Redneck Sunrider Top

Having just a lowly stock TJ soft top, I was obviously missing out on the wonderful world that is the Sunrider. Being the enterprising redneck that I am, I broke out some copper pipe, a pipe cutter, a couple rivets, a drill and some Velcro and made my own.

I cut both forward hoops 1" in front of where the connecting bars attached. I cleaned the tubes up, and slid in a piece of copper. Followed by a quick shot with a 1/4" drill and a rivet to keep it all in place. The copper slides in both ends and helps with folding the whole top up or down. Not ideal, but it works well enough.







The Velcro is used to hold the hoops to the roll cage and prevent the top from collapsing when the front part is opened up.










That's it. Unclip the front, fold it back, and enjoy the new functionality in the sun for only a few dollars in parts and about an hour of your time.

Welcome to Jeepgarage.ca

Quite some time ago, a group of friends built a small exclusive "club" called The Garage. It was based out of Ontario RV and backed by our good friend and Jeep guru super mechanic, Hans Starke. Hans offered us shop space to meet, discounts, advise and above all else, friendship. Hans sadly passed away in late 2009. Time has gone on and while the members of The Garage remain friends, the Jeeps have come and gone (mostly). As the domain holder for Jeepgarage.ca, I asked permission to reassign it to this blog. I felt holding on to the domain was a tribute to Hans, and was concerned the transition to a personal blog would not honour him. Well, it was agreed that I could do it. To properly honour Hans I'm going to share a good memory I have of him.

A small group of us decided to go to Bobcaygeon for a day run up Greens Mountain. It's not an easy trail, and not a double black diamond either. Needed some mods and skill. Hans decided to show up in his new shop Jeep. It was a TJ with a fresh front locker and borrowed ProComp tires. Not lifted or modified otherwise. The rest of the group was running lifts, lockers, 33"+ tires and winches. We made out way up the trail and through some tough obstacles. Hans drove his Jeep up the trail like he was on pavement. Didn't struggle, or get stuck. Frankly, he made all of us in our "big Jeeps" look like rookies. It was a testament to his skill, and years of wheeling. Once at the top of Greens, you either go back the way you came, or you tackle the harder decent on the backside. Hans had an appointment to keep and was going to go down the backside. I volunteered to go with him to ensure he made it safely. Frankly, I was the one who was in trouble. Hans drove down the backside of Greens with ease, while I bounced off trees and slipped into washouts. We probably set a speed record.

This was just one example of the man. He was one of the best Jeep mechanics out there. Forgot more about Jeeps than most will ever learn. If you wanted to do something to your Jeep that was stupid, he'd tell you. If you were stuck and needed help, he'd be there with tools, advice and some MGD. 

Through Hans I've made many friends. We may not see each other as often now that he's gone and the shop is closed, but we are still in touch. 

With that I now dedicate Jeepgarage.ca to Hans continued memory. I hope I do him right with my random thoughts about the Jeep life.

Swapping tires the hard way

New tires, new tools.

With four new tires staring at me, and tire changing companies claiming they're not able to handle my 33x12.5's, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Besides, it was an excuse to buy a new tool. After reading many favourable reviews, and watching many videos with the machine in use, I went for a Power Fist manual tire changer. This is practically the same as the Harbor Freight manual tire changer.

The first thing to note, you REALLY need to make sure this thing is fastened down. My Home Depot grade concrete anchors were not up to the task, and after ripping two different types out, and nearly setting a drill on fire, I called for help. My brother in law (a plumber at that) showed up with an awesome cordless Makita hammer drill and one of the coolest concrete bits I've ever seen. He proceeded to drill my garage floor like it was balsa wood, and dropped in these little expanding anchors. Well, they held, held so well that I need to stiffen up the tire changer, 'cause it flexes too much now. Anyhow, that solved a big problem.

On to the tires... The first tire took about an hour. Figuring out the machine, how to pry, leverage, etc. Second tire, was a little faster, and I realized that more lube was better. Third tire I had done in 20 minutes, and the last tire, which I recorded, was done in 17 minutes.

First tire done. Only took an hour and a lot of sweat

I balanced the tires with 8oz of copper BB's per tire, and after a couple of drives, I'm happy to report they are smooth as glass on road. 

Next up is a small alignment. My Toe is out quite a bit and needs to be sorted out before any long trips. After that, onto planning a day out on the trails to see how these new tires perform in the dirt and rocks

Crossing some items off the "To Do" List

Last weekend (May 16-18) was the Canadian holiday known as the May 2-4. I took advantage of an understanding wife and the incredible weather to scratch a couple of items off the Jeep to do list. 

