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Talk me into, or out of these soft doors.

3K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  Sueby 
#1 ·
So I'm really, really close to pulling the trigger on these best top 2 piece soft doors. After driving home and freezing my toukus off in the wee hours of the morning the other night, it pretty much sealed the deal. I figured on my work days, I could put them on when I drive in, since it's colder than crap in the am. Then I can take them off and throw them in the back on the way home.


But dude, 800 bucks is hard to swallow for some tubing and some canvas. I don't want to get these and totally regret it.
 
#4 ·
I have a 2 dr...im kinda in the same boat as u...I will be getting some soft doors soon too. Love the idea of having them on for the rain then take them off andput them in back when sunny.

Another option would be getting the Lava Jacket..its a jacket that has a extra "arm" that fits over one of your AC/heat vent..put it on and turn the heat on..dunno how well it works..but i thought about getting one myself.
 
#6 ·
In your situation, Bent, I'd either keep the doors on and roll the windows down when I want the air coming in, or run naked and wear more clothes. Seriously, you can stay warm in convertibles in 25 degree weather if you wear the right clothes -- do it all the time in winter.

By the way, where do you live? You're cold in the mornings now? How I long for that! :)

I've been looking at the canvas half doors (no uppers) for a different reason -- I love going doorless, but on the trail the amount of mud that comes in makes for some long clean-up sessions afterwards. So I always put the doors back on for trail riding. But now visibility is compromised, when I need to have no doors most of all. So I figure the tube doors are low enough to work well for that.

Best solution for the trail? clear plexiglass skins for the tube doors. I'm seriously thinking about making some myself. (the skins, not the tube doors.) Something you could velcro or quick-release to the tubes, so you could pop them off easily if you want tube doors with no skins.
 
#7 ·
In your situation, Bent, I'd either keep the doors on and roll the windows down when I want the air coming in, or run naked and wear more clothes. Seriously, you can stay warm in convertibles in 25 degree weather if you wear the right clothes -- do it all the time in winter. By the way, where do you live? You're cold in the mornings now? How I long for that! :) I've been looking at the canvas half doors (no uppers) for a different reason -- I love going doorless, but on the trail the amount of mud that comes in makes for some long clean-up sessions afterwards. So I always put the doors back on for trail riding. But now visibility is compromised, when I need to have no doors most of all. So I figure the tube doors are low enough to work well for that. Best solution for the trail? clear plexiglass skins for the tube doors. I'm seriously thinking about making some myself. (the skins, not the tube doors.) Something you could velcro or quick-release to the tubes, so you could pop them off easily if you want tube doors with no skins.
I added seat warmers to my Willys for under $70. On high setting they will run you out of the jeep in a few minutes. Pair them with well directed heater vents and you can run naked pretty comfortably. As NoGa says, a wind/rain resistant shirt from L.L. Bean is all I need for mornings and it will pack into the console. Doesn't help for rain, but I put my half doors back on if it's a high enough chance of that.
 

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#8 · (Edited)
I have the Bestop 2-piece doors and they are fantastic...if you can get around the noise and the steep price. You can go from full doors, to half doors, to no doors, and vice versa, in about a minute. All 4 store easily in the back of the Jeep. When you first install them, they will take some serious bending to get a decent seal and to keep the uppers from leaning out at higher speeds. I'm sure lots of people who don't have them can think of all kinds of reasons for not buying them. Wear more clothes? A tube from the heater vent? Gimme a break. It's not just about creature comfort. It's about protecting the Jeep's interior in sudden rainstorms, etc. As the only one replying so far who actually has the doors, I'm VERY glad that I bought them. No regrets at all.
 
#13 ·
Check the link in my signature...the last page has some comments and photos of the soft doors. It's an old thread that I haven't added anything to in over a year...Jeep has changed quite a bit since I last posted...headlights, taillights, wheels, gave up on sub in stock enclosure, etc. I was able to pretty much solve the problem of the uppers leaning out at higher speeds and in high winds. I simply used a bench vise to bend the pins on the uppers so they put more pressure against the body of the Jeep.

Google Bestop 2-piece doors for current prices and more info.
 
#14 ·
I've had mine for about 3 years and love them.

There is a bit of trade off as they are a bit noisy at high speed. But the ability to take them off easy and toss them in the back is worth it.

I run mine from around March to October.

Just my opinion.
 
#16 ·
I had the Bestop 2-piece doors at one time....had. All the pluses that Moabite and Barmanvarn mentioned above.

As a half door, I had no problem with them. My problem was with the uppers. I couldn't get a good seal on the uppers no matter how much bending. There are several postings on this forum about how to bend/seal the doors. I just couldn't make it happen. And I'm sure I just wasn't doing it right since many others report no problems.

Regards,
 
#17 ·
I had the Bestop 2-piece doors at one time....had. All the pluses that Moabite and Barmanvarn mentioned above. As a half door, I had no problem with them. My problem was with the uppers. I couldn't get a good seal on the uppers no matter how much bending. There are several postings on this forum about how to bend/seal the doors. I just couldn't make it happen. And I'm sure I just wasn't doing it right since many others report no problems. Regards,
Yeah. I had to just about hang from the uppers to get them to form correctly. And they still suck outward at high speed it's a really windy day. I found that unzipping them just a bit relieves most of the pressure.
 
