mandymarvelous

I apologize ahead of time this will probably be long. I also want to say ahead of time that I live in MA where it will be 75 and sunny one day and a high of 50 and super windy, rainy the next.
So I've had my Jeep for almost 3 years now. I've ALWAYS wanted full soft doors. A couple months ago I sold my hard top (my Jeep came with a Trektop) and I was finally able to afford some. The main reason I wanted them was simply because I wanted to go doorless all summer, and wanted some protection for when it randomly starts raining or gets really cold for no reason... In the past, I've just thrown the top up and covered my seats with trash bags when it rained so that I don't have a wet ride home. I also wanted them because I often have my 2 young nephews or niece in my Jeep and if I get caught doorless in the rain with them, I don't want them to get soaked. I planned on keeping them in the trunk all summer in case I needed them.
ANYWAY the story with the doors is that I basically hate them. I cannot get them to fit right no matter how much I've adjusted those 2 screws. the passenger side sits too far up so there's a slight gap at the bottom and it sticks out at the top, the drivers side is the exact opposite. I probably spent an hour trying to adjust them and it didn't do anything. On the highway and even at low speeds, it feels like the doors are going to fly off and there's a huge gap at the top. These are things I can live with, I've seen a lot of different ways to fix these issues on the forum. I'm going to try and bend the top part in because I've heard that works. So any other suggestions with that will be appreciated.
The doors just aren't what I thought. The BIGGEST issue with the doors are the fact that when they're on and it starts raining, they leak like crazy. My carpets were soaked last time I used them in the rain. The interior was honestly so much dryer with no doors at all...while driving I attach a small bungee cord from the zippers of the windows to my grab handles, and it works pretty good with keeping the rain out and keeping the door in place, but I cant do that when I'm outside of the Jeep and it's parked..again any suggestions will be appreciated.
So now with the mirror issue. I have these mirrors: Rugged Ridge 11025.12 - Rugged Ridge Rectangular Quick Mirrors in Black for 97-16 Jeep® TJ, JK & Unlimited - Quadratec for when I'm doorless/usng soft doors and they're AWFUL. I was using them over the weekend and while I was going 30mph the drivers side mirror completely folded in. It happens every time. I screwed it in as tight as possible and they still move so easily. I knew that it does that on the highway but going 30?!! I was just driving around town yesterday and had to keep adjusting my mirrors. Not to mention getting the passenger side mirror in the right position is like a two day process. They're also hard to see with the soft doors on (at least the passenger side is) so when I put the doors on I need to adjust them AGAIN. I was so frustrated that I just put my regular doors back on yesterday. I obviously need new mirrors and I would love to get the relocation brackets, but I have power mirrors and I'm just not going to go through all the trouble of taking off the entire door panel for the wires. I've looked into the mirrors that just sit in the door hinge as well, but I'm afraid they won't be high enough to work with my soft doors. And I'm worried that those won't stay in place any better than the ones I have. SO what are you guys using for mirrors when you have soft doors? Is it just me or is anyone else having these issues? I'm thinking about just selling the soft doors if I can't figure this out but I really don't want too. I want them to work so badly!

Cutman

I use the RR round detachable mirrors when running with no doors and they work great. Occasionally it will move from wind resistance. But I'll tighten it down at a stop sign or whatever. And I don't bother with one on the passenger side. In TN, is not required by law and from everything I've read, they are useless when doorles bc of the position you have to put them in. If you have to have one to be street legal, just buy the pair and attach them both but don't expect to really use the passenger side one. It's just there to keep you from getting a ticket. As for the soft doors, I can't help you there.

mr72

I have these mirrors from Quadratec:

Quadratec 13111 0400 - Quadratec Adventure Safari Mirrors with Square Head for 76-16 Jeep® CJ-5, CJ-7 & CJ-8 Scrambler, Wrangler YJ, TJ, JK & Unlimited - Quadratec

They work fine but you do have to tighten them substantially. I had one incident with them blowing back but it was >70mph highway, I just pulled over and tightened them and I have gotten in the habit of just carrying a 14mm wrench with me in case that happens.

With the Qtec rectangular ones the view in the passenger side mirror is a little bit obstructed by the dash but they are very usable and I can't imagine driving without a passenger side mirror, certainly not in Austin traffic. Although with doors off the visibility is pretty good in my Jeep. But anyway, point is, they can work.

Biggest complaint I have is the amount the mirrors vibrate, it makes it hard to see anything in them except approximate things like headlights.

