The Jeep Experience, Part 3: Rain Dance

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux) 07/23/2018 at 08:50 • Filed to: Jeep Experience, Jeep, Wrangler, Convertible

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Look closely and you’ll spot the trash bags keeping my butt dry in the rain. Look even more closely and you’ll spot the obligatory check engine light and airbag warning light because Jeep.

If forced to choose between a fixed-top Wrangler with four-wheel drive, and a removable-top with rear-wheel drive, I’d choose the removable top every time. You can always get a boring vehicle with four-wheel drive, but I’d suffer mightily without my soft top.

Technically a soft top isn’t required to enjoy open-air Jeeping. Starting with the Jeep JK in 2007, and available for earlier Wranglers in the aftermarket, hard tops are now effectively T-tops.

And of course, if you have a hoist, a few local friends, or, in a pinch, a mattress and a stronger back than mine, you can remove the hard top entirely.

When I bought my LJ, however, I had none of the above, so removing the hard top temporarily wasn’t viable. However, the doors—while heavy—aren’t difficult to remove.

And a couple of hours after I removed mine for the first time, I was pleased that I had previously removed the carpeting, because a major summer storm blew through town. The rain was coming in sideways, I was absolutely drenched, and I was having the time of my life.

Since that day I’ve embraced the philosophy that, if it’s warm enough, a heavy rain isn’t a good enough reason to put the top back on. So let’s talk naked Jeeping logistics, at least as they apply to me in the Midwest. Your climate may vary.

To really commit to going topless all summer, the most important advice I can offer: be single and childless, or have an amazingly tolerant family. Just because you’re crazy enough to put up with the sacrifices doesn’t mean everyone around you will be.

(Craziness is relative. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , including when it’s well below zero. With no windshield. Even on the interstate. I can’t really help you attain that level of insanity, but I know with whom to put you in contact if you really want to make a splash.)

Removing the carpet is strongly recommended. Wranglers have drain plugs that let you keep your floor wells from flooding, but it’ll still take time for the carpet to dry. The noise level definitely increases without carpeting, but it’s a Jeep. If you want a quiet ride, the Wrangler isn’t your best option. Or even your 100th-best option.

And speaking of drain plugs, deciding what to do with them isn’t nearly as trivial a decision as it may seem. You’ll definitely want them in for cold weather. You’ll want them in if you’re driving through mud or crossing rivers. And driving down the interstate at 80mph with floor mats and no drain plugs risks having a floor mat blow away.

But removing them is a pain, at least for my generation of Jeep, so I keep a multitool around for removing them and generally leave them out all summer. And keep something heavy in the passenger floor well.

Seat covers also help. You can find plenty of opinions online about what to buy, but find a set with zipper pockets in back. You’ll want to stash trash bags to keep your butt dry when you’re driving.

Trash bags are also useful to protect the steering wheel when you’re parked in the rain. A rusty clock spring can really ruin your day, and even without long-term damage you can have problems with a drenched steering wheel (such as the time my horn went off and wouldn’t stop until I pulled the fuse). Bungee cords are helpful for many things in a Jeep; keeping a trash bag over your steering wheel during a storm is just one of them.

Squeegees also are useful as foliage deflectors.

You’ll want a squeegee to wipe the rain off your windshield, although I keep contemplating how I might take the manual wipers from an early CJ and put them to good use on the inside.

And a quality weather app is worth its weight in gold. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . ‘Nuff said.

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I mentioned to my father recently that, although I regret not discovering the joys of Jeeping when I was much younger, modern technology has some significant upsides. He thought I meant YouTube. I actually meant Ziploc bags.

I have a large collection of various sizes of lockable bags. I keep a device for charging my iPhone in my backpack...inside a Ziploc, just in case. I keep my rain jacket in a Ziploc bag; there’s not much worse than coming out to drive home in a rain storm and discovering that your jacket is already drenched.

I keep some spare warmer clothes in a Ziploc bag. Medical supplies. A rain parka and pants for really heavy rains. My battery jumpstarter. A baseball cap to help keep the rain out of my glasses (and the sun off my bald head). A 12.9" iPad Pro fits nicely in a large Ziploc and not only continues to respond properly to touch inputs, but even recognizes my thumbprint.

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What about your built-in electronics? Good question. I mentioned the horn problem, but that was a temporary glitch. (The morning of the horn malfunction the Jeep also wouldn’t start until the sun was high enough to dry it out a bit. That spooked me a bit, but it’s never happened since.)

