Going Doorless

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 3:44 pm

Has anyone figured out a way to mod the doors to be easily removed on a KK? I plan on going doorless once and a while but it seems like a pain to have bolt and unbolt them especially by yourself.

JeepMorrison · **Joined:** Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:34 am **Posts:** 1236

Easy....ive seen it done by a small dude all by himself in less than 30 mins. You fab sometype of quick releases for the door you run into re alignment of the doors. Not something anyone wants to try so far.

Sent with the power of children's screams!!!

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 8:43 pm

There r 8 bolts per door. U can take them off solo in about 30 minutes with a ratchet. Probably about 5 minutes if ur handy with an impact wrench and got a buddy to hold the door.

There's a reason the Wrangler doors come off so easy. The wrangler doors do almost nothing in a collision. They basically only protect u from the elements. One of the reasons I bought a KK instead of a wrangler (amongst other reasons) was it was much more protective in the event of a crash. It's easier to make the KK more capable off road than it is to make a Wrangler safer on the road lol.

There's a bunch of info in the tech section regarding this. I believe RL is in the process of fabricating tube doors for the KK. Here's a pretty solid removal guide if you need one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpUUc2lqw_o

ATH raised a good point in one of the door removal threads. Removing the KK's door lessens the overall strength of the unibody and makes it easier to twist or damage it while off-roading. (Imagine cutting 4 holes in the 4 sides of your house and having a small earthquake) Just food for thought.

Sent from my iPhone

*EDIT*

Just realized I posted the wrong link. It should be correct now. Its a YouTube Video. Sorry about that.

silverkk · **Joined:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:27 pm **Posts:** 637

Not that and but no easier way yet

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 10:22 pm

mawlkrawler wrote:

/[/url]

ATH raised a good point in one of the door removal threads. Removing the KK's door lessens the overall strength of the unibody and makes it easier to twist or damage it while off-roading. (Imagine cutting 4 holes in the 4 sides of your house and having a small earthquake) Just food for thought.

Sent from my iPhone

Actually removing the doors really has no effect on the structural integrity,a few small bolts holding a single small pin hinge and thin steel latch does not add much of anything structural in the way your talking.

Now side impacts it's a different story for protection but still adds little to no structural integrity.

TIJKK1220 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 10:59 pm

The kk's don't have the same structure issues the old Cherokee's had in the past due to the reinforcement in the frame that were made to cope Wth the skysliders. All kk bodies were built to have a giant hole cut out of the top of them

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 11:29 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

mawlkrawler wrote:

/[/url]

ATH raised a good point in one of the door removal threads. Removing the KK's door lessens the overall strength of the unibody and makes it easier to twist or damage it while off-roading. (Imagine cutting 4 holes in the 4 sides of your house and having a small earthquake) Just food for thought.

Sent from my iPhone

Actually removing the doors really has no effect on the structural integrity,a few small bolts holding a single small pin hinge and thin steel latch does not add much of anything structural in the way your talking.

Now side impacts it's a different story for protection but still adds little to no structural integrity.

I see your point. I probably should have kept reading lol :-)r

. Anyway, here's the link to the thread I was referring too.

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=104&t=60257

ArcherAce wrote:

At least on a KK. Both the KJ and the KK have solid side panels. The A post, rocker, B Post, and 1/4 panel are all one piece. It's called a side aperture. This makes it much stronger than unibodies of the past. Also, the inner rockers and upper sides where the roof meets the apetures (darn can't remember the name of them) are hardened on the KKs (forgot the name of treatment they go through. darn old age...) If you wanted to drill the inner rockers of upper side rails on a KK it takes a fresh carbide bit and some spare time. They are strong as hell. These areas were beefed up on the KK to stiffing them for the sky slider. Doesn't matter if it has a slider or not.

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 11:43 pm

Thanks people! I plan on taking them off this summer. Well see what happens haha. Ill be sure to post pictures if i do do it. Doesn't seem to be as hard as it looks

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JeepNCrowd · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 12:13 am

Do it!!!!

I highly recommend rock sliders if you plan on doing any wheeling while doorless, especially if there is any rock around. It would suck to bash your rocker panel up and be unable to put your door back on.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 12:20 am

Lookin awesome there!

