Re: Q: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

I remove the hard top and put on the soft.
for the summer.

On nice weather forecasts I remove the doors
and side windows leaving the rear window
and top canvas. If it rains I just raise
the top canvas and put up the rear window.
I also have a large plastic bag to cover the seats
When driving like this the only way you'll get truly wet
is when you stop and the rain is going sideways.
or you luck out and get stuck in a torrential downpour
(it happened a few times and I got soaked to the bone)
Man I love Jeeps!!!! :-)

When the weather forecast is lots of rain
for one or more days I put the whole top on.
Then wait for the weather to clear.

And the carpets were the first thing I removed
to avoid ruining them.
Cheers
Frank


daveZ wrote:

> not really a technical question but I thought I would see what the rest of
> you Jeepers do in the summer months with your soft top ? Let me explain my
> confusion.. please excuse my Newbie-ness.
>
> This is my first summer with my 03 Rubi. It was 80 degrees friday. I took
> off everything and folded back the top. Very easy. Saturday morning I
> awoke to find it had actually stormed. (huh?) I did pull the top back up
> friday night but left off the rear, sides and door halves. and I now had 1"
> of water on the floor. I popped the drain plugs but that didn't drain
> anything. I left it out all day, top down Sat ,75 degrees, and that dried
> up about %50 of it.
>
> I heard more storms coming for Sunday.. so Sat afternoon, I spent 1/2 hr
> putting the top BACK up with all panels. that is definitely a little more
> work getting it all back up.. now I am driving around again with full top
> up and the interior is still slightly damp.
>
> <<AGHH !>>
>
> I can already see the madness coming on... down, up, down, up, ... over and
> over again, all summer long.
>
> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>
>
>
>
>
> -------to reply by email, you must first take out REMOVETHIS
>
>

Re: Q: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

I remove the hard top and put on the soft.
for the summer.

On nice weather forecasts I remove the doors
and side windows leaving the rear window
and top canvas. If it rains I just raise
the top canvas and put up the rear window.
I also have a large plastic bag to cover the seats
When driving like this the only way you'll get truly wet
is when you stop and the rain is going sideways.
or you luck out and get stuck in a torrential downpour
(it happened a few times and I got soaked to the bone)
Man I love Jeeps!!!! :-)

When the weather forecast is lots of rain
for one or more days I put the whole top on.
Then wait for the weather to clear.

And the carpets were the first thing I removed
to avoid ruining them.
Cheers
Frank


daveZ wrote:

> not really a technical question but I thought I would see what the rest of
> you Jeepers do in the summer months with your soft top ? Let me explain my
> confusion.. please excuse my Newbie-ness.
>
> This is my first summer with my 03 Rubi. It was 80 degrees friday. I took
> off everything and folded back the top. Very easy. Saturday morning I
> awoke to find it had actually stormed. (huh?) I did pull the top back up
> friday night but left off the rear, sides and door halves. and I now had 1"
> of water on the floor. I popped the drain plugs but that didn't drain
> anything. I left it out all day, top down Sat ,75 degrees, and that dried
> up about %50 of it.
>
> I heard more storms coming for Sunday.. so Sat afternoon, I spent 1/2 hr
> putting the top BACK up with all panels. that is definitely a little more
> work getting it all back up.. now I am driving around again with full top
> up and the interior is still slightly damp.
>
> <<AGHH !>>
>
> I can already see the madness coming on... down, up, down, up, ... over and
> over again, all summer long.
>
> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>
>
>
>
>
> -------to reply by email, you must first take out REMOVETHIS
>
>

Re: Q: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

I remove the hard top and put on the soft.
for the summer.

On nice weather forecasts I remove the doors
and side windows leaving the rear window
and top canvas. If it rains I just raise
the top canvas and put up the rear window.
I also have a large plastic bag to cover the seats
When driving like this the only way you'll get truly wet
is when you stop and the rain is going sideways.
or you luck out and get stuck in a torrential downpour
(it happened a few times and I got soaked to the bone)
Man I love Jeeps!!!! :-)

When the weather forecast is lots of rain
for one or more days I put the whole top on.
Then wait for the weather to clear.

