Soft top down unattended?

[PartyMarty]

I’d never leave anything of remote value in the bronco (maybe some towels or something but that’s it), but I’m more concerned with how hot the center touch screen could get baking in direct sun. I’m already in the shop to get it replaced after the screen died and went black 24 hours into ownership. I had the top off while driving back from the dealership and noticed it got hot in the sun while driving, so I assume it’d be very hot with a black screen in full sun. is there some kind of screen cover to quickly put over it while parked? Maybe just a smaller towel on the dash to drape over the screen? I’ve found a towel over the seats works just fine to keep the MGV seats from turning into lava.

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[Draughon]

Buddy had his softtop Jeep slashed so many times he started leaving a note on the window that said, "Doors are unlocked, there's nothing in here to steal, please don't slash my top."

 

[Johnabx]

Get a couple of these

Maybe one of these too…

 

[Bruzer22]

For convertibles I've owned in the past, top up/down was weather dependent. I never locked the doors, and never left anything in it. Sometimes, I'd just flip the top up and not latch it to keep the seats from getting scalding hot.

For me, it'll be an easier decision, with the 2 door, I'll either have the top on or off. I don't have any plans yet to purchase a soft top for it.

 

[Bender]

After owning a Rubicon for years, my concerns are (in order):

1. Rain
2. Bird poop
3. Somebody throwing a milkshake in the seat
4. Theft

The last two never actually happened.

The bird poop issue is easy to measure: however many times birds have pooped on your other cars is about how many times they'll poop on your Bronco. You can mitigate with after market seat covers or a towel on the seat or some cleaning wipes in the glove box.

The rain issue is tricky because it never rains in the summer in the high desert here, except for when I parked my Jeep outside with no top. That actually caused it to rain, so farmers love me. I worried about the touch display getting fried, but it never did. Again seat covers or a few towels are your friend. If the seat got soaked, I put a trashbag on the seat and a towel on that.

 

[ByrdDogX]

Get a couple of these

People in my area can't read.

 

[Johnabx]

People in my area can't read.

 

[AKBronc49]

Delta 88?

Yep! 72 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royal 350 Olds, 99k miles, paint done in '96 original interior. New top in 2020 along with wide white walls (not shown, pic from 2015). It just floats down the road.

 

[First BaseMan]

Yep! 72 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royal 350 Olds, 99k miles, paint done in '96 original interior. New top in 2020 along with wide white walls (not shown, pic from 2015). It just floats down the road.

Beautiful ride.
My first car was a 74 Olds Delta 88 Royale. It was brown, with a beige vinyl roof and I could fit 4 friends in the trunk with ease even with a full-size spare. I loved that thing.
It also had what I assumed was a dealer installed extra. A 70s "car alarm" that was just a toggle switch on the dash below by the steering wheel that activated what sounded like an air raid siren under the hood. That was an extremely irresponsible thing to give to a teenage boy and his friends.

 

[Richtor]

Get a couple of these

Where do you put that if all the windows are gone? Windshield?

 

[SubmarineNuke]

If I'd be parking where there's lots of foot traffic and bars etc, I'd close it up, just so some drunken looser can't toss his garbage in, though I'm not sure if that ever really happens.

while I can't speak to the Bronco yet....I can tell you it does happen to truck beds. I've found someone else's trash in the bed of my truck in a parking lot on more than one occasion.

 

[ocbucks1]

Couple years ago a co-worker parked his topless Jeep in the company parking lot and went out at lunch to find two young interns sitting in it taking selfies. He told them to get the hell out of his vehicle and one of them pulled the entitled “do you know who I am” shit. My buddy replied “no, but suppose you tell me”. Turns out it was the CEO’s niece, so my buddy goes straight to his office and reports the incident to his assistant. Next day she was gone and the other one was demoted to the mail room. We found out later that the CEO had his Harley damaged once by some ninny hopping on it for a selfie.

Not cool but seems a little harsh. If I found 2 young interns in my bronco taking selfies I might ask if I could get my n the picture. Or even some other tactics leading to …. anyway this story is a reason to leave your top down IMO.

 

[Gatlinz]

I often leave it down to go into the store or really any place for less than a hour. Beyond that, I’ll usually put it up but with the back windows out it’s mostly psychological (+ elemental) protection. I don’t keep anything in the back and have the console vault. Glovebox also empty. I keep the back windows out 95% of the time. Exceptions are trips greater than 1 hour or likelihood of precipitation.

have you had any issues driving in the rain and getting water in the back or on the speakers with the back windows out? thoughts?

 

[helifino16]

Just be prepared to lose anything not bolted down. People are naturally curious and unusually tempted when something of value is readily available.

Sunglasses in the console - gone
Garage door opener on the Visor - gone
Change in the Cupholders - gone
Just about anything - gone

When I had a Jeep Renegade (a long time ago) and I got real proficient replacing the Radio - with ever cheaper versions each time.

And folks will tell you to just leave the doors unlocked, because a determined thief would easily cut through the top to get inside. It doesn't matter anyway, you can put you whole hand between the top and door.

It's a lot of fun driving with the top down and doors off, but you just have to be conscious of people's behavior.

 

[raptorusmaximus]

I've had my doors/top off since this spring, I drive all over. I keep the glove box/center console locked and other stuff I keep under my tonneau cover.... no problems.

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