...

 

Well, you've certainly started the wheels turning ! At the very least, I need opening rear windows for my dogs. I had been thinking of the MiniVan style rear quarter windows that pivoted from the front, over center latch on trailing edge of glass. Using existing glass, soft rubber gasket, van hardware, is there hope for this as an alternative to waiting for manufacturers to wise up and produce yours ?

 

Few people know that in the 80's Jeep produced a hardtop known internally as the "World Cab". It was designed to be shipped knocked-down to overseas markets to compete with Land Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers. Only about 230 of them were sold in the US, and those were sold to the USPS in Alaska for mail delivery, so they're very rarely seen in the lower 48. If the Safari Cab resembles anything, it's the factory Jeep World Cab, here are some ads from the 80's (which I don't think ever ran in the US), compared to photos of my LJ Safari Cab...





If the addition of the Alpine windows on the JK Safari Cab make people think it looks too much like a Land Rover, that's fine with me. It doesn't ever have to go to production if it's going to be criticized for that, I'll be happy just to make only one and have it on my Jeep .

 

It's unlikely that any existing minivan glass would fit the JK factory hardtop, I'm not aware of anything that's the same size/shape as the JK hardtop windows. But as I posted earlier this morning, I've worked out a retrofit kit that allows standard RV-style windows to be installed in the factory hardtop, the retrofit kit deals with the curved mounting surface of the hardtop and allows flt RV-style windows to be installed.

The retrofit kit may come to market, I've already had conversations with two companies that are interested in offering such a product.

RV windows that could be made in the correct size for the factory top include sliders, swing-ups, and combo slider/swing-ups, among others. Minimum manufacturing runs for windows like that are typically a dozen pairs of windows, and in those quantities the windows are surprisingly inexpensive, so any of those styles could be offered in an affordable retrofit kit for factory hardtops if a company wanted to do so.

 

But if there is only one, how am I going to get one? Lol

 

A few weeks ago Rugged Ridge shared some concept drawings of the JK Safari Cab on their Facebook page, and there was a lot of criticism from people who thought it looked like a Land Rover. It made me think I shouldn't bother to let a company license the design and that I should just make one for myself and be done with it.

 

Don't listen to other people who are IDIOTS! You have a WINNER!

 

You won't get paid NOT do do it. And then I'll never get one.