And the carpets were the first thing I removed
to avoid ruining them.
Cheers
Frank


daveZ wrote:

> not really a technical question but I thought I would see what the rest of
> you Jeepers do in the summer months with your soft top ? Let me explain my
> confusion.. please excuse my Newbie-ness.
>
> This is my first summer with my 03 Rubi. It was 80 degrees friday. I took
> off everything and folded back the top. Very easy. Saturday morning I
> awoke to find it had actually stormed. (huh?) I did pull the top back up
> friday night but left off the rear, sides and door halves. and I now had 1"
> of water on the floor. I popped the drain plugs but that didn't drain
> anything. I left it out all day, top down Sat ,75 degrees, and that dried
> up about %50 of it.
>
> I heard more storms coming for Sunday.. so Sat afternoon, I spent 1/2 hr
> putting the top BACK up with all panels. that is definitely a little more
> work getting it all back up.. now I am driving around again with full top
> up and the interior is still slightly damp.
>
> <<AGHH !>>
>
> I can already see the madness coming on... down, up, down, up, ... over and
> over again, all summer long.
>
> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>
>
>
>
>
> -------to reply by email, you must first take out REMOVETHIS
>
>

Re: Q: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

Weather.com is amazing for this kind of thing.

daveZ wrote:

> not really a technical question but I thought I would see what the rest of
> you Jeepers do in the summer months with your soft top ? Let me explain my
> confusion.. please excuse my Newbie-ness.
>
> This is my first summer with my 03 Rubi. It was 80 degrees friday. I took
> off everything and folded back the top. Very easy. Saturday morning I
> awoke to find it had actually stormed. (huh?) I did pull the top back up
> friday night but left off the rear, sides and door halves. and I now had 1"
> of water on the floor. I popped the drain plugs but that didn't drain
> anything. I left it out all day, top down Sat ,75 degrees, and that dried
> up about %50 of it.
>
> I heard more storms coming for Sunday.. so Sat afternoon, I spent 1/2 hr
> putting the top BACK up with all panels. that is definitely a little more
> work getting it all back up.. now I am driving around again with full top
> up and the interior is still slightly damp.
>
> <<AGHH !>>
>
> I can already see the madness coming on... down, up, down, up, ... over and
> over again, all summer long.
>
> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>
>
>
>
>
> -------to reply by email, you must first take out REMOVETHIS
>
>

--
__________________________________________________ _________
tw

03 TJ Rubicon - Rubicon Express 4.5"
01 XJ Sport

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
-- Dave Barry

Pronunciation: 'jEp
Function: noun
Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80-inch wheelbase,
1/4-ton capacity, and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in
World War II.

(Please remove the OBVIOUS to reply by email)
__________________________________________________ _________

Re: Q: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

Weather.com is amazing for this kind of thing.

daveZ wrote:

> not really a technical question but I thought I would see what the rest of
> you Jeepers do in the summer months with your soft top ? Let me explain my
> confusion.. please excuse my Newbie-ness.
>
> This is my first summer with my 03 Rubi. It was 80 degrees friday. I took
> off everything and folded back the top. Very easy. Saturday morning I
> awoke to find it had actually stormed. (huh?) I did pull the top back up
> friday night but left off the rear, sides and door halves. and I now had 1"
> of water on the floor. I popped the drain plugs but that didn't drain
> anything. I left it out all day, top down Sat ,75 degrees, and that dried
> up about %50 of it.
>
> I heard more storms coming for Sunday.. so Sat afternoon, I spent 1/2 hr
> putting the top BACK up with all panels. that is definitely a little more
> work getting it all back up.. now I am driving around again with full top
> up and the interior is still slightly damp.
>
> <<AGHH !>>
>
> I can already see the madness coming on... down, up, down, up, ... over and
> over again, all summer long.
>
> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>
>
>
>
>
> -------to reply by email, you must first take out REMOVETHIS
>
>

--
__________________________________________________ _________
tw

03 TJ Rubicon - Rubicon Express 4.5"
01 XJ Sport

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
-- Dave Barry

Pronunciation: 'jEp
Function: noun
Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80-inch wheelbase,
1/4-ton capacity, and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in
World War II.

