Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Going doorless

8K views 73 replies 42 participants last post by  Newman252 
#1 ·
He wife is concerned about riding with the rear doors off with the kids in the car ( kids are 8 & 9) Her worry is about side impact. I completely understand her concern as I do not know enough about the chassis to say they are well protected. Is this a valid concern or can you give me ammo to let my kids enjoy the full experience too?
 
#2 ·
For what it's worth Jeep says the doors are for protection from elements only and don't offer any impact protection as such. Having said that, I find if hard to believe that if there were an unfortunate side impact the doors would not do any good to protect, even if it's from keeping a stray object like broken glass or something from flying into the cabin and hurt someone.

Maybe you can add some really strong side rails that might offer some added protection and throw in some tube doors or half doors for the kids? I have small kids too, and I am not ready to take out the rear doors at all...
 
#3 ·
You can always be a smart ass and show her the sticker saying the OEM doors are only for protection from the elements.

In reality though, anything that is going to come thru the cabin in an impact, is going to come thru the thin sheet metal and glass anyway. If it is a battle you just won't win with her, consider getting some aftermarket halfdoors or trail doors.

Jeep Doors - Quadratec
 
#4 ·
The doors are not crash rated, it says so both on the sunroof stickers and in the manual. Which means that an impact with the doors on will be no safer than an impact with them off, except fo maybe protection from flying debris.
I would argue that a crash the doors off is SAFER. No chance of getting trapped behind something that isn't going to help you anyway.

My kid is 3 and we ride odorless all the time, I have her in the middle in the back though.
 
#9 ·
After we got t-boned the other week, it has us both thinking about going doorless. Regardless, my rock rails took the majority of the impact and saved the side. There was however flying debris everywhere. Would could have caused cuts, but nothing more in that instance. Don't want to scare ya, but in the end, I'll probably still ride around town doorless.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
my little boy is 6 and he rides in the front in his booster with the doors off. Now keep in mind i have a 2door and he only does this around the back roads where we live out in the country. I have only jump on the freeway for a short distance and i was a bit concerned. I think this is a judgment call and its kind of a do at your own risk type of thing. its not for everyone.
 
#14 ·
I will run my JKU naked with kids in the back only around town. I have seven grandkids and they love riding in the Jeep. When I have them back there I am extremely aware and drive with all my defensive driving skills I can muster. Be annoying if you need to but keep a wary eye out. My Rubicon X has decent rock rails so I hope that would help. The concern about stuff flying into the Jeep is very valid but I take the risk and have done so for many years going back to my own kids. I have been rear ended with a naked Jeep but never hit from the side.
 
#22 ·
I have three boys ,13, 10, and 7, and they don't like riding in the jeep with the doors on half as much as without them. I don't drive like an idiot and I don't go through life playing the "what if" game. My father used to drive around with all us kids in the back of his truck bed. Oh the horror! Somehow we all lived. Yeah, "what if" he had been in an accident? That's life I suppose. You can live in a bubble but you can never protect against everything. Try to use common sense and be aware of your surroundings, is all you can do.
 
#23 ·
Lol what was that standup routine that guy did about being in the truckbed? Lol

I can't find the YouTube video but it was something along the lines of his family riding in the truckbed so much his dad would do a headcount by tapping the brakes and counting the thuds.

Hilarious.
 
#27 ·
I have many fond memories of riding with my dad on the motorcycle, thanks for this post. My Jeep is nekkid and doorless (does nekkid imply doorless?) and I love it.

I was a real uptight mom and my grown kids have teased me that the mom they grew up with NEVER would have had a Jeep with any parts off! I sadly agree, I wish I had been more fun and carefree. :) ah well! I'll be a fun Granny instead.
 
#26 ·
I wouldn't say that doorless is safer, I would say it is a different set of tradeoffs of risks. I am generally a pretty defensive driver, but my level of situational awareness is higher doorless. I don't mean because I can see more, I mean because I'm even more attention focused on the traffic and road around me.

The first few times I did it with my daughter she was amazed. Now, being a teenager, her face remains glued to the cell phone and she is annoyed that the wind is blowing her hair in her face. My suggestion is to go doorless as often as possible while your kids are still young enough to enjoy it. There will come a time where they won't care and/or will take it for granted.
 
#31 ·
The first few times I did it with my daughter she was amazed. Now, being a teenager, her face remains glued to the cell phone and she is annoyed that the wind is blowing her hair in her face. My suggestion is to go doorless as often as possible while your kids are still young enough to enjoy it. There will come a time where they won't care and/or will take it for granted.
Tell me about it. Both of my girls (16 & 9) loved the doors off initially, but now they b*tch constantly about their hair. Thankfully, the sound bar drowns them out...
 
