All Things Jeep Blog & Musings

It's $10 dollar tee shirt Tuesday again at www.allthingsjeep.com.

See them all right here:

Ten Tees. Each Ten Dollars. Today. Tuesday.

(We love alliteration.)

(This sale includes some brand new women's Jeep-brand Tank Tops that have finally showed up at the point in time when the summer is almost just winding down. We don't need them here all winter so start shopping!) And spread the word. The more successful this day is, the more often we'll do it.

 This blog post is being written to answer the question "Should I get a Jeep soft top or a Jeep summer top for the nice weather?" and is really written for the new, confused Jeep owner (just like I used to be... and sometimes still am!)  I will try and answer all the questions people ask on the phone when they call about this topic. My Jeep came with a hardtop and as summer approached, I wanted, of course, to be able to be topless in the Jeep. But what top to get --- a soft top that you can fold back or a summertime top like a Bestop Bikini Top or Bestop Safari Top? It can be very confusing. Hopefully, after this short blog post, you'll know everything you need to know to make a decision.

One note. Readers, please chime in with any additional information that can help others. 

Jeep Hardtop owners who want to go topless in the summer have 3 choices and I've listed my pros/cons on each choice.

1.    Remove your hard top. Replace it with nothing. Enjoy.

Pros:

• Doesn't cost you anything.
• You enjoy the open air feeling all the time.
• You don't need to fiddle with setting up any top.
• People smile at you when you drive by. (They're jealous.)
• It's a chick or guy magnet.

Cons:

• When it rains, you get wet.
• When it's cool, you'll need to bundle up.
• When it's cold, you'll wish you had a top.
• People laugh at you when you drive by. (They're glad it's you, not them, getting soaked in the storm.)
• Other Jeep owners empathize.

60 degrees and sunny feels a lot cooler traveling in an open air Jeep at 30-40mph and when the sun goes down, it can feel actually cold.

2.    Remove your hardtop. Replace it with a Jeep Soft Top.

Pros:

• Flexibility. You can get the open air feeling by removing your side windows and rear window or enjoy a true topless experience by folding the top all the way back.
• When it gets cold, the mosquitoes and black flies are attacking, or when it rains, you can fold the top back up, pop in the windows and you will be fully enclosed again.

Cons:

• A soft top is expensive. It will run you $500 - $1200 depending upon the year/model Jeep you have.
• Until you are a pro at it, the process of folding the top up and down, and zipping out/in the windows will take you 15-30 minutes.
• If you are short, it is virtually impossible to do alone. (I have to climb up onto the Jeep or sometimes IN the Jeep to manage this alone and if someone is around, I'll always beg for help.)
• When you do fold the top down, you first have to take out the windows and store them somewhere. If you don't store them safely in a clean, dirt free area, pretty soon you won't be able to see out of them. It's amazing how scratched up they can get. [ Shameless Plug for a product we carry: The Cloverpatch Window Roll for Jeeps is a simple, affordable solution that lets you take your windows with you, but keeps them safely stored, rolled up and out of the way. ]

NOTES: If you've never had a soft top before, make sure you choose one that comes with all the hardware - the "bows" that act as it's moving frame (or "skeleton"), holding the fabric on. In the Bestop Line, this is the Bestop Supertop product line. (If you already have the soft top hardware and just need the replacement fabric, you would choose the Bestop Replace-A-Top, which uses existing hardware.)

3.    Remove your Jeep hard top. Replace it with a Jeep summer top.

Think of a summertime top as simply a "tarp" or "sheet" that connects to your Jeep's frame and covers the area above your head. Given that the area on the sides of you is completely open, a summer top doesn't offer much protection from anything other than a hot sun or light rain. It shades your head and eyes.

There are 2 styles of summer top.

Material sized to cover JUST the 2 front seats of the Jeep. Bestop calls this their Bikini Top (and they've trademarked that name, even though it's become a universal term for this type of top). Rampage Products calls theirs the "California Top" or the "Brief". Vertically Driven Products calls theirs the "Brief Top".

If you have passengers in the backseat and want to be considerate, then you can choose the style that covers the area above the front seats and the back seats. This is a larger area to cover. This is Bestop's Safari Tops, Rampage Products "Island Topper" or Combo Brief (love that product!) or Vertically Driven Product's "Full Brief". Every vendor names their product differently but the main point is coverage for just the front seats or coverage for both front and back.

Ok, now, with a summertime top you will need an attachment point up at the top of your windshield. They don't use the attachment points your hardtop or soft top did. That means you need to purchase an additional piece of hardware called a Jeep Windshield Channel and attach it to your Jeep. This is nothing more than a long piece of metal that screws (older Jeeps) or clamps (newer Jeeps) onto your windshield, and provides a channel for the summer top to slide into.

So, here are my thoughts on the pros and cons of a summer top.

Pros:

• A true open air feel, while avoiding sunburn and some light raindrops. You'll see a lot of summer tops out on the trail, when the folks know they'll be out in the sun all day and want some protection.
• A summertime solution that will cost you under $200 (top and windshield channel), and often much less.