BTW what brand soft doors do you have? I have often thought of doing just like you have and getting some lightweight/emergency doors just to keep the rain off in case I get caught in the rain but I fear having precisely your experience with them. We are having an especially rainy season in TX this year so I am basically stuck with all four doors on all the time... I'd prefer to take them off for the summer and leave the off, use soft doors in a pinch. I guess I'd like to now which brand to avoid.

Jeep801

I live in Dayville CT so same weather issues. I have the Bestop 2 piece soft doors and have experienced everything you've mentioned. I reached out to Bestop and they basically said nothing we can do. To limit the flapping at highway speeds I attached a Velcro strip around the door frame in the corner near the windshield pillar. I run this to the sun visor arm. Works pretty well. As for the leaking I'm still working on that. I bought some corrugated plastic sheeting from lowes and made like a gutter to catch some of the drips (see pic). I have a gap in the corner of the door where it meets the windshield pillar. The gutters on the surrounds end prematurely and drop water right into the corner. From there the water follows the pillar down to the carpet. I have put the doors on yet because the weathers been cold and awful but I'll be working on that area when I put them on.

As as for mirrors, I have the Lange quick 2 mirrors. I don't use the quick attach knob. I remove 1 bolt from the windshield bracket, place a piece of rubber between the mirror and Jeep, and use a longer bolt to directly install. I then adjusted them to where I wanted them and drilled and pinned the arm. These mirrors don't move at all. The mirror itself can still move and be adjusted by 3 Phillip screws in the back but these hold real well when tightened. No mirror mounted in this location will offer the greatest view but at least keeps you legal. I found its pretty easy to just turn and look quick before making a move.

Despite these issues I wouldn't trade the soft doors for anything. I love driving top down doors off and having the doors and top with me at all times is great for the crazy changes in weather and temperatures we experience in New England. I'll be continuing to work on the leaking issues and I'll post anything I come up with. Good luck but don't give up on them.

mandymarvelous

Ya I have the same vibration issue but with all of my other problems that's the least of my worries haha. These are the doors I have Bestop 51798-35 - Bestop® 2-Piece Front Doors in Black Diamond for 07-16 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK - Quadratec. I honestly don't think there are any other kinds to be honest. I was researching for awhile because I was hoping to find another brand that's cheaper but I couldn't find ANY other brands except Bestop. The biggest problem for me is the fact that they leak SO much in the rain. I'm going to try and adjust them again but even if i get them to fit right, they'll still leak. The soft doors are only held on by the hinges, and the door handle itself when it's closed. There should be some sort of velcro or zipper or something at the top to actually close it to prevent leaking. It just rests against the Jeep. I REALLY want them to work so I'm going to keep playing around with them but I'm starting to lose hope.

mandymarvelous

I came up with a solution for the flapping too. I attach a bungee cord from the zippers at the top of the window to my grab handle and it works well while I'm in driving. The problem is that I can't do that when it's parked. Thank you for the mirror advice! I'll look into doing that. Like I said once I can get the mirror situation fixed I'll work more on the doors. I have a habit now of turning around instead of using my mirrors because I know their not reliable but I still can't have them folding in on me because then I just look like an idiot Let me know how your project goes with the leaking! I also need to figure out how to get the soft doors from swinging open all the way. I know better but when I have passengers, they always swing the door all the way open which hits the mirror and moves it again It should be easy enough to throw a bungee cord or something down there to stop it from swinging so wide. I will figure this all out before the summer if it kills me!

Jeep801

Fun isn't it! Lol. I made door retainer straps out of cable that slip over the factory hook. I adjusted them to stop just short of hitting mirror. Awesome to spend $450 and then have to put so much time and effort into them. Hope someone from Bestop reads this. Keep me posted on your progress.

mandymarvelous

That's exactly what I was thinking. For the price they should definitely work much better than they do. I'm wishing now that I spent the money on some Bedtred instead of the doors. That way I would have no carpet, and if it rained with the doors off, I would just do the trash bag trick on my seats again and not care if the interior gets wet.

mr72

There just must not be that much demand for a solution that really works here, otherwise why hasn't something better been brought to market?

I went to a motorcycle show at a mc dealer last weekend and happened to look at the Honda and Polaris off-road side-by-sides and they have a much better door solution with a molded ABS door. Now, Rugged Ridge makes a set of molded ABS doors but they probably don't really meet the requirement completely of having a set of doors you can carry with you uninstalled and easily put them on when required. They need something without the interior part, much like a rigid version of the BT soft doors. One that is compatible with Mopar soft door uppers would be the way to do it. It would be easy enough to make a molded flat door with a tubular aluminum Y-brace going between the latch and the hinges that would get this going, with attachments for Mopar soft door uppers on top. Then you'd have four doors that are flat enough to stack in the cargo area along with the uppers.