Opinions on Aluminum Trail Doors

Dang, what are the temps in JV in the winter? We rarely get high winds here. Just cold. Hardtop and doors go on and stay on till mid to late spring. Then the mornings are very cool and the afternoons warm up nice. That would be the best time for some half doors here, and through the summer. Most mornings are too cool to go doorless. I’m talking myself into a set right now!
Not uncommon for the daytime temps to stay below 50. Not uncommon for overnight temps to dip below freezing by 10-20 degrees. All of it is very tolerable until the wind comes up and then it is miserable.
 
Not uncommon for the daytime temps to stay below 50. Not uncommon for overnight temps to dip below freezing by 10-20 degrees. All of it is very tolerable until the wind comes up and then it is miserable.
Yikes, that’s insane cold. I’ve never even been to CA, so that’s interesting. I wouldn’t have guessed, but it fits with desert climates. Lots of dust kicked up when windy? It gets so dusty here in E WA by midsummer that it’s annoying to do any activity on loose soil.
 
Yikes, that’s insane cold. I’ve never even been to CA, so that’s interesting. I wouldn’t have guessed, but it fits with desert climates. Lots of dust kicked up when windy? It gets so dusty here in E WA by midsummer that it’s annoying to do any activity on loose soil.
It gets very dusty when it dries out and it is mostly always dried out. You hope for a bit of a breeze on the race days otherwise what you see in the picture is what the valley looks like.

1614091295599.png
 
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It gets very dusty when it dries out and it is mostly always dried out. You hope for a bit of a breeze on the race days otherwise what you see in the picture is what the valley looks like.

View attachment 228608
Looks like some sort of IFS mating ritual. If the top one spins around and seals the deal a Utv will be born in 3 months.
 
I picked up the UCF ones. Just FYI, I've got to drill the holes to add soft uppers. I've also got a YJ I'm gonna build one day. Is there any compatibility between the uppers or lowers?

In general any recommendations on uppers? I just plan to leave these in the back to install in case I run into some unexpected weather.
 
I picked up the UCF ones. Just FYI, I've got to drill the holes to add soft uppers. I've also got a YJ I'm gonna build one day. Is there any compatibility between the uppers or lowers?

In general any recommendations on uppers? I just plan to leave these in the back to install in case I run into some unexpected weather.

YJ and TJ have different door strikers, so the latches are different, but people have retrofitted them to work.

Uppers aren't interchangeable because the back edge of the windshield frame/a-pillar isn't sloped the same, and the door surround is a different shape. I learned this when I bought uppers advertised for a TJ that turned out to be for a YJ.
 
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Are there much differences in the aftermarket uppers or any different mounting differences for the tj's?
 
Are there much differences in the aftermarket uppers or any different mounting differences for the tj's?

The pins on the upper that go into the top of the lower vary. JCR provides holes to accept uppers designed to fit Bestops element tube doors. The element uppers don't fit Oem lowers and oem uppers don't fit JCR lowers.

I think ucf sells a separate bracket kit to accept oem uppers. Don't think savvy offers any provision for uppers but you might be able to drill them for bestop element uppers like JCR or add ucf brackets for oem uppers.
 
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The pins on the upper that go into the top of the lower vary. JCR provides holes to accept uppers designed to fit Bestops element tube doors. The element uppers don't fit Oem lowers and oem uppers don't fit JCR lowers.

I think ucf sells a separate bracket kit to accept oem uppers. Don't think savvy offers any provision for uppers but you might be able to drill them for bestop element uppers like JCR or add ucf brackets for oem uppers.
UCF bracket requires drilling any of the upper holes. I'm just not sure if I grab bestop stuff or try to find oem stuff or is there something else I should be looking for.
 
I am trying to figure out the advantage to aluminum trail doors over these:

https://genright.com/products/jeep-tj-lj-aluminum-half-door-armor.html
The reason I wanted the trail doors was just the super light and rust resistant door. I feel like I throw these on top or the back for no doors and even carry uppers for a lot of different options in the spring and summer.

I also don't have the half doors and personally I'm not too concerned with armor on the doors
 
I just didn't know if there was just a hands down upper that's just clearly better for any reason. I did my research, but just didn't see JCR. I still really like the UCF ones. No complaints.

I just need to pony up and get some uppers because right now it's really cold in the am and rains pretty often. But it's just got those moments where half or no doors is why I love having a Jeep instead of just a bunch of trucks.
 
If you think abrasion is possible for your half doors then those look great IMO.

I can't remember what my trail doors cost, but if you had a cheap set, it might be better to destroy and replace those rather than the armor. Your rig will also be slightly lighter weight. That being said, in your shoes I wouldn't just look at Al. I would look for steel and or tube doors depending on preference, but steel will be better in so many ways.
 
I'm not sure if you've messed with composites, but if you could get some aramid prepreg or similar, that might be incredibly cool and a similar price point depending on your tastes.
 
I just didn't know if there was just a hands down upper that's just clearly better for any reason. I did my research, but just didn't see JCR. I still really like the UCF ones. No complaints.

I just need to pony up and get some uppers because right now it's really cold in the am and rains pretty often. But it's just got those moments where half or no doors is why I love having a Jeep instead of just a bunch of trucks.
Ah. Well since JCR doors are made to fit uppers which are in turn specifically made for bestop lowers, bestop was my only choice. They're probably the best quality but it kinda sucked because with no competition, the uppers were close to $400 on their own and there's not a big secondhand market for them. The advantage to fitting oem uppers is you can use any knockoff $75 pair of upper doors if you only need them for the occasional rainstorm. They may not fit up or seal as well as bestop or last as long, but if you know that going in then you might save $300 and never care that there might be something better for 4x the price.
 
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