JeepNCrowd wrote:

I highly recommend rock sliders if you plan on doing any wheeling while doorless, especially if there is any rock around. It would suck to bash your rocker panel up and be unable to put your door back on.

I agree, rock sliders are almost a must if you take the doors off and do any wheelin.

One thought that crossed my mind though. If you take the doors off at night, how do you keep the interior lights off? Wouldn't you have to turn the dimmer switch all the way down? The wrangler's door light switch just sticks out of the door so you can just press it down with duct tape or a spring, but isn't the KK's inside the latch?

Don't forget about these guys too

http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/L ... _doors.htm
RL makes KK ones as well. I think someone from LOST is working on Tube doors as we speak. Cant wait for summer now :twisted:

JeepNCrowd · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 12:37 am

As far as I know when the doors are off on the KK, it thinks they're just closed. I never had a door ajar message or interior lights on. But I haven't wheeled at night with it either. Another cool thing, we can sill listen to music doorless. Those little speakers in the front dash still work. You won't be bassing out or anything but they do work. It's almost as if Jeep engineers expected us to go doorless.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 12:42 am

Oh that's awesome! And I'm glad you can still listen to music. I just assumed you would just have to ride with no music. My solution to that problem was going to be installing 2 speakers in the cross bar that sits over the passenger seat since I have a sky slider. Saves me the trouble of having to do that now lol.

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 2:04 am

What do you do about mirrors when you take the doors off?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JeepNCrowd · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:13 am

I've been thinking about rigging up some sort of bicycle mirrors. So far I just take the doors off when I hit the trails and put them back on before I drive home so I haven't needed them.

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:03 am

Yea im hopping to take them off and leave them home if i go wheeling. and probably drive around town with them off

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:04 am

I've been planning this mod since the winter. Just need it to be warm enough to take the doors off lol. (Today's gonna be almost 60f!! Woot!!) anyway the supplies needed for it are basically...

Approx 4' 3/16 Angle Iron (Buy from Home Depot/Lowes for about $10)
Driver/Passenger Mirror
(Check your state's laws. Some states you don't technically need a passenger mirror, although i can't imagine driving without one lol)

I picked these out.
http://www.carparts.com/details/Jeep/Wrangler_-openp-TJ-closep-/Kool_Vue/Mirror/2001/JP12R.html?TID=80000000CP&origin=pla&CP=1&CP_SRC=PPC&003=27372932&010=cpkovumi01jeepwrangler(tj)19972002koolvuejp12r1347045&gclid=COCHqsS5070CFRSPfgodhXMAgw
They're stock TJ replacement mirrors (about $45 for a set)

Bolt mirrors to angle iron. Bolt angle iron to factor holes on the door where the door hinge sits.

I also looked into just grabbing a bunch of neodymium magnets off amazon and just epoxy them to the mirrors so they would just magnet to the door. Neodymium magnets are EXTREMELY powerful and could definitely hold a 1lb mirror to a steel pillar. Just gotta make sure it's flush and you can see out of it. I'll post some pix as the weather gets warmer.

Sent from my iPhone

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:09 am

sounds like you got a good plan. doesn't seem to difficult for a novice such as myself. I'm looking forward to pics

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 11:27 am

dcbelcher26 wrote:

sounds like you got a good plan. doesn't seem to difficult for a novice such as myself. I'm looking forward to pics

Haha, I'm starting to learn that keeping it simple usually works the best. (Trust me I'm no expert, everyday of fabrication teaches me something, and there is a lot to learn) I'll be sure to post pictures during my process and application. Don't hold your breath though, it doesn't really get warm enough to take the doors off up here (Providence, RI) until mid-June'ish.

Although if you're from CT you know how crazy the weather can be :dizzy:

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:37 pm

Today is beautiful here in ct! If i had a place to store my doors j would have tried to take them off. Don't think my roommates would appreciate me filling the room with my doors

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:41 pm

Haha true that. Having a place to store them is half the battle. They're heavy and big. (Well the front ones are anyway) It's nice up here in Providence. I even opened up my skyslider, which was kinda cold on the highway. Definitely too cold to take the doors off lol. I hope to have the mirrors ready for the first good beach day. The scenic ride down to Naragansett is beautiful, especially with no doors lol

Sent from my iPhone 5

Going Doorless

Who is online