Openable skylights in Freedom Panels

J

jscherb

New member
I've been working on a design for openable skylights in Freedom Panels. I know there are two companies out there offering Freedom Panels with skylights, but neither of those can be opened, and I wanted mine to be openable.

A modified Freedom Panel with a skylight installed:

SkylightPanel_zpsobcnoyrb.jpg


Some shots in place on a hardtop. Since I've got a custom hardtop on my JK that doesn't use Freedom Panels, I've set up this factory hardtop in a spare room to do these photos...

PlexiSkylightClosed1_zpsb9erbhz1.jpg


PlexiSkylightOpen1_zpszfh0pmlr.jpg


Some inside views:

PlexiSkylightClosed4_zps7c26glcc.jpg


PlexiSkylightOpen3_zps6bzyxamj.jpg



This hardtop also has another project of mine installed - quick-release removable windows...

QRWindow4_zps7nzdf3oq.jpg
 
Cool ideas... I wonder how much wind noise you'd get from the freedom panel skylights since they are not flush

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wayoflife said:
Wow, how many tops do you have and why do you have so many?
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At the moment, 4. The top pictured in this thread is a 2-door top I got for next to nothing, I bought it to use for experimenting with different modification ideas for factory hardtops. I don't have a 2 door JK but the top was worth buying just for experimenting with. I also have an early model (narrow hatch) JKU hardtop I picked up to use for dimensions I needed when building my custom JKU hardtop. And I've got the factory top (wide hatch) that came with my 2013 JKU. I haven't used either factory JKU hardtop since I finished building my custom hardtop.
 
Why is everything you make so cool lol. I remember reading one of the issues from the other company that made the skylight freedom panels was they leak or something around those lines. I think this is a great idea however for some extra ventilation. I would be interested in the removable rear glass to be able to keep my hardtop on but take the windows out.
 
JKbrick said:
Have you invented a quick release hinge for the back window? I like the removable side glass idea
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Not exactly, but I have done a different type of "quick release" option for factory hardtops... if a half door can have a soft uppers, why can't a tailgate have a soft upper? Answer: it can. Here are a few photos of some uppers for JK tailgates. In this first photo I'm removing a soft upper that I was testing with the factory hardtop. Removes very quickly, 4 wing nuts. If you look closely, you might be able to see that this one's got a zip-up window just like half door uppers do.

SoftBarnDoorInstalled4_zpsflb09ivv.jpg


These next photos show another "soft barn door" color-matched to my custom hardtop. I call it a barn door because the tailgate and upper open as one, like a barn door.

SoftBarnDoorDoneOpen_zpsvm3d6nds.jpg


SoftBarnDoorDone11_zpsnv8mtwfl.jpg


I didn't sew the spice one above with a zip-up window, that window is fixed.

And for the winter, there's a hard upper with wiper:

CoyoteSpareCover4_zpsxjgprmix.jpg


All of the above with with the factory hardtop. Here's a hard barn door I made for a friend's later model JKU with the wide hatch. It's still in primer in this photo, when this photo was taken he hadn't decided if he wanted to paint it black to match the hardtop or Anvil to match the body.

IMG_0266-799535.JPG
 
hinrichs said:
Why is everything you make so cool lol.
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Because it wouldn't be any fun to make things that were not cool? :) (sorry, couldn't resist)

hinrichs said:
I remember reading one of the issues from the other company that made the skylight freedom panels was they leak or something around those lines.
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What I've implemented on the skylight uses very standard automotive vent window hardware and weatherstripping, stuff that's been working leak-free on vehicles for at least the last 50 years. It's also the same as I implemented on the motorized vent windows of my custom hardtop, and they don't leak either, so I'm very confident in these skylights.

hinrichs said:
I think this is a great idea however for some extra ventilation.
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I was very surprised how much vent windows in the back of a hardtop improve the flow-through ventiliation, the roof skylights would probably do the same. These are the ones in my custom top, opening them really improves the airflow:

FinalVentWindows_zpsnpmwztlb.jpg


hinrichs said:
I would be interested in the removable rear glass to be able to keep my hardtop on but take the windows out.
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One of my other ideas for the removable windows is a cargo compartment that can be swapped in place of the window, something like this:

RemovableCompartment1_zpshubjgxac.jpg


I've already done a quick prototype using a standard RV-style cargo hatch (but no compartment), I'm thinking of doing something much more factory looking than this for the full compartment project.

HatchSidePanel4_zpseijzy5ms.jpg
 
Robertcrav said:
Cool ideas... I wonder how much wind noise you'd get from the freedom panel skylights since they are not flush
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There is one company that sells modified Freedom Panels with skylights, and even though theirs don't open like mine do, theirs do sit above the roof level as well, here's a photo from their web site. I've searched, but I don't find any reference to wind noise from people who have that product.

JeeTops2_zpswa8z4qa4.jpg
 
Why!?!? Why do you keep teasing me with your ridiculous ingenuity? I don't have the tools, $$$, or know how to do this kind of thing... But dang it I'm going to get one of your "custom" hardtops one these days...good job btw. 👍👍👍

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Edited : By the way I drive a 13 also... So your safari top would just plop right on snug as a bug... I'm just saying... 😆
 
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The Freedom panel skylights are part of a design experiment to see how many useful mods can be done to a factory hardtop by a DIY-er. I recently did this video to show some of the mods...

 
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Forgive me but, if I remember right aren't you in the business of R&D? Perhaps this video is less of a DIY'ers guide and more a check out what I have made?


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10frank9 said:
Forgive me but, if I remember right aren't you in the business of R&D? Perhaps this video is less of a DIY'ers guide and more a check out what I have made?
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This is a hobby project, I not selling anything in the video. I have posted DIY instructions for most of the mods in the video, but since they're on another forum and due to the rules of this forum I can't post links to that info here. Since this is a show and tell area, I thought it would be appropriate to show and tell a little bit. Isn't "check out what I have made" the definition of "show and tell"? If I've got that wrong and my post is not appropriate, I apologize and I ask the moderators to delete this post or delete this entire thread.
 
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