New and don't know JACK!

[Abutterfly]

Hi. I am sorry if this post sounds just silly and girly, BUT....I just got a '00 Sahara and I really don't know too much about anything. Okay, Okay, I don't know CRAP! (I figured if I posted that I was female, all the guys would go easy on me) Keep in mind that I am coming down off of a very cushy Explorer, but don't hold that against me! Okay, when I say I am new I mean it. I wanted this Jeep so freakin' bad I bought it and I had NO idea how to drive stick! I worried about that later and now I am doin' smokey man burnouts! (Okay, not really...but I haven't bucked it in a while....)

So I have a hard top on now and a soft top which was stuffed inside the hard top when I got it. I have NO idea how to get the soft top installed and the instruction booklet is like 68 pages of how to do it. Now, my first question is this....is it as hard as it looks? Second question is this... Are my husband and I going to be sleeping apart til this is all over??

He wants NO part of taking this hard top off .. he says just LEAVE IT ON! Why in the HE** would I want it on????? It's going to be 90 degrees this weekend! He is just jealous cause he drives a Cherokee!! HA HA !!!!

This is my only vehicle and I can't drive it to work with the top off cause I don't want to look like poopy when I get there.... I am a girl, you know and a VERY girly one at that!! Don't get me wrong, I ain't afraid to get dirty , just not on the way to the office!
Should I take the carpet out for the summer or what?
My seats are NOT vinyl or whatever.. should I cover them or just shut up and quit whining!!!
This Jeep is like my baby .. I am in LOVE with this thing and I want to treat her nice. I guess if I can put the top up and down... odds are I should not worry about it so much??? COME ON! Help a girl out here!!!!

I have full soft doors which I do NOT want put on... and I also have full doors on now. I think if I had to unzip a window in Mickey D's drive thru I would probablly flip out on it. I can't be bothered with that stuff. See? I don't even know if I can take the soft doors apart in half??? Sorry to sound like a ditzy broad but I was a blonde in a former life....I am currently a ditzy red-head.
Any kind advice would be nice and thanks for reading my nonsense.....be nice now......

 

[currupt4130]

Let me recover from that and I'll help you when I regain conciousness.


P.S.: If you want to know Jack get some CTM's

 

[mud4feet]

Well, welcome aboard!! Sounds like you've got the "bug" pretty bad..........which is a good thing, not a bad thing. If it were me, the first thing I would do is ditch the hardtop......personal preference, I love the multiple options of the soft top. And, if it were me, I'd definitely be runnin' those two-piece soft doors - again, just personal preference, but I can understand your objections. The great thing about the Wranglers.......when your not going to work, you can just jerk those doors off!!!!! It's really great travelin' around with top off and no doors..........closest thing there is to riding a motorcycle..........it the wind (with a windshield to catch the bugs that would otherwise be in your teeth) and nothing (or not much, anyway) around you!!!! You have an '00 (TJ) so you'll find that putting the top up and down or removing it altogether is very easy.....once you've done it once or twice, it's a piece of cake. Much easier than the older (CJ, YJ) set-up, trust me. Get your husband to help you with all of it, and I'm thinkin' he might just be converted to the SWB (Short Wheel Base) side!!!:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Again, welcome aboard, stick around, ask stupid questions (we ALL do), and enrich your love afair with JEEP!!!!!!!

 

[OutOfStep]

If you have no experience with a Jeep soft top you may want to stop by the dealer and have them put one down and then back up for you; it will make the installation of yours a lot easier. Once you have the hang of putting the top down the swap is really easy and fairly intuitive.

The hardest part for a single person is muscle'ing the hard top off and getting it onto your saw horses, or what have you, without breaking your foot or the top. If you've got some cash they make several trick products for hardtop removal and storage.

 

[redrooster]

I think you should post pics immediately....and you can include some of the Jeep if you wish.

 

[firemanharry]

he says just LEAVE IT ON!

.............and just what WOULD you expect a husband to say when his wife wants to take her top off in public? :lol:

Welcome to the family and I'll also say that you need to have a look at another TJ and get an idea of what your soft top is supposed to look like when it's installed.

As for doors: When I had my hard doors I couldn't wait to get rid of them.....they're such a pain in the butt when you GOTTA have your top down NOW!!!! But, as previously stated, this is a matter of personal preference.

Ask all the questions you want and remember, there are no such thing as stupid questions.....only stupid answers.