Cons:

• Cold, mosquitoes, sudden rainstorms.
• Also, when you want to remove the top and replace it with a hard top or soft top, you need to remove the windshield channel too. (Windshield channels and soft tops can't be used at the same time.*)

Frankly, we sell a lot of summer top to these types of Jeep owners:

• Jeepers who live in dry climates where is rarely rains.
• Folks who can house their Jeep in the garage when the weather stinks.
• Owners whose Jeep is not their daily driver, but just a fun vehicle to take out on nice, sunny days.
• And finally, to those hardcore Jeepers who don't give a damn about the weather, the bugs, etc. Their motto is, "If you wanted to be comfortable, you should have purchased a Honda." (I love those guys!)

* One of our favorite products is the Spiderweb Shade Top which does not require a windshield channel and can stay on your Jeep even when you put your soft or hard top back on. This shadetop bungees to your rollbar. Pretty neat.

Personally, here are my stats:

-live in New England with extremely unpredictable weather

-my Jeep is my daily driver

-I have yet to snag a parking space in the garage

Thus, I have a soft top on my Jeep and can enjoy the weather when it's great, and stay warm and dry when it's crappy out.

But if I moved to Arizona or Nevada where it rains 2 days a year, I'd go bikini top all the way (sorry passengers in the back seat. Get your own Jeep!)

Hope that helped a little bit. Post your questions/comments here and we'll try and answer them for you. Which top do you have and why?

Today on PRWire.com,

"

Chrysler Group LLC Announces Organizational Structure Focused on Chrysler, Jeep(R), Dodge and Mopar(R) Brands

- Sergio Marchionne to Serve as Chief Executive Officer - Global Brand Structure to Bring Leadership Closer to Employees and Customers - Commercial, Industrial and Corporate Staffs to Support Brand Organization AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- As Chrysler Group LLC prepares to begin operations, the new company formed in alliance with Fiat announced an organizational restructuring to focus on the Chrysler, Jeep(R), Dodge and Mopar(R) brands. The new leaner, flatter structure is intended to restore brand promise and dealer confidence. All appointments are effective immediately. "I personally feel privileged to have the opportunity to lead the new Chrysler and to work with senior management to build this company and our great brands into all we know they can and should be," said Sergio Marchionne, who today was named Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler Group LLC. "That effort starts with leadership." Chrysler Group's new organization is based on a global brand-focused structure comprised of the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Mopar brands, each with full profit and loss accountability. Common Commercial, Industrial and Corporate functions have been put in place to support the development, manufacture, distribution and sale of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge products and Mopar parts by the brand organizations. "The new company's leadership structure has been developed to rebuild and grow the four iconic Chrysler brands," said Mr. Marchionne. "With a flattened organization designed to give leaders broad spans of control, we are able to increase the speed of decision-making and improve communication flow, ultimately bringing Chrysler Group management and employees closer to our customers." To assist the new company in the transition, Jim Press is appointed Deputy CEO and Special Advisor, reporting to Mr. Marchionne. In this position, Mr. Press will be instrumental in the restructuring of the Chrysler Group LLC. Mr. Press served most recently as Chrysler LLC Vice Chairman & President. Brand and Commercial Organizations Mr. Marchionne added: "The focus of the Brand organization is to rebuild and grow the company's four brands, beginning with their strong heritage. The structure is designed to focus on external competition, avoiding product overlap while maintaining the highest possible level of industrial optimization. The new company will align its networks with the brand positions, to restore brand promise and dealer confidence." In support of the Chrysler Group's brand operations, the company announced the following appointments reporting to Mr. Marchionne: ...Michael Manley is appointed President & Chief Executive Officer, Jeep Brand, with full profit and loss responsibility for the Jeep product portfolio. Mr. Manley will also have enterprise-wide responsibility for the Product Planning organization with responsibility for coordinating the product plan and volume requirements of the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brand functions. He will work with the other brand Presidents to translate these into operating plans for the product development and manufacturing organizations. Mr. Manley served most recently as Executive Vice President, International Sales & Global Product Planning Operations. ..." So I did a search on Michael Manley's name and found this bio: http://www.chryslerllc.com/en/about_us/our_team/?name=mmanley Two things to note. 1. He had a big job ahead of him 2. He's younger than me. Good luck to him.

Well, it's that Dads and Grads time, and if you are like me, you are wishing you didn't have to come up with something thoughtful and clever to send to your favorite Dad or Grad. It's busy enough this time of year without having to be thoughtful.

So we are making it easy for you. Pick up anything you need for yourself at http://www.allthingsjeep.com/ and if you spend $25 or more, we'll toss in a Free Jeep Hat absolutely free (oops, guess I already said that.) And the hat is a cool one, so any Jeep Dad or Grad will be happy with it.