The aftermarket radio when I bought my Jeep was junky and didn’t support Bluetooth, so after some research I bought a marine radio to replace it.

Later that summer, after some heavy rainstorms, a few of the radio buttons stopped working. So much for buying quality marine gear.

I replaced the marine radio with a relatively inexpensive model, figuring that if it too were going to succumb to rain, at least I hadn’t spent much money on it. Two years later it’s still going strong. Go figure.

More frustrating: I recently lost a very useful circuit after a day of exploring remote areas, in which I was hit with about 4" of rain. I’ve yet to identify the short and it’s annoying me greatly because I no longer have a dimmable rear view mirror. Or tripometer. Or internal lighting. No one said this would be easy.

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Incidentally, regarding tornado safety? I got nothin’. The one time I was in the middle of nowhere with tornadoes passing through, I was lucky enough to be able to drive away from the dangerous areas. If you’re actually in the path of a tornado in a naked Jeep...well, consult a lawyer or a priest, but not me.

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Going doorless raises some legal issues that are worth mentioning while I have your attention.

First, despite the nanny state so many of us lament, driving without doors isn’t illegal in most places. Pennsylvania DOT inspection requires doors for anything that rolled off the factory line with them, and I’ve heard rumblings about New Jersey and the state of Washington, but everywhere else in the U.S. it seems kosher.

With the transition from the CJ to the first Wrangler, however, Jeep moved the side mirrors from the body to the doors, and some states require more than one mirror. Fortunately there are no shortage of aftermarket mirrors, although many of them are barely usable due to vibrations. I have a combination mirror/foot peg that fits very securely into the hinges, and so as long as I’m not using my aftermarket soft doors I can have extra mirrors.

That aftermarket mirror becomes a requirement in my home state of Indiana when I drop my windshield. Unfortunately the side mirrors are convex, so they aren’t particularly good primary mirrors, but Indiana law doesn’t say the rear view has to be useful, just unobstructed.

(And with regard to the legality of driving without a windshield: Indiana, at least, requires that a windshield be “equipped”. It doesn’t say it must be “engaged”. Some day I may find out how persuasive a judge finds that argument.)

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I’ve dwelled quite a bit on what could be perceived as negatives of running a naked Jeep. It’s worth mentioning some benefits.

Do you find that your vehicle attracts clutter more than you’d like? Good news: that won’t be a problem here. You can’t keep clutter from flying away when you drive (or walking away when your Jeep is parked and someone wants to grab something).

So, unless you want to litter your way down the road, you simply don’t keep clutter in your Jeep. Motivation is easy to find.

You may not get as much attention from the opposite sex as you’d think (although the combination of a naked Jeep and a cute dog often works wonders), but from personal experience I can attest that drunken revelers will tell you how cool it is that you’re cruising a hot spot at night in the rain without a top. As will old-timers who remember what Jeeping used to be.

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So, do I really go the entire summer without doors and top? Nope.

When I’m going to be transporting friends or family in the rain, I put on the top. And if I know it’s going to be cold and wet for a few days, I’ll button up, because ultimately I’m just as much a wimp as anyone else. (And, in fact, we’re having a string of wet/cool weather right now, and the top and soft doors are on. No windows, though, I’m not a heathen.)

And if I make a long trip, say to Florida to see family, I’ll put my soft doors on. It’s rare in our modern world to get an opportunity to use a zipper to roll down your window, so you have to seize the moment when you can. (Plus there really is such a thing as too much wind.)

I’m not a masochist. I just play one on the interwebs.

random001 > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:00

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Oh dear. I have both a wife, and kids.  My #jeeplife is ruined!

Just Jeepin' > random001 07/23/2018 at 09:09

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I did offer the “amazingly tolerant” alternative! I just don’t know how many people are willing to put up with this on a daily basis. 

random001 > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:13

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True. I feel like I can replace “Amazingly tolerant” with “she has her own car” and be ok. She keeps telling me to just get the 2-door. It’s not like I can take the family out in my 500 anyway. And it’s mostly my commuter car. But I’d like to take the family jeeping. But she’s clearly somewhat tolerant. But having kids in the car precludes going naked jeep unless i’m on my own anyway. But...

Sigh...

Thank you for writing these.  I love the whole series!

Just Jeepin' > random001 07/23/2018 at 09:16

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Thanks, glad you’re enjoying it. My target is those who don’t have a Jeep but it seems like I’ve missed the m ark based on who’s commenting on posts and declining interest.

Which is fine, if the Jeepers like it I know I’m not entirely smoking crack.

random001 > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:24

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Some people just don’t understand...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:24

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Great write-up!