BTW - Jack is the guy that owns our local Jeep shop, just drop me a PM if you'd like an introduction.

 

[Abutterfly]

I think you should post pics immediately....and you can include some of the Jeep if you wish.

I laughed out LOUD on this one! Thanks for all the nice advice.. I appreciate it. I was checking it out today and it appears like the previous owner just put the soft top down and threw the hard top on over top of it. It appears to be hooked up to those bar thingys??? Those things that look like ski poles on either side in the back?? You know what I mean! I could look up the proper name in my manual, but I don't wanna.

I think it just needs stretched up and on. It's not loose laying in my basement or anything. I guess I will try the soft doors too. Why not... you live and learn. I guess I have this stupid notion that I am somehow more protected with the hard doors, be it for an accident or some jerk who wants to rip me off.... I guess that is wishful thinking. Who knows I might be going topless all the time now... what will the neighbors think?? I told my hubby when he called from work to be prepared because that hard top is comin' off TONIGHT!! I could hear the excitement in his voice !!! I will post some pics when I can... and yes I will include some of my little Jeepy as well....

 

[redrooster]

The soft tops are great for the summer. Bikini's are also a must. Me....I go topless all the time.
If you are reasonably concerned about getting your stuff ripped off, then check into some of the Tuffy products. More importantly, leave the valuables at home and leave your Jeep unlocked. If thieves want in a locked Jeep, they will usually cut the soft top with a knife, then you have to replace whatever was stolen and the top.

 

[Abutterfly]

!

Well, we wrestled that hard top off! Let me tell ya, it was something! You have to picture this as I am telling it. It was just me and my hubby doing this.... neither know what the heck we are doing. We get this thing all unhooked and figure out that the two of us are in over our heads, literally. I surely can't lift one end of this thing like he can. Here is the part you must picture.
He is standing behind the Jeep and I am at the front scratchin' my head thinking how in the bleep I am going to do this. He is behind and says get IN THE JEEP!!! I get in the front and straddle the console facing the rear. He has the back window up and is lifting the back end of this hard top, sort of snorting.... he says OKAY! Now lift that end UP!!! I am thinking WHAT??? So here I am inside the front lifting this thing up over my head while he is grunting up the rear. I get it up and moving backward and he screams WAAAIT!! Get OUT of the Jeep! So I rest the top down and scramble out and get behind the Jeep while it is precariously resting on his arms. He yells GET UNDER THE TOP!!!! So I get under the front end of the top and I lift it up just like one of those guys on TV who lift those giant rocks and stuff...You know the ones I mean.. with the matching first and last names like Sven Von Svenson........ then I realize I can't hold it up...so I start sinking down and down and then he yells PUT IT DOWNNNN!!!
I am under the damn thing!! How can I put it down???! I can't get that little!! Perhaps if I was 14" high! By this point his end is DOWN and I am hunched over almost touching my toes with this thing balanced on my BACK and I scream IT'S GONNA BREAK MY NECCCKKK!! I swear I thought I heard angels singing.....No joke.. I got SO small.. that thing plunked down in the grass and I crawled out from under it like I was in the trenches thinking God, this ROCKS!!! This is what Jeepin' is all about!!! So this hard top is sitting in my yard and neither of us have ANY idea what we are going to do with it...I am a "fly by the seat of my pants" kinda person and he carries a strict itinerary in his front pocket.
We did manage to get the soft top on and I was wondering what would keep it from launching off when I go down the highway... just doesn't seem like much holding it on. !!!! After all this my hubby turns to me and says.. and I quote... " You KNOW I am takin' this bi*ch to work.." Yes! Success.!!!. Even after all the hell he endured ( not to mention it was NO picnic for me either ) he STILL wants to take the "bi*ch" to work... Wait a minute.. was he talking about the Jeep or me??? See, it's like childbirth.. it really sucks.. but 10 minutes later you sit back and you look at that little sweetie and you say what pain? What grass stains on my face??? These bruised and lumped shins? Ah, it's nuttin'! I didn't have the heart to tell him that tomorrow we are taking the soft top down again....and removing the doors......He must REALLY love me. urple:

 

[mud4feet]

Re: !