So yes, this Jeep blog article is nothing more than a promotional blurb about our latest promotion. Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Here's the Free Jeep Cap for Dad's Day. (You get to choose the color.)

 

Here's the page where you add it to your shopping cart for free (with your $25 purchase)

 http://www.allthingsjeep.com/fathers-day.html

Here's our favorite picks for terrific Father's Day Gifts for Jeep Dads.

Supplies are limited on the hats. Promo is over when they are sold out. Thanks!

 

You want topless photos? We got 'em. And LOTS of them. I'm referring to our topless Jeep photos that were sent to us by all our customers celebrating our 2nd Annual Go Topless Day on May 9th, 2009.

As expected, we did actually get quite a few photos showing topless people inside topless Jeeps. However, much to the guys' dismay over here, most of the topless humans were dudes. Shameless dudes I might add! The few females sending topless photos were appropriately covered by strategically placed roll bars, dashboards and handmade posters. Thank you ladies for making sure all photos sent our way were PG. That allowed us to post them all.

Also as expected, kids and dogs played a large role in the photos we received. What can we say, we're a pushover for a cute kid in a Jeep. Does it have anything to do with the fact that maybe they'll become a long-term customer of ours if we post their photos? We can only hope!

And finally, we are thrilled with the amount of Jeep clubs participating in Go Topless Day. View the full All Things Jeep Photo Album page to see the club photo

Thank you ALL!

So, drumroll please....

Out of the 100s of photos send our way, we picked out our favorites and here they are.

HERE ARE THE winners of our Go Topless Day Photo Contest.

Each of them get a $50 Gift Certificate to www.allthingsjeep.com and this worldwide recognition! What could be sweeter.

For all the photos submitted, check out our All Things Jeep Photo Album here.

Here's another great special for our blog readers. In honor of the Patriotic Summer Holidays we have introduced a red, white and Jeep shirt. Here's the new Jeep Flag Shirt

Like the American Flag, the Jeep is a cultural icon that represents freedom, independence and an unwavering spirit. Celebrate them both with our Limited Edition Summer 2009 Jeep Flag Shirt.

Cool Blog Readers get it for 1/2 price this week. Enter discount code "  cool-blog-reader " during checkout and this $18.99 tee becomes yours for just $9.50. Thank you!

By now all my readers know about Go Topless Day, but here's a chance to see what our flagship event, in Lancaster, MA was all about. It was about Jeeps! It was about Jeep Clubs! It was about MUD! It was about good times shared with fellow Jeepers. Thanks everyone! Here's a video of our local Go Topless Day event.

Here are members of the 4XFools Off-Road Club, along with a couple of extra friends, celebrating the first ever "Top Less Night" down at the Sidney Dairy Barn. Located in Sidney, IL. This was another one of the 100+ Jeep Clubs celebrating Go Topless Day with AllThingsJeep.com on May 9th 2009.

Celebrating summer at the ice cream stand in your topless Jeep is MY idea of fun! (In fact, we hit up our favorite Cherry Hill Ice Cream in Lunenburg, MA just last night!)

 

Thanks guys!

Another Go Topless Day Jeep Event. This one in Central Florida.

"What an awesome event!  The Pirates of Moor Jeep & 4x4 Club of Central Florida, ( http://www.piratesofmoor.org/ ) organized a "Coastal Cruise" from Daytona Beach to the beaches of St Augustine Florida and back. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was clear skies, with a light tropical breeze, low humidity, and 89 degrees.
Thirty six (36) Rigs participated, representing five clubs as well as unaffiliated persons.

• Pirates Of Moor: 7
• Mid Florida J/C:13
• Just Jeeps of Jacksonville: 4
• Extreme Jeeps: 1
• Legendary Jeeps: 1
• Unaffiliated: 10

Thanks to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office for the  "motorcade" escort, and the cities of Daytona Beach, Holly Hill and Ormond Beach, Florida for stopping traffic at all the intersections and allowing our "convoy" to travel without interruption. (a first in THIS area!)  At our turnaround point we had a picnic lunch and some played on the beach and in the surf. We're already planning for 2010, when we plan on doubling  our attendance and seeing you here as well.

Perry Bonds President/Founder
Pirates Of Moor Jeep & 4x4 Club of Central Florida"

 

 

Thanks Perry. Glad you had a great day. More photos here:

photos.allthingsjeep.com

Every year around this time, I do a little search engine research. I go to www.google.com and type in "Go Topless Day" to see how many people are writing about our event (happening today, May 9th, 2009) And I'm pleased to see that a lot are. So thank you. But this morning when I did this I clicked on PHOTOS to see what photos popped up in Google search for that phrase.

And I am surprisingly pleased that among all those naked boobies, are assorted references to our JEEP-focused Go Topless Day. In fact, given the history of the other "go topless" phrase, and the focus of it, I am thrilled to even make the Google cut! So while I know we'll never REALLY compete with boobs, we are in amongst them and as you all know...that feels good.  Cheers to Topless Day. Whether your top was on or off today, we hope you had a good time!