Doors - on or off??

May 09, 2005 28 Replies

i'm confused.



all the instructions for my wrangler unlimited refer to removal of the doors (and folding the windshield down) being for "off-road only". having spent 14 years in the army, i fully support the windshield warning. i can tell you with some degree of authority that a little stone can leave a big mark even when your only going 35 or 40. if it can chip your windshield, it can damn sure put a hurt on your forehead.



but as i cruised around yesterday, feeling quite sporty with the sunrider roof open, i saw at least 6 wranglers with the doors off.



is a middle aged, overweight, grey-haired guy allowed to do this also, or is this something reserved for the young and immortal??



martin caskey millers island, maryland



Hi Martin,

I am not young and immortal, but my 79 CJ5 (factory) didn't even come with doors.

I have some doors somewhere though....

Ron

snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net wrote:

It is something to be done at your own risk. That being said, my top and doors are off, and have been since Saturday due to the great weather we are having. Have to work tomorrow, plus rain in the forcast so they will be going back on.

In most states it is legal to have doors off if you have a rear view mirror, most states say you must have 1 rear facing mirror, and don't specify where it must be located.

Patrick

The instructions for my TJ say not to go over ~20mph with the windshield down.

You need to meet the requirements for mirrors, but the doors are allowed to be off. I recommend wearing your seat belt, especially while the doors are off. I suspect Chrysler is more worried about liability with the reduced protection offered by removing the doors than anything else.

-D

I see no difference between driving with the doors off and driving with the windows rolled down on any other vehicle. The first day I pulled the top and doors off my '88 YJ and cruised on the highway I got hit on the cheek with a stone from a passing semi. Hurt like hell but have been without incident since then, including many offroad adventures with no top/doors as well as driving 60-80km in the city with no windshield. It's a risk ...but it's one reason I bought the Jeep.

Hell yeah! Take the doors off! I love having mine off!

However, a couple warnings:

1 - Be prepared for about 10 times more wind circulating through the jeep. Anything not securely stowed will be on the pavement.

2 - I would recommend getting some sport handles so you have something to grab on when taking turns. Anyone who rides with you will likely freak out as well.

But, I don't think you are really doing your jeep justice unless you have the doors off.

As a middle aged, plus a few, gray haired -- what's left of it -- and overweight (by practically every measure) man, I can attest that it is perfectly OK that you take the doors off and drive around. You need to be sure your skirt doesn't fly up, and the constables will want you to take the mirrors off of the doors -- at lease the driver side door -- and put it on the base of the windshield. You can find a product called a mirror mover that screws onto the windshield hinge and lets you then mount the factory mirror. An alternative that some like to use is to get a mirror from a motorcycle or bicycle and mount it to the door hinge hole.

Or if it does, that you have something more than a thong on.

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Take em off!!!

TAKE EM OFF!!!!!

=)

I second your second point... my wife won't even ride with me if I have the doors off.

IMO My Jeep looks the best top and door less. As other posters have said there are some wind issues and I don't really care to drive mine without its top and doors on the freeway.

Last time I checked we're the only ones that can enjoy this sort of stuff. The kids are all worried about impressing the opposite sex and each other. I couldn't possibly care less what anybody thinks about me or my Jeep. (But I can't help but thinking my Jeep would be a babe magnet if I was interested in that sort of thing )

Back when I was young and immortal I road street bikes. You know the kind zero to way too damned fast in 3.4 seconds and so on. Through some kindness from God I did not get killed. Now I ride around in my Jeep, top and doors off and just as much wind as my bikes. I have as much fun as any Harley rider only now I've got seat belts, roll bars, air bags, and 4,200 pound of weight to take into any accident.

Dean

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Motorcycle riders ride with only sunglasses on all the time... I've been hit with trash off of a garbage truck... more stones than I can count, and bugs... lots and lots of bugs - taught me to keep my mouth closed... ~Dave

My girlfriends the same way...babies! :)

It's called a 'kilt'! :-)

-D

On Tue, 10 May 2005 11:24:59 GMT in , Dave graced the world with this thought:

a bee in the chest when you're wearing a light shirt and going 75 definitely is not fun.

On Mon, 09 May 2005 16:08:04 GMT in , "griffin" graced the world with this thought:

this is legal where you live, apparently?

Not the kind I wear ...

Yep. If it's a stock option on the vehicle it's perfectly legal. Same with I didn't need side mirrors on my YJ when the doors were off. The only two things here that they get picky about is that the flares have to cover the tires and foglights mounted higher than the grill (ie: on the doors on on a lightbar) have to be covered unless used while offroading.

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