What did you do to your TJ today?

Swapped out the half doors and started working on them. They came with light gray inner panels so I bought the Summit Dark Gray Slate panels to match my LJ. They look like a perfect match. I have some DynaMat so will add sound deadening. Maybe re-key the locks to match before I button them up.
Has anyone used the half door fiberglass windows?
LMK if anyone needs light gray half door panels.
Next I'm looking at an OE hard top.

Half Door Rework.webp


Half Door Skin Replace.webp


Half Door Sound Deadening.webp
 
In my own never ending half door saga, I tried to buy the uppers to match my bestop lowers from some dude off marketplace who said he would ship to me for free. That was until the shipping cost was $100.

Then I found a guy with a like new set of the upper & lower soft doors. They fit like CRAP. Same problem I had with a janky set last year. I assumed it was because those were janky but now I’m just scratching my head. The latch is like an 1” too high, way beyond what I can adjust the striker to. And then they also don’t fit well at the top/corners either even if they did latch.

Looks like I’m going half doors with the glass sliders. Those are janky too. They fit good, but one side needs rubber cement to glue the window frame to the fabric. So far the repair looks solid but we’ll see what the next 48 hrs look like.
 
In my own never ending half door saga, I tried to buy the uppers to match my bestop lowers from some dude off marketplace who said he would ship to me for free. That was until the shipping cost was $100.

Then I found a guy with a like new set of the upper & lower soft doors. They fit like CRAP. Same problem I had with a janky set last year. I assumed it was because those were janky but now I’m just scratching my head. The latch is like an 1” too high, way beyond what I can adjust the striker to. And then they also don’t fit well at the top/corners either even if they did latch.

Looks like I’m going half doors with the glass sliders. Those are janky too. They fit good, but one side needs rubber cement to glue the window frame to the fabric. So far the repair looks solid but we’ll see what the next 48 hrs look like.

Are your glass sliders Bestop? I see Bulldawg makes some. Would they fit in the Bestop storage bag and stow in the back of my LJ like the soft windows?
 
I had no idea re-keying was so involved. Our local Jeep dealers have the lock keying kits but no one who knows how to use it. I took the cylinders to a locksmith and will keep my fingers crossed.
Cars don't have door locks or ignition switches anymore.

It's not really that hard but the cylinder cap will need replacement as you need to remove it and it gets destroyed. Caps can be found on Ebay.
 
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I just re-keyed my 1/2 doors yesterday using this guide
 
Are your glass sliders Bestop? I see Bulldawg makes some. Would they fit in the Bestop storage bag and stow in the back of my LJ like the soft windows?

I still have my JKU t-tops bag, Im told they'll fit in that, but I need to try. I would much rather have the zip in windows but all this stuff is hard to come by.


And then the last bit of stress before we head out — the trailer. We're going to be gone for a day longer than usual and U-haul only has "toy haulers" availble which are $20/day more. Which turns into like $200 more than usual to rent. Options...

1. bite down and swallow hard on a $500 trailer rental.
2. Borrow FIL's trailer ,but involves a pair of 10 hr round trips to Arkansas and back (to get it & return it) plus like $200 in gas. The intense irony being that I'm ultimately going to AR but nowhere near where FIL lives
3. Just drive the TJ all 7 hrs to the final location. Then do the trails for 3+ days. Then drive home. Pray nothing breaks, but if it does FIL can come get me.

Those all suck. But this is where the options get complicated.

Since TJ Buddy's jeep spit the bit repeatedly last week, he's no longer taking his, which means his trailer is not in use. The problem is that his trailer is in Norman OK. He was planning to flat tow there. Ok fine, so I'll flat tow instead. Oh wait, my tow bar is in AR. No problem, I can use his now. Oh wait, he lives 30 min away so an hour round trip just to get the tow bar. Oh wait, my bumper needs some D-ring adapters...last time I flat towed I swapped bumpers with my 2000, but my 2000 is also in AR, but also far from FIL's trailer. My only option for the tow bar is to drive 2 hr round trip to Collins Bros to get the adapter. So I'm driving 3 hours just to make flat towing to Norman even an option.

That option kinda sucks because I don't really have that much time either. Which is why driving to Norman and dead heading the trailer back isn't a great option. That would be a pair of 6 hr round trips and like $150 in gas.

Current plan: drive the Land Cruiser to his house, wife follows in her car, and she takes me back home. Then the next morning I drive the jeep to his house, and then we drive the cruiser and the TJ to Norman. Load the jeep onto his trailer, I tow it to AR. Wheel. Then do it all in reverse, but more at our lesiure. If it is so broken down that it can't get to Dallas I can leave it at our friend's shop. That's the lowest cost, lowest risk option. Technically 2 cars driving to Norman and back is still a pair of 6 hr round trips, but I'm doing them in parallel, so same gas but half the total time. And Norman is about 45 min closer to the final destination than I am, so it's not exactly apples and oragnes.


I'll tell you one thing: if left to operate unchecked, I will make a simple operation hella complex.
 
I still have my JKU t-tops bag, Im told they'll fit in that, but I need to try. I would much rather have the zip in windows but all this stuff is hard to come by.


And then the last bit of stress before we head out — the trailer. We're going to be gone for a day longer than usual and U-haul only has "toy haulers" availble which are $20/day more. Which turns into like $200 more than usual to rent. Options...

1. bite down and swallow hard on a $500 trailer rental.
2. Borrow FIL's trailer ,but involves a pair of 10 hr round trips to Arkansas and back (to get it & return it) plus like $200 in gas. The intense irony being that I'm ultimately going to AR but nowhere near where FIL lives
3. Just drive the TJ all 7 hrs to the final location. Then do the trails for 3+ days. Then drive home. Pray nothing breaks, but if it does FIL can come get me.

Those all suck. But this is where the options get complicated.

Since TJ Buddy's jeep spit the bit repeatedly last week, he's no longer taking his, which means his trailer is not in use. The problem is that his trailer is in Norman OK. He was planning to flat tow there. Ok fine, so I'll flat tow instead. Oh wait, my tow bar is in AR. No problem, I can use his now. Oh wait, he lives 30 min away so an hour round trip just to get the tow bar. Oh wait, my bumper needs some D-ring adapters...last time I flat towed I swapped bumpers with my 2000, but my 2000 is also in AR, but also far from FIL's trailer. My only option for the tow bar is to drive 2 hr round trip to Collins Bros to get the adapter. So I'm driving 3 hours just to make flat towing to Norman even an option.

That option kinda sucks because I don't really have that much time either. Which is why driving to Norman and dead heading the trailer back isn't a great option. That would be a pair of 6 hr round trips and like $150 in gas.

Current plan: drive the Land Cruiser to his house, wife follows in her car, and she takes me back home. Then the next morning I drive the jeep to his house, and then we drive the cruiser and the TJ to Norman. Load the jeep onto his trailer, I tow it to AR. Wheel. Then do it all in reverse, but more at our lesiure. If it is so broken down that it can't get to Dallas I can leave it at our friend's shop. That's the lowest cost, lowest risk option. Technically 2 cars driving to Norman and back is still a pair of 6 hr round trips, but I'm doing them in parallel, so same gas but half the total time. And Norman is about 45 min closer to the final destination than I am, so it's not exactly apples and oragnes.


I'll tell you one thing: if left to operate unchecked, I will make a simple operation hella complex.

Or just buy your own trailer.