How do you store all your soft top parts in car?

LittleJohn

New Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2018
Location
Greensboro
I really don’t want to leave anything behind but I can’t find a reasonable way to stack all the various shaped parts in the vehicle in a way that makes sense. Everywhere I search online is just trying to sell something. There has to be a way! Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
I got a tj soft top with both full and half doors.

I'll check the weather and if it's decent, I'll unzip the sides, drop the top, swap to the half doors, and roll out and not worry about it.

It got rained in about a week ago. I had over an inch of water standing in it. I pulled the plugs, left the top down and half doors on and it's dried out now.

Earlier today I went through a good storm in it and got it wet again. By the time I got back, it was dry again.

I don't worry about it anymore. I used to try and carry everything with me, but after it got soaked once or twice, I quit trying. Never looked back. It all dries out pretty quick.
 
If your Set on haveing carpet get bedrug but like everyone else says I watch the weather. If it’s gonna rain I decide to put top on or suck it up and get wet depends what next few days look like. I have a roof rack so putting top on or taking off is a P.I.T.A.
 
I have removed the carpet, have applied the truck bed liner, have neoprene seat covers and don’t care at all if it rain. I just don’t want to leave everything behind. If anyone has helpful suggestions about that, I would really appreciate it. Thanks
 
LittleJohn said:
I have removed the carpet, have applied the truck bed liner, have neoprene seat covers and don’t care at all if it rain. I just don’t want to leave everything behind. If anyone has helpful suggestions about that, I would really appreciate it. Thanks
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I've got a TJ with half doors. I'll take the top down and put the 2 upper door halves behind the front seats laying up against the rear seat. Its simple and I rarely need to use the back seat for passengers.
 
Why do you need them if your not worried about weather? Road trips? Trips to the mall?

What are you looking to do other than carry them around? Or is this just I want to drive around topless and whenever I go to a store put the top back on?
 
If you have half doors, put the uppers behind the rear seat, with the frames facing each other so they can nest together a little bit. Then take the side windows off. Roll the rear window up. Fold the top down into its space in the back. Open the tailgate, roll/fold the side windows up, put em in there, then close the tailgate. At least that's what I think I used to do. I've had full doors for over a decade, but I'm pretty sure thats how I used to do it. If you have full doors, you leave them on and roll the windows down, everything else is the same.
 
It'll help to know what you're driving and what top you have. Some tops can fold down, some have to come completely off.

I take my top and doors off around March/April, put them in the shop, then put them back on around Oct. Why exactly are you wanting to carry everything around with you if you aren't worried about rain?
 
Dude you overthinking it entirely. It’s a Jeep (I assume, but you called it a car, which is disgraceful)

Unless you’re hauling the family around need all the room possible, just throw the half doors and rolled up windows behind the front seat and forget about it. There’s not going to be some magical way to put everything somewhere where you have the most space. I always zipped the windows out and set the upper parts of the doors behind my seat like @jeepinmatt said. I can’t imagine why this is a big deal.
 
Option 1 - get one of those cheesy small storage bins that mounts on a trailer hitch. Put it in there.
Option 2 - get a roof rack, one of the Overland styles that sits above the frame. Put them in the rack.
Option 3 - Accept the fact that it's a Jeep, there is no elegant solution, and you're a man and it doesn't matter wtf you look like carrying them b/c you're a guy w/ a Jeep. Follow Matt's advice and move on with life.

Then think about those of us w/ a real challenge, like WTF do you do with an 80s 4Runner hard top?, and an interior that wasn't really designed to get soaked like a Jeep?
 
Sigh... I will never understand why people reply to a post that doesn’t apply to them? If you have a hard top or leave yours open for the whole year, that’s great! But this question just isn’t for you. Thanks

I have a 2006 Jeep Wrangler with what I assume is the stock top, I just bought it last december so I don’t know if it was swapped out at some point. I’m sorry if my original post was not detailed enough.

One of the biggest selling points of a Jeep is choice, we have a half dozen choices on how open we want the Jeep to be at any point, right? A sunshade adds even more options that even regular convertibles can’t accomplish due to the lack of a rollbar. No other vehicle can come close to matching this level of choice. But then, you shoot all those alternatives in the face by leaving parts behind. I just want to keep those choices with me as I travel, is that too much to ask?

I’m not looking for a magical solution or to buy a limited “storage system”. I also know there is not a pre-planned place where every piece snaps into storage mode, although I would recommend that to Jeep Corporate for future models. But still... we are intelligent people, there has to be a logical way to store a small number of parts inside a vehicle without destroying the plastic windows or parts sticking out. Im not OCD or anything, but how hard could it be?
 
LittleJohn said:
Sigh... I will never understand why people reply to a post that doesn’t apply to them? If you have a hard top or leave yours open for the whole year, that’s great! But this question just isn’t for you. Thanks
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Ah, but it IS for us, b/c many of us also have had a soft topped vehicle and/or spent many hours of our lives pondering similar questions, and in the end, decided that the solution is in fact a hard top or to leave it open.
I literally spent a year trying to design the perfect hard/soft top combo for a 4runner to address this very question.
There's a lot of great experience on this board. Decades worth among many individuals. If you don't want the opinion of experience, I'd suggest you try your inquiry elsewhere. Consider it a backup plan.
LittleJohn said:
Im not OCD or anything, but how hard could it be?
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Well, lets see. This is a vehicle design that has been around for decades. Literally millions sold. Lots of really smart engineers and DIYers. And yet here we are. I believe the answer to your question is clear. Do you thin kyou are the first p[erson to ask this question of themselves?
LittleJohn said:
I just want to keep those choices with me as I travel, is that too much to ask?
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Apparently... yes.

Perhaps you should consider this an opportunity, if you have a great solution, design it, test it, market it, make a million dollars, and laugh on your way to the bank.
 
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LittleJohn said:
there has to be a logical way to store a small number of parts inside a vehicle without destroying the plastic windows or parts sticking out. Im not OCD or anything, but how hard could it be?
Click to expand...
jeepinmatt said:
If you have half doors, put the uppers behind the rear seat, with the frames faDcing each other so they can nest together a little bit. Then take the side windows off. Roll the rear window up. Fold the top down into its space in the back. Open the tailgate, roll/fold the side windows up, put em in there, then close the tailgate.
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:confused:
How hard could it be?
 
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My advice is to buy an suv with a sunroof. It stores away quickly and safely. Ready to use at a moments notice. And can be used on a road trip aka always with you.
 
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