The Unexpected Call of the Wild

While the 2012 Summer Olympic Games surges forward and we head into August, we hear the call of the wild.  It's summer: the sun's out, blue skies wide open, and it's time to bolt down your Supertop NX and blast out of your garage full throttle towards the wilderness where adventure and the occasional rollover await.  If you're reading this, there's a 78% chance that rollovers are nothing new to you.  It just comes with the territory: 1. you offroad, 2. you rollover, simple.

Yes, there's the school of thought that holds: "Man, if you're a truly skilled off-roader, you won't rollover in the first place."  That may be true, but it could be these folks haven't tackled some of the meaner climbs out there - the truth is, engage in any activity long enough, and it's a sure bet you'll find yourself in truly unexpected situations.

And off-roading's all about unexpected situations: off-roading wouldn't be of-roading without an element of unpredictability that's true for any kind of natural exploration.  That's why you install a winch, bring a fire extinguisher, secure your Supertop NX, and pack extra beef jerky, cuz you never know what Mama Nature has in store for you.

Like Brand New: Bestop Seats for the Best Off-Roading

Bestop seats feature durable, corrosion-resistant Atlas frame and includes mounting hardware. This means you can install these great seats without having to borrow stuff from your neighbor’s Jeep, if you catch my drift. Colors: Bestop seats come in black, gray, charcoal, spice vinyl as well as full fabric front designs to match the interior because you have to have matching colored seats, man. You don’t want to be driving around with gray front seats and spice-colored backseats. You’ll look ridiculous.

They come in sets, with headrests, without headrests, regular vinyl, denim vinyl, standard seating, bucket seat configurations: the list goes on and on. This is America, we customize here. We’re not crazy about cookie cutter solutions, because they lack the individuality needed to sufficiently reflect each off-roader’s unique tastes. The Bestop Trailmax has several models: Classic, High Back Fold, and Pro, and seat types: Fold and Tumble, Reclining, Stationary Highback, and Stationary Lowback to fit a wide range of applications.

So get your adventure on. Setup your rig with these outstanding Bestop seats and everyone inside will be ready for some great outdoor fun. Featuring Variable Rate of Resistance springs, premium vinyl, and high quality closed cell foam, these seats will make your Jeep, truck, or SUV feeling like a new vehicle.

Tips: Bestop Supertop Installation

When you want to feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face, an open top Jeep is just your number. Sure, in good weather everyone with a Jeep wants to go topless. However, when the weather takes a turn for the worse an open top Jeep leaves a lot to be desired. Of course, you can park it until the weather gets better, if you have a second car that is. A better solution is to install a soft top for bad weather situations. Sometimes even in good weather, you sometimes want a little shade from the blazing sun.

The Bestop Supertop is the standard by which all other soft tops are judged. They come with a strong framework and superior canvas. The Supertop system incorporates a patented Belt-Rail attachment system guarantees a taut, trim, draft free fit. Further, on most applications the side and back windows can be zipped out to provide an open air ride while maintaining sun protection. On some models doors are provided or are available separately. Our Jeep Top came with two-piece doors which allow us to run full doors in bad weather and half doors in good weather. They also come in many color options: black crush, charcoal, almond, black denim, dark tan, and spice.

One thing is sure, with its new SuperTop our Jeep is ready for any situation, from summer fun to winter storms

Tools Required:

• 1/2 drive socket set
• 3/8 drive socket set
• Large #3 Phillips screwdriver
• Drill motor
• 3/8 dril
• 3/16 drill
• Torx driver set

Additional tools we recommend:

• WD40

1.       The first step in installing the SuperTop was to install the belt rails around the body tub. Many of the mounting holes are already there from the factory, however a few have to be drilled.

2.       The door channel must be mounted to the windshield frame. To do this, clamp it in place and drill the required 3/16 mounting holes.

3.       To ensure proper fit for the top and doors, the windshield must be set so that the distance from the top of the frame to the back of the body is a set distance on both sides. For our CJ5 this distance is 65.6 inches.

4.       The door strikers are mounted behind the door opening and over the side belt rails. These strikers also incorporate a catch for the forward top edge rail that is part of the bow assembly. Then when everything is in place it forms the forward edge for the top side-panels to attach to.

5.       The top bow assembly comes in two pieces, right and left. These halves are assembled and then each side is bolted over the side rails.

6.       The windshield channel is bolted onto the top of the windshield frame. Since our Jeep had already had a bikini top, one had already been installed. The new channel resides in our spares box.

7.       The SuperTop rear window can be rolled up and snapped into holders at the back. It can also be zipped out and remove completely.