Half Doors & Soft Top in Winter - The Final Chapter

[cbcwrangler]

After reading many posts on several forums regarding pros/cons of half-doors, I wanted to narrow the discussion and see if anyone here can help me.

Many of the responses on other forums are from non-JK owners, and I understand that the JK half-door uppers are quite a bit more substantial than past generations.

With that in mind, does anyone here have experience using JK half-doors in heavy winter weather (lots of snow and salt). Do the door seal well? How about road salt - long term effects?

Thanks for the info!

[cbcwrangler]

What timing, I just received and installed Besttop soft uppers and lowers yesterday. have not road tested yet and the install a little frustrating and not dialed in yet.
Will keep you posted on progress. I do live in so. cal so your ? for winter use will never be able to answer.
Jeff

Jeff - thanks for the response. I am interested in hearing how Bestop works, although I would probably get the factory half doors, so not sure how the uppers differ.

I live in Central NY and get 220+ inches of snow a year. Garage at night, so soft top not a big deal, as is security - no crime. I'd really like Jeep to offer dual top AND doors from the factory as an option. Once can only hope.

[rvator]

I sold my full door 07 this spring and bought a 2010 with factory half doors. The uppers are very well made and seal very good. I have been through some hard thunderstorms and only have a drip on the pass rear door. The wind noise is a little louder than the full doors but it was a trade I was willing to make. I haven't lived with them through a winter yet but it is my DD and I plan to. We had about 50 inches of snow last winter. I think the care of the windows is no different than the rear window of a soft top. I would rinse it first and try to avoid scratching them. So far this summer I have really liked the half doors. I have seen full doors for sale in junk yards because there is more of them than half doors. For me it seemed if I ever wanted both sets it would be easier to buy the full ones used and get the jeep with halfs.

[JeepaRoo]

Ive had the bestop softs for a few months now but would not use those in winter.. well maybe california but not in a real winter where it gets colder than 30 degrees f..

the uppers from the bestop and the factory look similar..

what ive found in the past with my jeeps is that the windows will fog up much easier than the glass ones do and that you cant scrape them from frost as they will scratch..

normally I dont scrape my back windows in winter for that reason.. but would have to scrape fromt ones for obvious reasons unless you want to sit and let the heater warm up to melt the frost off..

having the factory lower doors your uppers will seal decently although you'll still get some wind noise.. but the JK heater is more than adequete enough to keep you warm...

even in my 4 door (full metal doors, soft top) I was driving in a short sleeve shirt through minus 24 degree weather and it was rather Hot inside my jeep...

(yes my cold weather gear was in the back seat)...

-Christopher

[pastorsteve]

I've been running half doors for over 20 years on CJ's and TJ's with no problems year-round. The JK's are just that much better.

[junoh]

I'm in Vail, CO, with an average snow fall of 350 inches. I was also a little concerned about the 1/2 doors( for no reason). They work great, seal well, and ice doesn't stick to them like glass.

We use magnesium chloride on the roads here instead of salt, but they held up fine.
On strong crosswinds a cool breeze comes through the door handle
(anyone else experience this?)
I only noticed it this spring on a road trip when I was wearing shorts down in New Mexico, and a storm came through. No water leaks though.

hope this helps

[Blackbeard]

I have the Full Doors and Half Doors. I use the Half Doors for Spring, Summer & Fall, and the Full Doors for Winter.

I just got my Factory Half Doors a few weeks ago, but was using the Bestop Highrock Element Half Door Kit last Fall. To me, the Factory Uppers seal out the Wind and Noise better than the Bestops. The Bestops do seal just fine... just not as good as the Factory.

One recommendation for you with the Upper Doors. DON'T ZIP YOUR WINDOWS DOWN WHEN IT'S COLD!!! They become stiff and may crack. If you'll look at posts on the Forums from last Winter, you'll see where some JK Owners cracked their Back Windows trying to remove them... clean them... or roll them up. The Back Windows are made from the same plastic as the Upper Doors, so I'd avoid Drive-Thrus during the Winter months.

Can't help you with the Snow & Salt part of your query..... I'm in Texas!

Cheers!

BB

[myklt8]

One recommendation for you with the Upper Doors. DON'T ZIP YOUR WINDOWS DOWN WHEN IT'S COLD!!! They become stiff and may crack. If you'll look at posts on the Forums from last Winter, you'll see where some JK Owners cracked their Back Windows trying to remove them... clean them... or roll them up. The Back Windows are made from the same plastic as the Upper Doors, so I'd avoid Drive-Thrus during the Winter months.

Can't help you with the Snow & Salt part of your query..... I'm in Texas!

Cheers!

BB

I have found that if you kick the side vents to blow on the windows, after a short time, they will be flexible enough to tun thru Mickey D's

[cbcwrangler]

I'm in Vail, CO, with an average snow fall of 350 inches. I was also a little concerned about the 1/2 doors( for no reason). They work great, seal well, and ice doesn't stick to them like glass.

We use magnesium chloride on the roads here instead of salt, but they held up fine.
On strong crosswinds a cool breeze comes through the door handle
(anyone else experience this?)
I only noticed it this spring on a road trip when I was wearing shorts down in New Mexico, and a storm came through. No water leaks though.

hope this helps

Sounds great. I figure with regular rinses, the salt will not be that big a deal. When you live in a heavy salt part of the country, you just accept that you will be buying a vehicle more often than say, if you live in Arizona. I might hit a drive through 2 times a year, and do not do toll booths, so no problems there.

I'm committed to half-doors, but it is nice to hear from folks using theirs in a similar manner to how I will. Also hope that Jeep will finally offer dual top AND door package from the factory, but if I have to choose, the extra cash will go into the diesel and be VERY happy with the half-doors.