I sorta pointed it out for you. Let me know if you still can't see it and I'll try to do better.
Nothing I need, everything I want (2005 TJR, impact orange)
- Thread starter psrivats
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Has anyone done this before for a stellar light source in the back of the Jeep? It pivots, it has a switch and you can't even see the wiring! Lights up the rear perfectly
(See what I did there?
View attachment 590973
I did a 6" version of this, in black, above the rearview mirror and on each of the speaker pods. I have a 18" version for exactly the location where yours is. That one is still waiting for me to install it, along with a switch that activates it when the tailgate is opened.
https://www.amazon.com/LED-Bar-Light-Pivoting-convenience/dp/B0087Q81I2/?tag=wranglerorg-20
It's difficult to keep track of your many builds
Which Jeep was this in?Also, is that light bright enough for you? Or were you going for a typical dome/map light level that OEMs put on? I saw that specific brand you linked to on Amazon too but wasn't convinced that from the reviews that the light was bright enough.
The one we got is spectacularly bright and made really nicely with a very good diffuser to give out even quality light.
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Hey thanks for bringing this up. I think I found which one Blaine installed. Is it wired into the stock cargo light?
The one we have is the 18W 30" unit from Super bright LEDs (part number LTA-WHP18).
And are you talking about the roll bar Dome light? Calling it a "cargo light" is being very generous
It's difficult to keep track of your many builds
Also, is that light bright enough for you? Or were you going for a typical dome/map light level that OEMs put on? I saw that specific brand you linked to on Amazon too but wasn't convinced that from the reviews that the light was bright enough.
The one we got is spectacularly bright and made really nicely with a very good diffuser to give out even quality light.
This is on my LJ. It has all black interior, including the seat covers and headliner on the hard top. The light brightens the interior much better than the dome lighting, which has replacement LED bulbs. When I get around to the 18" version for the hardtop, that will complete the interior lights. FWIW, the two 6" additions mounted to the rear speaker pods lights the backseat nicely.
No rear seat in mine, it got pulled out as soon as the build started. I keep a bunch of stuff in the back and I wanted something that would light up the back area adequately and have some spillover to the tailgate/bumper area. Blaine found a great solution. I will post some pics on how well the light we got works.
The one we have is the 18W 30" unit from Super bright LEDs (part number LTA-WHP18).
And are you talking about the roll bar Dome light? Calling it a "cargo light" is being very generous
Early hard tops have a cargo light in the valance panel where your light is mounted.
The power and ground are run through the hard top and exit where the hard top plug is. After that they go into a low voltage disconnect so the light can be used until it drops the voltage down below our preselected set point.
Wow, I had no idea older TJs had a light there. I guess that could be a "cargo light" indeed.
Rear of the Jeep is coming along beautifully. Blaine has spent a LOT of calories in making sure everything I want to carry in the rear has a home. I picture a bunch of this happened.
Here is a high level visual to show what goes in where. @B00mb00m this post is for you
The fridge is a carefully chosen item like everything else in the vehicle. It's good size for a 1-2 day trip (18L/19Qt size) and it can run off 12V vehicle power, or it's own Lithium batteries or off of 110V house power. There will be a battery in the fridge and I will carry a spare when I go on trips. Same company makes one smaller size and a couple bigger sizes. This one was the best choice for my uses.
Those storage compartments are bigger than you think. Easily holds the a Milwaukee M18 battery, a Miwaukee M18 rover light (which is freaking spectacular) and a spare Li battery for the fridge.
Now .. the logical question to ask is where did all that space come from?
People have discussed and talked about storage bags or compartments/ammo boxes and such to make use of this area in multiple threads, or wish Bestop still made whatever small storage boxes they made that fit in this area. I have also seen people lament about how the flat inner fender wells that CJs and YJs had and how that was better than what we got from the factory in the TJ .. and in those same threads, other folks also mention stuff from companies like Motobilt and such that offer complete replacements for the TJ that are more similar to old jeeps.
Blaine decided to go a different route and blaze his own way. The first bit of genius is to see something of utility in a space that usually goes unused/ignored by most of us. Photo below is from google, but I am talking about this weird depression/funny shape in the rear fender well area. We have all seen this our jeeps covered by carpet over and over and most of us pretty much did not see what Blaine was able to see.
Next .. this bit of magic happened where Blaine made a perfectly profiled end fill piece to match the contour of the fender well.
