Winter in the NE

[Krna]

It is a possibility that I will be bringing my defender up to school next year from Florida to Boston. I was just wondering what the best thing to do about a top is. I will have to park outside. Does anyone that lives up here run a soft-top in the winter, the defenders that i have seen have either ben SW or have the fiberglass top. Will a full soft-top be able to support snow if it comes down heavy during the nigt, or should i start looking for a hardtop. Also, anyone install any alarms with success?

thanks in advance

[scot]

I live and work in Boston and have for the past dozen years. I have never had any trouble with a soft-top and snow. On my first Defender...I sold the hard-top because I didn't like it as much as my belt-rail modified Tickford soft-top. If you have spent most of your life in Florida, you will probably want a hard-top, even though it doesn't really get that cold here. If it gets close to zero..people go nuts. (I don't, as I am from Alaska and don't go nuts until the thermometer reads -50 F.)

As for alarms..I don't' have one...don't lock my doors..never have and don't plan to. I run my truck all summer with no top, and the only thing I ever lock is my Tuffy cubby box.

If you park down-town...you might want to get some kind of motion detecting alarm to protect the contents of your truck...but nobody would steal a Defender. They are too rare...car thieves steal cars for the parts....not the car. Now a Toyota Camry, or a Honda Accord...those need alarms.

[Mike Hippert]

I'm with Scot, I use a soft-top with no rear windows and an Art V. drop curtain (the best investment I have made for the cold). I never lock the doors, in the summer I take the doors off and run without a top.

[dmarchand]

Funny, my co-worker just had her Acura stolen in Southie. They found it 12 hours later. The entire engine was gone. Everything else was laregly untouched....

12 hours...and an engine. That's some good workmanship.

Scot is right on. As far as the top, I'd say that's personal preference for how much of the cold you can stand. Two of my friends have had their soft-tops slashed, but that was because they left stuff sitting on their seats. It's just a part of living in a city.

[Art Vigil]

Yes, although the snow will began to seep through if not removed. As for security, I had a ST D90 for 6 years in the city with only one issue, which was pretty minor. From early spring to late fall my top was off and like Scot, I only locked my Tuffy. Plus I never kept anything inside the vehicle that I worried about losing - I actually had someone steal my sunscreen once. Whenever there was a chance of rain, I'd cover it with a tarp and bungee it down. The tarp actually seemed to keep people out.

[Krna]

Thanks for all of the good advice. I can deal with the cold, i have been up here in Cambridge for the past 2 and a half years so i am sort of used to it. Its also good to know about the alarms, in Florida I never lock it and the top is always off.

Thanks again

[Craigd]

Just remember to keep the ice scraper away from the soft top windows!!!!!!