#29 ·
See THIS is why I love the new jeep family I have!!! You guys and gals have given great pros and cons and my wife has read this thread. I believe I have her on my side for local trips, maybe not longer ones yet, but she also knows I am an extremely aware driver that would never put my family in harms way. I know I can't speak for others driving around me, but to be aware is paramount. As we were talking about it this morning my almost 10 yr old girl turned the corner with the BIGGEST smile on her face, and said, "so we can take the back doors off now"? And my wife just shot her a smile.. I'm making progress! You guys/gals are awesome, here's to a odorless Bumble! (B)
 
#33 ·
To each his own. I leave the rear doors on. Makes the otherwise naked jeep look a little funny, but I actually see a lot of jeeps running that way where I live. If I had one large kid I could put in the back in the middle, I would probably take the doors off. But I have 3 little ones, two in car seats, and I do believe they get some protection from flying debris from the doors. I don't think you are going to get NHTSA to do doorless crash testing with car seats in the back. I'm just trying to make decisions I can live with if something goes wrong.

I feel like my kids are super safe when they are riding in my wife's boring minivan with a million airbags. And everyone has tons of fun in the stripped jeep. But life is about compromises, and this is the compromise that works for us.

To the OP, I recommend you do whatever you feel good about. No one from this forum is going to show up at your door to make you feel better or worse about the issue if something goes wrong.
 
#35 ·
To each his own. I leave the rear doors on. Makes the otherwise naked jeep look a little funny, but I actually see a lot of jeeps running that way where I live. If I had one large kid I could put in the back in the middle, I would probably take the doors off. But I have 3 little ones, two in car seats, and I do believe they get some protection from flying debris from the doors. I don't think you are going to get NHTSA to do doorless crash testing with car seats in the back. I'm just trying to make decisions I can live with if something goes wrong. I feel like my kids are super safe when they are riding in my wife's boring minivan with a million airbags. And everyone has tons of fun in the stripped jeep. But life is about compromises, and this is the compromise that works for us. To the OP, I recommend you do whatever you feel good about. No one from this forum is going to show up at your door to make you feel better or worse about the issue if something goes wrong.
Very well said!
 
#38 ·
Not sure this is helpful to the discussion, but 4 years ago I got a call at work and had to make a grueling trip to the ER after being told that my wife and son had been broadsided by a semi doing 55. After being forced to wait outside with no information for 30 minutes I was totally in tears and near vomiting. First thing I saw, once allowed in, was a cloud of down feathers in the ER from where they had removed my wife's coat with scissors. She was conscience. The second thing I saw was my then 1 year old still sitting in his car seat and eating a pop-cycle. What an emotionally amazing site!

I would later find out that the semi had run a stop sign at an Intersecting highway. My then 1 year old was on the impact side, in his car seat. The little sports car went into a spin and traveled ~ 100 foot before hitting another couple of cars. My wife and son had to be pried out of the totaled car with the jaws of life, and while my wife ended up undergoing emergent surgery to save her right arm, my son was totally unscathed.

Anyways, cars and car seats are pretty darn safe, but I was certainly blessed that nothing worse happened. Not sure how much debris everyone was saved from via the doors, but the vehicle took a good bit and kept everyone safe. I don't know where I would be now had we not been so fortunate!
 
#39 ·
I think the story is relevant to the discussion and helpful because it (hopefully) is a lesson to others about the awesome responsibility and potential consequences that driving comes with.

That must have been a tremendously difficult and frightening day for you and your family. Stuff like that changes a person. Hopefully the semi-driver learned a big lesson and is much more careful behind the wheel. It only takes a second...

Be safe!
 
#45 ·
That's a good point. In most cases I would agree the higher the better. That can cause problems too. I was T-boned my old Jeep (4" lift, 33's) going through an intersection and the car wedged underneath it between the driver's side front and rear tires. The Jeep's rear tire popped up over the hood of the car and rolled me twice, hitting a light post.

I may have been better getting my doors smashed in, but hard to tell. I was able to walk away from the rollover and so were my two passengers.
 
#50 ·
I pulled the doors off for the first time today and I have a couple of observations.

First, the '14 JK doors weigh quite a bit more than I expected!! Doing this solo is a tricky task because the doors are just large and heavy enough to be cumbersome to wrangle. I had trouble figuring out exactly how to grab them for carrying, but finally held the door by the mirror bracket and the handle. YMMV, but I found it difficult and intimidating. For me, removing the doors was more challenging than removing the top (with a hoist, of course).

Second, this is my first Jeep, so driving without doors is entirely new experience. And it's kinda freaky! Zipping down major thoroughfares with lots of traffic, I felt kinda overexposed. Sure, I knew I wasn't going to fall out, but constantly catching the road in my peripheral vision felt a little hairy. I imagine it's similar to the palm sweats that some people get when crossing a very tall bridge.

So, I'm gonna give it a little more time tomorrow sans doors, but I suspect that driving without them will be a rarity.

Rob O.
 
#52 ·
This thread reminded me that my Little League coach used to take the team to away games in the back of his pickup truck. He was a contractor and had a large truck bed that could hold all 12 or 13 of us little buggers. It is hard to believe in today's society, but nobody's parents complained about this mode of transportation or even thought twice about it - and none of the kids expected our parents to be doting on us every minute and attend every one of our games (hence the coach driving us in the back of his pickup).

Very different times and I remember with great fondness.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top