slovakchick

just bought the 2005 jeep tj sport. It came only with a hardtop. In the summer i would like to remove the doors.so with that being said What kind of soft top do i need the cover the door gaps to protect it from rain? do i need to get the half stell doors or is there another way around it?

overland

hey, check out www.bestop.com they have some great tops and install tips as well. as for what you need to cover the doors, you can buy half steel doors and run soft uppers or get a set of full soft doors all available through bestop. regarless of what you have heard anywhere else, you have to run doors. it is against the law to run no doors and it is just another reason for the cops to pull you over. that being said i take mine off all the time and dont have any trouble. but i run lower steel doors when wheelin, lower soft doors will offer no protection in a roll over. good luck ans shinny side up.

i H8 4DS

another tip...I believe the only reason you are required to run doors is because the mirrors are located on the doors. You can buy mirror relocation brackets to relocate them onto the windshield frame. I run my jeep without doors pretty much all summer and have even gone through Police road checks without them on and nothing was said. Maybe I've been lucky but I don't think doors are required in fact Jeeps originally had doors and tops as factory options.

overland

ok, the doors on and off thing has been hashed over on every forum dozens of times. i will get the chapter and verse of the act/law that states the truth and post it for all to read. until then know this, if your jeep came from the factory with doors...and all jeeps since 87 have. then you have to have doors. PERIOD. the only jeeps with doors as an option were cj's. as for the mirrors. you do need one outside mirror and the rearview on the windshield. but on the door or not, does not matter. if the police dont ticket you for no doors that is up to them. but for those of us with lifted jeeps, aftermarket parts all over, possibly not meeting all DOT rules, why give them another reason to give you an inspection notice. if you really want to follow the letter of the law the bestop soft doors are also illegal. and dont even mention folding down the windshield. we all do these things, myself included. but the more you adhere to their rules on visable things the less reason they have to check the rest of your jeep out. good luck which ever way you go on this topic and dont forget to wave. i'll be the guy with no doors comming the other way.

overland

here it is.

doors-----------------------------------------------------------------------

11 The vehicle shall comply with section 19.02 of the regulations with regard to size and dimension.

Doors—Doors shall be installed in a vehicle where the vehicle was manufactured with doors.

The doors with which a vehicle is equipped shall be in good working order, and any hinge, latch or handle must not be broken, missing or inoperable.

The doors shall not be warped, twisted or weakened to the extent that a slight jar will open them.

A door shall be capable of being opened or closed with normal effort.

mirrors----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mirrors
7.04 (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), every motor vehicle shall be equipped with an inside mirror that provides the driver with an undistorted reflected view of the highway directly to the rear of the vehicle extending to the horizon from a point on the road surface not more than 61 m behind the vehicle.

(2) In addition to the requirements of subsections (1) and (3), every motor vehicle manufactured after January 1, 1973 shall be equipped with an outside mirror on the driver's side that provides the driver with an undistorted reflected view of the adjacent lane of the highway rearward to the horizon from a point on the road surface 11 m behind the driver.

(3) Where the inside mirror of a motor vehicle does not provide the view required by subsection (1), the vehicle shall be equipped with a second outside mirror on the side of the vehicle opposite the driver and in that case the inside mirror may be removed.

(4) Where a trailer or semitrailer in a combination of vehicles diminishes the driver's reflected rear view through the rear view mirrors required by subsections (1) to (3), the towing vehicle in the combination of vehicles shall be equipped with 2 mirrors, one affixed to each side of the motor vehicle, and each to provide the driver with an undistorted reflected view of the adjacent lane of the highway from a point on the road surface 11 m behind the driver to a point on the road surface 61 m from the rear of the combination of vehicles.

Basically.... anything newer than January, 1, 1973 MUST have a driver's side mirror. Passenger side would then be optional, unless you remove your inside rear view mirror then you must have the passenger side mirror.

that should end all arguement...

i H8 4DS

Your right I also found the same information... so anyone building there own jeep use a CJ tub and then it could be registered as a CJ. Do you know if the Safari style bar doors qualify since the sticker on the back of the visor passenger side says the doors and top are only designed to give protection from the elements and not structural support

overland

if you read the letter of the law, i guess that 'any door' as long as in good condition could be legal. i hope that if the police see you with soft lower doors or even the safari style doors as long as they are complete and not those tube things then they might leave you alone. i think really it will end up being the officers discretion and how much of a jerk you are to him when he pulls you over. also whether or not you want to waste your time going to the court house to fight the ticket if he gives you one.

Fire651

Good info, just bought a jeep TJ and this clears alot up for me....even though it never warms up enough here in Newfoundland to take the doors off in the first place!!!

Cheers

RiponredTJ

Check out the Jeep Tops and Accesories section at http://www.tellico4x4.com.
It'l give you an idea of the options and possibilities out there.

Myself, I wouldn't be too concerned about getting pulled over for driving withoout doors. Letter of the law be damned!!

WildFitzy

Overland - You mentioned about the doors and just listed hopefully quoted the Highway Traffic Act that the doors must not be warped, latches etc etc. But you don't list what section you are quoting from. Yet for the mirrors you list the section # and subsection by verse.

Now, when you looked at the back of the Highway Traffic Act you looked at the regulations and in your case it was for what makes a motor vehicle unfit for the road. That is UNFIT not UNSAFE. If the motor vehicle has the defects you listed about doors the 1st class mechanic cannot safety the motor vehicle for the road. No where in the Rules of the Road section of the Highway Traffic Act, (I'm talking about in Ontario), does it say that you must have doors. Case in point Postal trucks and UPS trucks etc., drive around with there doors fully open. The Highway Traffic Act doesn't even say that you must have a windshield, only that you must have working windshield wipers.

I am a bit of an expert in this regard as I have been a Police Officer, mainly in traffic, for the past 32 years.

Sorry to bring the debate out again but if you want to take the doors off and ride around, make sure you have your seat belt on!