“ If you want a quiet ride, the Wrangler isn’t your best option. Or even your 100th-best option.” Haha!

Just Jeepin' > random001 07/23/2018 at 09:32

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You just had to go there. 

Just Jeepin' > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/23/2018 at 09:34

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Glad you enjoyed it.

I make fun of people blowing out their hearing with their audio systems but I’m pretty sure I’m not doing my own ears any good. Should think about wearing earplugs.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:36

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I was merely interested until the last line...then, at that point, you got a star.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:39

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I don’t have a Jeep or a convertible, but I do love driving with the windows down on a nice day. Is it just the wind noise that’s so loud, or is it more the tires? Whenever I pass a “bro truck” on the highway with loud as hell knobby tires and a loud as hell exhaust, I can’t imagine living with that every day (and my M3 is not exactly quiet).

random001 > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:42

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LOL!

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:52

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in a pinch, a mattress

Are you putting the mattress on the ground and just pushing the top off and letting it fall?

Just Jeepin' > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/23/2018 at 09:53

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Well, it was a 40-year-old engine design when my Jeep was built, now 50, so that doesn’t help . My tires aren’t nearly as bad as many of those mud terrains that you’ll hear, thankfully, but the lack of carpeting amplifies engine and tire noise.

The vehicles around me certainly don’t help.

However, I think it’s primarily the wind . Once you remove the top and doors the wind (especially a strong cross wind) becomes a fa ctor in nearly everything you do, and dropping the windshield takes that to epic levels.

I’ll have to think about it more while I’m behind the wheel, but I’m going with wind as my answer for now.

Just Jeepin' > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 07/23/2018 at 09:54

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That is indeed one approach I’ve heard discussed on the forums. I’m personally not interested in experimenting with a thousand-dollar piece of hardware to prove it works (not to mention, my back is already effectively crippled).

Just Jeepin' > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 07/23/2018 at 09:55

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Thanks! Finding a good ending is tough in any creative work; I can see why some people write the ending first and then everything else.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 09:56

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Yea, I wouldn’t be willing to trust the internet with an expensive piece of hardware either.

Just Jeepin' > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 11:57

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Coincidentally a preview of a future article followed me into a parking lot a few minutes ago. This particular vehicle might as well be s ubtitled “almost everything I hate about (some) Jeeps”.

jasmits > Just Jeepin' 07/23/2018 at 12:13

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One of my friend s h ad a CJ7 when we were in high school(actually still has it, I love that thing) and the first winter didn’t even own a top or doors for it, just a bikini top . Being in Oregon(despite the stereotypes) it wasn’t actually so bad. It’s rarely much colder than 40 degrees and the rain stereotype is more based on the frequency than the quantity, it drizzles basically constantly from October until May but it never rains particularly hard(generally a rain jacket is even unnecessary walking around outside , a hoodie or a fleece will keep you pretty much dry). The image of him showing up to high school in his open Jeep wearing a jacket, hat and gloves during a grey January rain still makes me laugh though.

Have you thought about a bikini top though? Bikini top/no doors gives you 90% of the open Jeep experience but without the sunburn or wet inside of windshield

Just Jeepin' > jasmits 07/23/2018 at 13:29

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I’ve spent a little time in Oregon, and I’d definitely hav e my top off a lot if I lived there. Such a great climate, even if I would miss the sun a bit too much.

I actually own four tops: factory hard top, a Bestop soft top that’s essentially the same as factory, a mesh safari top, and a Jammock that’s effectively a bikini top with the ability to double as a hammock.

Unfortunately the Jammock sags too much for me to enjoy driving with it; I lifted my driver’s seat before I bought the Jammock , so maybe if I undid the lift I’d be ok, but as it is it rubs against my bald head and drives me batty. A shame, because I could definitely use some sun protection, and I’d love to spend some time on top of the Jeep on occasion.

And the mesh top is terrible to use when it’s raining. It sends water in all directions, so my baseball cap does an even worse job of keeping my glasses dry.

Part of the problem with both the mesh top and Jammock is that I do like to drop the windshield when it’s going to be above 80º all day, so if I want a top on all the time I need to install an aftermarket cage (which I’m considering for other reasons as well). Of course the cage will ruin the Jammock’s ability to serve as a hammock, so feh.

The factory(ish) soft top does pretty well as a safari top, so for really hot days with passengers I’ll throw it back up if I have it on my Jeep at all. Sometimes I remove the entire top and put it in storage during warm weather.

