Half doors - overhyped or not?

[scarab]

Just wanted to open the discussion as I kinda don't understand the phenomenon of half doors. Everyone seems to be so excited about them. They look cool for sure, no question about it, but I don't see the functionality. I love driving my jeep naked or topless on short trips (my wife not so much because of the wind and Jeep hair but that's another story LOL). Taking the doors off takes less than ten minutes, taking hardtop off is less then five, opening the soft top is quick and easy as well. Soft top is a great option to me for summer and hardtop for winter. The biggest con of the soft top to me is storing the windows inside the Jeep as they take a lot of space even when stored in a dedicated bag. I can't even imagine adding door uppers on top of that. What is the advantage of half doors at this point except the look? Driving experience with half doors is pretty much the same as it is with full doors and all windows rolled down, isn't it? I'm in Colorado and the weather changes here like 15 times a day. I appreciate the option of rolling up the windows due to changing weather, security, highway driving, and also on dusty trails that are common here in CO and in Utah. That being said I would LOVE to see an option of frameless door with glass windows kinda like Bronco has. That kind of option would have been a game changer to me and that would have been definitely worth paying extra $4k. I have no clue why Jeep doesn't offer that kind of option. It's 2022, not 1972 and those black rinky dink "premium uppers" look like a joke really. To me half doors only make sense for driving around town in a place where rain is no concern at all. Or on a trail assuming you flat tow to the trailhead or don't need to drive on a highway to get there. Convince me I'm wrong or maybe I'm missing something? I mean I hope I'm right cause I opted out from half doors and the only option to me is to go aftermarket LOL. I think eventually I'll buy tube doors, just to try them from time to time on short day trips

 

[jchrisbauer13]

So clearly any experience is subjective....but as a half door doubter but owner, my opinion is that they are as great as everyone seems to say they are. It may not seem like it opens the jeep up much when you take the uppers off, but really it gets you very much that open air feeling.....at the same time you allow yourself and your passengers (I have a toddler) a bit more protection from potential road debris or other dangers. While the "premium uppers" certainly are far from premium as far as overall quality, they do work well and taking them off and on literally can be done in 10 seconds per door. So, you can pop them off, open the top (for those with SOT tops) and in less than 2 minutes have close to a "naked" jeep for your drive and they take up very little space in the rear of the jeep. If the rain comes, then again in < 2 minutes you are all closed back up - I've driven in some pretty heavy rains and was quite surprised how few little drips of water got through. So on those trips where weather may turn out to not be perfect for your entire trip, it gives more time where you can be open and free in your jeep but still button up when the weather changes her mind. I would purchase them again without hesitation.....there's my $.02.

 

[spyder625]

So clearly any experience is subjective....but as a half door doubter but owner, my opinion is that they are as great as everyone seems to say they are. It may not seem like it opens the jeep up much when you take the uppers off, but really it gets you very much that open air feeling.....at the same time you allow yourself and your passengers (I have a toddler) a bit more protection from potential road debris or other dangers. While the "premium uppers" certainly are far from premium as far as overall quality, they do work well and taking them off and on literally can be done in 10 seconds per door. So, you can pop them off, open the top (for those with SOT tops) and in less than 2 minutes have close to a "naked" jeep for your drive and they take up very little space in the rear of the jeep. If the rain comes, then again in < 2 minutes you are all closed back up - I've driven in some pretty heavy rains and was quite surprised how few little drips of water got through. So on those trips where weather may turn out to not be perfect for your entire trip, it gives more time where you can be open and free in your jeep but still button up when the weather changes her mind. I would purchase them again without hesitation.....there's my $.02.

if only they made oem mirrors to mount correctly instead of the aftermarket ones that all are small

 

[jchrisbauer13]

if only they made oem mirrors to mount correctly instead of the aftermarket ones that all are small

The half doors have mirrors on them from the factory

 

[spyder625]

yes id love to have a mirror like that without any doors at all..

 

[@JC]

Tube doors are where it's at...

 

[jandersendo]

Tube doors are where it's at...

THIS

 

[scarab]

So clearly any experience is subjective....but as a half door doubter but owner, my opinion is that they are as great as everyone seems to say they are. It may not seem like it opens the jeep up much when you take the uppers off, but really it gets you very much that open air feeling.....at the same time you allow yourself and your passengers (I have a toddler) a bit more protection from potential road debris or other dangers. While the "premium uppers" certainly are far from premium as far as overall quality, they do work well and taking them off and on literally can be done in 10 seconds per door. So, you can pop them off, open the top (for those with SOT tops) and in less than 2 minutes have close to a "naked" jeep for your drive and they take up very little space in the rear of the jeep. If the rain comes, then again in < 2 minutes you are all closed back up - I've driven in some pretty heavy rains and was quite surprised how few little drips of water got through. So on those trips where weather may turn out to not be perfect for your entire trip, it gives more time where you can be open and free in your jeep but still button up when the weather changes her mind. I would purchase them again without hesitation.....there's my $.02.