Next, a hole was cut in a appropriately precise location on the long side .. and a hinged door made that closes with a latch. The door was shaped nicely with rounded corners to match the rounded aesthetics on the entire design. Not many will notice it, but in a nicely thought out design continuity, Blaine designed this door to use the same kind of butterfly latch that the overhead compartment (in-between the speaker pods) uses. A piece of ABS plastic was cut, shaped and put in the compartment to give a flat berth. High density foam is used as needed to reduce rattling and movement. Then the entire design was mirrored to the other side.
I was pretty amazed when I saw and realized what he had done. Never once did it occur to me that negative space (for lack of a better word) could be used this effectively. We all know that Blaine is very skilled in execution and having seen repeats of his beautiful execution of outboards and such, have even come to the point where we take the work for granted .. but what is less understood and appreciated is the vision he has for problem solving and coming up with NEW things like what is being demonstrated in this build.
It's marvelous see him come up such creative solutions in real time, using minimal but excellent use of right materials and fully inside his design envelope of “everything you need and nothing you don’t” and "everything needs to work together as a whole" .. and doing all that when I am unable to give full clarity on what I need/want other than very loose descriptions of how I typically use the Jeep. Watching this from the front row as I have is a real treat. Thank you Blaine for everything you do.
Here is a high level visual to show what goes in where. @B00mb00m this post is for you
The fridge is a carefully chosen item like everything else in the vehicle. It's good size for a 1-2 day trip (18L/19Qt size) and it can run off 12V vehicle power, or it's own Lithium batteries or off of 110V house power. There will be a battery in the fridge and I will carry a spare when I go on trips. Same company makes one smaller size and a couple bigger sizes. This one was the best choice for my uses.
Those storage compartments are bigger than you think. Easily holds the a Milwaukee M18 battery, a Miwaukee M18 rover light (which is freaking spectacular) and a spare Li battery for the fridge.
Now .. the logical question to ask is where did all that space come from?
People have discussed and talked about storage bags or compartments/ammo boxes and such to make use of this area in multiple threads, or wish Bestop still made whatever small storage boxes they made that fit in this area. I have also seen people lament about how the flat inner fender wells that CJs and YJs had and how that was better than what we got from the factory in the TJ .. and in those same threads, other folks also mention stuff from companies like Motobilt and such that offer complete replacements for the TJ that are more similar to old jeeps.
Blaine decided to go a different route and blaze his own way. The first bit of genius is to see something of utility in a space that usually goes unused/ignored by most of us. Photo below is from google, but I am talking about this weird depression/funny shape in the rear fender well area. We have all seen this our jeeps covered by carpet over and over and most of us pretty much did not see what Blaine was able to see.
Next .. this bit of magic happened where Blaine made a perfectly profiled end fill piece to match the contour of the fender well.
Next, a hole was cut in a appropriately precise location on the long side .. and a hinged door made that closes with a latch. The door was shaped nicely with rounded corners to match the rounded aesthetics on the entire design. Not many will notice it, but in a nicely thought out design continuity, Blaine designed this door to use the same kind of butterfly latch that the overhead compartment (in-between the speaker pods) uses. A piece of ABS plastic was cut, shaped and put in the compartment to give a flat berth. High density foam is used as needed to reduce rattling and movement. Then the entire design was mirrored to the other side.
I was pretty amazed when I saw and realized what he had done. Never once did it occur to me that negative space (for lack of a better word) could be used this effectively. We all know that Blaine is very skilled in execution and having seen repeats of his beautiful execution of outboards and such, have even come to the point where we take the work for granted .. but what is less understood and appreciated is the vision he has for problem solving and coming up with NEW things like what is being demonstrated in this build.
It's marvelous see him come up such creative solutions in real time, using minimal but excellent use of right materials and fully inside his design envelope of “everything you need and nothing you don’t” and "everything needs to work together as a whole" .. and doing all that when I am unable to give full clarity on what I need/want other than very loose descriptions of how I typically use the Jeep. Watching this from the front row as I have is a real treat. Thank you Blaine for everything you do.
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You will notice that in some of the pics that I posted above, there are compartments on the top flat surface. The development of the top compartments and the clever fender well storage space all happened in parallel, so you will see photos with some showing the hinged door and some not showing it.
A lot of thought has gone into those top areas too, and the choices of specific things and making them fit in the space. For example .. the specific choice of the first aid kit.
And how that choice shaped the placement of the electrical panel.
The panel has two 12V cigarette lighter ports, and a dual USB-C (powered by a USB supply capable of supplying upto 100W each port, similar to what we put in the front control center) port built in. Blaine put 3 status LEDs as well as a visual indicator when power is being consumed from the rear panel. There is a low voltage disconnect (you can see in one of pics below) that is wired in to make sure that I don't accidentally run the vehicle battery down below a certain pre-set point when I am outdoors (and then be unable to start the vehicle). The 30" light that I posted a few posts above is wired into the disconnect.