I’m going to talk more about the complexities of top and door selection in a future post. Probably. That post actually morphed into this one midway through , so I trimmed away the introduction and saved it for the future.

jasmits > Just Jeepin' 07/24/2018 at 11:32

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Yeah, there is always a time in the late winter where it feels like the sun is gone for good. Still, I find that the pnw climate is ideal for me . I’ve lived in the Northeast too, being outdoorsy I don’t mind taking a run in the rain but I do mind taking a run when it’s so cold it hurts to breathe. Also out there you have to deal with snow on a regular basis in day-to-day life but there aren’t enough mountains or precipitation for good winter sports, here you never need to dig your car out to go to work but ski season is November-April most years.

I hadn’t heard about those Jammock things, that sounds super fun in concept, bummer it doesn’t quite work out in practice . A top/door post would be cool! Also potentially relevant for me at least because I’ve been really lusting after and semi-seriously considering a YJ or CJ as a trail beater/fun second vehicle. I doubt(if I go for it) it’ll see much winter use so I’m thinking I’d run a bikini top and no doors or half doors for the most part but I’d probably want to have full doors and a proper top of either hard or soft variety just in case it ends up seeing some winter daily duty for one reason or another and snow wheeling is probably a thing I’d do with it

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Just Jeepin' 07/24/2018 at 19:07

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This is definitely the ONLY way that I could have fun with a jeep. This sounds exactly perfect to me haha. I drive in the rain with the top down in my Miata but only until I'm going too slow to just keep the water out. Cold and snow though are fair game, that is some of the best top down weather. Don't have to bake in the sun and can just put on some ski clothing to warm up. Definitely thinking about having a jeep some day when I have more space for a bigger fleet. 

Just Jeepin' > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/24/2018 at 19:19

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I have my eye on this , plus some motorcycle goggles, but collectively that’s a bit steep for freedom to do whatever I want in whatever weather I want.

Or is it? Hmmmmmm.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Just Jeepin' 07/24/2018 at 22:17

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Its a Jeep thing! That is all you have to tell yourself to justify the purchase.

DipodomysDeserti > Just Jeepin' 07/25/2018 at 15:18

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I remove my hardtop pretty frequently by myself. Whole deal takes about ten minutes all in . It helps that I’m short and flexible with good upper body strength. I get my shoulders under the balance point, walk it off, then squat it down with me mostly inside it. I’ll have to post up a video, but I know as soon as I record myself doin it I’ll drop it and shatter the back glass. I only put the hardtop on if it’s going to rain, or I’m going on long trips, because it sucks to drive  with the top on.

Just Jeepin' > DipodomysDeserti 07/25/2018 at 15:35

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I have degenerative back disease, so I’ll not be trying that myself. No need to video:  I believe it, I simply can’t do it (and I’d be too afraid of breaking the back glass regardless).

The general pros and cons of a hard top is something I’ll be tackling in another piece, sooner or later.

DipodomysDeserti > Just Jeepin' 07/25/2018 at 15:54

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Ooof, yeah I wouldn’t touch it with a bad back.

Just Jeepin' > DipodomysDeserti 07/25/2018 at 15:56

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Do you have a short- or long-wheelbase vehicle? The Unlimited hard tops are awfully heavy.

DipodomysDeserti > Just Jeepin' 07/25/2018 at 16:06

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Short wheelbase. The four door might be too much to handle. The issue isn’t so much weight as it is being able to balance it on your back. Once you get it balanced the hard part is b eing able to squat low enough while still keeping it balanced.

icrashbikes > Just Jeepin' 04/18/2019 at 09:41

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It’s like I’m reading an article that I had written myself. My hard top and doors come off in May and goes back on in September. It used to be a longer season, but my son showed up and now I’m forced to consider a small human being who doesn’t sit 4 inches from a heater duct. I bring a tarp with me to tent the Jeep for park ing/rain purposes and I keep dry bags, jackets, and towels ready. It’s something of a commitment and something of an inconvenience, but it’s so, so worth it.

Federally > Just Jeepin' 01/25/2020 at 21:17

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I’m going to continue commenting on your 1.5 year old articles because I just found out this place existed.

The best thing about the JK’s hard top is that you can run the freedom panels without the rest of the top on.

So I can put my top on the hoist, keep the panels in the back of the Jeep and toss them on if it's going to rain or I just feel like a little shade.

Just Jeepin' > Federally 01/25/2020 at 22:18

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Good point, I assume I  neglected to mention that option. It doesn’t do much for me (my soft top has a sun rider option which is effectively the same) but it’s a nice compromise.