the glass roof....should I?

I like having a solid roof over my head. If I roll it is less likely for a rock to come through and get you. It is one of the main things I do not like about wheeling in a soft top jeep.

Even without the worries of rolling. The sun burn and melted ice...

I say go for it, It's not like it is your daily driver.. as for sunburn, tinted glass maybe? and melted ice, silicon-caulk the crap out of it and you will be fine.

melted ice ??

have you seen where he lives ?? IN CALI,,

won't have to worry about ice issues,, just rain,,

i like the idea of the glass roof,but i don't think it is entirely necessary,,

your rig is close enough,, and different enough at the same time,

i think it is okay the way it is now,, most people get what it is ,,,

I mean melted ice in the cooler.....

Maybe a row of the stock sunroofs.

Easy to source at the bone yards, good seal, bolt in: with option to remove glass or install the black out covers.

A glass roof would be awsome, instead of plexi i would consider using something like lexan but both have there ups and down read here: http://www.plasticgenius.com/2011/08/plexiglass-vs-lexan-matchup.html

FR-425 said:

Maybe a row of the stock sunroofs.

Easy to source at the bone yards, good seal, bolt in: with option to remove glass or install the black out covers.

Click to expand...

If you go thru with it, I like this idea.

Maybe search for a larger Ford Sun/moon roof set up. A few Ford models, including the escapes, have the large Panoramic glass options.

http://gtcarlot.com/data/Ford/Escape/2013/65852579/Sunroof-72349239.html

I would try to modify a stock Ford set up to fit, if one can be found.

If I were to do it. ..

We're looking at a 3'x4' piece of at least 1/4".

Safety is a real issue here as I far more likely to roll over then the average car on the street. In fact I would go as far as to say, plan on it and then will all hope it will not happen. Hence why I have a roll cage

The ford panoramic roofs are kinda where the idea came from, but I would feel safer with one big permanent piece.

Heat is not to much of a concern as it would have some kind of interior shade.


If done right it would be pretty cool.

colintrax said:

I mean melted ice in the cooler.....

Click to expand...

ah okay that makes more sense. my bad.

You could get the frame of a panoramic for the structure and replace the safety glass with lexan.

Then you could have the power operated shade and the strength of the "crash rated" factory roof structure. minus the glass.

Those panoramic roof chassis are real beefy for obvious reasons.

BMW X3 has a massive roof:

Pretty cool,something new but once you start there's no turning back..

Either way when your go'n hard core, stretch a military surplus cargo net across it.

If you want to spend your time constantly fixing leaks, sure. Even if you never take it out in the rain, it'll be annoying when it leaks if you ever wash it.

You'll also probably need to do some serious roof reinforcement to keep the body from flexing and affecting whatever material you stick in there. That probably means more steel at the roof level, plus the weight of whatever the transparent material weighs, and an even higher center of gravity than it has now.

I say no way unless you're trying to come up with an excuse to sell/scrap the vehicle.

Rarely do roof mods hold up, even on street-only vehicles, or even show-only vehicles. I've seen many professionally-done roof mods like ragtops and panoramic roofs, and sure, they look great at first, but the vehicle winds up being too impractical and too much hassle to own and keep fixing. The flexing an off-road vehicle goes through would almost guarantee issues that would only get worse with time, especially if you do it with a metal L-frame and something like plexi inside it.

If you wanted to do it "right", I would say you'd want to grab the entire panoramic roof frame and glass assembly out of a factory vehicle, or even cut the roof around it so you're just welding the roof on and doing bodywork.


The Ford Flex has a roof that would work:




Or you could get one from a Land Rover if you wanted a larger one:




If safety is your primary concern, I would leave the roof alone. The Explorer body has shown time and time again it, by itself, is strong enough to stay intact in a rollover, even in cases where the vehicle flips and rolls many times. Even with a cage, a strong roof and body makes for an excellent first line of defense. I would say no to even slightly compromising that level of rollover protection and safety for something so cosmetic.

Sealing is actually the least of my worries. It's in the garage all the time, I wash it once a year (literally ) and very rarely drive it in the rain (I live in drought land you know )

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, NO.
You wheel it, it flexes even with the roll cage. It will tweak the roof like a wave machine. Plexi-glass breaks into pieces when under heavy load, as in a roll over. Sharp pieces.