Nantucket / Jeeps soft top

[Flagg]

Hi,

Wife and I just spend the weekend in Nantucket for our 10th anniversary. I was really impressed that in 3 days I say tons of Range Rovers and Discos, 7 different D90s, and 3 series on a 50 Square mile island!

---------------------------

We rented a Jeep Wrangler for a day to do some off-roading and see some of the beaches and a Great Point Lighthouse (I wore my Land Rover hat - of course. I have to say, the Jeep was pretty fun.

With no instructions, or prior knowledge I was able to put the top up and zip all the windows in in about 10 minutes. I think I could have done it even faster knowing what I was doing.

So tell me.............why is the soft top on the D90 so difficult!!!! I have the hard top on now, but when I did ride with the soft top, it was so time consuming to take on and off, I pretty much just unzipped the windows...........

Wish Rover had made theirs as easy as the Jeep's...............

Flagg

[rover4x4]

Hi,

Wife and I just spend the weekend in Nantucket for our 10th anniversary. I was really impressed that in 3 days I say tons of Range Rovers and Discos, 7 different D90s, and 3 series on a 50 Square mile island!

---------------------------

We rented a Jeep Wrangler for a day to do some off-roading and see some of the beaches and a Great Point Lighthouse (I wore my Land Rover hat - of course. I have to say, the Jeep was pretty fun.

With no instructions, or prior knowledge I was able to put the top up and zip all the windows in in about 10 minutes. I think I could have done it even faster knowing what I was doing.

So tell me.............why is the soft top on the D90 so difficult!!!! I have the hard top on now, but when I did ride with the soft top, it was so time consuming to take on and off, I pretty much just unzipped the windows...........

Wish Rover had made theirs as easy as the Jeep's...............

Flagg


Because its a Land Rover.

[woldd90]

So are you trading in the 90 on a Jeep? I never liked how the top would sit on the back of the jeep. I do like how they flip the front part open like a targa top.

But think about it, LR only made a true convertable type top for the US Markets, and only for 3 years. The series trucks had a utilitarian canvas top that did not seal and the rest of the Defender were hard tops.

I can take the top off in about 6 minutes... left it off for last 4 years. If you leave it out in the sun, it takes less than 10 mins to put on.

Scott

[Flagg]

Scott - No way on trading the 90 for a Jeep!!!!! I would have rented a ROVER if I could have :)

Flagg

[evilfij]

Because the Jeep has some give in the hoops where land rover thought it ideal to mount the soft top to a rigid fixed structure.

[ollieskins]

I would like to take off the soft top, but I am dreading putting it back up. In the fall, it took me about 4 hours, but it was quite cold.

[phoenix37]

i agree I feel the same way.

[GYM]

I can take the top off in about 6 minutes... If you leave it out in the sun, it takes less than 10 mins to put on.

Scott
Agreed. Much easier after it has baked in the sun a while...

[cellulararrest]

If you can swing it, a badger will fix these problems :). I've taken mine on and off in the winter no sweat. That bestop material is horrid.

[evilfij]

I successfully installed the old bestop I bought on here for cheap, even the rear window. My god bestop sucks. My old tickford was not bad at all. A tickford converted to beltrail might have even been pretty good.

[JimC]

Its a gamble though, my bestop was fine when I got it, but within a couple years it had lost its ability to stretch at all and the seams ripped out when I applied the kind of force which we used on your top the other day Ron. Its just a matter of time before the bestop deteriorates and becomes unusable.

[Flagg]

We should all take lessons from Scott. HE says it is a easy job of less then 10 minutes..............I am definitely with you guys that had trouble with it. The hard top has not been off for years. I sold my soft top. The difficulty of taking it on and off was one of the reason why..........

Flagg

[hamiamham]

its a failure of the original lr design and is easily cured if you switch to a badger top. smal price to pay me thinks

Follow-up Post:

mine was probably one of the denfenders you saw. i have a green d-90 with a black badger top and a safety devices roof rack.

[paulb]

Scott, I want to see a you tube video of the top going on in 10 minutes. If Guiness is there, it will be a world record. I have a bestop, fastback and surrey. I need to commit an afternoon to the on / off endevour and last time drew blood, got a 3 inch palm blister that split, and had no skin on the top sides of my fingers from grabbing and pulling (weird thing is the fingers hurt way more than the split blister) - AND I LIVE IN CA with 80+ temp.

Having said that, there is the easy way and there is other way. I love the other way. A LR is about commitment, the slowage of time, and greater zen appreciation of complete involvement in the task at hand. A jeep may be easier but will no get you far. A LR is a way of life and the true path to enlightenment.

[woldd90]

I will see what I can do... My truck has 55K on the clock, has spend its entire life in the garage and the top has not been on since 2004. If we have a nice and hot weekend, I may tackle this project.

[phoenix37]

Agreed. Much easier after it has baked in the sun a while...The irony here is that the only time you want to put the top on is when its cold and crappy out.

[GYM]

The irony here is that the only time you want to put the top on is when its cold and crappy out.Good point; but as you well know, cold and crappy by CA standards is a bit different than cold and crappy in Maine...

[ollieskins]

I don't even know if I will take it off this summer. I might buy a surrey top. I was not exaggerating when I said it took my 4 hours to put back on.

[phoenix37]

Good point; but as you well know, cold and crappy by CA standards is a bit different than cold and crappy in Maine...I know that all too well. I run a bikini top on the 109 10 months out of the year in LA! The pickup cab goes on for the Jan and Feb rains and thats it.