Well, we wrestled that hard top off! Let me tell ya, it was something! You have to picture this as I am telling it. It was just me and my hubby doing this.... neither know what the heck we are doing. We get this thing all unhooked and figure out that the two of us are in over our heads, literally. I surely can't lift one end of this thing like he can. Here is the part you must picture.
He is standing behind the Jeep and I am at the front scratchin' my head thinking how in the bleep I am going to do this. He is behind and says get IN THE JEEP!!! I get in the front and straddle the console facing the rear. He has the back window up and is lifting the back end of this hard top, sort of snorting.... he says OKAY! Now lift that end UP!!! I am thinking WHAT??? So here I am inside the front lifting this thing up over my head while he is grunting up the rear. I get it up and moving backward and he screams WAAAIT!! Get OUT of the Jeep! So I rest the top down and scramble out and get behind the Jeep while it is precariously resting on his arms. He yells GET UNDER THE TOP!!!! So I get under the front end of the top and I lift it up just like one of those guys on TV who lift those giant rocks and stuff...You know the ones I mean.. with the matching first and last names like Sven Von Svenson........ then I realize I can't hold it up...so I start sinking down and down and then he yells PUT IT DOWNNNN!!!
I am under the damn thing!! How can I put it down???! I can't get that little!! Perhaps if I was 14" high! By this point his end is DOWN and I am hunched over almost touching my toes with this thing balanced on my BACK and I scream IT'S GONNA BREAK MY NECCCKKK!! I swear I thought I heard angels singing.....No joke.. I got SO small.. that thing plunked down in the grass and I crawled out from under it like I was in the trenches thinking God, this ROCKS!!! This is what Jeepin' is all about!!! So this hard top is sitting in my yard and neither of us have ANY idea what we are going to do with it...I am a "fly by the seat of my pants" kinda person and he carries a strict itinerary in his front pocket.
We did manage to get the soft top on and I was wondering what would keep it from launching off when I go down the highway... just doesn't seem like much holding it on. !!!! After all this my hubby turns to me and says.. and I quote... " You KNOW I am takin' this bi*ch to work.." Yes! Success.!!!. Even after all the hell he endured ( not to mention it was NO picnic for me either ) he STILL wants to take the "bi*ch" to work... Wait a minute.. was he talking about the Jeep or me??? See, it's like childbirth.. it really sucks.. but 10 minutes later you sit back and you look at that little sweetie and you say what pain? What grass stains on my face??? These bruised and lumped shins? Ah, it's nuttin'! I didn't have the heart to tell him that tomorrow we are taking the soft top down again....and removing the doors......He must REALLY love me. urple:

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Man, that's great! I think, maybe, we've all been there at one time or another!! Enjoy!!!

 

[TwistedCU]

Put the top down, take the doors off, then take it for a spin before putting the soft doors on. My guess is you will likely put the doors in the back of the Jeep for drives to work or heavy rain.

Sounds like you guys are enjoying it... congrats and welcome to the love-hate relationship of owning a Jeep!!!

 

[Utah_jeepster]

As I read your first post I laughed.
Now your second was just plain painful. My sides are going to hurt for a week. I am not laughing at you but with you. Each of us here have gone through this scenario ourselves.
We love and hate our own jeeps as well. You could even say we have a disease, the jeepers disease. And it sounds like you have caught the bug.
I am very sorry to inform you that there is no cure, only group therapy can moderate this disease to a manageable level of normalcy.
An empty pocket book helps as well....for that pay period

Don't worry about the soft top, those two hinge clamps will hold that sucker on in a hurricane. Might let a little water in but at least you don't have to bail...ecpt every other hour or so

I would suggest you look for a local jeep club, this way you can get your jeep therapy in and find those in your neighborhood with the same affliction.
They are also a great source of knowledge and help for first timers.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

Does coffee cause cancer? If it does, I'm gonna get cancer in my nose for sure after that post!!! I think it even went into my brain! I laughed so hard an onion ring flew out of my nose, and I haven't had onion rings in months!!!!

Ok, so now that you've gone through all of that, you may want to look into one of these: Hard Top Hoist

 

[JeepMonkey]

Don't worry....I think you can see by now that your hubby will come around. When my wife and I first started going out she didn't really understand what the big deal was about being able to go from hard top to soft and bikini and topless.....It just wasn't a big deal to her. Fast forward a year and I'm having to be the sensible one trying to talk her out of buying us a second TJ! As much as I'd love to have two I just couldn't think about spending that much in gas.

Welcome to the madness! It only gets better!