(Please remove the OBVIOUS to reply by email)
__________________________________________________ _________

Re: Q: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

Weather.com is amazing for this kind of thing.

daveZ wrote:

> not really a technical question but I thought I would see what the rest of
> you Jeepers do in the summer months with your soft top ? Let me explain my
> confusion.. please excuse my Newbie-ness.
>
> This is my first summer with my 03 Rubi. It was 80 degrees friday. I took
> off everything and folded back the top. Very easy. Saturday morning I
> awoke to find it had actually stormed. (huh?) I did pull the top back up
> friday night but left off the rear, sides and door halves. and I now had 1"
> of water on the floor. I popped the drain plugs but that didn't drain
> anything. I left it out all day, top down Sat ,75 degrees, and that dried
> up about %50 of it.
>
> I heard more storms coming for Sunday.. so Sat afternoon, I spent 1/2 hr
> putting the top BACK up with all panels. that is definitely a little more
> work getting it all back up.. now I am driving around again with full top
> up and the interior is still slightly damp.
>
> <<AGHH !>>
>
> I can already see the madness coming on... down, up, down, up, ... over and
> over again, all summer long.
>
> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>
>
>
>
>
> -------to reply by email, you must first take out REMOVETHIS
>
>

--
__________________________________________________ _________
tw

03 TJ Rubicon - Rubicon Express 4.5"
01 XJ Sport

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
-- Dave Barry

Pronunciation: 'jEp
Function: noun
Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80-inch wheelbase,
1/4-ton capacity, and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in
World War II.

(Please remove the OBVIOUS to reply by email)
__________________________________________________ _________

Re: Q: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

Weather.com is amazing for this kind of thing.

daveZ wrote:

> not really a technical question but I thought I would see what the rest of
> you Jeepers do in the summer months with your soft top ? Let me explain my
> confusion.. please excuse my Newbie-ness.
>
> This is my first summer with my 03 Rubi. It was 80 degrees friday. I took
> off everything and folded back the top. Very easy. Saturday morning I
> awoke to find it had actually stormed. (huh?) I did pull the top back up
> friday night but left off the rear, sides and door halves. and I now had 1"
> of water on the floor. I popped the drain plugs but that didn't drain
> anything. I left it out all day, top down Sat ,75 degrees, and that dried
> up about %50 of it.
>
> I heard more storms coming for Sunday.. so Sat afternoon, I spent 1/2 hr
> putting the top BACK up with all panels. that is definitely a little more
> work getting it all back up.. now I am driving around again with full top
> up and the interior is still slightly damp.
>
> <<AGHH !>>
>
> I can already see the madness coming on... down, up, down, up, ... over and
> over again, all summer long.
>
> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>
>
>
>
>
> -------to reply by email, you must first take out REMOVETHIS
>
>

--
__________________________________________________ _________
tw

03 TJ Rubicon - Rubicon Express 4.5"
01 XJ Sport

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
-- Dave Barry

Pronunciation: 'jEp
Function: noun
Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80-inch wheelbase,
1/4-ton capacity, and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in
World War II.