I get your point, but why bother messing with half doors if you can have pretty much the same open air experience simply by opening SOT and rolling down all windows? Well, sacrificing the looks and cool factor a bit. But if the weather gets bad, you want some silence or protection from sticky hands you just push five buttons. Without sacrificing any interior space for the uppers, etc. I would say that's even more valid with SOT equipped Jeep as with SOT opened you're still keeping your rear window and upper rails, they are kinda like full door window frames equivalent Still not convinced

 

[dog]

I was pretty much exactly like you @scarab - and I said the same things about the half doors that I did about the SOT top: I'm gonna pop the doors off the jeep in 3 minutes (no nuts, no problem), and it's gonna take maybe 3 more minutes to lift the top off the jeep (hand tight bolts and lift on garage ceiling). Even if I'm running late somewhere, I'll sometimes take the time to go completely naked if it's a nice day!

So, why even bother with SOT, I'd rather just pop the top completely off, or be fully sealed?

Why even bother with 4-5k of half doors? Just go doorless, right?

Well, I've kinda done a full 180 on this opinion, for the doors at least. Number one reason, I'm not afraid to say, is the heritage, aesthetics, and exclusivity of the doors. The half-door jeep look is just classic. Once I saw these nice jeeps around with the gorgeous half-doors, I couldn't argue that full-doors looked as cool, or that doorless wasn't (sometimes) a little *too* naked.

I think the half doors offer a middle ground between completely doorless. They're more open than just rolling down a window, but less exposed if I want to throw something under my front seat. They're a little more protective for kids and animals, and even stuff just falling out. And they look awesome. AND they're pretty dang exclusive. So many jeeps out there, and the amount of times I've actually seen factory half doors in the wild is so small. We're driving these 80k Rubicons, we can't pretend they're entirely utilitarian.

Anyway, as you might guess, I'm super sad I didn't order them on my order. I tried to add them, but I had already gone to D1 status and the dealer said it was too late.

So, I'll very likely try to get my hands on a set, just to say I have them, and just to throw them on when the weather is just right and I don't wanna quite be buck-naked! Just a couple pennies for y'all.

 

[jchrisbauer13]

I get your point, but why bother messing with half doors if you can have pretty much the same open air experience simply by opening SOT and rolling down all windows? Well, sacrificing the looks and cool factor a bit. But if the weather gets bad, you want some silence or protection from sticky hands you just push five buttons. Without sacrificing any interior space for the uppers, etc. I would say that's even more valid with SOT equipped Jeep as with SOT opened you're still keeping your rear window and upper rails, they are kinda like full door window frames equivalent Still not convinced

Like I said, I was a doubter - had the same belief as you until I tried them......it may not seem like it, but there really is a significant difference in the open air feeling you get from the half doors vs regular door with windows rolled down. Kinda like trying to explain how good sex is to a virgin....you have to experience it to know if it's worth all the hype

 

[scarab]

@dog yeah, I totally appreciate the heritage and classic look of half doors, they definitely look awesome @jchrisbauer13 OK, that makes sense, now I wish I would have ordered them with my Jeep, dang
BTW do the 392 half doors have gold stitching or are they the same as on regular JL's?

 

[jchrisbauer13]

@dog yeah, I totally appreciate the heritage and classic look of half doors, they definitely look awesome @jchrisbauer13 OK, that makes sense, now I wish I would have ordered them with my Jeep, dang
BTW do the 392 half doors have gold stitching or are they the same as on regular JL's?

No stitching on the 1/2 doors…..plastic trimmed with no leather or pleather

 

[scarab]

No stitching on the 1/2 doors…..plastic trimmed with no leather or pleather

So that's cool, thanks!

 

[hardhat]

I don't think they are overhyped. They are very desirable and if you get them, you will have no trouble selling them for a profit. Very different experience than just having window rolled down. It is a much larger opening. I enjoy them and it is nice to drive around with the top down and the uppers off.

They do greatly sacrifice security as you can unzip them from the outside with a little effort. Plus I'm sure you could rip the upper off if you pulled hard on it.

 

[22 392]

Half doors just look better to me.

 

[NeoLeo]

For those ordering, get the half-doors. Otherwise, you will lose sleep trying to justify why you didn’t get them and find fellow sympathizers.

 

[bkilby]

I like running the half doors and factory top without windows. Keeps you in the shade.

 

[dog]

Half doors just look better to me.View attachment 5675

Did you take the rear seats out or just fold em? Looks incredible with just rear half doors. I have been looking for good shots of jeeps in this config, love it!

 

[22 392]

Did you take the rear seats out or just fold em? Looks incredible with just rear half doors. I have been looking for good shots of jeeps in this config, love it!

Thanks just folded seats down.

 

[dog]

Thanks just folded seats down.

Love it. Looks like a single cab truck with a roll cage... and a hemi