Scalped in the Kansas Wind

Sparky-Watts

Sparky-Watts

Banned
2000 jeep wrangler sahara for sale

Last weekend I was driving out to Eastern Kansas in a 40-50mph crosswind in my '94 YJ Ragtop. I met a semi and the windblast from it ripped the top clean off my poor little YJ!!! :( Insurance is buying a new one, but won't pay to clean the spot in the driver's seat.....anyone else ever have this happen? I was running 75mph at the time.....
 

I bet the trucker was scared as youwere when he looked back and seen your top a flappen in the wind. I had never heard of such a thing but I can see it happening. New top is a cool thing might be a way for us all to get a new top just loosen them up real good and look for a 53' er running real fast. hehehehe Tug
 
Well, I've felt my top almost come off when driving in strong winds and especially when encounter an 18 wheeler. Pretty scary. Did the windshield top retainer come off, or did the top simply come off of that? Maybe the spreader bars gave out and your top had enough slack to go by byb. I will be replacing mine because of that reason. As soon as I hit highway speed, the spreader bars simply do not hold up. Good to hear that you are okay. Oh, by the way, don't be embarrased by the stain on the seat, I'd left one there if I was in your shoes.lol-al
 

Then drive behind a gravel hauler and get a new windshield. And don't believe their little sign that they're not responsible for broken windshields.
 
Yeah, it ripped the retainer out of the top, and left half of it in the track on the windshield. I've only had the Jeep 2 months or so, and the spreader bars have dropped maybe 3 or 4 times on the highway...they were still pretty tight. It even broke the snaps that hold the top above the doors...not ripped them out of the top, actually broke them off! The worst of it was that I was going out for a weekend of camping, and it got down to 40 degrees the next day, so I froze my butt off coming back home....200 miles in 40 degree weather with a 40 mph north wind and no top! Don't try this at home, kids!!!

About the windshield: I had been following another car about 30 minutes prior to that and got a rock pit in the lower center of the windshield. After the top blew off, the pit turned into a 6" crack, so that's being replaced too. Good timing, I guess!
 
Wow, rough weekend. In my opinion, the spreader bars went out, and the high wind + a the gust of wind from the truck must have knocked the top right off your Jeep. I'm glad you kept control of the Jeep when this happened. How much is the insurance company going to pay for a new top? do you get to pick it out? If so, get yourself a Bestop superstop. Stay away from the replace a top. they suck.-al
 

I was surprised by the insurance. I have a $500 deductible, but for this it's only $120 out of pocket. They're replacing it with an original Jeep top. I told them about BestTop, but they don't come with the frame, and the frame was a bit mangled, so it has to be replaced also.
 
Super tops come with the frame. You might want to look at those before you make the decision. OEM tops will also be fine.-al
 
Paragon 3/27/04

My insurance will only go with OEM parts. I guess that's a good thing, as some states will allow insurance companies to use cheap aftermarket parts, thereby not restoring your vehicle as good as it could have been. Kansas law requires that they use OEM, if requested, and most companies now just automatically go for that. On the companies that don't, you have to make sure you request OEM, or you won't get it.
 

The Supertop is a far better top, but if they won't allow it, it's pointless.

Bestop, who makes the supertop, also makes the OEM tops
 
I lost my bikini top on the highway once then I lost the lights out of my sound bar once with no top on, on the highway luckly the wind didnt grab it to bad it was saved by the wires :lol: Scared the crap out of me tho.
 
When my top got stolen last year my insurance company actually told me to get an aftermarket top. They got prices from Chrystler, then I showed them the price of the Bestop Sunrider and it was actually cheaper.
 
Oh geez boys. Im not blonde but I didnt even think of that when I typed it. Leave it to you guys lol kidding :wink: It adds a bit of color to the family here at jeepz
 

purpleyjgirl said:
I lost my bikini top on the highway once then I lost the lights out of my sound bar once with no top on, on the highway luckly the wind didnt grab it to bad it was saved by the wires :lol: Scared the crap out of me tho.
Click to expand...

That was funny. sorry purplyjgirl, it just brought a smile to my face.-al
 
Well, I finally got the new top. Insurance screwed me, though. They said replacing the top was a 50% betterment, meaning I had to pay half the cost. So, I told them to put on a BestTop supertop.....cheaper that way for me. Still cost me $727 out of pocket! What's your take on BestTops? Are they better than OEM? One thing I've noticed already is that it cut down my visibilty on the side windows in the back...the support bars go diagonally across the windows and make for a nasty blindspot....but, spring is here, so I really won't have to worry about that again till winter!

Also, I kept the old half door tops and am thinking about selling them. One is new, the other old and needs the zipper sewn back in....what would be a good asking price? They are the squared corner tops.
 
$727!!!!!!!!!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:
OMG and thats half?
I got a really nice pavement ends top last year for like 300 or something stupid like that.
sorry to hear the news hope I never loose my top.
 
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