Those velcro straps are VERY highly effective in securing items and the way Blaine made that top rail that the velcro loops through works really nicely. You can put so much force while tightening the velcro that you can deform that top aluminium rail .. so Blaine has reinforced it appropriately on the inside.
Blaine made a cover for the electrical bits. It is retained with magnets for easy access to the wiring.
On the other side, the Milwaukee air compressor is mounted using really well thought out and executed guide blocks to match it's specific shape and size. Once strapped down, it does not move even a tiny bit.
And one more photo of the storage compartment because I simply cannot get over this freaking beautiful solution to the problem of storage.
A lot of thought has gone into those top areas too, and the choices of specific things and making them fit in the space. For example .. the specific choice of the first aid kit.
And how that choice shaped the placement of the electrical panel.
The panel has two 12V cigarette lighter ports, and a dual USB-C (powered by a USB supply capable of supplying upto 100W each port, similar to what we put in the front control center) port built in. Blaine put 3 status LEDs as well as a visual indicator when power is being consumed from the rear panel. There is a low voltage disconnect (you can see in one of pics below) that is wired in to make sure that I don't accidentally run the vehicle battery down below a certain pre-set point when I am outdoors (and then be unable to start the vehicle). The 30" light that I posted a few posts above is wired into the disconnect.
Those velcro straps are VERY highly effective in securing items and the way Blaine made that top rail that the velcro loops through works really nicely. You can put so much force while tightening the velcro that you can deform that top aluminium rail .. so Blaine has reinforced it appropriately on the inside.
Blaine made a cover for the electrical bits. It is retained with magnets for easy access to the wiring.
On the other side, the Milwaukee air compressor is mounted using really well thought out and executed guide blocks to match it's specific shape and size. Once strapped down, it does not move even a tiny bit.
And one more photo of the storage compartment because I simply cannot get over this freaking beautiful solution to the problem of storage.
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And to finish things off in the rear .. Blaine designed and is finishing up a bulkhead that is easily put in and removed as needed. This is to prevent any other stuff in the rear from getting under the seat and such and becoming a pain to fish out later.
His design parameters were to fit it in place and have the seat backs hit it at the same time they contacted the fridge. The seats lean back further than a normal person drives comfortably. The console stops forward movement with no issues.
The fridge mount itself is a also thing of beauty, simplicity and functionality. You can barely see it in the bottom here.
The fridge feet pop into the 4 holes here.
The hinged end pieces fold up, like so .. taking barely extra space outside the profile of the fridge.
And he made a side piece that you can loop velcro straps into to tie this thing down. Just absolutely perfect!
His design parameters were to fit it in place and have the seat backs hit it at the same time they contacted the fridge. The seats lean back further than a normal person drives comfortably. The console stops forward movement with no issues.
The fridge mount itself is a also thing of beauty, simplicity and functionality. You can barely see it in the bottom here.
The fridge feet pop into the 4 holes here.
The hinged end pieces fold up, like so .. taking barely extra space outside the profile of the fridge.
And he made a side piece that you can loop velcro straps into to tie this thing down. Just absolutely perfect!
And @Irun .. this is just how good the 30" light works in the rear. You will notice two water cans that fit perfectly on side of the fridge and a couple flat folding FrontRunner camp chairs just to check fitment.
Best part about the lights —> the switch right where you want it (on the light itself) and the ability to aim it more into the cargo area or into the tailgate/bumper area. I really love the entire execution of everything in the rear. Blaine really went over and beyond to make this such a functional and usable space without it being janky looking. And there is still a LOT of space left in the rear to use as needed.
No lights -
With lights -
Best part about the lights —> the switch right where you want it (on the light itself) and the ability to aim it more into the cargo area or into the tailgate/bumper area. I really love the entire execution of everything in the rear. Blaine really went over and beyond to make this such a functional and usable space without it being janky looking. And there is still a LOT of space left in the rear to use as needed.
No lights -
With lights -
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B00mb00m
The Church of Cutting Brakes of Atlas-Front Digs
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I love it all. It’s so well thought out and clean lines. Very inspiring. So dang functional.
So I'm considering building my own skid out of 6061. Especially since Savvy's is over $1000! I had a question about the skid @mrblaine built for this. The savvy skid had steel reforcements with small gussets that bolted at the front & rear, correct? It appears Blaine went a different route on this one. Are the crossmembers thick enough that fasteners simply go through the skid & thread into them? Or am just interpreting the pictures wrong?
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