Jeep Owners—How Fast Can You Get the Top Up?

[C(-)ris]

The high ground clearance and short wheel base makes them ideal for City driving and parking in the winter. Think huge piles of snow and parallel parking. Also, easy to hose out interior means the salt and slush won't destroy the interior of the truck.They are good for more than just trails.

[mrlynn]

There are plenty of off-roaders in this part of the world, though I'm not one of them.

Really, I want a convertible with a stick shift, but I want an everyday driver, including winters, not a 'garage queen', which the nicer convertibles (like a Mustang GT or a BMW 3-series) are. Wranglers are all-weather vehicles, excellent in snow, but topless in nice weather. I just can't see fighting with the stupid tops when the raindrops start.

There is one company making an electric top for some Wranglers: http://www.barkertop.com/index.html

Anyone have experience with this contraption? My brother says he read somewhere that it was junk.

/Mr Lynn

[Article Accelerator]

mikebw wrote:
In case of rain just drive really fast, it will keep you dry until the rain stops or you have to.

Seriously, you don't have to drive fast. As long as you keep moving, the rain won't fall on the front seats, even if it's raining quite hard and your speed is a mere 10 mph or so.

[Tofer]

I owned a Jeep CJ7, and it took many minutes to put up the top. Today's Wranglers make the job so easy, it's ridiculous. I never even used the top on my CJ7--I lived in Florida and then San Diego (and the cross-country trip was crazy in that thing), and I simply had a bikini top with the doors off. It was pretty awesome.

My current car, a Mazda Miata has a manual top, and it goes up and down in less than 10 seconds. I always wonder why people ask me why it doesn't have an automatic top, because an automatic top would take three to four times longer to put up and down, at least.

Incidentally, mikebw is more or less right about the rain--in my Miata, if I'm traveling at least 20mph or so, normal rain stays out (downpours excluded). My Jeep had a different profile, and it was a bit more difficult to keep the rain out, but that's what the bikini top was for...

-Tofer

[OWC Jamie]

davester wrote:
Is there actually any place in MA where a Jeep Wrangler would be useful in any way whatsoever?

No. Mass. is a flat arid desert.



That's why there are no 4x4 off road clubs here
and no snow machines.
A car with 4 wd, snow tires and 6 inches of ground clearance will leave you walking in 8 inches or more of snow.

[Markintosh]

Ditto Tofer's Miata comments. In mine, top down is done in about 4 seconds and top up in 15 seconds. Yesterday I drove home in a downpour with the top down with no drops from above, but a bit of a slipstream around the side windows doing 50 mph.

[davester]

billb wrote:
A car with 4 wd, snow tires and 6 inches of ground clearance will leave you walking in 8 inches or more of snow.

Not really the point, is it billb. There are plenty of vehicles that are much more practical in the snow than a Jeep CJ or Wrangler.

I see Mr. Lynn's point...wanting an inexpensive convertible that has 4WD. Difficult to find in other vehicles since those two needs occupy opposite climatic niches, though my personal feeling is that a Wrangler is such a severe compromise as a roadgoing vehicle (steering, brakes, stability, noise, warmth etc) that I think it'd make a lot more sense to have an inexpensive summer convertible (Miata would be ideal) and a separate snow car (Jeep Cherokee, Honda CRV, RAV4, etc).

[djroga3]

mikebw wrote:
[quote=djroga3]
[quote=mikebw]
In case of rain just drive really fast, it will keep you dry until the rain stops or you have to.

umm. starts to rain worst thing is to "just drive really fast" for any reason, can you guess why?
Actually the real problem is when you try to stop or change direction really fast. Constant high velocity isn't a big deal. And yes I was joking but it is true.
still, I might want to be aware of OTHER TRAFFIC and its movement or my stopping might come a bit sooner than expected (traffic incidents do increase during inclement weather)...velocity plays a part when you unexpectedly meet another vehicle or a tree...

Have a good one

[cowboyxjon]

The newest Wranglers come with a three-piece hard top. It's easy to take the front two panels off and store them in the back. I have one and love it, regardless of what the practicality police have to say.

[RAMd®d]

That's how Newt would have done it.