Honest Question: What's the big deal with half doors?

[JeepVet74]

FB groups has them from time to time. What color is your 392? Friend has them on order but he wants to sell them and he is in TN. Jeep in inc to Mark anyday

Mine is hydro blue.

Sponsored

 

[Noway]

Mine is hydro blue.

bummer..he has a 392 sting gray inc . FB groups Jeep 392 owners and Jeep 392 nation has half doors listed from time to time. Ebay is too expensive. GL in finding some.

 

[ZeroTrev]

Haven't read everything, and speaking soley for myself here.

I got into jeeps as a kid, a friend of my mom had an old jeep with a bikini top and half doors and would take me on trails in the woods. It was always so fun hitting those trails and I loved the appearance of the jeep. Full doors are nice, but I've always loved the way a 2 door keep looked with top down and windows off, the lines of the body reminded me of the old military jeeps.

I actually sold a 4 door jeep with half doors to get a 2 door jl with intent to pick up half doors later.

Now that bad boy is in the shop getting the doors I bought painted and the rollbar painted black to not stand out to me.

Imo they are awesome to look at, give a great arm rest, and as close to doors off with really good usable mirrors. Plus with the half doors auto start will still work for ac in the heat.

 

[Overwatch]

One other note. I have two kids and we live in California. We have the top off nine months of the year. I used to run with no doors but it made my wife nervous that the kids could slide out. Silly but we all have our issues. A set of half doors fixed the issue and everyone is happy. Plus I don’t have their toys flying off into traffic nearly as much.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

As the title states, I'm just trying to understand what they hype is with half doors. I've watched plenty of videos of them being installed, having the tops removed, the plugs that go in the holes, etc. I get what they are. I get what they do.

And, while I can certainly understand that they look pretty cool from outside, I can't help but ask... when you're in the Jeep, is the experience without the top half of the door really $4k-5k worth of better? It just seems like a minor improvement compared to just rolling your window down on a regular door, but still too much lower door to be a happy middle ground between the standard doors and a tube door.

Honestly, what am I missing? Are they really that awesome/worth the price?

When I had them on my TJ's, it was convenience- kept the inside clean while wheeling (daily driver at an office job) and if it is cold in the early morning, or the weather is iffy- it's easier to carry upper windows than full doors and it's going to keep things warmer/ drier than tube doors .

 

[R3TRO]

As someone who went to a lot of trouble to track down a pair of half doors and then even more trouble to get them paint matched to one of the most schizophrenic colours in existence I can say that they are 100% worth the hassle
The look of them with the uppers is ok (I can’t say I love the window configuration but it’s not awful) but with the uppers removed (As I will have them 90%+ of the time) they look fantastic. The full door upper frame and the fact that the doors aren’t the same level as the tub just doesn’t look right to me.
Next up is the lowered door top level and flat surface makes resting your arm much more comfortable.
There’s also the fact that my wife is ok with no doors at lower, in the city, speeds but wouldn’t tolerate no doors at highway speeds.
Should they cost less? Sure, but shouldn’t everything be these days?

Your build is one of my favorites! Very tasteful mods. That color looks great with half doors / top down. Doesn't look bad with the full door too, but... half doors rule! You've inspired my, eventual, 2dr build.

 

[JPAloha]

Your build is one of my favorites! Very tasteful mods. That color looks great with half doors / top down. Doesn't look bad with the full door too, but... half doors rule! You've inspired my, eventual, 2dr build.

Thanks, the build ethos is very much less is more / discrete yet purposeful. I’m glad you found some inspiration from it

 

[rickinAZ]

What are the "windows" made of on half doors?

 

[JPAloha]

What are the "windows" made of on half doors?

The same plastic/vinyl material as the soft top windows.

 

[rickinAZ]

The same plastic/vinyl material as the soft top windows.

So to go through a drive-thru are there some sort of gymnastics required to get my animal-style burger?

 

[JPAloha]

So to go through a drive-thru are there some sort of gymnastics required to get my animal-style burger?

Or you could undo the zipper but you do you

 

[Tom77rt]

I love the look of the half doors and it feels like driving with out the doors. BUT, I wish there was a few more inches of room behind the rear seats cuz the top won't go down if the window bag and upper door halves are in the back. Have to hang the window bag behind front seats.

 

[BrokenDana35]

I have both half and full doors on my TJ and enjoy how half doors are a great compromise between running no doors and full doors. Remove the upper half for the No-door-like experience and store the uppers in the trunk for any potential Michigan spotty rain showers

The TJ is utilitarian enough that the half door experience with and without the uppers installed matches the vehicle. I find the JL is too modern/refined to be driving around with the half door uppers installed. The experience doesn’t match the vehicle

 

[Shelby73]

For me, as a kid watching tv seeing Jeep’s with only half doors and matchbox Jeep’s had half doors. Made me believe Jeep’s aren’t Jeep’s unless they have half doors. Now that I’m older not only do I still think that but they keep me legal in my state and give me the big open air experience plus if it rains I can simply put the uppers on and stay dry. I like them so much, I keep them on year round and had 1/2 the b pillar and rear windows wrapped in black to make a cohesive look. Also they look absolutely awesome in my opinion. Win win

 

[Kimdracula]

T

As the title states, I'm just trying to understand what they hype is with half doors. I've watched plenty of videos of them being installed, having the tops removed, the plugs that go in the holes, etc. I get what they are. I get what they do.

And, while I can certainly understand that they look pretty cool from outside, I can't help but ask... when you're in the Jeep, is the experience without the top half of the door really $4k-5k worth of better? It just seems like a minor improvement compared to just rolling your window down on a regular door, but still too much lower door to be a happy middle ground between the standard doors and a tube door.

Honestly, what am I missing? Are they really that awesome/worth the price?

there’s no big thing w half doors other then the fact that they look different and people love something that isn’t ordinary.

my first and second Jeep back in 97 and 99 had half doors and I have to tell you they Sucked. The full steel doors were way better. This is why Jeeps only came w the full steel doors for many years… but you know how people are, we need to be different. Paying 4-5k for half doors is your dumb fault if you want them that bad

Sponsored