I plan on purchasing a new vehicle within the next year and am strongly considering a JKU Rubicon, I have been exploring this forum during my less busy time the past few days and have learned a lot. There are a lot of reasons why I want to purchase a JKUR but also a few concerns although the pros still look to outweigh the cons. Hopefully my questions have not been overly discussed on this forum but if they have I apologize as I am pretty new to forums, I have searched a few things on the forum and found many answers but was not able to find a few. Anyways time to get to the point...

First, How do you secure any cargo while running topless? I have seen the Aries security cargo lid but am curious about other options.

Second, I live in Florida and small quick rain showers as well as heavy thunderstorms can pop up out of no where. So if I run topless during the summer it's not if but when you get caught in the rain with you top down. Besides keeping a close eye on the weather what do you do to avoid getting caught in rain or the better question is when you get caught in the rain how does the interior handle it? Also what do you do to clean the interior after being caught in the rain besides just airing it out to dry?

I want to say thanks in advance for any input and information concerning these questions and welcome any other words of wisdom or advice about owning a JKUR including how awesome they are. lol

 

Welcome to the forum!
To answer your first question, we would need to know what exactly you need to secure. Also, are you in a high crime rate area? I usually leave some jumper cables and a first aid kit in the back when topless yet no one has bothered them in five years. If you plan on leaving valuables in the jeep, I would suggest an under seat lock box or a security deck. Check out Tuffy products. They are very high quality and seem to have great reviews.
As for the rain, I don't try to make a habit of getting the jeep's interior soaked, but it has happened five times or so. I take it as an opportunity to hose and scrub the tub (I removed the carpet and sprayed truck bed liner on the floor). There really isn't any cleaning involved, just let it have plenty of time to air out. If you have carpet, you may want to temporarily remove it so it can properly dry without molding. However, the seats actually handle the elements pretty well. If your seats are leather, I would add some leather conditioner just to keep them looking nice.
Be sure to post some photos when you buy your JKUR!

 

Thanks!
For security I really like the idea of the locking lid for the cargo area, I don't really live in a bad are just like the peace of mind if I need to go in somewhere that I could secure my hiking pack or bag I use for work that would have my laptop in it. I will look into Tuffy products for sure.
Im glad to hear that airing out is about all it would need, is the carpet easy to remove and reinstall to dry out? Also has anyone had problems with any electrical components in the dash or elsewhere?

 

If you take the carpet out, just leave it out. If you feel you need to put something back in you should look at bedtred it is relatively inexpensive and looks like spray in bed liner. But is easy to take in and out to clean and won't mold or mildew.

 

That is awesome, thanks for the suggestion. Have you used bedtred yourself or just heard of it? Just curious if it works as advertised and how well it insulates against road noise.

 

Yes I have bedtred. I have a couple dogs and with factory interior it was impossible to clean the hair. Bedtred is like spray in liner so really easy to clean. As far as sound deadening, that is relative. I actually chipped out all of the factory sound deadening, because in the future I will get it linex'd. I also run 7+ months out of the year without doors. The bedtred for front and rear passengers works awesome I also kept the rear wheel well bedtred. But I didn't like the fit of the rear bed, bedtred so I took carpet out and use the rubber side up of the factory mat for the rear area. And I have the tuffy trunk lockbox which has also been awesome for security. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, it does help.

 

Dirty not best shots but rough idea.

 

I have run a soft top with no windows from spring to fall on my last couple of jeeps. If I am going to be parked a while somewhere and I think it's going to rain. I just put the top up. Only takes 3 min. I do leave my doors on. With the top up and doors on. No rain gets into the front. You will get some in the back but it's no big deal. I did forget to put the top up one night and it came a flood. Went outside that morning and pulled the drain plugs. All good.

 

Thanks for the pics, I will be doing that for sure eventually when I get a JKUR.