#19 ·
How I come home after work (if it isn't raining) Land vehicle Vehicle Car Vehicle door Tire
How I go to work if it's mid 50's ... Land vehicle Vehicle Car Vehicle door Automotive exterior
How I go if it's 50 or cooler ... Vehicle door Vehicle Tire Automotive exterior Car
I've got the Best Top element doors and really like them. I could never get the right bend to seal and not flap when driving over 50mph so I improvised with an adjustable bungee. You can see it hanging in the first pick below inside the door. Once the door is closed, I stretch it across the cabin and hook into one of my Spider Web Shade monkey balls (last 2 pictures). The bungee has just enough tension to keep the uppers sealed and not flap. Even goes through car washes ok. Vehicle door Vehicle Car Automotive exterior City car
Vehicle Car Family car
Roof Ceiling Vehicle Car Shade


I carry everything with me all the time. Trail doors are in almost all the time but when it rains or it's just too freaking cold of a ride to work, the soft doors and windows go on. What ever is stored, is in my Tuffy box so it doesn't walk away while I'm away. The full factory doors only go on when we're taking a long trip or when winter finally starts to set in.
 
#20 ·
Okay, now we're getting somewhere, panourie. A few questions, if I may:

1) the first picture looks like that's a fairly see-through skin -- what's that called? Do you keep it on all the time and install the other skin over it, or remove it for the other skin? Is it as see-through as it seems in the picture, to where you can see the ground through it and place your wheels more carefully if wheeling? Does mud come through it if you spray some up along the side?

2)The second picture -- what is that skin called? Does it cover the inside of the tubes also? From the 4th picture there looks to be some endoskeleton made out of skinny tubes. I'm confused.

3) How long would it take to go from Picture 1 to Picture 2, and vice versa? (I have no interest in the windows at present.)

Thanks!
 
#24 ·
Okay, now we're getting somewhere, panourie. A few questions, if I may: 1) the first picture looks like that's a fairly see-through skin -- what's that called? Do you keep it on all the time and install the other skin over it, or remove it for the other skin? Is it as see-through as it seems in the picture, to where you can see the ground through it and place your wheels more carefully if wheeling? Does mud come through it if you spray some up along the side? 2)The second picture -- what is that skin called? Does it cover the inside of the tubes also? From the 4th picture there looks to be some endoskeleton made out of skinny tubes. I'm confused. 3) How long would it take to go from Picture 1 to Picture 2, and vice versa? (I have no interest in the windows at present.) Thanks!
The 1st picture indeed is a different door - they're Rancho trail doors with the spider web shades on them. Shades are held on exactly the same way the tops are.

The remaining pictures are all the Bestop soft doors & windows. Mirrors for those doors are an additional purchase.

I can change the doors as fast as it takes me to walk to each side of the Jeep and to the trunk to swap them. A minute or two more for the windows, since there are 3 posts to align & slide into between the top of the door and the bottom of the window.

The trail doors (first picture) definitely have a gap and will allow mud & water underneath and towards the front of the Jeep in. The Bestop lowers seal up really well. While not water proof, they would keep any spinning mud or water off the tires out. I went with the trail doors too because the Bestop lowers cut off any air movement coming in the cabin while traveling down the road. That's while on cooler days, they're perfect. You can put the heater on high at your feet and keep a decent amount of heat in below. The only issue with the soft element doors, is that they're stitched on to the frame assembly which isn't a true "tube" frame, more of a skeleton that you described. There is velcro on all that, but that's just to tighten the skins as you need to. The material is exactly the same material as what the soft top roof was on my 2012 Arctic - wish I could tell you exactly what that was, but it is different from the premium soft top I have now.

I'd be happy to shoot any pictures you want or video something too if it helps. I really like the doors. I couldn't find a single solution that offered all I was looking for. Before the trail doors, I had just the soft elements. It required mirror brackets on the a post due to the fact I'd want to go without them or doorless. (which wasn't a huge deal). I travel a pretty good clip on the interstate to & from work and in the old Jeep, I took a few shots from bouncing rocks into the cabin. Didn't hurt anything, just got me thinking about not wanting top be doorless on the highway was all - for me. So when I added in trail doors to the mix, I mirrored them and then ended up mirroring the doors on the element doors allowing me to remove the a post mirror brackets. Now no matter what door I throw on, I always have mirrors.
 
#22 ·
Oh. Care to expound? The Bestop website only seems to show the Element series as having the tube doors, the skins with the pouches on them, and the hard-cover skins. I don't see anything listing or showing the mesh skins from Photo 1, yet he says "I have the Element doors..."

Thanks,
 
#23 ·
If the element doors had a zip off cover for the lower section that would hold water back other than those dumb bags. I'd be getting those.

The first pic says "spiderweb shade" on the fabric. Either they make shade covers specifically for tube doors or he cut up one of the overheads.
 
#25 ·
I have a set. I don't really use them any more now that my jeep is not my DD. They suck - they are loud, expensive, cheaply built, leak like a mother but I loved them. They fit nicely in my tuffy trunk so I always had them with me. They were a must for me.

I wish someone made a full, 2 piece, plastic door for the JK. My nephew had a set for his CJ & they were the bomb.
 
#26 ·
I wish someone made a full, 2 piece, plastic door for the JK. My nephew had a set for his CJ & they were the bomb.
X2 - the Bestops are about the best thing going for how I want to travel. Should somebody come out with a nice plastic door setup that's portable and easy to carry with you, I'd be all over them too.
 
#32 ·
I purchased a pair of these doors about 5-6 weeks ago. Took awhile but finally got the drivers side to fit snug, much quieter. But the passenger side has been an ongoing issue. Adjusted it, bent it, did get quitter but still getting a decent amount of water on the floor. Even when parked.
I emailed best top tonight to see if they have any ideas. I kind of doubt they can help but why not ask. I did put my hard doors back on for this week, we are having some crazy downpours this week. Hard doors, no water
 
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