(Please remove the OBVIOUS to reply by email)
__________________________________________________ _________

Re: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop
the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>

First thing I did was tear out my carpet and leave the drain plugs out.
Heck, I'm not even sure I could find them right now if I needed too.. hmmm.
Anyway, yes, your carpet will develop a musty odor after repeated
'washings'. Protect everything around your dash- even your steering column.
Your seats will be ok whether you have cloth or vinyl- cloth dries up really
well and you can wipe down the vinyl. (OT- I was the only one the other day
at the power-wash washing the INSIDE of my Jeep with the foam brush and
sprayer)

I usually leave all my windows out all summer, rain or shine. I try to have
the whole top off (not folded down) as much as I can, and by myself when
pressed I can have that sucker on in about 10 minutes or less. I also have
the plastic seat covers that I can throw on if I'm in a bind, like if I'm at
work and I don't have my top and it's going to rain. I've come to
affectionately call those times that I do happen to get caught in the rain
unguarded as getting 'wetbum'... but I don't mind. Goes with the territory I
suppose.

Having said all that, I have a 94 YJ; sounds like you have a newer Jeep so
most likely you won't be as careless (read: carefree) as I am with mine. But
I'm thinking given a little bit of time, you'll become a little less worried
about stuff like rain and mud too. :)

coop

Re: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop
the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>

First thing I did was tear out my carpet and leave the drain plugs out.
Heck, I'm not even sure I could find them right now if I needed too.. hmmm.
Anyway, yes, your carpet will develop a musty odor after repeated
'washings'. Protect everything around your dash- even your steering column.
Your seats will be ok whether you have cloth or vinyl- cloth dries up really
well and you can wipe down the vinyl. (OT- I was the only one the other day
at the power-wash washing the INSIDE of my Jeep with the foam brush and
sprayer)

I usually leave all my windows out all summer, rain or shine. I try to have
the whole top off (not folded down) as much as I can, and by myself when
pressed I can have that sucker on in about 10 minutes or less. I also have
the plastic seat covers that I can throw on if I'm in a bind, like if I'm at
work and I don't have my top and it's going to rain. I've come to
affectionately call those times that I do happen to get caught in the rain
unguarded as getting 'wetbum'... but I don't mind. Goes with the territory I
suppose.

Having said all that, I have a 94 YJ; sounds like you have a newer Jeep so
most likely you won't be as careless (read: carefree) as I am with mine. But
I'm thinking given a little bit of time, you'll become a little less worried
about stuff like rain and mud too. :)

coop

Re: soft top. ON or OFF in summer ? what do you do ?
 

> QUESTION.
>
> if I just leave the top down all summer... rain or shine..
>
> - will this eventually hurt my interior ?
>
> - What about the dash and Cd player etc ? I covered that with a shower
> towel overnight knowing if the CD got soaked it would fry. right ?
>
> - my seats are vinyl but what about the carpet ? Am I going to develop
the
> "dirty socks" smell ?
>
> what do you guys do ? This is a new vehicle for me.. yet it is a Jeep and
> it is expected to get wet occasionally.. but ..<< aghh..>>
>
> help me divert potential madness..
>
> thanks !!
> daveZ
>

First thing I did was tear out my carpet and leave the drain plugs out.
Heck, I'm not even sure I could find them right now if I needed too.. hmmm.
Anyway, yes, your carpet will develop a musty odor after repeated
'washings'. Protect everything around your dash- even your steering column.
Your seats will be ok whether you have cloth or vinyl- cloth dries up really
well and you can wipe down the vinyl. (OT- I was the only one the other day
at the power-wash washing the INSIDE of my Jeep with the foam brush and
sprayer)

I usually leave all my windows out all summer, rain or shine. I try to have
the whole top off (not folded down) as much as I can, and by myself when
pressed I can have that sucker on in about 10 minutes or less. I also have
the plastic seat covers that I can throw on if I'm in a bind, like if I'm at
work and I don't have my top and it's going to rain. I've come to
affectionately call those times that I do happen to get caught in the rain
unguarded as getting 'wetbum'... but I don't mind. Goes with the territory I
suppose.

Having said all that, I have a 94 YJ; sounds like you have a newer Jeep so
most likely you won't be as careless (read: carefree) as I am with mine. But
I'm thinking given a little bit of time, you'll become a little less worried
about stuff like rain and mud too. :)

coop