A year ago I had purchased some TMR Customs rear fame tie-in's. I finally got around to tackling the install. It required dealing with some bumper bolts that refused to move. I'll save you the gory details of the impact gun and torch. The brackets really made a huge change to the stiffness of the bumper and tire carrier. Where it used to sag when opened, it now doesn't move. 

I had also purchased some wider fender flares for the Jeep. Trying to keep road spray down and Johnny Law off my back. I attacked the rears first. After fighting the inner fenders out (and into the garbage can) the bolts generally came out really easy. The new to me Bestop flares went on easy and rally improve the coverage of the tires. I ran into a hitch on the front, as they won't fit with my rock sliders. No worries, I have tube fenders to go in eventually.

I did a quick brake job on the front. Nothing really fancy there. 

To top it off, I put the soft top back on. May as well, it's now summer and trail season. 

Coming Soon... Installing the new tires

Time for new tires

My close to new "Spare"

It's been about 14 years since I picked up my set of Goodyear MT/R's. Something close to the first set National 4 Wheel Drive ever sold. Had them mounted up on some AR 767 rims and they've served me very well over the years

Pavement Still Sucks

Pavement Sucks

They've been through two Jeeps, a frame up restore, trips to Rockport Off Road, Rauch Creek, countless trips to Ardbeg and Bobcaygeon. They have thousands of road miles under them, and now it's time to out them to rest.

14 years the road

They've finally wore out.
I knew the time was coming, they were losing traction in rain. They didn't dig as well in snow, and they're developing rim leaks now.








Things have changed in 14 years. I'm married, I have a mortgage and a kid to take care of. Blindly dropping $2000 in tires isn't an option. I think I've found a good compromise in the Eldorado MTZ Sport. They're made by Cooper and have good reviews. I've placed my order and will report back with how they work out.

When they won't ship it to you....

You go and get it.

After my last little rant (You know what's bulls#*t), I decided to take matters into my own hands. I really wanted my Grill Guard, and I wasn't going to let something like a boarder, or not shipping to Canada stop me.

Winch is safe, and I can mount lights

 My wife found this awesome company in Niagara Falls New York, honestly, about 5 minutes up from the Rainbow Bridge crossing, called CBI. They offer a US mailing address not just to Americans, but also to Canadians. Their rates are very reasonable at $6.95/package, with no limits on hold time (although they ask that you pick things up within 90 days). After discussing with my wife, she had a few items that wouldn't ship to Canada as well, or added an additional 75% of the cost on top to ship cross boarder, we decided to try them out. She ordered her items, I ordered my grill guard, and off we went. Unfortunately, the grill guard company wouldn't even accept a Canadian credit card. A quick call to Visa, and CBI was added a an alternative billing address.

So much better looking now

Orders placed, and we waited until the tracking numbers showed them as received at CBI.


Life got in the way, and they sat for a few weeks before we could get to Niagara for a day. I took a Thursday off and we hit the road. I'll just say this, quickest cross boarder shopping trip ever. I cleared US customs at 11am, and I cleared Canada customs at 11;20am with packages in tow. For any Ontario Jeepers looking for an economical way to get US parts into Canada that wouldn't otherwise ship here, consider CBI.

Salty Canadian Jeep

One last note, CBI in no way paid for their name to appear on this page. I received great service, and it's my pleasure to recommend companies that provide this level of service.

You know what's bulls#*t..

US Companies that flat out refuse to ship to Canada. It's not like there are major hurdles to jump to get it here. Charge a little more for shipping, drop it off at a US Post Office (PLEASE don't use FedEx, UPS, or DHL) and boom, happy Canadian customers.

Map of Canada and the United States.

I refer you to the map on right. You'll notice that Canada and the United States are quite solidly attached. As someone who used to work in a shipping company, I know that trucks can physically drive across the boarder. I know that Canada and the US are allies and neighbours. We also share what is referred to as the "worlds longest undefended boarder". So why is it difficult to get something from the US to Canada? A lot of other vendors and part suppliers do it.







There are certain products, like a Grill Guard for example, that I cannot get, simply because they don't ship to Canada. I mean I can have it shipped to a storage place in Buffalo and go pick it up, but that's not as convenient as showing up at my door. The 3 hours of drive time to pick it up and get it home kinda take away the excitement of the package arriving at your door.


Alrighty... end of rant.