2 door jeep and a baby?
 

Would like to here from some people who have a 2dr and a new baby. Am I crazy to think I can make this work? Any one know if it's possible to fit a stroller behind the rear seat? Was thinking a roof rack might make things a little bit easier, could always put the baby on there if need be.😉

Step one, do not put baby on roof rack.

Step two, remove baby from jeep during vertical climbs that require one or both axels to be locked.

Step three, do not trust the baby as a spotter

Step four, do not flat tow the stroller

Step 5, relax I see new Borns in jeeps a lot. The 2 door obviously won't be the easier a set up but I don't see it being any less safe than a four door. Congratulations on your new little jeeper:).

Ha ha, that was a good one. I especially like step four. Thanks

Best response I've seen in awhile.. What I did when I had a little one was remove the back seat looked at the wife and told her no kids till they can climb into it themselves. So we use her car for all trips and outings. Saves me gas and don't have to hassle with a car seat or stroller in the jeep. But if your other is stubborn you can fit the car seat just fine sucks getting the kid in and out. The stroller will fit but just don't think you'll be able to lay it flat.

Step 6. Just go with it! Haha. I have a little one and a two door. Our stroller does fit but I have to take the wheels off to get it in the back. Now, with it being in there you cannot fit anything else. No groceries and probably not the diaper bag if your wife is like mine!! So my solution was put a roof rack on it! I went with Garvin. If your interested here is a review I've got up on YouTube.
http://youtu.be/X6p3Uu4T_vY The hardest part is actually getting the car seat in! I've got to twist it all kinds of ways to get it back in there!! Getting the baby in is a whole different story. You have to climb in from the opposite side. Yes. All the way in all while clutching your little precious. Can it be done you ask? Yes. I've done it many many times as mine is 18 months old now. It works. It is a little inconvenient but doable. I wouldn't get rid of my two door!

I waited until my little guy was in a forward-facing booster seat until I bought my 2 door. Obviously the height of the jk plus having to throw the seat forward to reach in the back for the car seat all the time is a drawback. The other thing to consider is that there is no middle seat or middle LATCH system. You are going to have to use one side or the other. So with the top down or doors off....maybe not so safe. Also the Jeep ranks low in side impact crash tests. Another thing to consider. You could do better. Could do worse. If you start with a hard top for a few years you'd probably be just fine. Then your little one will be a Jeeper for life.

Awesome job on the review. I think the roof rack is going to be key for going on any kind of trip with the wife and baby.

Thanks! Yes the rack was a very important piece of the equation for any travel. I've used it so much. Most recently some friends and I headed out into the desert for several days and carried a ton of equipment up there.

We were very excited to take a trip this summer up through Cali, Oregon, Washington, and into Canada. Bummer is that I got rear ended a couple of weekends ago and now my Jeep will likely be in the shop. Off subject I know

Bottom line is I love and use my rack. I enjoy knowing it's basically a pickup bed. Need to haul a chair? No problem. Need to haul a mattress? No problem. Need to tie your kayak up? Got it. However most of the time it's just a stroller! Haha!!!

I am totally sold on the rack. How was it driving with all that gear up there on your long trip? Does it effect how your jeep handles much? How was the wind noise with a bunch of gear up there?

Sorry to hear about the accident, I can't stand being without my jeep even for a few days let alone a extended period of time.

I'm thinking that it might be a bit of a pain having a 2dr jeep and a baby but not enough so to consider trading it in.

Depending on what year you have you might not be able to get a car seat in the back. My 08 was basically impossible to get a car seat back there. If I remember right in 2010, they started making ejection part again on passenger seat which makes getting a car seat in back a lot easier. I had a very well built 2dr and we just had identical twins 5 months ago, so I sold it and now have an unlimited. I can't imagine trying to have one kid, and stroller in the 2dr:naw:

My build page is in my signature to see both Jeeps if you get bored :beer:

It was actually great with the weight of the gear up on top. It really dampened the bouncy ride our Jeeps usually provide us. As far as noise. Now, this is going to sound odd. But it was actually quieter with gear up there! I have a soft top so things are pretty loud anyway but my cousin who rode with me was surprised to learn that it was quieter.

I had probably close to 250 pounds up there. I had even more inside the Jeep as well. I didn't notice a huge difference on cornering and such. I tend to take things pretty slow though since it's not a race car I don't drive it like one and haven't had any issues with weight up there. The only time I noticed it was on a very steep rocky incline. I came to a point that was very bouncy for the Jeep and so the suspension got a workout with all that weight. I just took it a bit slower on that part and things calmed down. Since then I have put a higher rate set of springs and better shocks on.

As far as fitting a car seat in mine is a 2010 and the passenger side is the only side you can get the car seat in on. My seat does not do the ejection thing. My friends 2011 does though and that would make a world of difference. To get the car seat in now I have to turn it on its side and slip it in around the roll bar up as high in the door that I can possibly get it. It is tough but only takes about 20 seconds to get it in. So really at the end of the day not an issue.

It is important to note though that our cars basically have the lowest side impact rating a car can be given. And it's true the car seat does have to go to one side or the other. Something to think about. Our cars do have though one of the the highest crash safety rating front and rear however.

The only issues I would have are these two items.
This doesn't necessarily keep me up at night but with our vehicles being just two doors in the event of a serious emergency and needing to get to the baby immediately it's actually a little bit difficult. Say in a really bad car accident somebody would actually have to get out of the jeep and move the seat forward to get back to the baby. The other item of concern I had early on is that when our babies are very young they do not have very good head control. With our jeeps being as bouncy as they can be that may be a concern. What my wife and I did was just not travel with the baby in my jeep for a period of time until she was several months old and could control her head better.

I got my niece's car seat in by moving and reclining one seat all the way back and the other all the way forward. I will already have a roof rack when my turn comes, so like the other posters stated, it'll make things way easier.

Go for it. I have a two door and have been taking my now 18 month old son wheeling for the past year. I carry an umbrella stroller in the back no problem. It actually bunjees nicely to the hi-lift. I have a full cage with a hinged harness bar to access the back seats. Just got done running red trails at Rausch with my son either sleeping or watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the back. No need for a four door. Before anyone comments about safety, I am on smooth riding coilovers with hydro bumps, and my wife gets out with him for the sketchy stuff. Here is a pic of us out last fall for his second wheeling trip. http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p...psaujn8mdw.jpg

Thanks for all the input guys. There's always my wives car we can use once in a while if need be, I just can't stand driving it. Definitely going to need a roof rack and it would be nice to have a hard top. I'll just tell my wife its for the good of the baby. Maybe I can work a lift into this some how. We'll see.

Geez, I didn't even think about the whole safety thing.

When my daughter was small(er), I found that lifting out the whole seat with her in it seemed to work best. Base would stay in the Jeep. Still wasn't "easy", but it worked. One more problem was the seat handle is also supposed to fold backward and basically push up against the back of one of the front seats. Doing this gave VERY little leg room. Luckily my wife is pretty short.. but still felt a little cramped.
Now that she's front facing and is more sure on her feet, things are much easier! I still have to use some weird techniques to get her in/out, but you get used to it. Still easier with Mom to help.
I have one of those jogger strollers. Huge pain in the arse to fit in the back. Doable, but not easy. I ended up picking up one of those trailer hitch platforms, which solved that. Roof rack would be nice too, but that seems more permanent and lots more $$ (which may be a concern with a new little person).

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She has troubles reaching the peddles but fits just fine...

if you can read this, my Jeep is broken....